DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beverly Hills 90210 or any of the characters involved in this story.
It is a festive mood at the Peach Pit as Brenda, Dylan, and Kelly have gone over there immediately following the final auditions. Kelly and Brenda are sitting at a table as Dylan has gone up to the counter to get some sodas. With an unhappy look on her face, Suzanne walks over to him with the three sodas on a tray.
"There you are a cherry coke and two diet cokes." Suzanne says.
"Thanks Suzanne." Dylan says with a smile as he notices Suzanne's sour demeanor. "What's with the long face?"
Not wanting to reveal the real reason behind her bad mood, Suzanne comes up with the quickest thing she can think of. "Oh, Nat chewed me out earlier for taking too long of a break. It's no big deal." Suzanne says.
"You sure about that?" Dylan asks. "You don't look so good."
Suzanne lets out a slight smile. "I'm fine. What about you? You guys sure so seem upbeat and chipper this evening." Suzanne says.
"Yeah, well that's because Miss Brenda Walsh over there, is now officially on her way to becoming a big time actress." Dylan says loudly so that Brenda can hear. Brenda turns around, hearing Dylan's cheery voice and smiles. But her smile is short lived as she locks eyes with Suzanne who just glares in her general direction. Brenda quickly turns back around to face Kelly. Dylan turns to Suzanne with a puzzled look on his face.
"Did I miss something here?" Dylan asks with curiosity in his voice as he noticed the exchange in looks between Brenda and Suzanne.
"What do you mean?" Suzanne asks. Dylan looks at her, then looks over at Brenda who has gone back to talking to Kelly, then back at Suzanne again. "Ah forget it, I'm probably imagining things."
Suzanne shrugs. "Go celebrate with your friends, Dylan. We'll talk later." Suzanne says as she turns around and walks back to the kitchen with a concerned look on her face. Meanwhile Brenda and Kelly talk in whispers so as not to be overheard.
"So what's the deal with you and Suzanne?" Kelly whispers to Brenda.
"What do you mean?" Brenda asks.
"Oh come on. That look she shot you just now. And don't think that I don't notice that you go out of your way to avoid talking to her whenever you come here." Kelly says. Brenda shrugs and pretends to be clueless. "Is it Dylan?" Kelly asks.
"No, it isn't Dylan." Brenda answers. "I just don't like her, plain and simple. I don't like her and she doesn't like me. But she's part of Dylan's family now, and far be it for me to stand in his way of having one. But that doesn't mean I have to have anything to do with her."
"But, didn't you say that she and her boyfriend were coming over to have dinner at your house tomorrow?" Kelly asks with a confused look on her face. Brenda nods in confirmation.
"My father invited them. Apparently Dad has some business he wants to discuss with Dylan and Kevin. Which is why I fully intend not to be there." Brenda says.
"You're skipping out?" Kelly asks with curiosity as Brenda nods. "Why?"
"Kelly, no good has ever come from my interacting with Suzanne. It caused a lot of problems with Dylan and me when we were still together. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Erica. She's a cute kid. But I'm afraid as long as Suzanne is in Dylan's life, the only thing that he and I are ever going to be is good friends. But hey, I'm fine with that." Brenda whispers.
Kelly looks over at Dylan, then back at Brenda. "Yeah, but the question is, is he?" Kelly asks referring to Dylan. Before she can answer, Dylan walks back to the table they are sitting at and hands out the sodas.
"Okay, alright." Dylan says cheerfully as he picks up his soda glass and holds his up. "Here's to the most talented, and amazing, not to mention beautiful actress at California University who in just three very short weeks is going to dazzle audiences with her illustrious performance of Maggie the Cat in Roy Randolph's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Dylan says with a grin as he holds up his glass to toast Brenda.
"Here, Here." Kelly says with a smile as she toasts Brenda.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without you there encouraging me on, Dylan." Brenda says with a smile, and then turns to Kelly. "And Kelly, I know we haven't had the easiest time of it these last few weeks, but if I haven't said it already, I am really glad you came tonight." Brenda says.
"Yeah, me too." Kelly replies. "You know, it's a shame Scott couldn't come. I'm sure he would have liked to have been there to see you get the part."
At that point, Brenda holds her hand up to her forehead like she has a headache. Her smile turns into a glum look as the very mention of Scott's name serves as a reminder to her that she is faced with a dilemma. "Oh no, Scott. What am I going to do?"
"Scott? Wait, I don't get it." Dylan says. "What's wrong with Scott?"
"Don't you remember, Dylan?" Brenda says. "I told Scott I'd be his date to his senior prom on Saturday. His platonic date, but date none the les. Now with this all-day rehearsal, I'm not going to be able to go. I don't know what I'm going to do."
"Well, you can't skip out on rehearsal." Kelly says. "You heard what Randolph said. You can't miss even one."
"Yes, I know that, Kelly." Brenda replies. "I just hate canceling on Scott this late in the game."
"Bren, Scott's a good kid, I'm sure he can find another date." Dylan replies, trying to console Brenda's guilt.
"Dylan, you don't know him like I do. Scott just doesn't go up and ask girls out unless he feels comfortable talking to them. He feels comfortable talking to me because we've become such good friend. But at this stage, I don't think there's anyway that he's going to ask another girl out. So if I don't go with him, he's going to wind up sitting home alone during his senior prom night. He deserves better than that. I hate doing this to him, especially after all he's done for me." Brenda cries. Kelly frowns slightly, feeling bad. Dylan sits there sipping his soda as he ponders the situation.
"Well let's see, you can't go to the prom with him because you have to be at rehearsal. And you're certain that he's not going to ask anybody else?" Dylan asks as Brenda nods in confirmation. "Well Bren, I can only think of one other option for you, but it's kind of a long shot." Dylan says.
"What's that?" Brenda asks.
"You can set him up with a prom date." Dylan says to Brenda as she looks at him like he's crazy. "You know, find another girl for him to take to prom."
