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East Side
Episode one, Shattered Dreams
Chapter Three
Written by William-Charles Wenham

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Hillcrest High School…

Aimee Baldwin, Sky's teenage daughter, obviously into witchcraft and is completely dressed in black clothing and heavy jewelry, is sitting next to her best friend Brenish Ivy. Aimee has long blonde hair, almost as if she were an adolescent version of her mother. The two girls are sitting in the hallways of the crowded high school for the end of their lunch break. Students have ignored the bell, knowing they have seven minutes to get to their next class and so many have stuck around to finish lunch conversations and catch up on gossip. Brenish and Aimee keep staring at the crowds of guys on both sides of the hallways. Aimee frowns and asks, “So have you seen Martin at all today? We have that presentation to get together for Friday.”

“I don't know,” Brenish replies sadly. “I didn't see him by Josh's locker this morning. But it probably has to do with something with his dad.”

Aimee grabs onto her textbook and sighs. “Yeah. You’re probably right.”

“I mean that whole divorce was bogus. And now my parents. Jesus, this whole world is going to hell.”

“Tell me about it,” Aimee responses, as she continued to look into the crowd of students.

“I can't wait till I get married,” Brenish continued, not noticing her friend’s attention was elsewhere, “so I can prove to the world that you can be married for more than a few months. I mean, it seems like we're living in Divorce Capital or some shit like that.

“Yeah, Marty, he thinks the whole divorce is his fault, but he's just...I don't even know what I'm talking about.” She holds onto her Family Education book and gets up from her spot on the floor, brushing her black dress off. “Maybe we should head to class.” Brenish stood up and pulled on her shoulders, preventing her from walking away.

“No, wait. What are you talking about?” she asks narrowing her eyes in curiousity.

Aimee shrugs Brenish’s hand off her. “Well, maybe I'm just sick of everyone talking about divorces and stuff and making their life sound like hell, when I don't even know my father.” She rolls her eyes and turns to face her locker, as she drops her book while fumbling with the lock.

“Oh my, God. I'm so sorry. I forgot your daddy died in the war...”

Aimee stops with the lock for a second and turns to her friend. “No it's okay, really, I mean I was two, it's not like I knew him or anything, but I wish I would or at least have the privilege of having a father figure in my life.” Brenish nodded in agreement and picked up Aimee’s book and handed it to her. As she took the textbook into her hand she finally finished the combination on her lock and opened her locker with a sigh. “Sammy's nice and all, but Mom and him aren't even married yet, and well, he's not Daddy. I wish sometimes I just knew more about him and how he was but every time I bring it up to my mom she just avoids the topic like it's a big secret or something like that. She hasn't even mentioned a word of it to Sammy yet. I mean, why? What's there to hide? You know?”

“Maybe she's just protecting you from a depression cycle or some shit. It was hard on her, and it could be hard on you...I don't know what to say.”

Aimee puts a bookmark in her Family Education textbook, and on the page there is a picture of a girl and an older man, obviously daughter and father, and the girl was sitting on a swing set, as her father pushed her, and the two were laughing. The bold type heading read: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PARENTS. Aimee slams the book shut, not letting Brenish see what the page had on it as she grabs her book under her arm and shoves it far into the locker and grabs a pencil and a notebook. “I mean, I all really know about him is, that he died in the war and that alone is pretty general. I don't need graphic detail, but questions like: How did he die? And things like that...”

Brenish unwraps a sucker and stares at one of the group of guys in the hallways. They were all entranced in the conversation they were having, but one of them looked Brenish's way. His name was Jeff Thompson. He was one of the most popular guys in the school. All the girls wanted him, and the guys wanted to be just like him. He was in the same grade as Aimee and Brenish.

Brenish tapped her friend’s shoulder. “I don't know if this will make you feel better, but Jeff Thompson is staring at you.”

