An Unforgettable Adventure

Loredana and Friends in

An Unforgettable Adventure

                                                          Scene 1

(Ms.Shallis is in the classroom working on some paperwork when Loredana comes in and gives her a hug.)

Loredana: Hi!

Ms.Shallis: Hi, Lore. What are you doing here?

Loredana (shrugs): Don’t know. Just wanted to hang out here with you I guess.

Ms.Shallis: What about Maria and Simona? Why aren’t you with them?

Loredana: They went on a field trip.

Ms.Shallis: Aren’t you going to eat lunch?

Loredana: I was hoping that you’d want to go and get lunch with me. I was going to see if Miss Sadie wanted to come also. My treat.

Ms.Shallis: Sounds good. (They go to Miss Sadie’s classroom.)

Miss Sadie: Hi, Shellie. Hi, Lore. What are you guys doing here?

Ms.Shallis: Lore here wanted to take us to lunch.

Miss Sadie: Mmmmmm. Lunch. Sure beats grading papers.

Loredana: I would hope so. Can’t eat papers, can you?

Miss Sadie: Umm, of course not. So who’s driving?

Loredana: I was hoping to drive that new car of yours.

Miss Sadie: But you’re only fifteen. You don’t have a license yet.

Loredana: But, I have a permit. Besides, I’ll be sixteen soon.

Miss Sadie: Umm, let me think about that. (Pause) No. Why don’t I drive my own car? That sounds like a better idea.

Loredana: Oh, darn. I must be the only senior that doesn't drive.

Miss Sadie: I doubt it. (Pause) How about this? I drive, but you get to sit in the front passenger seat.

Loredana: Thanks, Miss Sadie.

Miss Sadie (in low voice to Ms.Shallis): So, has anyone actually been teaching this girl how to drive? She doesn’t live with her parents, so it can’t be them.

Ms.Shallis: I have. While the others girls are learning to drive the bigger things, I’ve been showing her the basics. But I wouldn’t let her drive if I were you. She’s a terrible driver. She got kicked out of the school’s after school driving class because she scared the teacher so much.

Miss Sadie: Hmm, for a girl so smart, it’s shocking that she’s so terrible at driving. Not that I would let her drive my car anyway. She has got to be kidding if she actually thought I would let her drive it.

                                                Scene 2

(Sometime later, as sixth period begins, the students of Ms.Shallis’ class for that period notice that she is not yet there. After a few minutes they begin to get bored.)

Mariana: Let’s do something.

Alyse: Like what?

Maria: Don’t know. (Pause) Maybe we can have a paper airplane contest.

Madalina: I’m in! Is there going to be a prize or something?

Mariana: How about everyone that’s participating pitch in a dollar and the winner gets the pot?

Madalina: Awesome. Who else is in?

Mariana: Whoever wants to enter the paper airplane contest raise their hand. (Most of the class raises their hand.) Okay, here are the rules. You must start from no closer than here (she points to the desk closest to the door). You must aim towards the wall there (she points to the wall to the left of the blackboard). Any questions? (Empty silence) Okay, then. You have five minutes to make your airplane and then we start.

Tatiana: I have to use the restroom. Can we wait ‘till I get back to start?

Mariana: Sure. (Pause) Let me get you a pass. (She goes into one of Ms.Shallis’ desk drawers and grabs the pad with the passes and fills one out for Tatiana. Tatiana then grabs it from her hands.)

Tatiana: Thanks. (She goes to the restroom. A few minutes later, she comes back.)

Mariana: Anyone still working on their airplane? (No one says anything or raises their hand.) All right, then. Line up on the side here. (She points to the side wall by the door. The participants line up.
(A few minutes later, the contest is finished and Alyse wins the contest. Mariana hands her the prize money. Alyse smiles as she takes the winnings to her seat. A few minutes later, the students are again bored. Some of them steal some chairs with wheels on them from the gifted lounge and start rolling around the classroom with them. Mariana takes the teacher’s chair and joins in. They then decide to have a contest to see who can roll from one side of the classroom to the other fastest [no prize money this time] which results in disaster. One girl rolls so fast that she is unable to stop herself from hitting the bookcase [this holds all the spare books and supplies] and knocking it and its contests onto the nearby desks and floor.)

