partners
1082 Words
Ms. Carter’s words from yesterday still echoed in Mira’s head as she walked into class: _“You two will work together for the first project.”_
Great. Partnered with the guy who acted like talking to people was a personal insult.
Zain was already there, slouched in his seat, earbuds in, staring at the window like the math equations on the board had personally offended him. He didn’t look up when Mira sat down.
“Morning,” she said anyway.
He didn’t answer.
Mira sighed and opened her notebook. Fine. If he wanted to make this painful, she wasn’t going to beg.
Ms. Carter clapped her hands to get attention. “Alright class, today we’re starting your Romeo and Juliet modern adaptation project. You’ll work with your partner to rewrite Act 1, Scene 1 into a modern high school setting. Presentations are in two weeks. You’ll be graded on creativity, dialogue, and how well you capture the original themes.”
A collective groan went through the room.
“Partners are already assigned,” Ms. Carter added, eyes flicking to Mira and Zain. “No switching.”
Serena Vance turned in her seat two rows ahead and smirked. She mouthed _good luck_ to Mira. It wasn’t kind.
The bell rang for group work time.
“So,” Mira said, keeping her voice flat. “We have two weeks. We should probably start.”
Zain finally pulled one earbud out. “Start what?”
“The project. Unless you want to fail.”
He leaned back, studying her like she was a problem he didn’t want to solve. “I don’t fail.”
“Then start talking.”
For a full ten seconds, he didn’t. Then he muttered, “Fine. Montagues and Capulets. Rich families. Feud. Easy.”
“That’s it?” Mira said. “That’s your brilliant idea?”
“What do you want, a TED talk?”
Mira resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “We need actual characters. A reason for the feud. Dialogue that doesn’t sound like we copy-pasted Shakespeare.”
Zain frowned. “You’re annoying when you’re smart.”
“And you’re annoying when you’re breathing,” Mira shot back.
He blinked, then a small smirk tugged at his mouth. “Good. This might not be boring.”
---
They spent the rest of class arguing over details.
Mira wanted the feud to be about a business deal gone wrong—two families fighting over a waterfront property. It fit Crestwood. Half the school’s parents were in real estate, tech, or finance.
Zain thought it was too boring. “Make it personal,” he said. “Old betrayal. Something that makes people choose sides.”
“So make it about our families hating each other for something that happened twenty years ago?”
“Exactly.”
Mira hesitated. It hit too close. Her parents had died in a car accident tied to a deal with the Malik Corporation. She’d only found out last month, when Aunt Zara slipped and mentioned it while drunk.
She couldn’t tell Zain that. Not yet.
“Fine,” she said. “Personal it is.”
By the end of class, they had a rough outline. Two rival families. A stolen contract. A chance meeting between the heirs at school.
“Not terrible,” Zain said as they packed up.
“High praise,” Mira replied dryly.
He stood up, grabbing his bag. “Library after school. We need to write the actual script.”
Mira stopped. “I can’t. I have to go home.”
Zain frowned. “Why?”
“Because my aunt works late and my cousins can’t be trusted to not burn the apartment down.”
His expression shifted, just slightly. Less annoyed, more… something else.
“Fine,” he said. “We’ll do it during lunch.”
---
Lunch was a repeat of yesterday, but worse.
Serena, Vivienne, and Blair were waiting at Mira’s usual table.
“Well, well,” Serena said as Mira set her tray down. “Look who’s sitting with the Malik heir. Trying to climb the ladder, Mira?”
Mira sat down anyway. “I’m eating lunch, Serena. Try it sometime.”
Serena’s smile sharpened. “Cute. But you should know, Zain doesn’t keep strays for long. He’ll get bored and drop you.”
Zain slid into the seat across from her like he’d been there the whole time. “If you’re done talking about me like I’m not here, I need Mira for the project.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed. “Project?”
“Romeo and Juliet adaptation,” Zain said flatly. “We’re partners. So unless you want Ms. Carter calling your dad about harassment, I’d shut up.”
The table went quiet.
Serena’s face flushed. “You’re defending her?”
“I’m defending my grade,” Zain said. “Now move.”
Serena stood up, grabbing her friends. “This isn’t over,” she said to Mira before walking away.
Mira let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
“Thanks,” she said quietly.
Zain shrugged, opening his notebook. “Don’t get used to it. Now, Act 1, Scene 1. Modern dialogue. Start writing.”
---
They worked through lunch, arguing over every line.
Zain was ruthless with edits, crossing out half of what Mira wrote and rewriting it in that sharp, cold tone that somehow worked.
“You make everyone sound like they hate each other,” Mira said.
“Because they do,” Zain replied.
“Not everyone.”
He looked up at that, eyes meeting hers. For a second, the mask slipped. There was something tired there. Something guarded.
“Give it time,” he said quietly.
Mira didn’t know what to say to that, so she went back to writing.
By the time the bell rang, they had three pages done. It was rough, but it was something.
“See you tomorrow,” Zain said as they left the library.
Mira nodded. “Yeah. See you.”
---
That night, Mira couldn’t sleep.
She kept replaying the way Zain had stood up to Serena. The way he’d said _I need Mira for the project_ like it mattered.
It didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t. He was rich. She was the orphan living in the guest room of her aunt’s apartment.
But for the first time since her parents died, someone had looked at her like she was worth defending.
Even if he’d deny it Tomorrow
- Writer
