Starting At The End Part 1

Teenage Doris Schwartz stands looking in amazement at the two identical women, who Danny said had claimed to be her aunts. Doris didn't recognise them at all although she had to admit that they did hold a very strong resemblance to herself.

Teenage Doris: "Who are you? You're not my Aunts!"

There is a long silence but before anyone can answer the teenager starts to feel very light headed.

Teenage Doris: "Danny I........."

She never completes the sentence as she passes out. Danny is quick to react and manages to catch her limp body and saves her from doing any damage by crashing to the floor. Seeing what's happening Mrs Berg rushes towards Danny and teenage Doris and whispers to the two older women as she goes.

Mrs Berg: "Quickly now's your chance, get out of here. I'll cover for you."

The two women rush into the nearest room which just happens to be Morloch's empty office, and breath a sigh of relief.

As Danny and Mrs Berg try to help teenage Doris, Danny notices that the two women have gone.

Danny looks around: "Where have they gone?"

Mrs Berg looks puzzled: "Who Dear?"

Danny: "Doris' aunts of course. They were here a few minutes ago, where are they now?"

Mrs Berg: "I don't see anyone dear. Now help me get Doris to the Nurses office."

In Morloch's office the two older women are suddenly startled when Morloch enters through the other door. The sight of the two women stops him in his tracks.

Morloch: "Nancy? How come there are two of you? Which one of you is Nancy?"

Both Doris and her other self point to each other at the same time and in unison say: "She is!"

The other Doris is frustrated: "Why are you lying to him? You're the one that almost slept with him, so stop trying to blame me."

Morloch feels hurt: "You know if you didn't need to lead me on like that. If you didn't want to see me again, all you had to do was say so."

The other Doris snaps: "She didn't want to see you again! She's already seeing someone else a much younger guy!"

Morloch was not expecting such a blunt reply and is taken back by the woman's candour.

Doris is annoyed by her other self and can see Morloch is upset: "Why did you say that?"

She then turns to Morloch: "It's not true Quentin. It's just very complicated and I wish I could explain it to you but I'm afraid you would never understand. Besides we have to be going."

With than she drags her other self by the arm and rushes quickly out of Morloch's office, across the hallway and into the cafeteria. Morloch quickly moves across his office and out into the corridor. There is no sign of the two women and Mrs Berg is just leaving the nurses room.

Morloch: "Mrs Berg did you see Nancy coming out of my office?"

Mrs Berg looks vague and musters to herself as she passes him by: "Nancy? Is that what she is calling herself these days. How is a person supposed top keep up?First there's one and now there's two, when there really shouldn't be any! There are people passing out, I haven't had a raise in years, I've got a headache coming and it's still only 9 o'clock in the morning! Oh My!"

Not having a clue what Mrs Berg is talking about Morloch thinks it's best to leave her alone. He takes one last look at the other wise empty corridor and retreets back to his office.

In the cafeteria the two older women hear music coming from one of the rooms opposite. Doris slowly opens the door and looks out. She is relieved that the corridor is empty. The two women can hear Danny singing in the nurses office.

"How can I convince you what you see is real

Who am I to blame you for doubting what you feel

I was always reachin', you were just a girl I knew

I took for granted the friend I have in you

I was living for a dream,

Loving for a moment

Taking on the world,

That was just my style

Now I look into your eyes

I can see forever,

The search is over

You were with me all the while

Can we last forever, will we fall apart

At times it's so confusing, these questions of the heart

You followed me through changes, and patiently you'd wait

Till I came to my senses, through some miracle of fate

I was living for a dream,

Loving for a moment

Taking on the world,

That was just my style

Now I look into your eyes

I can see forever,

The search is over

You were with me all the while

Now the miles stretch out behind me loves that I have lost

Broken hearts lie victims of the game

Then good luck it finally stuck like lightning from the blue

Every highway leading me back to you

Now at last I hold you, now all is said and done

The search has come full circle, our destinies are one

So if you ever loved me show me that you give a damn

You'll know for certain the man I really am

I was living for a dream,

Loving for a moment

Taking on the world,

That was just my style

Now I look into your eyes

I can see forever,

The search is over

You were with me all the while".

The other Doris: "Oh that is so sweet. Danny is in love with us! I knew it they will stay together!"

Doris shakes her head in frustration: "No they won't! May I remind you that we are not in love with Danny!"

The other Doris: "Speak for yourself!"

Doris: "You do realise that if Danny stays with her, then we don't meet Bob Rhythm, which in itself wouldn't be a bad things but it does mean our children Jenny and Will won't exist!!"

The other Doris stops and thinks for a minute: "I didn't think of that!"

Doris: "That's the problem, you didn't think at all!"

The other Doris turns and heads straight to the nurses office and places her hand on the handle.

Doris: "What are you doing?"

The other Doris: "I need to break them up. I don't want to do anything to stop my children being born."

Doris sighs: "I'm sure it'll be fine. Lets just get out of here."

As they turn to walk towards the exit, the corridor is suddenly packed full of other people, who are excitedly greeting each other. There is so many people it's difficult for the two of them to get through the crowd. Doris sees a sign hanging over the auditorium doors saying "Welcome Alumni".

Doris: "This is the Alumni reunion we had and the last time we were officially at this school. Come on there's too many people lets get out of here."

They head into the dance rehearsal room which is pretty much in darkness. The people outside have all disappeared and the two can see a camera and a light on Coco.

