Chapter 2 – Brenda begins classes and Dylan tries to deal with his feelings

RADA

Brenda had been immersed in classes and workshops for about a week. She was learning so much about technique and emotional control while on the stage and was really excited to have met a great bunch of people that were also in the program. She was finishing up her evaluation of the scene they had read in class that day when she heard a knock on her door.

Brenda walks over and opens the door to find her new friends standing there.

'Hey guys! I was just finishing up my evaluation,' she says.

'Well, get that stuff done because we are partying tonight,' Jennifer says.

Jennifer, Amanda, Toby, Sean, and Lily enter her room and spread out on the carpet. They bring in some snack food, along with the Silver Screen version of Trivial Pursuit and begin to set it up. There's another knock on the door and Amanda gets up to let Jason in. Jason walks in carrying a cooler with him and sets it on the floor. He looks up at Brenda and smiles.

'You don't mind, do you?' he asks.

'Um, no, no, go right ahead.'

They spend the night playing the game, chowing down on snacks, and having fun. Everyone except for Brenda has a drink or two and just spends the night relaxing and getting to know each other better.

A few hours later, they leave so that they can get some sleep for class the next day. Brenda walks over to her desk area and begins to write a letter to Donna. She tells her all about her new friends and how much she is learning. She asks Donna how her summer is shaping up and hopes that she is strong enough to resist the temptation to either kill or get back together with David. She invites Donna to come and visit her during her last week of classes in hopes that maybe time is what she needs to get over David cheating on her. She tells Donna that time is what she needed when Kelly and Dylan stabbed her in the back and she assures Donna that she will make it through this, just like she did. She finishes her letter and begins another one to Dylan. She tells him all about her new friends and her fantastic experiences at the school. She tells him that she is so happy that she made the decision to enter this program and believes that just having this on her resume will open doors for her that would have never opened. She tells him that she misses him and promises that they will see each other soon in order to continue their new found relationship with each other.

Brenda puts postage on her letters and decides to mail them that night just so that they will get there in a reasonable amount of time.

The Peach Pit – a few days later

Donna comes in and finds Brandon, Kelly, Steve, and Andrea sitting in a booth talking.

'Guess what, guys? I got a letter from Brenda!' Donna exclaims.

'Really, I didn't get one,' Brandon says, pretending to look hurt.

'She says that she's met a great group of people that are in the program with her and that she's having a lot of fun hanging out with them. She's learning a lot and has absolute faith that this program will help to jumpstart her acting career,' Donna explains.

'Wow, sounds like she's having a blast. I hope she remembers us when she's famous,' Steve says.

'Come on, Steve, who could forget you?' Kelly laughs.

'Thanks, Kel, I appreciate that.'

'She also said that she wants me to come and visit her during her last week of classes. She thinks that getting away from here for a while will help me deal with the whole, you know, David situation,' Donna says, looking at her feet.

'Donna, if taking a break from the hustle and bustle of this town for a while will help to clear your head about your situation with David, I think you should go,' Kelly says. 'You are just torturing yourself by staying here and watching him degrade himself to a common slut.'

'Yeah, maybe you're right,' Donna says, with a weak smile.

'At least think about it, okay? I think it's great that Brenda, of all people, is trying to help you through this. It's good to have someone who's been there to help you through tough situations,' Brandon says, before he realizes what he is actually saying.

Kelly shifts uncomfortably in her seat and wrings her hands a little bit.

'Yeah, she's been really great, actually. Well, I'll definitely think about it,' Donna says. 'Now, where is Nat, I need some food!'

Dylan's House

The phone rings and Dylan puts his book down on the coffee table to answer it.

'Hello?'

'Hey D,' Brandon says.

'Hey B, what's going on?'

'I was just wondering if you had left yet or anything, I haven't seen you around the Peach Pit in a few days,' Brandon says, a little concerned.

'Nah, not yet, I'm waiting for the front to move in a bit.'

'Cool. Donna says that she got a letter from Brenda in London. Have you heard from her at all, because she didn't write to me?'

'No, but then again, I haven't checked my mail in a few days, so there might be something there. How is she doing?'

'According to what she wrote to Donna, she's doing great. She's met some new people and loves her classes. No regrets, you know. Man, I wish I had the opportunities that get thrown at that girl's feet,' Brandon says. 'She was also concerned about how Donna is holding up, you know, being that David went and slept with that record company chick and then broke her heart.'

Dylan sighs to himself and realizes that despite the fact that he was the one who broke her heart, that Brenda is confident enough to help Donna through this situation.

'Yeah, well, you know Brenda, always willing to help out her friends any way she can.'

'She even invited Donna to take a break from this crazy town, and David's antics, and go and visit her in London while she's there. It's amazing, my sister gets to go to Europe twice in two years, and she doesn't even invite her own brother. Man, did I get the raw end of this deal.'

Dylan winces a little when Brandon tells him that Brenda invited Donna to London.

'Yeah, well, what are you going to do? Look, man, I've got to get going. I'll talk to you soon,' Dylan says quickly.

'Yeah, alright, see you soon.'

Dylan gets up off of the couch and goes to his mailbox. A smile creeps across his face for a second when he sees a letter from Brenda for him. He reads about her excitement with her new friends and the fact that she is so glad that she made the decision to enter this program. She doesn't mention anything about visiting her or her extension to Donna. She just says that she misses him and can't wait until she can spend more time with him.

