-1Scene XXV: Monday afternoon, the back yard.
Jen stood outside in the patented beautiful San Diego weather with an easel, a canvas, and a pallette full of paints. She was painting a vase of irises, her favorite flower. She forgot how comforting painting could be. There is no other aspect in life where interpretation so subjective would never be criticized as in personal artwork. If only life were this easy.
She quietly hummed to herself while dragging the paintbrush full of a mixture of School Bus Yellow and Wicker White across the canvas. The front door can be heard opening and closing. Jen looks at her watch. How could all this time fly so quickly. She's been completely silent all day. My sanctuary is about to dissolve, she thinks to herself.
Drake: Anybody home?
Jen puts down her pallette and sticks the paintbrush into a glass of murky grayish water. She wipes her hands and makes her way into the house via the back door.
Jen: Just me. Hey.
Drake: Oh, hi. Is Josh or Megan home yet?
Jen: Nope, haven't heard a peep out of anyone today.
Drake: Oh, ok. Well, I don't want to bother you. I'll just go upstairs and …. And….
Jen: And what?
Drake: Uh…. Do my… homework…
Jen: That's funny. You doing your homework.
Drake: Uhhhh. Can we talk about something?
Jen: Uh oh. Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like this…
Jen begins an internal panic. She thinks that Drake thinks she's crazy and is going to make his feelings known. Her stomach begins to churn loudly. She was warned by the doctors at the hospital that if she didn't externalize some stress, she was headed for an ulcer. At this point, an ulcer would be welcome. It would attach a physical pain to the emotional pain in her head.
Drake: I wanted to say I'm sorry to you.
Jen: For what? I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. That night….
Drake: No, not for that. I'm talking about when you first got here. Remember? I was on my way out? I couldn't remember the girls name?
Jen smirks to herself. Her minor beef with Drake and the way he treated girls was a distant memory. How thankful she was to be reminded of the little things in life.
Jen: Oh yeah. I totally forgot about that.
Drake: Well, I just wanted you to know that you were right. But there's still a problem…
Jen: Oh? How was I right?
Drake: Well, Josh and were talking that night. There's a rumor going around that I "use" girls, then get rid of them. Except that it's not really a rumor… it's true.
Jen: I would believe that to be true. Josh told me all about you before I got here.
Drake: What?
Jen: Don't worry about it. It wasn't like you were gonna have a chance in hell with me anyway.
Drake: You got that right.
Jen shoots a look at him as if to say, no shit, Sherlock.
Drake: Well, I thought about what I was doing, and the fact that my influence on Neal made Megan a nervous wreck. So I decided to be the nice guy for once. Remember that girl Sally I took out Saturday night?
Jen: Yeah, she sounded really nice. Not like the girls you usually go out with.
Drake: Well, forget what you thought about her. I was the perfect gentleman that night. Opening doors for her, listening to her when my mind should have been on the hot girl at the next table. But it got thrown back in my face.
Jen: Huh? How did it get thrown into your face?
Drake: Well, I suggested we go to the beach for a nice moonlit walk. She got pissed at me because I wanted to "go for a walk".
Jen: What exactly does "go for a walk" mean in your language?
Drake: I wanted to go for a walk. A real walk…
Jen: Wow, really? Good for you! Why is this bad?
Drake: Because she heard the rumor, and figured that I'd be the perfect guy to go out with. She's apparently the female version of me, and thought that she'd be the easiest lay. When I told her that I wasn't interested in that, but to get to know her and enjoy her company, she got mad!
Jen: Hmmm… I'm sorry that happened to you. But, while I'd love to blame this on Sally, you have a lot to work on to overcome that reputation of yours. You've burned a lot of bridges, my friend.
Drake: So you're saying that I should continue being "the nice guy"?
Jen: Yes. You might not get satisfaction out of it right away, but before you know it, there'll be a girl, a woman even, who will love that side of you, and you'll see that she's "the one". I'm telling you, this is a great learning experience for you. You, my friend, have learned a little about women. I told you I'd teach you, remember?
Drake: I'm giving it one more try, but if it happens again, I'm going back to the Drake Belleview knows and loves, got it?
Jen: Well, maybe you should try on a girl that doesn't go to your school. You haven't infected that market yet, have you?
Drake: Infected? You think I infect? I'd like to call it inspire.
Jen: Call it what you will…
Jen goes back to her painting on the deck. Drake goes upstairs thinking about Jen's advice. Maybe it was just the wrong girl to try that on. Maybe if he had treated the other girls the same way, he would have a steady girlfriend now. But a steady girlfriend was the last thing on Drake's mind at this point.
