Arc II, Chapter 40: The Beauty Queen

Here it was, the villain monologue. I had seen them before but never like this.

But this time, something was different. We were not consistently On-Screen as she spoke, and more than that, it felt like her speech was not happening in the moment despite the words coming from Lillian’s mouth. It reminded me of the cutscene that had occurred with the mayor and the time capsule.

The audience was not seeing the scene as it was happening. Lillian was narrating.

She started to speak, and for the first time, I saw something on the red wallpaper I had only been told about.

The script.

It was like a piece of paper in my head that scrolled as she spoke. The scene was titled “SECRET LILLIAN GEIST REVEAL.”

The script had instructions that said, “Everyone watches as the newly revealed Lillian Geist explains her torment in Carousel. No one interjects except Dr. Halle if prompted.

Lillian’s speech started to scroll up, but far from the structured lines of text I had seen in actual scripts, it was an outline with checkmark boxes and sentences like “THE MANSION FIRE BACKSTORY.”

Most of the monologue didn’t appear on the script in any form, and when she spoke, the word “Ad lib” would appear in bold instead of the checkbox.

Lillian took a deep, troubled breath. She was trembling with rage and trying not to cry. Somehow, she found the strength to calm herself and speak, shaking with every word.

AD LIB.

“Everything that is happening is happening to punish us. I know it’s true. My cousins and I all talked about it. For as long as I remember, I remember people talking about the Geist Curse,” she said. “When I was a girl, I heard servants saying that Geists always get more than they deserve, but in the end, they get exactly what they deserve. Always, little quips like that, and only when I was there to interrupt them. One day, I listened by the door while my nanny talked to her sister on the phone.”

FIND CLIP.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw a movie screen on the red wallpaper. A scene was playing on it. I saw the nanny; I saw a curious little girl sneaking outside of a large, wooden door in what must have been inside one of the Geist Mansions.

“They were talking about a casserole recipe, but when I entered the room, she suddenly changed the topic of conversation to us, the Geists. I don’t remember what she said, but it was something I thought was mean. It was like everyone knew what was happening to us, dying off one by one, but no one cared because everything we ever tried succeeded. Every business flourished; every venture was tremendous… at first.”

END FLASHBACK.

FIND CLIPs.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

The flashback changed. I saw car dealerships filled with customers. I saw movie audiences packed into a theater screaming at one of the Geist horror movies. Then, there were ribbon cuttings, fancy cars, tuxes, and several mansions, all flashing before my eyes.

END FLASHBACK.

“I thought they were jealous of us growing up. Now, I wonder if they knew we were just being set up to fall further, that there was a conspiracy of whispers, and everyone was in on it.” She broke away for a moment and grabbed her head in frustration. “Everyone knew who I was just by looking at me. Even as a child, before I was in the tabloids. Even when I disguised myself. How was that possible?”

FIND CLIP.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

I saw her dressed in full winter gear at a ski resort. Not an inch of skin was showing, yet a chipper young woman asked if she was Lillian Geist.

END FLASHBACK.

“I woke up and found myself walking to the opening of a hospital wing today where no one looked at me. They stopped looking at me a long time ago. Where was I before the party started? I don’t remember. It’s all the fog. Is it the drugs, that damn sedative, or was it the town itself? I swear the town moves me from room to room, from party to party, from hopeless situation to hopeless situation without my knowing. I know how this must sound, but I swear it’s like every moment of my life is a set.”

END AD LIB.

☐ THE MANSION FIRE BACKSTORY.

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

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The flashback on the red wallpaper changed. Suddenly, I saw a beautiful woman in her late twenties walking down a large, ornate set of stairs toward what appeared to be a party of some kind. I recognized the woman as Lillian Geist from her picture in Halle’s office.

“I don’t even remember the party where I got the burns. It was a big event—lots of people. For being a family everyone hated, people never failed to attend our parties. I don’t know how the event started, and I don’t remember getting ready for it. Has my memory merely faded, or was it ever there? I just woke up walking down the stairs. All eyes were on me. I was called beautiful no less than a hundred times.”

BEGIN FLASHBACK.

I saw scenes of people greeting Lillian. She looked uncomfortable. As she crossed a room, eyes followed her. People blocked her path wherever she went, greeting her dully.

Then, there were flashes of red and orange.

END FLASHBACK.

“After that, all I remember is the burning. Someone said there was a fire, and everyone looked scared, but no one looked surprised. If my life has taught me anything, it’s the difference between afraid and surprised on a person’s face. The townspeople are never surprised, not really. Just like you don’t look surprised right now, Howard.”

Dr. Halle didn’t look surprised. He looked like he was waiting to get things over with.

“Is it insane to say that I think that entire party was for me? For my benefit. For my destruction. Hundreds of eyes watched me, waiting to see what was going to happen, and when it did, it was like they always knew. Their words were wooden. Most didn’t even try to escape except to block my path.”