“Really? Where? Where is he?” she asked excitedly. Due to her undoubtedly gothic appearance, not many guys in the school ever looked her way. She quickly shut her locker door and looked at the crowd of guys. She let out a giggle as Brenish slapped her head playfully. “Don't look!” she laughed.

Aimee is able to make eye contact with Jeff as he winks at her as Aimee flashes him a goofy last-minute smile as her and Brenish walk away to their next class. “Oh, he's so cute!” Aimee gushes as she runs into Brenish laughing. As the girls walk past the lockers, Brenish laughs with the sucker in her mouth and Aimee giggles about Jeff, and don’t notice Martin Silverman's locker with a poster reading: GOOD JOB IN BASKETBALL MARTY!

****

They enter Mr. Searing’s English room with cute smiles plastered on their faces. Aimee grins at Jeff Thompson who had just made it to his assigned seat, directly across the room from Aimee's. He nods his head approvingly. Brenish follows Aimee to her desk and sits right in front of her, playfully slapping her desk. Aimee leans in close, setting her notebooks to the side. “What? Can't a girl flirt anymore?”

“Well, ya gonna ask him out already?” Brenish quickly replies.

Aimee’s smile turns into a frown and she slouches back into her seat. “I don't know! He probably thinks I'm weird.”

“Oh, shut up! They all do - so what?”

“Well, you ask him for me...”

“Don't be a hollow-headed dumb ass. He likes you,” Brenish declares.

Aimee tries to change the topic. “Well, who you gonna ask out?”

“I don't know,” she says rolling her eyes. “How can you be over Martin so quickly anyway?”

“Bren, that was a month ago at least. If you want him, you ask him out.”

“Why'd you two break up in the first place?”

“He was always keeping secrets from me,” Aimee whispers. “Janice, his mom, was always on my case. She claimed that I was always sticking my nose into places where it didn’t belong. I dunno, it was weird.” Her voice lowers. “I remember this one thing she said…she had told me, if I got too close to Marty, no good would come out of it and everyone would have hell to pay.”

Brenish pushes her face in closer to Aimee’s. “What the hell was that supposed to mean?”

“I have no clue, but Martin started getting all emotional and depressed so I had to dump him. He was always giving me shit about being a witch. I told him, I’m not a witch, I just believe in the supernatural forces around us.”

“Well,” Bren adds, “at least you can get guys. You're the popular to-be model cheerleader chick around here, not me.”

Aimee throws her hair back and moves in closer bursting into laughter. “Right. Buffy, leader of the cheerleading squad. You really think those bimbos even care about me? They probably think I’m going to put a spell on them!”
“You wouldn’t, would you?” Brenish teases.

“Oh, Bren, you know I only put spells on my friends.” The two started laughing.

“Well, guys don’t like me, because I'm an artistic book-infested geek Brittanica,” she frowned, turning around in her seat as the teacher, Mr. Searing started role-call.

Aimee rolls her eyes and laughs, “Yeah, you’re such a loser Bren…”

“Aimee Baldwin?” Mr. Searing shouts from the distance.

She looks up from her notebook. “Here,” she smiles. Then she looks around the room and notices a few girls making fun of her. I’ll never be truly popular, she thinks to herself. And I’ll never get Martin back...but maybe Brenish’s right. Maybe I do have a chance with Jeff Thompson...

Meanwhile Jeff is telling his friends all about his previous date. “So Jess Blade was like, sure I’ll screw you…”

“Shut up, so she’s not the Retarded Spice or anything?” his friend Bryan Lindale asked with a simle.

“Sorry, I don’t go for your rebounds, Bryan,” Jeff teased, slapping him across the face.

“I give you two points for that,” says Bryan.

“Two?! Dude, what the hell? We’re talking about THE Jess Blade here! Hello?!” he boasted. Bryan just shook his head.

“Man, I’ve told you, that’s not how it works. Jess is Lawrenceville’s biggest slut. She’d probably sleep with me if she had the chance. She’s not a victory. But Broom Hilda over there,” he added, pointing over at Aimee, “now that would definitely be a challenge. If you could get her to put out by homecoming, you get fifty points to your score sheet.”

