X Marks the Spot
Tony Abbott
“That’s Romeo?” said Frankie, her eyes going slightly buggy. “Oh, he’s cute! He could have his own show!”
“Somebody gag me please,” I coughed.
I would have started to choke myself, but I wasn’t sure if anybody would stop me, so I didn’t.
Romeo wandered closer, his eyes gazing up at the sky, barely managing to put one shoe in front of the other. He stopped every few feet to sigh loudly, slump his shoulders, roll his eyes, shake his head, stagger a foot or two more, then sigh all over again.
“He looks like he’s just been told he has to go to summer school,” I said. “What’s his problem?”
“Is he sick?” asked Frankie.
“Sick in love, it seems to me,” said Benvolio, a little smile on his lips. “But let’s find out. Ho, there, Romeo!”
Romeo put his hand to his forehead, sighed again, lowered his eyes to us, brushed some dust from his tunic, then said, “This is not Romeo; he’s some other where. He is with the one I love …”
“Tell us, then, cousin,” said Benvolio, nudging us. “Who is it you love?”
Romeo sighed. “I love … a woman.”
I laughed. “We pretty much guessed that. And I think I know what her name is. It’s Jul—”
“Rosaline!” said Romeo. “My true love’s name is Rosaline!”
Frankie and I looked at each other. “Uh-oh,” I said. “Did we crash-land in the wrong play? Are we in Romeo and Rosaline by mistake?”
Frankie squinted at the pages of the book. “You know what I think? Romeo and Juliet haven’t met yet.”
“Sure, sure, I can see it all now,” I said. “If they don’t meet up, everybody will blame us for wrecking Shakespeare. Hey, Romeo, just so you know, we’re Devin and Frankie. Friends of Benvolio. Nice to meet you.”
Romeo barely looked at us. “Nice? Nice? My true love Rosaline is nice. Her hair is the color of the raven’s wing, so black and long, her cheeks are like the whitest cream, and her eyes shine like pools. Rosaline is so rich in beauty, if you saw her eyes …”
Blah, blah, blah. For the next half hour, we wandered through the streets of Verona, listening to Romeo go on and on about this Rosaline character. And the play wasn’t even named after her.
“He’s got it bad,” said Frankie.
“More than bad,” I chuckled. “His brain’s fried. But, if Romeo is all goopy about Rosaline, maybe we should try to find Juliet. You know, to get them together? Otherwise, this play will never end, and we’ll never get home!”
Frankie nodded. “Good idea. Um, hey, Benvolio?”
But Benvolio was suddenly crouching in a doorway. “Look yonder, my friends,” he said. “Here comes Capulet and some young man with a sword—”
We looked down the street.
“Again with the swords!” said Frankie. “Don’t you people have regular sports?”
Benvolio paused to give her a strange look, then said, “We cannot risk another street battle. Perhaps we shall see one another soon. For now, I must take my lovesick cousin away from here. Montagues and Capulets are like oil and water. There’s no mixing them! Be careful!”
With that, Benvolio trotted away, tugging the sighing Romeo with him. Before we could make tracks ourselves, Mr. Capulet saw us.
“You there! You with the book!” he shouted, motioning to Frankie. “Come here at once!”
Since the guy with him had a sword, Frankie and I decided to do what he said.
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About the Author
Over the last two decades, Tony Abbott has written dozens of mysteries, comics, and adventure books for young readers aged six to fourteen, with series including Danger Guys, the Time Surfers, the Weird Zone, Underworlds, Goofballs, and the long-running fantasy series the Secrets of Droon. He is also the author of the fantasy epic Kringle and the realistic novels Firegirl (winner of the 2006 Golden Kite Award for Fiction), The Postcard (winner of the 2008 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery), and Lunch-Box Dream. Among his latest novels is The Forbidden Stone, the first installment of the twelve-book saga the Copernicus Legacy. Tony has taught on the faculty of Lesley University’s MFA program in creative writing, is a frequent conference speaker and visitor to schools, and presents workshops to creative writers of all ages. His websites include www.tonyabbottbooks.com, www.thecopernicuslegacy.com, and the literary blog www.fridaybookreport.com.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2002 by Tony Abbott
Cover design by Connie Gabbert
ISBN: 978-1-4804-8691-1
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
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