SATURDAY, MAY 14

The screen fades in, revealing a busy backyard. There are a number of people standing about idly. A dull symphony of blended voices floats between the people, each voice indistinguishable from the rest. The camera pans through the crowd, eventually resting on a couple. The man is average, with messy brown hair. He is smiling, talking loudly to someone off screen. The woman is short yet slender, with auburn hair. She is picking at potato chips on a paper plate she is holding.

"So there you are." A male voice says from behind the camera.

The woman's eyes widen, and then she turns away from the camera. This gets the man's attention. He turns to her, puts an arm around her, and gently spins her back around.

"C'mon honey." He says. "Don't be shy. This celebration is for us after all."

"Oh, this isn't such a big deal." She says.

"Of course it is, don't be silly!" A female voice says from off-screen. The camera pans to show a woman dressed in a white polo shirt and blue jean shorts. She has short blond hair, and is standing with her hands on her hips.

"You guys have been trying for, what, over a year now?" She continues. "Everyone here is really happy for you."

The man smiles. "Thanks Kate, we really appreciate it."

"You shouldn't have gone through all this trouble." The woman says.

Kate moves closer to the couple, bringing them into the center of the camera's scope. "It was no trouble at all. Right John?"

"Yeah, this party almost planned itself." The voice behind the camera responds. "I just got the word out and everyone responded. I just had to go out and buy the supplies."

Kate smiles at the camera. "If nothing else, it gave him something to do during the day."

The man kisses the woman on the cheek. "I'm going to go see how the burgers are doing, be right back." The camera stays centered on Kate and the other woman as the man goes off-screen.

Kate turns to the woman. "So Marie, how does this affect your job hunt?"

"Well, it will have to wait of course." Marie responds, taking another chip from her plate.

"Not necessarily. Nowadays, depending on the type of job, you can work all the way through pregnancy, even up to your delivery date. And you don't have to tell anyone that you're expecting while you're interviewing. It's well within your rights."

"I know. I just think I should stay at home right now. I think that's more important. Especially with Steven so busy at work these days."

"Maybe, but you shouldn't sacrifice your own happiness, not for anything. And I know how crazy you've been at home all the time. Why, poor John, he can't even-"

Kate is interrupted by a ringing noise. She stops, and pulls out a cell phone from her pocket.

"Kate Williamson. Oh? The reports arrived today? Damn, whatever happened to 'overnight delivery'?" She lowers her cell phone and puts a hand over it. "Excuse me for a moment." She says to Marie, giving a half smile. She nods to the camera, and walks off-screen.

The camera stays on Marie. She looks down, digging her right toe into the grass. A couple walks by, congratulating her as they pass. She looks up, and smiles in acknowledgement. The couple pass by, and she looks now directly into the camera.

"Hey John, how is your novel coming?"

"Oh, very slow." The voice behind the camera responds. "I can't get very much done during a day anymore."

"I know." Marie looks down again. The only sound is the murmur of voices. The camera stays centered on her.

Slight static. The image disappears behind the static. It is replaced by another image; hamburgers on an open grill. Some static still remains.

"You see that, John?" The man's voice from before, Steven, says. "That my friend, is art. Pure beauty."

"It's like poetry in motion." John responds. "I'm glad you listened to me and bought them big. Do you see how big they are now? That's the size you want. You have to take into account how much they shrink when you cook 'em. My old man taught me that."

"I guess. I don't know much about this stuff."

The static cleared. The burgers had a fine layer of grease on them, with bubbles forming and popping at the surface.

"What do you do with all that spare time anyway?" Steven says. "I hope Kate's not working her butt off for you to lounge around all day at home."

The voice laughs. "It's not quite like that."

The camera pans up to show the backyard. A few people are standing around the grill, eyeballing the burgers between their conversations. To the far right of the screen, Kate can be seen standing under a tree, with her cell phone in one hand, and her other hand flailing about wildly in the air, gesturing passionately.

"You know, I don't think I've had the chance to congratulate you yet." John says.

"Are you kidding? You organized this whole party! I should be thanking you."

"We're all really happy for you. Both of you. We know you've been trying for the past year."

"Well, you know what I always say, perseverance wins the battle. And hey, trying was half the fun."

"Yeah maybe."

"It probably should have happened sooner. Too many nights I came home and was too tired to even think straight."

