Staged

Staged Part 2

"Blake, you got to hurry up or you'll be late on your first day," Mrs. Ryan shouted.

"Coming, mom."

It was Blake's first day at the university that he always dreamt of going. Now, he is finally there. "I have to make this good, make my stay here worthwhile," he said to himself. He has a meeting scheduled for that day regarding this project that is unique to every class.

"Now, class, the administration has already decided the project that all of you will join," the professor started.

"The university has decided to tie up with the mental institution twenty blocks from here," he continued.

Students are murmuring, clearly disappointed, and not afraid to show their disapproval. The professor sensed the tension in the air, calmed the students down; assured them that they will be guarded the whole time they were there. He continued explaining the details of the project to the students who were obviously not paying attention.

Since the meeting was the only agenda for Blake that day, he went home to tell his mom the news.

"What?!" blurted his Mom.

"Relax, mom. It's really no big deal. I admit that I was worried at first but now I'm actually excited about it," Blake said, grinning, rubbing her mom's shoulders in reassurance.

"Uhm..are you sure? Are you really okay with it?" Mrs. Ryan asked reluctantly.

"Of course Mom, trust me. I will not do this if I'm not sure, you know that."

"You...you're right. I shouldn't worry. You are always so sure of everything you do and you always do it well," Mrs. Reynolds smiled and continued, "So, wh...when are you going to this institution?"

"On Saturday." 

***
Saturday came. Blake's class was told to wait at the tricycle stand. It wasn't his first time riding a tricycle so he did not have any problems with it, the same cannot be said for the others, however.

"Eww..are we like really going to ride this piece of metal crap?" cried one girl named Cecilia.

"Like yeah, this is so not cool. What if we get AIDS or something?" cried another which left Cecilia with pools of tears at the edge of her eyes, ready to fall.

Blake could not stand it anymore so he told them, "Don't worry. Nothing of the sort will ever happen to you," then he smiled.

"Are...are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Oh..okay, if you say so, pretty boy," replied Cecilia as she winked at him.

The wink sent chills down Blake's spine. He wasn't expecting that kind of reaction, especially from her.

They arrived at the institution sooner than expected. The task for the day was just to acquaint the students with the patients especially those who were casted for the play.

The patients started coming in the meeting room one by one, suspiciously eyeing the strangers. Amanda, who trailed at the back of the line, kept her head down.

"Are you going to get us out of here? These aliens abducted us and they would not let us go," one patient said as she began to cry. Seeing this, the resident doctor calmed her down.

The students were speechless; they didn't know that the patients were that ill. Flashes of concern swept like a tide across the faces of the students. Brows began to merge, creases became visible as everyone stood motionless. Soft murmurs could be heard from everywhere, as the same doctor who calmed the patient, realized what was happening and addressed the concern.

The patients were paired with one student and Blake was chosen to be the counterpart of Amanda's character.

Amanda could not look at her partner; she had her head down. It had been a while since relatives came to visit her. In fact, nobody ever came to visit her ever since that first day when she was brought into the institution. Blake, on the other hand, tried to be friendly and extended his hand for a handshake.

"My name's Blake. What's yours?" he said, smiling.

Amanda thought Blake had a nice voice and that she had to at least know her partner if they were going to work together. As she began to lift her head, the thought of meeting another normal person excited her. She saw the shoes, the shirt, and the hand reaching out. She reached for it, timidly and as she did, was surprised at how warm the hand felt on her skin. Confident about this stranger, she raised her eyes a little bit more to see the face of this kind stranger and then she stopped. Eyes wide in disbelief, she quickly pulled away the hand that she extended and placed it on top of her mouth. She gaped, eyes dead-set, mouth wide open, and screamed. Pulling away from her "attacker," she tripped, hiding her face from Blake and kept on screaming, "No! Please stop it. Don't do this to me..." She kept on chanting as tears kept on streaming down her face. The doctors quickly led her to the clinic to be examined. Meanwhile, Blake stood dead in his tracks, wondering what he did to cause such a violent reaction.