“Five thousand dollars?!” Jeff said freaking out. No one in their Sexaholic Club had ever seen the fifty points. Everyone had always chickened out at the last minute. “Give me until May, man…it may take a while…”

“Fine, I’ll talk to the other guys. Oh, can you imagine taking that rich witch to prom? The guys would go hysterical!” Bryan laughed as Jeff stared at Aimee, who looked his direction and smiled.

“You’re on. By prom, I’ll get Aimee, you just wait…” Jeff said as he waved at the gothic cheerleader. “Man, five thousand dollars…”

“Brenish Ivy?” Mr. Searing called out. She is looking down at her notebook she has laid out on her desk. She is staring deep into the notebook paper as she draws a familiar face of the one she secretly loves. Martin Silverman. “Brenish Ivy?” her teacher yells out once more.

“Oh, present…” she responses, looking up embarrassed.

She circles his face with a quick and sketchy-looking heart-shape and then quickly sets her pencil on the desk and closes her notebook. She blushes to herself as she combs back a hair dangling over her innocent eyes as she looks away guilt-free.

****

Curie Bank…

Mary Ivy is sitting all alone in her office at her desk eating what is left of her lunch: a cheese sandwich and a soda. “Where have I heard that name Berlman before?” She takes a bite of her sandwich. All of a sudden, there is a knock at her office door. With a mouth full of food, she says, “Come in.” She sips her soda as Edward Duncan walks into the office with a file in his hands. “Okay, shoot.”

He frowns, tossing the file onto her desk. “Okay Mary, but you may not like this. Remember Max Curie, that pompous ass father of Ellen's?”

“Yeah sure, he owns the place,” she nods wondering where this is going.

“Well he ran this place for a while...but then…”

“Wait,” she interrupts taking another bite of her sandwich, “wasn't Max the one who abandoned Ellen and her sisters when they were younger?” She takes a sip of her soda, but misses completely and almost chokes on the straw. Luckily Edward doesn't notice her embarrassing situation.

“Left them practically for dead. Luckily they had their mother who cared for them. But I still say it really messed up Ellen.”

“No doubt about that,” Mary quips, rolling her eyes, laughing.

“But after he left, Ron Silvers, the first that is, not that doctor Robert met at the convention last year, but his father, well he was Max's partner and gave sole custody of the bank to his step-son –“

“Carl Berlman!” Mary exclaims. “Duh! I knew I heard that name before...Well that was way before my time here.”

“Yeah, well, get this,” he continues. “After he left town for New Orleans, Ellen manipulated the rights to make herself president. Technically the bitch isn’t even supposed to be the head honcho around here…”

“And so now what? She feels like she's in daddy dearest's footsteps?”

“And you're only a Vice President?” Edward teases. “You should be a detective somewhere in L.A.” Mary gives him a "very funny" sarcastic look.

“But as I found out from the ever-efficient Ranklyn, Carl still runs this place...has for the last five years that you've been thinking Ellen had. Honey, you're not working for Ellen; you are working for Carl. He's the real president here and he's back!” He sits down in the chair next to Mary’s desk triumphant to have finally figured out the future of the bank.

All of a sudden the office door bursts open and Rose Andrews appears out of nowhere. “He’s back?! What, like for good?!”

Mary sighs and stands up placing her hand on the file, Edward stole. “ Get the hell out of here!” Edward also starts to get up from his seat, ready to force Rose out of Mary’s office for the millionth time that day. He grabs her arm. “Rose!”

Sitting back down in her seat, Mary waves her hand in the air, “Fine, Rose. Stay. Whatever. Just...don't break anything or touch anything, alright?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Rose says mockingly, as she bows.

