Chapter 1: Liza

    Liza Carlton was most definitely not in a good mood. And it wasn’t because she had to play a boy in the city production of Romeo and Juliet. Actually, she’d rather play Mercutio than any other character-she found them hard to sympathize with. Too bad she got stuck with Romeo, which meant she’d have to have multiple make out sessions with her best friend. She wasn’t upset about that, either.

    No, the reason why she was so mad was because all the rest of the crew were IDIOTS. All of them. Seriously, her and Bev were the only ones who were actually putting any thought into what they were doing. Everyone else seemed to think they could do whatever they wanted and everything would just turn out okay.

    “For there was never a tale of such sorrow-” Josh, the guy who played the prince-which was stupid because he had about as much authoritative air as a housefly-said in his monotone voice.

    “Wo!” the director shrieked, “Never a tale of such wo!”

    Liza restrained from sighing. This had been the twenty-second time that they’d had to correct him. Which was insanely stupid, I mean it was one of the most famous lines in the play! Right after, “Romeo o Romeo, where for art thou Romeo?” and “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and Juliet is the sun.”

    She turned her head to Bev who was lying beside her, teeth clenched tightly in aggravation. Some of her black curls were lying in Liza’s mouth and she struggled not to spit them out. Damn. Why did Bev’s hair have to be so long… and curly? Some were tickling the inside of Liza’s nose and it was taking all her willpower not to sneeze. Seriously, she considered herself blessed to have short, board straight blonde hair.

    “For there has never been a story of such WOE,” Liza rolled her eyes as he over pronounced the word, “than that of Juliet and Romeo.”

    “HER Romeo!” the director screeched, “of Juliet and her Romeo!” then she sighed, closing her eyes, “Never mind, we’re node for the day. Show up tomorrow at 12 o’clock sharp.”

    Lia coughed out Bev’s hair and rubbed her nose as the two of them sat up. She wiped her mouth, hoping that there was no stain from the “poison” she’d had to ingest, not that she thought the chance of that was very good. It had been almost an hour since her death scene, so she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bright blue streak on her face.

    “We’ll never be ready for opening night at this rate,” Bev sighed, resting her head in her hands.

    “You’re telling me,” Lza agreed as she pulled her knees up to her chest. They were performing in exactly seventeen days and it seemed as if nobody aside from them even had their lines memorized, “It’s a good thing we were cast as the leads.”

    “Not that it makes much of a difference, since we’re only in half the play,” Bev blanched.

    Liza considered that for a second, her lips pursed as she did so, “True,” she sighed, shaking her head and moving to stand up, “C’mon, I gotta be to work in forty minutes which means I barely have enough time to get you home.”

    “Just take me to the theatre with you,” Bev argued, “I can watch a movie until you get out.”

    “I work till ten, Bev,” Liza shot back, “That’s a bit more than one movie’s worth.”

    “Then I’ll hang out in the lobby and talk to you,” Bev shrugged, “And stare at River while you work.”

    “Yeah, what’s up with that?” Liza asked, hopping to her feet. Most of the others had left by then, so it was basically just the two of them, “I really don’t get your obsession with him.”

    “Um… A)” Bev began, ticking them off on her fingers, “He’s totally hot B) He’s actually taller than us C) He’s an otaku!” she jumped up and followed Liza toward the door, “Do you know how hard it is to fin a hot otaku?”

    “He also has blue eyes,” Liza shot back, ignoring her best friend’s question, “and you know that since you have brown eyes, there is no way you two can ever get together.”

    “Pish pawsh,” Bev waved her hand dismissively, “You and your stupid rules.”

    “”Oh, really?” Liza gave her a half smirk, “What about you and your hair color?”

    “I admit there are some exceptions,” Bev held her nose high in the air, before saying, “Hey, since we have some time to kill, why not stop by the library to do a bit of Romeo and Juliet research?”

    “The new one?”

    “It’s the only one on the way.”

    Liza laughed, “Okay, why not?”

WE WERE THERE

    The library may have been new, but the building it was located at certainly wasn’t. It was a rundown, almost PATHETIC excuse for a structure that Liza was almost 100% certain had been there since before her grandma was born. She hadn’t been inside since she was seven though, so she was still excited, either way.

    “Where do you think we’ll find it?” Bev asked, glancing around as they entered.

    Liza shrugged, gazing around, herself, “Hell if I know.”

    “Think we should go ask the librarian?”

    Liza nodded, “That would probably be a good idea.”

    There was only one other person in the building, a woman who looked to be in her eighties with bright white hair and huge glasses. Liza guessed she was the librarian.

    “Excuse me?” the librarian glanced up at the sound of her voice. Her eyes grew wide for a second, before returning to normal. Liza didn’t think too much of it, though, she had other matters to discuss, “Do you have any books about Romeo and Juliet?”

    “Oh, yes!” the librarian cried in a surprisingly strong voice, jumping up from her chair, “You two just wait right here. I’ll be right back.”

    Bev and Liza glanced at each other in confusion for a second before turning back just in time to see the librarian return from the back with a book that must’ve been old if not older than the building in her hands.

    Growing Up In the Shadow of Romeo and Juliet Liza read as it was set down in front of her. She glanced at Bev out of the corner of her eye before shrugging. It didn’t look like what they were searching for, but why not humor the old lady and read a chapter or two?

    “Um… I’ve never heard of an Elizabeth in Romeo and Juliet,” Bev murmured, having opened up the book to the first page.

    “That’s because this book takes place after the events in the play,” the librarian responded.

    Liza raised an eyebrow, “After?” she repeated, slightly intrigued, despite herself.

    The librarian nodded excitedly, “An event that’s been erased from the books, something that the historians claim never happened,” she paused for a second, as if trying to create suspense before finishing with a: “Only it did.”