Is There Anybody Out There
Doris takes a deep breath and slowly steps into the hospital room but everything is pitch black and she can’t see anything. She becomes a little scared and calls out.
Doris: Is there anybody there?
Doris hears a noise above her and as she raises her head to look upwards and feels a splash of water right in her eye. She closes her eyes and quickly moves her head back down again. As she opens her eyes again the darkness disappears. As Doris becomes aware of her surroundings she realises she is standing in the street opposite the School of the Arts in the pouring rain. She notices the canopy of the restaurant across the street from the school and quickly rushes under it to take cover from the heavy rain.
Doris wanders what has happened. Mrs Berg told her she would find out what had happened in the room where she’d witnessed a hooded figure trying to suffocate another Doris, who was lying in the hospital bed. Now she’s back at the school again it didn’t make sense.
At that moment the doors to the school burst open and Jesse Velasquez storms out angrily dancing around the street and singing:
“This ain't no place for losers,
Or the innocent of mind.
It's a full time job
For anyone, to stay alive.
The streets have shallow boundaries,
For the war that's everyone.
What a wasteland for
Broken dreams and hired guns.
Shelter me, baby shelter me
When I'm sitting like I'm losing ground
Shelter me.
I've gone to sleep
But when I open
The other goes my tears
In the darkness
I can I can hide my heart
But non of my fears
In the morning
Like a soldier
I look closed up battleground
Another day
Another part of me
And the world goes round
Shelter me
Won't you shelter me
When I'm sitting like I'm losing ground
Shelter me
Won't you shelter me
Oh, shelter me
When I lose control,
Of my own home
Shelter me
Everytime time I tumble down
I want to pack it up and leave this town
But when I finally get the nerve
Get cleared out of the shoes
I'm thanking you
I'm thanking you
Baby shelter me
Please shelter me
When I'm sitting down, and losing ground
Shelter me
Won't you shelter me
When I lose control
Am I alone
Shelter me
Won't you shelter me
Oh, shelter me
Baby please
Oh, shelter me
Stay back and shelter me
Come on and shelter me
When I lose control
Am I alone
Shelter me”
The rain is so heavy and the wind is blowing it under the canopy which isn’t proving to be much of a shelter for Doris. After a few moments deliberation she decides that the driest place would be to go back into the school. Jesse is so wrapped up in his song that he doesn’t notice her cross the street and run up the steps to the school.
Inside the school the lobby is empty and Doris notices the trophy cabinet has been smashed with glass all over the floor. No matter how she tries to avoid treading on the glass she hears a crunching noise below her feet and she wonders what happened and if it has anything to do with the angry mood that Jesse seems to be in.
She moves further down the corridor and then stops as she hears the glass crunching noise again. Thinking someone is behind her Doris quickly turns round to see who it is but to her surprise sees that the corridor is still empty. She looks at the floor beneath her feet to see if there is a stray piece of glass that she may have stood on which made the noise but there is nothing there.
A chill goes down Doris’ spine when she hears the crunching noise again. She quickly turns round to look behind her but again the corridor is empty although Doris feels a presence next to her and calls out:
Doris: “Who’s there?"
A timid voice then calls back to her and Doris sees someone coming up the steps but they are not near the broken glass so it couldn’t have been them making the noise.
“Hello, I’m sorry if I scared you, I’m lost”.
Doris instantly recognises Troy Philips who spent a few months going to the school. He approaches her walking over the broken glass and carrying a slip of paper.
Troy: “I’m looking for Mr Sh...Shor..”
Doris: “Mr Shorofsky, the music teacher? His room is on the second floor.”
She leads Troy by the arm and takes him to the stairwell.
Doris “If you go up this flight of stairs and then the next one you’ll be at the second floor and it’s then the second door along.”
Troy carefully repeats what Doris has said to check his understanding: “This flight of stairs and the next one and then the second door along?”
Doris smiles and nods her head.