Coco: "You know, when I first started school, I had this burning desire to be a star. And I figured I already knew it all, so I was just going to breeze through my classes until I was discovered.... Surprise! (laughs) By my second day, I realized I didn't know anything! I mean, I had to work my as... ... (laughs) Okay, we're taping that, al-right.... I had to work real hard, just to keep up with the other kids. I mean, you either did it or you were gone, right? But this school taught me something important. Nothing worthwhile comes easy. I mean, a truly valuable success, it doesn't happen overnight. It's based on a foundation of technique and hard work. You know, becoming a star isn't really important to me any more. Becoming a great artist... that's what counts."

The other Doris: "She's certainly grown up since we were at school together. Maybe I misjudged her when I slapped her."

Doris: "Maybe you did but I bet it felt good to do it. There are certainly plenty of times in the past that I wished I'd slapped her."

They both burst into laughter, which starts to attract attention from the film crew. They are just about to head back into the main corridor when the room changes. There is still a film crew but this time it's Jesse talking to Montgomery who is sat at a nearby piano.

Montgomery: "Growing up I was short, and as you can see, I'm still short, four years later. Montgomery McNeill, forever short, a little leprechaun he is."

Jesse: "So what has the School of the Arts meant to you?"

Montgomery: "I guess you could say it was my brown tuxedo."

Jesse is a little puzzled: "Brown tuxedo? Could you explain that a little bit?"

Montgomery continues: "Growing up, I always felt like the world was a black tuxedo, and I was a pair of brown loafers. I just didn't seem to fit in anywhere. And then I started classes at School of the Arts, and I instantly felt comfortable here. I was still my weird little self, but that seemed to be okay with everybody. I also found out that I had this special talent – I was a good actor. All of a sudden... I was somebody."

Again the room changes and the two women are left alone and so head back out into the empty corridor.

The other Doris: "Do you get used to things changing all the time? I'm finding it all a little unnerving."

Doris smiles: "You do get more used to it but it still throws me sometimes, particularly when I'm in the middle of doing something. Just before I met up with you I was with Bruno. He'd just kissed me and we were just about to try and stop you from doing something silly. In the hope that it would stop all of this happening. I wish I was with him now."

For a moment there is silence as both women contemplate their situations.

Doris then takes a deep breath: "You've asked me a lot of questions and I've tried to answer them. Can I ask you a question now?"

The other Doris nods: "Sure"

Doris: "What do you remember before you found yourself in the auditorium? Can you remember what was happening? What might have caused us to be here?"

The other Doris thinks for a minute and then shakes her head: "I can't remember. I have no idea!"

Doris sighs: "I was hoping it would be different for you. I can't remember either. I've only been able to fill in the blanks from watching you. I learnt that William is missing in Afghanistan and we were really upset about that. You got a phone call just before you left Julie's concert and Danny took it for you. Can you remember that?"

Again the other Doris shakes her head: "No, I can't . Damn, I can't remember anything. We're never going to get back home are we?"

Doris shrugs: "Well we can't spend the rest of our lives wondering around the school of the arts, so I believe some how we will get back."

At that moment the lighting changes and there is another camera crew this time they are talking to Holly.

Holly: "Oh, I have great memories of this place... the people... the dressing rooms! But actually, the first week here was an absolute disaster. I mean, I really didn't think I would make it. The criticism was just too much for me to handle, and I think I probably would have left school if my friends hadn't convinced me not to. But after that, I just started working on not taking things so seriously, you know? ... I just used to torture myself over every little thing. It had to be perfect. And I think what this school taught me was that... just to enjoy your work. And I think that's important. Because if I'm enjoying myself, the audience will too."

The other Doris: "I guess we were pretty mean to her when she first came here. I guess most of it was down to jealousy. So I'm glad that we became friend in the end."

Doris: "She a Bitch!"

The other Doris is surprised by the outburst: "What did she ever do to you?....Oh I know she's got something you want. I'm right aren't I?"

Only silence greets her words. The other Doris looks around and finds she is alone in the hallway. Holly and the film crew have gone and so has her other self. Frantically she looks around not knowing what to do next. A feeling of panic starts to rise throughout her body. She didn't want to have to go through what her other self had been through. The other Doris notices there has been a drop in the temperature and the air seems to have turned colder.

Suddenly a voice breaks the silence: "Doris, Doris, can you hear me? Doris?”

The other Doris looks round but the corridor is still empty, a shiver goes down her spine: "Who's there? What do you want?"

She feels a little nauseous as though there isn't enough air for her to breath properly. Her legs feel a little weak and she reaches out to hold on to a nearby door handle to stop her self from falling over. To her surprise the handle is red hot and she instantly pulls her hand away in pain. There is a strong smell of smoke, which she seems to be eating up the remaining air and she starts to panic. Her vision becomes a little blurred but she is still startled by a dark figure that brushes past her.

The other Doris: "Who's there? Who is it?"

Again there is no reply. The other Doris closes her eyes to muster up all her strength. As she opens them again she musters up all her strength to try and see more clearly.

Suddenly she lets out a scream as a menacing face stands right in front of her. It's dark eyes peering back at her. She recognises the face and the eyes of Leroy. Not her friend Leroy but the hooded dark figure her other self told her about.

The hooded figure begins to laugh. A loud menacing cackle of a laugh that terrifies the other Doris to her very core.

Then the corridor is filled with a loud banging noise. The other Doris struggling to breath falls to her knees. The banging seems to get louder and louder and along with Leroy laughing seems to penetrate deep into her brain. She puts her hands over her ears.

"The other Doris: "Stop this, please stop."

However the noise and the laughter continues.

The other Doris calls out again: "Help Me, ..... please.... somebody help me...."

To be continued.....