Chapter 12

The first two lectures went in a blur for Olivia. Sure, there was lots of whispering during the class, making her squirm as no one expected her to be back. But, since morning, Sia and Mason have been with her. Even Caleb had to be with her because of his best friends, as Sia and Mason were Olivia's long-lost pals as well.

The third lecture was about to begin, and Olivia was very excited about it. She was sitting next to Caleb, with Sia and Mason in front of her.

“Prof. Drake is one of the best teachers here. And he is a real eye-catcher. You are going to love him.” Sia squealed as she told her.

“Trust me, Livy. He is nothing special.” Mason said, rolling his eyes.

“Shut up, Mason. Livy, you are going to love him, believe me.” Sia glared at Mason.

“If you say so,” Olivia said, a mischievous glint in her eyes that Caleb didn't miss. He'd never seen Olivia like this before.

Soon their banter was interrupted by the entrance of Prof. Drake, who would be their Literature teacher. He was quite young for a teacher, but his youth does not diminish the amount of knowledge and enthusiasm he has for his subject.

“Good morning, class; I see we have a new student.” Professor Drake was greeted with a knowing smile.

“Well, actually an old student who has returned, Prof. D.,” Olivia said, emphasizing Prof. D, which earned her daggers from Drake. Olivia was getting cynical looks from Caleb.

“Don't mind her, Sir. She has always been the one with a bitchy attitude.” Stated Jenna with a smug look on her face.

“I beg to differ, Jenna. I believe Livy is one of the most brilliant students in my class, and I won’t hesitate to say she is one of my favourites.” Drake said, making Olivia blush.

“How can you say that when you don’t even know her?” Jenna retaliated with a haughty expression.

“Well, that’s where you are wrong because back in her old school, I was a substitute English professor. She was one of the most resilient students there.” Jenna remained silent, while Sia, Mason, and Caleb were astonished.

“Anyway, back to class. This term, we will be reading a love story. So, before I tell you the title of the story, I would like to know your ideology about this term?” Drake asked.

There were numerous responses to this question, none of which were unique. But then Jenna asked Prof. Drake, “Do you have a girlfriend, Prof. Drake?” Olivia laughed out loud, but she quickly covered it up with a cough, earning her a puzzled look from Caleb.

“Yes, Prof. D, do you have a girlfriend?” Olivia repeated the question. She was enjoying the nervousness of Drake.

She knew Drake too well. They had much more than just a student-teacher relationship. Drake was her close friend’s boyfriend. He could also be considered as one of Olivia’s close friends, as he knows her inside and out.

“Well, kids,” Drake said nervously, “I think I’d like to keep my personal life with me, and yes, I do have someone whom I love. But we can discuss my love life later.”

“Come on, Prof. D, you have now broken Jenna’s heart.” Drake chuckled when Olivia pouted. Others may have thought Olivia and Drake were flirting, but this was far from the case.

“Returning to the main topic, today we will talk about the book Romeo and Juliet,” Drake stated, which immediately caused Olivia to laugh again, which she tried to cover up with another cough. She was expecting anything but this.

Olivia ran away from her home just a month ago to Jiggy’s place to escape the torture. Jiggy and Drake performed a hilarious skit of this romantic tragedy to cheer her up. Of course, you couldn’t blame Olivia for laughing the entire time the gay couple performed the skit.

Drake is, in fact, gay, and he is Jiggy’s boyfriend. Those two are the cutest couple Olivia has ever seen. Jiggy is your typical gay man with a feminine side, whereas Drake is more of a macho man. He is your typical male, but he prefers to date other men rather than women. So, imagine Mr. Macho as Juliet and Jiggy as Romeo.

“Is there anything wrong, Olivia?” Drake asked while shooting daggers at her.

“Well, in fact...”

She was about to respond when Drake interrupted her.

“I don’t care. In fact, I don’t even want to know.” Shaking his head, he said.

Olivia was having far too much fun for her own good. For the first time during her entire stay, she was relieved to be returning to her old school.

The lecture was going well, and Drake didn't even look at her because he knew Olivia had the time of her life, reliving every moment of the play. However, Olivia's fun session was soon cut short when Drake asked her a question, which earned him a glare from her.

“How do you feel about the ending, Olivia?” Drake inquired.

“It all depends on how you think.”

Drake folded his hands and said, “Explain.”

“People interpret it as a tragedy, but it may have a happy ending because Romeo and Juliet did eventually get to be together. Perhaps not as humans, but as angels in heaven. This only proves that you can find happiness when you are dead, not when you are alive. Instead of fighting the world forever, the author killed the characters so that they could be free of all the pain and torture and live in peace. But, in another sense, it is a tragedy as to what do they get in the end? There's blood, there's pain, and there's fighting.” Olivia stated. She didn't realize it at the time, but she was relating her own problem with this story.

“So, what do you think Shakespeare is trying to tell everyone?” Drakes asked her with interest.

He always likes the way Olivia answered. She has a unique way with words. Her perspective on the situation differs greatly from that of others.

“Shakespeare, I believe, is simply attempting to convey the message that life is not always about happy endings. Some people get it, while others don't. Even after all the battles, sacrifices, and pain, people may suffer and may not get the ending they desire, but they may also get the climax they desire with no struggle. So it's best to accept life as it is and be mentally prepared that we may be among those who meet a tragic end, but a glimmer of hope must remain.” Drake gave Livy a sympathetic look after her response.

He could see where Livy was coming from. He had known her like the back of his hands for the past few years.

The bell rang, and it was time for them to go. Livy was about to leave when Drake motioned for her to stay. Drake engulfed her in a hug as soon as everyone left. Olivia was reassured that he was with her and that she could always rely on him.

Caleb was puzzled. Olivia was confusing him minute by minute. Moreover, he was taken aback by her behaviour with Prof. Drake during the lecture. It appeared to him that they had more of a teacher-student relationship. And the way she had responded to Drake's last question, there seemed to be a double meaning to her answer, as if she was relating the end of the story with something else, and somewhere along the lines, Prof. Drake completely understood her.

Instead of solving the mysterious Olivia, she was getting more and more cynical.