Beverly Hills: Season 3

Season 3, Episode 15: Pretending

  Emerson finishes a joint on Saturday morning as he props himself up on his elbows in the sand of Malibu Beach. That guy Colt he met the other night is actually pretty cool. They had gotten to know each other a little better the night they met on the bench and he isn't as shady of a person that Emerson thought he was when he met him on the bench. He did learn that Colt attended Seaview a few years back and is now living at some apartment complex on Melrose Avenue. Even though Colt is a few years older than Emerson, it's not weird for them to hang out. He's like the older brother that Emerson always wanted to smoke with or just complain about the world.
   "You know, if you were a dad right now, you wouldn't be sitting here." Colt points out, a little stoned. "You'd be like, changing diapers or some shit."
   "That's true." Emerson thinks about what things would've been like if he and Harrow actually had a baby together. They'd either be bickering all the time of they'd actually work together to take care of the thing. He would have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed it and wouldn't be able to fall back asleep. He'd have to get long whiffs of baby shit- and that smell is worse than actual poop. "Maybe it's a good thing I'm not a dad."
   "It is." Colt assures. "Babies aren't even human until they reach the age of seven."
   "Really?" Emerson's blood shot red eyes widen and Colt nods his head. "Whoa."
   "You seem like a lost soul, young one." Colt looks him right in the face. "Doesn't everyone hate you?"
   Emerson tries not thinking about his reputation at Seaview but when he's reminded of it every day, it's kind of hard to forget. The whole thing with Harrow and Israel basically spread around the entire school where everyone had fell under some sort of spell, making them hate him. As much as Emerson denies caring about what everyone is thinking or saying about him, he does a little. And it sucks. "They sure do."
   "It's better that way." Colt sighs, pressing his back down against the sand and staring up into the sky. "I'd rather have everyone hate me rather than be fake to my face than lie behind my back."
   "True." Emerson traces his finger through the sand.
   "I don't hate you, dude." Colt shuts his eyes. "If that counts for anything."
   Emerson glances at him. It does count for something. He doesn't need anyone at that stupid high school anyways. He has nothing tying him down to Harrow and her not saying something about her pregnancy just might prove how villainous she really is. Why would he want to be around people who might be just as bad as he is? "Yeah, it does."

   Anna paces back and forth in her garage, impatiently waiting for Ariel to show up for rehearsal. Tabby is sitting on the orange couch, picking at her fingernail as she waits too. This is the fourth time this week that Ariel has been late to rehearsal. Anna won't be surprised if they have to quit an hour early today too since Ariel will probably claim that she's too tired to go on.
   "Where is she?" Anna demands. She knows that the whole acid thing is over with since Ariel promised everything was gone but could there be something else that she's hiding? Anna has been discovering more and more about Ariel and her family since they met and she isn't sure she wants to find out what's next to come her way.
   "Why are you so impatient?" Tabby asks from the couch. "I'm sure she's having trouble with her car or something."
   Anna doesn't bother agreeing with Tabby. She doesn't know about the incident that Anna and Ariel had to deal with last week but Anna isn't about to go telling her- for both her sake and Ariel's. "Aren't you a little annoyed? We have rehearsal, times that we need to be places."
   "Like I said, she probably can't control whatever it is she's doing." Tabby studies Anna. "Are you two fighting or something?"
   "No." Anna answers. "Why would you think that?"
   "You seem more uptight than usual." Tabby observes and leans forward. "I'm a good listener if you want to talk about things."
   "Ariel and I aren't fighting." Anna tells her honestly. "If we were, I would've scheduled rehearsal."
   "Okay." Tabby leans back on the couch just as the side door to the garage flings open, Ariel appearing in the doorway.
   "I knew a secret tunnel was behind the bookshelf." Ariel wanders inside, tripping over the thick rug towards the center of the room. Her legs shake as she walks and her head hangs to the side. Anna's stomach turns. This is just like what she walked in on last time.
   "Great, you made it." Tabby stands up from the couch with no clue on what Ariel is on. "Let's get started."
   "Uh Tabby, can you give us a minute?" Anna keeps her eyes locked on Ariel gliding all over the place.
   "I knew you two were fighting." Tabby mumbles as she makes her way towards the door. "I'll be outside."
   "What the hell, Ariel?" Anna demands. "We talked about this."
   Ariel sinks to her knees with a frown. "You worry too much."
   "You told me that you got rid of all the tablets." Anna hisses, resisting the urge to drag her outside and tell her to leave.
   "I did... then I get new ones." Ariel giggles as she starts doing snow angels on the floor. "Whoa, I can feel the snow down my shirt!"
   "I'm driving you home." Anna grabs Ariel by the arm and pulls her to her feet, starting towards the door.
   "Snowmen are so pretty though." Ariel leans her weight against Anna as they leave the garage with their arms linked to each other.
   "Tabby, rehearsal is canceled." Anna calls over to Tabby, who's sitting on the front porch. "Ariel isn't feeling too well."