"Are you going to take some time off work now?"

"I don't see that I need to. I'll read the books and go to the classes and what not, but I should probably make it a point to stay out of Marie's way during all this. I may need to work some more, hopefully get a raise. Babies are nice, but they can be a real black hole on the expenses."

The sound defaulted to the constant hum. The camera panned back to the burgers.

"Those sure do look delicious." John says.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18

There is no picture. Only a black screen. The sound of someone playing with a device can be clearly heard.

"That should do it." John's voice can be heard.

The picture appears. It is a house, the inside of a study. The camera starts out on a desk. It is cluttered with papers and a closed notebook computer. The camera then pans right, to show a couch. Kate is sitting in the middle, surrounded by papers. She is wearing a dark blue blouse, a few buttons opened, and a dark gray pair of slacks. Her hair is tied back, but a few loose strands have strayed in front of her face. She looks up at the camera.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kate asks.

"Just testing out my new battery." John's voice says. "C'mon, smile for the camera."

"Maybe later."

"Just for a few minutes. C'mon." The camera moves closer to the couch, to Kate's right. The perspective lowers, so now Kate is level with the camera's perspective.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hi, I'm from the Spring Break Party Girls camera crew. You're a hot little number. What's your name?"

Kate shakes her head, but then smiles. She turns to the camera, mockingly brushing her hair from her face. "My name's Kate. Nice to meet you."

"Hi Kate. So, have you been to any crazy parties yet?"

"Yeah! But, no cute guys yet. I'm going to be very disappointed if I leave Cancun without finding any cute guys to fuck."

"So will I, babe. Hey, wanna do us a favor? We need cute co-eds like you for our video. If you give the camera a little flash, I can give you a free t-shirt…"

Kate giggles. "A free t-shirt? Awesome! But I dunno, I don't want any of my friends to see this."

"Who cares! Its spring break! And, you get a free t-shirt…"

Kate giggles again. "Oh, okay. Just a little peek." She unbuttons her blouse and pulls it apart.

"Okay." John's voice says, in a soothing manner. "You gotta flash the camera for five whole seconds, okay? Ready?"

Kate lowers her head, smiling into the camera. "Yeah. Okay, here I go!" She pulls down on her bra, exposing her breasts. She wiggles her shoulders a few times before pulling her bra back up and buttoning her blouse. "And that's all you get, okay?"

"Aw!" John's voice responds. "You know, we can offer you a lot more than a free t-shirt."

Kate's grin fades. "No, really John. I have to get back to work."

"We'd only need fifteen minutes."

"I'm sorry, I really can't. These reports are due tomorrow. Some other time, okay?"

The picture goes black, but the audio can still be heard.

"Right. It's always some other time." John's voice says.

The recording stops.

THURSDAY, JUNE 2

It is a large auditorium. The seats are filled with people, many of them holding cameras of some kind. On the floor below are a number of seats, arraigned in rows. In front of the seats on the floor is a platform, which a few more chairs and a podium. Green and gold banners hang from the rafters, and a university seal is posted on the wall behind the platform. Off to the right of the platform is a band; they appear to be preparing to play. There is a constant dull hum of voices in unison in the background.

Marie's voice can be heard over the murmur. "Hey, thanks for inviting me to your brother's graduation John. You didn't have to."

"No problem." John's voice responds. "Hey, it gets us out of the house."

The camera sweeps across the auditorium, catching the droves of people in their seats. It pans right and up, recording the faces of people in the crowd a lot closer to the point of view. The view pivots to the immediate right, and Marie comes on screen. She is sitting with her knees together and her upper body leaning forward. She is wearing a beige polo shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She loosely holds a white program book in her right hand. She is chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes look into the camera for a moment before darting away.

"I wonder when they're going to start this thing?" John's voice says.

Marie does nothing in response.

"Boy, these things sure are getting fancy." John's voice continues. "Remember ours? I think it was in the gym or something. All I remember is that I couldn't stay awake and someone kept tossing tortilla bread around. One of them almost hit the chancellor, and the crowd nearly burst into cheers."

"Hmm." Marie continues to stare forward. Her eyes then move away from the camera, and she moves her head to the side as well. "Will you be sticking around after the ceremony?"