Troy smiles back a sweet innocent smile: “Thank You, I’m Troy Philips and I’m a singer I have an audition with Mr Shor....”
Again he looks at the paper he is carrying to try and pronounce the teachers name and again Doris helps him out.
Doris: “Shorofsky!”
Troy: “Yeah, Mr Shor..of..sky!”
They exchange smiles as Troy gets the name right.
Troy: “Are you a teacher here too?”
Doris pauses for a minute, thinking about her reply. She is fed up of making up stories.
Doris: “Troy, Can I tell you a secret?”
Troy’s eyes widen excitedly: “I, I, like secrets. It’s just between me and you, right?”
Doris nods: “Yes, it’s just between me and you.”
Doris feels safe in the knowledge that she could tell Troy the truth and if he did tell anyone else they would probably think he’s made it up or is confused. They sit down on the second from bottom step and Doris begins to talk.
Doris: “Well, when I was your age I was a student here too and I’m a singer like you. Before I came to this school I was plain old Doris Schwartz, who no one ever took any notice of but here at this school things were different. I was Doris who could sing and Doris who could act and Doris who people came to for help. I felt special, you know?”
Troy nods: “I’m special too and I want to go to this school.”
Doris smiles: “You will Troy as Mr Shorofsky is going to love you. The thing is I’m not a teenager anymore but I’m still here at the school and I don’t know why or how I got here. Strange things keep happening to me Troy.”
Troy is puzzled and doesn’t fully understand what Doris is saying but he eagerly listens as she continues.
Doris: “This may seem strange Troy, but I’ve gone back in time to when I was a teenager and keep meeting my old friends but they are still teenagers and I’m not.”
Troy’s eyes widen again: “Back in time like on TV in erm “Time Tunnel”? I like that show!”
Doris smiles: “Yes I guess it is”.
Troy laughs: “You tell good stories and I want you to tell me more but I don’t want to be late to see Mr Shor..of..sky." (Troy is really pleased with himself for finally getting the teachers name right.) "Will you tell me more later? I want to hear more about your time travel adventures.”
Doris starts to smile but hears a strange noise like someone is singing but not like it is coming from one of the classrooms more like an echo. It is only a line from a song:
“Is There Anybody Out There?”
Doris turns to Troy: “Did You hear that?”
Troy shakes his head: “No! But I’ve got to go. I’ll find you later. Thank you Doris Schwartz.”
Doris smiles as Troy runs up the stairs. Then she hears the singing again;
“Is There Anybody Out There, waiting for me....”
Doris stands up and moves back to the main corridor and starts to walk along it again the glass crunches as she walks over it. Still there is no one around but Doris feels a presence. Then suddenly she sees something move very quickly at the top of the corridor. She couldn’t make out what it was as it appeared to be a blur. She runs quickly to the top of the corridor but again there is no one there but she does see the door to the girls’ locker room slowly closing. Doris cautiously moves along the corridor and pushes the door open and looks inside but can’t see anyone. As she enters the room she calls out:
Doris: “Is anyone there?”
Only silence greets her as she moves further into the room. Suddenly she jumps when the noise of the water from the running shower startles her.
Doris: “Who is that?”
As she walks round the screen to the showers all Doris can see is running water. Doris lets out a deep breath as she ponders what may be happening. She turns the water off and then hears the door open and footsteps coming into the room, followed by a locker opening.
Doris wonders if she is just hearing things or if someone is really there but then she feels a twitch in her nose and suddenly lets out a loud sneeze followed by the familiar voice of Coco.
Coco: “Who is that creepin’ around back there? You startled me!”
Doris: “Sorry Coco it’s just me Doris, I was just struggling turning on the shower.”
Coco: “Do you want me to come and turn it on for you?”
Doris becomes a little alarmed and quickly turns the water on and stands with her clothes getting wet.
Doris: “No problem, I’ve done it now.”
