(8 years prior, a few months into Bella and Ariella’s comas)
(Angelica and Rick’s house – Monday 5pm)
Magda: Mommy, I’m all done with my homework. Can I go take Nikki up to the playground?
Angelica: Did you ask her if she wanted to?
Magda: I’ve tried, but she just hides under the bed after school. She doesn’t want to be seen by anybody. It’s not right, mommy.
Harold: I’m not sure that going up to the playground will coax her out of it, Mags.
Magda: I’ve got to at least try, Harold. She needs to feel a sense of normalcy again. She and her sisters would go up there every day after school.
Angelica: If you can get her to come out of your room, I’ll be more than happy to let you three go.
Magda: (Excited) Thank you, mommy!
(Magda runs up the stairs into her room)
Nic? Nikki? Come on out. Please? (Magda hears sobbing) If you won’t come out I’m coming in.
(She crawls underneath the bedframe and sees Nicole with a flashlight and a framed picture of her family.)
Oh, Nikki. (Sidles up in the back of her and wraps herself around Nicole)
Nicole: I don’t understand, Mags. (SNIFF) My sisters and my mother were always so nice and caring, why did they have to be taken away? Why?
Magda: Are you up for a little distraction, Nicole? It’s gotta be better than just hiding like this. We want to help you. I wish you’d let us. (Reaches from behind and wipes Nicole’s tears) There’s a cool playground the next neighborhood over, Harold and I go there a lot to burn energy. Wanna come with?
Nicole: Does it have a swingset?
Magda: Three of them. Come on, let’s get out from under this stuffy bed and have a nice adventure, what do you say?
Nicole: (SIGH) Okay, but only for you, Magda.
(Nicole Harold and Magda go down to the playground. Nicole sees a husky girl with glasses sitting on the swings, stationary)
Magda: Nicole, that girl over there looks pretty sad. I think you should try to talk to her.
Nicole: Do you know her, Magda?
Magda: I’ve seen her around, I think they just moved a while back. She’s kind of shy. Her name is Gwen. I think you’d be able to cheer her up.
Nicole: I don’t know. I don’t have that power anymore.
Harold: That’s nonsense, Nicole Jones. Go over there and make a friend. We’ll be right over on the bench there.
(Nicole quietly walks over to the swings, and sits down on the one next to Gwen)
Nicole: (Softly) Mind if I swing here?
Gwen: Free country. (SIGH)
(Nicole sits there for a minute, studying Gwen’s face. It isn’t as chubby as the rest of her body, it’s very appealing to Nicole)
Nicole: Do you have any friends, Gwen?
Gwen: How’d you know my name?
Nicole: My cousin told me.
Gwen: Magda? I’ve seen her around. She’s in my grade, I think. School starts next week so I guess I’ll find out. And no, I don’t have a lot of friends. You?
Nicole: Just my family. I spend more time reading books than I do talking with other kids my age aside from my cousins. I’m Nicole, Nicole Jones.
Gwen: Gwendy Masterson. (They indifferently shake the other’s hand) So what’s your story?
Nicole: Pardon?
Gwen: A cute, adorable-looking, skinny girl talking to the geeky fat girl with glasses, gotta be something wrong in your life.
Nicole: Actually, all things considered, my life is a paradox. It’s good because I have cousins who love me so much they’d alternate housing me every week.
Gwen: You don’t have a father or a mother?
Nicole: I don’t have a mother. (SOB) Not anymore. My father is busy and overworked, that’s why my cousins volunteered to take me in.
Gwen: I-I’m so sorry. It’s no wonder I don’t have any friends, foot goes right into mouth whenever I talk.
Nicole: You don’t have a high opinion of yourself do you, Gwendy?
Gwen: Do you have any siblings?
Nicole: I do, that’s the reason my father is so busy, they’re both in comas, right after my mother died two months back. My eldest sister was in the car with her. My other sister fell into a deep depression and she joined her at AbGen in a coma as well. I wish I was in one as well.
Gwen: Why?
Nicole: Because then I wouldn’t be alone. (SNIFF)
Gwen: I know that your sisters love you a lot.
Nicole: How could you know that, Gwendy? (Wipes her tears with her sleeve)
Gwen: Because I have an older brother, way older, and he never wanted me. He hated me from the moment I was born. He left home a long time ago. The fact he never wanted me is why I feel so empty inside.
Nicole: It’s his loss. He doesn’t know what he’s missing, Gwendy.
Gwen: That’s nice of you, but you can’t possibly mean that.
Nicole: Why would you think that?
Gwen: The beautiful girl making nice with the awkward pudgy girl, there’s a catch, right? Your cousins are going to pull a prank on me while we’re talking? Shove tentworms down my shirt or give me a wedgie and push me into the mud?
Nicole: Other kids have hurt you, haven’t they?
Gwen: Yes. Well, I’m gonna get going. I can see I’m the third wheel with you and your cousins.
(Gwen gets up to leave)
Magda: No, please don’t go, Gwen.
Gwen: Magda DuBrau, here to put ice down my shirt? Or put earthworms in my lunchbox again?
Nicole: Magda, what is she talking about?
Harold: Sis, did you do something to this girl?
Magda: No! I didn’t. I didn’t do anything.
Nicole: Then why does she think you’ve hurt her? (Crosses her arms)
Magda: Because I didn’t do anything to stop them. The group of girls I used to hang out with, they got the drop on Gwendy the day she moved in and I didn’t want to get involved, so I sat under a tree.