He begins to crumple the letter a little and then stops himself. He can feel the anger rising in his chest and takes a few deep breaths. 'Well, maybe I'll be here and maybe I won't be here when you decide you want to spend more time together..'

He goes into the bedroom and begins to pack a bag. He quickly grabs his bag, his surfboard, and the pro/con list off of the table, gets in his car and takes off.

RADA – a few days later

The phone begins to ring and Brenda is almost startled by it. She recovers her composure and answers it.

'Well, my darling twin, how the hell are you?' Brandon's voice comes through the receiver.

'Brandon! Oh, my God, this must be costing a fortune!' Brenda says with excitement.

'Yeah, well Mom and Dad said I could,' he says with a childlike whine.

She laughs and says, 'You are such a child.'

'So, how long until you come back?'

'Well, I've been here for two and a half weeks, so about three and a half more weeks and I will be home. I'm having such a great time. I am learning more here in a few short weeks than I would have ever learned at California University.'

'I'm glad you're doing okay, Bren. I am also very proud of you for extending your shoulder to Donna in her time of need. That is really mature of you, especially since you may be reliving your experience just to help her understand hers better. I'm really proud of you for helping Donna try to get over being cheated on by David. I really am.'

Brenda's smile disappears. 'Yeah, well, a friend in need,' her voice trails off. 'Speaking of being cheated on, how is Dylan?'

Brandon laughs a little at her question. 'Well, I'm not sure. He took off about a few days ago without telling me where he was going, but his surfboard's gone, so I'm thinking, Baja.'

Brenda feels a lump in her throat when Brandon tells her that.

'Oh, yeah, you're probably right. He usually does go down to Baja during the summer for a bit. How's Kelly and the rest of the gang?' she says.

'The gang is doing well. Kelly is,' Brandon stops for a moment and begins to smile, 'well, she's great. I think we're really connecting and having a great time together.'

'Brandon, that's great. I'm glad you have finally found someone who makes you happy, that's not married,' Brenda says.

'Ha ha, thanks so much. Although, I haven't talked to Dylan about it yet. I'm not sure he's too comfortable seeing us together. I probably should have said something to him, but it happened so fast, that I just didn't,' Brandon says, a little concerned.

'What do you mean? Has he said anything to you?'

'Well, no, but we were hanging out in the Peach Pit a while ago and Kelly and I were talking about spending the summer together and he just got up and took off pretty quickly.'

Brenda begins to feel tightness in her chest and the lump in her throat seemst to get impossibly bigger as Brandon is talking about Dylan's reaction to him and Kelly together.

'Well, maybe when he gets back you should have a heart to heart or something,' she says.

'Yeah, probably, well, I better go before Mom and Dad take out a second mortgage on the house to pay for this phone call!'

'I'm so glad you called. I'll talk to you soon, okay?' Brenda says.

'I miss you, have fun and come back safe, you hear?'

'Aye, aye,' she says, 'Bye Brandon.'

'Bye Brenda.'

Brenda continues to feel a little uneasy with what Brandon had told her. She immediately looks up the country code for the United States. She finds it and begins dialing Dylan's house number. After one ring, the machine picks up, frustrated Brenda hangs up without leaving a message. 'I can't believe he just ran away like that. There's got to be something more than what Brandon is telling me.'

In class, Brenda tries to work on the scene that she is in for the end of the program performance. She keeps forgetting her lines and her blocking and steps over her scene partner's lines.

'Brenda, what the hell is going on? Focus! What has gotten in to you today?' the instructor yells at her.

'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah, well, sorry isn't going to get this scene right, now get into it. Now!'

Brenda tries as hard as she can to concentrate on her scene. She gets through it a few times before class is over.

'Brenda, can I see you for a minute, please?' the instructor calls to her after class is over.

'Sure, Jeff,' she says dejected.

'Listen, Roy has high hopes for you, young lady. That's why he did what he did to get you into this program. I'm not saying that he's wrong, because you definitely have the talent to make it in this business, but you have got to learn to concentrate and focus on what you are doing. I can't have you distracted up there. You have the best grasp of this scene than anyone in this class. I need you to get it together.'

'I know, I'm sorry, it won't happen again. I promise,' she says as she looks up at him.

'That's a girl. Now get out of here and bring me something that will blow me away tomorrow.'

Brenda walks up to her room, locks her door, shuts off her light and sits on her bed. She worries about Dylan and wonders why he's running. 'Maybe he found that he really does still have feelings for Kelly and that reconciling with me was a mistake. Maybe he's decided to find someone else entirely and get out of this triangle mess once and for all. Maybe... no. NO! I am not getting sucked into this again. Whatever is happening back there is none of my business right now. I have a job to do and I will not let this worry me. I will not let this distract me. I will block it out. I cannot have these feelings ruin my chance here in this class. I refuse to give in to it this time. I told him that if something came up to grab it, so I have to assume he did and get over this NOW!'

Brenda sighs heavily. She wipes the tears from her cheeks, takes a big deep breath, and gets up off of the bed. She changes her clothes, climbs into bed and drifts peacefully off to sleep.