SCENE X
Alyssa is standing on the back porch of Jackie's house, staring out into the darkness.
She is anxiously awaiting her boyfriend, who should be there any minute.  A strange
car she had never seen before pulls up.  A girl climbs out of the driver's seat, her bag
on her shoulder.
GIRL:
(smiling politely)
Hi.  I'm Jaimie.
ALYSSA:
(smiling back)
Oh, right.  Christine's friend.
JAIMIE:
Right.  Is everyone inside already.
ALYSSA:
Yep.  You're a little late.
JAIMIE:
I know.  What are you doing out here?
ALYSSA:
I can't say.
JAIMIE:
Oh, yeah?  Why not?
ALYSSA:
Because Jackie will kill me.
JAIMIE:
I won't say anything.  Promise.
ALYSSA:
Okay.  I'm waiting for my boyfriend.  He'll be here in a
few minutes.
JAIMIE:
Why is that such a big secret?
ALYSSA:
Because Jackie and everyone else gets pissed when he and I
start hanging all over each other.  So, I promised them a night
with the girls, so you can't say anything.
JAIMIE:
Gotcha.
ALYSSA:
Thanks.  You going in now?
JAIMIE:
Yeah.  I'll leave you and your boyfriend alone for a while.
Just don't be too long.  Everyone might get suspicious.  And
believe me, Christine can get suspicious.  Why do you think
she's not seeing anyone at the moment.
ALYSSA:
Sounds like you know her pretty well.
JAIMIE:
Oh yeah, we've been friends a long time.
ALYSSA:
Okay, thanks for the tip.
JAIMIE:
See ya later.
They smile politely and Jaimie enters the house.  She sees everyone
dancing, laughing, and drinking.  Christine and Helen jog over to her.
Helen is still tipsy.
CHRISTINE:
Hey!  You made it!
JAIMIE:
Yep.  Looks like everything's going cool so far.
HELEN:
(having trouble standing up straight)
You want a drink?  There's plenty.
JAIMIE:
Sure.
Helen runs over to the table in the dining room, grabs a can of beer, and jogs back.
HELEN:
(handing it to her)
Here you go.  I gotta go.
Bye, toots.
Helen walks away, bobbing from one side to the other and plops
herself down on the couch.
JAIMIE:
(opens the can)
What is she on?
CHRISTINE:
She just had a bit too much to drink.
JAIMIE:
(laughs)
Apparently.