GARDENIA
by Marie
Scene 1 - School Hallway/Jessie's Locker
Jessie's walking down the steps as a boy approaches her and asks if she'd have sex with
him. She plays along telling him yes, but that it "has to be today." The
clueless dolt suddenly remembers that he has basketball practice. Jessie smiles smugly.
You snooze, you lose, little boy. As if. As Jessie continues down the hallway, Hormone Boy
yells, "Jessie, you're a fox!" Katie catches the comment and sees Jessie walking
happily down the hall. She seems curious to know what happen. She then turns to look at HB
walking up the stairs. She has an expression that seems to say "Keep your mitts off
her, you little..."
Jessie goes to her locker and opens it. Katie casually comes over, says "hey",
and leans against the locker next to Jessie's. Jessie turns to Katie with a huge smile on
her face. She asks Katie if "all boys are such idiots or is it that girls mature
earlier?" Katie returns the smile and says that boys never mature, offering her
brothers as proof. They share yet another smile. :)
Quickly changing the subject, Katie tells her that she got her something and waves the
Billie Holiday CD in front of her. Jessie takes it and asks, "Billie Holiday?"
Apparently, Jessie's never heard of Billie and is intrigued. 'Cause you know, if Katie
gives you something it must be interesting. Katie explains that she had an uncle who knew
interesting things and that he was playing her Billie "since I was still a
brownie." For some reason, I find the idea of Katie as a brownie slightly amusing.
It's important to note that during the explanation, she kept looking intently into
Jessie's eyes, but quickly changing her gaze. Kind of liked how one does when they're
shyly looking at someone they like, but they don't want to be noticed. Except, in this
case, Jessie noticed. Well, at least I did. Of course, I notice the most random
things...enough rambling, back to the recap. ;)
Jessie looks curiously at the CD and then at Katie. She asks her who Billie Holiday was.
Now it's obvious that Katie's a big fan of Billie's. She explains that Billie was this
"amazing singer. Anything bad that could happen to someone happened to her." She
then says she likes it when "people sing like that." Jessie smiles and manages a
very articulate "Cool." Katie grins as she gazes at Jessie; she's happy Jessie
understands. I think she's set her plan in motion. Operation Wooing Jess begins...(I'll
explain this later.)
Katie reaches into Jessie's locker and takes out her brush. Then she relates how Billie
always wore a white gardenia in her hair. Jessie waves the CD and tells her it was
"Very nice of you." Now Jessie's is beaming. Who knew that a CD about someone
they'd never heard of before could make them so happy? Katie shyly confesses that she was
listening to Billie and thought of her "for some reason." Hmm, I wonder what
could it be? Jessie seems genuinely flattered at the idea of Katie thinking of her...
They gaze into each other's eyes until Jessie quickly looks her up and down bashfully.
Yep, Katie she was checking you out. Way to go, Singer! There's a moment of slightly
awkward silence. Katie finally speaks she has to go. She turns to put the brush back into
Jessie's locker. As she does this, she's got a 1000-watt smile on her face. Jessie comes
back from dreamland, scratches her head nervously, and tells Katie she has to leave as
well. Katie walks away with a sly grin. She's made her move and she couldn't have gotten a
better reaction. Go get her, champ! :)
Jessie quickly turns to thank Katie for the CD. She seems to regret having to leave for
class. At the sound of Jessie's voice, Katie turns and says bye, smiling. Jessie closes
her locker and breaks into a smile of her own. You know there were so many smiles in this
scene, it was almost like a toothpaste commercial.
Observation: This is one of my all-time favorite J/K scenes. You can't help but notice the
chemistry between them. Katie tried her best to be casual, but it was obvious she was
nervous about giving Jessie the CD. For her part, Jessie was just as nervous. The seed has
been planted...
Scene 2 - Karen's minivan
Katie and Jessie are giggling, well, like a couple of schoolgirls. They're sitting close
together in the backseat so they can whisper in each other's ears. I guess their
conversation is too controversial for Karen to hear it. They stay in their little world of
giggles and lollipops until Karen speaks. She asks Katie if Jessie can expect more
homework in 11th grade. Jessie rolls her eyes. Gee, mom, what kind of lame question is
that? Of course there's more homework, but why worry about it now? Come on, at least wait
'til I'm done with 10th grade. Parents, they always worry about the silly things. Katie
understands the parental worry syndrome so she tells Karen that "you get used to
it."
Jessie whispers something to Katie and they both burst out laughing. Karen, feeling
obviously left out, asks what is so funny. Jessie keeps laughing as she tells Karen that
it's private. It was followed by the classic eye roll that meant, "why do parents
always want to know everything?" The girls keep laughing as Katie mentions something
about a tree and Jessie replies that she remembers it. I'm feeling as lost as Karen.
Karen tries to make small talk by mentioning a boy named Adam. She says that "he's so
handsome." Now I know she had good intentions, but she's failing miserably. Katie and
Jessie look at each other, sharing the 'I-can't-believe-she-just-say-that' look. Jessie's
face seems to say "Mom, you're trying too hard." She then explains that he was
"a little nerd, he's still a little nerd, but now he's into explosives." Jessie
and Katie share yet another laugh. I think someone should cut their sugar supply.
Clueless, Karen asks if his parents know. Jessie explains that she was referring to his
movie obsession and that he's not "a crisis to American youth, he's just
stupid." But Jessie, stupid people *can* be dangerous, just look at politics. Karen
smiles and the girls go back to their whispering. Katie knows something and Jessie's
"like, okay." That makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Whatever...
