Annie, Cecily, and I followed Schneider to wherever he was taking us to conduct our improv lessons and help Annie memorize her lines. I leaned toward Annie and whispered, "What went on in there? Ya know, with you and Mike?"
"I don't know." she answered, sighing and chewing on her bottom lip. "Michael is just so... distracting."
"Ohhh..." I mumbled in sarcastic tone, resisting the urge to laugh for her sake. "Well, I guess he's pretty cute, but I don't understand Annie. You don't seem to be the girl who's into the fairytales and the happily ever afters." I said, studying her. She could be, but she doesn't seem to be. Then again, I've never been a good judge of character.
"I never used to be." she replied quietly, turning to face Schneider, signalling that was the end of our discussion.
He handed Cecily and I newly-revised scripts. "Ladies, listen up. Today we're starting off with improv and acting skills. Usually James Frawley is in charge of this department, but he's busy helping the boys. So it'll just be me and the three of you. Annie, I want you to read some sample lines. Kat and Cecily, I want you to bounce off her and improvise, okay?" Schneider explained.
I smirked. This should be fun.
"Nice day we're having, don't cha think?" Annie read, using a false, very high-pitched cheery voice. Cecily snorted and Schneider shot her a glare.
"Sure is!" I said, quite monotonously.
"Perk up, Kat!" Schneider exclaimed, nodding encouragingly. When he looked back down at the script, I glared daggers at him. If only looks could kill...
"I rather wish the sun wasn't so bright though. My skin's so fair I turn as red as a lobster!" Annie admonished, pretending to squint at an imagined sun. I'll admit, she could be a great actress if she wasn't being so over-dramatic.
"Well, Annie, dear - there's this rather lovely thing called sunblock." Cecily smiled sarcastically, patting our friend on the back. "I'm sure it would help your complexion nicely."
Schneider nodded approvingly. "Oh, if only the sun burned through Rafelson's skin - he would shrivel up and that would keep his mouth shut." I sighed in longing. Schneider raised his eyebrows in alarm, but said nothing.
"Why, Kat! That's such a terrible thing to say!" Annie chided, flicking my ear. I flinched and stuck my tongue out at her.
"Well, if she didn't say it, her fist would." Cecily replied, rolling her eyes at my violence. "And if hers didn't, then it would be Mike's. The cycle would never end."
"Oh, why'd you two have to go and spoil the day?" Annie whined, fake glaring at the both of us, but it seemed real enough to me.
"According to you, it already was spoiled since you said you would be a lobster by the end of it." I retorted, sitting down on a beach chair prop. "Guess you lose." However, by the time I was fully situated, it completely collapsed under me. I fell with an 'oof' and Cecily yelped. "Oh, my! Well, dolls, I didn't quite expect that, how about you?"
Annie chuckled behind her hand while Schneider helped me up. "Sorry, Kathleen. I should have told you they were only props." He scratched the back of his neck.
I brushed myself off and shrugged. "Eh, I've felt worse. It's a good thing Rafelson wasn't in here - he would say we were even. Because, according to him, fake beach chairs cost more and are of more value than a guitar."
"It's a good thing Rafelson wasn't in here because you insulted him, K!" Annie reminded me. "You would have been out of that door without pay before you could even curse him out. He would have fired you!"
I turned to Schneider. "Do me a solid: please don't tell Rafelson what I said about him. I don't feel like being fired yet."
"I'll keep my mouth shut as long as you don't tattle about the beach chair. You're right: he'll have a fit." Schneider agreed. "I'll get rid of the remains. You three just keep practicing, okay?"
We nodded in agreement. He picked up every piece of plastic and went in search of a trashcan, leaving us behind. I looked over at them and Cecily started laughing, then Annie. I shook my head, "Whatever. Let's just do what he says."
"Whoa! The Kathleen Lennox, Miss I Do What I Want, insists we do what he says? Why the change of heart?" Cecily teased, slinging an arm around my shoulder and smiling at me mockingly.
"I just don't feel like getting fired on the second day." I replied, tapping her nose with a rolled up script. She smacked the back of my head in retaliation. "You know, if you retaliate, I'll only strike back and the cycle will repeat."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Cecily challenged with a smirk. I raised my script once more to strike down, but Annie dove in between us and shoved us apart.
"Okay, you two, enough! There will not be any injuries on my time." Annie said, then put her arms around both of us. "So, until my time is up, will you please just get along and refrain from smacking each other?"
