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Favorite Moments

written by Shannon Bryan

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About this story

Published: 1997 | Size: 20 KB (3769 words) | Language: english | Rating: PG-13
Average: 3.6/5   3.6/5 (16 votes)

based on stories and characters created by Winnie Holzman

Hi. Hey.

How goes it? Just when you thought it was safe to download e-mail, Shannon & Shobi are back! <insert maniacal laughter here> Lately we've been trying to decide exactly which eps are brilliant and which are merely great. Which ep of his "life" would Brian like best? Or Sharon? How 'bout Angela? After much debate and some childish name calling, we decided to go straight to the source: Liberty High.

We've been roaming the dim halls of Liberty for the past few days, asking questions, poking around, and generally making a nuisance of ourselves. With a little luck, a few field trips outside the school, and a *lot* of creative license we eventually caught up with most of the characters to ask them. The easiest time to find people is during lunch, because who skips lunch? So the first people we talked to were Sharon, Angela, Rayanne, and Brian during their lunch hour.

Grab a lolly, press the "Play" button, and turn up the sound. This here is an exclusive interview, just for you!

(Disclaimer: Actually, this "interview" is just a lame attempt to entertain ourselves. If any of *you* happen to be entertained in the process, it's pure gravy. Or something.) [[Tape recorder: ON]]

Background noise filters through...after a moment of garbled sound, Shannon's voice (which may or may not sound like a cross between Kerry Weaver and Urkel) can be heard.

SHAN: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

RAYANNE: (snorts) Like this is any worse than class? *Doubtful.*

BRIAN: (annoyed) Right. As if you even know what classes are like.

RAYANNE: Shut up, Krakow.

SHARON: Why don't you both shut up. (fake voice, turns on charm) What do you want to know?

SHAN: Okay. Which moment in MSCL is your favorite? Which one shows the real you?

RAYANNE: I vote for The Substitute. (smugly) There was a certain poem which had everyone all hot and--

SHARON: (interrupting, firmly) Never mind. (pause) I-I'm not sure. I'm proud of most of the episodes. (longer pause) I guess I'd have to say Strangers in the House. Because I was, like, totally worried about my dad. And I thought he was going to die. (her voice wavers briefly) But instead of losing someone...I found someone. Someone I thought I lost.

RAYANNE: (mutters) I'm gonna puke.

ANGELA: Why are you here, again?

RAYANNE: 'Cause even these two feebs (pointing to your humble interviewers) know which of us is the most interesting to talk to. Besides, I thought you weren't talking to me?

ANGELA: You're right. I'm not.

SHOBI: So, Sharon, back to what you said, you said you found someone you thought you'd lost?

BRIAN: (matter-of-factly) She means Angela. Because, you know, Angela blew Sharon off for a while. Of course, she blew *me* off as well, but--

ANGELA & SHARON: (together) Shut *up*, Brian.

ANGELA: (wounded) I didn't just blow Sharon off.

RAYANNE: (laughs) Of course you did. I mean, how could you not, when you find someone as great as me to hang around with?

ANGELA: (deep sigh) Go away.

SHARON: No, she's right. You did sort of blow me off.

ANGELA: I didn't mean it that way.

SHARON: I know. But that's what it felt like. (pause) And maybe that's also why it meant so much when you came back.

There is some rustling as the two girls hug. Shobi notices Rayanne begin a deep eye-roll, while Shannon, (her eyes eternally glued to Brian) swoons at his small smile. The two girls part from their embrace and follow Shannon's eyes to Brian, who finally notices he is being watched. His expression sobers instantly.

BRIAN: Well, for me the most *important* episode would have to be Life of Brian.

SHAN: (breathy--so much for journalistic integrity) Why?

BRIAN: Because Angela finally let someone else get a word in edgewise.

ANGELA: (shaking her head) *That* episode? Living those moments was excruciating enough. To think about them now, (she looks at Brian) makes them even sadder somehow.

SHOBI: Well, what about you Angela?

ANGELA: (uncertain) I--I don't know. It feels odd to pick one moment out of my life. Like, how can I really decide? How can I choose just one? I mean, that seems like a lot to ask someone.

SHOBI: Are you saying you don't want to choose then?

ANGELA: (quickly) Um, when Jordan walked up to me and took my hand. At the end of Self-Esteem. That just, like, *got* to me. (radiant smile) It made everything... real. (quietly, dreamy look) I finally realized that maybe he *did* have feelings for me. That it wasn't just something that I made up...inside my head.

