The Time of Our Lives – Chapter 10 - Brenda and Dylan connect to each other and Kelly makes everyone uncomfortable
The Beach Club – a few days later
Donna sits on the beach taking in the sun and waits for Brenda to return from getting them some water. She thinks back to her trip to Paris with the people from RADA and a smile begins to creep across her face. She loved the way she felt when they were around, she loved the way they included her in their conversations and the way they made her feel free to say whatever was on her mind.
'Donna, are you okay, you have a strange look on your face?' Brenda says when she returns.
Donna snaps her head up at Brenda. 'Oh, sorry,' she says, 'I was just thinking about Paris part two,' Donna smiles.
Brenda smiles back at her. 'I am so glad that you had a good time with them. Did Jason and Lily say when they were coming out here?'
'No, I haven't heard from them yet, but they said they would call me as soon as they know. I'm excited. I loved being with them, Bren, I really did,' Donna admits.
'Well, Donna, maybe it's just actors you like to be around. I mean, most of them are like that, albeit some are way more dramatic than others, but you take the good with the bad, right?' Brenda says.
'Right, maybe I should join the crew or something on a show. What do you think?'
'Personally, Don, I think you would make a great costumer and even set dressing. You have a great eye for what looks good on people and what brings a room together.'
'Do you really think so, Bren? I never thought about that,' Donna says as she takes in what Brenda is telling her.
'Well, here's what we're going to do. When I get a job, I am going to tell them about you and I bet you they will want all of the help they can get. It'll be our thing, you and me.'
Donna looks at Brenda's face as she is talking and begins to smile at the possibility of being a part of something like that. 'That would be great! I think I would want to try that!'
'Then it's settled, you and I are going to take the theatres by storm!' Brenda taps Donna's water bottle with her own and they drink.
'First thing tomorrow, we're going to go and see what's going on at the community theatre and ask if we can lend a hand, okay?' Brenda says.
'Okay!'
'What are we so excited about over here?' Kelly says as she walks up to where Donna and Brenda are.
'Hi Kel, Brenda and I were just talking about her actor friends from the program that I met and maybe finding a theatre job for me too. Maybe costumes?' Donna says.
'Costumes, yeah, totally, you'd be great at that,' Kelly says.
'Thanks, Kel, how about you, did you ever think about anything other than acting you'd like to do in the theatre? Maybe we could all do it together!' Donna says.
'Not really, I'm not that technical and I don't particularly enjoy it all that much. I mean it was exciting for all of one week and then I just kind of lost interest,' Kelly explains.
Brenda smiles at her and says, 'Well, we'll keep our eyes out for you too, just in case there's something you would be really great at, okay?' Brenda says.
Kelly smiles and nods her head. She puts her sunglasses on and pulls out her book to start reading.
Brenda turns around and looks back up toward the cabanas, thinking that she heard her name being called. She immediately sees a glimpse of Dylan up at the clubhouse and he beckons her to come over to him. Brenda looks back at Kelly reading her book and Donna bathing in the sun.
'I'm going to go up and get something to eat, okay? I'll be back,' she says as she gets up. Donna nods her head and Kelly says, 'Okay' without looking up from her book.
Brenda makes her way over to where Dylan is sitting. 'Hey there,' he says as he kisses her.
'Hey, I didn't think you were coming until later,' she says.
'Oh, well, then, you want me to go and come back?' he says. She smiles at him and puts her arms around his neck.
'I don't think so,' she says as she kisses him.
'You guys better watch it if you don't want to let the cat out of the bag too soon,' Brandon says as he walks by them. Brenda and Dylan separate as she watches Andrea and Steve join Donna and Kelly on the beach.
'Not too much longer, I promise,' she says.
'Well, let's um, go where prying eyes can't see us, then, huh?' he says as he grabs her hand and leads her into the clubhouse.
'Hey Donna,' Steve says as he puts his towel down and sits next to her on the beach.
'Hey Steve,' she says as she opens her eyes. 'Hi Andrea.'
'So, one more week before the not-as-dreadful-as-being-a-freshman sophomore year begins, we should barbecue or have a sleepover on the beach,' Andrea says.
'Oooh that sounds like fun we should do that. We can get tents and sleeping bags and build a bonfire and just spend the night having fun,' Donna says excitedly.
'Yeah, we can make Smores and play drinking games,' Steve says.
'Maybe the Smores part Steve, but I don't know about the drinking games. It's still a public beach you know, we are underage, and you know for a fact that one of your friends is an alcoholic, so maybe you should just cool it,' Kelly says.
'Wow, Kel, it was just a suggestion. I'm sorry I brought it up, and who says we can't play drinking games with soda?' he says, trying to lighten the mood.
Kelly looks at him, shakes her head and decides that it's not worth it. 'Fine, that's a good plan,' she mutters at him.
'Well, I think it's an excellent idea, Andrea, and I for one will help set it up. We're going to need food and enough sleeping bags for everyone and soda,' Donna says pointedly, 'and maybe some cards or something to keep us busy.'
Andrea, Donna, and Steve begin planning their last hoorah before school starts, while Kelly tries to ignore them by reading her book. Steve decides to see if he can get a volleyball game going and leaves the girls to chat on the beach.
