Starting At The End Part 2
Doris Schwartz stood alone outside the teacher’s lounge. Just after the other Doris had disappeared Holly and the people filming her also left. At first Doris didn’t realise that her other self had disappeared. Up until then, both of them had moved in time together and it hadn’t even crossed her mind that either of them could move separately. Doris wasn’t sure exactly what to do next, whether to wait in case the other Doris came back or to continue with trying to get home herself. For the moment she decides to wait. The door to the teacher’s lounge is slightly ajar and Doris can hear Lydia, Shorofsky, Mrs Berg and Sherwood talking.
Mrs Berg: “Miss Sherwood, do you think you could have a character like me in your next book? It would be so wonderful knowing a character was based on me”
Miss Sherwood feels a little awkward: “Well, I’m not exactly sure you’re what my publishers are looking for!”
Shorofsky comments indignantly: “She means you’re to old to be in the book!”
Sherwood is flustered: “Mr Shorofsky, I didn’t say that! But my publishers are looking for a very specific type of book, and yes most of the characters tend to be younger.”
Lydia smiles: “I’ve missed this banter, it’s not been the same since you left, Elizabeth.”
Mrs Berg grins: “Well, how about if you used my name but made me into a younger model. I could be the one who is having all the fun!”
The teachers laugh at her suggestion.
Sherwood: “We'll see, I’m not even sure I want to write another book!”
Lydia interjects: “Well, if you’re tired of writing why don’t you come back and teach here? I’m sure Mr Dyrenforth would love to have you back.”
Sherwood sighs: "It’s not that I’m tired of writing, it’s just I’d never planned on writing trashy novels. My first novel was originally a coming of age book but then I kept getting rewrites and changes from the publishers that before I knew it turned into.....”
Mrs Berg interrupts: “A hot bodice ripper...”
Miss Sherwood pulls a face at her friends description: “Exactly! Now as that sold so well in that is all my publishers want me to write. I had dreams of becoming a famous classical novelist, writing books that people would read in years to come, not trash that is popular for minutes.”
Mrs Berg: “Oh no Miss Sherwood, it took more than a few minutes to read your novel and there were parts that I had to read over and over again.”
Lydia: "Well it sound to me as though your very frustrated by what you are doing and I know you always found your teaching rewarding so why not just come back and work here again."
Sherwood shrugs her shoulders: “Well I’m not sure, that would seem like a backwards step but I guess it would be tempting to have a regular salary again."
Lydia stands up excitedly: “Well that’s settled then I’ll go and fetch Mr Dyrenforth right now and see what he has to say.”
With that Lydia leaves the teacher’s lounge and Sherwood calls out after her.
Sherwood: “I haven’t said I will take the job yet!”
But her words fall on deaf ears.
At the moment Lydia leaves the teacher’s lounge, some men carrying bales of straw enter the school and Doris quickly heads for cover behind a pillar.
Lydia: “Oh good, the hay bales Mr Taftner needs for the show, if you can take them through these doors into the auditorium and leave them in the backstage area.”
As Lydia heads off into Dyrenforth’s office Doris notices that the other Doris is back, lying on the corridor floor with the hooded figure she recognises as Leroy standing over her.
Doris yells at him: “What are you doing ? Get away from her!”
The hooded Leroy looks round surprised by the outburst. For a moment he is puzzled when he sees a second Doris looking back at him. He looks from one to the other and then walks over to the Doris shouting at him.
Leroy: “Well, well, well so there’s two of you now. I’ve always said you being here is wrong and this is proof of it. You’ve got more guts than this one!”
Doris snaps: “Just leave her alone, she’s with me!”
Leroy smiles: “I wasn’t doing anything apart from watching. Whatever this one was seeing and hearing had nothing to do with me!”
Doris is unsure: “Why should I believe you? I’ve seen you hanging around, staring at me, trying to scare me and I knew you were up to something.”
Leroy sighs: “Please! Hanging around and staring is all I can do now. I’m dead remember? You killed me! So I’m having a laugh at your expense. I’m not some malevilant poltagoist, I’m just trapped between Heaven and Hell! But I tell you something, the way you are going and all the things you are changing just by being here, you will end up going to hell and I’ll enjoy seeing that happen. You’ll burn in hell I tell you! Burn Doris Schwartz, burn....”
