Scene 1
"Girls! Girls!" yelled Twanky as she pounded on the door. "Girls come out here this instant!"
Suddenly the door swung open to reveal an obviously frightened Nicole and Shannon standing there in their bathrobes. "Twanky?"
"Oh darlings! You scared your poor Aunt Twanky!" Twanky threw her arms around the girls who were more confused than ever. "You shouldn't do that you know. My heart can't take it. Now tell Twanky what the matter is."
"We're so sorry to have disturbed you. It's…uh, nothing serious." Nicole replied.
"Nothing serious? You don't rouse an old woman out of a sound sleep with a scream like that and say it's nothing. Besides, I wouldn't believe it!" Twanky walked over to the couch and sat down. She patted the empty space next to her on the couch, "Now you two sit down here and tell me what happened."
Nicole reluctantly walked over and sat on the couch next to Twanky. "It's nothing but a case of an overactive imagination. Shannon and I both thought we saw our Uncle Sal. But that's impossible, him being dead and all. It's just the stress of moving in this place, I'm sure."
"The unjustly dead never go peacefully, do they?" Twanky muttered under her breath.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Nicole asked.
"Oh, nothing dear. I just said that you are probably right. But it couldn't hurt to let me take a look." Twanky looked around the loving room. "Now, where exactly did you see your uncle?"
"Um…once in my bedroom last night and tonight we saw him walking down the hall." Shannon began. "But it's just our imagination, right Nicole?" There was definite fear in Shannon's voice as looked to her older sister for comfort.
"Well, we'll soon find out about that." Twanky said matter-of-factly and walked into the hallway. Suddenly she stopped, closed her eyes and put a hand on her chest. "It was right here that you saw him, wasn't it girls?"
"Well yes, but how did you?quot;
"I have been blessed with a gift from beyond the grave." She responded melodramatically.
"Oh brother!" Shannon muttered under her breath. Nicole elbowed her again, "Ouch! Stop doing that!"
"Then keep your mouth shut." Nicole retorted. She looked over at Twanky who was examining the carpet where the apparition had been seen. "Really Twanky, you don't have to humor us."
"Humor you? Heavens no child!" Twanky looked a little hurt at the suggestion. "It seems we have an unbeliever among us. Humph, I'll fix that. What we need here is a s?nce!"
"A s?nce? You've got to be kidding!" Shannon started to laugh.
"No girls, I am not." Her voice suddenly had a serious tone to it. "The spirit of your uncle lies in unrest and it's up to us to find out why." Twanky said. "I am fully qualified to act as your medium."
"Are you suggesting that we hold a s?nce right now?" Nicole asked disbelieving.
"No, of course not, that would be silly. We'll hold one tomorrow night instead." Twanky replied. "We really should have more people here anyway, just to be sure there will be someone her your uncle wishes to speak with. He was always such a picky man. How soon do you think you can put something together?"
"Us? But you're the one?quot; Shannon stopped as soon as she saw Nicole's elbow headed her way again.
"What my sister is trying to say is that we've never had a s?nce before. We wouldn't even know how to begin." Nicole interrupted, "I mean, what kind of wine goes well with spirits?"
Shannon started to snicker and Twanky glared at her. "Don't worry about that, I'll take care of everything. You just need to invite anyone in this town who knew you're uncle well and I take it from there. Tomorrow night then?"
"Uh…okay, I guess." Nicole replied, not sure exactly how she should have answered.
"Good." Twanky smiled and headed for the front door. "There is so much I have to prepare! I'll see you then."
"A s?nce? What kind of place did you move us to Nicole?" Shannon asked once Twanky was gone.
"I don't know, but I'm beginning to wonder myself."
Scene 2
"Come along Alfalfa!" called the woman with the short, bleach blond hair. "I haven't got all day you know."
"Yes, madam." The tall man walking behind her replied as he rolled his eyes. He was bogged down by at least 10 different packages and was finding it hard to walk, much less keep up with her brisk pace.
Suddenly the woman stopped in front of a window with a display of dresses set up in it. "Stop!" She cried.
Unfortunately Alfalfa was not able to stop in time and he plowed right into her knocking them both to the ground. Alfalfa landed on top of her. "Ooof!"
The woman looked up at the man on top of her and the saw that his lips were drawn up into a huge smile. "Well, get off of me you big clumsy oaf!"
His smile disappeared as he quickly pulled himself up. "I'm so sorry madam. I couldn't see where I was going. I?quot;
"Oh, never mind. Just pick of my packages. I hope you didn't ruin anything." Alfalfa reached out a hand and helped her to her feet. She looked down at her clothing to dust herself off, but found that there was now a huge tear in the backside of her dress. "Oh great! This is just like you Alfalfa. Now look at my new dress. I'm going to deduct this from your pay you know."
