Step Up by Monica McKayhan Page B

brothers?”
    â€œI have five sisters and one brother. I am the youngest child of seven. My parents are very poor. Much poverty in my country. I am the first to attend college,” Jae said.
    â€œWell, that’s cool.” I smiled.
    â€œYes, cool.” Jae smiled. “Chillin’ chillin’. Right, Marcus?”
    I nodded and laughed. That’s all I could do as I dropped my shoes and relaxed on my bed.
    â€œI miss my girl,” I said. “I miss her like crazy.”
    â€œYou have a girlfriend?” he asked. “What is her name?”
    â€œIndigo,” I said and pulled her picture from the drawer of my nightstand. Showed it to Jae. “This is her.”
    â€œShe’s very pretty.” He grabbed the photo and stared at it for a moment. Handed it back to me.
    â€œYeah, she is,” I said and then tucked her picture back into its place. “What about you, Jae? You got a girl back home in Korea?”
    He was silent for a moment then dropped his head.
    â€œYes, but we can’t be together. Our families have too much hatred for one another. Our fathers are too stubborn.” Jae’s eyes were sad. “I love her, but our love is forbidden.”
    â€œWhat? That sound like some Romeo and Juliet type stuff, man.”
    â€œRomee and Julie? Who’s that?”
    â€œRomeo and Juliet. It’s an old story by an old writer, William Shakespeare, about two lovers who couldn’t be together because of their families. It’s pretty sad.”
    â€œI never read that story before,” Jae said. “Where can I find it?”
    â€œGo to the library. It’s probably in there,” I told him.
    â€œYou think it’s there?” he asked.
    â€œI’m sure it is,” I said. “It’s like a classic story. Every library in the world probably has it on the shelf.”
    â€œWill you go with me, Marcus…to the library to find it?”
    â€œRight now?”
    â€œYes. I would really like to read that story.”
    Was he serious? He wanted me to get up out of my comfortable bed and trample over to the Fine Arts Library in search of an ancient story.
    â€œAll right, man.” I slipped my shoes back on to my feet. “Let’s go.”
    We had to hurry. It was eight thirty-five by my watch, and the library closed at nine. We rushed over and just made it before closing. We both stood in front of the woman at the front desk; her head was down as she read something. When she looked up, I realized it was Daria.
    â€œHi.” I smiled at her.
    â€œHi.” She smiled back and we both just got lost in the moment.
    Jae nudged me.
    â€œUm…we’re looking for William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, ” I said. “Can you help us find it?”
    â€œSure.” She punched some buttons on her computer and then stood. “This way.”
    I watched her walk as she made her way to the fiction section of the library, Jae and I following close behind her. She went right to the book, pulled it from the shelf.
    â€œRomeo and Juliet?” she asked. “You got a paper to write or something?”
    â€œIt’s for my friend here.” I nodded toward Jae. “He’s never read it before.”
    â€œYou’ll need lots of tissue.” She smiled at Jae. He smiled back, but it was clear he had no idea what she was talking about.
    â€œThank you,” he responded.
    â€œMarcus, I had a good time the other day,” she said as she began walking back to the front of the library.
    â€œYeah, it was cool,” I said, trying to keep the conversation light. Didn’t really want to talk about anything personal in front of Jae. We followed Daria to the checkout counter where he placed his book.
    â€œWhat are you doing tomorrow night?” she continued. “You wanna go to a party?”
    â€œSounds like fun,” I said.
    â€œGood. Let me give you my number.” She grabbed