"Probably not." John's voice replies. "I'll catch up to my brother to say congrats of course, but I think he's going out with his girlfriend after this to celebrate."

"Would you like to go out for lunch then?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Marie pauses. "There's something I need to talk to you about as well."

"…Okay."

The camera moves away from her, back towards the floor. It rolls around the seats once more, resting on the band. A few of the chairs are empty; in the ones that are filled, the musicians are talking among themselves, and setting up sheet music.

"Well, you know they aren't ready to begin if the band isn't ready yet." John's voice says. "I guess it will be a few more minutes."

The recording stops.

TUESDAY, JUNE 7

The image of a John and Kate's house appears again. It is the study. Kate is on the couch again, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She has a notebook computer on her lap, and is peering over her glasses into the screen. Her eyes move up to meet the camera's gaze.

She half-smiles. "I swear John, you are always playing with that thing."

Huh? Oh." John's voice responds. "I just changed the tape."

She looks back at her notebook. "Boys and their toys. So, what is it tonight? Aspiring model from the country? Actress from LA? Bouncy co-ed on vacation?"

"What?"

"You know." She smiles behind the notebook. "Your twisted little fantasies."

"Oh. I don't know. You pick."

"No, I have to finish this review, and then prepare for my presentation tomorrow. I'll do the aspiring country model for you some other time."

"Of course." John says after a small pause. The camera moves suddenly and jerkily, the picture swirling violently until it comes to a rest on top of the desk. The back wall and a calendar are now in the camera's focus; nothing else appears.

John's arm appears in front of the camera. He is reaching for something on it. "Well, I'm going to head off to bed then."

"Allright." Kate responds. "Oh wait, I was meaning to ask you, you've seen Marie in the past few days, haven't you?"

Slight pause.

"Yeah, once or twice."

"Did you notice anything strange about her?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno…anything, her attitude, her demeanor…"

"Not that I recall. Why?"

"I got a call on my cell from Steven this evening." Kate says. "He said Marie has been strange lately…somewhat withdrawn. He was wondering if it was a health concern, so he thought he'd ask me, see if she had shared anything just between two women. I haven't really seen her since the barbeque, so I thought I'd ask you."

"Oh. I don't know. Maybe. But with the pregnancy and all…"

"Yeah, that's what I told Steven. He's probably just overly concerned."

"Probably. Well, I have to get to bed. …Goodnight."

John's arm moves forward in front of the camera, and the recording stops.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29

The screen fades in to show a poorly lit hotel room. Clothes are strewn across a bed with an interested red, gold, and green bed sheet. The walls of this room appear to be made out of wood. Outside the window, which is directly across from the bed, a beach setting can be seen – sand so white it almost seemed to glow. And a deep blue ocean just out on the horizon.

"Sweetie, hurry up already." John's voice can be heard.

The camera moves closer to the bathroom, where the sound of running water becomes more apparent. The shower is on; steam floats out from the bathroom, which provides a semi-thick haze to the video. John's finger appears, and it sweeps across the screen, clearing it momentarily.

A female voice can be heard from the bathroom, but it is not quite strong enough to be clearly audible over the shower.

The camera floats back to the window. Down on the beach, a young woman wearing a red and white bikini crosses into the frame. She is holding an umbrella, and wearing dark sunglasses. She stops for a moment to readjust her sandals.

The camera returns to the hotel room, the shower.

"How long does it take anyway?" John's voice is again heard.

The same female voice replies, but it is again inaudible.

"That's it, I'm coming in." John's voice is softer, and probably does not make it all the way to the bathroom.

The camera slowly approaches the shower. The haze begins to cloud the screen again. A blurry image of John's arm comes on screen. It knocks on the shower's glass door. The door suddenly slides open, revealing a woman's figure. Her image is fuzzy, concealed by the haze on screen.

"Hey!" She exclaims. "No fair peeking!"

"That's what you get for taking so long." John replies.

"Can't you at least shut that off for a few minutes?"

"I will once you're done."

She giggles. "Fine. Deal then." Her arm moves closer to the camera; her finger slides across the screen, clearing the haze. Her hand pulls back, showing her clearly within the shower.

"Okay, then hurry up, we're going to be late." John insists.

"Don't worry," Marie says, "I'm almost done."

The screen is filled with the haze again.

The recording stops.