BRIAN: (stone-faced) Oh yeah. That scene was great. I really loved that.

RAYANNE: (glares) You already talked about yourself, Krakow. So zip it.

ANGELA: (looks down, smiles) Of course, I also liked it when Jordan was trying to teach me how to drive...

RAYANNE: (laughs) Yeah, and you didn't even get to the advanced lessons, involving the back seat. Those are the best ones.

ANGELA: (angry, sputtering) You . . .you . . .arrgh!

Angela spins around and leaves the table in a huff. Sharon stands as well.

SHARON: I'd better go after her. (to Rayanne) That isn't helping, you know. (apologetic) It's not you two, she's just having a hard time right now.

BRIAN: (perking up) Because of the letter?

SHARON: (annoyed) What letter, Krakow?

BRIAN: (looks down instantly) Nothing. Never mind.

Sharon shoots Brian a withering look and takes off after Angela.

RAYANNE: (seductive) Looks like it's just you and me, Bri.

BRIAN: (his eyes go wide) Um. I'd better go too.

SHOBI: Well, Rayanne, you've managed to chase everyone away.

SHAN: And that's usually *our* job.

SHOBI: So how about you? Which moment was your favorite?

RAYANNE: (bitter laugh) There are so many. My life is just one party after another.

The interviewers just stare at her as her smile fades.

RAYANNE: I don't have any of those Hallmark moments. I buy my birthday cards from dirty bookstores. If there's no fat people, nudity, or people giving the finger I don't want to see it. And I never flip over the card, like those moronic simpletons in that commercial.

SHAN: So are you saying there wasn't even one moment that you cherish?

RAYANNE: I didn't say *that*. I guess maybe there was one moment. (pause) Strangely enough, it was with Angela's Mom. Where I finally realized that Angela didn't see herself as just someone in the revolving door that all my so-called friends go through. (pause, her voice gets low, barely audible) I always kept waiting for someone who wouldn't just be a millisecond in my life. Someone who would stick. Someone who didn't look at me like . . . damaged goods. (curt laugh) 'Cause I've dealt with disappointing people all my life. But this really passing sort of disappointment, like they really didn't expect anything else. (her voice gets thick) For Angela to have been *so* disappointed in me, so *hurt*, must mean that she really expected better. From me. (laughs again) Little did she know. (suddenly suspicious) No one at Liberty is going to see this are they?

[[Tape recorder: OFF]]

After granting Rayanne the proper (if misleading) assurances, the reporters decided to split up to find the rest of the people on their stalking list. Shobi was dispatched to the Chase household and Shannon went to continue the search for Rickie and Jordan. Shannon got the plum assignment since she was the only interviewer of the two allowed to search for Rickie in the Girls' Washroom.

Finally, after a fruitless search inside the school, Shannon wandered outside. She spotted someone smoking under the bleachers. Hopeful, she walked closer.

[[Tape recorder: ON]]

SHAN: Hi Jordan. I've been looking for you.

JORDAN: (blank look) Why? Am I supposed to know you or something?

SHAN: No. I'm just conducting a sort of survey. I already talked to your friends Brian, Angela, Shar--

JORDAN: (interrupting) You talked to Angela? So did she, like, say anything about me?

SHAN: I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to discuss that.

JORDAN: (wrinkles forehead) You just said you were here to discuss...whatever.

SHAN: What? Oh...well, yes. Look, Jordan, why don't you just tell me what your favorite moment is. Then I can let you get back to doing...whatever it is you're doing.

JORDAN: (sighs, takes a drag on his cigarette) All right. Let me just think for a minute...does it have to be, like, one favorite moment, or what?

SHAN: (tries to subtly wave her notebook in order to dissipate smoke) You can tell me as many as you want.

JORDAN: Okay. Then I guess my favorite is In Dreams Begin...whatever. I can't remember the title right now. But there's this part where I go to pick Angela up, right? Only she wasn't home. So I ended up talking to her mom. And her mom was, like, cool. (pause, remembering) But she was wearing a *lot* of makeup.

SHAN: (prodding) So the two of you talked?

JORDAN: Yeah. She just...listened. Because I always thought I never needed anyone. And maybe I didn't. Maybe I just, sort of... *wanted* them. And maybe that's not the same as needing. (sigh, long pause) But that was before I met Angela.

SHAN: And you're saying that you *do* need Angela?

