17.

~ If George had been Alex, he would have noticed Norma's puffy face that morning at play rehearsals and set construction. He would have noticed she hadn't slept well or noticed she seemed distracted and was distant from everyone.

Alex would have known that Norma had been crying all night. That the brightness she had, that spark that was so alluring, that drew others in, had died out.

But George saw only what he wanted to see, and when Norma said she was fine, he foolishly believed her.

"It's exciting; isn't it?" George asked hopefully. Norma only nodded and focused on painting the sets. Her mind going over the fight she'd had with her mother last night.

She wasn't used to fighting with her mother. Wasn't used to the snide, hateful accusations that Fanny was leveling against her. Accusing Norma of doing things that Norma honestly wasn't doing, and yet Norma had no defense to what Fanny was saying. It was true she was coming home past midnight with several hundred dollars in cash and no way to prove she wasn't working as some kind of call girl.

She had no way to prove it was a simple babysitting job that paid very well and who had a private driver take her home past midnight. Fanny didn't believe any of it and only saw the fine clothing Norma was suddenly wearing and the secretive way she suspected she was acting. It made Norma feel deeply ashamed of everything she'd ever said and done since she'd been there. Of the thoughts she'd had about Alex, the happiness she'd stolen with Blair and the hope she'd allowed herself to have. All of it suddenly felt contaminated by Fanny's hateful accusations that Norma wasn't a good girl. That she was doing bad things with men and there was no way she could defend herself.

Norma had cried herself to sleep that night and dreamed of dark things. Of a road that never ended and of seeing Alex as an old man. The two of them finding each other after many years of searching in the mist. Both of them frail and elderly and wondering what had become of the other all those years ago.

Norma had woken early to see Fanny sleeping in her bed. Her efforts to pack had run out of fuel and she had left her clothes half in and half out of a good box.

Norma silently got dressed and slipped out. She still had to help the theater department set up the props today and they were giving out roles. Besides, there was always the possibility Fanny would forget about the whole thing after she'd slept it off.

"Yeah, it's exciting." Norma said weakly and gave him a lackluster smile.

"I'm sorry you didn't get much of a role." George apologized.

"I'm one of Dracula's lady friends." Norma mused with a smile. "I get to dance around and seduce one of the protagonists."

"Me." George shrugged bashfully. "I... I'm... I'm playing Jonathan." he said. "I'm the one you're... seducing."

"In the play." Norma corrected him. She could feel a headache coming on. "Me and about three other girls who didn't get big parts."

"Well..." George shrugged shyly. "Yeah... that's true." He looked around the large room to see if anyone was watching them. Queen Christine was holding court as usual. Assigning roles and duties. Monitoring sets to be built and scenes to be made.

"Um... so... you and Alex." George said picking up a small can of black paint and helping Norma paint a black, leafless tree. All the sets were looking very gothic with their coats of black paint.

"Yeah." Norma said without feeling.

"I mean... you said you weren't looking for a boyfriend so..." George shrugged.

"I'm not." She said honestly.

"So you're just friends?" George asked a little hotly. His face becoming annoyed.

"George." Norma sighed. She wanted to tell him that her relationship with Alex was her business and hers alone. She'd had a miserable night and didn't even want to come here today. God only knew what Fanny would scream at her when she came home.

"Because Alex isn't that great of a guy you know. He plays girls like you-"

"Girls like me." Norma snapped a little harsher than she meant to.

"You know what I mean." George said calmly.

"No, I don't." Norma said coolly. She could feel the work in the room stop and all the attention turn and focus on them. Norma glanced around and saw Christine had paused giving orders to Maggie about wardrobes and both of them were gaping open mouthed at Norma and George.

"I have a headache." Norma said slowly as she realized literally everyone was staring at her. "I need some air."

~ It would take some getting used to. All this attention when she'd done nothing wrong. She hadn't betrayed George somehow by wanting to be with Alex, and she hadn't done anything wrong by getting a job after school. Why was everyone making her feel that way? Just because George had liked her didn't mean she had to like him back. It was so stupid.

Still, having George and his sister Christine mad at her could make things very uncomfortable for her at this school.