'So, Kelly, how are things going with Brandon?' Donna asks. She sees Andrea fidget a little, but she quickly recovers.
Kelly pulls herself out of her book at the mention of Brandon. She begins to smile at Donna and says, 'Things are going well I think, I mean, he's so nice and attentive and he seems to be so in tune with me. He such a great kisser and the way he makes me feel when we are making out in his car is just indescribable.'
'Kelly! I was with you up until the part when you talk about him kissing you,' Donna says as she recoils a little.
'I'm sorry, Donna, I just meant that I can easily connect with him in that aspect of our relationship. Much easier than I could connect with Dylan, in fact, I don't think we ever connected like this. It just feels so much better to be kissing Brandon and having his arms around me than the guilt and regret I felt when Dylan had his arms around me. It's a totally different experience,' Kelly says flippantly.
'Kelly, do you really think Brandon would appreciate you talking about him like this? I mean, it's not exactly general information you're telling us here,' Andrea says.
'Oh, Andrea, it's fine, I mean, you have to grow up at some point. With Dylan the sex was carnal and not about feelings at all, with Brandon it's nice and sensitive and slow and wonderful and I just feel so much better with him,' she says.
Donna sits on the beach with her mouth slightly open at the ease in which Kelly is dishing personal details about her relationships to her and Andrea. 'God, where the hell is Brenda when I need her? This is ridiculous! Brenda would know exactly what to say in this situation. Damn!' Donna begins to look around for Brenda wondering where she could have gone off to.
'Who are you looking for, Donna?' Kelly says with attitude.
'Well, I was looking around to see if Brandon heard any of the personal details you were spouting and went off running for the hills, and I was looking for Brenda. She's been gone awhile and I was just wishing that she was on her way back,' Donna retaliates.
Kelly huffs at her and Donna gets up and makes her way over to clubhouse. As she approaches she sees Brenda coming out of the door.
'Oh my God, Brenda, get over here right now!' Donna says. Brenda looks at the horrified look on Donna's face and almost runs to her.
'What, Donna, what is it? Are you alright? Is David back?' she says quickly.
'No, no, nothing like that. I'm not sure what the hell has gotten into Kelly, but she is acting really strangely. She just told me and Andrea some details about her relationship with Brandon that only he should know. She just said it like it was no big deal and went back to reading her book. There's something not right with her,' Donna says.
Brenda looks at her friend and wrinkles her forehead at the information Donna is giving her. 'Why on Earth would she feel the need to say stuff like that? I mean, what exactly does she get out of that?' Brenda says.
'I'm not sure, but someone has got to shut her up before she starts talking about other things,' Donna says as she shutters and stares off in the direction of Kelly.
'Okay, Donna, I'll go over there and maybe that will shut her up,' Brenda says.
'Great, hey, where the hell were you, by the way? It doesn't take that long to get something to eat,' Donna says.
Brenda smiles and looks back toward the doorway. 'Um,' she starts to say slowly choosing her words carefully, 'something came up that I had to take care of,' she smirks and raises her eyebrows as she makes her way back over to the beach area.
'Ew,' Donna says and follows Brenda.
'Oh, hey Brenda,' Andrea says quickly. 'So, we were just talking about how we're going to have a last farewell to summer sleepover on the beach on Saturday night, what do you think?'
'Farewell to summer party sounds great, Andrea. This has probably been one of the best summers that I have had so far! I have got to say that I have accomplished many things this summer and I feel great,' Brenda says as she sits down in her chair.
'Yeah, you've had quite a busy summer, but let's hope you won't have to leave the country again for a while, okay? It's nice having you here,' Andrea says.
Brenda smiles at her, 'Oh, the plans are to stay here for a little while at least.'
The girls begin to plan their night out on the beach as the afternoon wears on.
'Well, I better get going,' Brenda says as she looks at her watch that is attached to her bag.
'So soon?' Kelly asks.
'Yeah, well, I have to help my Mom with a few things and then I need to work on my resume for auditions. I'm going to try to get a professional job and start getting some experience,' she says.
'Oh, well, good luck,' Kelly says and goes back to her book. Brenda looks at her strangely. 'Donna is right, she is not acting like herself at all.'
'See you guys,' Brenda says. She makes her way to the parking lot expecting to see Brandon impatiently waiting for her, since his shift ended about 10 minutes ago. She looks around for Brandon and doesn't see him or his car. She sees Dylan pull his car from the parking space and pulls up next to her.
'Your taxi, mademoiselle,' he says, 'Brandon had to take off early and he asked if I would give you a ride home.'
'Oh, did he now? Well then, I guess you can take me home, taxi driver,' she says as she gets into the car.
He smiles at her and takes off.
'So, the gang is planning a 'Say Goodbye to Summer' sleepover on the beach for Saturday night,' Brenda says.
'Oh, really, well that sound like a perfect opportunity for us, doesn't it?' Dylan says.
She smiles at his playful tone and says, 'My thoughts exactly.' She leans over and begins to kiss his neck,
'Now, Brenda, you remember what happened last time you did that while I was driving, right?' Dylan says and begins to breathe heavier.
'Why do you think I'm doing it?' she says into his neck and nibbles his skin a little. She hears the engine rev and Dylan speed the car up quite a bit. She smiles into his skin and continues to kiss him.