Gwen: Don’t lie! You had your little laugh in, I saw you smiling!
Magda: Yes, you did. But it wasn’t because of what those freaks did to you. I saw your shirt, it was very cute. Neiman Marcus.
Gwen: How’d you know that?
Harold: My little sister has a sixth sense for clothing and fashion. She and our cousin Rini are a force to be reckoned with.
Nicole: Magda, how could you let those degenerate friends of yours hurt this sweet cute, girl?
Gwendy: (To herself) “C-cute?” (She turns and blushes)
Magda: They’re not my friends anymore. I hate them. Not as much as I hate myself. (Walks up to Gwen) Gwendy, what those meanies did was wrong, and I was no better. I’ll give you a free shot.
Gwendy: Free shot?
Magda: A free slap, hit, punch, wedgie, indian burn, or even a push into the mud. I won’t stop you, and neither will my big brother.
Nicole: Mags…
Gwen: Why should I believe you? For all I know you’ll just probably pull my pants down the second I try something.
Magda: Nicole. Do it. Do it for Gwendy. I disgraced her honor, and I want to make it up to her. Give me a slap in the face, a wedgie and push me into the mud. (Magda begs with her eyes.)
Nicole: You really want this? (Magda nods her head) (Nicole takes a deep breath and in tears she slaps Magda across the face, pulls up her underpants hard, and then shoves her into a mud puddle.
Gwen: Oh my god! (She goes over to pick Magda back up)
Magda: Come on in, the mud is fine! (Magda playfully pulls her down into the mud. Both girls giggle and they start a mud fight. Nicole and Harold join in)
(After a cold washing with a hose, all four of them are clean again)
Magda: I’m sorry for all of it Gwendy.
Gwendy: You’re forgiven. I saw how hard Nicole slapped you. Friends?
Magda: (Shakes Gwendy’s hand) Friends.
Gwendy: I’d better get going, it’s getting colder and I don’t want to start school with pneumonia. You three’d better go and change as well.
(At Magda’s house, in her room that night)
Magda: I saw something I haven’t seen in a long time, Nic.
Nicole: I suppose I’m to ask you what?
Magda: A smile. I saw a smile on that cute freckled face of yours.
Nicole: It doesn’t detract from how lonely I feel. And don’t tell me that it shouldn’t.
Magda: That’s not my call to make, cuz. But I know one thing, you made that girls’ day. I think she likes you.
Nicole: I guess that makes two of us. I like her a lot. She doesn’t have a lot of self-esteem though. I wish something could be done about that.
Magda: She said she’s in our grade. Maybe next week we’ll see her at recess. Thanks again by the way.
Nicole: For what?
Magda: I’ve felt awful for how I didn’t have the courage to defend Gwendy when those in-crowders did that to her. That’s why I’ve only seen her around. I knew she’d probably hate me for letting it happen.
Nicole: I guess that leaves you in the market for a new friend. Sounds to me like Gwendy fits the bill.
Magda: No, Nic. She’s got more in common with you, she connected with you. She’s your special friend. She wants it, I can tell.
Nicole: I want it as well, Mags. (Looks up at the moon from the floor) I want that badly.
(Next week, Serene Plains Elementary)
Ms. Peters: Magda DuBrau, Ms. Oppenhiem asked to see you in her classroom, you know where that is, right?
Magda: Yes, maam. I do. But what about class?
Ms. Peters: We’ll just be doing a few introduction activities. It’s okay.
(Magda goes over to Ms. Oppenheim’s room, where she sees a Japanese girl with her left eye covered by her hair and her twin brother sitting at a desk on the other side of the room)
Magda: You wanted to see me, Ms. Oppenheim?
Debbie: Yes, Magda. You and Ariella Jones are cousins, right?
Magda: Yes. Why?
Debbie: My niece Sophie is good friends with your family. I was hoping that you would like to help out with a new student.
Magda: Gwendy Masterson?
Debbie: No, but I have met her, she is very adorable. See those two children over there? Their names are James and Twi Lan Hu. Twi is very shy and she’s been through a lot in the past couple of years. She’s a foster kid and she’s scared to be without her brother.
Magda: They won’t leave each other’s side. I can see it. What can I do to help?
Debbie: Their adoptive parents want to have them try being in separate classes, and the only way I see that happening is if she has someone to cling on to.
Magda: Why me? Isn’t Nicole better suited for that?
Debbie: Nicole’s had her own adjustments to make, and I’ve seen how nice you are, Magda. My niece has sat for you a couple of times in the past, she speaks highly of you and Harold. Please, Magda?
(Magda nods in agreement and goes over to the table where Twi and Jim are.)
Magda: Hi James, hi Twi. My name is Magda.
Jim: Hi. (Twi puts her head down and hides her face in her arms.)
Magda: Oh, I see what Ms. Oppenheim meant.
Jim: Please don’t take it personally, Magda. You have no idea what this poor girl has been through. She and I don’t trust anybody.
Magda: So I guess it’s going to be pretty hard for you both to leave each other’s side in separate classrooms, huh?
Jim: (Whispers into Magda’s ear) If you can get through to my sister and befriend her, I’ll love you for life. (Magda blushes)
Magda: You can trust me, Jim.