With that Leroy vanishes and Doris shakes her head. The other Doris starts to stir and Doris rushes over to her but thinking it’s still Leroy staring back at her the other Doris starts to panic.
Doris tries to reassure her: “It’s okay, clam down, it’s just me and no one’s going to hurt you. Look at me. LOOK at ME I said!”
Slowly the other Doris opens her eyes and looks at her other self and slowly starts to calm down.
Doris asks: “What happened?”
The other Doris shakes her head: “I don’t know. I was alone and then there was this voice and the door handle was hot and I could smell smoke which started to choke me and then, He was there laughing and a terrible thunderous noise was all around me.”
Doris puts her arms around her other self to comfort her: "Well some of that has happened to me before, although not all at once. Leroy says he had nothing to do with it and was only watching.”
The other Doris starts to get upset: “Well I didn’t like it, it was terrifying. I don’t like being in the past! I don’t like moving in time and I don’t like strange things happening! I can’t cope with it and I want to go home!"
Doris tries to reassure her: “You can cope. You are going to be fine and some how we will get home.”
The other Doris snaps: “How do you know I can cope? You weren’t there...”
Doris interrupts: “I know, because I am you. I’ve been here a lot longer than you and I’ve been coping. It’s not been easy at all and some things have felt like the stuff nightmares are made of but some how I’ve got through it all and I’m coping. So if I can do it, then so can you because we are both the same!”
The other Doris is close to tears and Doris hugs her for moral support. Slowly Doris manoeuvres her other self over to the water fountain.
Doris: “Have a drink, it’ll do you good.”
As the other Doris sips the water and splashes some of it on her face Doris notices there is activity in the dance room and goes to look through the window to see what it is.
The other Doris notices: "Hey wait for me, I don’t want to be left on my own again."
The two stand watching their teenage self, holding a baby, being filmed by Danny and a group of other students.
Danny: “Well Schwartz, I don't have to ask what you've been doing since you left the school.”
Teenage Doris: “Amatullo, just so there's no misunderstanding, I am married, and this is my nine week old daughter Jenny.”
Danny: “And who's the lucky guy?”
Teenage Doris: “His name is Bob Rhythm.” ........ “Forget it, I've heard all the jokes. He's the artistic director of the Kenly Players of Akron Ohio. We met during summer stock. Then we fell in love and... "
Danny: “And the rest is history. OK, so here's the big question. What has the School of the Arts meant to you? And Jenny you're gonna have to let your mom speak for herself.”
Teenage Doris: "Well, this is the place where I discovered the real Doris Schwartz. You know, I was always acting as a kid, always playing roles, always trying to be what everybody wanted me to be. Then I came here, and everybody had so much confidence, and personality and I realized I didn't know who I was. Then after about four years, and the help of the people here, and the love, I started to get acquainted with myself. And you know something? I really like who I am. If I hadn't come here, I probably would never have known that.”
Both the older women gush over baby Jenny.
The other Doris: “Oh, she was such a beautiful baby.”
Doris: “She still is beautiful, both our children are. I don’t know how but some how we will get back to them!”
Quickly the lights and the people change in the room ad now Bruno is being interviewed.
Bruno: “You know, when I first came here, I didn't know anything about relating to other people. My life was music. But everyone at this crazy school, y'know, the teachers and the other students demanded that I stop hiding behind my synthesizers and start dealing with them on a one-to-one basis. Well, this was fairly difficult at first, but once I started to open up... I went nuts. For the first time in my life, I had friends. The most amazing thing out of all this is that the more I came out of my shell, the more I grew as a musician.”
Bruno feels a little camera shy and embarrassed by his statement.
Doris watches and looks at Bruno longingly, wishing she was in his arms. The other Doris watches her.
The other Doris: “You’ve got it bad for him haven’t you? I mean I’ve always loved Bruno but you really do want him don’t you?”
Doris: “As you say we’ve always loved him, so when he told me he loved me too that has opened everything up even more. I can’t help but think about a whole new life being with Bruno!”