"That's crazy, Dylan. I don't know anybody for him to go to prom with, and even if I did, it's not like I can just throw any girl out there at him. Remember our senior prom last year? That was our night, well this is his night. And he needs somebody special to go with him. Not necessarily a love interest, but somebody who will make him feel good, make him feel important. Somebody with an upbeat personality, and someone who would show him a good time. And it would help if she was at least somewhat attractive. Tell me, Dylan, where am I going to find somebody like that who would agree to go with him with only 2 days left until prom?" Brenda rambles. At that point though, both she and Dylan lock eyes simultaneously, and it's as if they got the same idea in their head at the exact same time. They look at each other, and within a few seconds, they know they both have the exact same idea in their heads. Brenda just described the girl she would want to go in her place and take Scott to the prom and show him a good time. And in a second, Dylan thought of the perfect girl to go with Scott to prom, as did Brenda.
Slowly and methodically, Brenda and Dylan both turn their heads and focus their attention on Kelly. Neither one of them say a word at first, but they both look at her intently as Kelly slowly begins to notice the focus of attention has turned to her.
"What?" Kelly asks as she lets out a nervous chuckle. "What are you guys staring at?" she asks as both Brenda and Dylan slowly lean in towards her. Slowly, Kelly begins to pick up on what they're thinking "Oh no. No, no no. Brenda, don't even….." Kelly starts.
"Kelly!" Brenda speaks up loudly with while grinning. "What are you doing this Saturday night?"
"Well, I did have plans, but as of this afternoon that's all gone up in smoke. But don't get any ideas, Brenda. I'm serious!" Kelly says forcefully.
"Come on, Kel." Dylan says calmly. "Look at it this way, you'd be doing Brenda a favor, and you'd be doing a good deed all at the same time."
"Yeah, and don't forget, Scott did save your life last year. What better way to pay him back?" Brenda suggests with a grin.
Kelly scoffs uncomfortably. "Did you really have to bring that up?" she says. "Look Brenda, it's not that I have a problem with Scott. I don't. He's a good guy. It's just that…" Kelly says, stopping in mid-sentence as she tries to figure out how to say what she wants to say.
"Just that what?" Brenda asks.
"Eh," Kelly grimaces. "I just don't want to go back to prom at West Beverly. I was glad when I got out of there and the idea of going back to this year's prom and seeing Mrs. Teasley and everyone from high school gives me the willies."
"Come on, Kel. It's one night. You can manage for one night?" Dylan says. "It's not like we're asking you to go back to school there."
"Look Kelly, normally I wouldn't ask you. But Scott's one of my best friends, and he's counting on me to go with him to the prom. And I really hate the idea of ditching him. I mean he's already made dinner reservations and everything. But I know if there's anybody who could show him a good time and really give him the kind of senior prom that he deserves, it would be you. What do you say?" Brenda asks with an arm twisting grin targeted directly at Kelly.
Kelly lowers her head into her hand and shakes it. "I don't know, Brenda." Kelly replies in an unenthusiastic and dejected tone. Only a few hours ago, she couldn't wait till Saturday Night as it had the potential to be a very special night with Brandon. But now that's ancient history and instead she's looking at having to go back to prom at West Beverly, a very unattractive scenario for her.
Brenda looks at Dylan, then back at Kelly, knowing she's going to need something extra to sell this idea to her. "You know, Kelly, some of the things you did to me these last few weeks were pretty slimy and underhanded. And I'm willing to look past most of it, because I believe in my heart that's not the kind of person you really are." Brenda says.
"Come on, Brenda, I already told you I'm sorry and that I'd do anything to make it up to you." Kelly cries.
"Then prove it." Brenda says. Kelly raises her head and turns to Brenda at that point. "You do this one huge favor for me, and go with Scott to the prom, and I promise all will be forgiven and you and I will never ever bring up this entire play thing again." Brenda says with a smirk as she looks over at Dylan who smiles.
Kelly takes a deep breath and lets out a sigh. Still extremely unenthusiastic about this idea, she finally nods reluctantly and agrees to do it, leaving both Brenda and Dylan happy. Now all that remained was to break this news to Scott and see if he'd agree to go to the prom with Kelly.
"I just can't believe you didn't get that part." Steve says angrily as he follows Laura into the dorm room, slamming the door behind him.
"Did you hear the lame excuse Roy gave for picking Brenda?" Laura mutters. "She'd be easier to work with and would follow direction better."
"Pft." snickers Steve. "He obviously doesn't know Brenda at all. Cause if he did, he would know that following instructions is not her strong point. If he knew even half of the things I know about Brenda, he would have chosen you in a second." Steve rambles in frustration as he sits on his bed with a disgruntled look on his face. "God, what a week. First Brandon and I lose to the two worst basketball players in my fraternity, then my creative writing professor takes one look at my paper and tells me to do it over, now you get screwed out of a part that should rightfully be yours." Steve says.
At that point, Laura hops up on the bed and crawls behind Steve and begins rubbing his shoulders. "Well, maybe this will make you feel better." Laura says. Steve begins to roll his neck around.
"Ahhh, a little." Steve says as he stares blankly up at the ceiling.
"So, you say Brenda's never been very good at listening to instructions?" Laura asks as she continues to rub Steve's shoulders as he closes his eyes and gives in to the rubbing, loosening up his muscles.
"Brenda? Pft, she never listens to anybody, not even her parents." Steve says as he groans to the feel of Laura's hands massaging his shoulders. "Like this one time back in high school, her parents explicitly forbid her not to go to Mexico with her boyfriend. Well, she did anyways, and she got caught. But did they punish her? No, they wound up sending her to Paris for the summer instead." Steve says
"Sounds like a trouble maker, a spoiled troublemaker at that." Laura says quietly and seductively.
"Yeah, and her trouble usually winds up hurting others. Like our senior year, this tv show called Backstory came to our school looking to dig up some dirt on the kids at West Beverly. And Brenda was told by everyone not to breathe a word to any of the scumbags from that show. But did she listen? Oh no. She goes and blabs to some woman on the show and they wind up making up some sleazy story that they aired that was specifically targeted at certain people she called friends, one of them being me." Steve says.
"Geez, how awful. You know, Steve, you deserve better friends than somebody like that." Laura says.
"Oh yeah, but I haven't even mentioned the worst one of all. Just a month or two ago she joins some animal rights group and winds up breaking into an animal lab and getting arrested."
"No way." Laura says, faking disbelief as she smiles like she hit the jackpot upon hearing all the dirt Steve is dishing out on Brenda. "So she has a criminal record then?"