Debbie: Jim, why don’t you go back to class and if you want you and Twi can eat lunch in my classroom?
Jim: O-okay. (Kisses Twi’s cheek) I’ve got your back, sis. Always. (Hugs her and picks up his backpack, and leaves)
(Debbie motions Magda to give it a try)
Magda: So, Twi, your brother seems pretty nice. I have a brother as well. He’s black.
(Twi peeks her head up in intrigue)
Twi: Is he a step-brother?
Magda: Actually, he’s my half-brother. I’m 1/4th black via my grandmother. “Twi Lan” that’s a pretty name. Are you Chinese?
Twi: Half-Japanese. My father was American. (SOBs and hides back in her arms again)
Magda: You know, I think I might have something you’d like. My father works for the police and he often patrols through the Asian Quarter. He gave me these. (Holds up some Japanese candy) Want one?
Twi: (Sits back up and looks at the small candies with cute characters on the wrappers) I-I haven’t seen those in years. C-can I?
Magda: Sure! Take as many as you want.
Twi: Th-th-thank you, Mags.
Magda: You lost some pretty important people in your life, haven’t you? Your parents?
Twi: How’d you know?
Magda: That sad sigh, I’ve heard that quite a lot lately. My cousin lost her mother and her sisters are unconscious at AbGen. She’s staying with me and my brother while her dad works. I can’t begin to understand what you and Jim went through, but I can sympathize. Do you like Sailor Moon?
Twi: I do! I love all kinds of Japanese anime! You like it also?
Magda: I’ve actually never seen it. I’ve wanted to rent the tapes, but I never got around to it.
Twi: I own a few of them. They were the first things my adoptive parents bought for me when my brother and I moved in.
Magda: Where do you live?
Twi: Paulsen Manor.
Magda: That’s a few blocks from my house! Wanna hang after school? My cousin is staying with my other cousins, so it’ll be just you and me.
Twi: I don’t feel comfortable going to a stranger’s house.
Magda: Oh, I understand.
Twi: If you wanted, you could come over to my place after school.
(Magda looks over at Debbie)
Debbie: I’ll call your mother and tell her.
Magda: Looks like it’s a date, Twi. (Twi hugs her new friend)
(Meanwhile in Ms. Breckenridge’s class)
Ms. Breckenridge: Okay class, I want you to pair off in groups of two for the first assignment. I want you to each write a profile of your partner and present it to the class. I’ll pass out the worksheets while you pair off.
Nicole: (Taps Gwendy’s shoulder) Wanna be my partner, Gwendy?
Gwendy: Nicole? Wow, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!
Nicole: So is that a no, then?
Gwendy: It’s not a no! Scooch that desk over here!
(Teacher hands out the sheets)
Nicole: I hope you aren’t still mad at my cousin. I believe her when she says she felt guilty about how she treated you.
Gwendy: Of course I’m not. I’m just surprised that she actually was sorry. But not as much as you wanting to pair up with me.
Nicole: Gwendy, you can try to push me away all you want, but I won’t turn my back on a friend when she needs me.
Gwendy: “Friend?” I actually heard you say that word?
Nicole: You sure did. Why do you feel like I’m going to think less of you because of your body type?
Gwendy: Because everyone else has.
Nicole: Gwendolyn Masterson, I’m not “everybody else.” I need a friend like you as badly as you need a friend.
Gwendy: Why me?
Nicole: (Tears start to form, and she takes a hold of Gwendy’s hand) Who better than you?
(They pull out their pencils and start to fill out the sheets)
Gwendy: What’s your favorite movie?
Nicole: Peter Pan.
Gwendy: I love that movie too! Have you ever seen Hook with Julia Roberts and Robin Williams?
Nicole: Only fifty zillion times! I love Julia Roberts as TinkerBell! What’s your favorite movie?
Gwendy: Empire Strikes Back. Favorite Snack?
Nicole: Fluffernutters. You?
Gwendy: Chocolate Pudding. Favorite Book?
Nicole: On a Pale Horse.
Gwendy: Heh, that’s pretty advanced. I prefer Magic School Bus.
Nicole: Hey, it’s informative. Um what about hobbies?
Gwendy: I love to draw. They tell me I have real potential. (Shows Nicole a sketch she made of her as they were talking)
Nicole: Wow…. I am inclined to agree. Do you like to bowl?
Gwendy: Yeah! I once got shy of a perfect score. We really have a lot in common; don’t we?
Nicole: Yeah, I love it.
(After Nicole and Gwendy read their profiles of the other to the class, teacher gets called out of the class for a second)
Lentz: Hey Masterson! Better lay off the pudding! Porky pig might think you’re copying off him! (Half the class laughs)
Serena: Hey, lay off her, Lentz you big dummy!
Nicole: (Stands up from her desk) I don’t think I quite heard you, Allen, what did you call my friend?
Lentz: A Pig! A big-fat- hairy pig!!! OINK OINK!!!!
(Screaming hysterically, Nicole races over to him and gives him a sock in the nose with her fist, knocking him out of his seat. The other students scooch their desks back in fear, except for Serena)
Nicole: Anyone else got something to say about my new best friend?
Ms. Breckenridge: (Ahem) Nicoliania Faye Samantha Jones, after everything I’ve heard about you, I expected more from you than this. Go wash your hands, and go to the principal’s office.
Serena: But Ms. Bee, it wasn’t my cousin’s fault! Loudmouth Allen back there called Gwendy a horrible name!