JORDAN: (drops his cigarette, crushes it out) I guess so. (looks down) I know I do. (rubs his fingers together, nervous) Because there was this time that she was mad at me, you know?

SHAN: Why was she mad at you?

JORDAN: (flustered, looks away) It doesn't...it doesn't matter. But I used to have all these dreams where she forgave me. And in that episode, before I talked to Patty, Angela did forgive me. (quietly) We were in the hallway. At school. And she was saying this stuff, and I was trying to tell her...tell her something. And then we kissed. And it was, like, what I had been *waiting* for. (embarrassed) Or whatever. (turns, gives Shannon a hard look, pulls out another cigarette) You aren't going to, like, tell people what I just said are you?

SHAN: (frozen smile) Well, um, not exactly *tell* people. (backs away slowly)

JORDAN: (follows her) Cuz I'm thinking that my friend, Tino should, like, hold onto that tape recorder thing. For safe keeping or whatever.

SHAN: (her helium inspired voice goes even higher) What? This? This isn't even on...

[[Tape recorder: OFF]]

Later, Shobi sat down with Danielle, Graham, and Patty in the Chase living room.

[[Tape recorder: ON]]

SHOBI: Thank you again for inviting me in.

GRAHAM: Well, you are rather large and intimidating.

SHOBI: Anyway, I've told you the drill, what is your favorite moment? Your defining moment?

DANIELLE: That's *easy*! The Weekend. It was amazing. It was the most exciting time of my life. By a *lot*.

PATTY: (suspicious) You told us that you all just stayed in and played games.

DANIELLE: Umm . . . we *did*. (pause, speaking very quickly) It probably just seems like the best time since it's, you know, not very often that Angela acknowledges my existence.

PATTY: And that's all?

DANIELLE: (nodding vigorously) Yep. (standing) I should go.

GRAHAM: You should?

DANIELLE: Yeah. You know, "adult talk"? (gesturing) No place for me.

Danielle skitters away with the speed of someone who's just gotten away with something.

SHOBI: Well how about you two?

Graham opens his mouth to speak, but Patty beats him to it.

PATTY: Well for me, the most precious moment would be the night that Rayanne almost OD'ed.

GRAHAM: (raised eyebrow) 'Cause you thought you'd be rid of her?

PATTY: (irritated) No. Because I could help her. And Angela. (pause) And because no matter how much I recognize intellectually that parenting isn't a competition, I can't *stand* it that Angela loves you best.

GRAHAM: (aghast) Patty!

PATTY: But she needs *me*. And she trusts me enough to turn to me when she's in trouble. (pause) And later that night, in the car, we actually talked. Like she actually wanted to know something about my life. And I opened up. A bit. (pause) And maybe, just maybe, if I can keep doing that, even a little, then I won't turn into *my* Mother. 'Cause I couldn't bear that.

GRAHAM: (under his breath) Me either.

PATTY: Well what about you then? (accusatory) Go ahead and tell him *your* defining moment. (snidely) I'll help, (turns toward interviewer) "Hallie" is spelled with two L's.

GRAHAM: Well actually, I *was* going to say that the moment when our investors stood up and toasted me was probably the greatest moment in my life. But . . .

SHOBI: (nudging) But?

GRAHAM: (glances over at Patty) Maybe that was just the moment where I felt the best. Maybe some moments where you don't feel so good are the most important sometimes. Like at the end of Strangers in the House, when I felt so trapped and lost. And that Wood and Jones was my life. *This* was my life. And any dreams I had were gone. And then Patty fired me.

SHOBI: And firing you was good?

GRAHAM: At least in a way. Because then the excuse of my "responsibility" was gone. And I actually had to figure out, after all that time, what my dreams actually were. And my dream came true. (pause) But that never could have happened if my own wife hadn't fired me. So, strangely enough, yes. That was pretty great.

Graham and Patty then exchange a look. Their expressions have softened towards one another.

SHOBI: Okay, so let me make sure I have this right, you picked moments out of episodes #8 & 10. Both *before* Hallie Lowenthal entered the picture. Any thoughts on that fact?

GRAHAM & PATTY: (together) No comment.

[[Tape recorder: OFF]]

Later, Shannon was found by Rickie.

[[Tape recorder: ON]]

RICKIE: Hi. I hear you were looking for me.

SHAN: Yes. My partner and I wanted to talk to you.

RICKIE: I know all about it. (looks around) I just didn't want to talk in front of all the others. Not just yet. They shouldn't hear about it like this.

