"No Easy Rides"

Greg Crandall looks thoughtfully at Doris and takes another deep breath. He cautiously looks around him to see if anyone else could over hear anything he says and is relieved to discover the corridor is empty. He opens his mouth to speak, but again hesitates.

Doris looks at him expectantly: “Please, Mr Crandall Tell Me!”

Crandall: “Okay Doris, don’t rush me. It’s very complicated.”

Again he pauses and Doris feels like she will burst with anticipation.

Crandall continues: “You see when you first arrived in the auditorium...., something..... had happened to you...”

Doris eagerly awaits to hear more but suddenly they are interrupted by a forceful voice behind them: “Mr Crandall, can I have a word with you please?”

Both Crandall and Doris turn to where the voice came from and see Mrs Berg looking at them sternly. Doris and Crandall exchange concerned looks with each other.

Mrs Berg continues: “Mr Crandall it’s very important that I speak to you right away!”

Crandall looks at Doris apologetically and slowly walks over to where Mrs Berg is standing. Mrs Berg takes his arm and leads him around the corner of the corridor.

Doris watches as they go and after a moment’s pause, she rushes round the corner calling as she goes: “Mr Crandall wait...”

Disappointedly, she stands looking down the school corridor towards the exit but Crandall and Mrs Berg are nowhere to be seen. Other students now populate the corridor and they look over at Doris suspiciously, wondering who she was yelling at. Doris walks down the school corridor, pausing at the cafeteria door, where she can see Coco performing “Take Me”.

Doris decides not to stop and watch the action occurring in the cafeteria and proceeds carefully down the corridor, remembering she previously bumped in to Miss Sherwood and had to make up a story about being a parent. Doris decides it’s best to avoid that situation. As she sees Miss Sherwood approaching, she makes sure that there is plenty of room for Miss Sherwood to pass.

Unbeknown to Doris someone in the cafeteria had spotted her and decided to leave the singing and dancing behind to see where the mysterious woman was going. The person quickly rushes out of the cafeteria doorway and slap bang into a frustrated Miss Sherwood.

Sherwood: “Leroy, please watch where you’re going. You nearly knocked me over!”

Leroy: “I’m sorry Miss Sherwood, I didn’t see you there.”

Sherwood sarcastically replies: “Maybe I should wear a bell around my neck so you can hear me coming?”

Leroy isn’t really paying attention to the English teacher as he searches the corridor for the mysterious older woman he’d spotted.

Leroy: “Sure Miss Sherwood that would be great.”

Sherwood shakes her head in exasperation as Leroy heads off down the corridor, oblivious to her.

Doris notices Leroy and as they make eye contact she rushes off deciding to try hiding out in the auditorium, rather than leaving the school like she did last time. She doesn’t want a repeat of Leroy hurting himself again.

As she opens the auditorium door, Mrs Berg comes out of the school office but neither of them see each other, however Mrs Berg does notice Leroy and senses something is wrong.

In the auditorium Doris is alone none of the lights are on so darkness is around her. She carefully makes her way to the stage and sits down on a piano stool which is next to a large grand piano. Doris lets out a deep sigh of relief as there is no sign of Leroy following her or anyone else.

She remains confused by her whole situation and wonders what it was that Crandall was about to tell her and why Mrs Berg stopped him. A tired Doris feels helpless and alone, wondering how long her current situation is going to last. For a long moment she looks out into the darkness, not knowing what to do next. A couple of the stage foot lights are on low which gives her a little light to see her immediate surroundings. She looks at the black and white keys on the piano and feels an overwhelming need to sing. Her finger spread across the keys and she presses down, the sound of the piano is sombre.

After a couple of false starts Doris begins to play and then sing. Her unpractised voice is unsteady at first but she soon relaxes and falls into the emotion of the words she is singing:

“When I was younger, so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody's help in any way.

But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,

Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down

And I do appreciate you being round.

Help me, get my feet back on the ground,

Won't you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,

My independence seems to vanish in the haze.

But every now and then I feel so insecure,

I know that I just need you like I've never done before.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down

And I do appreciate you being round.

Help me, get my feet back on the ground,

Won't you please, please help me.

When I was younger, so much younger than today,

I never needed anybody's help in any way.

But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,

Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down

And I do appreciate you being round.

Help me, get my feet back on the ground,

Won't you please, please, please..., won’t you please help me? Help, Help, Help.”

Doris belts out the ending notes with tremendous emotion, causing tears to roll down across her cheeks. As the final notes come to an end Doris sits motionless in the dark almost exhausted by releasing her emotions.

She is then startled by the noise of someone out of the darkness clapping and the sound of a familiar voice:

“I think we’ve found the song you’re singing in the show. The emotion you gave in the song was incredible Doris, you made the song your own.”

Although the voice sounds familiar to Doris, she can’t quite place it and the darkness in the stalls makes it impossible to tell who is talking to her.

Doris calls out: “Who is that? Who’s there?”

The person doesn’t realise that the lights are out and doesn’t know that Doris couldn’t see him. He moves closer to the stage and Doris hears a strange noise like a wooden stick knocking against the auditorium chairs.

Slowly the person making this noise comes into view and Doris is happily surprised:

Doris: “Mr Hamilton?”

Jim Hamilton: “The one and only, at your service. Although after hearing that I don’t think you need me to coach you any more. Your interpretation of the Beatles “Help” as a slowed down ballad is fresh and inspiring”.

