The next couple of days were fairly uneventful except that Phil couldn't seem to get rid of Marci. Everywhere he went she was there. She showed up at his locker, followed him around in the halls and had a way of always magically appearing at his side.
Phil finally confided his problem in Via when she caught him hiding behind his locker door. "What are you doing?" She asked, peering around the corner of the door.
"Hiding."
"From who?" She looked around the hall and didn't see anything the least bit threatening.
"Marci."
"Who?"
Phil shut his locker. "This girl in my physics class," he explained. "She won't stop following me around."
Via looked at little confused. "Why?"
"She has a crush on me."
"Why don't you just tell her you don't feel the same way?"
"I tried! I've told her at least ten times that I don't like her in that way but she just doesn't get it! No matter what I say or do I can't get rid of her!"
Phil glanced down the hall and suddenly a look of terror crossed his face. "Oh no, there she is!"
As Marci walked toward them, Phil looked from her to Via and, in a moment of desperation, did something stupid without thinking it through.
He grabbed Via and kissed her.
When he let go of her, he looked down the hall to see Marci turn around and walk quickly the opposite direction. "It worked! Maybe now she'll leave me alone."
Via followed his gaze and suddenly understood. He turned to her and said, "Sorry, Via, maybe I should have warned you before I did that."
"Uh, that's all right, Phil. Happy to help."
They were both quiet for a moment until Via started laughing. "Well, I learned one thing today."
"What's that?"
"You and I should never date."
Phil laughed too. "That's for sure."
Having finally gotten rid of Marci, Phil felt a whole lot better about everything. However, had he known who, beside Marci, had witnessed his act of desperation, he wouldn't have felt so upbeat because at the precise moment that Phil kissed Via, Keely Teslow had come around the corner and seen the whole thing.
A/n: What? Cliffhanger? Guess you'll just have to come back for Act II, Scene ii, when all this craziness gets resolved...maybe...