Episode 15 (5.3)
November 8, 2008 11:54 AM
* * *
“What’s going on out here?” Lynne stood in the doorway. Her father, Levy, looked back and forth between his daughter and Tori. Tori nonchalantly fixed a few strands of hair that had fallen haphazardly across her face.
“Hello Lynne,” Tori nodded.
“Hi,” Lynne watched her, wearily, “Why are you here?”
“I stopped by to get my last paycheck,” Tori quickly lied. Levy mentally thanked her, shock actually preventing him from coming up with any believable lies of his own.
“And you’re in the alley because?”
“We always used to use this as an employee’s entrance,” Tori seemed to be challenging her.
“Right, which you no longer are.” Lynne didn’t back down, crossing her arms over her chest.
Levy, sensing the tension rising, coughed and spoke up. “She had gone towards the front, but it was busy so she wanted to just come to the back and leave. Isn’t that right, Tori?”
Tori nodded, though she didn’t take her eyes off from Lynne.
“Well why doesn’t she just wait out here and we’ll go get her paycheck. You know we can’t have any nonemployees in the kitchen, anyway, Dad.” Lynne went to walk back inside, holding the door open for her father. Levy hesistated, then followed, glancing back at Tori, whose own eyes were now focused on him.
* * *
“Keira, I think that I want a break. From us.”
She stared at him, struggling to fathom what was happening. Her hands continued to flip an apple she’d casually been holding , while her eyes stared blankly forward.
“Keira?” Shane asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“Wait, you what?” She came to, shaking her head slightly.
“After our... fight, I did a lot of thinking. You totally shut me out after our kiss. I know we both needed some time to cool off, but then you were all like ‘Whatever, I think you’re a rapist-”
“I never called you a rapist!”
“No, but you made it sound pretty damn close. So I was like, whatever, trying to deal at home and it hit me. We want two different things, Keira. You want someone who’s going to follow along with your,” Shane thought of the right words, “With your devotion and that ain’t me.”
“So, we’re breaking up because you want to have sex,” She replied, hotly.
“No, sex has nothing to do with it. We’re breaking up because I need a girlfriend who can kiss me without worrying that it’s going to lead somewhere.” Shane glanced around, nervous that others were paying attention. “I also want someone who’ll talk to me and not shut me out.”
Keira was fighting back tears, “So this is it. One fight and you give up?”
“It’s not like that Keira,” Shane tried to explain, a hint of desperation in his voice, “We’re just not that compatible. We want two different things.”
“See, maybe I’m confused, Shane, but what I thought made us compatible was that we loved each other.” Keira threw down her apple and stood up. “Apparently only one of us felt that way.”
“Keira,” Shane pleaded, “That’s not true at all.”
“Save it, Shane.” She turned away and stormed from the lunch room; Shane watched her leave, unable to see the tears streaming down her face.
* * *
“Dad,” Lynne handed over the paystub to her father, “I, I get a really odd vibe from her.”
“From Tori?” Levy coughed, “Why?”
“There’s just something about her that doesn’t sit right with me. Honestly, I’d rather her not be around the shop anymore. She’s totally got some other motive going on.”
“Don’t you think that you’re being just a tad bit suspicious?”
Lynne shrugged, “Better to be safe, Dad.” She stepped out of the office, “I came to get you because mom called. She’s going to be home with some of the groceries in about an hour. She might need some help bringing thigns in, so I’m going to just close up shop today.”
“No problem, honey.”
* * *
Misha walked into Cheyanne studios; her eyes hidden behind oversized frames, her hair pulled up underneath a fashionable hat. She swept past the chairs, with their familiar occupants, and up to the receptionist. “I am here to speak with Isaac.” She spoke with familiarity, addressing Mr. Saul by his first name, like a weapon. She wanted this woman to understand that their roles had changed; Misha would no longer be forced to wait around. The receptionist nodded and made a move to buzz her in, but Misha was already sweeping down the hall.
She knocked on the door of Saul’s office; As he was saying, “come in”, she was already walking in.
“Hello Isaac,” She pulled off her glasses, putting them away into her bag. She walked over and extended her hand, which he shook graciously.
“Ms. Bower, it is a pleasure to see you once more. I understand that you had some concerns you wanted to address?”
Misha took her seat in his chair, getting comfortable before she began to speak. “Yes, I would like to discuss the details of my contract with Cheyanne.”
Isaac grew uncomfortable; While he obviously wanted to win, the thought of cowtowing to demands struck fear into his heart. “Wa-was something the matter?”
“A few things, actually. But they can easily be fixed. Here, I typed up a list.” Misha handed over a small piece of paper, relaxing Isaac greatly.He scanned it and then glanced up at her.
“An outside makeup artist? I don’t know if we can afford that.”
Misha waved off that fear with a flick of her hand, “I can cover that charge. I just refuse to allow anyone to touch my face that I don’t explicitely trust.”
“So you have someone in mind?”
“Yes. In fact I do.”
* * *
“Hello?” Alicia called into the girl’s bathroom, pushing open the door to look in. Another student, washing her hands, glanced up at her annoyed. She motioned over to the third stall, where sobs could be heard. The girl left and Alicia walked up to the stall, knocking.
“Keira? It’s me Alicia, open up?”