Steve shakes his head. "No, the charges against her were dropped. But still, that is one girl who clearly does not have good sound judgment. Trust me, Laura, the day is going to come that Randolph is going to realize what a huge mistake he made by giving that part to Brenda and not you." Steve says.
"It's just too bad somebody with the reputation of Randolph would let his personal biasness cloud his better judgment." Laura says.
Steve looks confused. "What do you mean?" he asks.
"I've seen Roy with Brenda plenty of times. In the lobby, having coffee. He talks to her and she laughs and flings her hair around like a whore. She never misses a chance to try to butter up to him. She's got him wrapped around her little finger and he doesn't even know it" Laura says. "And Randolph is well known for being a ladies man. If you're not the kind of girl who flirts and bats your eye lashes, then you're automatically at a disadvantage when it comes to him."
"Well, that may be his style." Steve says. "But it's really not Brenda's."
"Why not?" Laura asks. "You just said a moment ago that she doesn't listen to anybody, and that she even wound up getting arrested."
"Well yeah, she can be stubborn and difficult to deal with. But flirting and playing around with the director to get a part, that definitely doesn't sound like something Brenda would do." Steve replies.
At that point Laura stops massaging Steve's shoulders and climbs down and sits next to him on the bed. "Look, all I know is we got three weeks of rehearsals before the play. That's a long time. There's a lot of opportunities for Brenda to screw up between now and then, especially if she's as difficult to work with as you say she is. Maybe it's time that somebody helps Randolph open his eyes and see exactly what it is he's dealing with." Laura says with a devlish grin on her face. Steve looks totally confused at this point.
"Laura, what are you talking about?" Steve asks.
Laura giggles in an evil manner. "Relax, hun. You worked hard to help me get the lead part in this play, and I assure you that your efforts will not be wasted. Believe me Steve, it's not over. In fact, it's only just begun." Laura says. Steve begins to get concerned when he looks at Laura. At first he wasn't taking her seriously, but then he notices that she doesn't seem to be joking. At this point, he begins to grow suspicious.
The following morning, the Walsh family is in the kitchen. Cindy is fixing Jim a quick breakfast before he has to head out to work. Brandon is sitting at the table looking glum as he is still quite upset about what happened the previous day with Kelly. At that point, a much more chipper Brenda walks into the kitchen.
"Good Morning." Brenda says with enthusiasm.
Both Jim and Cindy look up at Brenda at that point.
"Ah, good morning, honey." greets Cindy
"You must have gotten in late last night, I didn't even hear you come in." replies Jim.
"Ah yeah, auditions ran a little bit later than I anticipated." Brenda says.
"Well, are you hungry? I was just making your father some breakfast. I can fix something for you as well." Cindy offers.
"Oh, no thanks. I actually have to start watching my figure." Brenda says.
"Really? Why is that?" asks Jim.
"Well, mom, dad, I have an announcement." Brenda says in an almost giddy tone as she smiles gleefully. Jim and Cindy look on intently while Brandon continues to just sit there. He is hearing what Brenda is saying, but not really focusing on it.
"Mom, Dad, Brandon, you are looking at the new Maggie the Cat." Brenda says with a giddy smile. "I got the part!" Brenda says. Cindy screams with excitement as Jim lights up with a smile. Both of them walk over to Brenda.
"Honey, that's great. I'm so proud of you." Cindy exclaims.
"That's fantastic." Jim says. "I have one kid going to Washington to meet the President, and another starring in a play. Could a father be any more proud?" Jim says. Cindy goes over and hugs Brenda and kisses her on the cheek. Jim follows with a hug and a kiss. At that point, everyone turns to Brandon who they notice is still just sitting there and hasn't reacted to the news.
"Brandon, didn't you hear?" Jim says. "Your sister got the lead performance in the play."
Brandon finally looks up from the table and nods at Brenda in an unenthusiastic manner. "Congrats Bren." Brandon says in a mellow tone. At that point, everyone turns their attention to Brandon as they all can tell that something is bothering him.
"Brandon, is everything all right?" Cindy asks.
"Yeah, everything is fine." Brandon replies. "Why you ask?"
"Well, you've hardly touched your breakfast and you've barely said two words all morning. And you're not even paying any attention to Brenda when she tells you her big news." Cindy explains.
"I'm sorry, Mom." Brandon says. "I'm happy for you, Bren. I really am. I just kind of have a lot on my mind so I'm sorry if I seem a little out of it."
Jim smiles as he makes his way over to Brandon. "Go easy on our son, Cindy. He's been working hard, putting in long hours studying and devoting his time to this task force." Jim says. "I know it's been rough son, but you are going to make us so proud in a few weeks when you go to Washington." Jim says as he pats Brandon on the back as he walks by
Brandon lets out a deep breath. "Dad." Brandon blurts out. "I really wish you'd stop making such a big deal out of this stupid task force." Brandon says in a calm, yet annoyed tone. Jim immediately turns back to Brandon with a concerned look on his face as he can tell Brandon is definitely not himself.
"Well, I'm sorry, Brandon, but it is big deal. Out of all thousands of students at California University they could have chosen for this, they chose you. And…." Jim starts, but gets interrupted in mid-sentence.
"Yeah, well I really wish they would have picked somebody else." Brandon says, raising his voice.
"Brandon, what is with you?" Jim asks.
"Look Dad, I've gotten a lot more out of this task force then I originally bargained for, and I don't mean that in a good way. I've learned a lot about campus politics that to tell you the truth, I would just assume not know. And let me tell you something, trying to do the right thing and make you guys proud of me has cost me an awful lot. I've had to give up a lot of things I want to do just to try to make everyone happy And to be quite honest, I'm getting pretty tired of it." Brandon says.
"Brandon, what are you getting at?" Jim asks as he stands there, putting his hands on his hips.
"I'm saying I don't think I want to do this task force anymore. I'm seriously thinking about dropping out." Brandon says, calming his tone just a bit.
"WHAT?" Jim and Cindy both shout simultaneously. "You're dropping out NOW? You're almost at the finish line and you want to quit just like that? You're telling me that after all these meetings, all this work you've put in, you're willing to just throw that all away because you're tired of doing it?" Jim says, his voice getting more angered and more hostile.
"Yeah dad, that's what I'm telling you." Brandon says with a sigh as he stands up and begins to walk out the back door.
