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Saturday April 10th 2010

In the late evening of Thursday 13^th April, 2000, a car flew off on a sharp bend near the English market town of F-------. Susan Capulet, 34, died in the crash. Montague, the driver and owner of the car, survived with  heavy bruising to his chest.

Susan Capulet's widower, a successful property developer with a portfolio centred around F-------, was left with three children, Jess, Tybalt and Juliet. In 2002 he married again.

Montague, a popular landscape painter, still lives in the area with his wife and son.

Before the accident, Capulet had several Montagues in his burgeoning art collection. None hangs in his home today.

Sunday April 11th

Capulet's new-build mansion lies outside the town centre. His youngest daughter, Juliet, is the only child still at home.

His son Tybalt can be found two hours away at a public school – he has never settled in there or any of the other boarding schools he was been sent to since the age of 7, shortly after his mother's death.

Their big sister,  Jess (23)  who they all still nickname “Nurse”, lives and works (trainee solicitor, commercial law)  in the nearby city of J------. Nurse keeps in close touch with her father and Juliet and does her best to communicate with her brother.

Monday April 12^th

Capulet is taking his second wife and his daughter Juliet to Australia, in the summer, for good.

On Nurse's advice, Juliet joined Twitter yesterday , messing about on her Dad's laptop. She tweeted away to Jess, who arrived back at the mansion after supper (grateful to have avoided their stepmother's cooking) for a few nights' stay . Later Juliet linked to the Youtube video she had made of her room, pausing on the framed photo of their dead mother.

That morning, while Jess was running the city streets in training for the London Marathon, Mercutio woke up with a hangover and a missing mobile. Merc's best friend, Romeo Montague, isn't on Twitter, but he was certainly on form at the pub last night, according to Merc.

Tuesday April 13th

Juliet tweeted away on her new netbook before and after school – only revealing late at night that she was dreading the tenth anniversary of her mother's death today. Jess had been hoping to spend more time with her little sister but went running and baked instead, thinking all the time about that bastard Montague and why wasn't he prosecuted for killing their mother. Tybalt didn't mention his mother once in a day of tweeting that went from bad (lessons, rugby) to worse (he was caught dealing skunk by the headmaster late at night).

Mercutio spent the day remembering  the huge fight nearly ten years ago between Romeo's dad and “Crapulet”, who beat the crap out of his mate Romeo's dad. Merc was too young at the time to know what was going on, but he' s grown close to the Montagues since then and he knows whose side he is on.

Wednesday 14th April

Away on a residential course in social media marketing for the hospitality industry , Laurence Friar spent yesterday tweeting inspirational messages and memories of Susan Capulet, before playing Twister in an altered state.

The three Capulet kids themselves found the anniversary of their mother's death disrupted and underlined by the news that Tybalt has been expelled for drug-dealing. Juliet and Jess both found him on Twitter – he didn't apologise. Jess's deep bitterness towards Monatgue became clearer and Juliet made a video to her dead mother.

Mercutio has named it “Montague Day” because he reckons the family should stand proud. Romeo still couldn't been persuaded on to Twitter and his dad told Merc to keep a low profile. Merc still scored with a ginger girl that evening. He also twitpic'ed his friend Romeo.

Thursday 15^th April

Capulet went to fetch Tybalt back from school – his expulsion and yesterday's anniversary cast dark shadows over the whole family . Juliet came home from a day at school dreaming about her party - to find her father and brother fighting on the lawn. During a tense family dinner last night, Capulet made it clear that Tybalt is not coming to Oz.

On his way home from his course, Laurence's postive thoughts were interrupted by finding out about the Capulet family troubles. He offered consoling and supportive tweets to all three kids, offering his own memories of their mother.

Mercutio spent all day in bed with his ginger girl.

Friday 16^th April

Jess went round to Laurence's to talk about his memories of her mother. The Susan Capulet he described didn't match up with her image of her – particulary Laurence's version of her mother's friendship with Montague.

Jess returned home upset – to find an even more upset sister. Someone at school had written MONTAGUE IS INNOCENT on the back of Juliet's P.E. Shirt.

At the Friar's cafe, Merc finally presuaded Romeo to sign up to Twitter, with enthusiastic support from Laurence, who later went round to the Capulets to network with Capulet Senior and bond with Tybalt.

Saturday 17^th April

Juliet had such a great day at school yesterday, her friends made “Capulet and Proud “ T-shirts. She came straight home to tweet to Jess and everyone else about her upcoming party. Proud to be a Capulet – dying to be 16.

