Renaissance Man - Part 1

Scene 11 _ Just Us Girls

Scene 11 Rev B

Scene 11 “Just Us Girls”

Viviana “Vivi” Tessaro – Torey Campbell’s girlfriend/antagonist
Ishma Jacob – Viviana Tessaro’s friend 1 (Skeptic)
Brigit Fogarty – Viviana Tessaro’s friend 2 (Sidekick)

[This scene is Viviana’s Characteristic Moment and the Hook for her Arc]

1           “Viviana, do you know those boys?” gawped Ishma.
2          Ishma Jacob, Brigit Fogarty, and Viviana Tessaro crossed Fletcher Avenue and casually walked east on Archer Boulevard after their encounter with Torey Campbell, Miles Hawkins, and Jake Shapiro in front of Kopischke’s Market. Though ruffled by the boys’ crudeness, they enjoyed the attention. Just entering their teen years, the girls were not accustomed to that kind of behavior. Still, it tickled them.
3          “I know the redhead, but not the other two,” replied Viviana.
4          “How do you know him?” asked Brigit, joining the conversation.
5          “He’s in my science class and on my science team. We met this morning,” said Vivi.
6          Viviana Tessaro was of Italian lineage. Her dark complexion was accented by freckles on her cheeks.
7          “What is a science team?” Ishma asked, intrigued by the subject.
8          Viviana explained as best she could, “The science teacher made us form into teams of three people. He didn’t say why. The redhead and me are on the same team.”
9          As the girls passed Butler-Cowan Middle School, a group of teachers was leaving for the day, among them Dr. Murdoch Henderson, the science teacher.
10          Viviana saw Henderson, “There he is now.”
11          “What’s his name?” asked Brigit, failing to connect Vivi’s comment to the group of teachers.
12          “Dr. Henderson.”
13          Henderson greeted the girls cheerfully but without recognition. These were three faces that may or may not be passing through his classroom this semester. So many years, so many faces.
14          Brigit corrected her question, “No, I mean the boy.”
15          “Torey Campbell.”
16          Brigit mused on the name, “Hmm … wonder if he’s Irish.”
17          As Tessaro was obviously Italian, so Brigit Fogarty was obviously Irish. On her ruddy complexion, the freckles were the marks of little fairies called brownies.
18          Ishma picked up on her previous interest in the science team. “Who’s the third person?” she asked.
19          “Some black kid,” Vivi responded casually, “I think he’s Campbell’s friend.”
20          “Is that gonna cause trouble?” Ishma asked with a note of concern.
21          “Not with me. He seems nice,” answered Viviana.
22          Brigit was a couple inches taller than Vivi. The difference was distinctive because Brigit had a slim, athletic build that implied a little more age and a healthy, active lifestyle.
23          Brigit didn’t care about the science team. “Vivi, I have a great idea,” she chimed in.
24          “What?”
25          “Why don’t you get Torey to introduce us to his friends?” asked Brigit grinning.
26          Viviana stopped in her tracks; surprise clearly visible in her dropped jaw. She looked hard at Fogarty.
27          “Are you serious,” exclaimed Ishma, taking the words out of Vivi’s mouth.
28          Brigit felt excited by the idea. “Sure. I thought the blonde guy was kinda cute. I heard him say his name was Miles.”
29          Ishma wasn’t too keen on the idea. “Both of them were pretty rude,” she said, thinking she was reflecting Vivi’s assessment of the thought.
30          On the complexion scale, Ishma Jacob sat about halfway between Tessaro and Fogarty — mediterranean would be the apt descriptor. Alas, no freckles though. When she talked, her deep brown eyes caught one and held on.
31          “So what. That’s the way guys are,” responded Brigit, dismissively, “You can’t take it seriously.”
32          “Torey wasn’t. He didn’t join in with the insults,” said Vivi, unconsciously jumping to defend Torey.
33          With the late afternoon sun beaming directly down Archer Boulevard, the school building’s stone wall, the concrete sidewalk, and the blacktop on the street made an effective oven — baking everything inside, this teenage trio included.
34          Ishma wanted to see the bright side. “Maybe they behave better when they’re not in a gang trying to impress each other.”
35          “Yeah. C’mon Viviana,” urged Brigit, “We need to meet some guys. Fix us up.”
36          “Okay,” replied Vivi, defeated but amused with the idea, “I’ll see what I can do."
37          Vivi’s quick smile revealed perfect teeth framed by her bright red lipstick, and her brown eyes joined the smile. She had a full-lipped mouth and a wide smile that was slightly lopsided. In fact, her whole face was a little irregular — her nose was not quite straight, and her chin was uneven — but the overall effect was beautiful.
38          Returning to the subject of science, Ishma asked, “So, why did you sign up for science class?”
39          Vivi thought then answered, “My dad says I should know a little about science because more and more jobs involve science.”
40          “That makes sense,” said Ishma.
41          Past the middle school, the trio approached the intersection of Archer Boulevard and Commerce Avenue, a prominent location in Drullins.
