I still don't own Degrassi. Doesn't that suck? A lot?
Chapter Two: Hello City
The day before Craig was leaving for Prince Edward Island he headed into the office for a quick meeting with Troy. He was planning on asking Troy if he could take a vacation after he got the photos and just mail the photos back to Toronto. Shockingly, Troy agreed. He also had a request for Craig.
"Craig, I want you to be careful. If you don't get the photos for a week, thats fine. The most important thing is to not get caught. Plus, while you are there, you can find out things about this Melody Matthews." Craig nodded, figuring he'd just lie to Troy and tell him that he couldn't find any information.
"Ok, Troy. Do you have anything else I need to know?"
"Nope, I trust you, Craig. You're one of the best photographers we have here." Oh, joy, Craig thought to himself. He was the best of the sleeze. He figured that some people would have been proud of the compliment, but Craig wasn't. He had to find a new job, and soon.
Craig was packing that night when Emma came home. "Hey."
"Hey, I have something for you." Emma handed Craig a book. It was AK Bannister's book on the psychiatric ward, "Wash Away." Craig just looked at it, then put it in his carry-on. "I figured you might want to look at it. You don't have to read it, but it might give you some idea about who AK Bannister is. It seemed more personal to me when I read it than her other material."
Craig nodded. "I don't know if I can read it, Em. If its half as real as you say it is, I'm almost sure I can't. There's something about reading about it that hurts me."
"You can't forget you were there, Craig."
"I'm not going to forget, Emma." Craig sighed and looked at her. "I see it in my head sometimes, when I get depressed, and that scares me enough to rush me as fast as I can into Dr. Allen to talk and work on whatevers bothering me. I don't want to think about it, I don't want to picture it in my head. I want to forget it existed-but I can't."
"You say that like its a bad thing."
"You don't understand. I know you mean well, but you don't understand. I don't think anyone can." Craig zipped up his suitcase. "I'm ready to head off in the morning, I guess."
"Good luck on the trip. I hope you find what you are looking for." Craig nodded at Emma and she left the room.
Craig boarded the plane the next morning and sat in his seat. After take off, he got out the Bannister book and looked it over, the back cover held nothing but reviews. He read the front flyleaf, which explained the plot of the book. The book was about Moira, a teenage girl who was suffering from clinical depression and in the hospital, but it also dealt with her relationships with her family, including her twin brother Max and his best friend Greg. On the back cover was the author biography, which only had two lines. "AK Bannister was raised in Canada, where she still lives. This is her fifth novel." Craig found the biography amusing in a way-obviously AK Bannister did not want anyone to know anything about her. Craig felt guilty because of that, he did believe that people should have privacy. However, he knew he had to do this job, and he wanted to do it well. It was as if two sides of himself were at war as he flipped the book over and over in his hands.
Craig decided to open the book, see if there was a dedication. There was not only a dedication but a snippet of song lyrics. The dedication read "To C, thank you for everything. You were the first one I opened my true voice too, and I miss you." The lyrics were by Tori Amos, "These these precious things/Let them bleed now/Let them wash away/These these precious things/Let them break their hold over me" Craig smiled at the page, feeling a nagging feeling in his heart, but ignored it and decided that he may as well start the book.
He had the book halfway finished by the time they arrived at PEI, and couldn't wait to finish it. There was something familier to him, and that was the fact that the ward Moira was in was almost identical to the one he'd been in, but he figured that perhaps more than one ward was like that, or that the author had known someone in that ward. Craig put the book away, got off the plane, got his luggage, and headed to the rental car area. After picking up the car, he headed to the hotel and checked in. After check-in Craig read more of "Wash Away," before realizing that it was almost dark. He then decided to head to a local diner to eat supper, but he first drove by the farmhouse owned by Melody Matthews, who his boss assumed was AK Bannister. It was a medium sized house, but very inviting, with an old barn and old chicken-coop out back. Craig also noticed a light burning from inside the house, and was startled by this at first. He then remembered that while Melody Matthew's was in Europe, her neice was supposed to be staying at the house. He decided to drive by it again on the way back, as it was not that far out of his way.
Craig then ate a quick meal at a local diner, where he observed the people there. No one looked at him strangely, he noticed, but perhaps maybe that was the kind of people who lived here-the kind who very simply minds their own businesses. After dinner, Craig drove behind the farmhouse. He wasn't sure why he did what he did next, but he got out of the car and started walking toward the barn, looking for good angles to shoot the photos. He was nearly at the barn when he heard the dog. Then he saw the dog, as it tackled him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the back door of the house open and a young woman step out and walk towards him, yelling "Stan!" "Stan!" as the dog licked Craig's face. It took Craig a moment to realize that the dog must be Stan. The dog got off of him and the woman reached for his hand and pulled him to the back porch.
It wasn't until they were nearly in the light that she said, "You must be the photographer, where'd you drop your camera."
Craig managed to stutter out "I didn't have it with me." Then kicked himself for basically saying he was the photographer.
When they stepped into the light she looked at him funny. "Craig Manning?" At his nod she smiled. "You don't recognize me, Craig? Should I speak in lyrics?"
"Allegra?"
"Last time I checked." He almost hugged her then, but stopped. He hadn't seen Allegra Baxter since he'd left the hospital six years before. "You're the photographer...odd. You'll be over for lunch tomorrow. 11:30. Don't be late." At that she walked into the house and closed the door. Craig hadn't even had time to accept her invitation, but of course he would. He wondered if tomorrow he'd also find out about AK Bannister, or if he'd just find out about Allegra's last six years.
Craig headed back to the hotel then, called Troy and told him he had no news, and then called to check in with Joey. He didn't mention Allegra to Joey, and wasn't quite sure of the reason why. He then laid back on the bed, exausted. It had been a stressful day.
