A Moment in Time

by Pixie L. Rigsby

Chapter Two

I met Shay outside the school building, holding the papers for the play in my hand. As usual, she was too excited and hyper to notice anything outside of herself. Shay wasn’t really selfish, not in the typical sense of the word. She was self-involved. Selfish implies a personality trait a person has if they care about nothing and no one besides themselves. A self-involved person can and normally does care about other people, but they tend to be so wrapped up in whatever is going on with them that it may take them a while to notice if something is going on with another person. Shay was that type of person.

“We’re going to have so much fun this summer, Tessa! My mom said it was cool if I stayed over at your place tonight. Do you think your parents will care?”

“I think my parents will be thrilled,” I said. “You know they like you!”

“I’m pretty sure your mom thinks I’m a bad influence,” she said with a little hesitation. I know Shay really liked and respected my parents and was always worried about making a good impression.

“That’s because you are a bad influence, Shay!” I laughed and we both burst into giggles.

“We’re going to my house first. Mom wants me to check in,” Shay said with a dramatic rolling of the eyes. I knew that was an act. Shay and her mom were really close. Before Shay moved up to Riverbend, she had gotten into some trouble with friends she had been hanging out with. It wasn’t drugs or anything like that, not when Shay was with friends with them, but the group had been caught shoplifting. I think Shay had stolen a tube of lipstick. It was something really stupid that she could’ve gotten into a lot of trouble for. Her mom, being a single mother, worked long hours at a gas station and had to work another job to pay for a lawyer for Shay. She ended up getting a year’s probation and as soon as that was up, Shay and her mother moved to Riverbend.

Shay’s ex-friends soon wound up getting into drugs, and she realized on her own that they were moving in a direction she really didn’t want to go into. Or in Shay’s words, “I got busted shoplifting, and I got into enough trouble with that shit. Why the hell would I want to go to jail for drugs and mess my brain up in the process? I’m dumb enough the way it is, why would I want to do stuff that eats holes in my brain?” Sometimes she didn’t give herself enough credit for how smart she was. I think sometimes she compared herself to me and found herself lacking, and I often did the same thing.

“Yes, I have an IQ of 168 and that makes me brilliant by societal standards,” I told her one time, “But I’m socially inept and extraordinarily insecure. There are different kinds of intelligence, you know.”

I hopped into the passenger’s seat of Shay’s beat up white Ford Escort. My car was parked at home, and truthfully, it was much nicer. I had a 2 year old silver Chevrolet 2-door Camaro. But Shay was so happy at finally having a car of her very own that I let her drive us back and forth to school. Whenever we went anywhere, I normally had the gas money. Shay would often try and insist on paying half, but sometimes she simply didn’t have it. Her mom was trying to raise a teenage daughter and younger twin sons on one income, both Shay’s father and the boys’ father were not in the picture. Shay’s father disappeared years ago, nobody knew where he was. Shay had never known him. With the boys, there was a nasty divorce that resulted sadly in the boys’ father leaving their lives, with very few visitations and her mother still fighting him for child support.

My parents, in contrast, had a very strong marriage. My father was a lawyer who commuted to Dallas. He was one of five partners in a very lucrative law firm. He was a divorce attorney, and he was doing so well he could afford to volunteer his services to Legal Aid to help out low income clients, often clients leaving abusive relationships. He often said that was the most satisfying part of his job. My mother was a nurse practitioner who spent most of her time volunteering her services for free clinics in and around Riverbend. She used to work at a doctors office, but since Dad did so well, she could afford to leave that job to spend her time doing what she wanted, which was helping uninsured sick people. Both my mom and dad had very busy lives, and they tried to make time for family, which was just them and me. I had no other brothers and sisters, and the last year or so I’ve spent going to Shay’s house gave me a glance at a life very different from the sheltered one I’ve led.