"Sounds groovy, Annie." Cecily said, then pulled out her script, looking it over. "Oh, golly, the sun is quite bright. Maybe we should move this beach party inside."
"Cecily, that makes absolutely no sense. What do you mean move a beach party inside? What are you going to do? Bring the ocean and the sand and tacky plastic beach chairs into our pad?" I inquired, shooting her a questioning look.
"Exactly why my suggestion was sarcastic." Cecily snapped back.
"Girls!" Annie exclaimed, glaring at the both of us. "We need to figure this out logically." She paced in front of us. "Why don't we hold the party tonight? We can have The Monkees play there and everything."
"Lord knows they need a gig." I quipped, nonchalantly checking my fingernails. Annie rolled her eyes. "You can't deny the truth! And I'm sure that's not the only reason you want to invite them." I waggled my eyebrows and she looked at me threateningly, murder written in her eyes. "It's because of a certain wool-hat wearin' Texan, am I right?"
"Maybe." she blushed, and Cecily and I smirked. "But what you about and a certain wannabe drummer?"
My smirk dropped. "Okay, you clearly know something I don't. So you do want to share because Micky won't. What do you keep referring to? There is nothing between the two of us except a blooming friendship." I laughed at my own corniness.
But Annie kept her mouth shut, so Cecily spoke up. "Word of the wise: don't get involved with someone you're working with. Who knows what'll happen."
"Bullshit!" I snapped, staring at her incredulously. "You're one to talk! Are you kidding? What about Annie and Mike? Hell, what about you and Peter? How hypocritical can you be, Cecily?"
"All I'm saying is you need to be cautious! That goes for all of us; it wasn't only directed at you." Cecily fired back, and that's when the quiet, shy exterior she carried melted away for me. I knew from then on she would always speak her mind around us. "All I'm saying is be careful: mixing business and love is dangerous and ill-advised."
"Wow," I said, breaking the silence her words cast over us like a thundercloud. "Peter would be proud, I'm sure."
"Now if only he'd listen when I rant about him ending his smoking habits." Cecily mused, sitting down on a spare stool. "I don't know what he's trying to prove, or who he's trying to be. Nobody else could ever be James Dean, so I don't understand what he's doing!"
Annie and I glanced at each other and burst into laughter. Cecily bit her lip and blushed, about to reply until Schneider came back in the room with Rafelson on his tail. "Girls, I want you to come with us. There's some important people we want you to meet." Rafelson directed, turning right around and signalling for us to follow.
I sighed, "I hope it's not another Don Kirshner. I don't think I could handle two."
"Lennox, it'll do you some good to shut up. Might get the oxygen flowing to your brain again." Rafelson said, and I rolled my eyes.
"C'mon, Bob, give the girl a break. It's not like she's gonna stop with you still eggin' her on." Schneider tried to persuade, clapping Rafelson on the back.
"Actually, either way, I'm still going to be an asshole." I stated, shrugging. Schneider shook his head and Rafelson groaned, a seemingly common occurrence every time I acted like a smart ass. It gave me a great joy to be such a pain in the ass for him. Almost like a thorn in his side that he can't reach to get rid of. Eventually, he'll pluck me right out though and that'll be that.
We entered a room with the boys in it, and Mike stood up and strolled over to Annie. "Hey, Annie!" he exclaimed, leaning down to kiss her cheek. By God, he was almost half a foot taller than her.
I gasped, then laughed. "Holy shit! When did this happen?"
"Probably after he walked her home." Davy said, chuckling under his breath.
Annie and Mike glared at him, then at me when I started to laugh harder. "Hey, be quiet, both of you." he threatened, pointing at both of us.
"What'cha gonna do, Cowboy?" I taunted, chuckling slightly. Davy nodded along with my statement and I noticed Rafelson rolling his eyes at me. I sat down on a spare stool.
Mike mouthed 'Cowboy' to himself, then shrugged. "Micky? You can handle this, correct?" he asked, looking over at Micky.
I did too and did not like the mischievous look on his face, considering I was still slightly upset with his statement earlier and wanted to talk to him about it. "Don't you dare touch me, Micky Dolenz." I said, standing up and shaking my finger at him, backing behind the stool.
"Sorry, Kat. Mike told me to. Orders." he shrugged, putting his hands up in defense. He sprinted to me and threw me over his shoulder, the second time in a twenty-four hour period. I just cannot catch a break, can I?
"AH! Micky!" I screeched, balling my fists and slamming them into his back. "Put me down right now! Oh, dammit, Nesmith!"
