She walked in to the Performing arts center silently as memories flooded her mind, of years ago. Slowly making her way down the aisles toward the stage, she imagined the seats being filled with a restless audience during intermission. On stage she stood, in the silence of the theater. It always had this strange feeling that someone was watching you even though there was nobody around.

Letting her eyes wander around remembering all the joyous times that were spent in this building, at all hours of the day and night. Remembering the people she worked with, the people who soon became her closest friends, and the people who there but soon left.

It has been eighteen years since she was in this theater, eighteen very long years with many painful memories attached. Yet even longer, twenty years ago was when her heart was broke by a guy who worked here. Standing on the stage she could almost picture him wearing his usual clothing, black jeans with a black t-shirt, and a black jacket, and of course wearing that antique key around his neck that she never learned the real purpose of.

She pictured what he looked liked twenty years ago when she last saw him, with his curly dark brown hair, walking around the stage making sure everything was set for the performance.

She continued to stand there imaging that it was October of junior year again and the grand drape was about to open and the actors were on stage ready while the tech crews were waiting for their cues. As the drape opened she could almost feel the presences of her fellow classmates as they continued on with show.

The Music Man was the fall musical that was performed that year, when she was assistant light technician, when she first formally met him. The nineteen year old was the house manager, freshmen in college and the love of her life, except he just didn’t know it yet.

Continuing to day dream of the past, she could see Cynthia walk around on the stage with John Luke during the Bridge scene, with star drop hanging in the background, giving the stage a romantic atmosphere. Cynthia walked past her, walking up on to the footbridge that had a light shining on it, where John Luke was waiting for her.

The scene continued until Cynthia walked off the stage singing “Goodnight My Someone” and John Luke left in the other direction singing “Seventy Six Trombones.” Before she knew it the scene was over in her day dream.

“Isn’t it a wonderful theatre?” A male voiced asked bringing her back to reality.

She turned to see a woman and two guys, one older than the other, standing there watching her in the stage right wings. She recognized the women and the guy standing next to her, as Miss Windsor and Mr. Duncannon. The other young man standing there looked as if he was about thirty six and looked exceptionally familiar to her.

“Yes, it’s absolutely, exquisite. One of the better theatres I have worked in,” She replied smiling remembering all the good times she had when she worked here, with the lights.

“I don’t believe we have really met. I know you are the new English teacher this year for the freshmen, but please excuse me, I don’t remember your name,” Miss Windsor smiled.

“Brandi Knight,” She replied still using her dead husband’s last name.

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you Brandi. I’m Bill Duncannon, and this here is my wife Jamie,” He explained, as a grin drew across Brandi’s face, remember while she attended Xavier that Miss Windsor and Mr. Duncannon were just dating, she was joyful now that she found out that they got married.

“And I am Jakeson Klein,” the young man who looked very familiar replied, extending his hand toward her added.

She just stood there as her smiled faded, realizing that the guy who broke her heart, without even going out with her was standing there directly in front of her.

“Jakeson?” She asked still flabbergasted that he was here.

“Yeah, I know it’s an unusual name, and not very many guys have it, actually I don’t think any guys have it. Most of the people who know me call me either Jackson, or Jake.”

“It’s alright, I like it.”

“So you said you that this was one of the better theatres that you worked in?” Bill asked, wondering about a previous comment that she made.

“Yes, I worked here a long time ago, and went on to work in some others, but defiantly not as good as this one. “

“I’m sorry; I don’t seem to remember you,” Bill commented looking confused about the whole situation.

“It’s alright, did dye my hair since that last time you saw me, and I have aged some, so you probably don’t recognize me.” Brandi explained.

“Well, then how about you give us a few hints so maybe we could remember who you are?” Jakeson asked with a gorgeous smile on his face. He knew she looked vaguely familiar, a person he meet many years ago while he worked here after he graduated from Brophy.

“Okay, well, I attended Xavier, and helped out with lights during my junior year, and eventually became house manager my senior. Bill you told me when I helped with the Christmas Dance my junior year that I was only student besides Erik that has ever stayed till one to help strike for a dance—”

“NO!” Bill shouted unexpectedly.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really you?!” Jamie said astonished that she realized that it was Brandi that use to help them standing there talking to them right now.

“Wait, give me a second, I’m not remembering you sorry.” Jakeson announced feeling a little embarrassed that he couldn’t remember.

“Well let’s see, the day before Christmas dance when I was helping you set up, I found out at lunch that you had a brother, and my friend So Young was there helping me set up,” Brandi explained more in detail trying to jog Jakeson’s memory.

He stood there remember a blond sixteen year old helping him put up the star drop on that Friday afternoon.

“Brandi McCloskey?!” He alleged, remembering the past.

“Yup that’s me,” She smiled happy that he remembers her.


“Do you have a few minutes; we would love to hear what you have been up to these past years.” Ruth gave a bright smile that made you just want to say yes.

“Sure, I have sixth and seventh period free,” Brandi responded with an immense smile back.

All four of them walked into Bill’s office, which hasn’t changed too much since Brandi had last been there eighteen years ago. They all got settled down and Brandi started telling her story.

