A/N: Lauren had a minor victory in the last chapter. Now, let's check on some of our other players.
Friday, the big day!
Jenna paced up and down the backstage, hyped for her troupe's first performance.
The tall girl had been looking forward to this thing since joining up. She was excited but also nervous. It was like going on an amusement park ride for the first time. While Jenna looked forward to getting used to this kind of thing, she made a point to relish this moment. You only get one first show.
Jenna, Caleb, Mac and Margot came through the black curtain to some mild applause.
"Welcome to the Onyx Theater, everyone!" smiled Margot. "For those of you not familiar with what we do, we are an improv group, so we conjure situations based on your prompts."
The acoustics in the room were well enough for the small venue that the actors from the stage could be heard without microphones. But they had to project; no whispering.
"So, for starters, I'm going to need a place."
Some reluctant murmurs in the crowd were quickly drowned out by a handful of eager volunteers.
"Library!"
"Coffee shop!"
"Airplane!"
"Carnival!"
Margot snapped her fingers with a grin.
"Okay, I heard carnival! Now give me a famous person!"
With that first prompt, the wheels in Jenna's mind were already turning. She quickly started rapping off possible funny lines or scenarios within this specific setting. She was so engrossed in this; she didn't catch the possible suggestions thrown out and waited for Margot's confirmation.
"I've got Keanu Reeves, alright!"
Caleb and Jenna exchanged knowing glances, aware of the possibilities. But they had a feeling the audience would expect John Wick in a carnival, which is pretty funny when you think about it.
Margot turned to the newcomers.
"Caleb, you will be Keanu Reeves trying to win a game for a prize and Jenna here will be the operator of the game."
Jenna cracked her knuckles as she got closer to the edge of the stage where people could see better while Caleb stood a few feet across from her. The nature of theater made you have to imagine the booth. Beside them was a trunk full of random objects, which could facilitate a scene.
(Okay, let's see if watching hours of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" reruns have paid off.)
"And go!" pointed Margot with enthusiasm.
Caleb straightened up his posture and put on a pretty stereotypical stoic face whenever someone wants to do a Keanu impression. But the way he did made Jenna almost chuckle, but she had to bite her tongue and stay in character.
"Whoa, what is this?" he asked in his Keanu voice.
"It's a..." Jenna quickly grabbed the first thing she could fish out of the props. She got hold of a shiny metal ring like a magician uses. "...it's a ring toss game?"
Caleb tried to feign looking bemused by the idea and carried on.
"Tell me, how do you play?" he asked.
Jenna shrugged and said, "You just hold the ring like so..." she indicated turning it horizontally. "And you fling it and where it lands says what prize you win."
The pseudo-Keanu stroked his chin.
"I must ask you...girl in the booth...is this game legit? It's not rigged, is it?"
The tall girl grinned and held the ring above her head like a halo.
"I promise it's very fair, sir."
"Whoa! You suddenly seem very trustworthy."
That gag made half the people in the audience giggle. It was a pretty standard sketch at first, nothing special, but Jenna's improvisation made a funny joke. Plus, it set up Caleb for that line which he appreciated.
Part of the strange sessions with Clive Gardell, when you are part of an improv scene (but this could be applied to any scene of more than one person) that the best actors give more than they receive. Your partner in a scene can deeply affect the temperature of the moment, the reactions of the audience, and the comfort of their fellow actors. Jenna was showing how naturally acting came to her in times like these. To be both spontaneous and totally in control was a tough juggling act.
Suddenly, two young female voices rang out of the crowd.
"BOO!"
"What is this garbage?"
Jenna felt a tightness in her chest.
She wasn't anticipating a negative reaction that bad quite so soon. Caleb was visibly affected by the intrusion, too.
They tried to carry on with the skit but drowning out the hecklers was impossible. They were being persistent in their insults.
Jenna squinted and was able to discern the origin of the heckling voices. There was a tall blonde seated right next to a much shorter redhead.
It was bugging Jenna how familiar this pair looked. Suddenly, her memory slapped a major recollection onto the desk of her conscious brain.
(No fucking way! It can't be!)