"Of course madam." Alfalfa responded, once again rolling his eyes.
"Excuse me, but is there a problem here?" She heard a voice behind her. She spun around and saw a tall, handsome man with dark hair standing behind her laughing.
Her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched, "Bruce. I should have known you were there. I'd recognize your stench anywhere."
"Lillith. You were always the sweet talker weren't you?" the man displayed a huge grin on his face. He then turned to Alfalfa, "You still hanging around with her, Alfie?"
"That's Alfalfa." Alfalfa glared at him.
"I thought I told you that I didn't want anything to do with you anymore." Lillith said.
"Oh, I'm hurt." Bruce raised a hand and placed it over his heart. "It gets me right here. But you know there is some unfinished business that we need to take care of Lillith."
"There is nothing left for us to take care of." She stated flatly.
"Ah, but I think there is. You'll be very interested in what I have to say." A huge smile spread across his face. "And since you never return my calls, I think we should discuss this tonight, over dinner."
"I'm not going to go anywhere with you."
"Suit yourself, but if you don't, the people in this town may find out some very interesting things about you." He started to laugh.
Lillith's face turned pale and her voice went to a whisper, "How dare you! We settled that debt years ago, you bastard!"
"Not quite all of it. Let's say 7 p.m., at Sorbo's caf?"
She took a deep breath and gave him an icy look. "Fine. I'll be there. Just don't expect me to be nice."
"I never do Lillith, I never do." He turned to leave but looked back over his shoulder, "Oh, and leave servant boy here at home. This is just between the two of us." He started to laugh again and disappeared into the crowded street.
"How could you agree to go out with him?" Alfalfa asked once Bruce was out of earshot.
"What choice do I have Alfalfa? You know that man can destroy everything I have worked so hard for these last few years."
"Well, I'm not letting you go alone."
"Yes you will. I don't want any problems." She said. "You know that man can be difficult."
"I still don't like it."
"You don't have to." She looked at the packages that were still on the ground, "Now pick up those packages. We need to get home. I have a lot of thinking to do."
Scene 3:
Nicole walked down the hallway wearing a pair of black jeans, cowboy boots and one of the more fashionable tops that Twanky had picked out for her a few nights previously. She had her hair swept back in a clip that fastened in the back of her head and her face had a smile that spanned ear to ear.
"So, how do I look?" She asked Shannon when she reached the end of the hallway.
"Oh, just perfect." Shannon replied without looking up from her place on the couch where she sat reading the newspaper.
"Come on Shannon. I'm serious." Nicole responded. "I'm really nervous. You know this is the first time I've been out since…since?quot; Her voice turned into a whisper and her eyes started to well up with tears.
"Nicole, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Shannon stood up from the couch and hugged her sister. "You look great. I'm just not looking forward to spending the evening alone. Especially after all the excitement the last couple of nights."
"Thanks Shannon."
"But I must admit I was surprised that to hear that you agreed to go."
"Me too. But I have to start over sometime." Nicole replied.
Suddenly the doorbell rang. "That will be for you, but I can answer it if you would like to make an entrance."
"No," Nicole started to smile, "That's all right. I'll open it."
Nicole opened the door and saw Chris standing there. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a colorful button down shirt and a nice pair of boots. On top of his head was a black cowboy hat and in his hand he held flowers. "Hey there. You look great." He smiled. "These are for you." He handed the flowers to Nicole.
"Thank you. That is so sweet." She replied as she took the flowers. "Shannon, do you think you can put these in some water for me?"
"Sure. Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do." She took the flowers and started for the kitchen.
"We should go now. It was nice seeing you again Shannon." Chris called after her.
"Yeah, yeah. Bye." She replied as the front door shut leaving her in total silence.
Scene 4:
Shannon walked back into the living room and started looking through boxes and throwing things around. She seemed to be looking for something. Just as she was about to make more of a mess, she heard a knock at the door.
"Oh maybe Chris decided to come back for me!" Shannon laughed, but went to the mirror to check her hair and makeup just in case. She smiled to herself then opened the door.
Dean was standing there. "Hi there."
"Oh hi." Shannon said, slightly disappointed that it wasn't Chris.
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" Dean asked.
"No, it's ok ." Shannon responded. "You were here a couple days ago weren't you? With Ryan's sister?"
"I'm pleased to see that you remember." Dean smiled.
"Dean right?" Shannon inquired.
"Yes and you're Shannon." Dean replied, the smile still on his face.
Shannon smiled back. "Please come in. Sorry it's still a mess. I've been sifting through boxes, I can't seem to find my Elvis alarm clocks."
"Elvis clocks?" Dean asked curiously.
"Yes, I've been collecting them for years. They're so cute when you hang them up--"
"And Elvis' hips sway." Dean interrupted.