Coco: “Listen Doris hurry up will you I’m going to tell everyone about my audition!”
Doris: “What audition?”
Coco is surprised by the question: “What do you mean what audition? How many auditions for Broadway Shows do I go on? Don’t you remember you showed me the ad in the stage paper? You’ll never believe what happened and who was also auditioning; Only Miss Grant!”
Suddenly the penny drops and Doris realises what Coco is talking about.
Doris: “Oh yes that!”
Coco feels slightly indignant: “What’s wrong with you? You sound like you’ve heard it all before! If you’re not interested, I know everybody else is".
Doris: “Sorry Coco, it’s not that I’m not interested. I’m just concerned how this will all turn out. You know you are probably too young for the part and have no professional experience and Miss Grant is probably too old for the part...”
Coco interrupts: “What don’t you think I’m not good enough to get the part? Because if that’s the case you better come out here right now and say that to my face!”
Doris panics a little: “No, No, No, it’s not that I don’t think you’re talented enough, it’s just people often get these parts just because they are dating the producers or the people funding the show and it has nothing to do with talent. I mean Miss Grant dating the director probably isn’t going to help her much either!”
Coco angrily snaps: “What?! Miss Grant is dating the director?”
Doris wonders if she’s said the wrong thing believing Coco was already aware of that but obviously that hadn’t happened yet.
Doris: “Well, not dating exactly but they used to date and he’s her old boyfriend.”
Coco: “Right well I’m going to have this out with her!”
Coco slams her locker door and storms out of the room with Doris calling after her.
Doris: “Coco wait, come back!”
Knowing she can’t follow Coco without her realising that she isn’t a teenager any more Doris has to let Coco go. She turns off the water but hears the door open again. This time there is silence and Doris wonders what to do next. Then she hears someone heaving as though they are trying to make themselves sick. This is followed by tears and the sound of a running tap as the person washes out their mouth. Then Doris hears a soft, quiet voice as the person talks to themselves.
Holly: “Holly what are you doing to yourself?”
Doris realises this must have been when Holly had her eating disorder. She wants to rush out and help her friend but knows she can’t.
Eventually she hears the door open again and Holly leaves the room.
Soaking wet Doris leaves the shower and finds a towel to dry herself with. Thankfully she also finds some dry dance clothes in the corner and puts them on. She looks at herself in the mirror wearing sweat pants and the off the shoulder cropped top and sighs. She feels embarrassed that the clothes make her look very odd:
Doris: “Welcome back to the 80s! Did we really wear this kind of stuff?”
Just then Doris gets a strange feeling that she is being watched. She looks around the room which is still empty but then she hears a noise as though someone has caught their breath. She looks up and remembers the peep hole that used to be between the boys and girls locker rooms and can see someone looking back at her. Gathering up her wet clothes she quickly rushes out of the room and into the boys’ locker room next door but the room is empty.
Doris: “What is going on?”
As she leaves the locker room Doris can suddenly smell burning she wonders back down the main corridor to the auditorium. The smell seems to get stronger as Doris walks closer to the stage and then down the steps to the dressing room but when she arrives the smell suddenly disappears.
The dressing room door opens on its own and Doris expects someone to be standing in front of her coming out of the room but to her surprise there is no one there. Although, she does have that same sensation of a presence being with her, that she’d had previously. Doris steps into the room slowly and notices the costumes hanging on the rail start to move back and forth as though someone has brushed passed them but again no one else is in the room.
Then there is a loud bang behind her which makes her jump, as the door slams shut. Doris turns round but can see nothing but an empty room. After a moment the door slowly opens making a creaking sound.
Doris: “Mrs Berg? Lisa? Tracy? Is anyone there?
A cold breeze passes by Doris as though someone had rushed into the room passed her. As she turns round she notices something written on the makeup table mirror. A cold shudder passes over her body.
The words are written in bright red lipstick and simply say:
“Help Me!”
To be continued....