sweet revenge

         I stormed out of the library.   This could not be happening. Not to me! My best friend and my boyfriend. No! How could this have happened? How could he cheat on me? How could she betray me?   I replayed the scene I just witnessed again in my head. My boyfriend leaning over and kissing my best friend in library. Not only in the library, but next to Shakespeare! Romeo and Juliet   was right by their heads. God could be so horribly ironic. The epitome of true love, of romantic drama, was casually gathering dust beside them. I wished it would fall on my boyfriend and knock whatever sense he'd lost back into him. For my best friend, however, I wished the whole bookcase would topple and crush her. So much for best friends.
         Quietly, I said my favorite Shakespeare monologue in my head. From Twelfth Night: Act one, Scene five when Viola tells Olivia of how she would be a devoted lover. Oh, you should not rest between the elements of air and earth, but you should pity me, I finished as i walked out of the school. I walked down the steps towards the back of the school. I was definitely feeling a little bit of self-pity at the moment, but more than that, my emotions were overcome with rage. Derek and I had been dating for 8 months which is an eternity in high school. In a time where most of my other friends were finding new boyfriends or girlfriends every other week, Derek and I had stayed strong. We were even planning on staying together through college. We had planned our schools so that we'd both be on the east coast! Now, I had even more on my mind. But, I thought we were happy. I know, the stupidity of a high school girl.
         My phone vibrated in my pocket and I took it out to see who it was. Abby. My new ex-best friend. Just the girl I wanted to talk to.
         “Oh hi Abs, done making out with my boyfriend?”
         “What are you talking about, Claire?” Abby asked nonchalantly.
         “Don't give me any of that. I SAW YOU ABBY. You kissed my boyfriend. I have nothing more to say to you.” I said and I hung up. My hands were shaking; I was so furious.
         I scrolled quickly through my phone book and found my other, and now only, best friend Jason. Jay and I have been best friends for almost 9 years now, when I moved in next door to him. Jay would know exactly what to say and do. He always did, and I loved him for that.
         He picked up barely after the first ring. “Hey, C. What's up?” he said.
         “Jay. I don't even know what to say right now. I am so upset.”
         Jay sighed sympathetically into the phone. “Tell me your problems, girlfriend.”
         “They. She! I saw them. He kissed. In the library. I'm...” I trailed off, starting to cry as I sat down on the curb.
         “Who kissed who?” Jason was silent for a minute. I hiccuped through my sobs and finally he understood. “No they did not. Abby and Derek? Did you see them Claire Bear?”
         I nodded into the phone. “Yes. They were by the books. Next to Shakespeare.”
         “Not Shakespeare! That's just cruel.” he said. Jay understood why the Shakespeare thing was so important to me. Before I was next door neighbors to Jay, I had lived in Birmingham, England. As a kid, my mother had taken me on day trips to Stratford-upon-Avon. We would walk through the gardens and she would tell me about her job as an actress. The theater with which she performed did mostly the works of William Shakespeare which is where my affection for him stems. As she became more and more well known, the trips to Shakespeare's birthplace became less and less frequent. Her career took her all over the United Kingdom, then Europe and it's what finally brought us to America. Now she owns her own small theater in the next town over and directs.
         The gardens in Stratford-upon-Avon were what I was picturing in my head as Jay was telling me how terrible Derek was to cheat on me and how Abby was such a horrible friend for betraying me. My anger was finally beginning to ebb, thanks to the calming images I was drawing up of the gardens I so deeply longed for. Then another thought popped into my head.
         “Claire Bear, are you okay? You haven't said anything in a few minutes.” Jay said. He sounded a little worried.
         “You know what, Jay? I think I'm just great. I am not going to get angry. I am going to get even.” I said. I stood up from the curb and I walked toward my car. I held my head up high and walked with determination. I even smiled. This was going to work.
         “I'm proud of you, C. How are we going to do this, though? We are going to have to brainstorm. And we have to make it good. We have to get to them before they get to you. This is going to be all over school by tomorrow morning, so we have to work quickly. What are you doing right now?”
         “I'm driving to your house. Don't worry, I've already got a few ideas. Being with someone for eight months makes you learn a lot about them.” I told him, pulling out of the school parking lot. “I have to go now because I'm driving. I'll be there in three minutes.”
         Once I got to Jay's, he hugged me, and I wasted no more tears on what had happened. Jay and I were already in revenge mode. We sat on his king size bed with his large white board in front of us. It reminded me of my favorite TV show, House M.D. We each held a white board marker in our hand and would get up to write a new idea whenever we thought of one. After two hours, two bags of popcorn and 4 reruns of Friends, Jason and I had a list. Actually, it was The List. Our ideas for revenge were plotted out carefully. The first step was to start upon my departure from Jason's house. Instead of walking to my house next door, I was driving across town to Derek's house. He had told me earlier in the day that he was mailing his college applications to Brown University, Boston College, and Penn State tomorrow and was putting them in the mail tonight. Too bad the mailman and his colleges would never see them.
As I turned onto Derek's street, my heart skipped a beat. I was still sad, but Derek was going to get what was coming to him. I idled my car three houses down from his. I got out of my car and walked over to his mailbox. The flag was up. I opened the mailbox and took out the three envelopes. I closed the mailbox door and left the flag up as I walked back to my car. I sat in my car and took the lighter Jay had given me out of my purse. I rolled down my window and watched as Derek's applications went up in smoke.
I called Jay. “Phase one complete.”