Ms. Breckenridge: I know, I heard that as well. Mr. Lentz, after you get an icepack from the nurse, you’re staying after school for detention.
Serena: Don’t punish Nicole, Ms. Bee! You don’t know what she’s going through!
(Lentz leaves to go to the nurse’s office)
Ms. Breckenridge: Serena, Nicole, I want to see both of you in the hallway. I don’t want to hear so much as a peep from the rest of you while I’m out there! Got it?
(Hallway)
Nicole: It’s okay Rini, you don’t have to cover for me.
Serena: The hell I don’t!
Ms. Bee: Serena Jones, watch that mouth!!
Serena: I’m sorry, Nicole, I have to tell her. Ms. Bee, Nicole’s mother died in a car accident a few months ago, she hasn’t been with her father since then because he’s been spending every night at the hospital with Nic’s comatose sisters. My cousin Magda and I – our families have been her hosts every other week. Don’t pile it on more than it is.
Ms. Breckenridge: Nicole, is this true?
Nicole: (SOB) Y-yes… (Serena goes up and comforts her lookalike cousin) I’ll take whatever punishment you feel is right, Ms. Breckenridge. It can’t hurt any more than what I feel now.
Ms. Breckenridge: Go to Ms. Oppenheim’s classroom and have a talk with her. I can’t ignore you accosting a fellow student, but at the same time I don’t condone what he said either.
Serena: Oh, thank you, Ms. Bee! You won’t regret it! Right, Nic? (Nicole cries again, and Serena rubs the nape of her neck) Is it all right if I go with her, teach?
Ms. Breckenridge: Please do, Serena. And while you’re at it, get all those swear words out of your vocab by the time you come back. This isn’t Austin Powers and you are a young lady, that sort of language is unbecoming.
(Magda and Twi bump into Serena and Nicole, Twi hides behind Magda)
Serena: Mags! What a coinkie dink! Who’s the shy girl?
Magda: New student, is kind of having difficulty adjusting. I’ll introduce you later. What happened to Nicole?
(Nicole puts her head on Rini’s shoulder)
Serena: That jerkwad Lentz was at it again, this time with this bigger girl with glasses. Nicole gave him a punch in the elephant trunk.
Magda: He attacked Gwendy?
Serena: You know her?
Magda: Not as well as Nicole, but she’s very nice.
Serena: If she’s earned Nicole’s friendship, then she’s good enough in my book.
Magda: Nic, try to hang in there, okay? You’ve got all of us in your corner. Please?
Nicole: (Staring at the ground, monotone) Sure, Mags.
(Nicole and Serena walk off)
Twi: Who were those girls, Magda?
Magda: My cousins Nicole and Serena.
Twi: Are they twins like me and Jim?
Magda: Actually Nicole’s two months older than Serena. They’re cousins also. But you know, now that you mention it, I suppose if Rini wore her bangs up past her eyes, they could pass for twins.
Twi: They’re very cute.
Magda: No argument from me, Twi.
(Debbie’s classroom)
Serena: Ms. Oppenhiem, Ms. Breckenridge told us to come see you, well Nicole actually.
Debbie: Nicole, what happened? It’s the first day of school! Why do you have blood on your gloves?
Nicole: A jerk in our class called my new friend a horrible name and I simply lost control.
Debbie: You made a new friend? What’s their name?
Serena: Gwendy Masterson.
Debbie: Popular girl. Magda was talking about her when she left.
Nicole: I know what I did was wrong, but he called Gwendy a fat pig! It made me so darn mad!!
Serena: He had it coming! I’m proud of you, Nic, even if the school thinks you were in the wrong!
Debbie: Your heart was in the right place but fighting and assaulting a fellow student aren’t acceptable. You realize that your current situation doesn’t give you license to go causing trouble, don’t you Nicole?
Nicole: I know, (SOB) I told the teacher I’d take the consequence. (Clenches her fists) But he doesn’t get to demean my special friend like that!
Debbie: No, he doesn’t. I’ve heard about this girl, Nicole; how shy she is and how she’s been picked on. You have a good heart and you can see Gwendy for the kind soul she really is.
Nicole: Are you calling her ugly as well?
Debbie: What? No! How could you think that?
Nicole: I’m 8 years old, but that doesn’t mean I can’t read in between the lines! When someone says see past the outside, that infers that theres’ something wrong with the way she looks! Admit it! You think she’s fat!
Debbie: I’ll admit that she’s got a unique body type, but I would not ever judge a student or child for that.
Serena: Easy, Nic, easy. Calm yourself. Ms. Oppenhiem’s not the enemy. She’s Sophcart’s aunt!
Nic: (Nic perks up in shock) Is that true?
Debbie: You don’t remember, but Ariella’s first day of second grade, you were on Bella’s shoulders with your mother at the end of the day. You were so precocious.
Nicole: Well, you can’t spell precocious without—
Debbie: “Precious.” I know. That’s exactly what you said. I’m surprised you don’t remember. You were so articulate, as much as you are now.
Nicole: You really are Sophie’s aunt? (Debbie nods)
Debbie: I know how hard this is for you, Nicole. My niece is at rock bottom with sadness with Bella and Ariella in their condition at AbGen. If you ever feel you need to talk, you have me in your corner.
Nicole: That’s what Rini and Magda just said.