SHAN: About what?

RICKIE: About my favorite moment. (pause) I guess my favorite moment was in the last episode. When I finally admitted aloud what I had been hiding . . . and *fighting* for so long. (shaking head) Like if I never said it out loud, it wasn't true. Except it was always true. At least in, like, my *heart*.

The interviewer automatically senses the nearness of Brian Krakow, much like one of those dogs that point. Then she sees him come up behind Rickie. She remains silent.

RICKIE: (after a pause) And I hated myself for it. I felt so ashamed. And for awhile I thought that if I ever told, that . . . *others* would hate me for it too. (deep breath) And maybe they will. But I'd rather they hate me for who I *am*, than like me for who they *want* me to be. (pause) So, *that* was definitely the best moment. For me. Just that the *secret* was finally out. It felt . . . it felt . . . .

BRIAN: (coming closer to Rickie and the tape recorder, softly) Liberating?

RICKIE: (startled) Brian! (pause) What are you doing?

BRIAN: (embarrassed) Um, listening. (pause, hopefully) Helping?

RICKIE: But this is *my* story. What would you know about it?

BRIAN: (ruefully) Right, Rickie, I don't know *anything* about what it feels like to harbor a secret you're afraid to reveal. Zero. Nothing.

RICKIE: (relenting) I see your point. (pause) But if you found it so liberating, why did you already choose another moment?

BRIAN: I didn't. I mean, not really. (pause) I said Life of Brian was most *important*. That's not the same as favorite.

RICKIE: So what is your favorite?

Angela emerges from a nearby classroom, carrying her backpack. Neither of the boys notice her approach.

BRIAN: (faint smile) It would have to be the final episode. At the very end. When I, um, accidentally admitted I wrote Angela the letter. And her anger, like, *evaporated*. (softly) And she said the letter made her happy. (his voice goes soft with amazement) Something *I* wrote made *her*...happy.

RICKIE: See, Brian wrote this letter for Jordan so he could, like, win Angela back or whatever. (sympathetic look at Brian) Only he basically wrote about his own feelings.

Angela stands still, listening, her hair obscuring her face.

BRIAN: (his face tightens) I don't condone what I did, all right? (pause) But I can't...I can't, like, *condemn* it either. (hoarse) Because for that one moment there was, like, *hope*. That maybe... Angela could like someone like *me*. That the way I felt about her, you know, *mattered*. (pause) To her. (he blinks rapidly) Of course she's with Jordan Catalano again, but at least I have that moment, right? I mean, that matters. (looks from Rickie to the interviewer, his eyes bright) Right?

Angela stares at the back of Brian's head for a long moment, an odd expression on her face. Brian turns suddenly and sees her.

ANGELA: (hint of a smile) Hi.

BRIAN: (mortified, he avoids both the interviewer's gaze and Angela's) Hi. (pause) Hey. (stumbles backwards) I should, like, go. I'm gonna be late for this yearbook thing.

ANGELA: Brian, wait. I heard...

Sharon and Rayanne round the corner, chatting.

SHARON: (spots Brian, impatient) Hurry up, Krakow. We've got that meeting. (annoyed) You were, like, *born* slow.

Brian follows Sharon mutely down the hall.

RAYANNE: (grabs Rickie's arm) Come on. I bought some awesome nail polish. (waves a bottle in his face, excited) Cool color, huh? It's called Silver Springs. (pulls him in the same direction Sharon and Brian went) Let's go try it!

RICKIE: (lets himself be dragged away, calls to the interviewer) It was nice talking with you.

Angela and Shannon are left alone in the hallway.

ANGELA: (clears her throat) So, I mean everything we told you about those favorite moments, you *do* know that's only so far, right?

SHAN: Of course.

ANGELA: (nodding in the direction her friends went) 'Cause I get the feeling that a lot of great things are yet to come. (smile, hair tuck) For all of us.

With that, the young redhead hefted her backpack and sprinted down the eerie hallway, but she looked back briefly at the interviewer, and the expression on her face indicated she was certain she could still catch up with her friends.

[[Tape recorder: OFF]]

Well, that's it, gang! An *exclusive* from Shannon & Shobi. Angela and her friends told us what their favorite moments were. What about yours? Come on, tell us. You know you want to.

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“My dad thinks every person in the world is having more fun than him.”

Angela Chase, Episode 1: "My So-Called Life (Pilot)"