"I don't believe what I'm hearing. You of all people, Brandon? Since when are you the quitting type? Things start to get a little tough and you just call it quits? This isn't like you at all." Jim says as he follows Brandon to the door.
"Dad, please, just drop it." Brandon asks.
"No, I'm not going to drop it, son. I'm not going to just sit by and do nothing and watch you make the biggest mistake you can possibly make. Brandon, if you do this, if you quit the task force, you are going to regret it for the rest of your life. And don't expect your mother and I to ever take any sympathy on you again." Jim says sternly.
"Jim." Cindy says, trying to get Jim to ease off a bit. Brandon just looks at his father and nods his head.
"Thanks for your support, dad. I won't forget it." Brandon says softly, meaning it as a knock on his father for not standing behind him.
Jim throws his hands up in the air. "I don't believe this. You know, when I was your age, I would have killed for an opportunity like this." Jim says.
"Tell you what, Dad, you want this so bad? You can have it." Brandon says as he darts out the back door, slamming it in anger behind him. Jim turns around and looks at Cindy and Brenda and shakes his head.
"I don't believe this." Jim says.
Brenda looks at her father and realizes that it's probably best is she makes her departure too as quickly as possible.
"Well hey, I'd love to stick around. But I got a lot to do today. The play will be here before you know it." Brenda says. "Oh and mom, before I forget, I won't be home for dinner tonight."
"What?" Cindy asks. "But honey, Dylan and Erica are going to be over along with…." Cindy says.
Brenda nods. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it, I'll talk to Dylan today and explain it to him." Brenda says, avoiding the subject of Suzanne and the fact that she doesn't want to be anywhere near her. "Well, I'll see you guys later." Brenda says as she leaves through the front door. Cindy looks at Jim who is left there shaking his head.
"Why is it?" Jim starts, pausing in mid-sentence to take a deep breath. "Why is it that we can never have everything be good all at one time. It's always one of our kids that has to have some sort of issue going on." Jim says as he stands there with a regretful look on his face as he leans up against the wall with his arms folded. "I just don't believe Brandon's going to let all his hard work go for nothing."
"Jim." Cindy says softly in an empathetic tone as she walks over to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Brandon's always pushed himself really hard in everything he does. And he's had to make a whole lot of sacrifices along the way." Cindy explains. "Maybe now, he's starting to realize all the things he's missed out on."
Jim nods. "Well, I can see his point." he says. "I just don't get why he can't wait one more month until after the task force to decide he wants to start making up for lost time." Cindy flashes Jim a brief smile and gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as she goes back to making him breakfast.
Brenda is walking on campus as she is on her way to a class. As she is walking, she sees somebody come running up from behind her.
"Well, Well, if it isn't CU's latest star actress, soon to be a household name worldwide." Dylan greets cheerfully.
"A nice thought, although maybe a bit premature on the latter there." Brenda responds with a smile.
"Oh come on, Bren." Dylan responds. "You got the lead role in the play. You are starring in a Roy Randolph production. You know what this means?"
"Yes, it means on top of my already busy class schedule, I can add four hours of rehearsing every day to that, starting with a twelve hour day this Saturday." Brenda says.
"Yeah, but it will all be worth it in the end when you get your curtain call and you walk out on stage to a standing ovation from the audience, right?" Dylan replies.
Brenda smiles and nods. "True." she replies. "Dylan, you know, I can't thank you enough for everything. I mean, I wouldn't even be where I am right now if you hadn't stepped in and helped me."
"Hey, I just showed you what you were capable of. You're the one who made it happen, Bren. Don't forget that." Dylan says softly.
"That may be." Brenda says. "But the fact is, if it wasn't for you, it would never have happened. You really are amazing sometimes." Brenda says as she and Dylan look into each other's eyes. They can both feel a spark there, a feeling that hasn't been felt between them for a long time, since before Christmas.
"So Bren, do you think there is a chance…" Dylan starts as he intended to finish the sentence with 'of you and me getting back together' but he pauses in mid thought and thinks that this is not the best thing to lay on her right now with this whole play coming up. Meanwhile, Brenda wonders what Dylan is getting at.
"Is there a chance of what?" Brenda asks. Dylan immediately says the first thing he can think of to cover up.
"Is there a chance that you could hook me up with some tickets for opening night?" Dylan asks. "And one for Erica too, cause I know she'd love to see you perform."
Brenda snickers. "Of course. Dylan, I plan on getting tickets for you and everybody. Why would you think otherwise?" Brenda says.
"Yeah, I knew that, Bren. I just wanted to make sure." Dylan says. At that point, Dylan pulls out a small box with wrapping paper on it and hands it to Brenda.
"What's this?" Brenda asks taking the box.
"Just a little congratulations president I thought you might be interested in seeing." Dylan says. Brenda looks at the box with curiosity and begins to tear off the wrapping paper. Inside is a small white box which she opens and finds a piece of green paper. She looks at the paper and it is a flyer for the play. In big bold print at the top it says "Roy Randolph presents Cat on a Hot Tin Roof staring Brenda Walsh."
"Dylan, where did you get this?" Brenda asks.
"I was in the library this morning, and caught Roy's stage manager, you know that Eddie guy. He was running a bunch of these off. He says it was the first batch. I asked if I could have one, so he gave it to me." Dylan says as Brenda looks at it and smiles.
"I have to admit, it is pretty cool seeing my name up on a flyer of a Roy Randolph production." Brenda says.
"It's just the beginning. Wait till you read the reviews the day after opening night." Dylan says, in an encouraging voice. Brenda smiles at him. Again the feeling is felt between the two.
"Well, I better get going. Thanks again, Dylan." Brenda says.
"Okay, well, I'll see you tonight then? At dinner?" Dylan asks. The smile on Brenda's face disappears and is replaced with a more serious look.
"Oh. I'm afraid I won't be there." Brenda says. Dylan immediately looks disappointed at the news.
"Oh? Why not?" Dylan asks.
"Well, I'm meeting up with Scott at the Peach Pit later to give him the news about prom." Brenda says.
"Oh, okay then no problem." Dylan says. "Erica will be disappointed. I know she was really looking forward to seeing you."
