"Saved By The Bell"

Leroy and Dusty stand by the stairwell leading up to the stage. Jesse passes them and smiles as he heads back into the auditorium. Dusty smiles back feeling slightly embarrassed.

Leroy shakes his head: "Dusty if you want to be with Jesse that much, then you need to talk to him and get this out of your system."

Dusty sighs: "But Mr Johnson, I told him how I feel before and he made it clear he wasn't interested."

Leroy: "Things are different now Dusty, what with Nicole gone. I think before he was still holding out, hoping that maybe they'd get back together but now he knows that isn't going to happen. Besides why not ask him out just as friends and see where it leads?"

A huge smile crosses Dusty's face and her eyes light up at the thought that maybe Jesse would be interested in her after all.

At that moment Doris opens the door to the makeup room and calls out.

Doris: "Jesse! Wait, I need to talk to you!"

Doris looks around but there is no sign of Jesse. Instead she sees Leroy and Dusty staring back at her.

Dusty: "Miss? Are you okay?"

Doris gives a weak smile and rushes past them.

Doris: "I'm fine Dusty thank you. There's just something I've got to do"

Leroy watches with a puzzled look on his face.

Leroy: “Dusty? Do you know that woman?”

Dusty is surprised by the question: "Yes of course I do she's a substitute teacher."

Leroy: "What's here name?"

Dusty: "It's Miss....erm..."

Dusty stops and thinks for a moment, realising that she doesn't actually know the teachers last name.

Dusty: "I'm not sure but I've been in class with her! She was a substitute teacher covering Mr Shorofsky’s class. I’ve seen her lots of times."

Leroy looks puzzled as he watches the woman disappear on to the stage.

Dusty: “Mr Johnson are you okay?”

Doris walks on to the stage into the empty auditorium and sees Jesse just about to leave through the door at the far end of the room. She calls after him but the door slams shut and again he doesn't hear her.

Suddenly the lights change, with a bright spotlight shining directly on Doris while music blasts outs all around her. The Spotlight is so strong that Doris can't see what is happening. She puts her hand up to shield her eyes from the light. She looks to her left and then to her right and notices dancers dressed in black all around her in the middle of a routine. Christopher Donlon then steps into the spotlight and begins to sing followed by Leroy:

"Good enough as never been good enough for me.

All the things I wanted in life never have come free.

But even if it's a hard climb, you should know from the start.

I'm makin' it, takin' it to the top.

I'm breakin' it open, I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, nothing is gonna stop me now. (Nothing's gonna stop me.)

I'm makin' it, takin' to the top.

I'm breakin' it open I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, watch me I'm gonna show you how.

If there's a winner it might as well be me.

I'm no good at leavin' well enough alone.

I've never been afraid to go for it on my own.

Even when life is not fair,

You can bet I'll be out there.

I'm makin' it, takin' it to the top.

I'm breakin' it open, I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, nothing is gonna stop me now. (Nothing's gonna stop me.)

I'm makin' it, takin' to the top. I'm breakin' it open I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, watch me I'm gonna show you how.

If there's a winner it might as well be me.

I'll make it to the top, never gonna stop.

Make it to the top I'll keep on going.

Make it to the top, never gonna stop,

Make it to the top I'll keep on going, keep on going, keep on going.

Makin' it, takin' it to the top.

I'm breakin' it open, I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, nothing is gonna stop me now. (Nothing's gonna stop me.)

I'm makin' it, takin' to the top.

I'm breakin' it open I'm getting hot.

I'm shakin' it, watch me I'm gonna show you how.

If there's a winner it might as well be,

if there's a winner it might as well be,

if there's a winner it might as well be me."

At first Doris doesn't know what to do. She can hear murmurs from the crowd as they see a middle aged woman standing motionless in the middle of the dance routine. Chris, Leroy and the dancers professionally carry on, to try and get through the number, but all are confused as to what is happening.

To try to blend in Doris tries to join in the routine. She remembers that Chris and Leroy performed the song "Makin' It" for the show that was supposed to be for the president. In the crowd Doris sees Mrs Berg & Agent Crane. Mrs Berg is scowling at her disapprovingly while the sight of Agent Crane sparks a feeling of dread as she knows he's going to want answers and she has no idea how she's going to explain this.

As Doris dances she can hear giggles of laughter coming from the crowd. She notices Bruno looking back at her puzzled by what he is seeing.

As the dancers high kick their legs into the air, Doris again tries to follow their lead and also kicks her leg up into the air, but it's been a long time since Doris was dancing in high school! She feels a twinge of cramp in her leg and yelps in pain. She grabs her leg and quickly sits down on the stage. One of the dancers trips over her which sends them off balance sending them crashing into another dancer. Soon all the dancers have come crashing to the floor and lie in a crumpled heap. The music stops, and Chris and Leroy stand over Doris.