Doris feels a little guilty as her interpretation had already been done by Tina Turner but a quick calculation of what time she was now in meant that Tina’s version hadn’t been released yet, so not wanting to be distracted by that Doris graciously accepts the credit.

Doris: “Thank you, it just seemed right and the words totally express how I’m feeling”.

Jim Hamilton feels a little guilty believing Doris is jealous of his friendship between himself and Lydia Grant.

Jim: “Doris, there’s nothing happening between me and Miss Grant, she’s made that perfectly clear to me”.

Doris remembers she’d once had a crush on Jim Hamilton. She was just so impressed with how he dealt with being blind, not letting it get in the way of anything he wanted to do. She remembers how Lydia taught him to dance.

Jim continues: “I don’t wish to make you feel worse Doris but you are a little young for me and it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to date a student anyway”.

Doris laughs at the irony of the situation as she was now older than Jim but of course he couldn’t see it.

Jim is puzzled: “What’s so funny?”

Doris: “Nothing! It’s..It’s just things are not exactly what you think they are.”

Jim is puzzled by the comment: “What do you mean?”

Doris hesitates not sure what she should say but feeling overwhelmed, she feels that she needs to talk to a friend. Cautiously she tries to explain what has happened to her.

Doris: “Mr Hamilton, you may find this hard to believe, because I know it sounds unbelievable but.. I swear it’s true.

Doris pauses for a moment before continuing: “...I’m not 16 anymore. Somehow as an adult I’ve managed to come back in time and now I’m lost and confused and scared...”

Jim Hamilton listens intently and for a moment there is silence but when he speaks he doesn’t dismiss anything Doris has told him.

Jim: “Well Doris, that certainly is a bizarre tale but I can tell there is something different about you. I can hear it in your voice and I can sense it.”

An idea comes to Doris’ mind and she quickly runs down the steps from the stage to the stalls until she is standing directly in front of the teacher. She takes his hands in hers and places them either side of her face. Slowly he moves his fingers across her skin and can feel the wrinkles and texture.

Again there is a silence until Doris breaks it.

Doris: “Do you believe me?”

Jim slowly nods his head: “Well it’s a little unbelievable but I can tell that something is very different about you and there is a tone of hurt and sadness in your voice”.

Doris bursts into tears and throws her arms around him. Jim is surprised but tries to comfort her.

Doris: “Thank you, thank, thank you for believing me. I so need a friend right now”.

Jim smiles: “Well a friend in need is certainly a friend indeed”.

Doris raises her head and looks in to Mr Hamilton’s eyes, knowing he can’t actually see her and wondering how he pictures her in his head. He always had a way of making her feel better and at that moment in time she felt incredibly close to him.

Her eyes scanned over his face to his lips and slowly Doris moves forward to plant her lips on to his. She kisses him and is happily surprised when he kisses her back. The moment seemed to last an eternity as Doris felt like she was dancing on clouds.

Suddenly the tender moment is broken by a scream and a familiar stern voice.

Mrs Berg: “Doris Schwartz, Mr Hamilton, What on earth are you doing?”

The two separate and Jim tries to explain: “Mrs Berg, it’s okay Doris isn’t a student anymore.”

Mrs Berg: “Mr Hamilton, this is the School of the Arts, our kids are training to be actors and no amount of make-up and grown up clothes can change the fact that they are still children”.

Jim Hamilton feels sick: “You mean?”

Mrs Berg: “Yes I mean you’ve been had Mr Hamilton. Hook, line and sinker!”

Doris becomes annoyed: "Now wait a moment, that’s a lie Mrs Berg and you know it."

An embarrassed, Jim Hamilton apologises and hurries out of the room.

Jim: “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I didn’t know..”

Doris calls after him but he’s gone. Doris approaches Mrs Berg and glares at her:

“Why did you do that? Why did you hurt him like that?

Mrs Berg looks at her sternly, while Doris continues.

Doris: “Why did you stop Mr Crandall helping me and Why did you spoil what was happening there. Why don’t you realise that I need someone to help me?"

Mrs Berg becomes concerned and softens her voice.

Mrs Berg: “Doris, when will you realise that I am trying to help?”

Doris is confused: “You’ve got a funny way of showing it!”

Mrs Berg: “This is about you, my dear and Mr Crandall and Mr Hamilton shouldn’t be involved. The more people you drag into this the more complicated it will get and it’s already complicated enough.”

The anger subsides from Doris as she listens to the older woman’s words.

Mrs Berg: “Have you ever thought that you are here for a reason? That you have some kind of task to perform or decision to make and until you do that you will be stuck like this?"

Doris ponders what she is hearing.

Mrs Berg continues: “However, distractions like with Mr Hamilton here, aren’t helping anyone. He isn’t the key to this Doris, you are! No one can tell you what to do.”

She pauses for a moment knowing her words have struck a chord with Doris.

Mrs Berg: “There are no easy rides here, I’m afraid. It’s you and only you who can get us out of this situation. Believe me dear I don’t want to hurt or upset you but no one can help you. No one can give you the answers. This is a road that only you can take. So stop looking to others and take on your responsibility, the sooner the better, for all our sakes.”

A solitary tear rolls down Doris cheek and Mrs Berg gives her a reassuring hug.

Mrs Berg: “Now, dear while you think about that for a while. I need to go off and find Mr Hamilton and reassure him that I won’t be reporting him to the school board.”

As Mrs Berg leaves, Doris stands in silence pondering what the old woman had said. Strangely she feels slightly comforted as she whispers to herself:

“She’s right”.

To be continued....