Mary looks back at Edward, as she ignores Rose. “So you're serious. He's back? Why the hell didn't Ellen tell me this? Jesus, I'm the freakin' VP, right? I should have a right to know! Right?” Rose goes to play with some of Mary's photos of her family she has on the wall, but Mary and Edward don't see her. Then she finds a picture of Robert and runs her fingers across it.

“He should be mine…” she whispers to herself.

“Well actually –“ Edward starts. Rose violently turns herself away from the pictures as she faces the two as she becomes part of the conversation once again. “Why would Ellen want to talk to someone who obviously has an anger dysfunction, like Mary?”

“Don't talk!” Mary shouts as she turns back to Edward. But Rose interrupts yet again. “Well, all I'm saying is –“

Mary slams on the desk, fed up with Rose Andrews constantly being in her life. “Get her out of here, Edward!”

“No!” Rose shouts back. She points at Edward Duncan. “If he can be in here...”

“He knocked!!!” Mrs. Ivy shrieks.

“Oh, I'm so sorry if I gave you a heart attack, Mary,” Rose says knocking over a stack of papers on Mary’s desk, taunting her. “Next time I'll bring Dr. Bob along with me,” she adds, referring to Mary’s husband.

“Well first of all, your attempts to win my husband have been both desperate and foolish, and so in past,” Mary quickly replies. “So fine. Continue if you wish, but just realize you have no chance at even beginning to know the meaning of true love is and what you stand against.” Edward smiles, looking at Mary.

“Oh don’t even smile Eddie…you have no idea what true love is either. Maybe you and Mary should just hook up already. You two make me sick…” she snorts, waking out of the office, as she goes to look for Ellen Curie. Mary looks at Edward.

“Well, at least she’s gone,” he jokes.

****

Ellen Curie is having a heated conversation in her heavily decorated office at the bank. She is seated in her thick dark leather chair as Carl stands in front of her desk, allowing his arms to be rested on the desk’s edge as he leans in forward, glaring at Ellen’s face.

“If you want a medal for winning back my father's bank...I'm not sure I can afford to just hand them out,” Ellen yells through her grinding teeth.

“Sad to say, Darling, but the bank was mine the whole time. I just left for a few years to take care of some business,” Carl Berlman bounces back. He puts his hand over his heart as he continues, ”But really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking care of it for me. It means a lot to me, honest.”

“Look, asshole, just leave me alone. Go cause trouble for the rest of Lawrenceville. It's what you live for, isn't it?” Ellen gets out of her desk as she grabs a small cardboard box from the corner of her office and begins taking items from her desk and starts to pack them away.

“Well, now that you mention it, I do have my eyes set on Sky Baldwin, over GMI. Beautiful woman, wouldn’t you say so?” Carl starts to follow her and goes behind her desk as he starts to help her pack her things, taunting her. She slaps his hand away and pushes him aside, as she yells back, “Forget it. She's a lost cause, not to mention my best friend. She is already taken off the market. Looks like you came too late.”

“She's married?” Carl asks shocked.

Ellen drops a picture into the box and looks up at him. “Will be happily married in three months. I'll be the beautiful bridesmaid. Look how do you even know her?”

“I...I just saw her name in the paper, that's all.” Ellen buys his story and as he continues. “So where will you be headed off to? I mean, now that you are out of a job?”

She picks the box up and sets it by the door and violently turns around. “Screw you! On the streets begging for scraps...crumbs...Why do you care? You got what you wanted? No sour grapes for you. So be happy and just leave me the hell alone.”

“Well, at least rent me one of your apartments over on East Side Street so I have a place to stay.” Ellen drops her jaw in amazement.

“You just don’t know when to quit do you, Carl? You don’t even know me…” She stands by her office door and motions for him to leave. As she opens the door he whispers, “I know more about Lawrenceville than you think, Ms. Curie…” Ellen gives him an uneasy smile as she ponders his comment. He reluctantly leaves as he runs into Rose Andrews, who’s seemingly out of breath. Rose pushes him aside, not realizing he will be her future boss. She enters Ellen’s office and slams the door behind her.

