"If Tomorrow Never Comes" Part 1

Doris sits alone on the store cupboard floor, looking at her hand outstretched in front of her. Slowly she moves her hand closer to the wall and as her fingers meet the hard surface she tries to will them to go through the wall. However, this time as with the other half dozen attempts her hand won’t go through the wall.

Frustrated Doris curses: “Damn it! Surely if I’m a ghost I should be able to pass through solid objects!”

She makes one more attempt to move her hand through the wall but is again defeated and so gives up in frustration. Her encounter with Tracy had left Doris shell shocked, wondering if she was even still alive or in some kind after life where she hadn’t been able to pass on to the next life.

She remembers back to when she was a student at the school and her previous encounter with a ghost and the spirit of Lisa, who’d she helped complete an outstanding task and move on to be at peace. Doris had always believed that she was a spirit centre and could channel spirits but had only ever had the one encounter, until now. She begins to reassure herself, that’s she’s not actually dead but instead now has to help Tracy pass over.

She calls out: “Tracy? Tracy are you there? I need to talk to you.”

There is no answer, so Doris calls out again but her words are only met with silence. Doris sighs out loud. Then she hears her stomach grumbling. She can’t remember the last time she had anything to eat and thinking about it now she suddenly realises that she is hungry.

After a few minutes the silence is broken by the sound of a distant beat. Doris looks up toward the door as the distinct sound of music can be heard. Slowly she stands up and moves towards the door. As she opens it she expects to see some kind of jam session taking place in the school corridor but instead she walks into an unfamiliar room, with balloons and streamers where obviously a party is taking place. Over by the window is a small stage where Nicole and few musicians are performing:

Doris moves around the room which is full of students having a good time, most of them she doesn’t recognise so feels safe although a little self conscious as she is obviously older than most people at the party. She notices a table set out with food and decides to grab herself a bite to eat. As she places some nibbles on a plate she sees a calendar on the wall with the date circled “January 5^th 1987”. The date rings instant bells with Doris because her daughter, Jenny, was born on that night. Doris smiles to herself as she thinks of her daughter who was now 23.

Doris’ thoughts are interrupted when she hears familiar voices standing right in front of her. She quickly turns her back to them so that Coco and Bruno don’t recognise her.

Bruno: “What am I doing here? I don’t even like parties!”

Coco throws him a dirty look: “We’re here Bruno because I heard there were going to be some important agents here and I intend to get noticed”.

Bruno looks around the room at the sea of young faces: “Does it look like there are any agents here?”

Coco glares at him: “Relax Bruno, it’s still early!”

Nicole is coming to the end of her song and Bruno notices Coco watching her intently.

Bruno: “She’s very good isn’t she? Do you know her?"

For a moment Coco is a little lost for words as Bruno voices her own thoughts, that this girl singing is strong competition for her. Eventually she replies:

Coco: “No I don’t know her. Maybe she is one of the new starters at school this year... but, I thought I'd already checked out the competition! Actually I don’t recognise anyone yet, I thought there’d be more people here from school.... You really think she’s good?”

Bruno smiles: “Yes she’s good and you know it.”

Coco reluctantly nods in agreement.

Suddenly the two are greeted by an excited Danny who hugs them both.

Danny: “Coco, Bruno, I didn’t know you were coming. It’s so good to see you guys. I’ve got something to do but I’ll be back in a few minutes. It really is good to see you both”.

Bruno and Coco exchanged confused glances.

Bruno: “That was strange, Danny’s acting as though he hasn’t seen us for years but he was at Carusoes last night. Come to think of it he’s at Carusoes every night!”

Coco: “He’s just showing that he cares, man. People miss you at school and just want to support you, is all”.

Bruno looks wistful for a moment realising how much he misses being at the school of the arts, misses his friends and misses his father, whose death had caused him to leave school.

Coco notices the look on Bruno’s face and squeezes his arm reassuringly.

Coco: “You are right though about Danny acting strange. It’s only 3 hours since I was sat next to him in English class."

Doris makes her way over to the corner to get as far away from Coco and Bruno as possible. As she goes a young guy, who is slightly drunk bumps into her. Thankfully Doris doesn’t recognise him but is appalled by the state he’s in. He apologises to her.

Doris: “Are you old enough to be drinking?”

The young guy gives her a look of disgust: “What’s it got to do with you? Anyway aren’t you a little old to be at this party?”

At that moment another guy takes the first guy by the arm:

2^nd guy: “Come on Mickey let’s get you some coffee.”

As the two young men walk away towards the kitchen, Doris takes a sip of the punch she’d helped herself to but is shocked to discover it contains alcohol.

Doris shakes her head disapprovingly: “No wonder some of these kids are getting so drunk!”

Doris puts down her cup and notices she’s near to Nicole standing with Danny. She moves behind a large plant so they don’t see her.

Nicole takes a sip of her drink and quickly spits it out: “What the hell is in this drink?”

Danny laughs: “I think some of the kids have spiked the punch with some vodka. Here have mine its just juice.”

Nicole takes the drink and takes a sip. She then turns back to Danny.

Nicole: “Danny have you seen Jesse?”

Danny shrugs: “No not for awhile but he’s here somewhere.”

Danny notices Nicole seems down: “Are you okay?”

Nicole nods: “I’m fine, I just have a bit of a headache that’s all.”

Danny: “You seem to have been a little down recently, particularly when Jesse is around.”

Nicole gives a weak smile: “I’m okay.”

Danny: “I’ll get Mickey to drive us home, if you want to go?”

Nicole nods again: “Okay, but I’ve got one more song to do first, then “We’ll go.”

Danny: “Okay I’ll go and find Mickey”.

Danny pauses for a moment then asks: “Nicole, you are over Jesse aren’t you?”

Nicole gives a surprised laugh: “Me? Over Jesse? Of course I am. We’re just friends and we are both very happy with that.”

Danny nods accepting her answer and moves off to find Mickey.

When he’s out of earshot Nicole mutters to herself: “I wish I was over Jesse!”

Nicole moves back towards the stage unaware that Doris overheard her whole conversation with Danny and the comment she made at the end about Jesse.

Doris smiles to herself remembering the highs and lows of young love. She’d heard from Danny how Nicole and Jesse had split up for good a few months before Nicole died.

Suddenly Doris goes cold and the smile slips from her face. Realisation dawns on her, the party, the alcohol, the date. Tonight is the night that Nicole got into a car with someone who had had too much drink and was killed in a terrible car accident. Its the same night that her daughter had been born. Doris had been unable to go to the funeral because she’d had a difficult birth and was still in hospital. She’d always felt guilty about that.

Doris notices Danny coming out of the kitchen with a drunken Mickey and she realises that she has to do something to stop her friends getting into that car and save Nicole’s life.

To be continued.....