Romeo and Merc had a morning of manly bonding with Montague before heading down to Friar's , Tybalt  Capulet's arrival changed the tone quickly. Friar headed off a fight but the whole thing made the Montague – Capulet tension a whole lot worse.

Romeo and Merc played Upload That Load with their mobile cameras into the evening while Tybalt had a talk with Capulet. Maybe Tybalt could start working in the property business so he can look after things when the others go to Australia? Tybalt likes the idea of heading up things if he sorts himself out.

Sunday 18^th April

Juliet was worried about leaking her party on The Internet, but Jess sorted her out with some party gear shopping.

After a morning of dreams about travelling the world and an afternoon of gaming, Romeo was persuaded to go to The Swan , the local pub, by Mercutio, who had been drinking since lunch.

Mercutio got into a funny Tweet-flirt with an older woman in The Swan – that would be Jess , who took Tybalt down there after another tense family dinner. Tybalt had already made a fool of himself at the Blues football match that afternoon – he was picked out by the TV coverage, ranting.

Laurence Friar was also at the Blues game, sponsoring a young player, helping with the disabled supporters – and trying to get Tybalt to calm down. Friar went home for a quiet night in, but heard something going off in the pub car park.

That was a fight between Romeo and Tybalt – Romeo knocked Tybalt down with his first punch. Jess broke it up.

Monday 19^th April

Romeo found himself grounded as a result of the previous night's punch-up – Montague said it was for his own good and made him help him at the car boot. . Tybalt, on the other hand, got congratualtions from his father when he told him he'd fought a Montague. Then he found Romeo and Mercutio on Twitter and all hell broke loose. Verbals and links.

Helping her step-mother sell her health products at the car boot, Jess was nauseated to see Montague's painting of her dead mother on his stall. Friar only made things worse trying to soothe her. That evening, agonising over the worsening M-C rift, he came up with a healing brainwave: Ping Pong!

At home Romeo listened to his father talk about love – Montague always gets moody at this time of year. It gave Romeo pause and he asked his followers #whatislove.

Juliet's followers have discovered she writes her own songs. They want lyrics and uploads.

Tuesday 20th April

A grounded Romeo spent the day and night on Xbox Live, where Mercutio found him in the evening – trash-talking with a lady player - name of Rosaline. Mercutio  spent much of the day drumming up a #freeromeo campaign on twitter – prefaced by his first trip to the gym, where he admired the receptionist, and followed by more tweet-flirting with an incredulous  Jess.

Jess had already built bridges with Tybalt earlier in the day – making him lunch after dragging him round on a run. So when Merc brought up the Montague -Capulet divide she snapped back at him.

Still worried about the same divide, Friar was busy planning his table tennis tournament for the town's youth. Juliet was looking for themes for her party : Twilight, Heroes and Villains and Alice in Wonderland were among the suggestions from her followers.

Wednesday 21^st April

It's official – Juliet's going to have a mask party!! Juliet was so excited that she sang a song and posted it on YouTube.

The mask theme was Jess's idea and she spent much of the day organising mask-making online. She asked Friar to be in charge of security, ignoring a follower's suggestion that “surely a three year old teddy with a clipboard would be more effective ?”

Friar was fired up, not only building his own mask but posting up details of his Ping Pong tournament.

Away in the city for the day, Tybalt found out about the mask theme and made it very clear indeed that he won't be attending.

Romeo, still grounded, developed feelings for the American gamer Rosaline he spent much of the day fighting on Xbox Live. When Merc got home after a day at his dad's company HQ, where he'd been bored and restless, he found Romeo using the “r” word – “relationship”.

Thursday 22nd April

Mercutio's campaign to #freeromeo grew steadily more creative (desperate?) during yesterday. Romeo was amused but Merc's video's but almost entirely distracted by Rosaline, who seemed to abandon him in the eveing - never to return?

Tybalt was almost nice about Juliet's YouTube song and he mellowed out even more in Friar's herbal company in the evening. The Friar chose Pay It Forward as a consciousness-raising exercise, to go with his plans for the ping pong tournament.

Jess, with the mask party at the top of her agenda, went shopping and mused on distant memories of a visit to Venice with a boyfriend. She came home to discover her stepmother had decided to leave the whole party sorting to her.

Juliet was asked for a party invite from the “walking dream” in year 12 and decided that with interest so high, she should post a party invite on Facebook.

