Content Warning: This source text depicts bullying and insensitive remarks about mental health.

The seventh graders at Stratford Middle perform Romeo and Juliet. While Korman provides general background about the famous romantic tragedy, he does not get into specifics. In Shakespeare’s story, Juliet is a Capulet, and Romeo is a Montague, and the families hate each other. Romeo, 13, has a crush on Rosaline, and he and his friends crash the Capulet’s masked ball to see Rosaline. In Korman’s story, Wolfson throws the seventh graders a masked ball to celebrate the midway point of rehearsals.

In the play, Romeo falls in love with Juliet at the ball. With the help of Juliet’s nurse and Friar Laurence, the couple secretly marry. Unfortunately, Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio, gets in a fight with Juliet’s cousin Tybalt. Tybalt kills Mercutio, and Romeo kills Tybalt. Now, authorities are after him.

Juliet’s parents think she should marry the pompous Paris, so Friar Laurence gives her a concoction to make it seem like she’s dead. He’ll tell Romeo about the fake death, and then they can get away and live happily ever after. But his message never reaches Romeo, who concludes that she is dead and subsequently kills himself.