Author's Note: I'm baaack. It hasn't been three months yet, has it?

Author's Note 2: The dashes symbolize a change in narrative voice.

Author's Note 3: Italicized words in ' ' are thoughts.

Feedback: Greatly appreciated.


PART XIV: Setting Up for a Fall

Uncharacteristically, I showed up early for rehearsals. Then again, having rehearsals to show up for was never a characteristic of mine, period. I had never gone through this much trouble to get a girl. Jessie was changing me, and it had to stop. Soon. 'Soon…"Soon, soon, I shall be with you, and then I shall know no sorrow, only what is yours shall be mine." Oh my god, no.' I shook my head and started pacing. 'Where is she? Where is she?' Showing up early, I convinced myself, was a tactical device that would give me the advantage. This way I would be aware of when Jessie comes in and would subsequently be able to track her every movement. In NO way was I eager to see her again face-to-face rather than through a television screen which is so fucking small one can barely see the enthrallingly blue of her eyes or her little birthmark just on her left cheek. I stopped. There was a tug on my arm. Tad's lips moved and sound came from them, but all I focused on was the glass over his shoulder which by the light from above reflected the entrance doors far behind me.

'Joanna Franco…kiss…sex… What?' "What?"

There was a shimmer in the glass. I felt the corners of my mouth start to rise.

"This isn't funny," said Tad, angry about something.

"What?" I turned to him, lost.

"What? What?" repeated Tad, annoyed. "Are you even listening to me? I just told you TWICE that Joanna Franco said if I tried to kiss her, she would make it physically impossible for me to have sex. And you're SMILING? Not cool!" Tad stormed away.

"What was that about?" asked a voice, slightly wavering with nervousness. The enthrallingly blue eyes appeared transparent in the glass like a foreboding specter.

For a while, I found myself staring at the glass. It reminded me of the mirrored shield of Athena which she had bequeathed to her half-brother, Perseus, so he could look upon Medusa whose very gaze could petrify a man. '"Take my shield," she said, "and remember that you must use it as a mirror to see her reflection before you strike."'

'Strike,' I urged myself.

"I'm not really sure," I said, carefully turning around. "But you know me; I'm a magnet for the melodrama. Why, people berating me on stage seems to be a common occurrence in my life." I daringly met her eyes, and struck with a pointed smile.

Jessie tried to counteract it with her own, but ultimately faltered and dropped her gaze in defeat. "About that…" Her eyebrows knitted closely together as if her thoughts weighed heavy in her head and tightening her brow would keep them from falling out all at once. Jessie took a moment before nodding slightly as if encouraging herself that it was OK. "I'm really sorry –"

"No, it's all right." I smiled and waved her off forgivingly. "Forget it. You were just pointing out the truth." I kicked at a scuff on the stage's hardwood floor. A part of it disappeared from the friction of my rubber sole. "And finally… I am able to come to terms with it." I looked up at Jessie. My eyes squinted against the harsh overhead light that one of the stagehands had just turned on as if on cue. I inhaled deeply. "Hi, my name is Katie Singer and I'm a pompous, bi-polar jerk."

Jessie let out a small laugh. "Hi, Katie," she replied monotonously, imitating a member of a support group newly converted and lobotomized. She smiled despite herself.

"Ah, so by that smile, I gauge you aren't mad at me anymore."

She took a pause to take me in. "You're getting there."

"Then maybe this will help." I tugged open my sleeves to show that there was nothing up them then waved my empty hands in front of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, laughing at my theatrics.

I held up a hand, signaling her to wait, while I brought the other behind my back.

"Voilà!" I held out a small white box that had a red bow with intricate gold engravings tied around it. Jessie's eyes widened then met mine with incredulity, uncertain if it was a trick. I smiled comfortingly and nudged the gift toward her. "Go on."

"What is it?" she asked, tentatively taking the box which nearly matched her dainty, porcelain white hands.

"A small token of apology."

Jessie carefully tugged on the bow and it unraveled easily. She then opened the box and pulled from it a blue-glassed perfume bottle. She inhaled a breath of awe and smiled to herself. "It's my favorite. How did you know?" Not only did I know it was her favorite, but also that she was in need of a new one. Sarah had routed the feed from the hidden surveillance cameras in the Sammler's and Manning's houses to my own receptor. "Use it to your advantage," Sarah advised me. "As I will to mine," she added cryptically.

"I noticed it the first time we almost kissed," I said, taking a few steps closer. I studied Jessie's face – her deep china blue eyes; her voluptuous glossy red lips – and had the sudden impulse to kiss her. I fought it. However, my body was unable to resist its desire to touch her, so I could only watch as my finger slowly glided across her ashen cheek, catching itself on a stray strand of golden hair, which it gently tucked behind her ear. Jessie didn't flinch. She didn't recoil from my rogue appendage. She merely stood, studying the glossy cracks in between the stage's wooden boards. My finger finally pulled away, tracing the smooth outline of her jaw as it did. I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and whispered, "It's been haunting me ever since."