42          Brigit disagreed. “Naa. That’s for boys. Girls don’t need science,” she said dismissively.
43          Ishma challenged Brigit right back, “What are you going to do after high school?”
44          But Vivi answered first. “Get married,” she said with gusto.
45          At age thirteen, Viviana Tessaro stood just five feet tall and weighed in at an even 100 pounds. She was full-figured — plump, not fat. She had the kind of curvy figure that women would call too fat, but men thought just right.
46          “Get an easy job and party a lot,” exclaimed Brigit, trying to get back into the conversation.
47          Ishma was disgusted with that answer and challenged Brigit directly a second time, “You can’t party all your life.”
48          Brigit could tell she was irritating Ishma and she wanted to keep it going. “I can try,” she said with a triumphant note in her voice.
49          Ishma had a hard time with this logic (or absence of) but did not pursue it further.
50          At the corner, an eastbound G bus dropped off a group of workers on their way home, after a sweltering day in the factories. Today was Thursday, not the end of the week. Still, they headed across Commerce Street to Duffy’s Tavern for a brew before walking the last leg home.
51          Ishma, for the third time, tried to learn more about this science team. “Vivi, what is the science team going to do?” she asked.
52          Viviana was getting tired of the subject and the tension it was causing, “I don’t know, but the stupid teacher started out by giving us an assignment to write a paper.”
53          “I thought you only had to write papers in English class,” said Brigit, confused, “what’s the paper about?”
54          The girls pressed themselves against the school building wall to avoid being engulfed by the pack of factory workers getting off the bus. They turned the corner and continued along Commerce Avenue. Viviana did not like walking this block. Except for the Middle School building, the rest of the block was occupied by the abandoned hulk of a long since closed factory. The building scared her and brought forth rumors and stories of evil creatures and scary events. It annoyed Vivi that her route home from school required her to pass this building every day.
55          “Mine is about Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming,” answered Viviana.
56          “Yours?” questioned Brigit, “Doesn’t everyone have to write on the same subject?”
57          “No. We all had to pick a topic out of a bowl.”
58          Ishma spoke up. “Well, you won’t be able to copy someone else’s paper,” she said firmly, secretly pleased that Viviana might actually have to produce something on her own.
59          Ishma Jacob was the smallest of the three. Her chunky body was less busty than Viviana’s. In fact, her newly acquired boobettes were barely visible under her plain blouse.
60          “I don’t know anything about Carbon Dioxide, and the only thing I know about Global Warming is that it sure is hot today.”
61          Ishma continued, “When is the paper due?”
62          “He said near the end of the semester.”
63          “So you have plenty of time?” Ishma asked, half expecting some excuse.
64          The hot, sultry afternoon didn’t help Ishma’s straight, stringy brown hair which hung like a wet mop down to her neck.
65          “Who knows, maybe the teacher will die before then,” added Brigit digging deep into her reservoir of morbid humor.
66          “I’ll worry about it then,” said Vivi hesitantly, then a long pause, “No! Wait! I think I’ll get Torey Campbell to write it for me!” another pause, “so, I better start working on him now.”
67          “Sounds good to me,” exclaimed Brigit, giving Vivi a high five.
68          Brigit wore no makeup or jewelry, but her green eyes glistened with a sparkle that lit her whole face.
69          “Vivi, that’s not right,” seethed Ishma, first on the moral grounds, and second for the idea that Viviana might again escape having to take responsibility.
70          Ishma flailed about trying to change the subject. “So, what kinda guys do you want to meet?” she asked.
71          “Guys with money,” Brigit was quick to respond, “who can take me to great parties.”
72          Passing by on Commerce Avenue, a restored, souped-up Model ‘A’ Ford treated the girls to several repetitions of ‘Old MacDonald Had A Farm’ from its over-size, over-loud horn, followed by catcalls by the two teenage occupants.
73          Vivi observed. “That means older guys,” noting that the boys in the car were older.
74          “Why?” asked Ishma.
75          “Guys our age have no money. They don’t have jobs. Didn’t you notice that the two boys in the car that just passed us were older?” explained Vivi.
76          Viviana had a full head of long black wavy hair with curls that could not quite be tamed. She shook her head as she spoke.
77          Ishma agreed, “Yeah, and they’re too young to drive. So, no car.”
78          Brigit refused to give up. “A car would be great, she said, “but you can still go to fun places on the subway.”
79          Brigit’s rusty-red hair, straight, and reaching her shoulders was wilting in the heat.
80          “So, what kind of guy are you looking for — besides good looking?” Brigit asked, “I mean like personality.”
