Tom stood waiting in an airport
wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking around occasionally. A tall thin man with black hair walked up to
Tom, they both stared at each other for a few minutes. The black haired man then slumped over onto
Tom having fallen asleep. “
Another man with a bulging eye
walks up next to the pair and pulls
As he straightened himself out Tom smiles and nods to the older man. “It’s alright. You’ve done a good job, Mr. D, bringing this guy all the way back here, thank you.”
“That’s my JOB.”
Tom smirked as he took off his sunglasses
turning towards
The scene shifts to the dimly stage at the Zön. The bar and the stage both have been cleaned up and improved. On the stage Bad Girls practice for their performance later tonight.
From far away it glares against your sight. With awakening eyes, the people are waiting. Night ramparts were inviting, but you move among and dwell in the crowd. Casting off your shell, there’s no way out. Still in shock you steel yourself to endure.
After the final notes faded away
Jane turned to Jodie who’s playing the guitar.
With a smirk she pointed to where she had stood. “Did you see?
That was close to
With a slight giggle Jodie shook her head and tuned her guitar again. “You’ve been imitating his style since I’ve known you Jane…”
“That’s right.
Having said this Jane turns back around and returns to singing. “About to collapse, you are deluded by the lies.”
Jodie sighed and leaned back against the wall behind her. “When Mystic Grasper disbanded you really did cry.”
Jane kept singing despite the conversation Jodie’s continuing. “You are born again.”
Jodie looked over Jane with an
amused look as she lowered her guitar.
“He’s working in
“What else would you expect from my brother?”
“For him to fall off the stage sound asleep?”
“Yeah, yeah… now let’s sing one more Mystic Grasper song…”
Stacy walked onto the stage looking extremely nervous. “What are you two doing? Shouldn’t you be rehearsing? Your live concert is tomorrow… is it because I’m a bad manager that you’re not rehearsing?”
Jane sighed and shook her head. “No, Stacy it’s not your fault. We just got tired of playing our songs when we know them by heart, so we did some of Mystic Grasper’s greatest hits to have some fun. Don’t you like Grasper too, Stacy?”
“Of course I do, I mean Tom Sloane, the current president of MG records and former keyboardist of Mystic Grasper was a genius when he performs, I can still hear the notes in my head.” Stacy’s eyes glaze over as she dreams about Tom Sloane’s performances.
Alison stormed
on stage interrupting the little dream with Monique and Sandi flanking her.
“What are you doing here? This place is reserved today for TELL’s rehearsal.”
Stacy turned to the newcomers. “Yes, we know, but it was mentioned that your
opening act, Bad Girls, should also rehearse here today.”
Alison tapped her chin in mock
thought. “Bad Girls? I’ve had a few of those, never
thought they’d make a band…”
Stacy blushed and pointed to Jodie
and Jane. “No… they’re a band….”
“Anyhow, the audience is coming to
see us. The warm up band doesn’t matter at all.”
Jane lunged at Alison with the
intent to kill only to be held back by Jodie’s firm grip. “So that our elders
can have a splendid debut and so as to not embarrass you we will do our best
opening performance… However… if you are worried that we will warm up the
audience too much so that you can’t handle them after our opening act… we can
take it easy for you…”
Jane smiled triumphantly while
Stacy glances back and forth between the two bands nervously. “Now… let’s not
start something or else the live concert might be canceled…”
Before a fight broke out between
the two bands, a pack of large wolf-dogs barged in staring down the members of
either band. In the ensuing silence a lone pair of heels clicked across the
floor of the bar. As they turned their heads the barest of an inch so as to not
startle the attack dogs poised to tear the humans to shreds at command each
person’s eyes fall on the lone female figure. This Asian woman was wearing a
black silk Chinese style dress with red dragons chasing along the overlap’s
seam, the clicking comes from the high shine black low heels she’s wearing.
Turning to face Jane she cleared her throat importantly. “You are
“Y-yeah… I’m J-J-Jane… I… I
remember you f-from y-yesterday… my w-what big dogs you have now…” Jane
sputtered out her eyes tracking back to the dogs growling at the assembled
people.
With a snap of the Asian woman’s
fingers the dogs started isolating Jane from the others. “I have to talk with
you. Come with me.” As she turned to leave the dogs started marching Jane
towards the exit: with an occasional growl or snap to keep her from thinking
about running.
Stacy turned to the others and in
hushed tones asked, “Why would she be looking for Jane? And what’s with the
dogs?”
As the exit shut Jodie turned to
regard Stacy with a thumb pointed to the exit. “Who was that?”
