Judith went up to the front desk to turn in her Physics exam to Mrs. Lieshak. The teacher raised an eyebrow at Judith.

“You look awfully sure of yourself Ms. Montgomery.”

“Yeah, well, I studied hard,” Judith replied with a smirk.

“You barely ever show up to class,” Mrs. Leishak pointed out.

Judith bit her lip and glanced towards the back of the room where Freidman was writing something in his notebook, having already finished his test.

“Freidman helped me study,” she admitted quietly so that no one would over hear.

Mrs. Lieshak, who was quite aware of Freidman’s obsession with Judith, gave her a knowing smile and took the test from her. Judith went back to her desk, feeling quite flustered.

Ten minutes later the bell rang, and she gathered her stuff and started to leave the class, lost in thought.

“Judith!” Joan called out to her. “Wait up!”

Judith stopped outside the door and waited for everyone to catch up. Everyone... which included Freidman. She gave herself a mental slap. Montgomery, what are you thinking? This is Freidman! You can’t actually be considering going through with it. But all that she could think about was what she had said that day, Memorize Hamlet and it’s a date. And the fact that he had told her just yesterday that he only had two more pages to go.

“Are you okay? You seem distracted,” Joan asked, concerned.

“I’m fine,” Judith assured her.

Thank God for Joan’s self-absorbedness, or else she probably would have had a harder time getting out of that one. She tried to re-direct her thoughts to planning Joan and Adam’s big date that Joan still knew nothing about.

Chapter 2: Date Planning and Pebble Throwing

“Joan is going to be so thrilled!” Judith exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. She and Adam were at her house putting the finishing touches on their plan for Joan and Adam’s big date.

“You really think so?” Adam asked, obviously nervous.

“I know so. You and JoJo are going to have a fabulous time.”

A sudden noise startled both of them.

“What was that?” Adam asked, looking somewhat alarmed as the noise continued.

“I don’t…” Judith trailed off and turned towards the window. “The window!”

Adam and Judith looked at each other, and then both rushed over to the window. A shadowed figure was standing on the lawn throwing pebbles.

“Is that… Freidman?” Adam asked, squinting out the window.

“Yeah,” Judith said shaking her head in wonder. This boy never gave up. How did he get her address anyway?

“Does he do this often?” Adam asked, looking back at Judith.

“Never before. Wonder he wants?” Judith questioned, mostly to herself. She glanced at Adam. He started to smirk.

“I wonder.” He remarked sarcastically, giving her a pointed look.

“I’ll be right back,” Judith told him with a sigh, turning away from the window.

“Where are you going?” Adam asked, puzzled. He apparently couldn’t even consider the possibility of her going to talk to him.

“Going to see what he wants,” Judith called back over her shoulder as she left the room.

++++

“Fair Ophelia!” Freidman called when he saw Judith coming out of the house.

“Shhh!” Judith said, grabbing his arm and dragging him out towards the curb. “Do you want my parents out here?”

Freidman shook his head in the negative. He looked down at her hand, which was still on his arm, then looked up at her, clearly pleased that she was touching him. Judith looked down at her hand on his arm, then back up at his eager expression and quickly pulled her arm back. She took a breath to bring her focus back.

“What are you doing here Freidman?” She demanded, crossing her arms impatiently.

“I…I-I,” Friedman stuttered nervously. “I finished Hamlet today. I was… I was hoping we could get together tomorrow night so I can show you.”

Judith couldn’t help but look at him in shock.

“You memorized Hamlet? The whole play?” She asked in disbelief.

Freidman nodded, an unsure smile on his face. Judith bit her lip, considering.

“Do a part for me,” she ordered, unable to stop from grinning.

“Right now?” Freidman looked at her curiously. Judith nodded and swept out her arm.

“Take the stage, Shakespeare,” She sat on the curb and looked up at him expectantly.

++++

Adam was starting to wonder what was taking Judith so long. He had been sitting on her bed waiting for her to come back for twenty minutes. He went to the window and peered out. He saw Freidman on the street gesturing emphatically, as if he were putting on a performance.

“What the…?” Adam muttered in puzzlement. Then his eyes widened in realization. There was only one thing Freidman could be performing. The strangest part was that Judith was sitting on the curb watching the one-man show and laughing. Adam shook his head in disbelief and went back to the sketch he was doing of Judith.


