After The Lights Go Out

She wanted to come back. After everything he'd put her through, Brenda Bennett still wanted to return to the Corny Collins Show after it had been integrated and her leave of absence had ended. Corny couldn't believe it when Maybelle, the new station manager and co-host, had included her name in the new line up. He reread the list many times, and every time he glanced over her name, he couldn't help but wonder why. After all, kids he had done absolutely nothing to had left the show, and the one whose life he had single handedly beaten into oblivion wanted to come back to him. Corny decided that he'd never understand teenagers that day.

Many changes had occurred since the integration of the Corny Collins Show. Tracy Turnblad and Link Larkin were the new hot couple, and Inez was the lead dancer with a young black man named Dewey as her partner. Some of the cast members had left, such as Amber Von Tussle, which was due to the fact that she was forced to live with relatives in New York whilst her mother was incarcerated. This left Tammy Trammel as the lead snob, Lu Anne Lowell and Darla Dennis as her sidekicks. Shelley Simon, one of Corny's personal favorite councilettes and Brenda's best friend/roommate had left also, due to the fact that her straight laced parents didn't want her dancing with colored people. This left an open spot for Tammy's rival, and the way things were working out, it seemed Brenda would soon take Shelley's place as the headstrong blunt one.

Brenda had changed, and everyone could see it. She wasn't a flirt anymore, settling back into a dull relationship with Brad Bailey. She never looked Corny in the eye, nor did she talk to him in private. Everyone knew what happened when Brenda had her baby: Clara was taken away by adoptive parents in Kansas, and it had completely torn her heart out. She was still living with the Simon family, since her family wasn't allowing her to come back anytime soon. She wasn't the naïve little girl she used to be; she was grown and more wise, and she wasn't afraid to let people know when she meant business. She became friend with Tracy and Inez behind the scenes, since the original councilettes rallied against them almost instantly.

Whilst they were practicing dance rehearsal one afternoon, Brad tripped and sprained his ankle. He was rendered unable to dance for the rest of the afternoon at least, and Brenda was left without a dance partner. "Miss Maybelle, please! I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow. Just let me learn the dances today, and I'll teach him when he's feeling better." Brenda pleaded, and Maybelle looked sympathetic. "Honey, it's a partner dance. You need someone with you for you to learn it yourself." Brenda lowered her head slightly, brown curls bobbing around her face. The clearing of a throat caught everyone's attention, all heads turning to see where the source came from.

Corny came out from around his podium and strode over toward Maybelle and Brenda. "Miss Maybelle, if Brenda doesn't mind, I'll be her dance partner this afternoon. Brad'll be up and at 'em tomorrow, and she'll have to learn the steps eventually." Brenda gave him a curious look, trying to figure out exactly what he was playing at. She could practically hear the whiplash in Tammy's neck as she turned to whisper some comment in Lu Anne's ear, but Maybelle's words distracted her. "Alright, Corny, hop to it."

The older man looked down at Brenda, who was a few inches shorter than him. Her smoky blue eyes read curiosity as he offered her his hand the way any gentleman would. She watched her dainty, pink-nailed hand slide gently into his much larger hand, and he led her into the group where she and Brad typically stood. The music started, and she whispered to him quietly, "What are you doing?" Corny raised a curious eyebrow, glancing around at the pairs of Darla and Sketch Temprance, Noreen Ewell and IQ Haley, and Becky Rondstat and Paulie Partridge dancing nearby. He gave her a small smile. "I thought I was helping you. You wanted to dance, right?"

She rolled her eyes, a very Shelley move on her part. Corny decided that living with the fiery redhead was working wonders on Brenda's new personality makeover. "Yeah, but…people are gonna start talking now." Corny stifled a chuckle, gently tapping her foot with his own to send her in the right direction for the dance step they were doing. "Bren, people talk anyways. Don't you think its better to give them something to talk about then have them waste their breath over nothin'?"

"I don't want people to talk about me, Corny." She said with a slight edge in her voice that took him aback. Of course, he knew that people always talked about her, but he hadn't realized she'd take the comment so personally. "And don't call me Bren. It'd unprofessional, you being my boss and all." Her defensive attitude put him on edge a little, and he couldn't stop himself from saying, "Sweetheart, it's not professional to chase your boss into an illicit relationship either." The look that crossed her face was reminiscent of a small child being told they couldn't buy the doll they wanted, and her voice became very small. "You're the adult, Corny. We talked about this. Stop trying to make me relive my mistakes, please. I've suffered enough."