"How did you know that?" Shannon asked, very surprised.
"Well it just so happens that I collect them too." Dean said boastfully.
"Oh my God that's so cool!" Shannon exclaimed.
"I could help you sift through some of these boxes if you'd like." Dean offered.
"Thanks, my sister is like *no* help." Shannon said. "It's like she doesn't want me to find them."
"Don't worry we will." Dean answered looking through boxes. "What about this one?"
"Ooh that could be it. Thank you Dean" Shannon smiled at him. She opened the box and to her dismay they were all in pieces. She began to tear up.
"My clocks, they're....." Shannon started to sob.
"Oh don't cry it's ok!" Dean put his arm around her. "I'm just going to have to cheer you up. Let me show you around town. I promise I'll be more fun than the Widow Twanky."
Shannon laughed. "Oh that woman is psycho! And the scary thing is, she's going to be my dance teacher!"
"You're a dancer? Do you need a partner?" Dean inquired.
"I dunno. Depends how good he is." Shannon smiled slyly.
Dean started to say something but Shannon interrupted. "So where are you taking me?"
"You'll see..." Dean grabbed her hand and off they went.
Scene 5:
"I've got friends in low places?quot; sang Nicole and Chris as they walked up to the porch of the Conrad house. They started laughing, but when they got to the door they stopped and looked at each other.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening. It was really sweet of you to take me." Nicole said.
"It was my pleasure." Chris smiled at her. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I hope we can go out again soon."
"Perhaps." Nicole smiled and turned towards the door, "Good night."
"Wait." Chris stepped towards Nicole and pulled her close. He kissed her lightly on the lips. At first Nicole didn't fight him, but suddenly she pulled away.
"Is there something wrong?" Chris asked confused.
"I…I should go inside now." Her eyes fixed on the ground.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." Chris started. "If it's too soon?quot;
"It's just that, I mean…I wasn't expecting. Oh god, I promised myself I wouldn't?quot; tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I don't' think it's a good idea for us to go out again."
"But I don't understand. I thought we were getting along great."
"That's the problem. We're getting along too great."
"But?quot;
"Look Chris, you shouldn't get yourself mixed up with me. You deserve better." Nicole bit her lip to keep it from trembling. "I'll see you around."
Before Chris could say a word, Nicole had entered the house and shut the door behind her. He didn't' understand what had just happened, all he knew was that he had to find some way to change her mind.
Scene 6:
Chris was sitting on a park bench, late at night. He was trying to come to terms with what had happened between he and Nicole earlier that night. They seemed to have had such a good time at the concert. So, why did she pull away when he kissed her? And why didn't she want to see him again? He was thinking about all this, when he heard a voice behind him. It was Kevin DiMira, still disguised in the moustache and glasses.
"Beautiful night." Kevin said as he sat on the bench.
"Yeah." Chris said, still engrossed in his thoughts.
"I'm new in town, haven't been to this park before. I'll have to come more often. Seems like a good place to collect your thoughts."
"New in town huh? Welcome to Corinth." Chris replied, with no enthusiasm.
"Thank you for the warm welcome." Kevin laughed.
"I'm sorry, I've just had a really bad night." Chris said.
"Oh?" Kevin asked very curious.
"Yeah." Chris answered. "Women."
"Ah....women problems. Well I've been around for awhile, why don't you tell me what happened." Kevin said very interested.
"Well, all right." Chris needed to get this off his chest. "This girl and I went to the Garth Brooks concert tonight. And we had a wonderful time, we were laughing and singing. But then I took her home and tried to kiss her, everything changed. She said I shouldn't get involved with her."
Kevin listened very intently as Chris continued. "Maybe I shouldn't have tried to kiss her. Maybe I moved too fast. But we were getting along so well. I don't know what happened. But I do know that I have to change her mind. I can't go on not seeing Nicole, I like her too much."
"Nicole?" Kevin perked up at the mention of that name.
"Um yeah why?" Chris asked.
"Oh just a beautiful name that's all." Kevin responded.
"Yeah. And it's not just her name that's beautiful. The moment I saw it her I just knew I had to be with her. It was like...magic." Chris said thinking of her.
"I knew someone like that once..." Kevin said in a low tone.
"Yeah? So what happened? Bet she didn't reject you." Chris answered.
"No, no, no, no. We're talking about *you* now." Kevin smiled his *fake* smile.
"You don't even know me. I shouldn't be bothering you with my problems."
"It's alright. I am here to help." Kevin smiled slyly.
"Well thanks, but I should get home before my roommates blow up the apartment or something." Chris said, getting up.
"I am sure we will meet again." Kevin said.
"Yeah maybe. Um, thanks again." Chris replied and walked off.
"Oh we will meet again, you can be sure of that." Kevin laughed evilly.