Shay cranked the radio and we drove the five miles back to her mom’s house. Her mom was home today, which was very unusual. Normally, there was a babysitter looking after the boys. The “babysitter” was an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Garget who was paid whenever Shay’s mom could afford to pay. Her prices were very reasonable and she often “forgot” to charge, because she understood how very tight things were financially in their household. To make up for this, Shay’s mom and sometimes Shay would take it upon themselves to do some cleaning and yard work at Mrs. Garget’s house. The boys, named Timmy and Keith, were identical twin 10 year olds who were like any other 10 year old boys of their age. Mischievous, hyper, and endearing in they’re own way, these boys had worked the magic of their charm and won over nearly everyone they met.

“Mom’s off today. It’s kind of a shocker. I hope she’s relaxing and doing something for herself for a change. I think the boys are outside playing.” Shay said cheerfully.

We went into the house. It was a very small 3 bedroom house, white, chipping paint showing the house desperately needed to be repainted. Her mom had one bedroom, Shay the other, and the twins shared a room. Shay strode into the small, cramped living room that doubled as their kitchen. “Hey, ma!” she said, “Checking in before heading over to Tessa’s.”

“Hey, big kiddo,” her mom greeted her, “Are you not going to hang out with your old ma on her day off?”

“Ma, we’ve had this planned for a month. I did bring Tessa over, if you want us to stay for a while, I’m sure she won’t mind,”

“Oh, hello Tessa!” her mom’s eyes found me as I crept into the room behind Shay, “You’re quiet as a mouse as always, dear, I didn’t even hear you come in. This one, you can hear coming before she even hits the front door,” she cast an affectionate gaze at her only daughter.

“How’s your day off, Ms. Niles?” I asked.

“It’s going fine, hon, haven’t I told you to call me Sally? Or Mom, goodness knows you’re over here as much as my own kids,” she said, playfully referring to the fact that one of us was always at the other one’s house. “What’s that you got in your hands, Tessa?”

I looked down and saw I was still clutching the play Mr. Chancery had given me securely in my right arm.

”Hey, I didn’t notice that!” Shay exclaimed, snatching the papers out of my hand.

“It’s just something my English teacher gave me and thought I’d be interested in. I…kind of promised him I’d try out for this play on the 3rd of next month,” I said and would’ve explained more if Shay hadn’t squealed in excitement.

“You are shitting me,” Shay shot out, “You? Our Tessa is actually going to try out for a play?”

I blushed, mumbling, “I did promise him…”

“Oh my god, this is awesome! What kind of voodoo does this teacher have and can I have some? What kind of mystical power did he pull out of his ass to make that happen?” Shay said incredulously, “I’ve been trying for what, the last year or so, to get you to do the debate team with me?”

“Six months,” I said half irritably, half proudly, “Then you finally gave up, thank God!”

Shay’s mom laughed. “Well I think it’s wonderful, dear. This may be better suited to you anyway. Debate involves controversial subjects, a play is just enjoyable. Are you doing this on your own?”

“I was hoping Shay would go with me. I think she’d be better suited to be an actress,” I said softly, “Well, how about it, Shay? You want to do a play with me this summer? I mean, I probably won’t get the part, but I could definitely do stage crew. I’d love to see you on stage.”

“But you did promise him you’d try out, right? So you are going to actually try out for a speaking role, aren’t you?” Shay said sternly.

“Yeah, I’ll try, but…I’m not going to get it. You know that and so do I.” I said dismissively.

“Now hold on a minute, Tessa. What if you do get a part?” Shay’s mom asked.

“Well, Ms…I mean Sally,” I started, trying not to show my unease. It was hard for me calling someone’s mother by their first name. The smile I got showed that it pleased her, however, so I was going to learn to do it, “I’ll try out for a small part. I’m…not sure I can handle a big role. I just don’t think that’s for me.”

Shay grabbed my arm and said, “Let’s go read it! Oh, Tess,” she squealed, “I so wasn’t expecting you to come up with something this cool! No offense…”

I couldn’t help but laugh as Shay dragged me to her room. Her room was a complete disaster. Clothes were on the floor, her bra was dangling from her mirror, her bed was crumpled and unmade. She flopped down and patted the bed beside her.

“Tell all first,” she demanded. That was her way; she could phrase things in a very brusque and abrupt way sometimes. I felt my eyebrows rise and she caught the look and her eyes rolled. “Pweeease, Tessy?”

