Game: Storyline: Starting Fresh

[Kelly_Sprout]

This will be a mass contribution to a storyline. I don't know whether to call my ideas below "rules" or "guidelines" or "suggestions", but I'd like to set a framework, if people would be willing to follow it.

Perhaps, instead of trying to introduce 999,999 plot twists and force the storyline to go into our own personal favorite genre, whether that be goth, sci-fi, pulp fiction, historical fiction, political opinion, or whatever, we should think of this storyline more like a daytime soap... the story never ends, all the characters are mainstream and stay sort-of-more-or-less true to their own personalities and quirks, and the individual threads of plots interweave and make some sort of sense. Sound fun to anyone?

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Jenny slammed the door and then turned to face Frank. Anger played across her face, but it was a heavy sob that shook her shoulders as she slumped back against the door for support.

"What on earth...?" Frank said, startled.

[kathycf]

"Don't pretend like you don't know, Frank!" Jenny snarled, and then another sob contorted her lovely face. " I saw you---"

[Pendragon]

"I saw you with--with her!" She burst into an explosion of tears. Frank narrowed his eyes for a moment. So, she knew. It was too early to break off his relationship with Jenny, there was still information he needed to have. He reached to the sideboad for drinks. He had to salvage....

[kathycf]

this relationship because he knew Jenny was the sole heiress of the Jenkins tungsten fortune. Frank was in desperate straits for several reasons. First, he had no idea what tungsten was and secondly....

[Pendragon]

he needed that money rather badly. They say you will always have to pay your taxes and for your funeral expenses. As Frank had found out the hard way, gambling expenses are also hard to get out of paying. Sure, Ricardo DeMitri had given him a month to come up with the 500 grand he owed. But...

[kathycf]

a month was at most, 31 days. He thought to himself" "Frankie, you had better appease Jenny before she wises up to you". Suddenly Jenny whirled around as Frank started talking and then...

[Kelly_Sprout]

...fell into his arms, her wet makeup smearing on his collar. "I know it's not your fault, Frank, I do. I know that. But it's just not fair that I should have to put up with the whispers and the carefully shaded eyes whenever I am out in public. You can understand that, can't you?" She looked up into his face, searching his eyes for that spark, that connection that used to be there. After holding her for a moment, Frank...

[Pendragon]

nodded, and looked away, a tear trailing along his cheek. "I didn't mean for things to turn out like they did, Jen. It wasn't all my fault, you know. You took off for Reno that week, and I was lonely. Diane..."

[kathycf]

means nothing to me, nothing!"

"I would like to believe you Frank" Jenny sniffed. She searched his face some more and then thought to herself "Wow, Frank really could use a facial". She turned her head to one side and she....

[OZEED]

whispered in his ear, "do this one thing if you really care for me Frank", with this she grab a hold of his super fine egyptian cotton dress shirt, "have a facial, please please for gods sake Frank have a facial, I'll get Dr Costalot on the phone........

[Pendragon]

Frank turned her head so he could look into her tear-rimmed eyes. "A facial, Jen? We're having a crisis here and you want me to go have a facial? Why, for God's sake?"

"She touched your face, Frank. There is a different look about it now. I can't bear to look at it!" Jenny was rapidly becomming hysterical. "Go get that facial right now or we're through!"

[kathycf]

Frank gripped her by the shoulders and shook her a bit. "Jenny, get ahold of yourself, please!" he begged, and then held her tightly to his chest. "Ok, I understand now. I will go get that facial, dear.If only you would..."

[Pendragon]

"Would what, Frank?" Jenny whispered.

"Uh, I-I, well, the truth is, Jen, I'm kind of broke at the moment. You recall that investment I talked to you about, the one in the real estate?"

"Yes."

"Well, as you said, it looked like a good thing, and I sunk a lot of capital into it. It hasn't paid off yet, in fact, the stock went down about 50 cents a share. The broker expects a turn-around, but right now, well... "

[kathycf]

"...well, as it stands my finances right now would make Bob Cratchit look like Donald Trump. I am flat broke Jen, and I don't know what to do." Jenny turned and looked at him. "Oh, Frank" she whispered, "I....."

[Kelly_Sprout]

"...had no idea! Is that why you went to see her?"

Frank reluctantly nodded.

"And I was so quick to jump to the wrong conclusions! Oh, Frank, I'm so sorry!" Jenny broke out into a fresh bout of sobbing.

rrrrrrriiiiinnnnggg

Frank and Jenny both jerked at the sound.

rrrrrrriiiiiinnnnggg

Frank disengaged himself from Jenny and crossed the room to pick up the phone.

[kathycf]

It seemed odd to the two of them that the sound of a ringing phone could now be so full of evil, ordinarily they loved the ringing. Frank especially loved ringtones and downloaded them by the dozen. Neither Frank nor Jenny made a move towards the phone, and gazed at each other with stricken looks on their faces. "Oh Jen" Frank huskily whispered "Could you get that, I..."

[Pendragon]

"Hello."

"Listen up, you @♣%◙§۩%@! The Boss is growing tired of you stalling! You’d best come across with about half of what you owe in three days or you won’t be needing to pay just the money, but for your girlfriend’s funeral! You know, that Diane chick you’ve been seeing on the sly.”

Jenny hung up the phone, trembling.

