Romeo and Juliet: A High School Romance

My name is Romeo Montague. And yes, I know my name is strange. My parents say it means “pilgrim to Rome” in Italian, which is sort of ironic because I’m not Italian and I’ve never been to Rome. But at least I didn’t end up with a name like my friend Mercutio Taliaferro, who is Italian. It’s a good thing he hasn’t been to Rome either though, because he’d probably end up carving “Mercutio was here” into a pillar in the Colosseum or scaling the statue of Saint Paul at the Vatican and drawing on a mustache. Whatever the case, Rome doesn’t deserve Mercutio’s delinquency any more than Verona does.

You’ve probably never heard of Verona, Connecticut, because unless you’ve seen the exit on I-84, most people don’t know it exists. It’s a quiet suburban town. You know, a nice park and a few shopping centers. We have our own school, Verona High, which I attend. I don’t mind high school. I do my homework and I get good grades, so it’s pretty alright. As far as the social scene goes, I know who my friends are and who to steer clear of, but I’ll get to that later.

I’m an only child and my parents are cool for the most part. My mom, Leeann, works from home as a financial planner, but on the side she’s secretly a CIA agent…okay, just kidding, but she does spy on the neighbors.

My dad, David, is an editor at a publishing company. He’s always on his laptop, reclining in his favorite armchair in the living room, and his feet up on the coffee table. He says he’s correcting novels for work, but something tells me that he’s really watching Saturday Night Live reruns on Hulu.