Everyone started laughing at my freak out, and I eventually relented my beating and sighed, hanging there with my chin in my hand. Rafelson and Schneider merely stared at Micky and I like we'd grown two heads. I smacked my forehead and shook my head.
"Put me down, Micky." I stated, an annoyed sigh escaping. I was getting bored. "I hate being up in the air for awhile. Aren't you getting tired of holding me anyway?"
He pretended to think, then said, "Nah..."
I glared at his back. "Put me down anyway." I demanded, irritated.
"Alright, alright." he said, defeated.
Next thing I knew, I was sitting in a heap on the ground. "OW! Not like that!" I yelled, cracking my shoulder and standing up. I could vaguely hear Peter's cackle in the background of anger. Micky smirked and I hissed, "You're evil."
"Shit, the people you were supposed to meet won't be here for another half hour, so until then, you can socialize. Bert and I have to figure some stuff out with the music anyway." Rafelson explained, then checked his watch. "Just work on memorizing lines or something. Davy, Annie - you know the drill."
They left the room and everyone congregated into groups. Davy and Annie began working on their scenes together. Micky shrugged and held out a script to me. "Let's get to work, Lennox." he said, imitating Rafelson.
I snatched the script out his hand and tried to contain my laughter. "Alrighty then, Dolenz."
He grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, as if we were the only ones in the room. "We need to talk later." he mumbled in my ear. "I feel like I upset you."
"You can walk me home." I grinned. "Ya know, kinda like that Fats Domino song?"
"I wants to walk you home! Please let me walk you home!" he began singing dramatically, sweeping me into an equally dramatic waltz around the room. "I wants to walk you home! Please let me walk you home! You look so good to meeeeee!"
I nearly doubled over in laughter as we danced around the room (well, I wouldn't quite call it dancing - it was mostly him dragging me along for the ride). Finally, he dropped me off on the bench Peter and Cecily were sitting on, continuing his elaborate dance around the room as if he were Fred Astaire.
But everyone gets tired at some point, and that happened to Micky like we knew it would, and he collapsed on me.
"Agh, Micky! Get off me!" I said, pouting and frowning at his back.
"Did you guys hear something? I think this bench just talked." he said, looking around and pretending to be confused. I smacked myself on the forehead while Peter and Cecily chuckled.
"You're sitting on Kat!" I exclaimed, shoving him off me.
He tumbled to the floor in a heap and I stuck my tongue out at him. Cecily and Peter lost it, holding their stomachs, doubling over in hysterics. I smirked and stated, "That's revenge for throwing me to the floor earlier."
Micky glared and got up, brushing himself off. "I swept you off your feet in an elaborate, romantic dance, and this is how you show your gratitude."
"Swept me off my feet, sure, but not in the romantic sense. You literally swept me off my feet!" I laughed, and he plopped down beside me, still breathless from his dancing. "Oh, dear, you seem a little winded. Whatever will happen to my sweet Circus Boy?" I fell into his lap dramatically, a hand to my forehead.
"Shut up, Kat." he said, pushing me off him. "You're so dramatic."
I laughed sarcastically. "Says the boy who just danced around the room for ten minutes repeatedly singing I Want To Walk You Home for no reason and the boy who somehow broke my bathroom door!"
"You broke her bathroom door?" Peter asked in surprise. "What the hell were you guys doing this morning?"
Cecily rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head.
"OW! Stop doing that!"
This budding conversation was interrupted by Schneider and Rafelson strutting in with two other men. The former carried an air of arrogance, almost like Kirshner, while the latter seemed quite down-to-earth and possibly shy. "Alright everyone! Today, we'll be working in the music studio with some of the best songwriters in the business." Rafelson announced. "Since our Monkees here have met this songwriting duo, I would like you ladies and Kat to meet them."
I frowned at him and rolled my eyes. "Ladies," said Schneider. "This is Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, better known as Boyce and Hart."
"Oh, you're the ones who wrote that shit song 'Gonna Buy Me a Dog'. I hope Kirshner gave you my condolences because that song has already gone down in flames and it hasn't even been recorded yet." I said, and Rafelson groaned, exiting the room without another word. Probably going to look for aspirin.
Boyce and Hart ignored my comment and smiled at us, kissing Annie and Cecily's hands. Annie and Cecily glanced at each other with a 'Um, what?' face. Boyce came up to me and grinned. "We hear you're a troublemaker."
