At the next drama class, Mr. Higgins handed out permission slips for the class to go on a field trip. “I think you’ll all enjoy this very much,” he said. “Next week, we’re going to New York City for the day to attend a matinee of Romeo and Juliet at the New York City Ballet.”

Meredith jumped up and down. “Yay! I love ballet! I’m so good at it!”

“This is great!” Kylie told Lexi.

“Really? I thought you liked monster movies, not ballets.”

“I do! I mean it’s great that we can get a whole day to observe Jeremy in action.”

Given her dizzy spell in drama class, Lexi had almost forgotten about Kylie’s plan to snoop on Jeremy. But Kylie hadn’t forgotten! She reminded Lexi of her dog, Poochie, when he got his teeth wrapped around a chew toy. There was no way he would let it go, no matter how hard Lexi tried to pry it out of his mouth. Kylie was not going to let the whole Jeremy thing go either.

“This is an interpretation of Romeo and Juliet without any of Shakespeare’s words,” Mr. Higgins explained. “The story is told solely through dance. It’s quite dramatic.”

Juliette nodded. “Can you imagine trying to tell a story as complicated as this without any words?”

“I’ve seen silent monster movies, like Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney,” Kylie volunteered. “There’s no talking in that.”

“You’re right,” said Juliette. “You experience the drama through the actors’ facial expressions. In ballet, you experience it through the way they move their bodies in dance.”

• • •

On the day of the trip, the entire fifth grade piled into two school buses. Jenna’s mom Betty was one of the chaperones. “She’s never seen a ballet before and me either!” Jenna said. “I’m so psyched!”

As the bus got off the highway and drove down the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Lexi recognized some of the places her Aunt Dee had taken her over the summer. “Look!” she said, pointing out the window. “That’s Zabar’s. They have the yummiest bagels and lox.”

“What’s lox?” asked Sadie. She was sitting with Kylie, a row behind Lexi and Jenna.

“It’s smoked salmon,” explained Lexi. “Salty, fishy, and delicious.”

Sadie wrinkled her nose. “I don’t like anything fishy.”

Kylie leaned over their seat and motioned toward Jeremy. “Doesn’t that look fishy to you?”

Jeremy was digging into a small fanny pack around his waist, popping something into his mouth.

“What’s he eating?” Jenna wondered out loud.

Sadie shrugged. “I thought Mr. Higgins said no snacks on the bus?”

“Go find out, Lex,” said Kylie. “Pretend you have to ask Juliette something about the play. She’s sitting right across from him.”

“Why me?” sighed Lexi.

“Because you’re up already!” said Jenna, inching her off the seat with her butt. “Out ya go!” Lexi wasn’t thrilled, but she made her way down the aisle.

“Uh, Juliette?” she began.

Her teacher looked up. “Lexi, why are you out of your seat? That’s very dangerous! What if we hit a bump or make a short stop?”

Just as she said the words, the bus driver slammed on the brakes to stop for a red light. Lexi went sprawling forward and landed right in Jeremy’s lap.

“Hey!” he said, startled.

Juliette helped Lexi to her feet. “This is what I was talking about!” she said. “You could have been seriously hurt!”

“Sorry,” Lexi said, embarrassed. She made her way carefully to the back of the bus and her friends.

“Well, that didn’t go exactly according to plan,” said Kylie.

“I told you I didn’t want to do this,” Lexi sighed.

“But you did a great job, Lex,” said Jenna, picking a few flakes off her shoulders.

“What’s that?” asked Sadie.

“Almonds,” Jenna replied. “Jeremy must have spilled them on you when you fell on him. Good work!”

“So we know he’s not allergic to nuts,” Kylie deduced. “Hmmmm…”

“Maybe he didn’t have breakfast? Maybe he’s starving?” sighed Lexi. “This is ridiculous!”

• • •

The bus pulled in at Lincoln Center and the fifth graders lined up around the enormous fountain in the plaza.

“Qué bonita!” exclaimed Mrs. Medina. “What a beautiful place this is!”

They walked inside the David Koch Theater and everyone gasped. There were five balconies of red velvet seats and a massive orchestra section. A twinkly globe hung from the ceiling. The stage was wrapped in a gold curtain, and a live orchestra was warming up in the pit.

“We’re in the first ring,” Mr. Higgins explained. “So we’ll have an excellent view of the stage.”

“I wish I brought my sketchbook so I could draw this,” Lexi said.

