Overly Dramatic

Ben
Rebecca, his wife

(As they enter their house, BEN hangs the keys up and they both take off their jackets. REBECCA has a big spill stain on her dress)

BEN: What's wrong with you today? You didn't say a word the whole ride home.

REBECCA: Apparently a lot is wrong with me.

BEN: Well what's that supposed to mean?

REBECCA: Oh don't act like you don't know!

BEN: I don't!

REBECCA: I saw the way your friends looked at me at the party. I know what they must have been thinking when they saw you with me.

BEN: Is this about when you spilled that drink on your dress? I told you, no one was laughing...(chuckles) well I was, but I already said I'm sorry!

REBECCA: No, that's not what I meant.

BEN: Well then what's your problem?!

REBECCA: The way they looked at me, it was like I was so beneath them. They were looking right through me.

BEN: You know that's not true. They respect you just as they respect me. So what if you got little spill on your dress. It was no big deal.

REBECCA: This isn't about the spill!

BEN: Then what is it about? You want them to treat you like a queen? Huh? Is that it? Like you're some kind of empress they have to bow down to?

(Rebecca is almost in tears but then stands her ground)

REBECCA: No. But a little common decency would be appreciated. The women at the party wouldn't even hold a conversation with me! And your friends looked at me like I was some kind of hired hooker!

BEN: Why do you care so much about your image?

REBECCA: What image? I don't even have an image among those people! I have never seen you without a jacket. I always feel like such a slob compared to you. Before we were married, I was sure you slept with a tie.

BEN: Oh so I'm the bad guy?! Just because I wear suits to work and have friends that are intellectuals, that makes me a jerk?

REBECCA: I didn't say you were a jerk,

BEN: You might as well have. It's clear you're jealous of my appearance. (raises nose in air)

REBECCA: Jealous of-... You are completely missing the point, Ben! I can't be subjected to judgment from your snooty friends every time we go out!

BEN: Well, fine! Let's move to a cave. We'll never go out in public again! Is that what you want?

REBECCA: Oh you're being completely overly dramatic.

BEN: Am I Rebecca? Am I really?

REBECCA: ...Yes Ben, you are.

BEN: Well fine then, I'll go spend the night at my "snooty friend's" house. Wouldn't want to make your life "overly dramatic"!

REBECCA: Ben!

(BEN exits, slamming the door behind him. Rebecca sighs and exits)