Stacy sheepishly squirmed under the attention of the four remaining people. “Huh? Who was that? You mean the woman with the dogs? Isthatwhoyou’retalkingabout? Oh,thatwas…um,yeah,youknowwhothatwas… thatwas…” Stacy began to hyperventilate as the scene fades.
Next we see the inside of a high class restaurant with a short bald Asian male behind the bar counter while Asian designs fill the walls and artwork. As Jane and the Asian woman from before enter he smiles over at the woman and bows his head. “Welcome back to our humble restaurant, honorable Angela.”
Li bows back with a small smile on her face. “I am sorry for borrowing the whole place Guonian. Your son, Bainian is watching my pets for me. Is Zaowang in the kitchen today?”
“It is no problem Angela. You are always a good customer. I’m sorry but he is out today.” Noticing Jane he raises an eyebrow and nods to her questioningly. “And who is this?”
Angela turns to look over Jane for a minute before turning back with a defeated sigh. “This is Daria’s latest sex toy.”
“Hey! Just who do you think you’re calling a sex toy?” Jane starts to storm off. As she opens the door to leave several loud growls can be heard before Jane shuts the door and returns.
“What is Daria thinking with a kid like this? And a girl even…” Angela muttered while rubbing her forehead in annoyance.
Jane grumbled "Not that there's anything wrong with that…" with a mumble under her breath she mutters, "Psycho bitch."
Angela turned to face Jane with a predatorily smile. “I didn’t quite catch that last part, what did you say?”
“Nothing,” Jane hissed out.
“We have to wait for someone, let’s get some drinks while we’re waiting.”
Sitting down at the bar Angela orders a Mai Tai while Jane takes an Ultra Cola.
“The truth is
“And you have such a charming way of asking for favors… but I can’t resist, what is this favor you ask?”
Li sighed heavily and grumbled. "Yes, I would like it if you reason with Daria. Of course, I wouldn't ask you to do it for free."
Jane blinked and tilted her head. “Reason with Daria? What are you talking about?”
“MG Records is sponsoring your debut, right? Wouldn’t you like to solidify your backup?”
As the door opens and someone enters everyone looks over at the door and sees Tom enter. Guonian smiles and bows to him. “Welcome back Mr. Sloane.”
Angela huffs haughtily, “Aren’t you a bit late? You know I hate to be kept waiting.”
Tom walks over and joins Angela and Jane at the bar. “I’m sorry, Angela. I had to meet someone on the way. Were you waiting long?”
Jane eyes widen and asked in a semi-star struck tone. “Tom Sloane?”
“Ah Jane, I enjoyed meeting you yesterday…” Tom smirked at her friendlily.
Jane blushed lightly. “Err… yeah sorry about that… we’ll pay you back I swear…”
Tom chuckled softly. “Don’t worry about it; you’d be surprised how many times that happens. I look forward to your concert tomorrow.”
“I will do my best.”
“I’m sure you will.” Tom held out his hand and Jane reached out to shake it but is slapped away by Angela.
“Don’t be shaking his hand like you know him.”
“What? Are you saying that you know him better?”
“Of course, he is my husband.”
“Your husband? You’re Married? You? And him? Yeah… that makes sense, but what about Daria?”
Li smiled and sipped her Mai Tai before sighing. “If you can persuade Daria to come back to my college to teach, then I will let Tom support you. To make your band popular you do need proper support, no?”
With lowered head Jane grudgingly nodded and sighed. “Well yeah, but…”
“Then do we have a deal?”
“How am I supposed to persuade her to come back to your college?”
“Aren’t you her girlfriend? I’m sure you can find… some way…” Angela smirked at Jane wickedly, “to convince her to come back.”
Later on Jane sat next to Daria typing at her computer in a well stocked library. “Didn’t I tell you? That woman was my principal and former employer.
“Sounds like an interesting school you taught at.”
“If a Stalag is your definition of an interesting school, then it was.”
Letting out a sigh Jane smiled. “And here I was worried that she was another lover…”
Daria smirked while quirking an eyebrow. “Just how desperate do you think I am?”
With a lowered head Jane shivered picturing them together after actually taking the time to think it through. “Yeah… I suppose you’re right… so… why did you stop working there?”
Daria leaned back with a healthy smirk. “Simple answer? I sold my first book and just said, screw this crap.”
“She seemed desperate to get you ba… EEP!” Slapping a hand over her mouth Jane gulped and stared at Daria as she snapped around with a vicious smirk.
“Ah ha, she sent you didn’t she?”
“No… it’s not that… she asked me to but I…”
Daria cut her off with a glare. “How much did she pay you?”