Alyse: We are so in trouble.

Mariana: What do you mean? It’s not like someone is going to come and check on us. If they were, they would have come already. It’s obvious that they don’t know that she’s coming. By the time someone finds the mess, we’ll be gone.

Alyse: So you’re suggesting that we leave this mess for the next class.

Mariana: Of course. And they can make their own mess if they want to, too. Who’s going to stop us?

Alyse: Well, you can do what you want, but I’m taking my money and getting out of here so I don’t get stuck cleaning up this mess if we get caught. If we leave now, then we have a better chance of not getting in trouble for all this.

Mariana: Good idea. Where are we going to go?

Alyse: How about the mall? We can go together in a few cars. I can get my sister to take us. She’s at lunch, so she’s free. I’m going to call her. (She gets her cell phone and calls her sister, Mika, who picks up while she is eating.) Hey, Mika.

Mika (with a mouthful of food in her mouth): Do you mind? I’m trying to eat.

Alyse: Sorry. I was just wondering if you could take me and a couple of my classmates to the mall to hang out for a bit.
Mika: Umm, don’t you have class?

Alyse: Teacher’s not here.

Mika: So you’re skipping class?

Alyse: Uh, yeah. It’s not like we’re going to get caught. No one’s here.

Mika: So? What if we do get caught? Just because you spend your entire school career trying to get into trouble, doesn’t mean you have to take me down with you.

Alyse: Can I just borrow the car? I’ll send Mariana to get the keys. I’ll fill the tank for you.

Mika: Fine, but if you get caught, I have nothing to do with it. Don’t ask me to bail you out or anything. (Pause) And I expect a full tank.

Alyse: Got it.
(She sends Mariana to get the keys from Mika. Once she brings the keys to Alyse, the two of them and three other classmates head to the mall in her car while three more sets of classmates go in other cars. The rest of them, stay behind in the classroom. Not too long after the girls leave, Miss Sadie comes running in, already panicking. When she sees the mess in the room, she is shocked.)

Miss Sadie: My god! What just happened here? It looks like this classroom was hit by a tornado!

Sasha: Don’t worry, we’ll clean it up. (She sees that Miss Sadie is still hyperventilating.) Calm down, Miss Sadie. We’ll take care of it right away.

Miss Sadie: It’s more than that. Has anyone seen Ms.Shallis or Loredana?

Sasha: I don’t think so. No one’s seen Ms.Shallis, right? (The rest of the girls nod their head or shrug to show that they have no idea.) And who’s Loredana?

Miss Sadie: Real skinny Romanian girl. She has black hair and is always eating.

Lilya: Oh, her. Yeah, I know who she is. I haven’t seen her though. Or the teacher. Why?

Miss Sadie: Because the three of us went out to get lunch together and Loredana forgot her money, so I let Ms.Shallis take her to the bank to get more while I hold our table. They never came back.

Sasha: So they left you with the bill?

Miss Sadie: Pretty much, but I’m not worried about that. I doubt they did it on purpose. They are the last two people on earth who would steal a car together and leave me stranded. I was thinking maybe they forgot and came back to the school for some reason, but I can’t find them. And none of the teachers I’ve asked so far have seen them either. It all seems so strange. I’m scared for them. Something bad must have happened. (Pause) I’m going to let the office know what’s going on. In the meantime, try and get this mess cleaned up.

Sasha: Sure thing, Miss Sadie. You just stay calm. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all this.
(Miss Sadie goes to the office to inform the principal and administrators of the situation. Meanwhile, Sasha and the other girls clean up most of the mess created by the class. Some moments later, Miss Sadie comes back to check on the girls.)

Miss Sadie: I have good news. They found them. The bad news is that they’ve gotten into some sort of an accident. Apparently, Loredana’s suffered some head injuries, but she’ll be fine. And from what I know, Ms.Shallis is really, really hurt, but hopefully she’ll pull through. As for my car, though, that’s another story. It’s a total loss for sure. And I just got it last week, too. (Pause) Oh, and by the way, Alosha and some other students happened to be in the same pile up.