I called Jane at about 10:00 in the morning.
"Hello?"
"Jane, it's me, Jake. What are you doing tonight?"
"Nothin. Why?"
"John, James, and Christine are coming over. You wanna join us?"
"Well why are you asking me now? Obviously you didn't want me to come over or you woulda asked me when you asked them."
"Jane, I just got off the phone with them. I figured we're a bit old to go trick-or-treating, so we'll watch a couple of movies, answer the door for the kids. Just chillin out."
"Oh. OK. Sorry about before. I shouldn't of snapped like that. It's just you know I don't like Halloween."
"Oh yea. I almost forgot you didn't. Don't worry. It'll be scare-free."
"Okay." When she hung up, I immediately called back John.
"John, hey. You wanna have some fun tonight?"
"Fun? How so?"
"Well, you know how Jane hates Halloween?"
"Jake, I dated her for like two months last year. Remember? I know she doesn't like Halloween."
"So, I was thinking we pulled a couple of pranks on her and Christine."
"Ooh. What about James?"
"I'm gonna call him as soon as I get off with you."
"OK."
"Listen, instead of coming at seven like I told everyone, come in two hours. That'll give us some time to think and find a couple of pranks to pull."
"You got it. See ya in a bit."
"Bye." I barely put the phone down as I went to pick it back up. Excitement filled me inside. I dialed.
"James?"
"Who's this?"
"It's Jake."
"Oh hey. Didn't you just call?"
"Yeah. Listen, is there any way you can come over at twelve instead of seven?"
"Uhh.......yeah, I don't see why not. Why?"
"John and I are planning a few pranks on Christine and Jane tonight. Some Halloween fun."
"Ooh, OK. I'll be there at twelve."
"OK, great. See ya later."
"See ya." I hung up the phone and ran downstairs.
"Pranks huh?" my dad whispered, practically startling me.
"Just a few. Nothing harmful. How'd you know?"
"You forget that all the house phones are connected on one line."
"Oh, right."
"So, you guys need help?"
"Uh, sure. Why, you wanna?"
"Yea, of course." he looked around." Just don't tell your mom. She won't let you guys pull them off."
"Oh yea. OK." It seemed like forever until John and James showed up. Th door bell rang and my mom answered.
"Hi boys. Aren't you a little early?"
"Well actually-"
"They came over to help me with some pre-calc. Mrs. Anderson was like the only teacher that did work yesterday and since I went to OCC with theatre arts, I have it for homework." I lied before James was able to give us away.
"Oh. Ok" she went back to making lunch. I gave James a look and went upstairs to my room with them following. I closed the door as they sat on the bean bags. I digged for a pencil and a my pre-calculus notebook. I found a vacant page and wrote "Ways To Prank" on the heading.
"OK, we have like five hours to set up everything we're doing." I said, instinctively taking charge.
"Uh, question. How are we gonna be pulling things off while we're watching the movie?" John asked.
"Well how about one of you calls out sick or something."
"I'm not. I wanna see the faces of them." John said.
"Yeah, me too." James agreed.
"Wait. I got an idea. Dad!" I yelled. I then heard his big footsteps coming up the stairs. He opened the door, closed it, and took a seat on my bed.
"What do ya guys need?"
"Well we need someone to pull off the pranks while we watch the movie with the girls. Ya know. To make it more realistic."
"Oh, Gotcha." I went and started to think. "Ya know, I can do everything by myself."
"Well, what about us? It's supposed to be our prank. You're just helping." I told him. He looked down and we thought.

* * * * *

We planned everything from setting the smoke machines on timers, to working out the lights with dad. We agreed that at random times during the movie, I was going to leave and "go to the bathroom". This then, signaled my dad to mess around with the lights. At first they’ll all think it was me, until I come back just as confused as they are. My parent’s car wouldn't be there so they would expect it to not be either of them. The plan was fool proof, (or so I thought.) Catherine came at 6:30 because she hated being late. She almost walked in on us setting up one of the smoke machines if she came came about five minutes earlier. I put some chips ont he coffee table along with some nacho cheese, mild salsa, and some chicken dip thing my mom made for us.
"You guys are early." Catherine told James and John.
"Yeah, John's mom had to go somewhere at 6:30 and wouldn't have been able to come later, so him and James got here at like six-ish." I told her, hoping she'll buy it.
"Oh, OK." she said. She shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the couch. "Your folks left already?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. They're catching a movie and you know how my mom likes to get to places early." I said as I sat down next to her, grabbing a chip and dipping it in my moms chicken dip. I suddenly got a sense of chills which made me almost choke. "Uh, where's Jane?" I asked. James and John sat down on another couch.
"Oh, she's going to be a little late."
"Oh? How come?" I asked.
"I don't know. She never said."
"Huh" James said. For the next half hour or so, we just talked about school and the drama that's guaranteed with it. At 7:20-ish, Jane finally showed up.
"Hey" she said softly. She took off her pink sweat jacket which revealed her black t-shirt. Her blond hair was tied back; her bangs hiding her hazel eyes. She seemed more nervous and scared than the other Halloweens. Everyone said "Hey" back almost simultaneously. I put the DVD in and took a seat next to Christine; Jane sat on the other side of her. A quarter into the movie, I got up.
"I'll be right back." I headed to the bathroom. John chuckled. Right there, I felt the plan was ruined. That chuckle could have given it away. I went in and texted my dad.
"Now" I texted.
"Okay" he replied. I waited. Suddenly my lights flickered. He was smart enough not to flicker the T.V. circuit but the rest of the house flashed on and off. I heard a few screams. I wasn't quite sure who sreamed. I came out of the bathroom and the lights stopped.
"Very funny, jerk." Christine yelled at me. I was in shock. Jane was in her arms crying. She got up and put her coat on.
"I'm taking Jane home now. I'll be back to kick your but." she said in a strong voice. I felt stunned. John couldn't stop laughing, and James put his head down in shame.
"Shut the hell up John." I said. He coughed and sat down.
"We screwed up." James said. My dad came in.
"S--t" he said.
"Yeah." I replied. It seemed like forever. We just froze until the silence was disturbed by a knock on the door. My dad left in silence. I went and opened it. There stood Christine, chuckling.
"You shoulda seen how you guys looked. Jane's fine. She loved it. She just at home to make you guys feel bad."
"Then why didn't she come back." I asked. She sat down and grabbed a chip.
"Well, I not supposed to be telling you. She wanted to tell you on Monday at school."
"That sucks." I said.
"So are we gonna continue the movie?" she asked. I shrugged and played the movie. I sat down next to Christine. We continued to watch like nothing happened. Then I saw the lights flickering.
"Not anymore" I texted.
"Why are they flickering?" Christine asked.
"I don't know. Let me check the breaker." I went into the garage and no one was there. "Dad." I whispered. No one was there. I search everywhere. I would have heard the garage door open and close but I didn't.
"Not anymore what?" he replied. I dialed.
"Dad?"
"Jake. What are you talking about? I'm at the movies w/ with your mother. We're on line."
"Uh, OK. Never mind then." I hung up and went back to the couch.
"What happened?" Christine asked.
"Huh? Oh, uh, the switch broke when I was flickering them. it's fixed now." I lied. As we continued watching the movies, a sudden fog started to appear. The fog machines? They were on. But who turned them on? No one seemed to notice until it got thicker.
"What the-" James said. Both John and James gave me a look. I left and went to the fog machines. They were off?