Serena: And now you’ve got Gwendy in your corner, too.
(Neverscape)
Aurora: That poor little thing. Nicole’s taking the brunt of all this, and it’s heartbreaking.
Maddie: There is a small bright side to all this. Our granddaughters clearly showed their loyalty to the others.
Rebecca: (Spirit form) Magda may not be your blood, but you certainly treat her and her family like it.
Aurora: I wish she was. She’s such a sweet child, her and her brother. Can you feel that aura of magic around her, Becca? No mere mortal can have that kind of level of magic in them without being of Fay blood, unless…
Maddie: Unless her birth was made possible by magic.
Rebecca: Of course! Angeltop told me and Susan about her nightmares, and she showed me the drawing she made in the hypnotist’s office in Texas.
Maddie: Nicole doesn’t realize how big a part she plays in this family.
Rebecca: Mama, why do I have to stay hidden on Polaris like this? Grandmother? Tell me what part of this is fair!
Tiger Lily: It’s not, Rebecca Kaye. But it’s no accident that you and your daughter were targeted by that oil tanker.
Aurora: And the time is coming when we will have to tell Essie the truth. No doubt she’s going to need all of us there beside her.
Tiger Lily: Mother, what about Nicole? It’s not right that she has to endure this. It’s not a Pan Trial.
Aurora: Sadly, no. Tragedy is a fact of life. Rebecca’s soul being saved by your uncle Silver Dart and a homunculus made from Nevertribe and Fay magicks is a miracle that no other people ever get. It’s sacred and must be treated as such. She’ll be told the truth someday, and Ariella and Isabella will be awake later on, but for now it is decreed that they complete their soul chrysalis stages if they are to fulfill their destiny.
Rebecca: I’m thankful that Randy and Angeltop agreed to take shared custody of Nikki for the time being. Poor Rob, he must be out of his mind with worry.
(A few weeks later, at recess)
Gwendy: Wanna play some tetherball, Nic?
Nicole: Not my cup of cocoa. Looks like the swings are vacant.
Gwendy: That’s irregular. Usually they are jammed to capacity.
Nicole: And there’s the answer over there. (Pointing to a soccer player, dribbling the ball with his feet)
Gwendy: Talk about a real crowd-pleaser. Who is he?
Nicole: I think that’s Rafael Heyward.
Gwendy: The “girl-boy?”
Nicole: What do you mean?
Gwendy: He’s transgender. He was born a – and technically still is—a girl.
Nicole: Oh—I see. If he’s considered a boy now, what was his birth name?
Gwendy: “Rachel”—I think. That’s what the rumor mill is saying.
Nicole: Have you met him yet?
Gwendy: No. I want to though. He’s kinda cute.
Nicole: But didn’t you just say he’s still a girl?
Gwendy: Physically, yes.
Nicole: (Thinking to herself) Oh jeez. Something’s really wrong with me isn’t it?
Gwendy: Nicole? Why are you blushing? And you’re sweating bullets!
Nicole: Oh, am I? I hadn’t noticed. Let’s go say hi to Mr. Soccer Star, what say?
(They go up to the crowd, and out of fear, the kids disperse)
Okay, that was weird. Why did they–
Rafael: They’re all afraid of you. If you are who I think you are.
Nicole: I guess that depends on who you think I am.
Rafael: You’re Nicole Jones aren’t you? I’ve heard a lot about you.
Gwendy: You like to end sentences with “you’s” a lot don’t you?
Rafael: And I’ve heard a lot about you, too, Gwendy Masterson.
Nicole: What have you heard?
Rafael: Good things. That you gave that jerk Lentz his comeuppance. That’s why they’re all afraid of you. A bloody sock in to the nose from such a strong girl can make a lot of kids paranoid.
Gwendy: But not you, I take it?
Rafael: Oh, I’m not afraid. I can hold my own with the best of them. Lentz was always a hater. His favorite target is me. He used to have a crush on me when I was still going by my birth name and gender. Two years ago, I cut my hair and changed my name, it cost me a lot, but it’s a price I’m glad to pay to be who I really am.
Nicole: What price?
Rafael: My big sister. She stopped hanging out with me and refuses to acknowledge me.
Nicole: (Nicole breaks down and falls to the ground in tears, scraping her knees in the process) Ow!
Rafael: Whoa, are you okay? Was it something I said?
Nicole: Not intentionally. (She moans in pain)
Gwendy: You said the “s” word, her sore area. Nic? Nic, come on let’s get you up to the nurse.
Rafael: I’ve got this. (He lifts her up and while she’s in his arms, she puts hers around Rafe’s shoulders.
Nicole: (Thinking) Wow, he really is cute. What am I saying? He’s still a girl! God there must be something awfully wrong with me! (SOB) If only I had my sisters back. No, what would I say to them? There’s no way they’ll understand.
Nurse: Okay, Miss Jones, you’re all patched up.
Nicole: Huh? Pardon?
Gwendy: Rafe brought you into the nurse’s office ten minutes ago. Your mind must’ve been in one heck of a fog.
Nicole: (Thinking) A dark fog if anyone were to find out what I’m really feeling.
(A few months later, at Gwendy’s house)
Gwendy: Thanks for agreeing to tutor me, Nic. I feel like I’ll never memorize these times tables.
Nicole: What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t spread my knowledge to those who need it?