Suddenly the lighting changes again and they find themselves standing at the back of the drama class. Chris Donlon is about to talk to the group.
The other Doris: “Why do we keep moving to see all our friends making these heartfelt statements?”
Doris shrugs: “I wish I knew!”
Chris had already addressed the group a few days earlier. Only that time his ego had got the better of him and he’d lied about how well he was doing now that he had left the school.
Chris: “First of all, I want to apologize for the other day. Everything I told you was a lie. I'm not a big shot. I'm just another struggling actor, like a thousand other guys in this town. Truth is, it's damn tough on the outside. No matter how much talent you've got, you're going to get rejected over and over again. But you can't give up. If you really love performing, you've gotta keep trying. Always give it your best shot. And you can't be afraid of rejection. All that rejection is part of being an actor. Not a lot of fun, but it beats selling encyclopaedias!”
With that he moves to the small stage in the room and presses play on a cassette player some music starts to play and Chris begins to sing.
"Once you find what matters in your life
Keep on pushing through the darkness
Till you see the light, you're gonna find it
You're no longer behind it
Once you learn what you've been doin' wrong
You can make the change
You need to make the carry on, now and forever
The sooner the better, just remember now
It's a long way up
When you're coming from nowhere
It's a long way up
When you're coming from nowhere
You gotta fight a little harder
You gotta push a little more
You gotta gamble everything you got
To get you through the door 'cause it's a long way up
You've been down before that's okay
You can rest assured
That every dog will have his day and life is a jungle
But you ain't gonna crumble, remember now
It's a long way up
When you're coming from nowhere
It's a long way up
When you're coming from nowhere
Don't give up the dream
Hey don't you know it's dark before the dawn
When you think you just can't take it
That's when you'll make it
You gotta to fight a little harder
You gotta push a little more
You gotta gamble everything you got
To get you through the door 'cause it's a long way up
You gotta to fight a little harder
You gotta push a little more
You gotta gamble everything you got
To get you through the door."
As the song ends the students and Mr Seger all stand up and cheer, leaving Chris with a huge smile on his face.
As the class starts to disperse both Doris’ walk down to the corridor, where music blasts from the dance rehearsal room. A panel of judges are watching some kids perform and Leroy watches them intently. The two women stand in the open door way watching the performance. As the routine comes to an end he clears his throat and makes a speech.
Leroy: “Thanks a lot... I'm glad you liked our work... I've decided that I'm not coming back to the School next year. I just want to devote all my time to my career as a performer... However, I do thank everyone here for their support. Honestly. Everyone. I have the greatest amount of respect for anyone who can stand up in front of a class and teach... because that's been the most difficult thing for me. And umm... I'm gonna miss working with all the kids here... everyone... I just feel that after six years I have my wings and I should fly away from this nest. Aah... I thank you Miss Grant, for being my friend... and my teacher. You've shown me the right way... and you always will. I hope you guys never forget me, cause I'll never forget you all... and... uh... I'll always love this school.”
There isn’t a dry eye in the room and both Doris’ wipe tears away from their eyes too.
The other Doris: “That was lovely. How can be so sweet one moment and then crazy the next?”
Doris: “Well they are two different Leroy’s, just like us they have different experiences that have shaped their behaviour. The horrible one think we killed him. I mean he thinks we were responsible for his death and so he wants revenge!”
The other Doris: “What do you mean “We”? I wasn’t even here then! I think you mean you!"
Doris sighs: “Well whatever the symantics are Leroy sees us as the same person.....”
Her words trail off as someone at the far end of the corridor catches her eye.
Doris snaps: “What is he doing here? He wasn’t at this reunion. He never even really graduated from this school.”
The other Doris is confused: “Who are you talking about?”
Doris points to the far end of the corridor: “Sandy, that’s who!"
Rage rises inside of Doris when she thinks of what Sandy had done to Will.
Doris: “Stay here, I need to go and give him a piece of my mind!”
The other Doris: “No way, I’m not going to miss this. I loved Will too and besides I don’t want to be left here on my own again”.
With that Doris angrily marches off, along the busy corridor in the direction of where Sandy is standing, quickly followed by her other self. With each step Doris takes the anger inside her increases.
To be continued.......