Chapter Thirty-Two: Mia

Camila really wanted to talk Wednesday during lunch when she and Hannah and I finally had time to catch up with what has been going on. Camila said that Marcus texted her Tuesday night to tell her about the great game he had had, and she said that she just wanted to go to bed and not spend the next 45 minutes texting back and forth about how great a basketball player he is.

Hannah said Marcus truly did play great Tuesday night, and maybe she should have given him some encouragement, but Camila said that one thing Marcus did not lack for was self-esteem—that he had more of it than a person should have for that matter. Then Camila said she dreaded, yes she said dreaded the thought of Marcus probably wanting to spend a lot of time together during Christmas break, and what she really wanted to do was break up with him before Christmas because she just knew that he was going to get her an expensive Christmas gift even though they had not been dating even a month yet. And her family couldn't afford a gift for him, besides they hadn't been dating long enough to be giving gifts to each other.

Then Camila said something that was a little upsetting. she said her dad really liked Marcus and that he kept telling her what a nice house Marcus had and how she could do a lot worse. Then I finally said something, asking her how her mama felt about him and Camila said the other day her mama took her aside and said that she had the strong feeling that her daughter didn't really care for this boy. And Camila told her mama that she didn't feel special or excited when she went out with Marcus, and the things that she most thought about were how bored she was and how boring Marcus was, and if dating was like this her whole life, she could just as well become a nun.

Hannah and I laughed at the thought of Camila becoming a nun, but then I got serious and told her that if she really didn't see the relationship going anywhere, then I would support her if she decided to break up with Marcus. But Hannah chimed in, and said that she should try to work things out with Marcus because he was going to be a professional athlete one day and they make great money...which is just a ridiculous reason to date somebody, even if a guy is a great athlete. I said I disagreed with Hannah, which made her a little peeved at me (I could tell by her body language) and said that Camila should follow her heart and listen to her mama.

I don't know how the whole Camila and Marcus thing is going to work out, but at least I finally had the courage to tell her that she should break up with him if that is what she though best.

Friday morning in English when we were wrapping up our work for the first semester, when Ms. Hawk gave us an overview of what we were going to be doing second semester. She said the first thing we were going to study was Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Then she said to go to her homepage and look under Shakespeare PowerPoints and told us that our assignment over Christmas was going to be to research one of the topics she had listed. When we drew for topics, mine was Shakespearean food, Camila's was early 1600s fashion styles, and Hannah's was on the Black Death. All of the topics seemed really interesting. I can hardly wait to get started on mine.

Then Ms. Hawk went to the list of characters for the play and gave little quick character sketches for each one. And she said for us to start thinking about who would make a great Romeo and Juliet and Marcus raised his hand and said he and Camila would be "awesome" for those parts. What Marcus said really, really embarrassed Camila. I felt like she just wanted to disappear away into the wall or something, she seemed so bothered by Marcus' remarks.

During Luke's and my Friday lunch date (I've started calling it that to Luke and he just grins when I say it, which means he's okay with it), I asked him if he would like to go to the public library over the break and do research together on our Shakespeare topics (his is on the King James Bible being put together), and he said that would be great. That he could jog there from his house or ride his bike, and I said that my house was about four miles away, and I could walk or ride my bike there.

I am super, super excited that Luke wants to spend time with me over Christmas—I mean how awesome is that! Maybe that is how best to get to know a guy, talking first as friends then becoming better friends, and then seeing if there is a spark there that is worth following through on. I know I already feel something for Luke, and I really believe he is starting to feel something for me. I sure as the world know that Camila going out with Marcus when they barely knew each other isn't the way to start something lasting.

I wonder if I should ask Luke if Ms. Hawk asks for volunteers to play Romeo and Juliet after the break, would he mind if I volunteered the two of us? I wouldn't dare volunteer us if I knew he would be embarrassed by it. Maybe I'll ask him the day we are at the library—maybe not, though.