Chapter 3: Hot Date

“Okay, okay,” Judith said, still laughing. “You can stop now.”

“You do believe me though, right? That I did as you asked?” Freidman asked as she stood up.

“Down boy,” she teased. “You really did it. You really memorized Hamlet,” she said, still in shock and unable to keep a smile off her face.

“For you my own Ophelia. For it is the ecstasy of love,” He quoted, taking her hand and kissing it. Judith’s smile faded as she looked at him, not quite sure what to think of the turn of events.

“I do believe you promised me a date if I memorized the play,” he said, still holding onto her hand.

“I-“ Judith started to say.

“I’ll come to get you tomorrow night my sweet,” He promised, dropping her hand and giving her a goofy grin. He was gone before Judith could do anything other than stare after him in shock.

+++++

Adam looked up from his sketch he was working on when Judith sat down on the bed next to him. She gave him a smile and grabbed the plans for the date.

“So, do you think we’re all set for tomorrow night?” She asked him, trying to get excited about The Date again.

“Everything is planned to the last detail,” Adam assured her. He paused mid stroke and looked at her. “What did Freidman want?”

“Oh… uh that.” She shrugged, tying to act casual. “He finished memorizing Hamlet and wanted to recite some of it for me. You know, usual Freidman stuff.”

“He actually finished the whole play?” Adam’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Yeah. Crazy guy.” Judith let out a forced laugh.

“Are you actually going to follow through with the date thing?” Adam asked, staring her down. Judith shifted uncomfortably.

“Of course not. It’s Freidman. You know I just said that to get him to shut up,” She insisted. Adams studied her for another moment before returning to his drawing.

“Poor guy,” he said shaking his head in sympathy. Sure, Freidman was a pig, but he was still just a guy with a thing for a girl. Adam remembered all too well how it felt to be shot down repeatedly.

“Yeah,” Judith said absently, as her eyes strayed towards the window.

+++++

“Yo, Joanith’s got it goin’ on!” Judith exclaimed as she wrapped her arm around Joan’s neck upon finding her in the hallway the next day at school.

“The shiznit!” Joan replied, wrapping her arm around Judith in return. They giggled and let go of each other.

“So Jojo… I hear you’ve got a hot date tonight,” Judith proclaimed with a huge smile on her face. They reached Joan’s locker and she opened it and started fishing for her books.

“Hot date?” She questioned giving Judith a confused look.

“Your lover boy is taking you out tonight,” Judith informed her, leaning against the next locker over.

“What are you talking about? Adam and I don’t have any big plans tonight.”

“That you know of,” Judith added with a wink. Joan shut her locker.

“Is that why Adam has been so busy lately?” Joan asked with a hand on her hip. “Because you two have been planning a secret date?”

“Yup,” Judith sang out before turning around to head towards class. Joan rushed to catch up with her.

“That is soo sweet,” she sighed dreamily. She then looked at Judith with newfound excitement. “Where is he taking me?”

“That, my friend, stays on this side of Joanith,” Judith told her before darting into her classroom.

“Hey!” Joan yelled after her. “Not fair!”

+++++

Judith had finally gotten Joan ready and out the door for her date 20 minutes ago and was finally arriving home. She smiled at the still present mental image of Joan and Adam’s akward greeting. Those two were definitely messed up. They had been dating for close to a year and had never been on an actual date before? And they were both so beyond nervous. Judith shook her head in amusement at the thought as she entered her house.

“Judith, where have you been?” her mom questioned as soon as she was inside.

“At a friend’s house,” Judith told her, confused at her mom’s strange behavior. Usually her mom was pretty leneant about this stuff. “I told you I would be.”

“You were gone so long,” her mom explained. “You left your date waiting.”

“My what?” Judith asked, dropping her coat in her shock. She hastily picked it up and hung it up on the rack. She turned to look at her mom in confusion.

“That nice young man, Jacob. Judy, why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“Jacob?” Judith repeated, more confused than ever. “I don’t know a Jacob.”

A boy appeared in the doorway behind her mother. She saw his shoes first. He was dressed up rather nice, but not too fancy. Her eyes moved up to his face and she could have sworn that they popped out of her head.

“Freidman?!?” She shrieked practically in hysteria. He looked so… normal. He had even cut his hair and styled it. It was no longer a wild mess of curls. He approached her and drew a red rose from behind his back and held it out to her. She reached out and took it from him in complete awe.

