The entire weekend had gone by and Desi could figure no way of getting a story out of Cory Cather. At least, not without risking physical harm to herself. She had talked to Orrie Jackson, her subject's half brother. Cory, it seemed, wasn't actually named Cory. His name was Corin, Cory was a nickname. Also on a side note, Desi learned Orrie's name wasn't Orrie, it was Orlando. They were named after characters in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Shakespeare, of course! Everybody's name is Shakespearean! Orrie was a nice guy, though. He smiled a lot, and when he did he reminded Desi of those occasions when Ephram smiled. Desi had to laugh. Ephram always reminded her of the Grinch when he smiled. That's for irony.
"Desi!" she heard her name called and turned around to find Amy jogging over to her. Desi looked around and behind her, assuming Amy hadn't been the one to call her and was running to someone behind her.
"Hi, Desi?" Amy said stopping in front of her. Desi turned back around to her, surprised.
"Hi, Amy. Can I help you?" Desi asked her.
"I want to talk to you," Amy said. Desi nodded in understanding.
"About Ephram and Halloween?" Desi asked. Amy nodded.
"If I had known that no one had-"
"I know. Relax, Amy, someone did come," Desi reassured her.
"I should have come."
"You had to deal with Bright, he's your older brother, he comes first," Desi said with a smile Amy didn't understand. Amy shook her head.
"But Ephram…"
"Ephram was taken care for," Desi told her and smiled, "relax, Amy. You were not at fault. You are not a fatalist, are you?"
"What?" Amy asked her surprised by the question. Desi laughed slightly.
"You think that everything bad that happens to you is your fault. Sometimes it's just meant to happen, Amy. Sometimes you just have no control. Fatalism," Desi told her. Amy smiled and nodded.
Dr. Brown was outside, sweeping the fine layer of snow off of the sidewalk. He heard a hammer sounding throughout the buildings along the street. His eyes searched very building he could see until finally, a few buildings away from Dr. Abbott's office, Dr. Brown saw his sister nailing a board to the wall. He couldn't read it from where he was, but he knew what it said. It said that Dr. Trott wouldn't have any business the next time she came into town. Dr. Abbott heard the hammering too and walked out of his office. He looked to Dr. Brown who only pointed down the street to his sister. Dr. Abbott saw the woman, frowned, and marched down to her. She watched him approach, and watched him read her sign.
"Doctor Star Cather
Town Shrink"
Dr. Abbott read the plaque, laughed a little at her attitude of herself, and turned to her.
"You're a shrink?" he asked her.
"So you can read. I'm Star," she said extending her hand. He shook it.
"Dr. Abbott," he said. She nodded.
"Nice to meet you Dr. Abbott," she said lifting another nail. His eyes widened.
"That's it? No diagnosis about introducing myself as 'Dr. Abbott' instead of 'Harold?'" he asked her surprised. She turned to him.
"I only diagnose people when they pay me for it," she told him. He chuckled.
"I like that idea. Now, you look familiar, have I seen you before?" he asked her. She smiled.
"Now, but you've met my brother," she told him. He looked curious.
"Really? Is he a doctor?"
"Yea, you could say that…" she said grinning sadistically.
"Well I'm sorry, but I can't seem to place him," Dr. Abbott apologized. Star raised her hand and pointed to Dr. Brown's office. Dr. Abbott turned, saw it, and turned back to her.
"Oh you're kidding," he said, hoping she was. She shook her head.
"Andy's my baby brother. And I have pictures!" she said getting out her wallet. She opened it and handed him a picture of a small, brown haired boy, no more then two or three, dressed as a cowboy. Dr. Abbott took the photo and started laughing.
"Oh, oh my, do you have anymore of these?" he asked her. She sighed.
"I had a bunch of them, but I gave them to Julia for a wedding gift. Andy's probably burned them now… Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have some nailing to do," she said.
"Yes, of course. See you around," he said walking back to his office.
"Oh Dr. Abbott!" she called after him. He turned around to look at her.
"If you want me to tell you why you introduced yourself as 'Dr. Abbott,' you can always make an appointment," she told him. He frowned, nodded, and continued on his way. She shook her head smiling, and continued nailing up her plaque.
It was lunchtime and Delia and Murasaki were casually making marks on a piece of paper. Murasaki made one mark and drew a line.