"I told you…" Jessie choked out, "nothing happened." She hesitantly took a few steps away from me, which might as well be to the other side of the world.

"Are we still going to pretend that there's nothing more than friendship between us?" I asked cynically.

"Look, Katie." Jessie stared at the perfume bottle intently as she carefully placed it back into the box. She outstretched her arm, signaling me to take back the gift. Her gift. "Maybe you should…"

"No, keep it." I pushed the box toward her with a gentle hand. "I bought it for you, so you should keep it. Anyway, it will drive me mad having it around." I let out a small laugh. "Can you imagine? To have the scent of you pervading my room, forever reminding me of…" I thought of my room and its nearest escape – a high-ledged balcony which overlooked a jagged bed of rocks. I exhaled the breath that I held in place of the word I kept in. "Just keep it."

Before Jessie could protest or otherwise, Miss Lafleur entered the room, asking everyone to get ready. "All right, let's start with a dry read. Everyone grab a chair from the back, and let's form a circle." Abruptly the auditorium resonated with the sounds of people shuffling and chairs being dragged along the floor. "Is everybody here? I see my Benedick and Beatrice." Suddenly Jessie and I realized we were the only ones standing still. Jessie moved to get a chair, but Tad conveniently appeared with one in each hand.

"Here, Jess." Tad placed the chairs next to each other. "I got you one." He sat down then gestured for her to take the other.

"Thanks, Tad," said Jessie, a little reluctant. I saw her glance at me as if to check if it was all right, or perhaps she was hoping that I would propose a better offer.

I was about to walk up to her when I felt someone grab my hand. It was a woman's hand – soft; tiny.

"You can sit next to me," said a seductive, throaty voice. I felt her index finger start to draw slow, lazy circles around my palm. Without turning around, I already knew who it was.

"Joanna, hey…" I drawled. I was met by a pair of intensely blue eyes, which were made prominent by the dark raven hair that framed her face in long, unruly curls. I smiled nostalgically. "Wow, I haven't seen you since…"

"Since you fucked me at Russell's party and never called me back?"

"Has it been that long?"

Joanna nodded, smiling dumbly, as she turned her gaze to the floor and walked a few steps closer. She lifted her head up not that far from mine. Her eyes were even more striking up close. Her pupils were like large obsidian stones perfectly encircled by crystal blue waters. "I miss you," she breathed out.

This was a sentiment that was always given but never shared. "Thanks," I replied reflexively. "That's sweet."

"C'mon…" As she walked passed me, she entwined her fingers with mine, forcing me to turn around. "Let's sit down."

It was then that I noticed Jessie was staring at us. When I met her eyes, they quickly returned to Tad who was animatedly talking about God knows what. I smiled. "OK." I let Joanna lead me past Jessie who tried to surreptitiously steal glances of us, but her lack of experience and skill gave her away. 'This will work.' We sat down almost a quarter-turn from Tad and Jessie.

"All right, I have my Claudio," Miss Lafleur pointed to Tad with her pencil before checking him off on her sheet. She then pointed at Joanna. "My Hero." Although everyone focused their gaze on Joanna due to the unexplainable need to turn our heads in the direction of where someone points, Jessie's was the one that held longer than usual. She was studying Joanna as if doing so would enable her to learn something about me. 'Yes, this will work indeed.'

"Did you ever know that you're my hero?" belted out Russell in his best diva impression with the requisite hand waving in the air while the other holds in an imaginary earpiece.

"Thank you, Russell, but this is not a musical," chided Miss Lafleur.

"He wishes," quipped Tad.

"Oh, ha ha," said Russell, not amused. "I get it. I'm gay, so I innately love musicals. Why, aren't you clever?"

"Your mom!"

Russell shook his head in pity at Tad's poor attempt at a comeback. "That's really sad, man."

"Your mom is a sad man!"

Russell slapped Tad across the back of his head. The room filled with snickering. I always wondered why Tad insisted on insulting Russell, and if he did – why sit next to him?

"OK, boys, let's save the conflict for the stage," said Miss Lafleur, looking sternly over her clipboard. She tipped her pencil toward Russell without looking up. "Don John…" She made another checkmark on her sheet. "Don Pedro…" Check.

"Don Corleone," added Tad, still failing at being clever.

"Man, shut up." Another slap across the back of Tad's head. Check.

"OK, all we're missing is Ursula." Everyone looked around expectantly as if the actress would magically appear out of nowhere. "Has anyone seen…?"

"Here I am." Suddenly there was a hush amongst the group, and the echo of slow, high-heeled footsteps on linoleum was all one could hear. 'Oh god…'

"Sarah, you're late."

"I know," said Sarah in a mock-apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to make a surprise entrance." This evoked another bout of snickering. Sarah winked at me as she walked up to Miss Lafleur and handed her a slip of paper. "I have a late pass."