I laughed because we had that conversation before. I told her a few times that she could say please, it wouldn’t kill her. “I’m sorry, I forget sometimes, Tessa!” she had shot back a few of those times, and it was our inside joke now for her to take on a silly mock baby tone and say please like a 3 year old being reprimanded.

I told her everything about the last period conversation with Mr. Chancery. Shay giggled several times through that story, and at the end of it, she came up with this gem. “I know what his magic is now, Tessa! You so like your English teacher!”

I burst out laughing so hard, my stomach hurt at the end of it, which sent her into a peal of laughter all her own. Tears were running down my cheeks as I tried to spit out, between fits of hilarity, that that was very much not the case. He was nice, but he was old enough to be my dad’s older brother.

When we finally calmed down enough to actually settle to something, we read the play. It was actually a very well written play. It was about this girl named Clari. She was the main character. I understood now why this play reminded Mr. Chancery so strongly of the extremely timid young girl sitting in the 5th seat in the 2nd row of his classroom. Clari WAS me. Anyway, Clari had a best friend named Kelly and a devastating crush on a second-string quarterback on the football team named Kurt.

Clari knew and understood that Kurt didn’t know she existed and she really preferred it that way. When her best friend found out she liked him, she was very excited and kept trying to get Clari to ask him out, but Clari refused. Then, during the middle of the play, Clari receives a card…from Kurt. Despite herself, she was thrilled and what was more, he asked her out for a date that day. She spends ages and ages preparing for the date.

The date itself is a total fiasco. Clari had been so nervous that she would screw up her chances that she barely said a word throughout the entire evening. Finally, Kurt mentions something that takes her completely by surprise. He wonders aloud if she didn’t want to go out on a date with him, why she sent that card to him in the first place?

Clari’s like…what card? The card your friend Kelly gave to me. Clari is furious, and whips out her card, look! This is the card “you” sent “me”. This is all Kelly’s doing! I’m sorry, so sorry, I wasted your evening. I’m now off to murder my best friend. Confession time, Kurt has liked and wanted to date Clari for a long time, and because he thought she liked him, he finally got up the nerve to ask her out. He’s sorry for a wasted evening. Confession time on Clari’s part; she’s liked him for ages and only hoped that he would ask her out. The date ends with a sweet goodnight kiss. Kelly pops out of hiding and is thrilled her plan worked so perfectly. Clari slaps her on the shoulder and says never, ever, ever put me through that again! The friends hug and the next day at school it is well known that Clari and Kurt are an adorable couple. The play ends with the couple walking hand in hand down the school corridor with Kelly asking if Kurt has a cute friend he could hook her up with.

“That,” Shay says, bringing me brutally back to reality, “is really, really…who wrote this?”

“Douglas E. Hatfield,” I said, “He’s kind of the playwright around here. He’s pretty good. I’ve been to a couple of his plays with my parents. He normally does write about teenage issues. He normally directs too, but I guess his son is directing this one.”

”You said him and Mr. Chancery are friends?” she said, with a curious glance at me, “Because it sounds like he totally took your personality, and just put it into Clari.”

“Oh come on, Shay, really,” I scoffed, “Then he would have had to steal your personality and put it into Kelly! Mr. Chancery doesn’t even know you! You’re not in his class. Mr. Hatfield does stuff like this all the time. It’s his trademark. Anyway, I’m not trying out for Clari. You should. You’d be great as the star, you can act. You’re awesome on the debate team.”

We read over it again, and Shay decided she was going to try out for Clari after all. She loved being in the limelight. I knew she’d try out for the main role. Clari was the main character, the play was almost written in first person. It was mainly from Clari’s point of view. She was the only character that had a running monologue. I decided on going for third narrator. I felt more comfortable dealing with third narrator because at least 2 other narrators would go on before me, and one other one after me. So I wouldn’t be the last one, and I wouldn’t have to be the first. Despite myself, as we both read over the play, I found myself becoming more and more excited about the possibility of being involved. The intense apprehension, for me at least, was still there, but it wasn’t all encompassing anymore. I had my best friend to do this with me, and be a support to me. We were going to have an unforgettable summer.