Brenda looks at Dylan. "Just Erica?" she asks. Dylan knows exactly what she meant by that. But he doesn't answer. He just stands there looking at Brenda, feeling that feeling that he has felt before every time she looks at him with those deep brown eyes. "I got to go." Brenda whispers in a soft tone which Dylan finds to be very seductive. Brenda turns around and continues to walk off to her class as Dylan just stands there and watches her leave, wondering if things will ever be the same between him and Brenda again.
Roy Randolph is ordering a cappuccino from the Condor's Nest when he is approached by Laura Kingman.
"Here is your cappuccino, sir." says the lady behind the counter as she hands it to Roy with a napkin underneath.
"Thank you, much obliged." Roy responds.
"Hi Mister Randolph." Laura greets in a polite manner as she comes walking up to the counter. He quickly turns to see who it is.
"Ah, Laura" Roy responds as he grabs a couple of more napkins to wipe off the bottom of the cup. "You know, I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you in private last night, but you left in such a hurry, I never got a chance."
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. I guess I was just feeling kind of….." Laura starts
"Upset? Rejected? Disappointed?" Roy cuts her off. "Are those the words you're looking for?"
Laura nods and puts on a fake shy grin. "Yeah. I just didn't react well to losing. I'm sorry." Laura says.
"Please, no need to apologize. And I don't like to think of it as losing. Just because you won't be on stage on opening night, doesn't mean you won't get your chance to perform for me and show me what you got. Believe me, Laura; I take my understudies just as serious as I do my stars." Roy says. "Please, won't you join me?" Roy offers as he motions his hand towards an empty table. Laura follows him over to it and has a seat across from him. "Listen, I'm well aware of the time you must have put into rehearsing and I just want to assure you that my selection of Brenda is in no way meant to have any negative reflection on you or your acting skills. From what I've seen, I personally feel you are a very talented actress. And believe me, this was not an easy decision for me to make."
Laura smiles and shrugs in a shy manner. "Well thanks, Mr. Randolph."
"Please, call me Roy." Roy responds. Laura chuckles slightly.
"Thanks Roy. That is very kind of you. But honestly, after I've thought about it, I'm kind of happy that you chose Brenda." Laura says. "She deserves a second chance, especially after what she's been through."
Roy looks puzzled. "What do you mean 'after what she's been through'?" he asks.
"Oh, well I probably shouldn't say anything. I don't want you to be too judgmental on her." Laura says.
"No please. I want to know what you meant by that? What has Brenda been through that you feel she deserves a second chance? Please elaborate." Roy asks assertively.
Laura sighs. "Well, I feel kind of funny telling you this, but Brenda was arrested not too long ago." Laura says.
"Arrested? Brenda? What on earth for?" asks a surprised Roy in his English accent.
"Apparently she got hooked up with a group of radical extremists and broke into a science lab on campus." Laura explains. "She spent some time in prison too. I can't even imagine what that must have been like for her."
"Are you sure you got the right girl?" Roy asks. "Brenda doesn't seem capable of such a thing."
"Oh yeah, the news was all over campus." Laura says. "Apparently she's not the most mentally stable of girls. She came from a troubled home, even ran off to Mexico with her boyfriend once. Of course what do you expect from someone whose parents just put her on a plane to Paris for the summer and think that's going to solve all her problems?"
Roy looks at Laura with a surprised and befuddled look on his face almost in disbelief about what he's hearing. "Well, like I said at the first auditions. I don't care who anybody is or what they've done before. It's about what they do up on stage for me that matters." says Roy.
Laura nods. "Oh, I agree completely." she says. "I mean, everyone who knows Brenda that I've talked to have told me that she follows directions terribly, that she doesn't listen, and is extremely difficult to work with. And apparently, she pouts if things don't go exactly her way. But I think it's great that you are willing to work with her and give her this chance. It really shows me what a kind and generous soul you have, Roy." Laura says. "As for me, I just consider myself lucky to be the understudy and grateful for the opportunity to work with you."
Roy just looks at Laura for a few seconds, his eyes are focused on her and he is taking in every word she says with an intense focus.
"Well, let me just say reinforce what I said earlier. Just because you are the understudy, doesn't mean that you won't get the opportunity. You will get your chance to rehearse in front of me, and if I like what I see, I would have no reservations what so ever about giving you a good recommendation for anything you try out for in the future." Roy says. "And besides, you never know when circumstances may thrust you into the spotlight."
Laura nods. "I understand. Believe me, I'll do my best." she says.
"Yes, Laura, I'm sure you will." Roy says, his voice clearly indicating that what Laura has just told him has him distracted and thinking about other things. "Well, I have to run. I have a lot to do before we start rehearsals. So I will see you Saturday. Good day to you." Roy says as he stands up and walks off.
Laura watches Roy walk off and grins in a malicious manner. She knows that she has managed to shake things up. The look Roy was just giving her tells her that he is beginning to question his decision of casting Brenda in the lead. One way or another, she is determined to get the part she feels she deserves.
Brandon is walking on campus like a man with a renewed sense of purpose. He hears himself ask it over and over in his mind, is he really going to quit the task force and miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to Washington DC and meet the president.
The truth is that he didn't want to quit the task force and that he over reacted a bit with his father that morning. He was just tired of constantly hearing his praises sung about how upstanding he is. Because the fact is that so many people don't know is that a lot of things he has done since he's been on the task force have not been that honorable or upstanding.
He knowingly entered into a sexual relationship with a professor, and used a girl he has secretly liked for years as a means to cover it up. Then he punched one of his best friends in the face out of jealousy when he jumped to conclusions. And now he's allowing the Chancellor's daughter to all but blackmail him into taking her to the prom. The truth is that he is very unhappy with how his life is at the moment and especially at the fact that Clare is using her father to control him and ruin his plans. But he decided, he is going to go to the Chancellor and explain what happened and that he never agreed to take Clare to the prom as well as what she's been doing. And if that meant that he got kicked off the task force then so be it. But he was not going to let her control him anymore. But before doing that, he had to find Kelly and explain everything. He feels really bad about not only breaking off his plans with her, but lying to her as well. It was time that he told her everything and told her that he still wants to take her out on Saturday.
As Brandon walks around the campus, he spots Kelly in a white shirt and a pair of jeans heading toward the parking lot and quickly runs over to her.
"Hey Kel, listen can I talk to you for a second?" Brandon asks.
"It's going to have to be a quick second, Brandon. I have some place I need to be and I'm already late." Kelly says.