Karen again butts in. Jessie brushes her off saying it's nothing. I can understand Jessie
not wanting to share the conversation, but you can't help feeling bad for Karen. Katie,
sensing the tension building, tells Karen that her house is "up ahead." She gets
out of the car saying goodbye to Jessie and Karen. As they pull away from Katie's, Jessie
and Karen share a conversation about Billie Holiday. Jessie is surprised to learn that her
mother knows about Billie and even had some of her albums.
Scene 3 - Karen's room
Jessie finds Karen in her room, crying. She comes in to ask her mother's permission to go
to Starbucks to work on a report about the Suez Crisis with Katie. She explains that one
of Katie's brothers is going to take them. Karen lets her go as long as she's back by 9.
Scene 4 - School Hallway
Katie twirls around down the hall. She asks Jessie if she wants to "get pizza and
stuff later." I think she's still hopped up on all the caffeine they had a Starbucks
'cause she can't stand still. Well, either that or she's been watching "Center
Stage" again. Jessie sees Katie lifting her leg to hit a locker so she asks her what
she's doing. Katie takes the opportunity to grab her hand, urging her to "come
on." Jessie resists saying she can't dance. That's okay Jess, I wouldn't exactly call
what Katie's doing dancing anyway.
Jessie explains that she can't go get pizza because she has to go shopping with her mom.
Apparently, "it's like this big tradition." They go shopping and then get a
sundae. Katie listens as she spins Jessie around and then lets go of her hand. Jessie
reminds us that "it was very interesting last year when nobody knew I was
anorexic." She then explains that she doesn't want to go, but feels that she has to
because her mom has been really depressed. Katie continues spinning as she comments that
her mother's been depressed as well. Jessie is surprised to learn this. I guess she hasn't
seen much of Mrs. Singer. Katie goes on to explain that her mom doesn't know she's
depressed. "She thinks it's normal to stay in the same housecoat until 4:00 in the
afternoon everyday for a year." She asks Jessie if her mom cries. Jessie says she
does, but "doesn't think I can hear her." Jessie then sits Indian-style on the
floor leaning against a locker.
Katie finally stops "dancing" and asks Jessie if she's going to go with her.
Jessie complains , "you should see the stuff she wants me to buy." Katie rests
her hands on her knees and leans down, telling Jessie that she should go with her. She
then lies on the floor. Katie, sweetie, I like you, but why the heck are you laying on a
dirty floor? Are your clothes suddenly made of Pledge's Grab Its? She continues lying on
the floor as she tells us that clothes are interesting. She explains that people their age
don't dress to show who they are, rather to hide who they are. Meanwhile, Jessie leans her
head against the locker and smiles dreamily at Katie. I guess she likes it when Katie
rambles. 'Cause it's just so cute...Katie continues speaking, saying that a guy figures
"it" out and "makes like a billion dollars." She rolls over a few
times until she's really close to Jessie. Again, Jessie shares the wistful smile. Katie
notices and asks self-consciously if she's talking too much. Jessie, who can't hide the
smile threatening to split her head in two, tells Katie that "it's okay. I like
it." Aw. I do too. They stare into each other's eyes before Katie says that she
should go with her.
Scene 5 - Jessie's Attic
Katie's on the floor and Jessie's sitting Indian-style on her bed. Katie puts on the
Billie Holiday CD. She explains that she likes Billie because she's "enigmatic,
mysterious, and she makes you guess." She leans against the bed while Jessie comments
that she really likes her. She's referring to Billie, of course. :) They sit for a while
listening to the song, "God Bless The Child." Katie excitedly tells Jessie
"I bet you can sing like her." Smooth, Katie. Trying the whole "flattery
will get you everywhere" routine, I see. Jessie chuckles saying, "no, I don't
know." She smiles knowing that eventually she'll cave in. She knows perfectly well
that no one can resist the ol' Singer charm. Katie insists that the try and Jessie laughs
before agreeing. See, I knew that was gonna happen.
Katie moves to sit in front of the bed. She whispers the scene, "it's 2AM, the lights
are low, and the band starts to play." Jessie looks down as if she's trying to
picture it. She looks back up to see Katie smiling. She looks across the room while
singing. Then she gazes at Katie and smiles, flirting. Katie takes it all in and manages a
smile of her own. She then leans back to hear Jessie serenading her. Operation Wooing Jess
seems to be right on schedule. ;) The scene ends with Jessie still singing, smiling and
flirting.
Scene 6 - The Mall
Jessie arrives at the same store she visited with Karen. She's frantically searching for
the peasant-style blouse Karen wanted her to buy. Katie pulls a white shirt off the rack
and offers her to Jessie, who tells her that wasn't "it." Jessie finds an
employee and asks for help in finding the blouse. The girl explains that there's a sale
and that the blouse might not be there anymore. She tries showing Jessie other shirts, but
she refuses. Katie plays the heroine and saves the day by finding the right blouse. Jessie
breathes a sigh of relief. Operation Wooing Jess is now in full swing...
Deleted Scene/Bonus Material... a la DVD ;)
Here's an extra tidbit from a previous draft of the Gardenia script. In the scene where
Jessie's trying on the blouse, Zoë tells her that she received a package. She opens the
box and it's a white gardenia. Can I just say, aww? I only mention it because I thought it
was cute and I would've loved to have seen it on the show. Hence, the name Operation
Wooing Jess.