Chapter Two: Hello City
The day before Craig was leaving for Prince Edward Island he headed into the office for a quick meeting with Troy. He was planning on asking Troy if he could take a vacation after he got the photos and just mail the photos back to Toronto. Shockingly, Troy agreed. He also had a request for Craig.
"Craig, I want you to be careful. If you don't get the photos for a week, thats fine. The most important thing is to not get caught. Plus, while you are there, you can find out things about this Melody Matthews." Craig nodded, figuring he'd just lie to Troy and tell him that he couldn't find any information.
"Ok, Troy. Do you have anything else I need to know?"
"Nope, I trust you, Craig. You're one of the best photographers we have here." Oh, joy, Craig thought to himself. He was the best of the sleeze. He figured that some people would have been proud of the compliment, but Craig wasn't. He had to find a new job, and soon.
Craig was packing that night when Emma came home. "Hey."
"Hey, I have something for you." Emma handed Craig a book. It was AK Bannister's book on the psychiatric ward, "Wash Away." Craig just looked at it, then put it in his carry-on. "I figured you might want to look at it. You don't have to read it, but it might give you some idea about who AK Bannister is. It seemed more personal to me when I read it than her other material."
Craig nodded. "I don't know if I can read it, Em. If its half as real as you say it is, I'm almost sure I can't. There's something about reading about it that hurts me."
"You can't forget you were there, Craig."
"I'm not going to forget, Emma." Craig sighed and looked at her. "I see it in my head sometimes, when I get depressed, and that scares me enough to rush me as fast as I can into Dr. Allen to talk and work on whatevers bothering me. I don't want to think about it, I don't want to picture it in my head. I want to forget it existed-but I can't."
"You say that like its a bad thing."
"You don't understand. I know you mean well, but you don't understand. I don't think anyone can." Craig zipped up his suitcase. "I'm ready to head off in the morning, I guess."
"Good luck on the trip. I hope you find what you are looking for." Craig nodded at Emma and she left the room.
Craig boarded the plane the next morning and sat in his seat. After take off, he got out the Bannister book and looked it over, the back cover held nothing but reviews. He read the front flyleaf, which explained the plot of the book. The book was about Moira, a teenage girl who was suffering from clinical depression and in the hospital, but it also dealt with her relationships with her family, including her twin brother Max and his best friend Greg. On the back cover was the author biography, which only had two lines. "AK Bannister was raised in Canada, where she still lives. This is her fifth novel." Craig found the biography amusing in a way-obviously AK Bannister did not want anyone to know anything about her. Craig felt guilty because of that, he did believe that people should have privacy. However, he knew he had to do this job, and he wanted to do it well. It was as if two sides of himself were at war as he flipped the book over and over in his hands.
Craig decided to open the book, see if there was a dedication. There was not only a dedication but a snippet of song lyrics. The dedication read "To C, thank you for everything. You were the first one I opened my true voice too, and I miss you." The lyrics were by Tori Amos, "These these precious things/Let them bleed now/Let them wash away/These these precious things/Let them break their hold over me" Craig smiled at the page, feeling a nagging feeling in his heart, but ignored it and decided that he may as well start the book.
He had the book halfway finished by the time they arrived at PEI, and couldn't wait to finish it. There was something familier to him, and that was the fact that the ward Moira was in was almost identical to the one he'd been in, but he figured that perhaps more than one ward was like that, or that the author had known someone in that ward. Craig put the book away, got off the plane, got his luggage, and headed to the rental car area. After picking up the car, he headed to the hotel and checked in. After check-in Craig read more of "Wash Away," before realizing that it was almost dark. He then decided to head to a local diner to eat supper, but he first drove by the farmhouse owned by Melody Matthews, who his boss assumed was AK Bannister. It was a medium sized house, but very inviting, with an old barn and old chicken-coop out back. Craig also noticed a light burning from inside the house, and was startled by this at first. He then remembered that while Melody Matthew's was in Europe, her neice was supposed to be staying at the house. He decided to drive by it again on the way back, as it was not that far out of his way.
Craig then ate a quick meal at a local diner, where he observed the people there. No one looked at him strangely, he noticed, but perhaps maybe that was the kind of people who lived here-the kind who very simply minds their own businesses. After dinner, Craig drove behind the farmhouse. He wasn't sure why he did what he did next, but he got out of the car and started walking toward the barn, looking for good angles to shoot the photos. He was nearly at the barn when he heard the dog. Then he saw the dog, as it tackled him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the back door of the house open and a young woman step out and walk towards him, yelling "Stan!" "Stan!" as the dog licked Craig's face. It took Craig a moment to realize that the dog must be Stan. The dog got off of him and the woman reached for his hand and pulled him to the back porch.
It wasn't until they were nearly in the light that she said, "You must be the photographer, where'd you drop your camera."
Craig managed to stutter out "I didn't have it with me." Then kicked himself for basically saying he was the photographer.
When they stepped into the light she looked at him funny. "Craig Manning?" At his nod she smiled. "You don't recognize me, Craig? Should I speak in lyrics?"
"Allegra?"
"Last time I checked." He almost hugged her then, but stopped. He hadn't seen Allegra Baxter since he'd left the hospital six years before. "You're the photographer...odd. You'll be over for lunch tomorrow. 11:30. Don't be late." At that she walked into the house and closed the door. Craig hadn't even had time to accept her invitation, but of course he would. He wondered if tomorrow he'd also find out about AK Bannister, or if he'd just find out about Allegra's last six years.
Craig headed back to the hotel then, called Troy and told him he had no news, and then called to check in with Joey. He didn't mention Allegra to Joey, and wasn't quite sure of the reason why. He then laid back on the bed, exausted. It had been a stressful day.