Miss Lafleur quickly scanned the paper before dismissing Sarah. "OK, take a seat, Ursula."

"Dude, you're playing the fat-ass, purple-skinned, half-octopus bitch?"

"That's The Little Mermaid, dumb ass!" Russell delivered yet another blow. I didn't see the point in hitting Tad in the head after he made a dim-witted comment. It was a retrogressive method, if you asked me.

Tad dropped his hands on his lap in anger. "Dude, not cool!" He tried to smooth down the growing bump at the back of his head. "I could be bleeding internally."

"Don't tease me," said Russell.

Sarah took the empty seat beside me.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I whispered angrily.

"What the fuck are you doing sitting next to Joanna Franco?" asked Sarah, more amused than angry. I glanced at Joanna. She was absently playing with my fingers. I then looked over at Jessie. She seemed intensely focused on our intertwining hands. Her eyebrows were knitted in troubled thought.

"You know all these guys are gay or Tad," I said, turning my attention back to Sarah.

"Who said I'm here for the guys?" she countered, annoyingly raising her eyebrows in that stupid smug look of hers.

"What girl have you possibly been attracted to besides me?"

"Maybe that's the point," she added in her usual cryptic way.

'What the fuck!' I was about to voice my thoughts, when Miss Lafleur interrupted.

"OK, if you all are about done with your private conversations, I would like to begin." She glared at Sarah and me. Neither of us gave a fuck, but we didn't continue anyway. 'The sooner we start this, the sooner we can leave. "Soon, soon…"'

------

"Think not on him till to-morrow: I'll devise thee brave punishments for him. Strike up, pipers," read Katie, hurrying through the last line of the play. Everyone closed their books then looked up expectantly at Miss Lafleur.

After writing a few notes within the margin of her book, Miss Lafleur stood up and smiled. "All right, good job, everybody! I'll see you all next week."

There was a unanimous sigh of relief. Everyone got up and collected their things.

"All right, rehearsal after-party at my house!" exclaimed Tad. He raised his arms up in celebration, which made him look like an orangutan.

"What's so special about this rehearsal?" scoffed Russell as he placed his book into a small pocket of his bag whose size seemed fit for exactly that purpose.

"It's over. Duh…" Tad turned his attention to Jessie who was buttoning up a gray sweater that I swore my grandmother donated to the Salvation Army. "Jess, you coming?"

"Uh…" She tucked that annoying strand of hair that never seems to stay put in that salute-to-librarians bun of hers behind her ear. She smiled awkwardly.

"C'mon, it'll be really fun," goaded Tad.

"Yeah. Tad's mom's an alcoholic, so he has the best stash," teased Russell.

"Dude, you're so not invited."

"Dude, I so don't care." Russell threw his bag over his shoulder and jumped off the stage.

"Ignore him," said Tad, waving his hand dismissively toward Russell's retreating figure. "Katie's going to go. Right, Katie?" He called out to her, causing everyone within earshot to focus on her.

Katie was standing completely still, while Joanna Franco was hanging all over her. Although Katie had a hand on Joanna's waist, it was only to keep her a safe distance away. "C'mon, it'll be fun," said Joanna, tugging on Katie's jacket collar before crossing her arms behind Katie's neck. The girl was such a skank.

"Fine, Tad," relented Katie.

"Whoo!" shouted Tad, pumping his fist into the air.

"Whoo…" mimicked Katie half-assedly.

"See?" Tad turned back to Jessie and smiled at her smugly.

She raised her hands up in submission. "OK, I guess." Jessie started to dig through her hideous bulky backpack from L.L. Bean or wherever hideous bulky backpacks go to die. "I just got to call my dad first."

"All right! Whoo!" shouted Tad again, except this time he pumped both fists into the air. Jessie held up her index finger to her lips then pointed to her mobile. "Oh, sorry," whispered Tad.

Tad was surveying the room for anyone he might have missed when he noticed me off to the side, rummaging in my new Balenciaga motorcycle handbag. I was in search of my mobile which had been vibrating all day. He probably thought that I was getting ready to leave because he asked, "Sarah, are you not going to go?"

I gave up on my search and exhaled a tired breath. I then looked up at Tad and smiled. "And miss the show?" Tad looked bewildered by my comment. I clarified by nodding in the direction of what I had been hinting at. Tad turned his body and finally took note of the impending love triangle that would no doubt explode to melodramatic proportions. Drama always seemed to follow Katie, much like everyone else. Jessie was hanging up her mobile when she noticed Katie leading Joanna off-stage hand-in-hand. She bit her lip then looked down at a white box which she cradled in her hands. No doubt it was a present from Katie. It was a classic tactic – planting affection with a gift then letting it grow with jealousy. I could not believe Jessie was naïve enough to fall for such a cliché. I could not help laughing. The girl was pathetic. She would undoubtedly fall, hard. And "Babe, I wouldn't miss it for the world."