Maniac In The Dressing Room-1935

• Megan Godfrey, Grade 8A
• Short Story
• 2013

The name’s Linda Jane Bennett, but they call me Linda and boy have I got a story to tell....

It was late Fall in New York 1935 and I was getting ready for my next show. “You’re on in five Linda!” called Nancy, the stage manager. I removed the last curler which enabled a soft brown tendril of hair to fall down my cheek. While I carefully put on scarlet lipstick and powdered my nose I remembered why I had become an actress. Being 1935 a big obstacle in my life was the Great Depression. My only option was to work or I’d end up in Hooverville, I’d be a letter in the grate of a fireplace; no use to anyone.

I zipped up the back of my dress and I slipped on my black heeled pumps. I took one last look at myself in the globe lit mirror and got up ready for my performance as an heiress in Margaret Kennedy’s ‘Escape Me Never’.

Suddenly I felt the cold barrel of a gun pressed against my back. Then I felt an even colder hand running across my collarbone, up my neck and along my cheek. A course voice whispered in my ear “I've been watching for weeks now,” a shiver ran down my spine. “I always wave to you in the audience and you don’t even acknowledge me, even when you gave me your autograph you didn't even look at me.” “Well I can’t remember everyone I meet, I've given many people my autogr....” I was cut off. “Shhhh, if you do what I say I might let you go.”I remained quiet. “Now just act normal and get on stage, if you say anything to anyone you won’t be saying anything again. Is that clear?” I nodded. He put his gun away and walked close behind me like a lion stalking its prey.

I was side stage waiting to enter ‘stage right’. I forced a smile for the sake of the audience and my career. Silently the maniac from my dressing room swept behind the black curtain, I could feel him watching me, analyzing my every move.
The Play had come to the kissing scene. Charles Lynch played Sebastian Durbok, he looked so darn handsome in his two toned brogues. We went in for the kiss, I whispered “run, no time to explain.”He had enough trust in me to know that I wasn't kidding around. He held my hand and ran with me. I heard gun shots firing. We made it cautiously to the props closet, opened it up and grabbed two guns.

“I’ll go stage right, you go stage left.”I said to Charles.

The Maniac was in my sights now his back facing me, just as planned. “Alright, put em up!”I said as I put the plastic gun to his back pushing him center stage. “Yeah” said Charles holding up his prop. The Maniac dropped the gun. Everyone cheered as they thought it was part of the performance.