Friday 23^rd April

Romeo dragged himself to work aching with disappointment over Rosaline, who never returned. He was sacked in the afternoon – Capulet had been round and had a word with his boss. Merc got him down to Friar's café and told him about a party they could crash – if they could come up with some masks.

Friar advised Jess about what drinks she should buy for the party and she advised him about keeping it a drug-free zone. She had a great afternoon's party-shop with Juliet, who was still giddy with excitement.

Tybalt woke up, tripped over the vacuum cleaner Jess had left outside his room so he could help clean the house, made threats to Merc and Romeo about what he would do to gatecrashers at his little sister's party, made a mask for himself and then went out with some friends for the evening and mugged a youth in the park. He took a large machete from the boy.

Saturday 24th April

Juliet's party.

Friar and Tybalt useless on the door - so crashers.

Merc and Romeo enjoyed themselves - Romeo saw a girl in a pink mask.

Juliet's year 12 target for the evening got off with another girl. But Juliet saw a gorgeous boy in a funny mask.

Friar's party playlist went up on Spotify and lastfm.

Jess saw Romeo and Juliet snogging .

Juliet went up to her room and waited.

Romeo sat outside, overwhelmed with love . Then he went upstairs.

Sunday 25^th April

Jess arose to a house that looked like a bomb-site and her sweet little sister curled up in bed with Romeo Montague. Jess went off to London for the marathon, advising Juliet to get her lover out of the house before Tybalt woke up.

Tybalt dragged himself to Friar's for a lift down to London to support Jess, pausing only to sneer at Romeo's wide-eyed tweets about some little girl he has met. Merc got Romeo down to the pub but noticed a change - no interest in Upload That Load or Merc's banter about last night's mysterious conquest.

Romeo and Juliet tweeted about one another anonymously but passionately, arranging to meet the following morning. Juliet cried off going to London to support Jess.

Romeo was worried about not sharing this passionate love with his father. Juliet still had no idea where the beautiful boy comes from.

Monday 26^th April

Jess broke five hours in finishing the London Marathon, supported by Friar and Tybalt but not even congratulated by Juliet , who spent the day cavorting round the Capulet house with her new lover. Romeo still hasn't told her he's a Montague.

Tybalt has worked out his sister lost her virginity on her birthday and is on the warpath - but he hasn't connected that event with Romeo's romantic tweets. Mercutio spent the afternoon at the gym and the evening in front of a movie inspired by the day's runners – Marathon Man.

Tuesday 27^th April

Some pieces in some people's puzzles have begun to half-fit together.

Tybalt noticed that Romeo Montague was flirting in some way with his little sister. Not amused. But then he also found out about Mercutio's antics at the party and tried to hunt him down. Mercutio avoided Tybalt at the pub and also failed to hook up with Romeo, whom he feels he is losing to whoever this new love is. He sent Romeo several angry messages – no reply.

Friar also noticed the tweets between Romeo and Juliet and approved – it encouraged his wish to heal the rift between the two families.

Jess already knew who Romeo is – but she didn't realise Juliet was still unaware of it. When she mentioned the M word Juliet was astonished. An ecstatic morning turned into a nightmare afternoon and evening.

Having postponed the fatal confession, Romeo found out that Juliet had discovered it already. He spent the evening trying to explain himself- but she wanted time to think.

Wednesday 28th April

Tybalt spent the day with his father. Capulet was getting ready for Australia and sorting out his son was on his list. He decided to put Tybalt in charge of the family interests in the UK, perhaps with Friar as some sort of mentor. Tybalt was thrilled - and also pleased that Juliet had stopped playing about with the Montague boy.

Romeo had family time too. He didn't hear from Juliet all day but spent the afternoon with his father, having a (non-specific) talk about love. At the end of it Romeo wondered if it might be better to let Juliet go. 

Even Mercutio heard from his family - in a chillingly formal e-mail. Still wishing he were a real Montague, he offered to share his happiness...but again, no reply. Then he discovered Romeo had blocked him.

Thursday 29th April

Jess and Friar contrived a meeting between the two lovers at the cafe – ostensibly for Romeo to help Juliet with her homework. After the previous day deep in thought (and offline), Juliet realised how strong her feelings were for Romeo. She also saw that he was now having doubts.

Jess – devoid of romance in her own life and not wanting to ruin Juliet's fledgling love-life – suggested the cafe meeting to Friar – who was altogether more excited about the relationship, having to remind himself to be discreet.