"Then why did you come back?" He asked, and the music slowly died down. Brenda pulled away from his grasp rather quickly, her ruby lips pouting in an enticing manner. Corny gave her a stern look, waiting for an answer, but no words came from her mouth. Instead they both heard Maybelle say, "Good job, everyone. I think we've done enough for today." The council kids scattered amongst each other, and Brenda silently turned and walked away from Corny Collins, leaving him answerless.

"Hey, Brenda!" came the cheery voice of Tracy Turnblad as Brenda approached the set of vanities they all shared. The brunette forced a smile for her larger friend. "Hey, Trace. What's up?" Tracy practically lit up as she sat down in Shelley's old seat beside Brenda. "My mom said she wants to meet some of my new friends, and I really hoped you could come to dinner tonight! Would that be okay?" Brenda picked up her can of Ultra-Clutch, spritzing it lightly over her hair. "Sure, that sounds great."

They both glanced up at the nameplate over her mirror that read BRENDA, and they both smiled slightly at the picture stuck in the corner of it. A small baby wrapped in a pink blanket with wisps of dark hair and large, blue eyes. Tracy looked up at it with curiosity. "Are you ever gonna tell me who the father is?" Brenda looked at her, expressionless as she set down her can. "Maybe some other time, Trace. I'll tell eventually." Tracy nodded evenly, glancing around for her boyfriend, Link. "I've heard rumors, y'know, not that I believe what people say but…" She leaned close, her voice getting smaller than usual. "Tammy keeps saying that it's Corny."

Brenda glanced over her shoulder, seeing the charismatic man talking to Maybelle, whom he not-so-secretly was very fond of. Brenda bit her bottom lip, turning back to Tracy. "We'll save the baby story for another day."

"My, you skinny little thing! Go ahead, help yourself!" Edna Turnblad urged Brenda as she put a small about of roast on her plate. Edna took it upon herself to heap a massive amount on Brenda's place, causing Tracy to duck her head in embarrassment. "Ma, just let her eat what she wants." She looked over at her father Wilbur for support, but before he could say anything, Brenda chuckled slightly. "No, it's okay. It does look really good."

Edna shook her head. "They must be workin' you to the bone in that studio. All of ya're so skinny and got nothin' on ya." Brenda daintily put her fork in her food and took a small bite, just as proper as they did it in the Simon house. "No, Mrs. Turnblad, I exercise pretty hard. I wanted to work off my baby weight, so…" Brenda stopped speaking, forgetting that it might not be a good idea to mention to her friend's parents that she'd had a child on her first meeting with them. Edna looked up at her curiously. "You had a baby?"

"Ma, she had to leave, remember? That was how I got my spot." Tracy said, trying to ease her way out of the story for Brenda's sake. Edna nodded in understanding, "Yes, I remember that. But, my goodness, you're just a little one yourself! Your parents musta been worried sick for you." Brenda lowered her head a little, setting down her fork. "Um, well, I-I don't live with my parents anymore. They, uh, they kicked me out. I live with Shelley Simon, who used to be on the council." Edna gasped in surprise. "Oh, you poor thing! I can't imagine…Oh, sweetheart, if you ever need anything-"

"Thanks, Mrs. Turnblad, really. I'm doing just fine though." Brenda said. "My baby's well taken care of." Tracy gave her a reassuring look, putting her hand on Brenda's petite shoulder. "Her baby's in Kansas with a nice, happy couple. Isn't that nice?" She tried to dissipate the awkwardness, and Edna nodded her head. "It's good that she's taken care of. Kids are a gift, I've always said. Isn't that right, Wilbur?" She glanced lovingly at her husband. He spoke for the first time of the night. "Of course. The day Tracy was born…"

"Dad…"

Brad was back the next day, all rested up and ready to dance with his girlfriend in his arms. Brenda teased him playfully about his clumsiness, but when he offered to show him how coordinated he really could be, she dropped the subject. She headed over to her vanity, and she felt a strange sensation of déjà vu wash over her entire body. Sitting beside her cans of hairspray was a pink carnation and a note in familiar handwriting. 'Sorry about yesterday. We should talk.' It said, and Brenda found herself staring at the flower for an unusual amount of time.