(She looks at Gwendy’s affectionate smile, and she starts to feel an odd sensation. She starts to imagine laying in Gwendy’s bed with her, arms wrapped around the other, she snaps out of it but still feels the urge to kiss Gwendy)
Nicole: Uh, you know I think that’s actually enough for now. Let’s take a break. What time is it? Six?
Gwendy: Can you stay for dinner? It’s spaghetti and meatballs night.
Nicole: (Nervous) Oh, I-I don’t wanna impose.
Gwendy: It’s the least I can do for your effort with trying to help me. I’ll ask my mom if she can cook an extra portion or two. Be right back. (She leaves the room)
Nicole: For the love of god, Jones, (slaps her own face) get a hold of yourself!!! (Slaps herself again) This isn’t normal! (She goes up to Gwendy’s mirror and looks at herself) (Thinking to herself) Look at you, Nicoliania Faye Samantha Jones, you’re more of a boy than you are a girl. You’re not like Rafe, but you are close. You shouldn’t be feeling this way for another girl! But your knees buckle from two of them! This has to stop, Nicole! If Gwendy knew, who knows how she’d look at you! You have to let her go! (Out loud, in sobs) I wish I didn’t have to. But I know it’s the only way.
(Gwendy hears sobbing from her room)
Gwendy: (thinking) Oh, Nic. She must really miss her sisters and mother something awful. Nicole, you poor thing.
(A few days later: Nicole can’t resist the urge to kiss Gwendy every time she’s near her, she is now afraid of what Gwendy would think of her. She decides the unthinkable. At the end of class)
Nicole: Ms. Breckinridge, can we talk?
Ms. Breckenridge: Sure, Nicole. What’s up?
Nicole: I’d like to switch seats, y’know for a change of pace.
Ms. Breckenridge: But then I would have to change seats for other students who would want it and that would mess me up. Sorry, kiddo, but I can’t do it unless there’s a good reason.
Nicole: Well, lately I’ve been coughing a lot because of the chalk dust.
Ms. Breckenridge: That’s true. I have seen that happen. Fine. I’ll move you to the third row.
Nicole: Back of the class, actually, please? I promise it won’t affect my A+ average.
Ms. Breckenridge: Are you having problems with Gwendolyn? I’ve seen you staring at her a lot, lately.
Nicole: I-I’d rather not talk about that.
Ms. Breckenridge: Okay. I just hate seeing good friendships turn sour like that.
(A few weeks following)
(Lunch time, Gwendy is eating alone while Nicole eats with her cousins.)
Rafael: Gwendy? Room for one more?
Gwendy: Rafe? Why aren’t you seated with the popular kids?
Rafael: Those phonies? They’ve been talking about me behind my back. They’ve been calling me a freak and a shemale, and all the other names in the book. If I continue to sit there I’ll literally have blood on my hands. The last thing I need is to be put on Hard-Copy. Why isn’t Nic here with you?
Gwendy: She doesn’t like me anymore. (SOB) She’s stopped talking to me.
Rafael: I’m still your friend, I hope that counts for something.
Gwendy: For now, you are. But just you wait, it’s only a matter of time. You’ll turn, too. I know it.
Rafael: That’s bogus. Why would you think that?
Gwendy: Nicole and I were inseparable, for half a year we were joined at the hip, now she’s decided I’m too fat to be her friend.
Rafael: I know for a fact Nic wouldn’t say that or even think that.
Gwendy: Then maybe it’s because of the other thing.
Rafael: What other thing?
Gwendy: She must’ve found out that I have a crush on her. (Rafe blushes) Yeah, I know. I have a crush on another girl, she must think I’m a freak.
Rafael: You are not a freak, Gwendy Masterson. I’m the living definition of a freak. Yet you still care about me.
Gwendy: Of course I do. I think that you’re wonderful, and cute. (Rafe starts to sweat, Gwendy’s oblivious) It’s probably just as well. My parents are divorcing and my mom is getting a job out of town.
Rafael: Wait, you’re moving?
Gwendy: Not for another month or so. There’s the custody suit and the house searching. I don’t have much time left here though. It’s better that I don’t have Nicole as a friend anymore, only to have to say goodbye to her.
Rafael: You are both still friends, I know she still cares about you. She hasn’t stopped talking about you. She just told me that she’s too upset with her mother’s death and her sisters and father being away. I told her I’d keep my distance as well.
Gwendy: Well, it was nice while it lasted. You gonna eat those carrot sticks? Trade you for my pudding for it.
Rafael: But you hate carrot sticks.
Gwendy: I do, but I hate my body even more. (Thinking to herself) Maybe if I slim down, then maybe Nicole will want to someday be with me. (Out loud) So how about it, Rafe, trade?
Rafael: I don’t have junk food very often, so I’m game.
(Gwendy starts to hesitantly chew on the hard carrots.)
Gwendy: (Gulp) Maybe if my mom steamed these, I’d be better able to enjoy them.
Rafael: Do it for yourself, Gwen. Not for other people. That’s the only way you’ll be happy with yourself. And you don’t need to change who you are.
Gwendy: You don’t know how often people insult me to my face. They think that just because I’m big that I am a target. (SNIFFLE) There was only one person on this globe who didn’t care about that. She befriended me despite how ugly I am.
Rafe: YOU ARE NOT UGLY!!! (all goes quiet and Rafe realizes the entire cafeteria heard him) What? It’s true.