“After high school, I was able to get an internship with Summit, since my friend Meghan, her uncle was a big movie producer in Hollywood, he helped me get it. I worked with some of the best lighting technicians in the country. I interned for two years, moving my way to the top and soon getting hired with some other companies. After another year of jumping around between different theatres in the area, I worked in the Cincia theatre in downtown Hollywood, where a lot of retired stars get together and perform one acts, comedy shows, and stuff like that.

“The cool thing about the Cincia is that the common public doesn’t know it exists. It is solely for the purpose of the actors so they have a place to be themselves and still do what they love. It is only known between the actors, so for people outside of acting, which includes technical crews, who have been in this theatre, or even worked there were considered very good at their jobs, and well respected.

“I worked there for a year and that’s where I meet Mr. Knight, Ian Knight’s father. I became close to Ian and we eventually got married a year later, at the age of twenty four. During that year while we were dating I worked on some of the sets of his shows, including Sonny with a Chance. I also designed and helped do the lights for Britney Spears Circus tour and Keith Urban’s Escape Tour, after our first year of marriage, when he went to Australia to film Seven.” Brandi explained some of her life story when Bill stopped her to ask a question.

“Wait your Lucky Knight? Lucky the girl who married Ian, and acted in Pirates of the Caribbean Four Secrets?” Bill asked intrigued that Brandi was one of the most well known people in Hollywood for everything that she has done.

“Yeah that’s me; I played Linda Turner, Will and Elizabeth’s daughter. Ian gave me that name when we first got married because I keep saying how lucky I was, and he said that after everything I did in my life I should be lucky so it became my nickname.”

“I’m sorry about what happened two years ago with him,” Jamie apologized like it was her fault that he died but it wasn’t.

“It’s alright after his death, I stopped doing everything. I use to write, I wrote novels, the Burning Ice series and The Bronze series, but I finished up the last book, sent it to the publisher and put away my creative skills since.

“I went back to college got my teaching degree, and came back here. I didn’t want to do anything that would remind me of Ian, or be around any of it for that matter. It just wasn’t me. The only reason I started getting into the big picture and became the celebrity I was because of Ian. To me, I would so much rather be it the shadows of the theatre working lights, doing audio, or even just be house manager.” Brandi finished up saying in a more monotone voice since she was remembering the past.

When she got into acting, writing and being out in public with Ian, she dyed her hair a dark brown, so people she knew wouldn’t recognize and if she did dye it back strangers wouldn’t know her and then she could just be herself. It use to be a light blond when Brandi worked tech at Xavier her junior and senior year but her hair color was naturally a dirty blond. Currently it was a light brunette color, so that would explain why they didn’t recognize Brandi when she came in.

She was concentrating more on her different hair colors that she forgot that she was in a room with three other people including her high school crush.

“That was some life you had, why would you want to give it all up to come back here to Xavier?” Jakeson asked confused that Brandi had her life made, but chose to teach English then live in the spotlight.

“Like I said it was all that Ian wanted me to do, and I enjoyed it, but it was more of a thing we did together.”

She was to afraid to admit also that there was a piece of her missing, a piece that went missing as soon as Jakeson left that year when she was sixteen. She loved Ian, but her heart was always with Jakeson, even though he got up and left her, and didn’t give her the chance to get to know him. Going back to all the tech work would just continue to remind her of him, and anything that brought attention to her as a celebrity would remind her of Ian, and she didn’t want to deal with either of those right now.

“I do still talk to Erik. He and I worked at the Cincia together, and I got him some gigs with some popular bands that he ended up being the house manager for on their tours. He is going to be in town next week, he is doing the audio for Kellie Pickler’s tour.” Brandi revealed about one of her best friends who went to Brophy, was friends with Jakeson (but lost connection with him when he moved), and worked in the Performing Arts Center at Xavier for a few years with Brandi.

“Hudson?” Jakeson asked astonished.

“Wow, none of us have talked to him in years,” Bill looked astonished, when the bell rang, indicating that seventh period was over and it was time for eighth hour, a tutorial period after school. It also represented that Brandi need to go back to her classroom.

“Yeah, well he is doing good, and I will tell him that you guys are still here, and maybe if he has time he will stop by,” Brandi smiled as she stood up to leave.

“That would be amazing, we all would love to see him again,” Jamie smiled.


“Well I have to go back, hopefully I will see you later, bye,” Brandi waved as she walked out of the office and through the house of the theatre.

While walking through the house she heard someone calling her name. She turned around to find Jakeson running after her.

“Brandi, wait!” He shouted out of breath as he approached her. “I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?”

“No, I was just planning to go home and grade some papers, that’s all.”

“Well then, how about going out to dinner with me tonight?”

She just stood there, not sure what to say. The guy she had been in love with all her life just asked her to dinner. She wanted to say yes, but at the same time there was a part of her that worried if she did go to dinner again, would he break her heart even more this time.

“Sure—”

“Great, how about I pick you up at seven?” He asked as he handed her a piece of paper with his number on it.

“Sounds great,” She faked a smile

“Cool, I will see you later then.” He smiled and walked back the way he came.

She turned around and continued walking toward her classroom, not sure what the future had in store for her now.