"I win," Murasaki said. Delia looked down at the piece of paper to see the line Murasaki drew crossing three O's. Delia sighed. That night was their first performance of Hansel and Gretel. Ephram was coming, and the Harper's were going with Jig too. Delia hadn't told her father about it yet, and she wasn't sure if she should. He probably had plans by now anyway. The reason, mainly, that she didn't tell her father, was that her father had never come to any of her school plays in New York City. It was her mother who always came. And if her father came to her play, it'd be like everything was different. Her dad would understand. She just hoped it wouldn't hurt his feelings. Her dad was kind of sensitive like that.
"So are your parents coming tonight?" Delia asked. Murasaki nodded.
"Yea, so are Mayumi and Masaji," Murasaki told her. Mayumi and Masaji were Murasaki's twin sister and brother respectively. They were Freshmen in high school so Ephram might have seen them around, Delia hadn't asked him. Mayumi, Murasaki's sister, had been home when Delia spent the night. She was nice. She sang a lot. Mostly Japanese songs. Delia hasn't met Masaji yet.
"I win," Delia said drawing a line through three of her X's.
Ephram's eighth period teacher had wanted to talk to him after class. She was in charge of the senior play and wanted to know if he could play the piano for them. Evidently his piano playing was now known school wide. What a sad little place this is. Tonight was Delia's play, and today he was asked to perform for one. The teacher hadn't disclosed which play, but he agreed anyway. The teacher was very good at getting what she wanted. As Ephram walked down the now empty hallway past the music room, he heard voices and erratic music. He opened the door slightly and peeked inside. First he saw Orrie sitting down, holding an acoustic guitar. Upon further inspection he found Orrie talking to Jig, who was also holding an acoustic guitar. They were talking and laughing slightly.
"Okay, okay, so how do you say 'jig' in Japanese?" Jig asked. Orrie thought about it for a few moments.
"Jiggu," he told her. She laughed.
"Gee, I never could have come up with that in a million years," she said and he chuckled.
"Well, human languages are all pretty much the same when you look at them. They might sound different here and there, but they're all the same."
"Why Orrie Jackson, how profound," Jig told him grinning. He chuckled again.
"I want to study languages in college."
"I suppose that should be interesting."
"Yea. I'd get to go all over the world. What do you want to study at college?" Orrie asked her and Jig bit her lower lip.
"Me? In college? Never thought of that…" she confessed. Orrie laughed slightly.
"What do you mean you've never thought of it? Everyone goes to college…"
"I just never thought about it, that's all… Now what song did you want to teach me?" she asked him.
"Oh! A song I thought you'd like. It's the song from the locket, in Sailor Moon, I found the music for it," Orrie said pulling a piece of paper out of his back pocket. He straightened it and placed it on the stand in front of her. Jig looked over it.
"Okay. Now remember, I'm a bit out of practice at the guitar," she warned him. He nodded. Jig cracked her knuckles and her neck. She placed her hands on the strings and started playing. Ephram smiled. She could play the guitar. Cool.
"You're not bad for out of practice," Orrie told her when she finished. She shrugged.
"I've played a little almost every day for the past five years…" she said. He nodded.
"It shows. What other instruments can you play?" he asked her, looking around the room. She looked around too.
"Lot's of things that aren't in this room," she said surprised at the lack of diversity on Everwood's instruments.
"Well what here?"
"The violin, the flute over there, the drums, and, is that a trumpet?" she asked pointing to a part of the room. Orrie looked.
"Yea."
"Then I can play that too."
"How the Hell did you learn how to play so many instruments?"
"Back in LA we lived across the hall from a guy name Harper Thomas. In his youth he was in a serious of unsuccessful bands, an orchestra. Now he's a professor of music at a local college."
"And he lives in an apartment house?"
"Yea. He said he liked the atmosphere there better. I don't know why…" Jig confessed.
"Apples and oranges, I suppose," he said.
"I mean we had some nice moments there. Especially after Isaac, uh, never mind…" Jig said grinning and looking down at the guitar.
"Who's Isaac?"
"An old friend of mine," Jig said with a smile.
"Is he still leaving there?"
"No, not now, he's left."
"Miss him?" Orrie asked and Jig grinned.
"More everyday," she said. Ephram narrowed his eyebrows at that. What did that mean? Why hadn't Jig mentioned Isaac to him before? She hadn't yet! Not really… Ephram sighed, shook his head, and continued walking down the hall. He really needed more friends that were guys.