"Ooh, pretty flower, Bren." Tracy walked over to her vanity. "Who's it from?" She watched Brenda's lips slide into a small frown as she threw the flower in the garbage along with the small piece of paper. "No one." She said. "So, do your parents think I'm an unsuitable friend or what?" Tracy giggled a little, shaking her head. "No, of course not. They don't judge people like that."

"Ew, Brenda. We thought you had more taste than to hang out with that whale," came Tammy's snide voice as she walked past them with Lu Anne and Darla. Her cronies giggled s Tracy's happy expression faded. Brenda furrowed her brow, saying over her shoulder. "I'd rather hang out with whales than cows any day, Tammy." This comment caused the new Queen Bee to stop in her tracks, her followers gasping in surprise. Tammy rounded back on Brenda. "I'd rather be a cow than a concubine, Brenda. So I suggest you stop talking trash."

Brenda got up from her seat, ignoring Tracy's quiet protests. "You think I'm talking trash? Please, Tammy, everything out of your mouth is garbage, including your singing and" She leaned forward a bit and crinkled her nose. "Apparently, your breath, too." Tammy cupped her hand over her mouth as a crowd started to gather. Tammy narrowed her eyes at the challenge before her. "Why don't you run along and find your baby's father and pop out a few more kids to abandon?"

Brenda said nothing, but loud smack when her hand made contact with the side of Tammy's face was response enough. Hands groped through hair and pulled tightly, and Brenda shoved Tammy into her vanity. "Knock it off!" She heard Corny's voice sound more stern than she'd ever heard it as he grabbed Brenda around the waist and pulled her off Tammy. She was kicking up her feet as Fender Fornier tried to help Tammy up. But the Amber Replacement still had one last scrap in her: "You think because you sleep with him you can do anything you want?" Brenda made a disgusted noise as a chorus of gasps surrounded them. "At least I can get a guy, you ugly little bit"

"Brenda, stop it! That's enough!" Corny said loudly, pulling her back the best he could. She turned around and pushed him away from her. "Don't" her voice nearly broke. "Touch me." Brenda said, and she turned around and took off. Tammy was rubbing her sore head when Corny gave her a serious look. He pointed down the hallway. "Tammy, my office. Now. Tracy, can you go find Brenda, please?" He looked over at the larger girl, who was still in shock. She nodded slightly, following Brenda out the side door as Corny rubbed his temple in frustration.

"It's over, kids. Get back to whatever you were doing. We're on in ten!"

Brenda was wiping her eyes as she slumped against the brick wall of the WYZT studio, and Tracy was quickly at her side. "Corny sent me to come find you. Brenda, what was that all about?" Tracy tried to be comforting to her friend, but Brenda quickly scoffed at the sound of Corny's name. "He's more trouble than he's worth." She mumbled to herself, and then looked up at Tracy. "Tammy had it coming. She isn't half as scary as Amber was, and Amber was as threatening as a cream puff."

"No, I meant the thing with Corny." Tracy elaborated, and Brenda hung her head. "I think it's one of those unspoken truths, y'know? I'm pretty sure everyone knows I had a thing with him once, but everyone's afraid to actually talk about it." Tracy gasped inaudibly, standing up and taking Brenda's hand to help her up as well. "So it's true about the baby, then?" Brenda nodded quietly, and Tracy gave her a genuinely confused look. "But, Brenda, if he hurt you so badly, why'd you come back?"

"I thought it might help me get over him finally."

Despite the crazy events earlier in the afternoon, the show went on without a hitch, aside from Brenda 'accidentally' tripping Tammy during the Link's solo later on. Tracy decided that, to try and cheer Brenda up, she should invite her to Maybelle's platter party that evening. After all, she and Link were going with Seaweed and Penny, so why no invite Brad and Brenda too? Maybelle felt the same, and Brenda agreed to come. Of course, she'd have to lie to the Simon's and tell them she was at Brad's place studying, but it would be worth it. They always allowed Brenda more freedom than Shelley or Stevie, simply because she wasn't actually their daughter. And she was just fine with that.