“So,Frank!” Jenny asked. “Why don’t you just tell me the truth?" Her lip trembled and tears brightened her eyes, but she refused to cry. "All you ever wanted was my money! Just so you could pay your gambling debts! I found out the truth, Frank! Now...

[kathycf]

"Oh Jenny" he said. He sat down. Jenny remarked "I was going to answer the phone for you, Frank, I really was. Why did you grab it away from me like that?" Frank just looked at her and rested his head on his hands. "I just don't know what to do" he rasped. "I really need to clear my head. Would you..."

[kathycf]

"Just forget it, whatever you were going to ask me" Jenny snapped. "Jen, Jen you got it all wrong! Yeah, I need money but that isn't what I want from you" Jenny looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Oh wow, I bet now you are going to tell me you didn't even know I was the heir to the Jenkins tungsten fortune!" She knew she was laying on the scorn a bit thick, but she....

[Pendragon]

had never known such pain, such anger, such total loathing for someone in her entire life. "Get out, Frank! Get out of here, get out of my life, and stay the hell out!"

Frank paled. If that money wasn't paid back, he was a walking dead man. Desperation is a thing that drives people to do strange things. Frank was feeling that pressure now...

[kathycf]

he felt as if he was the last kernal in a bag of microwave popcorn set on 'high". He raised a hand in the air to strike out, and then dashed it down to his side. He bit his lip and was overcome with contrition. "Jenny, no! Don't say that, don't end things this way, I..."

[Pendragon]

But Jenny had already seen the dangerous glint that had passes through Frank's eyes for that single moment when he'd raised that hand. "My God!" She thought. "He looked so cold, so desperate. Why of all nights did I have to give the servants the night off? It's just me and him here in this big, lonely place. What if..."

[kathycf]

"Frank just totally wigs out and turns into some psycho!"
In her minds eye, Jenny was already picturing Frank as a bewigged Norman Bates type flying at her with knife outstretched. She shook herself and shuddered a bit. "Get ahold of yourself, girl!" she thought. "Um, look Frank. This really needs to stop, why I..."

[Pendragon]

...I think you had best go."

Frank looked at Jenny with the same sickly expression an animal in the headlights of an approaching car gets just before impact.

"But, Jen-- I really do love you!"

Jenny raised her head and looked into his eyes. The tears were gone now, and her face was set in stone. She reached into her purse and came out with a stubby pistol. " I said, get out Frank! I hurt all deep inside me. If you don't get out, and get out now," A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Then every time I shed a tear, I'll pull this trigger!"

[Kelly_Sprout]

Frank reached out gingerly with his right hand. "Jenny, you know you don't really mean that. Please, give me the gun!"

Jenny's hands trembled, but she jabbed the muzzle of the gun at him. "I mean it, Frank. I'll pull this trigger, I really will."

Frank took a step toward her. "You don't want to do this. We can start over, talk about what went wrong, work things out. Please, Jen, just give me the gun."

Jenny closed her eyes and fired. The bullet hit Frank in his shoulder just under his clavicle. He was surprised at the force of the impact and stumbled backwards, tripping over the end table. Table, lamp and Frank all crashed to the ground in a shower of glass and blood and legs. Frank clutched at his shoulder and stared at the blood seeping between his fingers. Jenny stood, frozen, still pointing the gun at the spot where Frank was just standing, eyes tight shut, crying.

[kathycf]

"Look, I did warn you" she said. Frank just continued to look at her with an expression of pain and bewilderment on his face. Suddenly a knock came at the door. Whether it was it one of the servants come home early, or a concerned neighbor, Jenny didn't know. She motioned at Frank with the gun. "Here you, get...."

[Pendragon]

out.of.here.right.now." She seemed to stamp each word with hate. The gun had been shaking while Jenny sobbed, but now it suddenly steadied. "Get out, Frank. Or I swear, the next bullet will be right through your lying, cheating heart!"

Frank scrambled awkwardly to his feet, clutching his bloody shoulder. The door opened at that moment, and Jenny's neighbor Richard came in.

"Ah, I don't know what's happening here, Jen, but be careful where you point that thing! You could kill someone, for..."

[kathycf]

"Richard, how awkward" Jenny interrupted. "Um, this isn't what it looks like" she fnished, somewhat lamely Frank thought. Frank turned to Richard and bellowed "This is exactly what it looks like, help...HELP"! Richard turned to Frank and said slurrily "Cel...e..brate good times...come on!" Jenny had no idea what to do now that a song by Kool and the Gang had been introduced into the situation, so she....

[Laindessiel]

...turned the dial to some rock and roll music and starts head-banging, to Frank's annoyance. He then shut the radio down and says, "What kind of music is that?! You call that music?" to which Jenny retorted, still with her nest of a hair, "Uh-huh. That's 100% beautiful music."

"What? 100% BEAUTIFUL music? You wanna know what 150% beautiful music sounds like?" He dialed the radio and stopped to some jazz. "Eat that."

"FRAAAAAAAAANK!!!!" Jenny screamed.

[kathycf]

"What's your problem?" Frank retorted "I am the one with a gunshot wound and now I am supposed to listen to nasty music too?" Jenny said nothing, but an angry crimson flush covered her face. Richard swayed, oblivious to the tense atmosphere filling the room. "Whas...was up, you guys?" he mumbled. Frank and Jenny had almost forgotten about him so they....