The sobbing stopped abruptly. She heard the lock click open and she gently pushed the door open. Keira was sitting on the closed toilet, trying to wipe away her tears. She looked up at Alicia with reddened, bloodshot eyes. “So you heard?”
“Yea,” Alicia nodded.
“So the entire school already knows?” Keira asked, her voice rising a little.
“No, Shane had mentioned he was going to talk to you. I saw you leave the lunch room,” She looked down at the other young woman, “You looked a little upset.”
“A little,” Keira waved her hand, holding folded up toilet paper, wet with tears. “I just got dumped because apparently I can’t handle kissing someone. How would you take that?”
Alicia was trying to focus on Keira, but she couldn’t help noting that they were standing in a bathroom stall. “Maybe we should do this somewhere else? We can go down to the Counselor’s office or somewhere, you know, not the bathroom?”
Keira wiped at her eyes, “I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”
“Nobody’s going to care, Keira. We can even wait until after passing if you want.”
“No, I don’t care what others think. I just don’t want him knowing that I’m like this.” Keira looked up at Alicia, a flash of anger in her eyes, “I want Shane Bennett to think that he doesn’t matter at all.”
* * *
Levy stepped back outside; Tori was leaning against the wall of the building. Her face brightened as she saw him, but Levy held out the check. “You have to go.”
“Because your daughter said so?” Tori asked, playfully.
Levy shook his head, “Because I said so.” Tori touched his arm, but Levy gently pushed her away. “I’m married, Tori. We can’t do this.”
“You said that before, but then you-” She smiled coyly.
“Enough, I was confused. Things have been-- It doesn’t matter, please leave.”
Tori rolled her eyes, “I’m going, I’m going. But here,” She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. “Use it sometime if you want, Mr. Hathaway. Maybe when you’re alone.” Tori walked down the alley.
* * *
Misha swept into Amegro’s, nodding at the receptionist as she did. She made a beeline over to Abigal, who was in the process of applying makeup to a young woman. Misha stopped and stood beside the table, pulling a piece of paper from her bag. Abby did her best to ignore the other woman’s presence as she worked, while Misha hovered over them. She began to tap her foot and rustle the paper. The young woman’s eyes flicked back and forth, obviously not comfortable with the situation enfolding before her. When Abby began to feel her client twitch, she sighed and put down the brush, turning to Misha.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes, here.” Misha handed her the paper and then turned to leave. Abby didn’t bother to look at it, instead putting it away in a drawer.
* * *
Isaac Saul looked up at the knock of his door, “Ms. Bower, back so so-soon?”
“I’m sorry, were you expecting someone?” Regina Saul stood in the doorway, smiling at her father.
“Oh Regina, n-no. How are you?” Isaac made his way around his desk and embraced his daughter. She smiled graciously.
“Fine. Had off from class this afternoon, so I thought I’d stop in. So tell me, what’s this I hear about a new diva in the company?”
“Hearing rumors from our receptionist?”
“You know that Aunt Patrice has trouble keeping her mouth shut,” a smirk spread across her face as she spoke. “So, the truth Dad, what’s the story with this mysterious Misha Bower?”
Isaac turned and rustled around on his desk before finding the paper he wanted. He handed it over to Regina. She glanced down at the advertisment for the modeling competition, then quizicly looked up at her father.
“Ms. Bower is going to put Cheyanne back on the map,” he proudly regarded his daughter, “And you’re going to be the photographer that helps get her there.”
* * *
Shane grabbed the books he needed and thrust them into his bag. As he turned, preparing to go out to his bus, he caught site of Alicia walking down the hallway with Keira. The latter’s face was stone-faced, showing absolutely no emotion. He watched them pass, Keira not even acknowledging his presence. Alicia gave him a slight nod, but that was the extent of her own communication. Shane’s eyes followed them as they left the building; he stood alone among the crowd of students pushing past to make it to their own buses.
Levy glanced down at the number in his hand. As Carleen came into the house carrying a bunch of bags, he quickly put it away in his back pocket and offered a hand to help.
Abigal looked over the contract in her hand, quizzicly studying every detail.
* * *
Tori turned the key and walked into her home. She dropped her keys and her paycheck unto a small table and made her way into the kitchen. She stopped when she noticed that a light was already on. “Hello?” She asked hesitantly.
“Don’t worry, it’s only me.”
A man stepped into the doorway, holding a glass of orange juice. Tori breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized her brother. “Tim, what are you doing here?”
“I came back to fix a mistake, Tori. I’ve realized that I can’t live without Isabel.”
* * *
Jason walked out of the doors as the bell rang, shouldering his bag. As he made his way down the hall, which was swiftly emptying of students, he saw Darren closing the door to his own classroom. Jason picked up his pace slightly, “Hey Darren, wait up.” Darren looked over at him, then locked his door.
“McCaulley, what’s happening?”
“Eh, followed your advice and just bringing all of this home with me tonight.” Jason held up his bag. “You’re going home empty?”
“Don’t really have much to grade yet, still going through the opening chapters of the text.” Jason noticed that Darren seemed to be off, uncomfortable. He tried to brush it aside, but there was a tension that hadn’t existed before.
“So any big plans after work tonight?”
“Yeah, with my girlfriend.” Darren replied abruptly. “I should get going, have, uh, errands.”
“Oh, yeah sure, of course.” Jason noted how Darren couldn’t have walked away fast enough.
Posted at 11/08/2008 by beck | Comments? (0)