The platter party started out great, despite the fact that Corny Collins came later on at Miss Maybelle's request. Brenda pretended to be attentive to Brad's not entirely interesting story about God knows what, but her young eyes couldn't seem to look away from Corny's blatant flirtation with the strong, black woman. "Honestly, Mr. Collins, you could charm the pants off anyone. You know that?" She heard Maybelle ask, to which he smiled broadly. "Yes, well, sometimes that's the point, Miss Maybelle."

Maybelle chuckled. "Cornwallis, sometimes you should hold your tongue." She was obviously teasing, since she seemed greatly amused by his flirtation. However, Brenda was not overly amused at all. She watched Corny shrug his scrawny shoulders. "You make it very hard, Miss Maybelle, surely you must know that." Brenda looked away from them for a second, catching Tracy's concerned glance. Tracy opened her mouth to say something, but Maybelle's call of, "Dinner's ready!" distracted everyone.

They all gathered around a large table, passing around the delicious looking soul food Maybelle and Inez had prepared together. Corny looked over at Brenda, tapping her on the arm gently. "You okay, sweetheart?" He asked, referring to the fight that had occurred earlier. She nodded solemnly, "I'm fine, Corny. Don't call me sweetheart." She was obviously still bitter, so Corny left it at that. They all chatted about nothing important, until Maybelle turned to Brenda and asked, "So how's that baby of yours, honey? You've been silent as the grave all evening."

Everyone turned to look at the petite brunette, who put on a false smile for the sake of the entire table. "Oh, um, Clara's good. Mrs. Jones said she's been gurgling and trying to make words already. They say she's really smart." Corny's gaze was fixated on her; this was the most he'd heard about his child since the Jones's took her away to Topeka. Maybelle nodded pleasantly, "Well that's good. It's nice of them to call you and tell you what's goin' on." Brenda nodded quietly, and Corny turned his attention back to his food. Link glanced over at Tracy, mouthing 'What's up with them?' and causing Tracy to shake her head.

After everyone was done eating, everyone went out into the living room and turned on the jukebox. They all danced together, and Brenda was having fun until Brad explained that he had to go home before his parents worried. They hadn't necessarily wanted him to be in a black neighborhood, and he promised them he'd be home before dark. After kissing her boyfriend goodbye, Brenda began to dance with Inez, her other very good friend. Corny and Maybelle were in the kitchen doing dishes together, talking casually about the council kids. "That was a heck of a fight you broke up this afternoon, Mr. Collins."

Corny glanced up from the dish he was drying. "You saw that?" Maybelle shook her head, not one blonde strand of hair falling out of place. "Only the tail end of it. Girl's can be vicious, can't they? Just stick 'em in one room for a while and they'll go crazy on ya." Corny chuckled a bit, setting his plate on the rack to dry. "You have no idea. I'm just happy there haven't been any real fist fights with the guys yet. I don't think I'd be strong enough to pull someone Link's size off someone else."

Maybelle smiled warmly at him. "I bet you could handle yourself just fine, Mr. Collins." Corny leaned against the side of the counter, a little closer to her than he was before. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence." Miss Maybelle saw the game he was playing at, and she went along with it. Putting her dish down, she leaned against the counter in a similar way to her co-host. "Well, you're welcome, sugar."

Corny eyed her for a moment. "Y'know, you have the most beautiful voice. Smooth as honey." Maybelle chuckled a little, and they were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't notice the small teenaged girl poking her head in the doorway. Maybelle continued, "Well, sugar, that's not the only thing I got that's smooth as honey…" Just as Corny leaned a bit closer, the small sound of someone clearing their throat distracted them both. They turned to see a meek looking Brenda in the doorway. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I didn't mean to"

"No, no, sweetheart, it's okay." Maybelle said pleasantly, giving Brenda a warm smile, whereas Corny just looked at the ground. Brenda said evenly, "Inez fell asleep on the couch, and Seaweed wanted to know if he should take her to her room." Maybelle nodded gently. "Yeah, tell him to take her. Thank you, Brenda." The little brunette nodded, giving Corny one last cold glance before leaving the room.