Jane’s jaw snapped shut with an audible click as her interest turned to the floor in silence.
Daria growled at the reluctant female. “I said how much did that bitch pay you? You actually expect me to believe you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart?”
Jane snapped with tears in the corners of her eyes. “Damn it, Daria I was just curious, I didn’t take the money.”
“So she did offer a bribe, but you didn’t take it. Did she offer Tom’s support? Is that it?”
Jane hung her head in shame studying the ground while she bit her lower lip. “She did Daria…”
“So you took the bait.”
Jane shook her head. “I was tempted yes, but I didn’t take the bait.”
Daria took Jane's chin in her hand and whispered softly. "What do you mean you didn't take it?" Smirking she narrowed her eyes. "Maybe my kissing you has given you the wrong idea. I told you before, I'm not into women that way, and I'm not stupid enough to be tricked by you."
Jane slapped the hand away from her face before driving her finger at Daria’s face stopping just short. “Then why did you kiss me? Why didn’t you reject me? Maybe it’s just a meaningless kiss to you, but not to me! Yes, Li told me she would have Tom support me. But . . . but I don’t care about some reward! I wanted to know more about you and even if it wasn’t much I thought I was helping you!”
Frowning deeply Daria turned away from Jane. “You are a liar. It was for me? Heh, you make me laugh. Nobody does anything for someone without expecting something in return. That’s just a big lie.” Having said that Daria left the room shutting the door behind her as Jane broke down in tears.
“Damn it, not everyone is as cynical as you are.” Slumping down into her chair she hugged her knees as she cries.
Back at the bar Tom is trying to contain a furious Angela.
“What is wrong with that girl, refusing an offer like that?”
Tom smiled and leaned against the bar. “That shows that her feelings are true, Jane, that is.”
“What are you babbling about?”
Tom chuckled closing his eyes. “Don’t you think that it’s interesting? No one like that girl has ever been around Daria long, until now that is…”
“And you’re okay with that?”
Tom let out a heavy sigh. “If Daria forgives me… I will be fine... and if Bad Girls is the band that deserves promotion by MG records I will back them up however I can, that’s for sure.”
At Jodie’s well furnished apartment Jane talks with Jodie as she strums on a guitar. “I don’t get it Jodie. Since when is trying to do something for someone you like a bad thing? How could wanting to know more about them hurt them?”
Jodie strumed on her guitar in thought. "Sometimes it's just that you start doing something for some person and then you realize that you're doing it for yourself. The thought isn't bad in itself though.”
“Tell that to Daria. You should have seen how angry she got.”
“Well, she’s a very complicated person. Do you still like her?”
“Well yeah…”
“Then let’s do our best for tomorrow’s live concert.”
Daria sits alone on her couch drinking a glass of plum wine in thought hearing Jane’s voice echo, “Even if it’s not much, I thought I was helping you!” Sighing Daria set her glass on the end table in front of her and pulled out a candy cigarette putting in her lips to just dangle there. “I dunno, maybe she wasn’t lying?”
At The Zön, we see the prep room for the warm up bands, going inside we see a desperate Stacy and a confident Jodie. “Now please stay calm, Jodie… Jane…”
“You’re telling me to stay calm? Chill out, there’s no way we’re going to lose to… them.”
Jane took up a pose like a heroic statue. “That’s right! Let’s light a fire under the audience’s butts. With this song that was called stupid I will drive them WILD! And make them dance! DANCE I SAY!!”
Stacy glanced nervously at Jane. “Jane… you’re scaring me…”
Jodie glanced over at Jane and sweat dropped. “Jane… you are weird tonight…”
Jane smirked as she looked over her shoulder at Jodie. “Like tonight should be any different?”
Jodie sighed and guided Jane to the stage entrance. “Let’s just go play for the nice audience…” Adding a mumbled, “before the nice men in white coats show up for you…”
As they head down the hall towards the stage they run into the girls from TELL.
Alison smirked as she stood in the middle of the hall blocking the way. “Hey there, sexy girls; you will warm up the audience, just like you promised, right?”
Jane leaned in scratching her chin. “And who were you again? The face looks familiar…”
The Sandi and Monique hold back the fuming Alison as Jodie and Jane walk calmly past.
Sitting in the audience Mr. D and two younger males sit waiting for the show to start. “Are you SURE this isn’t too PUBlic?”
Tom sighed and kept facing forward. “Well, let’s try to keep a low profile, we don’t want to cause a disturbance.”
The lights went down as Jane is spotlighted on the stage. “Hello everyone! Thank you for coming! Your opening performance tonight will be Bad Girls!”
