Recitation

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

Aliya read the line out and heard a smattering of snickers behind her. She paused just long enough for Mr. Houston to look up at her. Apparently he had not heard the snickering or he didn't much care. Aliya cleared her throat and started again from the beginning. This time the boys held in their snickers, but she could feel their eyes staring at her trying to throw her off. She held on and read with a clear strong voice this time.

Mr. Houston only nodded when she finished and Aliya sank back into her seat being careful not to make a sound as she blew out a breath of relief. She had made it through the whole piece with only that one mistake.

She was still trying to calm her heart beat and pray for her crimson blush to fade when she heard Mr. Houston's deep drawl.
"Boyd Becker since you found Miss Fletcher's recitation so amusing; can I have you stand up and recite it as well."

She didn't need to turn around to see Boyd fumble to get his body unfolded from the desk. At well over six feet he towered above everyone else in the class. "Sorry, Mr. Houston.... my bad." He said and Aliya peeked a glance up at him to see him staring straight at Mr. Houston.

"Yes, your bad." Mr. Houston echoed, "but I shall hear the poem; either now or after class. Though I doubt your class would appreciate having to stay to hear it."

Aliya though she could hear him swallow as he shifted his gaze to the floor. For a moment she thought he was going to make some excuse to get out of it. His buddies had all fallen silent. Each of them not wanting to have to undergo the same tortuous example.

But then Boyd drew in a breath and shifted so that Aliya could see him and he began. His eyes looking only at her. He did not falter and his voice felt like honey as it wove its way through the sonnet. Aliya could barely breath as her gaze locked onto his.

When he finished, Mr. Houston nodded this time his lips pursed in an expression of impressed wonderment. "Well, Mr. Boyd. You do surprise and delight. Though I am sure Mr. Alexander and Mr. Coots could not do so well... your rendition will do for all of you."

It was at that moment that the bell rang and Mr. Houston dismissed them. Boyd's friends scattered like flies fearing Mr. Houston may change his mind, but Boyd held back. His eyes still rested on Aliya.

Finding her voice, though it was a little breathless she said, "that was... impressive."

The side of his lips tipped up in a sultry grin and Aliya felt drawn in like a moth to a flame. It was like she could not hide the crush she had had on Boyd Becker, like some great force had awakened with that age old poem and she felt drawn in and vulnerable to anything that Boyd would utter next. She feared he would laugh and poke fun, like most high school boys, but without his friends to cut and jib, he seemed more confident, more assured and the smile turned to one of genuine delight.

"Glad I could impress." he said with a hint of gallantry that further stole her breath. "I am sorry we... I was so rude... could you forgive me if I take you out for a soda float? After school today?"

"I have to babysit after school today." she said wishing she didn't have to.

She expected Boyd to bow out then, but instead he asked, "What about tomorrow then..."

"Tomorrow would work."

"Then its a date."

"A date." Aliya repeated her voice barely a whisper.

He gave her one of his bone melting smiles as he repeated, "A date."

He stepped back to let her pass him, then followed her out of class. She had to get to math. She knew she would be dancing on air all the way. He walked with her until they reached the center hall then moved away. Smiling at her once more before being swallowed up by the crowd.

She couldn't believe it. She... Aliya Fletcher had a date with the cutest boy is school. She was in heaven.


Word Count: 734 words
Genre: Romance.


Writer's Cramp: ▼

due before noon tomorrow Sept. 6, 2018 Shakespeare’s 18th Sonnet is perhaps the most famous and frequently quoted. Use “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” somewhere in your story or poem, bolded. You must choose Romance as one of your genres.

I missed out on this because I put 'you' instead of 'thee'

Shakespeare’s SONNET 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.