As he walked into the kitchen, he was startled to find Alexia standing there, her eyes blazing with fury. "Alexia?! What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to mask his fear.
"You were supposed to meet me earlier today," she said, her voice dripping with venom as she took a step towards him. "But instead, you decided to spend your time with some other girl."
He tried to back away, but she blocked his path. "I waited for you outside the whole day, but I guess you had other plans," she continued, her tone icy and menacing.
He swallowed hard, knowing he was in trouble. "I'm sorry I missed our date," he apologized, his voice barely above a whisper. "Next time we will definitely spend some quality time together."
But Alexia wasn't having any of it. "It seems you haven't changed at all, darling," she sneered. "Still playing around with those girls."
He could feel her eyes piercing through him, and he knew he had to get out of there before things got worse. "Run, Bro," he whispered, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the door. "Run for your life."
I followed him out of the kitchen, my heart pounding with fear. "What is happening?" I asked, struggling to keep up with him.
"She thinks I'm cheating on her with someone," he replied, his eyes darting around as he scanned the crowd for any sign of Alexia.
"Wait, why am I running?" I asked, confused.
"If she catches you, it's certain death," he said grimly. "Just keep following behind me."
We weaved our way through the festival crowd, ducking behind groups of people and dodging through alleys. I could hear Alexia's voice behind us, growing louder and more frantic with each passing moment.
"It sounds serious," I panted, trying to catch my breath.
"It is," he said, his voice strained. "Which is why I'm going to use you as a shield later. Just keep following me."
***
We found a room where a theater performance was taking place. As we entered, we heard a girl yelling, "The prince didn't come; we need a replacement prince." Another girl replied, "But where are we going to find someone to replace him now?" They paused for a moment and then noticed us. "Hey, you there," one of the girls pointed at me, "you'd make a great prince." I felt uneasy, but before I could respond, the boy with me cut in, "He's going to be a great prince." I didn't know how to react, but the girl grabbed my arm and led me to a corner of the room.
She handed me an outfit made entirely from white fabric. It wasn't exactly what I would call beautiful—more like plain, simple, and boring. The only thing interesting about this dress was its color, which reminded me of snowflakes falling gently on the earth. The girl quickly changed me, tied a red ribbon around my hair, and asked, "Do you know Romeo and Juliet?"
"Yes," I answered.
"That is good," she replied, "now get in there and do your best."
She left me onstage, but I had no idea what my lines were. This class had no planning at all, and I couldn't memorize anything when I didn't even know the plot. Suddenly, a voice said, "Our class will perform Romeo and Juliet," and an actress entered. Even though she was dressed differently, I could still tell it was Elora.
"Aha!" she exclaimed loudly, "Why aren't you in the kitchen?"
"It's a long story, but in short, a crazy woman showed up there," I replied.
"Hmm..." she paused for a minute, "Well, the play has begun." So, she started playing the princess or whatever.
As the scene continued, the actors began to look more and more bored. I struggled to keep up with the lines, and it didn't help that Leo suddenly appeared in the play, without a costume.
Then suddenly, the lights went out. "Lights, please," a man shouted. The lighting came back, revealing two people standing by the stage door. One of them was wearing a black cloak with a hood covering his head, and his face was covered too. The second person wore a green robe over a blue tunic and pants. Unlike the first one, however, he removed both his mask and the hood, showing us a handsome young man with golden-brown skin. His brown eyes twinkled under the light, making him seem mysterious and intriguing.
"Who are you?" the actor holding the sword yelled. "Are you Romeo's friend?"
"No, I am not," Leo replied.
"Leo? What are you doing in this play?" I thought, feeling puzzled.