Sasha: Aww that must really suck about your car. Well, it sucks that they got hurt too, but at least they’ll be okay right?

Miss Sadie: I think so. (Pause) Well, at least I hope so. So much for listening to Loredana and her crazy ideas. (She takes a deep breath.) Well, I should be worried more about her than my own self though. Cars can be replaced, but people can’t.

Lilya: So what are we going to do now?

Miss Sadie: Well, there’s nothing that you girls can do right now. As for me, I’ll be staying here until someone comes to take over for the rest of the period. The good thing is that she has no seventh or eighth period class, so we don’t have to worry about that. Hopefully, they’ll get things sorted out by tomorrow. As soon as someone comes in to take over for me, I’m going to go to the hospital to check on them.

Scene 3



(After rushing to the hospital and nearly getting into an accident of her own, Miss Sadie manages to find the room where Loredana is in. She approaches Loredana’s bedside.)

Loredana (groggy and weak): Miss Sadie, what’s going on?

Miss Sadie: You were just in an accident. You’ll be okay though.

Loredana (weak, but disappointed): I didn’t get to finish dessert.

Miss Sadie: You silly. You’re always thinking about eating. Aren’t you going to ask about your friend?

Loredana: Oh, yeah. How’s she doing?

Miss Sadie: For the moment, not too good.

Loredana: She’s going to be okay, right?

Nurse: Just try to get some rest. (The nurse leaves the room. Loredana struggles to keep her eyes open for a few hours, until Miss Sadie comes back to check on her before leaving for the night.)

Miss Sadie: Lore, you look exhausted. Have you tried getting any sleep?

Loredana: I’m afraid to go to sleep.

Miss Sadie: Fine, I’ll see what I can do. (After some negotiation with the doctors and nurses, she manages to get permission for Loredana to see Ms.Shallis. She follows the nurses as they take Loredana in a wheelchair to the room where Ms.Shallis is in. At Loredana’s request, they pull her over to the bedside. Loredana reaches to touch her. Miss Sadie tries to explain the situation to her.) She can’t hear you right now.

Loredana: Darn. Do you think she’ll get better enough to come back to work before the year is over?

Miss Sadie: Maybe. (After a few minutes, Loredana is taken back to her room.) You stay here and get some rest, okay. It’s time for me to go.

Loredana: Do you really have to leave now?

Miss Sadie: Yes, Lore. I wish I could stay, but I can’t. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. (Miss Sadie leaves the room.)

Scene 4

(It is the next morning. Miss Sadie is in the front office trying to convince the 12th grade assistant principal to get someone to replace her for a short period so that she can pick up Loredana for the hospital and take her home.)

Assistant Principal: Do you really have to do this now?

Miss Sadie: Yes. The girl has no family here. She’s being discharged this morning and she needs someone to take her home. No one else can get her.

Assistant Principal: You sure about this?

Miss Sadie: Yes.

Assistant Principal: Fine. But you owe me a big favor for this, okay.

Miss Sadie: Of course. (She goes to the hospital to pick up Loredana. Once she arrives at Loredana’s house, she grabs Loredana’s hand and walks her slowly to the door. After Miss Sadie rings the bell, a girl opens the door and Loredana enters the doorway.) Are you sure you’ll be okay?

Loredana: I’m sure. (She pauses for a moment.) Did you hear anything about Ms.Shallis?

Miss Sadie: Yes, I did. She’s gotten much better since last night. It looks like she’ll be okay. Now, as for you, you need to get some rest if YOU want to get better.

Loredana: If you say so. (She goes inside the house and the girl that answered the door closes it as Miss Sadie walks away. Miss Sadie immediately returns to the school. When she gets back, it is already sixth period. Since she has no class during this period, she goes to visit Ms.Shallis’ class for that period. When she walks in, she asks the substitute that is present to step into the hallway. She then begins to lecture [or more accurately yell at] the students in the room.)