"So that's what they say on the street?" I replied, a hint of sarcasm in my voice. "As if you couldn't already tell by jab at your songwriting."
"Don't worry. We can handle it." he grinned, and it creeped me out. For good reason as moments later I felt a hand touch my waist and drift farther down.
"Back off." I hissed, smacking his hand away. His grin faltered, a cold look dawning in his eyes.
"What? You think you and that Dolenz kid will hit off? Honey, you must be in a daydream." Boyce laughed cruelly, watching as everyone else followed Hart to the recording studio.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I questioned, gritting my teeth.
"When he becomes one of those rockstars, he'll leave you behind. It happens all the time." he smirked, patting me on the shoulder. "You want a real man - like me."
"No, you listen to me. You're only here so you can flaunt a number 1 single on your empty chalkboard." I snapped, jabbing a finger in his face. "Will The Monkees give you a claim to fame, or will you go down in flames with them?"
He grasped my wrist tightly. "You listen to me, Miss Lennox. Just watch your back. In this business, you have enemies you can't see, including your friends." he said harshly, and I gasped as he tightened his grip on my wrist.
"Let go of me." I stated firmly, leveling my glare with his. He released my wrist and smiled, walking away to follow the others.
"You best follow me, Miss Lennox. A little girl like you may just get lost in a big place like this." he smirked. I stared after him and frowned. He was a bigger threat than Rafelson or Kirshner. This man was worse. Something about him seemed off and I did not like it one bit.
All of us sat down together in the recording studio, bored out of our minds. The studio musicians had technical difficulties and were taking forever to set up. I saw a Rhodes in the corner and gasped, temporarily forgetting all of my problems and fears. I heard Rhodes were outtasite. They were a combination of electric guitar and piano, and they just came out last year I think.
"Whoa! Is this a Rhodes?" I exclaimed, rushing over to it and sitting down on the bench.
"Yeah. You play?" Peter asked, walking over with the others. Boyce was watching us like a hawk, specifically me, and it was making me extremely uncomfortable, though I refused to show it.
"Ha, barely enough to get me by in church. I know a few chords. But I heard these were groovy and I've always wanted to play one since." I said, chuckling and hitting keys at random, some of them making a terrible sound.
"Let's hear something then." Micky suggested, and Boyce's words flooded back into my mind. When he becomes one of those rockstars, he'll leave you behind. It happens all the time. The others nodded in agreement to his suggestion. I frowned and he winked.
"We haven't heard you sing yet." Annie added, and I knew she was hoping she had persuaded me to sing.
"Hey! Give me some time! I've gotta compose. Now shoo!" I said, waving them away. They grumbled under their breaths and walked to different areas of the studio, waiting for the Boyce and Hart to work out the difficulties.
"You know, if you need any help with the piano, I could give you some lessons." Boyce said in my ear, leaning over me. I froze in my spot and my breathing stopped. "Of course, it would cost you."
"And I bet that cost wouldn't be money, now would it?" I snapped back, regaining some composure and glaring at him. He backed away and glared, "Just consider my offer, Miss Lennox. It may come in handy."
"Yeah, well, so will a boot." I replied, hitting a random key.
"Why's that?"
"So I can shove it up your ass if you even think to talk to me unprofessionally ever again."
I felt him walk away and breathed a sigh of relief, continuing to play. Hitting a key I thought sounded good, I hit one after the other and started to sing lyrics I was coming up with. "And you, you blow my house down... And you, you leave me without a sound. Ooooohhh....hmmmm..."
"Wow, you're actually pretty good." I hear someone say behind me. I whirled around in my seat to see only Micky. I blushed, then looked around. Everyone else was gone. He noticed me searching and said, "They all went out for lunch. Is that original?"
I nodded and looked back at the piano keys, lightly tapping them so they barely made a sound. "Boyce said earlier that you'll leave us behind. You know, when you become a famous rock star or something. Is that true?"
I heard something crash to the floor and realized Micky had kicked a chair. "He said that?" he asked. "No, why am I asking? Of course he said that. I've never liked him. The moment I met him I knew he was trouble."
"Is. It. True?" I questioned again, gritting my teeth. I heard the shuffling of feet and found Micky right in front of me, kneeling down to my height.
"Of course it's not true. You all are my friends, why would I leave you guys behind? There would be no point. We're all in this thing together for life." he said, then stood up and held out his hand.
I nodded and grasped his hand, standing up. "Let's go to lunch then, shall we?"