DON’T TRICK-OR-TREAT AT THE OLD CAPULET HOUSE
When Mal and Cal Worthy were faced with certain capture, they’d turn invisible and climb away. Or trick their way out of the situation with smooth talk like they did in issue II. In one of Becca’s favorite sequences, Mal and Cal escaped a rampaging giant by just vanishing to another century.
But Becca didn’t exactly have those options.
The only things she had were a lovesick poet, a basketball-crazed stepbrother, and one very friendly dog.
“Roo,” Becca said, “say hi!”
Woof! Woof! Rufus joyfully lunged himself onto their would-be attacker. When Becca finally thought it was safe to turn around, she saw that Rufus was on his hind legs, his front legs draped across a boy’s shoulders as he wildly licked his face.
“AHH! Evil breath! ACHOO! And even eviler fur! AHH-CHOO! AHH-CHOO! AHH-OO!” The boy fell to the ground under Rufus’s weight.
Becca, Sam, and Romeo hurried over to take a look at the guard.
He wasn’t much older than they were, but a sword in a white leather scabbard hung on his belt and he was carrying a large, lumpy sack. His hair looked like he combed it with a thornbush.
“It’s Mercutio!” Romeo said. “Call the dog off—he’s a friend!”
Sam tugged on Roo’s collar, but he seemed much more interested in tasting Mercutio’s face than listening to Sam. Becca grabbed a bruised tomato from the ground. At least there was one good thing about the Pizza Feud: There were always tomatoes when you needed them.
“Hey, boy,” she said, holding the fruit above Rufus’s nose. “FETCH!”
She lobbed the tomato as far as she could. He tore after it, yapping excitedly.
“Not bad,” Sam said. “You have a good arm.”
Romeo helped the boy, Mercutio, up. His nose was red enough to match any Capulet outfit.
“Thanks,” Mercutio said thickly. “I love dogs, but my nose and I really don’t agree on that.”
Romeo pulled out a handkerchief. “You scared us half to death,” he said as Mercutio gratefully took the cloth.
“I would’ve gotten away with it,” Mercutio said, wiping his nose. “But the dog ruined it!”
“This is my best friend, Mercutio,” Romeo said, turning to Becca and Sam. “This is … I never actually got your names, did I?”
“I’m Becca,” Becca said. “And this boy with the untied shoe is Sam. The dog is Rufus.”
“Charmed,” Mercutio said, energetically shaking Becca’s and Sam’s hands at the same time. He turned to Romeo and slapped him on the shoulder. “Romeo, madman, lover of good poetry and writer of … bad poetry. Best Friend, Confidant, Cool Dude, and my personal favorite—Partner in Pranks!”
“Pranks?” Becca looked at Romeo in surprise. With his sad expression, it was hard to picture him doing anything as fun as pranks.
“I know,” Mercutio said, looking at Romeo with a shake of his head. “Hard to believe for somebody who just met him, I’m sure. Back in the day, Romeo was a master of practical jokes, pratfalls, goofs, gimmicks, and all kinds of nonsense. Once we tricked Lord Montague into gluing his hat to his own elbow!”
“Yes, it’s true,” Romeo said. “But that was when we were children—now I am a man in love!”
Becca felt the contents of her stomach swirl a bit, and from Sam’s grimace, she knew he felt the same. Romeo was … a little dramatic.
“Er, right,” Mercutio said, patting Romeo on the shoulder. “You are very grown-up now, but”—he wiggled his eyebrows—“wouldn’t you like to do one last prank, just for old times’ sake?”
“I would!” Sam said, but catching Becca’s glare, he quickly added, “Er, maybe another time, though. We need to help Romeo practice for his date.”
“Oh?” Mercutio looked at Romeo in surprise. “You got one?”
Romeo squirmed. “Well, not exactly, but Sam and Becca have promised to help me ask out Rosaline for tomorrow’s Lotsa-Rella Ball.”
