The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper Page B

favor) or resisting all forms of romance (and thus declaring Annie the winner).
    This plan also allowed them plenty of time to comment (constructively and with great affection, of course) on their friend’s foibles while consuming an enormous number of snacks. A few days after Kate had left for Italy, they had received the first e-mail.
    â€œAbout time!” Sarah said indignantly on the phone. “Do you want to come over here? My mom’s experimenting with a new version of chocolate cream pie and she needs tasters.”
    â€œI’m on my way.”
    They read the printout of Kate’s e-mail while eating several slices of pie, then headed for Sarah’s bedroom to discuss it in detail. It was, they agreed, annoying in the extreme: in what should have been the juiciest passages, it was as terse and uninformative as a telegram. . . .
    â€œRead the part about Tom again,” Sarah urged. “He sounds cute.”
    Annie found the requested section and obligingly read it aloud. “‘I’m not really sure why Tom wanted to be in this seminar. Every time I bring up an interesting topic, like the historical incident that Romeo and Juliet was allegedly based on or the literary precedents that used the same basic plotline, he changes the subject. Usually to soccer, which seems to be his only interest. Or at least it’s the only thing he’s interested in talking about.’” Annie lowered the paper and peered over it at Sarah, who was shaking her head.
    â€œHistorical incident?” Annie asked, incredulous. “Literary precedents?”
    â€œKate really has no idea how to talk to boys,” Sarah said sadly.
    . . . or it was cryptic and incomplete as a spy’s ciphered message . . .
    â€œAnd what about Giacomo?” Sarah asked.
    Annie flipped over a page and read aloud. “’I did meet a guy named Giacomo who, it turns out, is also one of the Shakespeare Scholars. But before you get too excited (yes, Sarah, I’m talking to you), I have to tell you that he is completely full of himself. He’s the kind of guy who’s always presenting his profile to its best advantage, if you know what I mean. You can just tell that he thinks he was put on Earth to delight every female within fifty miles.”
    â€œI can’t believe that’s all she wrote about Giacomo!” Sarah was scandalized. “She didn’t even tell us how they met! Or what he looks like!”
    â€œKate is a terrible correspondent,” Annie agreed.
    . . . or it covered, in exhaustive detail, aspects of her trip in which Sarah and Annie had absolutely no interest.
    â€œWhy does she keep going on about Shakespeare ?” Sarah asked impatiently.
    â€œBecause he’s the greatest playwright in the English language. Because she’s attending a summer conference on Shakespeare,” Annie said.
    â€œI know, but still—”
    â€œAnd because she has a completely ridiculous set of priorities,” Annie added, as they read on.

Act I
Scene V
    â€œMake haste, make haste!” Kate’s father cried as he pounded on the door. “The guests are arriving for the reception!”
    Kate leaned against the double sink in the bathroom as Lucy peered raptly into the mirror, carefully sweeping blush across one cheek. Kate had finished her own makeup (mascara and lip gloss) in five minutes. Now she watched, fascinated, as Lucy created a new face with the concentrated patience of a portrait painter.
    â€œWe should probably go,” Kate said.
    â€œMmm,” Lucy said absently, as she engaged in a tiny adjustment to her eyeliner. “Just . . . one . . . more . . . minute . . .”
    Kate turned to look uncertainly at her own reflection. She wasn’t sure about the dress. When she had bought it for the ill-fated prom, she worried that it would look too fancy. But now that she was in Italy, her dress looked more like something a nun would wear. A nun who