"You suck!"
"Get off the stage, dumb bitch!"
(Carol and Bethany.)
Margot quickly rushed the stage to get the house's attention.
"Please excuse us! There will be a short break before we return."
Through the corner of her eye, she was making sure the actors were using her diversion to slip backstage.
"What the hell?!" exclaimed Caleb, grabbing his hair.
"Hey, who were those c-words?" asked Mac.
"Nobody important," sighed Jenna. "Just a couple of Northridge girls."
Back in her old school, the biggest rivals of the Pitney High Dragons were the Northridge Vikings.
The Dragons squared off with plenty of other girls' basketball teams in the area, but things were relatively harmless. Emotions ran high on the court at times, but unsportsmanlike conduct was surprisingly rare. But it was different with the Vikings. First of all, those Northridge girls carried themselves as if they saw they were above everyone else. Second, they fouled more times than any other team. They wondered if their coach encouraged them to play dirty.
They were skilled, but relied on unnecessary tactics to ensure their opponents would trip or miss their shot. Northridge seemed to almost never attract the ire of the referees. Rumors circulated that some might have been paid off since Northridge was in a more affluent area and the girls hailed from rich families with connections.
Those girls were ruthless, but they more often than not met their match against the Dragons. Jenna, Abby, Tambry, the old squad put those prissy bitches in their place.
And here they were, disturbing Jenna's inaugural performance. She took such a display very personally.
For her, the stage was a sacred space where a social contract existed between performer and audience member. You remained quiet as the actors did their thing and if were so inclined at the end, applaud. And if it were a comedic show, laugh if it was funny. But the booing and rude comments were ridiculous.
These were young actors, not standup comedians. They're not trained to dish out insults right back to the crowd. It was a humiliating experience for those on stage and uncomfortable for the rest of the audience.
Jenna was seething with anger.
(How dare you enter MY sanctum and jeer me and my fellow actors?)
Jenna was determined to find those two and give them a piece of her mind.
She turned back to her troupe and gave a determined look.
"I'll handle this."
Alice was reading her manga when the doorbell rang.
She perked up and started to get up.
"What are you doing?" chided Jade.
"Getting the door?" Alice shrugged.
Jade shook her head and pointed to her daughter's ankle.
"Take it easy is what the doc said. I can get the door, baby."
The writer checked through the peephole and sighed.
"You have a visitor," she smirked before opening the door.
"Hey, Alice!" waved Becky.
"Good to see you again, Rebecca" Jade smiled. "Nice of you to stop by."
The blonde rubbed her hands together.
"Um...Mrs. West? It's just Becky, actually."
(UGH! Little too close to "Beck" for my liking but it's her name.)
Jade just had to get used to it. She gave the girl credit that she referred to her as "West" and not "Doyle," so Jade could extend the same courtesy.
"Sorry, Becky."
"Come in!" smiled Alice. "Please, sit down."
"Okay," chuckled Becky as she sat on the chair adjacent to the couch where Alice had her feet up.
"Since we have a guest and you're recovering, do any of you ladies need anything?" asked Jade.
The teens looked at each other and shook their heads.
"No, mom."
"No, thanks."
(She's polite. Gotta give my daughter props for her caliber of friends.)
"Great! Well, I'll be in my office. Give a holler if you need anything."
They nodded as Jade left the living room.
"How does it feel?" Becky asked.
"I can hop to the bathroom and to my bed. Otherwise, I'm mostly here."
Becky frowned.
"Must be lonely."
"It was."
The blonde cannot believe how naturally sweet this girl was.
Trying to change the subject to prevent blushing, Becky noticed a small stack of books on the coffee table and a single one on Alice's leg, laying open face down at the part she was reading.
"Someone's got a summer reading list," she chuckled.
Alice glanced at her pile of manga and chuckled.
"Not this year," she said. "Not that I've always had a summer reading list!"
Now Alice was the one blushing. That last sentence tumbled out so awkwardly. Truthfully, she did spend most of her summer inside reading. This time was different. Now, she had all of these friends and were doing stuff together.