Miss Sadie (in a very angry voice): You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. (Pause) Well, most of you should. Just because a teacher or administrator is not present does not mean you have the right to trash the room as you please.

Alyse (whispering to Mariana): I told you. (Miss Sadie hears her.)

Miss Sadie (to Alyse): You have something to say?

Alyse (Noticing Miss Sadie’s red face): No ma’am.

Miss Sadie: Thought so. (She pauses for a few moments.) It’s enough that you guys trashed the room while she was gone. But what’s even worse, is that the school got a complaint from the mall down the street yesterday that some students from our school were busy trashing that place as well instead of being in class like they were supposed to. As for those that weren’t involved in either incident, I’m proud of you. But for the rest of you, not only have you ruined the school’s reputation, but you’ve also ruined it for the rest of the students of this school. For the rest of the month, no one - and I mean no one - is allowed to leave the building for lunch, unless you have special permission from an administrator.

Lilya: Aww, man. That’s not fair! Why punish those who didn’t do anything?

Miss Sadie: That’s just the way it is. You have your fellow classmates to thank for that. (To the class) I’m sure the rest of the student body will thank you later.

Scene 5

(The next morning, instead of staying home for at least a week like she was supposed to, Loredana decides to show up for school. When her friends see her, they notice that she is in terrible shape. She can barely walk straight and the medicine she is taking is causing her to appear to be “out of it”.)

Natasha: Are you okay?

Loredana: Yeah, I’m fine.

Natasha: You don’t look okay. You should have stayed home and get some rest. Did you parents actually let you come? Or did they make you?

Loredana: No, I wanted to come. I don’t live with my parents. I take care of myself.

Natasha: Seriously, you should go home. You could kill yourself.

Loredana: I doubt it. (She takes a few seconds to catch her breath.) Besides, I didn’t want to be in my room alone anymore. I can’t sleep anyway.

Natasha: Doesn’t the medicine put you to sleep?

Loredana: It does, but I don’t want to fall asleep by myself. I’m afraid.

Natasha: Why?

Loredana: You wouldn’t understand. (She looks at a nearby clock in the hallway.) I should go to class now. (Natasha stands in her way.)

Natasha: Before you can go anywhere, you have to pass a test.

Loredana: Test? Ha, I can pass any test.

Natasha: If you say so. (She holds her hand in front of Loredana’s face.) How many fingers do I have up?
Loredana: Five.

Natasha: Wrong. That would be four fingers. (Pause) And one thumb.

Loredana: Yeah, yeah. That’s an old trick. I have to go. (She pushes her self pass Natasha and heads to her first period class.)

Natasha (yelling after her): Don’t kill yourself.

Loredana (yelling in response without looking back): I won’t. You know how many people would miss me if anything happened. (In regular voice to herself) Not.

(A few hours later, Loredana heads to her third period class - Miss Sadie’s AP calculus class. Though Loredana is known to show up for class no matter how sick she gets, this time Miss Sadie is shocked and unable to believe her eyes.)

Miss Sadie (in high pitched shocked voice): Loredana! What are you doing here?! You should be at home - resting!

Loredana: Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of rest.

Miss Sadie: Yeah, right! (Pause) Don’t tell me you even did your homework that you missed.

Loredana: I sure did. I even did the rest of the week’s assignments. (Pause) I think I left it in my locker though. Can I go get it?

Miss Sadie: Sure. (Loredana starts to walk out the door.) Don’t you want a pass just in case someone stops you?

Loredana: Don’t need one. I never get stopped. (She continues out the door and down the hallway. When she gets close to her locker which is down the hall on the other side near her fourth period class, she starts to lose her balance. Within seconds, she falls to the floor, though she barely conscious. A nearby student notices her collapse and calls security.
When she is fully conscious again, she finds her self in the school clinic. She soon finds out that she is being sent home despite her efforts not to. She keeps insisting to be let back in class, but her efforts are in vain.)

Nurse: We can’t let you in. It’s against policy to let you back in your condition.

Loredana: But I don’t want to go home. No one is there.

Nurse: Where are your parents?

