"Well, uh, Hamlet is basically contemplating suicide on and off throughout his soliloquies. He compares death to a night of deep sleep, so he thinks death wouldn't be so bad. Uhm, Hamlet wants to kill himself because he feels betrayed by his mom. After all, she married his uncle so soon after his fathers death. Even though Hamlet wants to kill himself, he is scared because he doesn't know what death will bring."

One of the boys makes a yawning sound interrupting my words. I look up from my paper; it was Ryder who made that noise. The class starts to laugh. His eyes directly are on me, and a smirk creeps at the side of his mouth.

"Mr. Adams, show a little respect, would you?" Mr. Brooks says, irritated. "Continue, Jayda."

I take a deep breath before continuing. "Later on, Hamlet wants revenge for his father's death. He figured out that his uncle Cladius was the one who killed his father, and now he wants to kill him. But hes at a crossroad; if he kills Claudius, Claudius could possibly go to heaven, then killing him will not avenge his father. That is pretty much the point of his entire speech. Hamlet is really seriously considering questions about life and death, and what it means to live, what it means to die. That is the main frustration in his soliloquy, which also is the main frustration in everyone's life. Will we die and go to heaven? Will we die and go to hell? Or will we die and simply go to sleep? No matter how bad life is, we're prevented from doing anything about it because of the fear of the unknown... death."

I fold my paper in half and put it down to my side. I look up towards the class. Mr. Brooks is sitting at the empty desk In front of me. He stands up and claps, applauding my words.

"Well done, Ms. King, really. I don't think I could've explained it any better."

He pats me on my back as I walk away, heading back to my seat.

"Well, while the rest of you get Fs Jayda here will be getting an A. It's only her second day back, and she has a higher grade than any of you." He continues. "Jayda made the story of Hamlet real. She compared his thoughts to our thoughts today. She turned a fictional story into her own interpretation. She made it authentic." He looks around the class. "Maybe Hamlet was a little too tough for you guys. Maybe you weren't ready to dig deep into the topic of death." He walks behind his desk. "I was thinking about switching the lesson plan I've chosen for the rest of the year, but I've decided against it. Instead, I will continue with the original plan, understanding Shakespeare, but I will change the story."

I'm a little upset hes changing the story; going over Hamlet would have been an easy A for me since I know it like the back of my hand.

"I was thinking to myself, what is one Shakespearean story everyone knows? What is one Shakespearean story everyone will understand? What is one subject we all can relate to?" He opens his desk drawer and pulls out a book; he then walks around his desk and stands in front of it. He flips the book around and holds it in the air; it reads. Romeo and Juliet.

He says the words at the same time I say them in my head. The girls in the class get excited, and the boys groan.

"I'm pretty sure no male in here understands that story." One boy yells.

"And why is that?" Mr. Brooks says.

Instead of the first boy responding, Ryder does."What boy in their right mind would kill themselves for a girl. It doesn't make sense."

"And why doesn't it make sense, Mr.Adams?" Mr. Brooks raises an eyebrow to him.

"It just doesn't; it isn't supposed to make sense right; its a fictional book that was written thousands of years ago. Nowhere near this time or generation." Ryder fires back. No one in the 21st century would die for a girl, let alone kill themselves because they cant be with them.

"So, you wouldn't die for me?" Ashely chimes in.

"No, neither would I kill myself because I couldn't be with you. He says.

She rolls her eyes and turns away from him.

"Mr.Adams is actually right!" Mr.Brooks says, praising him.

He is? I say to myself.

"It's highly unlikely that a male will kill himself over a female. It's highly likely that a female will kill themselves over a male. That is why I've decided that it will not be a read and have a class discussion than a test type of lesson. I feel like that will get us nowhere. You guys will still never understand why Romeo did what he did or why Juliet did what she did."

"So, what's the lesson?" Violet says.

"I will be partnering you up, boy and girl, of course, and I want you all to recreate Romeo And Juliet. From your own point of view. Turn the story into how you see everything going down today during this time, during the 21st century. The genre will stay the same love, romance, but your plots can be different." he says. "Maybe you don't want them both to kill themselves in the end. Maybe both of them survive, and they bring the Montagues and the Capulets together. Who knows, whatever you want goes! At the end of the year, you all will turn in your reinvented Shakespearean books to me. Thirty thousand words or more."

The class groans. It really isn't that much to write. I've read a 30,000-word book in 3 days. I'm really excited about the lesson, the only thing I don't like is having a partner, especially a boy. I wouldn't mind working with a girl.

Actually, yes, I would mind. Im not a fan of partner work; I'm more of an independent person. I work best by myself.

"Now, onto the partners," Mr. Brooks says. The class burst into commotion, calling names across the room, pairing up. No one is rushing to be my partner, and for that, I am grateful.

"I choose Ryder, of course." I hear Ashely's annoying voice say.

"Woah, Woah." The class gets quiet as Mr.Brooks draws us back in. "You really think I was going to let you all choose your partners? Of course not; nothing will get done if I allowed you to pick whomever you wanted. I spent all night partnering you guys up." Mr. Brooks walks behind his desk again and grabs a sheet of paper out from under a book. He walks back in front of his desk and leans against it. "Whomever I paired you with, I paired you with them for a reason!" He starts calling names.

"Zach and Monica,

Greg and Shelby

Matt and Justice"

He continues calling names. There are different reactions between everyone. Some are happy with their partner's others are not; my name has still yet to be called. "Ashely, and Andrew." He calls, the class starts laughing. Probably because that is her ex, and they despise each other. "Violet and James," he calls next. This should be interesting. James is gay. How is he gonna write a love story with a girl?

"Excuse me; I don't think that's gonna work." He says in his most feminine tone.

"It will. You'll be fine, James." Mr. Brooks nods to him.

"And lastly, after long consideration... Ryder and Jayda." The class goes drop-dead silent. I swear I feel my heart skip a beat. I didn't even notice we were the last two left.

"Hell no," Ryder yells.

"Language." Mr. Brooks scowls at him.

"Your right, Fuck no. I'm not working with her. Why would you partner me with her out of everyone here? You could've at least given me someone better looking."

"I'm sorry I didn't know I was supposed to pair you all based on looks. This is English lit Mr.Adams; I feel Jayda will help you a lot. You have the lowest grade in this class, and she has the highest. You can learn something from her." Ryder snatches his notebook off of his desk and storms out of the class. Seconds later, the bell rings, and everyone exits. I walk behind Violet towards the door.

"Jayda," Mr. Brooks calls.

"I'll wait out here," Violet says to me.

I nod my head and turn around.

"Are you okay?" He asks me.

God, I'm tired of people asking me that. "I'm fine."

"Look, don't take what he says to heart. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it. He probably was showing off."

"It's fine, is there any way I could get my partner switched, though? I don't know how much I'll be able to get done with him. I don't think I can write a whole novel with someone like him." I explain.

"Jayda, I'm sorry, but I'm not switching anybody's partner."

I look down at the floor. Okay.

Youll be fine, he says.

I nod my head at him before leaving.

"What did he say? Is he going to give you a new partner?" She asks.

"Nope, looks like I'll be failing a class for the first time in my life."