“Ellen. You are not an easy person to keep track of. In and out of meetings all day. Jesus. No Jenny Craig for you. Only Primitive NordicTrack!” she manages to get out.

Ellen goes to sit down behind her desk. “What do you want?”

“What is it with you and Mary? Always so happy to see me.” She sits on the edge of Ellen’s desk, adjusting her high heels.

“Well, I'm sure Mary has a reason to hate you.”

“Okay, I guess someone forgot that they faked a pregnancy to hold onto Bobby just months before his wedding…”

“That was over seventeen years ago. Give it a rest. You act like a two-year old. Please, just grow up and act mature for once, and stop trying to toss stones in that glass house of yours.”

“Well,” Rose whispers, “if I were you, I’d be a little suspicious of Carl’s motives, that’s all. Don’t you think it’s weird how he’s connected to Sky?”

Ellen looked up from her desk. “What are you trying to say? He doesn’t even know her – he just saw her name in the paper, that’s all.” Oh my God, Ellen thought to herself, what if Rose is right?

“Awful shame if he got in the way of Sky’s engagement,” Rose said in a sing-song voice. Ellen pushed her off the desk as Rose landed in the chair. “It won’t happen,” Ellen says standing up.

“I mean, I know you despise Sammy and all, I mean, really, he is a loser. A cab driver? Puh-leeze! It is kinda funny actually, how he’s your biggest threat to Sky’s friendship. What does he have on you anyway?”

Ellen grabs another box and starts to take pictures off the wall. She stops for a second and goes to the bar in the corner of her room, surrounded with small plants and trees. She pours herself a drink. “I have to pack my shit, so if you don’t mind...” She puts the cover back on the bottle of vodka. Rose slinks her body over to the bar and pours herself a drink. “Sad to see you go, Ellen…I may not have always liked you, but we’ve had so much in common. We’re both, how do I put this? Wrongly motivated in life, and highly cynical of love…In fact, I hear the only reason your father left was because he just couldn’t get enough from you…”

Ellen throws her glass to the floor as it shatters. Rose’s eyes grow wide as Ellen throws a punch. She ducks just in time, but Ellen looses her balance and pins Rose up against the wall with a thud. She grabs hold of Rose’s neck, suffocating her.

“Please don’t kill me, Ellen,” Rose gags. “then I couldn’t share with you my little secret.”

Ellen tighten her grip around Rose. “What secret?”

“Your best friend has more skeletons in her life than a high school science lab,” Rose says gasping for air. Ellen raises her eyebrows in curiosity. “Name your price,” Rose laughs.

“When I regain control of this bank I will make you my partner.”

“What if you don’t get this place back?” she questions, as she manages to push Ellen away.

“Oh, I will.”

Rose downs her glass of vodka and continues. “What if I told you Sky and Sammy couldn’t get married?”

“What if I said you’re a delusional psychotic?” Ellen glares at Rose, trying to figure her plan out.

“What if I said I could prove it?” she bounces back, rubbing her neck. “You get back your bank and make me your lovable partner, and I’ll prove to you Sky Baldwin is not only not who she says she is, but in the process you’ll learn some valuable tips of how not to underestimate anyone, not even your best friends.” Rose grabs a picture off the wall, helping Ellen move out of the office. She hands it to Ellen. “What do ya say?”

“You’ve got yourself a partnership,” Ellen declares with a smile, taking the picture. “Oh, but Rose, if you are lying to me, I will personally see to your death.” Rose’s eyes grow wide with fear. As she turns to the door and leaves. She stands in the doorway as she turns back to face Ellen. “Oh, and one last thing. You may have everyone else fooled that you are as clueless as the rest about Eddie’s missing years…” she whispers as she shuts the door, “But you don’t have me fooled.”

Furious, Ellen throws a vase that she had just packed, into the door as it shatters everywhere. She grabs her head and massages her temples. She is a broken and defeated woman, and begins to cry…