“Wait till you see the ballet,” Juliette assured her. “It’s even more beautiful.”

The lights dimmed and a hush fell over the audience. The music by Sergei Prokofiev filled the theater, and the curtain drew back, revealing the vibrant streets of Verona, Italy. Romeo wore pale blue tights and boots and a billowing white shirt. Jack Yu laughed, “You won’t catch me wearing tights,” but Mr. Higgins shot him a look. When Juliet appeared, she looked as delicate as a dove, flitting around the stage in a flowing white dress and pointe shoes.

“Lexi, you are so lucky to be playing that part!” Jenna whispered.

Lexi agreed—the ballerina was breathtaking, but she couldn’t imagine herself ever looking that angelic or graceful. She’d probably fall flat on her face or land in someone’s lap—just like she’d done on the bus.

When she appeared on the balcony, Juliet smiled and twirled around on her toes. Then Romeo ran across the stage, a cape flying behind him. Their eyes met and locked on each other. As the music swelled, Romeo drew closer and closer. Juliet descended the stairs, and they began a romantic pas de deux. Romeo got down on one knee and lifted Juliet over his head in a graceful arabesque. The dance ended with the lovers’ arms wrapped around each other.

When the lights came up for intermission, Mrs. Medina was sobbing. “Es tan romántico!” she cried.

“What do you think, Lexi?” Juliette asked.

“I think I’m in big trouble,” she said. “I can’t do that!”

“You don’t have to,” Juliette replied. “No pointe shoes, I promise. I wanted you guys to experience this so you could bring more emotion to our version of Romeo and Juliet.”

Lexi did feel swept up in the story, especially the second half of the ballet. In the death scene, Romeo took Juliet in his arms and tried everything he could think of to awaken her. When she wouldn’t open her eyes, he thought she was dead and drank poison to end his life as well. Just then, Juliet woke up…too late to save her Romeo.

Lexi poked Jenna. “Do you have a tissue?”

Jenna passed her the box her mom had brought. It was almost empty. “This is heartbreaking!” Jenna cried, blowing her nose.

“Tan triste! Tan triste!” Ms. Medina sobbed. “So sad! So sad!”

“Shhhh!” Jeremy hushed them. He was wrapped up in the scene as well.

After the ballet, the fifth grade made its way outside. Everyone took out their lunches and crowded around the fountain.

“We brought Oreos to share,” Jenna offered, passing them around with her mom.

All the kids dove in—all except Jeremy, who passed the packages along.

“That’s weird. He doesn’t like Oreos either?” Kylie remarked.

“Maybe he’s a healthy eater?” Sadie suggested. “When I’m training for a track meet or a big game, I eat lots of fruits and veggies.”

“Yeah, but you’ve never met a cupcake you didn’t like,” Jenna pointed out.

“And you’re on the basketball team and the track team,” Kylie added. “Jeremy’s on the chess team.”

“Maybe he only eats brain food,” Sadie said. She was eating a pita stuffed with veggies, humus, and sprouts.

“Chocolate is brain food,” Jenna pointed out, popping an Oreo in her mouth. “Well, cocoa powder to be specific from the cacao bean. Did you know the ancient Aztecs used to make a breakfast drink out of it to fuel their minds and bodies for the day?”

Kylie laughed. “Jenna, you are like an encyclopedia of chocolate!”

“Maybe you could have given Jeremy a report on how healthy chocolate is before he tossed my cupcake in the garbage,” Lexi muttered.

Jenna’s mom couldn’t help but overhear. “Some people just don’t like chocolate,” she said. “Jenna’s older sister, Gabriella, no le gusta.”

“That’s true,” Jenna added. “She likes vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate. I don’t get it.”

“So Jeremy doesn’t like brownie cupcakes but sneaks almonds in his fanny pack. So what?” Lexi complained.

“We’re just trying to get some answers, Lex,” Kylie said.

“You’re just trying to make me feel better that my crush hates my guts.”

“That too,” Jenna said. “We’re your friends. We hate to see you hurting.”

“I refuse to believe that Jeremy dumping the cupcake had anything to do with you,” Kylie insisted.

Lexi closed her lunch bag—she’d lost her appetite. “Well, it’s true. Face it, he doesn’t like me.” She walked away discouraged and climbed back on the bus.

“This is going to take a lot more detective work than I thought,” said Kylie, taking a bite of her PB&J sandwich. “That Jeremy is a tough nut to crack!”