"I want to apologize about yesterday. I know you've been looking forward to Saturday night for a long time, I have to. You've done an awful lot to help me out by going to all these task force events with me and helping to cover up the whole stupid sleazy affair I was having with Lucinda. And the fact is, Kelly, my standing with the Chancellor wouldn't be nearly as good right now if it wasn't for you. So, again, I'm sorry." Brandon says.
Kelly sighs. "Apology accepted and completely unnecessary." Kelly replies. "Brandon, you're doing what you have to do. It's not like you canceled our dinner to secretly go out with some other girl." Kelly says as Brandon gulps, knowing that that's exactly what he did. "You have a meeting with the Chancellor. I understand, and believe me, it's okay." Kelly says
Brandon shakes his head. "It's not okay, Kelly. I'm going to put my foot down and just tell Chancellor Arnold that Saturday is just not a good night for me, that I already had made plans and they are kind of important." Brandon says. "Believe me, if he's a decent person, he'll understand.
"Brandon." Kelly says in a frustrated tone.
"Kelly, don't try to talk to me out of it. My mind's already made up. No matter what happens with the chancellor, Saturday Night I'm taking you out like I had originally planned." Brandon says assertively.
"No, you're not Brandon." Kelly says raising her voice higher so Brandon gets the message. Brandon turns to look at her, wondering what she's getting at. "I'm sorry, but I've already made new plans for this Saturday." Kelly says.
"What?" Brandon asks with a confused look. "Just like that, you've moved on and made new plans with somebody else?" Brandon asks in an upset tone of voice.
"Stop being so dramatic, Brandon." Kelly replies. "A friend of mine needed a favor on Saturday, and I told her I'd do it."
"So where does that leave us exactly?" Brandon asks.
Kelly shrugs. "I don't know. But I'm sure we'll figure it out." Kelly says in an unsympathetic tone.
"So what am I supposed to do in the mean time until we do?" Brandon asks.
"My suggestion is do whatever the Chancellor wants you to do. Brandon, you've worked too long and hard on this task force to blow it all now over something as stupid as taking me out on a date." Kelly says.
"Well, I'm sorry, Kel. But I don't think it's stupid at all. In fact, I happen to think it's kind of important. I really thought we had something. And I thought you felt the same way?" Brandon says.
"Brandon." Kelly says as she sighs heavily. "We've known each other for four years now. We've been to the prom together twice. And I'll be honest, there's a lot about you I find attractive. But let's face it. If something was going to happen between us, it would have happened a long time ago. I mean, it's not like we never had that window of opportunity." Kelly explains. Brandon stands there with a very glum look on his face. Every word that Kelly has said feels like it has gutted him. Kelly looks up at him and sighs. "Brandon, don't look at me like that."
"I'm looking like this Kelly because I'm not exactly liking what I'm hearing." Brandon says.
"Well, I'm sorry. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's just the way that it is. We'll always be friends, but I think we'd do both ourselves a favor if we both just forget about it ever being any more than that. So please, Brandon, do whatever you need to do for this task force. Because if you don't, that'll be a mistake you'll regret for the rest of your life." Kelly says. Brandon just stands there looking at her with hurt and sadness in his eyes. "Look, I have to go. I'll talk to you later." Kelly says as she walks off leaving a melancholy Brandon standing there.
Scott sits at a table in the Peach Pit waiting for Brenda to arrive as he agreed to meet her there. She had called him up earlier and said that she needed to talk with him about something important. Scott assumed that it could only be about the audition as he still hadn't heard whether or not Brenda had gotten the part.
The bells on the front door of the Peach Pit ring as Brenda walks in and immediately spots Scott sitting at a table and walks over and sits across from him.
"Hey Brenda. How's it going?" Scott asks.
"It's going great, Scott. Guess what?" Brenda asks with excitement. Scott takes one look at Brenda and sees her giddy smile and knows it can only mean one thing.
"Brenda, the way you are smiling right now." Scott says as he looks at Brenda who nods. "This can only mean…."
"I got the part." Brenda interrupts as she stands up and puts her arms up in the air.
"Yes. All right. Way to go, Brenda. See, I knew you could do it." Scott says as Brenda goes over and hugs him.
"So I guess Dylan's coaching really helped you out, huh?" Scott says as both he and Brenda sit back down at the table.
"Brenda smiles and nods her head in kind of a crooked way. "Yeah. It did." Brenda says. "But don't think for a moment that I've forgotten the one guy who was there to help me from the beginning, and the only guy who has really been behind me every step of the way." Brenda says as she reaches across the table and grabs Scott's wrist. "You really are my best friend, Scott" Brenda says in a sincere tone. At that moment, Nat shows up at the table.
"Hey Hey." Nat greets Brenda.
"Nat…." Brenda says with excitement as she stands up and turns to face him. "I got the part!" Brenda says with excitement.
"All right!" Nat screams out with excitement as he hugs Brenda. "I think we may have found our newest Hepburn. And you know what else? I think this calls for a couple of free chocolate milk shakes on you know who." Nat says as he points at himself with his thumbs. Nat turns around and goes back into the kitchen as Brenda turns around and sits back down with Scott.
"This is great, Brenda, truly great. I know you're going to be fantastic when that curtain goes up." Scott says. "Just be sure to let me know when the play is so I can come this time."
"Oh, I'll do even better than that, Scott." Brenda says. "I'm planning on getting you some really good seats to watch."
Scott grins. "So, Saturday night then? I'll pick you up about six? We'll go out to dinner to celebrate, and then to the prom? How does that sound?" Scott says with excitement in his voice. Immediately the look on Brenda's face becomes a little less festive.
"Uhm, that's kind of what I need to talk to you about." Brenda says in a serious tone. Immediately Scott knows that something's up. "I really hate doing this to you. But I'm afraid that I'm not going to be able to go to the prom with you on Saturday."
"What?" Scott asks.
"Roy wants to start rehearsals this Saturday. He says that we have only three weeks until opening curtain and we have a lot to do between now and then, so he's called for an all-day rehearsal on Saturday." Brenda explains. "Believe me, I want to go with you. I really do. But I'm the lead actress, and given Roy's strict attendance policy, there is absolutely no way that I can skip out on this first rehearsal." Brenda says.
