By Adina Bernstein
All of the characters except Mrs. Johns belong to Rupert Holmes and a certain nameless television station. This is just a fanfic and no infringement is intended.
Italics denotes past
Mackie Bloom sat on the couch in the green room and was reading the newspaper when Hilary Booth walked in. Hilary seemed upset and was muttering something. “Hey, Hilary what's wrong?”
“That Ruth Geddy is back in town, that’s what!" she snapped.
Betty and Maple walked into the room. They could tell by the look on Hillary’s face that she was upset. “Hilary, what's wrong now?” Maple wondered.
“Did Scott say something to you or did you or Jeff have another fight?” Betty asked.
"Worse." Mackie handed Maple the newspaper.
"That’s why you're upset," Maple noted.
“Hilary, you never told us why you and Ruth Geddy are so hostile toward each other," Mackie pointed out.
“Do you really want to know? It was so long ago," Hilary asked, with a note of whining in her voice. Maple, Betty and Mackie all nodded yes.
“All right, Ill tell you," Hilary grumbled. “It all started in 1924. I was 19 and I just graduated high school. Naturally, the next step was to go to acting school and follow the family tradition of becoming an actor. My maternal grandfather was old friends with Giles Aldrich. He knew my grandfather when they were young and now trained young actors. I was able to get into Giles' school through my family connections. Ruth was also there as a new student. She was my roommate at the boarding house. The boarding house was there especially for the students at the acting school. We met on the first day and the house mother introduced us. I was unpacking my bags when Ruth walked in with the house mother."
Hilary was unpacking her bags when she heard a knock on the door. She turned around to see the house mother, Mrs. Johns, and a girl about her age. “Hilary Booth, this is Ruth Geddy. She's also a new student." Both girls said hello and shook hands. “Well, I'll let you girls talk and get to know each other. Remember, dinner is at six sharp and the first meeting is after dinner."
“We started talking and we found out that we had a lot in common. When it came time for dinner and the meeting we sat together. After the meeting was over, Mrs. Johns called me over and said that Mr. Aldrich wanted to see me for a few minutes. Ruth said that she had to go back to room to finish unpacking her things and I went to see Mr. Aldrich.
“Hilary, my dear, how are you?” Giles asked.
“Fine” she replied.
“How are your parents? I'm so sorry about your grandmother’s death. She was a fine woman."
“My parents are fine. Thank you for your thoughts about Grandmama,” Hilary replied.
“ I just wanted to tell you that if you are having trouble or have a question that my door is always open," Giles explained.
“Thank you, Mr. Aldrich,” Hilary said.
“Call me Giles, Hilary, only in private, that is. I don’t want you to be ostracized by the other students because you are a little friendly with me. You'd better get back to your room, before Mrs. Johns writes you up on the first night for not being in your room after curfew. I'll see you tomorrow for the first day of class."
“The days and weeks flew by. Ruth and I started to make friends with the girls in the rooms around us. During the mid-semester Giles called every student into his office to talk about our progress so far and how he thought we should improve our acting. Ruth’s meeting was before mine and we decided to get lunch with the rest of our girlfriends after our meetings. I went in after Ruth. My meeting with Giles took a little longer than hers. Later that night when we were doing homework Ruth asked me a question."
“Hilary, can I ask you a question?” Ruth asked.
“Sure."
“I noticed that Mr. Aldrich is a little friendly with you. Why is that?”
“Mr. Aldrich is a family friend. I'm from a family of actors. Mr. Aldrich and my mother’s father knew each other when they were our age. He's known me since I was a baby."
“Wait a minute!" Ruth exclaimed. “Are you related to John Wilkes Booth, the man who shot President Lincoln?”
“He was my father's uncle. I never met him and his name is never spoken in my fathers family," Hilary said firmly and loudly.
"I later regretted telling Ruth about Great Uncle John and Abraham Lincoln. She used it against me when our relationship deteriorated to the point that we became rivals," Hilary admitted. “We still were friends when we went home for Christmas break. When we came back, Giles had left a note at our door. He wanted to see Ruth and I as soon as we got back to school. When we met him, he told us that he got myself, Ruth, and several other students auditions for a number of small roles in a local production of Pygmalion.
After the audition, it was down to myself and Ruth for the part of Liza Doolittle, the Cockney flower girl. The director looked at my resume and saw that my last name was Booth. He took me aside and asked me if I was related to Myra Elkridge Booth and I said that she was my grandmother. He said that he saw her in the role of Lady MacBeth when he was young. He then pulled Ruth aside and talked to her too. He then announced that I was hired the role. That was when Ruth began to get jealous. I admit that my family heritage had something to do with me landing certain roles, but I was the one who got the roles."
Maple, Betty, and Mackie looked at her with amused shock. “Ok, so my family did have to do with me getting certain roles, but I auditioned," Hilary insisted.
“We're only joking with you, Hilary. Get back to the story!" Maple squeaked.
“After that audition, it was discovered that Ruth had quite a nice singing voice, so Giles set her up with a vocal coach. Being that she could sing and I couldn’t, the productions that we were part of began to differentiate. She played parts that required singing and I began to play parts in mostly Shakespeare and other classic plays. We were only in a few productions together and in the productions that we were in, whoever got larger role varied between Ruth and myself. When the first year ended, it was clear that we were no longer friends."
“The school assigned us to separate rooms the next school year, and thank God that they did. Ruth and I were auditioning for the lead role in a play called Thomasina Wilcox. We were both up for the lead of Thomasina. She spread a rumor that I was a teacher's pet. Eventually the taunting got so bad that I dropped out of the play and she got to be Thomasina. We graduated later that year. I went on the road with a traveling players' group. I don’t know what happened to her."
"We met in New York again in 1931. I played Lady Capulet in a production of Romeo and Juliet. Ruth was in musical called Timestopper. The theaters where the shows ran were across the street from each other. One day during rehearsals, I went to lunch with some other cast members and just as we were coming out, Ruth walked out also. She looked pretty cozy with the man that she was walking with. I ignored her. She followed me and my companions into the same restaurant just to push my buttons all over again," Hilary growled.
“I ignored her because I knew that if I said something to her, I'd regret it. About halfway throughout the meal she came over and oozed charm. I was polite and I introduced the people I sat with. She introduced her companion. I knew that she wanted to continue the fight that started back at the Giles Aldrich school."
Hilary shook her head. “Do you remember when Ruth was here last year?” Maple, Betty and Mackie all nodded yes.
“Ruth remembered that when she went to opening night. When I came out to say my lines, Ruth held signs that said Titanic, Maritania, and things like that. I knew from that point on that she would hate me for the rest of our lives. There is no way to be nice to that woman."
Maple, Betty and Mackie all stared at Hilary. “Wow, Hilary interesting story," Betty said.
"That's why she is the way she is toward you," Makcie added.
C.J. knocked on the door and put his head in. “Hilary, you, Mackie, and Maple are needed for Rance Shiloh. Betty, Gertie told me that there's a phone call for you from Mr. Medwick."
“Fine, thank you, C.J," Betty said. Mackie, Maple, Betty and Hilary walked out of the green room.
The end
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