A knock on Corny's office door the next afternoon got his attention away from his reflection for a quick moment. "It's open." He said quietly, watching the door open in his mirror as she checked his perfect teeth and straightened his tie. Brenda emerged, wearing the sky blue dress he liked on her so much. "Hey, Corny." She said, and he was visibly happy that she was finally speaking to him. "Brenda, have a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of his desk. She pulled it out and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. Corny sat down behind his desk, that handsome smile on his face. "What can I do for ya?"

"Are you and Miss Maybelle together?" She came right out and asked the question that had been burning in the back of her throat for quite some time. Corny shook his eye, laughing quietly. "No, Brenda, we aren't. I do, however, like her very much." Brenda looked him over, her blue eyes calculating. "You like her? Like, emotionally?" Corny nodded, hoping that he wasn't digging his hole deeper. "Yes. But Brenda, please"

"No, it's fine." She said quietly. "It's not like I'm your girlfriend or anything. Besides, we weren't supposed to happen anyways, right?" Brenda's eyes were unreadable, and her lips were pouting in a way that told Corny that this was the time to talk about their 'relationship'. He leaned forward a little bit. "Brenda, what happened with us was probably a mistake on both our parts, but it's in the past. We make mistakes, we learn from them. But I'm more curious as to why you came back." He tilted his head to the side a bit. "It's not because of me, is it?"

Brenda's lips turned up into a coy smile, a smile similar to the one when she first persuaded him that they should spend some quality time in his dressing room, a smile that Corny was very fond of. "I miss you." She said in a small voice, causing him to exhale somewhat loudly. Brenda continued, "I thought maybe if I came back, I'd be able move on, y'know? But I can't. I mean, Brad's still a sweetheart and he still loves me, but…it's not there." Corny gave her a curious look. "It?"

"Y'know, it. That spark that you feel in your chest whenever you see them. I don't have that with Brad." She explained, and Corny nodded slowly. "Brenda, whatever it is that you want, I can't give it to you." Brenda leaned forward a little bit, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "Corny, don't deny that you don't still feel something for me. If you didn't, you wouldn't have stepped up and danced with me the other day. I know it."

Corny bit the inside of his cheek, watching her with careful eyes. "Brenda, please, don't put me in this kind of position." She rose from her seat with a devious smirk on her face, sidling over to Corny in his chair. She climbed into his lap before he could stop her, and her slim fingers wrapped around his tie. "Is this position better?"

He smiled. She really hadn't changed at all.

Maybelle wandered around the studio, looking for her cheese ball co-host. "Link," She approached the young singer as he fixed his hair in his mirror. He smiled up at Maybelle nicely, as he was a frequent house guest of hers. "Hey there, Miss Maybelle. How ya been?" She smiled warmly at her son's best friend. "I'm just fine. Have you seen Corny, honey?" Link nodded, pointing over his shoulder. "I think he's in his dressing room."

"Thank you, child." Maybelle headed in the direction Link was pointing in. She had to go over the agenda for the following week's shows, and she also wanted to discuss the events of the previous evening. Perhaps she'd give him the satisfaction of taking her out for dinner sometime. She knocked on the solid wood door, and there were fumbling sounds on the other end. This caused a curious look to cross Miss Maybelle's face, and Corny's call of, "Just a second!" caused her to put her hands on her curvaceous hips. The door swung open, and Brenda was standing in the doorway, trying to hide the undeniable flush on her cheeks. Corny smiled broadly at her, "See you on stage, Brenda." She turned and smiled casually, "Bye Corny, Miss Maybelle." She nodded politely at the station manager, who gave her a motherly smile right back.

"How can I help you, Miss Maybelle?" He asked, leaning in the doorway with a distinct sparkle in his handsome blue eyes. Maybelle raised an eyebrow. "Well, Mr. Collins, I do hope that you were helping Brenda with her dance steps, otherwise her face wouldn't be that red." Corny nodded evenly, pushing his mussed hair back with his hand. "Of course, Miss Maybelle. Brenda's just a little behind, what with all her time off. I was just helpin' her out a little."

Maybelle nodded. "Well, aren't you swell. I just hope you won't be too busy teaching Miss Brenda some dance steps to come to my place for dinner Saturday night. Just you and I, Mr. Collins. What do ya say?" His smile changed at that point, from his over the top television smile to a natural smile that Maybelle preferred.

"Well, that sounds just great, Miss Maybelle."

End of Part One