Scott looks disappointed for a moment, but then flashes Brenda a comforting grin. "Hey, it's cool." Scott says.
"Are you sure?" Brenda asks, wanting to make sure that Scott is okay with it.
"Yeah, I mean. To tell you the truth, prom isn't going to be all that great this year. I mean, our school doesn't have nearly the funds it had last year when you guys were seniors. And with it being at the community center instead of the Bel Age hotel, it's going to be a major come down from last year. Honestly, Brenda, the only reason I was even planning on going is because you volunteered to go with me. And even if I wanted to, there's no girl at West Beverly I could ask this late in the game anyways. I'll be perfectly fine just to stay at home Saturday and avoid all the hassle." Scott says.
"Well actually, that's the other thing I wanted to talk to you about." Brenda says. "Scott, this is the only senior prom you're ever going to have. You really should go."
Scott shrugs. "It's not that big a deal really. And like I said, I have nobody I want to ask, or even could ask now." he replies.
"I kind of figured as much." Brenda says. "This is why I went out and found you a date for the prom."
"What?" Scott asks in a surprised but not completely happy tone. "Brenda, you really shouldn't have. I don't like the idea of taking a blind date to the prom. That makes me uncomfortable. I mean, I really should get to know the person I'm taking to the prom before I go."
"Scott, you already know her." Brenda replies. "And this isn't a blind date. You're going to get to meet her very soon." Brenda says as at that moment the bells on the front door of the Peach Pit ring again and Brenda looks over and sees Kelly walk in the front door. Kelly takes off her sunglasses and spots Brenda and Scott sitting at the table. She gulps once with an uncomfortable look on her face as she walks over to them. "In fact, here she is now." Brenda says.
Scott slowly turns in his chair to get his first look at the girl who Brenda has found to replace her as his date to the prom. "Scott Scanlon, meet your new date to the prom." Brenda announces with enthusiasm.
"Kelly?" Scott says in disbelief as he looks up at her. Kelly just grins awkwardly and lets out a few uncomfortable chuckles.
"Hi Scott. How's it going?" Kelly says as she sits down next to him at the table. Scott turns to look at Brenda.
"You got Kelly to be my prom date?" Scott asks.
"Well, after Roy announced when rehearsals were going to be, I told her about prom and how I really felt bad that I wasn't going to be able to go with you. And you should have seen her, she immediately jumped in right away and volunteered." Brenda says. Scott turns to Kelly in disbelief as he finds it extremely difficult to believe that Kelly would be so eager to go to prom with him.
"You did?" Scott asks. Kelly glances over at Brenda who shoots her a look of 'don't you dare blow this.' She then turns back to Scott.
"Yep. Sure did." Kelly replies. "I mean I just had so much fun at prom last year, I figured why not go again? After all it's a chance to go back and see some of my old teachers and old friends from high school. I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be." Kelly says, completely lying through her teeth, but doing everything she can to sell it.
"Well, you do know that prom isn't going to be nearly as formal and elegant as it was last year? It's at the community center this year, and the set up won't be anywhere near as nice." Scott explains.
Kelly smiles, gritting her teeth as she realizes her Saturday evening has just gotten a little bit harder for her. "No problem at all, Scott. In fact, I never liked all that fancy set up anyways. I always thought prom needed to be a bit more casual."
"And you can't go wrong with having a former spring queen and the class of 93's most beautiful winner as your date to the prom." Brenda adds with an encouraging tone as she grins at Scott who turns to Kelly, still unsure about how she's really feeling.
"I'm flattered. I mean, really, I am. But are you really sure you want to do this, Kelly?" Scott asks in a skeptical tone.
Kelly flashes Scott a fake reassuring smile. "Of course." she replies. "Scott, you saved my life, remember? If anything, I owe it to you. Besides, it'll be fun. We'll have fun." Kelly says, putting on an upbeat and chipper tone.
"So what do you say, Scott? Is it a date?" Brenda asks.
Scott takes a deep breath as he looks over and Brenda, then back at Kelly who does her best to put on a convincing look of enthusiasm. "What time shall I pick you up?" Scott finally asks Kelly after several seconds of awkward silence.
Brenda smiles as she knows she has set this up. Scott and Kelly both feign enthusiasm at this point. But deep down Scott is still skeptical of Kelly and if she really wants to go. Kelly just sits and thinks to herself "Oh the things I do to get back in Brenda's good graces." She really hates the idea of going back to West Beverly to prom. But she promised Brenda and if she were to back out now, Brenda truly would never forgive her.
Dylan, Suzanne, Kevin, Erica, Cindy, and Jim are sitting around the table at Casa Walsh having dinner. Cindy has prepared chicken and potatoes. Notable by their absences are Brandon and Brenda. Brenda is busy setting up Scott to be introduced to Kelly as his new prom date. Brandon is still feeling down and out about the way the entire situation with Clare has unfolded and decided he wasn't in the mood for a sociable dinner with friends and found somewhere else to be.
"Your chicken is really good, Mrs. Walsh." Erica says politely.
"Glad you like it, Erica." Cindy replies with her typical warm smile.
"Yes Erica, you see Cindy has a lot of very unique talents. And one of those is always knowing exactly what food to have for the right occasions." Dylan replies. "Cindy, my compliments." Dylan says with a grin
"Thank you, Dylan. You know you are always welcome here anytime." Cindy says.
"You know, the way Dylan talks about the two of you, it's like you're his second parents." Suzanne says. Jim and Cindy look at each other as they are both caught a little off guard by that statement.
"Wow. Well, we're honored." Cindy says.
"Yes, we've been through a lot." Jim says. "You know, not all of it has been good, but I think we've done pretty well. In anycase, Dylan's a good kid and he is like a son to us." Jim continues. "Speaking of our kids, I'm sorry Brandon and Brenda couldn't be here."
"It's all right. I talked to Bren earlier today at school. She said she had something important she had to take care of." Dylan says. "I don't know what's up with B. I saw him earlier too, but he didn't seem much in the mood for talking."
Jim frowns slightly. "Brandon's just going through a rough time right now. This task force hasn't been easy on him." Jim says.
"So Kevin, Suzanne was telling me you were in the Army Corps of engineers." Cindy says, looking to change the subject, as she takes a bite of potatoes from her fork.
