The following pieces were inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

JULIET

by Charles Barnes

Hello, my name is Juliet and I’m here to tell you the story of how I ruled Verona and defeated the king. The year was 1545, I was 13 years old and in deep love with a man named Romeo. He was my everything. I was going to marry him and run away from home, but things didn’t go as planned. After a very big argument about missing gold, Romeo had no choice but to kill my dearest cousin Tybalt. Because of this disaster, Romeo was banished from the village of Verona. 

After Romeo was banished I was devastated so I went to see a priest for guidance.

“Friar Lawrence, Friar Lawrence!”

“Yes little one,” he said. 

“I need your help dearly.”

“About what?”

“Romeo, he has been banished, what should I do?”

“Go to the prince and beg, beg like you never have before.”

“Yes sir, I will sir thank you.” After that, I ran to the castle as quickly as I could and practically broke the doors down. I begged the prince to let Romeo back in, but he denied so I came up with a plan. I would marry the prince, kill him, then rule Verona and revoke Romeo’s banishment. It was perfect, so I set out to seduce the king, and after about 3 weeks it worked. He asked for my hand in marriage. After the wedding, I slipped poison into his morning coffee. He died right in my arms, still loyal to me, but I had a commitment to Romeo. 

After I was crowned as the new Queen, I ended Romeo’s banishment and he ran into my arms with a huge smile. After we got married our families still did not approve, so we still had to live in the shadows of our parents. It was difficult, but as queen, I made a law that parents can not intervene in relationships. After that rule was passed we lived in peace.

 

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NURSE

by Shayne Gonzalez 

I didn’t realize how everything would change on that fateful morning. I had been given the responsibility of looking after Juliet Capulet since she was born. As her nurse, I have formed a close bond with the beautiful girl I saw grow into a fine young woman. One morning, I was going into her room as usual, but today felt different. As I opened her bedroom doors, I found her lying still on her bed. It was unlike her to remain asleep so far into the day. I figured she was just tired from a long night last night, so I opened the curtains to let some light in. She didn’t move a muscle. The light was beaming straight on her face which would normally make someone move at least a little. I decided to get closer and examine her to make sure she was ok. I lightly moved her, and still, no response. It then dawned on me as if a sharp dagger was stabbed through my chest; She wasn’t breathing. I quickly checked her pulse on her wrist and didn’t feel a heartbeat. I touched her neck; nothing. I began to panic. She was dead.

This was my fault. I missed something. I was supposed to be her nurse and look after her. I didn’t want to believe that she was actually dead. I sat in the corner of her bedroom just watching her, in hopes that she would wake up. I kept blaming myself, because what else could have caused someone so young to die so unexpectedly?

Hours had passed, and I was still sitting in the same chair in the corner of her bedroom, staring at her dead body. It was now late at night and I was exhausted. I was been using every muscle in me to not fall asleep in case she wakes up. My eyes were so heavy and my blinks were getting slower. I ended up falling asleep, but I was still very aware of my surroundings. I jumped up when I heard the smallest movement coming from Juliet’s bed. When I opened my eyes, I found her sitting up in her bed. I immediately broke down crying. I was so happy she wasn’t dead. I ran to her and gave her the tightest hug. She looked very confused and just said, “It didn’t work” over and over. 

“What didn’t work?” I asked as I studied the face of the girl I thought I had just lost.

“Why am I still in my room? Where’s Romeo? ” Juliet said, in a panic.

“What are you talking about?” I questioned

“I drank a potion last night which was supposed to make me appear as if I wasn’t alive. I wanted everyone to think I was dead so I could run away and live with Romeo for the rest of my life,” Juliet confessed.

“You drank a potion that was going to kill you?” I wondered .

Her expression fell. “Yeah,” Juliet said in a quiet tone. 

“I can get you to Romeo without you killing yourself,” I said confidently. Juliet and I made a plan within five minutes. Because it was already night-time, she could sneak out and leave town to see her love without anyone noticing. I made sure the coast was clear and got her out of town without a single soul knowing. I quickly ran back to the house and went to bed after an exhausting night, wishing Romeo and Juliet a happy future together.