Gwendy: I don’t know what it is you think you see, Rafe, but whatever it is, it isn’t real. Not anymore.
Rafe: I know what I see. I see a kindred spirit. Someone who doesn’t feel comfortable in their own skin. Insults, isolation, loneliness. It may not be for the same thing, but I understand fully. Whether you believe that or not is up to you. You and Nicole are the only two who get me.
Gwendy: You like her, don’t you? Like-like.
Rafe: That’s ridiculous, I barely know her.
Gwendy: I know what being lovelorn feels like. There’s a certain soccer player who I like, but I doubt that I’ll get the chance, with me moving and all.
Rafe: What would you do if you had the chance?
Gwendy: Come closer and I’ll tell you.
Rafe: (Moves his head closer) Okay, what?
(Gwendy gives him a kiss, Rafe starts to blush)
Gwendy: That’s what I’d do.
(Over at Serena’s table)
Serena: Nic, why are you distancing yourself from Gwendy like this?
Magda: (Thinking) The same reason that Twi won’t bring herself to eat lunch with me when Nicole’s around. They’ve each got it bad for someone else. Thank goodness Jim’s friends let her sit with them. (Out loud) Yeah, Nicole. Why would you leave that sweet girl out in the cold?
Nicole: Believe me, she’s better off without me weighing her down. Look at how she kissed Rafe, she’s got a friend who will treat her good. She doesn’t need me. (Thinking) I wish I could tell them the truth, but they’d think I’m a freak as much as I think I am.
Magda: (I wish that I could tell Nicole that she’s got an admirerer, but Twi doesn’t even suspect that I know, and I don’t know if Nicole would feel the same way for her. I don’t want her to think my best friend is some kind of freak)
(After Ariella and Bella are released from AbGen, at Ariella’s 13th birthday)
(Magda goes to the bushes and sees Twi spying on Nicole)
Magda: (Thinking) I knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. I guess now’s the right time.
Twi: (Swoons to herself) She is so beautiful. She makes my heart flutter.
Magda: What’re you doing in here Twi? The party’s over that way.
Twi: Mags! H-how long were you standing there?
Magda: I followed you over here, so basically I heard everything. You are in love with my cousin Nicole aren’t you?
Twi: W-what? How could you ask me that?
Magda: Twi Lan, it’s a simple question.
Twi: Easy for you to say. You’re the one asking the question.
Magda: (Sternly) Come on, Twi.
Twi: (SOB) Y-yes. There, I said it. (She runs off crying to the end of the fence, facing the corner. Magda follows right after her)
Magda: Twi. C’mon, sweetie, what’s wrong?
Twi: Just leave me alone. (SOB)
Magda: A friend doesn’t up and desert a friend when she is crying her eyes out. Please talk to me.
Twi: Mags, do you hate me, too?
Magda: Twi, how could you ask me that?
Twi: Like you said, (Sniffle) it’s a simple question. I wouldn’t blame you. You’d just be like everyone else who knows the truth about me. I’m a lesbian. It’s what made my foster parents try to excise the devil out of me for. All the beatings and the degradation. (SOB)
Magda: You left out that your brother and adoptive parents still love you, and so do our teachers, and Serena. You’ve got a lot more going for you than you think.
Twi: What about you? You haven’t answered the question, whether you hate me for the freak I am. (SOB)
Magda: If you think that, then you don’t know me at all, Twi Lan.
Twi: Huh? What are you saying?
Magda: I don’t hate you. I could NEVER hate you. Twi Lan, you are not a freak. You are you, just the way God intended. If anything, I love you more now that you finally trust me with your secret.
Twi: You mean you knew?
Magda: Of course I did. What best friend couldn’t see the longing for another girl in her best friend’s eyes?
Twi: That doesn’t change that I’m in love with a girl who isn’t gay.
Magda: Twi, Nicole is bi. Ariella and Bella told me a week ago. They knew that I needed to hear it to better understand her.
Twi: She’s really bisexual? (Magda nods) Then it’s possible I have a chance?
Magda: A beautiful girl like you? You’ve got more than a chance, especially with me as your right hand woman. Your winggal.
Twi: You’ll try to set me up with Nicole?
Magda: Only if you want me to.
Twi: I can’t. Not just yet. I don’t have the nerve.
Magda: Twi, we’ve got plenty of time. We’re only nine years old. Who knows? Seven years from now, she’ll probably want you as badly as you want her even without my help.
Twi: I doubt that. But you have no idea how much better I feel. (Pulls Magda in for a tight hug) (Crying) Thank you Magdalina Angelique Jones-DuBrau! I love you.
Magda: You’re my bestie for life, Twi Lan Hikari Hu-Marsden. I love you, too.
(Present day, Kafe Soucie. Gwendy and Twi have lunch on a Saturday after the Mordred incident)
Gwendy: Twi! There you are! I’m glad you could make it! (Kisses her on the cheek)
Twi: I wouldn’t have missed it! The three- month anniversary of the beginning of our friendship.
Gwendy: I’ve been thinking a lot about second grade, Nicole told me that you and Magda have been friends since the first day of that year. We both were just down the hall from each other and didn’t even realize it.
Twi: I knew. That day when Nic and Rini went to Debbie’s classroom, Rini bragged about how Nicole gave Lentz a bloody nose for what he said to you. Neither of them saw me because I hid behind Magda. I was too scared to talk to anyone but her and my brother.