Loredana: They’re out of the country.

Nurse: Do you have any family that can come get you.

Loredana: No.

Nurse: Why don’t you just stay back here and rest for the rest of the day then.

Loredana: Fine.

Scene 6

(The next afternoon, after school is out, Mariana, Loredana, and Maria go to the hospital to visit Ms.Shallis. It was originally Loredana’s idea to visit her teacher [who is apparently also her friend as you can see], but Mariana and Maria decide to come along also, as they are unable to pass up the opportunity to bother yet another sick or injured teacher. You see, this is something that these two girls enjoy on a regular basis. They get great satisfaction from driving their teachers crazy. And then they wonder why then always end up with low grades.
Unfortunately, when they get there, they find out that they have to have a special pass to get in the area which is kept off limits to all except family members of the patients. Mariana decides that they made too much effort to get there that they are going to get in no matter what it takes. When the nurse at the desk at the entrance to the area leaves to use the restroom, Mariana decides to make her move. She quickly takes three badges from a drawer and hands one each to Loredana and Maria.)

Mariana: So where are we headed?

Loredana: Don’t know. I forgot.

Mariana: I guess we’ll have to just hunt around then. (As they walk down the various hallways, they peer in the doorways to see who is in there. On the way, Mariana stops by a room where a patient has fresh cookies laying by her bedside.) Can I have a cookie?

Patient (too groggy to speak): Uhhhhhhhhh.

Mariana: Thanks! (She leaves the room and heads down the hallway to catch up with Loredana and Maria. After walking around in circles for quite some time, they finally find the room where Ms.Shallis is staying. Seeing that no one is there, they walk in. Though conscious, Ms.Shallis is so drugged that she is barely awake. Seeing that her eyes are closed, Loredana takes the opportunity to say a few things, thinking that she can’t be heard.)

Loredana: I’m so sorry about everything. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t let Maria take the money out my wallet, this wouldn’t have happened.

Maria: Hey!

Loredana: It should have been me that suffered the most, not everyone else. I’m sorry. And by the way, it was me that toilet papered the whole classroom a few months ago. And put the cherry bomb in the classroom before that. And stole your ID so Simi and I could buy some alcohol for a party. I was going to return it, but Maria accidentally dropped it in a manhole in the street. (Loredana is about to share more, but suddenly she finds out that her assumptions that she can’t be heard is dead wrong. Loredana’s normally pale face turns red as she sees Ms.Shallis eyes open and notices that everything she just said was heard. Loredana is at a loss for words.)

Loredana: Uhh, you didn’t hear everything I said, did you?

Ms.Shallis: Yes, I did.

Loredana (looking at her watch as if she’s in a rush): Umm, it’s time for us to go, right Mariana?

Mariana: Uh, not really. What are you talking about?

Loredana: It’s time for me to go home. I need to get some rest, ya know. (She nervously leaves the room.)

Maria: What’s with her?

Mariana: Beats me. (The two girls then leave room and catch up to Loredana who is waiting for the elevator. Once in Mariana’s car, they head to Maria’s house for a party.)



Scene 8



        (After a two weeks absence, Ms.Shallis returns to work. Loredana and Maria stop by the classroom with their lunch.)



Maria: Can we come in?



Ms.Shallis: Of course. (The girls seat themselves at her desk.)



Loredana: I bought you something. (She hands Ms.Shallis a bag of goodies.)



Ms. Shallis: Thank you, Lore.



Maria: I bought you something, too. (Maria hands her a gift card to ACME ammunition and a small gift bag.)



Ms. Shallis: Uh, thanks. I’ll use this to send myself back to the hospital.



Maria: Don’t worry. I got that covered. Look inside the bag. (Ms.Shallis reaches in and pulls out a mini first aid kit.) Pretty useful, isn’t it?



Ms.Shallis: How… considerate.



Loredana: It’s quite obvious she never really missed you.



Maria: Liar.



Loredana: I, on the other hand, missed you the most.



Ms. Shallis: Kind of hard to miss me when you visited me almost every day.



Loredana: Well, I had to make sure you were coming back.