“Unbelievable,” she remarked, with a slight shake of her head. “You really are completely crazy, aren’t you?”

“’Though this be madness, yet there is a method in’t’,” Freidman recited to her. He offered his arm to her. “Shall we go my fair lady?”

“Umm,” Judith glanced at her mom who seemed quite taken with him. She obviously thought that she should go out with “Jacob” tonight. She thought of what Joan would say if she went out with Friedman. Probably nothing good, she thought, inwardly flinching. She turned her gaze back over to Freidman who was watching her intently, trying to gauge her reaction. She knew she looked hesitant because his face began to fall. She gave him an uneasy smile.

“Umm..I have to go….” Judith muttered and pointed in the general direction of the stairs before she darted up them.


Chapter 4: Friday Night

Judith peered down the stairs a little shakily, nervous for some unexplainable reason. Friedman looked extremely unsure of himself by that point and her mom was telling him that she would go talk to Judith if she didn’t come back down. Judith took a deep breath and headed down the stairs. Her mother saw her first and smiled, obviously pleased with her daughter’s decision. She had chosen to wear a simple strapless maroon dress that cut off at her knees. She knew for a fact that it clung appealingly to her curves. As she reached the last steps, Friedman saw her as well. His eyes widened and he looked her up and down, very blatantly checking her out. She found herself blushing just a little bit. With a tiny smile, she took his arm as she grabbed her coat.

“So, tell me, where are we going exactly?”

<><><>

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight, Jane?” Adam asked as he stared at Joan in wonder after the waiter had taken their orders. They were currently sitting in one of the classier French restaurants of Arcadia at a small table lit by candlelight.

“A few times,” Joan told him, a smile breaking out on her face. “But I don’t mind hearing it.”

They had both lost the majority of their nervousness by the time they had arrived at the restaurant, realizing that it was ridiculous since they had been together so long already.

“You know, I was so nervous about tonight. It seems kind of silly now.” Joan laughed, as Adam reached across the table to take her hand.

“Its not silly at all,” he assured her, gazing into her eyes. He shyly looked down for a moment. “I was too.”

“I think Judith was seriously considering going to get paper bags in case I hyperventilated,” Joan joked while she played with the ring on his pinky. Adam smiled at her, and she thought she might loose her breathe for other reasons. They simply gazed at each other for a moment before leaning over the small table to share a short, but sweet kiss.

<><><>

“Where are we going, geek?” Grace asked impatiently as Luke dragged her along by her hand in the dark.

“You’ll see,” He told her, not hindered by her impatience. He turned his head slightly to smile softly at her.

She gave him a semi-annoyed look, but put up no resistance as he continued to pull her along.

Before long, they arrived at a small local theatre. Grace looked up at the glowing signs, then back at Luke.

“Shlock-fest?” She questioned with an arch of her brow.

“Yeah. Four of the all-time worst movies ever. We can probably catch the last two.” He informed her, tugging at her hand slightly to urge her towards the building.

Grace gave him a small smile and wrapped her fingers around his tighter as she took her turn pulling him along.

<><><>

“So,” Judith started, looking over at Friedman after they had climbed into his car. “Jacob, huh?”

Friedman gave her a somewhat shy smile.

“Yeah, lets keep that on the down low,” he suggested drawing out the last word playfully.

“No problem,” Judith said, giving him a warm smile. Friedman stared at her, frozen by the sincerity behind the simple gesture. “We going sometime tonight?”

Friedman jumped at her teasing comment and put the car in reverse to back out of the driveway. Judith laughed wholeheartedly as he blushed slightly.

<><><>

Joan and Adam arrived at her front porch. She turned to him once she reached the door.

“So, you’re coming back after you change?” She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Definitely,” Adam replied, his hands resting at her waist. “We need to talk.”

Joan’s face fell as she searched Adam’s face with her eyes.

“Talk?” She asked, alarmed. “Is… is something wrong? With us?”

“No! No,” Adam rushed to assure her. “Not exactly.”

“Not exactly?!” Joan repeated, no less alarmed, puling her arms away from him.

Adam stroked her arms gently.

“Jane,” he said softly. “It’s not how it sounds.”

Joan searched his eyes with her own and relaxed a little when she realized he was telling the truth. She nodded before giving him a small, forced smile.

“Hurry back, ok?”

“I will,” Adam promised, leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. Joan responded in kind, bringing her arms back up around his neck.