Friar also got Tybalt on board for organising the ping pong – but was disappointed to see Tybalt and Mercutio attacking each other on Twitter all evening over football. Tybalt had already been teasing Merc about his falling-out with Romeo. Merc couldn't understand why his best friend turned his back on him.

In the cafe, Romeo and Juliet went upstairs and were alone for a long, lustful time..

Friday 30^th April

Friar's table tennis tournament took place yesterday. Tybalt swaggered his way to final but there he was beaten by a last-minute entry: Mercutio. Friar and Jess watched both of them muscle their way past younger kids into the final and then argue about the result. Tournament fail...

But the victory didn't improve Merc's day for long, followed as it was by a dinner with his disinterested parents.

Juliet and Romeo each spent the morning relishing the sexual adventures of the previous night. That afternoon they sneaked off to an empty Capulet property she had the keys to and spent the night together there.

Tybalt noticed that Juliet had blocked him on Twitter.

 

Saturday 1^st May

Despite Jess popping in early to tell him she thought the young romance was going too far too fast, Friar was happy to encourage and facilitate it. He agreed to Juliet's request to build a love shack for them.

After another lunchtime meeting, Juliet surprised Romeo with the den. Juliet went home to dinner and then arranged to meet her lover again at another Capulet property. There they picked up on Friar's ramblings earlier in the day about being qualified to perform humanist weddings – and persuaded him to play along with them for a mock marriage ceremony on Twitter.

Jess ignored her sister's invitation to play along as a twitness.

Tybalt endured his stepmother's cooking and a day of harsh and surprisingly witless barracking on Twitter from Mercutio.

Sunday 2^nd May

Mercutio discovered that someone had hacked his Twitter account and even apologised to Tybalt. Tybalt was too busy being angry with last night's result and the feeble dope he'd got from Friar – whom he confronted.

Excitement and expectancy surrounded Romeo and Juliet, who got the Montague side of the car crash story from Romeo – he was amazed she didn't know that her mother had been in love with his father.

Jess saw this unfolding and went round to talk it through with her “ally”, Friar. But she walked in on him giving drugs to Tybalt. In her rage she decided Friar had also arranged for Romeo and Juliet to run away .

In fact the young lovers had sneaked off to a hotel for the night, not telling anyone.

Monday May 3^rd

Revelations:

1. Juliet told Jess there was no point in clothes-shopping for Australia because she isn't going to go.

2.She also told Jess she married Romeo at a registry office the previous day – no joke.

3. Friar let it slip to Tybalt that Juliet and Romeo had been trysting at the cafe.

4. Mercutio tricked it out of Romeo that Juliet is the mystery girl.

Consequences:

1. Tybalt is out for Romeo's blood.

2. Merc wants to sort out some Capulets at today's football match.

3. Romeo wants to calm it all down. He wants “no fight at all.”

Tuesday May 4^th

Kelly, the receptionist at Merc's gym, finally got on Twitter and tweeted her acceptance to his offer of a date.

In other developments, Juliet uploaded a new song.

At the football match there was a spot of crowd trouble. Afterwards Jess couldn't track down Tybalt. Romeo went off the radar too. Even Larry Friar was less loquacious than usual after the fighting round the end of the football match.

Merc – now he did show up. But in an ambulance. And then in hospital. And joking. Then he got Kelly's tweet. Then he cursed Capulets and Montagues. Then he died.

Wednesday May 5th

Lying low, Romeo tweeted Merc, amazed he couldn't get a reply. He let Juliet know he was safe but no more than that – although he was adamant he was not at Friar's. As the day went on, his tweets to Merc grew more anxious.

Along with the news of Tybalt's death (knifing at the football – instant), a posse of media arrived at the Capulet house. Jess tried telling Juliet that witnesses had seen Romeo kill Tybalt, but Juliet refused to believe it – she was terrified Romeo might be dead too, even threatenting to slit her wrists. By the end of the day she realised her brother really was dead.

Jess, furious with Romeo but just as worried about Juliet's hysterical reactions, agreed to meet with Friar (who continued to tweet that Tybalt's death was an accident) to see if they could find a solution for the two young lovers.

Thursday May 6^th

Romeo learned that Mercutio is dead. Juliet finally believed that Romeo was alive.

Jess stopped her father finding Tybalt's Twitter account and then put a default message on it. Then she smuggled Juliet out of the house to meet Romeo at Friar's, where he had been hiding since the fight.

Seeing the lovers together, Jess realised “their love is real” and agreed to Friar's plan to get Romeo on a boat out of the country. Juliet had to be stopped going with him . Romeo set out across “the endless waves”.