Kevin nods. "Yeah, I signed up right after I graduated from college." Kevin says. "It seemed like the best place to be to continue my research on developing microorganisms to help clean up the environment."
"So you've been working on this stuff for a long time then?" Jim asks.
"Well, I'm not sure what your definition of a long time is. But I'd say twenty years is a pretty good chunk of my life I've spent on this."
"Twenty years, you say?" Jim asks as he raises his eyebrow. "All this time you've been working on building microorganisms?"
Kevin nods as he wipes his mouth. "Amongst other things. It's funny, you know, it started out I was looking to create a new invention that would make cleaning a fish tank easier." Kevin says, sparking a laugh from everyone at the table. "But the more I got into it, the more I realized that I could really be onto something here."
"So you've always been in an inventor?" Jim asks.
Kevin nods. "I'd say more a conservative gambler, Jim. I guess that's a bit of an oxymoron there. See, I've always had ideas, some of which I thought were very good. But I've never been willing to take that chance, you know? Really get out there and try to market my ideas. So what I'm about to do is really a big step for me. I just only wish I did it a lot sooner." Kevin says.
"And why is that?" Cindy asks.
"Because in that time, we've done an awful lot of damage to the bay." Dylan says.
"You know, I was reading a magazine article on that just last week that was saying that since 1970, ocean pollution has nearly tripled." Cindy says.
"Those are generous numbers, Cindy." Kevin says. "Believe me, you have the luxury of not knowing what I know. It's a lot worse than that."
"Well that's why this can be such a profitable venture." Suzanne says encouragingly.
"Yeah , if the profit is there, believe me, investors will be lining up at your feet." Jim says to Kevin.
"I know that." Kevin says. "It's getting started that I'm worried about. With Suzanne and I about to get married and with me out of work right now, I really need to save every penny I have."
"Have you considered getting something just temporary?" Jim asks. "You know, just until you can get your new business off the ground?"
Kevin doesn't respond as he looks over at Suzanne who looks up at him with a desperate look in her eyes. He wasn't quite prepared to answer this question.
"Uh, Jim, that's kind of why we're here. We're hoping that you know some people who can help Kevin get started on his business." Dylan says.
"I know, Dylan, I know." Jim replies. "I was just merely suggesting to Kevin that perhaps a small source of income to fall back on just in case things don't go as planned might not be a bad idea."
"Listen, Jim, the truth is that I've gone on with that philosophy for twenty years of always making sure I had a job before doing anything bold. And in that time, whatever lab I was working for sucked up so much of my free time that I never bothered to get out there and do what I know I needed to do. And in that time, all that's happened is the oceans have gotten more and more polluted and my ideas have just sat there and nothing's getting done. I want to change all that. Do you know where I'm coming from." Kevin explains. Suzanne looks at Kevin intently as Jim takes a deep breath and then nods as he takes another bite of his dinner.
"Yeah, I understand." Jim says in a reluctant tone.
Shortly after dinner, Kevin, Jim, and Dylan have gone off to Jim's study to discuss business privately while Suzanne and Erica help Cindy clean up in the kitchen.
"Look, I understand where you're coming from. And believe me, I'm on your side. I think you got something good here. I'm just telling you that it's going to take time for me to find the right investors who carry enough capital to help you get this started. And even once I got that lined up, it's still going to take time to sort through all the contingencies and get everything ironed out. These things just don't sprout up over night, it takes time." Jim explains.
"Jim, time is the one thing that Kevin doesn't have the luxury of right now." Dylan says.
"That's right. I'm sorry, Jim. But I can't just sit around and wait for answers, I need to see something moving forward otherwise I'm going to have to look elsewhere." Kevin says.
"You're welcome to do that, but they're all going to tell you the same thing. These things take time. You have to find the right investors and be able to sell your product to them. That's what this is all about. You just can't do this sort of thing in a couple of days." Jim says.
Kevin takes a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, it's just that I have a lot on my mind right now. With getting married and everything, I'm just worried about where I'm going to have money coming in." Kevin says.
"Believe me, I understand." Jim says. "Listen, why don't we do this, draw up a proposal for me. You can drop it by my office or give it to Dylan and have him run it over." Jim says.
"All right. I can do that." Kevin replies.
"In the mean time, I already have a few people in mind. I can make some calls and get some feelers out there. Once I have a final draft of your proposal, I can begin really going to work on these guys and seeing what I can come up with. Does that work for you?" Jim asks Kevin.
With a skeptical look on his face, Kevin finally nods and agrees. "Alright, you got it. I'll start writing up a proposal first thing tomorrow." Kevin says as he shakes Jim's hand.
"Great, then I guess it's all settled then." Dylan says as he shakes Jim's hand as well. "Jim, trust me, you aren't going to regret this at all. Once this thing gets going, you'll be able to say that you had a hand in helping to make our oceans clean."
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves here." Jim warns. "I'm not making any guarantees here. All I'm saying is, I'll see what I can do."
"Believe me Jim, this thing Kevin has is its own guarantee. Once everyone sees what he has, you'll have to shake off investors with a stick." Dylan says with a smile, sparking a laugh from Kevin. Jim chuckles slightly and looks at Dylan, then at Kevin. He wonders if he's doing the right thing. Kevin seems like a nice guy, but there's just something about him that he doesn't completely trust just yet. Meanwhile, as the three of them head back downstairs, Dylan is feeling very good about where things are. Kevin, on the other hand, is starting to get very nervous about having Jim involved in this. He only hopes that he will find the opening to convince Dylan that going the way of investors is not a good idea and that they should fund the project themselves.
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N: Okay, so how about Scott, huh? He gets Brenda as a prom date one year, and Kelly the next? I believe only one other can make that claim and that would be none other than Dylan. LOL. Anyways, the Brandon/Kelly/Claire triangle is starting to unfold now with both Brandon and Kelly sucked into prom dates they don't really want to be on. How is it all going to fold out? You're just going to have to read on.
Now, I will say this. The ongoing Brenda/Dylan storyline is kind of going to take a back seat for the next couple of chapters as the focus will turn to the entire prom thing and Laura's continuing efforts to try to poison Roy's mind against Brenda. But don't worry, it is far from over.
I hope everyone who is reading is enjoying. And as usual, any and all reviews are greatly appreciated. I'm pretty excited about this chapter as well as what's coming up and the more opinions I hear the better.