"I like to read," Alice sighed in defeat.
"Reading's cool," Becky nodded. "I like books, too."
Alice smiled.
"Before...reading was all I did. Now, I have to find the time to read. It's...kind of nice."
"I see you like manga."
Alice held up her open volume.
"Yep, this one is pretty good."
Becky picked up on the two characters looking at one another with longing.
"What kind of story is it?" she asked nervously.
"It's a love story," Alice grinned, sticking a bookmark in her spot and closing the book. "And I am hooked! Two girls from two totally different worlds; so beautiful!"
The blonde was surprised.
"Oh! I didn't know those kinds of stories were...you know..."
"There's tons of them! I read a few but this sunk it's claws into me! I read at least a few pages a day. Of course, getting hurt, I was able to blow through several volumes. Mom told to slow down on buying these because she needed something to get me for my birthday."
Becky laughed.
"Did you want to borrow some?" asked Alice. "Maybe you'll like it."
The other girl hesitated in response.
Alice's eyes widened and she held up her hands.
"No, no, no! Please, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't mean because you like girls, this would...it's a good story either way...I was only...I'm an idiot!"
Becky reached for a book and flipped through it a bit.
"Don't be sorry. I think it's cool you saw it as a love story first and foremost."
"Thanks," Alice exhaled. "How do you...feel since...telling me?"
The blonde sighed heavily.
"It was like finally getting over a brick wall."
"Hope you weren't climbing for too long," smiled Alice. "Have you told anybody else?"
Her fingernails dug into the material of the chair.
"I'm planning on telling my parents," Becky replied. "I'm just...waiting for the right moment."
Alice nodded.
"That's good. At least you're thinking about it."
Jenna marched over to the cackling girls who were standing by one of the exits.
"What are you two doing here?" Jenna sighed, annoyed.
"Oh, wow!" remarked the redhead of average height. "We didn't even have to go backstage. The..." she snickered. "...talent came to greet us!"
The thespian closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.
"Very funny, Bethany. That level of humor is why you're in the audience and not up there."
A thin blonde, taller than Bethany, sneered at Jenna.
"Still quick with the trash talk; eh, Barker!"
Jenna gritted her teeth at that old standby. These Northridge girls thought they were so clever when they took her last name and gave it the association with a dog. An underhanded way of basically calling her a "bitch" in mixed company. They used this quite often to get under her skin while avoiding trouble.
"We were bored, so we figured we'd watch some nerds make asses of themselves for our amusement."
The performer smirked.
"Why do we hate acting all of a sudden, Bethany? You've been pretending to be hot shit since freshman year!"
Fire erupted in the girl's eyes, but she brushed back her auburn locks and shrugged.
"You're not worth my time!"
"You mean you're a chicken?" asked Jenna.
"More like you're a deserter!" pointed the blonde.
Jenna looked back and then focused on the agitating pair.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Bethany stayed quiet, just kept on smiling.
She turned to the other.
"Carol?"
"What?" shrugged the blonde, who was nearly Jenna's height. "You suddenly care about your old team now?"
Jenna folded her arms.
"I'm sure they're getting along fine."
The two friends looked at each other and giggled.
"More like they got their asses handed to them!" teased Carol.
"Yeah, we ate those sorry bitches for breakfast," added Bethany.
Jenna couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. When she was last there, the Dragons were unstoppable.
(What happened?)
"They were no match for us last year," Bethany iterated. "And I have no doubt that we will be regional champions this year!"
"That's what you think!" shot Jenna.
"That's what I know," smirked the redhead.
"Sorry, babe..." pouted Carol while she patted Jenna on the head. She recoiled immediately. "...but that's what Vikings do."
Bethany winked.
"We take what we want."
She looked at Carol.
"Come on, let's get out of here. Leave the actress to her theater!"
The statuesque blonde pivoted and looked back to Jenna.
"By the way, Barker, Steph says hi."
A/N: Jenna got a blast from the past and it wasn't pleasant.
I am really enjoying how Alice and Becky are playing out here. Definitely wanted to give this a different flavor than JORI and other ships I've done. What do you think?