Friday May 7^th

Romeo, lying low in an unspecified Eurozone, found out that Friar had let his mouth run away with him.

Juliet had run away to Friar's earlier, rebelling against her father grounding her. During a long conversation, Friar brought up the facts around Tybalt's death. For the first time, Juliet realised her husband really had killed her brother. A long Twitter row ensued across the North Sea. Nothing was resolved.

Jess did her best to ignore it.

Friar hit a long queue at the polling station and didn't get to vote.

Saturday May 8th

Juliet had spent the night reading the tweets from the fatal night of Tybalt's death. She realised that Tybalt had been to blame. She celebrated pardoning Romeo by announcing herself as Mrs Montague, to Jess' grave displeasure.

As the day went on Jess had to witness : the pair tweet about places they'd like to go together; Juliet

begging her to let her move in rather than go to Australia (Jess said Absolutely Not) : and Friar witter and twitter on about unity, healing...

Friar felt less serene after Capulet barged into the cafe and accused him of helping his daughter run away from home and generally encouraging the local youth to run amok. A furious Capulet didn't find his daughter there, but Friar smelt the smoke of a burned bridge as his ex-patron stormed out.

Sunday May 9^th

Jess was up early, determined to bring Juliet home from the cafe and at least satisfy their father on that one. After a few hours, she persuaded a resentful Juliet to come with her. Juliet blamed Laurence Friar, too, for not standing up for her.

Friar's refusals to send money to Romeo got him more blame. Romeo managed to get some cash together and then get back to England.

Monday May 10^th

Back in barracks, Juliet determined to show her independence by attending Mercutio's funeral. But her father stopped her.

Romeo, hiding in the shadows and unable to be there, posted a poem. Jess mused on the coffee she should have had with flirty Merc.

Laurence Friar attended the funeral and got drunk at the wake. He blearily noticed Jess's tweets agonising about whether to tell her father the truth about Juliet's marriage to Romeo, He was then shocked to see her and Juliet's reports of Capulet's reaction to the news - he tried to hit Juliet.

Jess pulled her father away and then left for her flat in despair. Romeo told Juliet he was making his way back to her.

 Tuesday May 9^th

Juliet's punishment ? She goes to Sydney with her step-mother on Wednesday. No arguments.

Jess's reaction? Although disappointed with her father and his decision, she still kept a step back from her family.

Friar's reaction? He went round to Juliet's to help but was chased off. Left some strange clues around his website and the Balanced Adult blog. Something about leaving the milk out in his flat while he was away.

Romeo? Beseeching Juliet not to go, trying to hook up with Friar, avoiding police and reluctantly turning his phone off.

Wednesday May 10^th

Juliet announced that she had come round to the idea of Sydney – might be an adventure.

Pleased to hear this, Jess concentrated on her work and following a Twitter list about career improvement.

After another visit from the police, Friar seemed to encourage Juliet in her good thoughts about Sydney and then made a gnomic tweet about Junction 10. This seemed to be a motorway hotel where later he settled in with a few drinks, then a few more, reminding Romeo of a meeting they would have later.

Romeo stayed switched off.

Juliet escaped to Friar's flat and sent a series fo twitpics about the “milk” she was drinking and her plans for their new life together. She passed out.

Thursday May 11^th

Turning his phone back on in the early morning, Romeo read Juliet's tweets as a long suicide note, confirmed when he found her apparently dead body in Friar's flat. He took pills washed down with whiskey - “Our first kiss set me free and with our last ...I'll lie with thee”.

Jess and Friar each tuned in to Twitter too late to stop Romeo. When Juliet awoke to discover her warm, dead husband beside her, she ignored their tweets too. “As my blood leaves my veins, I feel a huge sense of relief. I will be joining you soon my love.”

Jess raced to the flat to discover her sister had cut her wrists and was dead. Just at that moment Tybalt's Twitter account reactivated – it was her father trying to track her down.

Friar, appalled by the consequences of his plan, drove round aimlessly, looking for some escape. Jess begged him to come back, to help her understand the disaster.

Friday May 12th

Jess awoke to a hangover but also to find advice and sympathy from many of her followers. Friar decided to face the music by coming home. On his way back he advised a young hitch-hiker to go back to his family.

Against the war memorial in the middle of town, Jess noticed a picture. It was a painting of her mother , by Montague. A note, too: “Sorry”.

Then a final message from Tybalt's account

@Jess_nurse  I'm so sorry. Come home. Dad x

 

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things.