81          Vivi was quick to respond, “Someone who is popular. A jock, I guess.”
82          Ishma hesitated “I guess I never thought about it, probably smart.”
83          The next major east-west thoroughfare south of Archer Boulevard was Railway Road. So named for the fact that a heavily used rail line snuggled up against the south side of the street. Commerce Avenue crossed the double set of railroad tracks which were protected by crossing gates and plenty of flashing red lights. But for purposes of daily life, Railway Road and the adjacent tracks represented the southern border of our story world. Torey Campbell, Viviana Tessaro, and all their family and friends rarely had a need to cross those tracks. It was like another world. Today, like most other days, the girls recognized the dead end, crossed Commerce Avenue and headed west on Railway Road toward Viviana’s house.
84          Brigit answered her own question. “Well, to keep me interested, he must love to party.”
85          Ishma continued as if making a list, but hesitant and questioning her answers, “Gets good grades in school?”
86          “Good grades in school? Who cares about school grades?” said Vivi, loudly rebuking Ishma.
87          Brigit concurred with Viviana. “I don’t think a nerd would be much fun.”
88          Ishma, the shortest of the three, tended to let Viviana be the natural leader. But when she had a point, she was not shy about making it.
89          “What about after school is over? You can’t be a jock or a party girl for your whole life,” Ishma shot back, rebelling at the nonsense she was hearing from her two close friends.
90          Vivi dismissed Ishma’s objection. “That’s too far away to think about.”
91          “Yeah. ‘Right now’ is all that counts,” replied Brigit, again concurring with Vivi over Ishma, “that means good times and lots of parties.”
92          Vivi had picked up on Brigit’s theme earlier. Now she voiced it. “Brigit, you’re really stuck on parties, aren’t you?”
93          The familiar rumble of a huge slow-moving freight train greeted the girls as they reached Railway Road. Pulled by a double locomotive with the orange body and black ‘BNSF’ letters on its side, the train crawled through Allerford, blocking miles of streets at a time. Sounding the required whistle pattern at every crossing, disrupted life for hours at a time. This repeated several times throughout the day and night because the tracks through Allerford were a major route on the largest freight railroad network in North America.
94          The BNSF Railway grew from combining the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe railroads. One of ten North American Class I railroads, BNSF had 44,000 employees, 32,500 miles of track in 28 states, and more than 8,000 locomotives. It had three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF and Union Pacific had a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western U.S. and shared trackage rights over thousands of miles of track.
95          “I think parties would get boring after a while,” said Ishma, displeased with the direction this conversation was going.
96          “Maybe, but I’ll worry about that when it happens,” said Brigit, quietly agreeing but not willing to push the subject further.
97          Ishma shook her head in disbelief.
98          The girls walked quietly along the sidewalk on the north side of Railway Road. They had talked themselves out, and they couldn’t hear each other over the steady rumble and frequent whistle of the freight train.
99          “Here’s my house. I’ll see you two in school tomorrow,” Vivi said as she stopped and prepared to enter her house.
100          Unknown to both Torey Campbell and Viviana, they lived in almost identical houses. Built in the early days of World War II as a single tract, the houses were to provide simple, inexpensive housing for the flood of workers producing products for the national defense in the factories of Allerford. Land next to the railroad track was cheap and plentiful, and tightly packed row houses provided the quickest, easiest, and least expensive answer. Thus began the Drullins neighborhood. Like most things intended to be temporary, Drullins slipped into permanent.
101          What differentiated Torey’s house from Viviana’s was the proximity to the railroad tracks and thus the level of noise pollution.
102          Brigit answered with a reminder. “Cool. Think about getting us introduced to Torey’s friends.”
103          A weak, “Bye, Vivi,” was all Ishma could muster.
104          Vivi pulled open the screen door causing her to step back and down off the stoop — a maneuver of daily living she was thoroughly familiar with — then stepped inside. Brigit and Ishma continued along Railway Road to Forest Avenue. There they turned left toward their homes.
105          “Mom, I’m home,” Viviana called out. Yep. I’ll get Torey Campbell to write that stupid science paper for me. Gotta work on meeting his friends too. Damned train.
106          Everything in the house was gently shaking.

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Word Count: 2,406
Readability Consensus (based on 8 readability formulas)
         Grade Level: 6
         Reading Level: fairly easy to read.
         Reader’s Age: 10-11yrs. old (Fifth and Sixth graders)