Gwendy: You must’ve seen me on the playground a few times, didn’t you? (Twi nods) Of course, a porker like me could stand out in any crowd.
Twi: Don’t do that to yourself, Gwendy. I didn’t allow you to do it to yourself the night we first met and hell if I let you belittle yourself now. I said that you were adorable whatever your size and I meant it.
Gwendy: I know. And I love you for that. I just never got over those feelings of inadequacy. For 8 years I lived in doubt as I worked my ass off to become healthier. Being with Rafe has really tempered that, he’s my soulmate.
Twi: Did you guys do it?
Gwendy: Yes. And for a guy who claims to not know what he’s doing, that boy knows how to make a girl feel good.
Twi: Do you think about having sex with other people?
Gwendy: I wonder. But the ones I would ever want it with are all spoken for.
Twi: Nicole?
Gwendy: Nicole and you. (Twi blushes) That year at Serene Plains, Nicole and I had it bad for each other and we were too afraid to admit it to the other, let alone ourselves.
Twi: You ask me, Rafe is a lucky guy.
Gwendy: You’ve said that 100,000 times since our friendship began, Twi.
Twi: And I’ll keep on saying it. All of us are lucky. Team Panfan is strong and growing and our bond of friendship are more solid than granite.
Gwendy: Plus there’s a new member of the Knighthood of Pan to be a fan of. Mozel tov, Twi.
Twi: You’re part of the reason I am now a full Pan Valkyrie. I wish it wasn’t because of why it was.
Gwendy: You and Jess helped prove Rafe’s innocence and Kelly’s with that damn letter. You should’ve seen Jess on his Pan Vizor, it was like when Data would give commands to Majel Barrett’s computer voice.
Twi: I know, Sophcart told me. God, I’m having such a geekgasm right now!
Gwendy: One of the best kind there is.
Twi: I’d like to propose a toast. (Both raise a glass of water) To our special bond, friendship born out of love and may it continue to blossom.
Gwendy: And to our significant others, the ones who share those same bonds with us that you and I have for each other, loyalty crushes and true love. And to family, blood and otherwise.
Twi: I’ll drink to that. (Clink)
(Ferri pops out of Twi’s bag and skitters under the table into Gwendy’s lap.)
Gwendy: Aw, there’s a muzzle I never get tired of.
Twi: Ferrina Hu, you know better than to beg under the table for a pat on the head or for food.
Ferrina: I can’t help it, mama, she’s so sweet, like honey on a tree.
Gwendy: She calls you mama now?
Twi: Just think, when Nicole and I finally tie the knot we’ll have Kiki, Sunni, Becky, Ferri, Terry and Kitsune.
Gwendy: Wow. So much love under one roof, no wonder you always glow whenever I see you, Twi.
Twi: You’re no slouch either, Gwendy Schucart. You’re just like your cousins, Jones and Schucart. You radiate love and beauty wherever you go.
Sophie: My ears are burning.
Twi: Soph!
Sophie: C’mere, Sugar. (Twi hugs her friend and mentor)
Gwendy: Hey don’t leave me out in the cold, Sophcart!
Sophie: Perish the thought Gwencart.
Gwendy: I like that! (Hugs her big cousin)
Sophie: So what are you two doing here by yourselves? A night away from the ball and chains?
Twi: Oh, please you know us so much better than that, Soph.
Sophie: I sure do. I know what tonight is. Six months since I found out that you were my cousin, Gwendy, and that’s the night you two first met.
Gwendy: Wanna join us?
Sophie: I only came for a coffee, I don’t want to intrude.
Gwendy: Sophia Danielle Schucart, you are NEVER an intrusion.
Twi: Don’t make us do a Nicole-grade pout.
Sophie: You wouldn’t.
Twi: Gwendy, care to demonstrate?
(Gwendy pulls off a successful pout, melting Sophie’s heart)
Sophie: Oh, fine! Just holster that face the both of you.
Twi: Deal.
Gwendy: It’s only been six months, but from the hug you gave me that first night, it was like we knew each other for years, cuz.
Twi: I hope you don’t mind, but I invited one more girl to this little gathering, here she comes now.
Magda: Sorry I’m late, Twilight.
Gwendy: Hey Mags! (All three get up and hug the shy blonde) I’m glad you invited her, Twi-Lan.
Sophie: Me, too.
Magda: So what were you guys talking about?
Gwendy: Our friendship, and our bond as Team Panfan. And that night you and I first met.
Magda: The mud fight? The rest of that night is a blur.
Gwendy: I’ll never forget it. (She hugs Magda) You went to great lengths to make amends with a girl you thought you did a great wrong to.
Magda: Oh—Now I remember! Gwendy, I’m so sorry about—
Sophie: You don’t have to apologize for anything Mags. Gwendy meant that it sealed your pact of friendship, right Gwendy?
Gwendy: Exactly. I had 8 years to reflect on that night. I was hostile and defensive because two beautiful girls and a cute boy were on the same playground as me. At that time I thought all beautiful people were ugly on the inside. You and Nic disproved that for me.
Twi: Gwendy, you disproved it yourself. You were ALWAYS beautiful on the outside, just like you are on the inside. You just needed to see it for yourself from the outside in.
Gwendy: For real?
Ferri: (Nuzzles Gwendy) Fur real. (All of them laugh)
The End… For now…
Seventh Ocean Media 