Lost children

“Where did Mom go?” Nichole asked her five year old brother.
“I-I-I don’t know. I was looking at a puppy and when I looked, Daddy wasn’t there.” Peter replied.
“Well it’s a carnival, they can’t be far. They won’t leave us.” The six year old assured herself that they would find their parents. The sounds of laughter, fun, and music turned instantly into a soundtrack of a horror movie. The clowns seemed to be menacingly laughing at children, hypnotizing them with their tricks and colors. The children were lost in a forest of crowd. Nichole reached in her pocket and pulled out four tickets.
“Let’s go on the carousel.” she said. Nichole grabbed her brother’s arm and went off in search of the ride. Nichole felt it was a search and rescue. She thought that if she went on the carousel, she will find her parents. Peter had mix feelings. He felt the scariness of losing his parents, but the excitement of going on a ride overcame that. The big wild animals looked at first like monsters, waiting to devour children. Nichole sucked it up and climbed on an ostrich. Peter went on a lion. The music began to play and the carousel started to spin. Peter was screaming in excitement. He felt empowered. Meanwhile, Nichole was looking for her parents, scanning every inch of the carnival. The music filled her head as if a source of hypnotism. She was barely able to concentrate. She started to feel dizzy and almost fell off the animal. She thought she saw her mom, but the ride was too fast for her to tell. She waited for the ride to come to that spot again, but she lost track of where she saw her.
“MOMMY!” she cried. A bolt of terror controlled her body. She felt queasy and light headed.
“WEEEE!” Peter yelled, not even taking notice at his surroundings. He didn’t even realize where he was anymore. To him, he was riding a lion through an African jungle. He was a king, on a mission, examining the scenery.
Nichole was sobbing now. She felt herself spinning as well as the carousel. The ostrich seemed like a children’s torturing device, confusing her in every way. The ride never ended. Nichole screamed and the ride stopped. She fell trying to get off. Peter, exhilarated, jumped off and was all smiles. Nichole stumbled around the carnival, still dizzy from the spinning machine of Hell. She almost fell backwards when a soft and gentle hand caught her fall. . . .