Jones St., Chapter 8: Pages 3-4

Page 3, 5 Panels- Millennium Fandom Bar/Tara's Bedroom, S. Las Vegas Blvd./Jones St., Las Vegas NV

Panel 1-2: A two-part set of panels that cuts back to Melanie at the bar, mostly in thought in Panel 1 over the offer as it stands; the plate of chili fries being lowered down in front of her. In Panel 2, a minute later, with the piece of food in view partially in the bottom of the panel view, the young woman gives a quick nod to the offer.

MELANIE [thought bubble, Panel 1]: I honestly thought he completely forgotten about me. I don't know if I wanna be in a relationship, but...I'm curious about what this other secret is. TARA [from the receiver, Panel 1]: Hello?... MELANIE [to Tara, Panel 2]: I have a meeting with someone then. How about tomorrow afternoon at Sif's, 1 P.M.? TARA [from the receiver, Panel 2]: I have work till 4:30 tomorrow. Could we do it then?

Panel 3: Cut to a shot of Tara in his bedroom nervously pacing away from the mattress, which is partially visible to the bottom left of the panel view. You can see the nerves buzzing around in his head as he's listening to speak.

MELANIE [from the receiver]: Yeah, sure. See ya then. TARA [nervous smile]: Sure. See ya...

Panel 4-5: A two-part split shot that focuses on the two of them, with Melanie in Panel 4 and Tara in Panel 5. The former hangs up the phone a beat later nonchalantly; her left hand reaching over to the plate to grab one as the other puts the phone back in her bag. As for Panel 5, Tara's also hung it up though it's still hovering in front of his chest; the nerves increasing in his head compared to what we saw in Panel 3.

Page 4, 8 Panels- Melanie's Apartment/Myers' Apartment/EPB Bookstore, Las Vegas NV

Panel 1: On the left half of the page, the focus is square on Melanie in the gap between the phone call and the meeting. We jump a bit in time to later that night with her and Cassie coming back into their apartment, buzzed and hazy after a long night of drinking and partying. With the latter, you can see her with a guy trailing in tow behind her.

Panel 2: On the right half of the page, we see the focus squarely on Tara the next day. He wakes up from his bed at about the same time that he does each day; the nerves of the big moment just starting to dawn between his eyes. You can see part of the walls and a bookcase behind him in the left of the background.

TARA [thought bubble]: It'll be okay...it'll be okay. It won't end in heartbreak this time.

Panel 3: Cut to a shot of Melanie falling asleep face first onto the couch; her head hitting the cushion to the right of the reader's view, as Cassie and her one-night-stand cross from left to right behind the couch toward the bedroom. You can see part of the kitchen in the background in the distance behind this scene.

Panel 4: We move to a little later that morning with him sitting down to a bit of breakfast at the table- a bowl of frosted flakes and a glass of OJ. He looks over in the direction of the TV, taking a bite of the cereal while his mind is in thought. You can see his energy bar, although full, is full of lightning and static to signify the anxiety he's keeping bottled up at the moment.

TARA [thought bubble]: Yes, the last three times I've done this have ended in disaster. But that just means that...one day, it'll work.

Panel 5: Same setting/layout as Panel 3; the morning sun just beginning to slip into the apartment from the windows off-panel. You can see the young woman switching to her side, still in the throes of sleep, as the young man from earlier slinks off with crumpled clothes, carrying his Adidas in his left hand. You can also see a trickle of dried-up vomit going down the front of it just below her mouth.

Panel 6: Cut to him a time later standing in front of the cash register in the Bookstore, going through the motions and actions of what is a relatively peaceful day with okay foot traffic. As for the energy bar, it's still as chaotic and in flux as it was in Panel 4, though his face doesn't register it to the reader or anyone in front of him. You can hear, as this goes on, the click of his zip drive going on off-panel out of view.

TARA [thought bubble]: I don't care if it's because I'm trying to convince myself of this. I have to believe it will!

Panel 7: Same setting/layout as Panel 5, along with the same background. A short time has elapsed, and we see Melanie just begin to wake up from her deep slumber by the sound of her friend (faintly visible in the kitchen area) as well as bowls and cutlery moving about. As for the color of the room, it's brightened up considerably compared to Panel 5 as the sun takes more of a prominence in the scene.

CASSIE [to Melanie, Panel 7]: By the by, it just turned 11:30...

Panel 8: We move to later that day, showing the back of Tara slipping into his car on his way to Sif's; the exterior of the panel as a whole a little bit dimmer as a whole to signify the late in the afternoon of the setting. You can see the side of another car parked in the left slot next to the Mini, while the right one is empty at this point.

TARA [singing thought bubble]: Rollercoaster Ro-Rollercoaster Rollercoaster Ro-Rollercoaster...