Bittersweet Candy Bowl

39. Love My Way, original chapter posted 6/27/07

Page 5 of 22

Transcript

*Paulo clenches his fists in anticipation, looking around the room. Tess smiles, looking to the distance.*
Paulo: Man, just look at this place! This is so awesome!!

*Paulo grins, pointing.*
Paulo: Check it out, a dance floor! And a punch bowl! Should I get some?
*Tess smiles awkwardly and waves.*
Tess: Sure! I’ll need a sec myself, ’kay?

*Paulo stares at Tess, confused.*
Paulo: Eh? What’s up?
*Tess grins, sweating lightly as she walks away.*
Tess: Bathroom.. Beating up that photographer left my hands dirty.
Paulo: Oh, right!

*Paulo smiles cheerfully and waves at Tess, who smiles over her shoulder as she leaves.*
Paulo: Okay! See you in a moment! The lady’s drink awaits!
Tess: Thanks!

*Paulo finds the punch bowl and smiles as he reaches for the ladle. Next to him, a nameless student holds a cup and smiles.*
Paulo: Hmm..

*Paulo carefully pours a cup of punch, humming cheerfully and smiling.*

*Paulo grins in satisfaction, holding the cup. Behind him, the crowd mills around.*
Paulo: It’s not as hard as it looks!

*Paulo hears students gossiping nearby.*
Students: Hey, so she really DID show up!
Students: She’s got guts!
Students: Or a death wish.
Students: She’s even gone and robbed the cradle for her prom date!
Students: Hahaha
*Paulo, suddenly alert to the gossip, widens his eyes.*
Paulo: ..?

*Paulo glances around awkwardly.*
Paulo: ..?

*Paulo concentrates on listening to the students.*
Students: Finally sick of being the jailbait in the relationship, huh..
Students: Haha! That’s probably it!

Students: If I had an had an ex like Roger, I’d probably date a freshman too!
Students: I wonder if this one’s like any of her other guys..
Students: There was a guy before Roger?
*Paulo is surprised.*
Paulo: ?!

Students: At least! This one senior took her to a dance when SHE was a freshman..
Students: Oh, I remember that! She was trying sooo hard..
Students: Wasn’t she on drugs?
*Paulo looks mortified and blushes.*

Students: I dunno, I hear a LOT of things.
Students: Well, I wouldn’t put it past Tessa!
Students: Hey, there’s Shelley! Yo, Shelley!
*Paulo glances back, looking hurt.*

*Paulo looks back over his shoulder, frowning. He’s still standing in front of the punch table.*
Paulo: …

*Paulo turns, awkwardly holding his cup of punch, looking worried.*
Paulo: Is.. that true..?

*Tess appears out of the crowd, smiling. She comes up behind Paulo.*
Tess: Is what true?
*Paulo jumps, grimacing. He almost drops the cup of punch.*
Paulo: AUGHH!!

*Paulo winces, holding on to the cup with both hands. He stares at Tess, panicked.*
Paulo: ..!
*Tess looks confused.*

*Paulo quickly recomposes himself and grins charmingly, handing Tess the punch. He scratches the back of his head, surrounded by sparkles.*
Paulo: Here ya go, babe! ♥
*Tess smiles fondly.*

Author commentary

Veronica: Oh, Tess. When do you not hold deep dark secrets?

It’s interesting when you work with someone else’s character. When Tess was given to me, she came with a lot of background information, like her relationship with Roger, her reputation at school, and I was there to pretty much fill in the blanks and adjust her to the setting/my characters. I didn’t really want to rewrite what was given to her, you know? Otherwise why don’t I just make an entirely new character? I sought feedback from Lily how I was depicting Tess, and it was a fun exercise, honestly!

I do like how in this rewritten version, the rumours sound more like genuine rumours rather than people infodumping garbage onto Paulo. Now it’s more confusing and not very reliable! You don’t know what to believe!