Mercutio’s face cracked into a wide grin. “This couldn’t be more perfect! I’m going to sneak into the Capulets’ party tonight. I’m planning a leeeetle prank of my own,” he yelled. “You can help me and meet the love of your life.”
“I doubt that,” Becca said, hugging her backpack closer to her. Mercutio seemed like fun, but she needed Romeo to be focused. “Thanks for the offer, but we need to get going—”
“Tybalt and I have a score to settle,” Mercutio interrupted, rubbing at his nose and sniffling. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m wearing only my third-favorite white silk jacket today.”
“I was, actually,” Romeo said.
“Of course!” Mercutio said. He sniffled again. “Who wouldn’t?! That perfume-fountain and his nose caterpillar borrowed my first and second favorites, and he got them all slashed up in sword practice! Once I get my hands on—haaaaa, ahhhhh, HACHOOO!”
Rufus was back. He dropped the slobbery tomato at Becca’s feet.
Woof! The tomato looked like it’d been in a game of catch between giant slugs. Trying to ignore the sticky saliva, she threw it again for him.
“Thank you.” Mercutio sniffed, and the snot retreated back into his nose. “Anyways, as I was saying … Wanna sneak into the Instead-Stix party tonight?”
“Tempting, but”—Romeo looked sideways at Becca and Sam—“I need to see Rosaline.”
“Didn’t I say?” Mercutio blew his nose one last time. “Rosaline will be at the Instead-Stix party, too!”
Romeo lit up like a firefly.
“But—but—but,” Sam sputtered. “You can’t meet Rosaline until you practice!”
“We can practice at the party,” Romeo said. “I need to see Rosaline!”
From the lovesick expression on his face, Becca knew they were in trouble.
“Then we’ll go with you,” she said quickly. If they went to the party, they could at least try to keep Romeo away from Rosaline until they found Juliet.
“Excellent!” Romeo said. “Party it is!”
“Wait a second,” Sam said. “Aren’t you forgetting something? Rosaline is going to be at a Capulet party—and you’re a Montague.”
Romeo’s shoulders slumped like a bicycle tire with a hole. “Oh, right.”
Becca began to nod her approval at Sam, but she quickly stopped herself. Sam already bragged enough. It was one of the reasons she wanted to escape to Hawaii with Mom.
“Never fear!” Mercutio said. “It’s a masquerade ball! Everyone must wear a mask. No one will recognize you.” He straightened his sword belt. “Of course, it’ll be harder to get into the party.”
“What do you mean?” Becca asked. If it was impossible to get in, maybe there was still a chance they could persuade Romeo to skip the Capulets’ party.
“I overheard the guards, and they said they will be checking the guests carefully to make sure that nothing funny—ha-ha-HACHOO! HACHOO!”
Becca glanced around to see Rufus galloping toward them, ears flapping. He skidded to a halt in front of her and deposited the contents of his mouth onto her foot.
It wasn’t a tomato, but a rolled-up piece of paper. Becca gingerly pinched it up. “This isn’t what you were supposed to fetch,” she said.
Woof! Woof!
Sam reached into his pockets and gave Rufus another cookie. “I’ve been trying to get him to fetch the newspaper in the morning,” he said.
“But it’s not a newspaper,” Becca said. Looking at the wet paper more closely, she realized it was one of the posters she’d seen around the city.
PERFORMING TONIGHT AT CAPULET MANSION:
MADAME LORELEI AND HER FIERY-FOOTED STEEDS!
ENTERTAINMENT FOR ALL AGES, OCCASIONS, AND TASTES!
MARVEL AT DRAMA, ACROBATICS, MUSIC, AND NOVELTY ACTS
“Ooh, the FFS!” Mercutio said. “They’re world famous for their impressions and avant-garde plays. If only I didn’t have to avenge my best suit, I would probably stay at the party just to watch them perform.”
The creaking and clip-clopping of a large wagon drew Becca’s attention away from the poster. On the wagon’s side was the same logo that was in the middle of the poster.
“I have an idea,” she said, turning to the boys. “I hope you don’t get stage fright!”