10
After school the following Monday…
Everyone was waiting for Justin to come in with his three assistant directors, gossiping about the news about the Bates Motel.
As they came in, Megan ran up to them.
"Hey, Mr. Bartha!" she yelled.
"Whoa! Wait just a minute! I'm Justin, yes. Riley, sure. JB is fine, too. Never call me Mr. Bartha! It makes me feel so old!"
Megan continued, "So anyway… I was thinking… As a drama club, are we allowed to do a bunch of fundraisers and petitions and stuff to save the Bates Motel?"
"A bunch of teenagers that are staging Psycho and want to save the Bates Motel… That might just be psycho enough to work!" he replied. "OK, people! Time to do a read-through of Act 2, which starts right after when Norman pushes Marion's car in the swamp!"
The rehearsal was coming to a close. There was only one big monologue left.
"Ok, Tobias. You're going to be onstage 'thinking' this monologue, but you won't actually be talking. Megan will," Justin said. "OK, Megan. Your line."
She started, "It's sad when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son, but I couldn't allow them to believe that I would commit murder. They'll put him away now, as I should have years ago. He was always bad, and in the end, he intended to tell them I killed those girls and that man, as if I could do anything except just sit and stare, like one of his stuffed birds. Well, they know I can't even move a finger, and I won't. I'll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do…"
She paused, then continued, "…Suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching..."
She paused again.
"…They'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly.'"
As she finished the speech, she paused one last time for dramatic effect. After a few seconds, she looked around at everyone. Everyone looked shocked. Then they all spontaneously cheered loudly. Rudolph ran over to her, picked her up, and spun her around.
She screamed to him over the crowd, "What the heck?! I thought this was a rehearsal, not a performance!"
All of their friends laughed.
"OK, everyone. This evening's rehearsal is over. Now, go home!" Justin said over the crowd.
As he started pushing people to the doors, he muttered to himself, "I'm seriously not getting paid enough for this."