As if thinking about her made her real, Christine appeared in the hallway after Norma returned from the bathroom.

"There you are." The older girl smiled brightly. Norma was sure she was about to be politely told they wouldn't need her after all for the play or for her campaign and she should go home now.

"Don't worry about George, Norma." Christine said with a flip of her hand. "He falls in and out of love way too easily. Give it a week and he'll be all over another girl like you never existed at all."

"I hope so." Norma breathed unsteadily.

"I've already told George to leave you alone for the rest of the day or I'll give him a new role and he begged me for the roll of Johnathan. So don't worry."

She laced her arm in Norma's and walked with her back into the art room so no one would think Norma wasn't made to feel stared at when they came back in together.

~ For the rest of the day, Christine kept Norma close to her as she and Maggie worked on costumes for the play.

"Had much experience sewing, Norma?" Maggie asked apprehensively. Norma shook her head.

It felt awkward with Maggie now to. Clearly she liked George and didn't appreciate Norma's intrusion.

"My grandmother taught me." Maggie said. "She's in a nursing home now, but she used to live in that big Queen Anne house on the highway. She used to sew dresses for me when I was little."

Norma nodded but wasn't listening. She folded the hems Maggie told her to and listened numbly while Maggie instructed her how to use the sewing machine.

It seemed an insurmountable task, all the sewing and ironing that had to be done, but Maggie managed to do it without complaint. Accomplishing part of costumes that she would sew together with the actors regular clothes.

"That's how you make new clothes." Maggie said wisely. "You just take the pattern of your old clothes, cut and sew."

"Well you make it look easy." Norma laughed.

"I can teach you." Maggie offered shyly.

Norma shrugged.

"I'm working, babysitting." Norma said feebly.

"And you have a social life now." Maggie said returning to her sewing. The machine making a loud noise that would drown out Norma's voice if she'd said anything anyway.

Norma didn't miss the tinge of bitterness in Maggie's voice. A part of her wishing the two of them could hang out with no worries. That she wouldn't need a job, that George wasn't something that lurked between them. That her feelings for Alex weren't an issue for everyone.

She wished she could just have a normal, boring life where no one cared about her at all.

Mutely, she helped Maggie and Christine clean up and pack up the costumes for the play. Christine still seeming like she had tons of energy left even though it was past five in the evening and Norma was tired and starving to death.

"Norma, we're all going out to dinner." Christine said gently. "Why don't you come with us?"

Norma shook her head but smiled weakly.

"I promised my mom I'd be home early." She lied easily and helped Maggie box up the last of her sewing supplies.

Christine looked saddened by this but nodded.

"If it's about George." she offered but Norma shook her head.

"I need to get home." Norma said.

~ She wondered vaguely if Fanny would still be there when she got back to the old newspaper building. She wouldn't put it past her mother to leave without her. It had always been the way of her family. To leave without a trace and without notice.

Norma was walking back home but it felt more like a trudge. Why, why did her mother do this to her? Why couldn't she have a normal existence just for a few years? Was it too much to ask to live here till she graduated? To give her a semi sense of permanence? A place to call home, if only for a while?

"Hey!" Barked and angry voice and Norma turned around to see Alex running behind her.

"Alex." She said weakly as if in some lame word association game.

"You didn't hear me? I was calling your name ever since you left the art room. You made me run after you and everything." Alex said a little out of breath.

Norma could hardly register he was even there. It was good to see him. Just the sight of him was reassuring and comforting. A strange happiness filled her that she didn't know how to explain.

Alex stooped down a little to look her in the eyes.

"Norma, what's wrong?" He asked. "What's happened?"

She shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. Didn't want to burden him with everything her mother had said.

Then again, his dad was the Sheriff and he would tell his son all about Fanny Calhoun anyway. Alex would know exactly what kind of girl he supposedly liked and he would be humiliated in school.

Norma sniffed and looked away from him.

"Okay." Alex said softly. "Okay, let's go... let's go get some ice cream."

Norma found herself nodding as Alex laced an arm around her shoulders. All her worries, for now, feeling a little better.