"It's him. It's him...that man...ma...many years ago..." Amanda blurted out sobbing. Dr. Kim cast a worried look on his face. He thought that Amanda was getting better and ready to leave. She was no exception. She thought that she was back to normal and that she was just pretending that she's still sick to stay in the institution.

"Honey," Dr. Kim started with a concerned look, "What happened there? Are you okay now?"

"It was him...he abused me before..." Amanda answered as she was slowly getting back to her normal self.

"No, honey. It's not him."

"But...but they look so alike...the hair...and the eyes...ohh the eyes..."

It took a great deal of time for Dr. Kim to convince her that Blake was not the "man" she was afraid of. The good doctor also told her that in order to be free from her fear, she must face it.

"Who knows, maybe befriending Blake will make your fear of the "man" vanish, it might be even your ticket for getting out of here," the doctor said smiling and winked at her.

Blake was also notified of Amanda's condition and he felt for her. So, every Saturday, when he went to the institution, he was very caring and understanding to Amanda.

The first few days after Amanda's breakdown were a challenge for Blake. He did not know how to act towards Amanda, afraid that he might trigger some violent reaction from her again. At first, every time Blake would touch Amanda (as some scenes in the play require), she would immediately back off, brushing Blake's hand to the side. She was hostile to him for the first couple of days until she overheard a conversation between Blake and Greg, a classmate of his.

"Hey, Blake. How are things with that psycho girlfriend of yours?" Greg said, snickering. 

"You mean Amanda? Stop calling her that. She's not a psycho you know." Blake replied, irritated.

"So, you are defending her now? She won't even look at you straight in the face and remember what happened on..." Greg trailed.

"Stop it, okay. She is not what you think she is. She is actually a very kind person who is just unlucky enough to suffer a fate such as hers. Believe what you want, but I'll try my best to make her believe I'm a different person, different than who she first thought I was." Blake retaliated as he stormed out, leaving Greg to his thoughts.

Amanda, just outside, heard it all and she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Blake, a man she barely knew, would actually defend her.

Because of Blake's sincerity, Amanda gradually believed that Blake was indeed not her attacker. She started to anticipate the day when Blake would come, something that she didn't do in the past and it surprised her. 

One time, during practice, Amanda stepped on a prop and she tripped. Blake, concerned, attended to Amanda.

"Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" he asked, looking for the sore spot. "No, it's okay...Ouch!" Amanda said, wincing in pain. "I guess you twisted your ankle," Blake suggested, "You must rest," while he gently rubbed Amanda's ankle. Amanda, on the other hand, felt her cheeks burning. 

The days passed and suddenly it was spring again. The day for the presentation came. Everyone was excited, the parents of the students and even the doctors. Dr. Kim talked to his colleagues and told them about the improvement of Amanda's condition. 

The curtain opened. Everyone started taking in their roles. The set was glittery, giving off the effect that it was a summer night. It looked like being in a deserted place at night where it was only illuminated by the glow of the stars. Everyone really gave it their all. It was hard to tell the students from the patients. Amanda was filled with thoughts of grandeur; she felt like a princess. All throughout the performance, she thought of how to tell Blake how she really felt and the good news. As she pondered on this, the last scene came: 

"I love you," Amanda said looking into the eyes of Blake, entranced. 

"I love you too," Blake replied and hugged Amanda. 

The curtain closed and everyone heard the thunderous applause of the audience. The cast praised one another for a job well done. 

"Congratulations," Amanda said. 

"Yeah, congratulations to you too, you were amazing out there," Blake replied beaming at his partner. 

"And Blake," Amanda mustered all her courage to tell Blake, "I love you, and..." Blake laughed it off nervously, "Haha, yeah I love you too." After saying this, he walked off into the night, unsure of what just happened. 

"..and I'm going to leave this place as soon as they give me the go signal," Amanda whispered to no one in particular as a tear rolled down her face, "I'm healed."

The End