Chris is angry: "Who are you and what the hell are you doing? Are you stupid? This is my first show and you're ruining it!”

The small crowd of students and teachers have moved from the stalls to the stage and now stand around Doris sitting on the stage, still clutching her leg.

Lydia: "Wait Chris honey, calm down a minute so she can speak."

Doris looks from familiar face to face and all have a puzzled look on them.

Lydia: "Would you like to explain to us, what you are doing?”

Doris sits in silence not knowing what to say. She closes her eyes hoping that suddenly she will disappear and move to some other event. Slowly she opens her eyes again but nothing has changed and everyone is still staring at her expectantly.

Mrs Berg, who had been sat with the others in the auditorium, instead of going up on stage left the room and went into the lobby. She walks over to a pillar near the stairwell and pulls a leaver on the wall, at the same time she is muttering to herself.

Mrs Berg: I suppose it's going to be down to me, yet again to sort this out and get her out of this one. How she keeps getting herself into these situations, I'll never know."

The lever Mrs Berg pulled is the fire alarm and a claxon sounds throughout the school. In the auditorium everyone looks around to see what the noise is. Morloch and the other teachers start instructing the students to evacuate the building quickly and quietly.

Doris breathes a sigh of relief that the pressure is off her for a moment. As she goes through the big doors at the end of the auditorium she notices things change. The fire alarm is still sounding but there are lots more people around and she notices many of them are wearing different clothes. Dwight stands in the hallway motioning people to keep moving and panickingly telling people not to panic!

She notices her younger self on the stairwell talking to the blind substitute teacher Jim Hamilton.

Teenage Doris: "It's okay Mr Hamilton, I made sure all the kids were out."

Hamilton snaps: "I have to check for myself, they’re my responsibility!"

Doris: "But I'm sure they're all out!"

The blind teacher then angrily pushes the teenager aside yelling at her.

Hamilton: "Get out of the way dammit!"

Lydia who has witnessed the scene heads to the stairwell and reassures the teenager.

Lydia: "Doris it's okay, it's alright."

Lydia continues up the stairs. Middle aged Doris walks over and follows the 2 teachers, she passes her teenage self on the stairs and for a moment they could look into each other’s eyes but the younger Doris cannot see her older self.

On the second floor Doris witnesses a scared Hamilton rushing down the corridor calling out repeatedly

Hamilton: "Is there anyone there, can anyone hear me."

Lydia stands watching, upset by what she is seeing. Eventually an almost tearful Lydia, thinking it's best not to intrude, turns to head back down the corridor towards the stairs. Doris hides behind a pillar so she won't be seen.

Once Lydia has gone, Doris walks over to the water fountain where Hamilton is crouching over. The alarm has stopped and he is relieved to realise it is a test.

Doris calls out to him: "It's okay Mr Hamilton, its all okay."

She reaches out for his hand to comfort him but he pulls it away.

Hamilton: "Doris what the hell are you doing here? You should have evacuated the building by now!"

Doris: "I'm sorry but I could see you were upset and I just wanted to cheek you were okay."

Hamilton snaps: "I'm perfectly fine thank you and you should be outside with the others. I don't need any help! What's wrong with all you do gooders? Just because a man is blind, doesn't mean he needs people holding his hand all the time."

Doris is surprised by the teachers reaction although she remembered that he was always very independent and didn't like people feeling sorry for him or trying to help him just because he was blind.

At that moment Doris starts to smell smoke just like she had previously.

Doris: "Mr Hamilton, do you smell that?"

Hamilton lifts his head and starts to sniff the air.

Hamilton: "Smoke? Is that what you smell?"

Doris: "Yes, I think so."

Suddenly a bell starts to ring making them both jump. It's not as loud as the alarm that had previously been ringing.

Hamilton starts to panic: "Is there really a fire now? We have to get out of here quickly."

He aggressively takes Doris' arm and pulls her along.

Hamilton: "Come on you're my responsibility. Get out of here!"

Doris tries to break free from his grip but he is holding on so tightly she can't get loose.

Doris: "Mr Hamilton, you're hurting me and it's not the alarm!"

He lets go and apologises, then there is a silence between them. Suddenly the light changes and Hamilton disappears leaving Doris stood in the corridor all alone. The bell is still ringing.

It had taken Doris a few moments but eventually she had realised what the ringing sound was. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out her cell phone, which is ringing away. The screen is lit up and the word "Jenny" appears.

Doris' heart starts to race; her daughter Jenny is calling her. How that is possible she doesn't know and really doesn't care. She is just so happy to be able talk to her.

Doris excitedly answers the call.

Doris: "Hello..."

To be continued....