As the audience rang out with boos and calls for TELL Jane’s smile dimmed just a small bit. “Hey, come on now, give us a chance, you might actually like this song, in fact, I’m sure you will!”
A slimy voice echoes out from the audience. “Well… aren’t we over confident. Rrrrr Fiesty!”
Mr. D turned to
Tom smirked as he nodded watching the singer. “She seems interesting…”
Jane took the microphone into her hand. “Alright! Let’s go! Today’s first song is Rage Beat!”
Jodie strummed the first few chords of the song, and then stopped when she realized that Jane wasn’t singing. Stacy looked to Jodie with a panicked look, and Jodie just shrugged. Jodie walked up behind Jane and in a hushed voice asked, “Hey Jane? What’s wrong?” When she followed Jane’s stare she sees Daria leaning against the back wall behind the audience. “Her?”
Jane stared out over the audience not saying a word as Daria’s words echo in her mind. With her mind she asked, ‘Liar… why are you here?’
The crowd starts shouting and booing loudly. “Give us TELL! What’s going on? Get off the stage!”
D looked up on stage confused. “What’s WRONG with her?”
Tom looked back to where Jane was staring trying to find what she was looking at. “Perhaps…”
The slimy voice from earlier shouts out, “If you’re not going to sing, at least show us some skin!”
“SHOW US TELL! SHOW US TELL!!” shouted the audience angrily.
Jane stood frozen like a deer in the headlights as a British sounding voice shouted out. “I WANT A REFUND YOU BLOODY RIPOFF WANKERS!”
Stacy meanwhile paces backstage fretting. “Maybe I can get my job at Payday back… They did say that they’d never be able to find someone like me….”
A sole gravely male voice starts
piercing the din silencing it. “By some miracle we met fortuitously. Even now, wherever the light can’t shine
through…We shall paint a brilliant dancing dream. So that the words that guide you do not
fail. Don’t fear the time of change.” We see
Jane blinked at her older brother
as he ended his song. “
Jane smiled and turned to Jodie. “Right. Jodie, HIT IT!”
Jodie played a fast pace beat while Jane took the microphone back into her hands and sang into it.
“Something
frightening attracts my gaze. An
irritating desire spit out by the wanton wind.
In a widening crack on the road, the lights of signals melt. Leaving only a scar, before that dozing noise
erases tomorrow; my footsteps echo as I pursue my ambition.
I will not stop for anything, any unsatisfying emotion I will just ignore, and move beyond. Shivering, shyly, I took aim, for the gap in my world. Following it I arrived at a new place. I want a new world! My guilty feelings combine to form, the tears that carve into the main streets. Distorting the sound of my footsteps even now I will not stop for anything”
Jane pulled
Backstage Allison lets her jaw drop
as she stares. “
Daria lets out a satisfied smirk as she watches Jane sing, meanwhile Tom has snuck up beside her. “I didn’t expect you to visit, Daria.”
“I changed my mind, so sue me.”
Daria turned to leave, but not before casting a final smirk over her shoulder at Jane and Trent standing on the stage while the audience is going insane.
Later that night
while they sat at a table by the bar Stacy looked at Tom nervously as they
drink sodas from cans. “I thought
I was gonna have to go back to Payday, but
Tom smiled and shrugged. “I just brought him here, he was the one to go sing.”
“Whatever, the concert was a big success.”
Tom nodded rubbing his chin. “That’s true.”
“So, what do you think of Bad Girls?”
Tom leans back in thought for a minute before shaking his head. "Not yet, they're talented... but they're missing something."
“Yeah, I guess. We’ll have to work on her confidence level.”
“See that you do that, there’s something else that needs done, you’ll see what on Monday.” Standing he puts down a couple bill for his drink.
As Stacy watched Tom leave with a puzzled look she nods. “Um… okay, Monday then…”
D drives
“I… SEE.”
“Let’s go to the bar man.”
“RIGHT, but LET’S not over INDULGE like LAST time.”
“Right… no dresses handy…”
“You DON’T look good as a bearded GIRL.”
That night in Daria’s living room Jane and Daria hold a conversation.
“I didn’t think you’d be at the concert… Why did you come?” Daria rubbed Jane’s cheek with a smirk as she leaned forward remaining silent. “Why don’t I understand you?”
Daria let out a vexed sigh as she shook her head slowly. “You’re the one I don’t understand... What is it that you want from me?” Daria leaned in before Jane could answer and kissed Jane softly, shortly after they fall onto the couch with a moan of passion escaping Jane’s mouth. Leaving the two some privacy we fade to black.