Denise Shore was the sometimes naughty girl next door in the TV series "School Days". Denise liked to party, but hung over she was nearly impossible to work with. Finally the cost of having her on a set outweighed her appeal to the viewers. Denise is one of a series of stories with a common cast. Preceding stories in the series include Sandra, Karen, and Jan. Denise is the one that brings them all together. A list of links to chapters and other novels is at the end of this chapter – I am attempting to link chapters at the end of each one.
A list of links to the subsequent chapters is at the bottom of this chapter.
As Denise Shore experienced her first moments of consciousness she became aware of an intense pounding in her head. She was hung over again from a hard night of drinking. Her head felt like it would explode. She rolled her face into the pillow to try to go back to the fog of sleep where the pain would stop. Even this small movement made her nearly sick to her stomach. She tried to go back to sleep without success. As she became more lucid she realized her bladder was also protesting its current overfilled condition. Her eyes focused on the clock. It said 11:26. She remembered the car clock, it said 03:48 when she pulled it into the garage. Her head hurt so bad she didn’t want to get up so she tried to ignore the bladder discomfort but it became obvious that she could no longer do so. She rolled to the edge of the bed and tried to sit. When her head came up her stomach protested the action. She lay back, slid off the bed and crawled to the bathroom, emptied the trash can on the floor and slid up on the commode. She had done this quite frequently in the last few years. Urine and vomit came out of her almost immediately. Two minutes later she was back on the floor, too exhausted to move. But at least her stomach and bladder weren’t protesting. She pulled a towel off the rack, rolled it under her head and fell asleep on the bathroom floor.
When Denise woke again she managed to get into the shower and turn on the water. It took more than fifteen minutes for her head to clear enough to let go of the handhold in the shower. She washed her body with a cloth that was there from the day before, shampooed and got out of the shower. Still feeling exhausted and queasy, she put down the lid of the commode, picked up the towel she had used for a pillow, and sat down to dry. As she sat there her bladder was protesting again. She lifted her body, then the lid, and sat back down. She emptied her bladder again. When she felt more stable she went back to her bedroom. She pulled out underwear, put them on, pulled a robe over them and went downstairs. She would do her hair later.
Three years ago the twenty five year old Denise who with a little help from makeup could pass for thirteen or thirty five would have been awakened at six thirty by a housekeeper. Her clothes and towels would have been laid out for her and a light breakfast would have greeted her when she came downstairs. But the live in housekeeper was gone. She left after a hung-over Denise threw dishes at her three mornings in a row. The string of housekeepers ended when payments to the agency stopped three months ago. She was now having a housekeeper come in once every two weeks to clean up. The agency was requiring pre-payment.
Denise put the teakettle on the burner and turned it on. She found one clean cup and a tea bag and washed off a spoon from the collection in the sink. The kitchen was a disaster created by someone snacking in it without anyone picking up. But Denise had never picked up her messes. Till she came to Hollywood to fill a minor part in “School Days” just before she turned eighteen her mother had picked up after her. In her first year in Hollywood she made only a little over $100,000. She lived modestly with two other cast members in a condo. All three were in their first TV program. One was Jan, a young girl who also had a minor part in the show. The other, Bev was a twenty eight year old woman with one child who had done some summer stock and was selected as a School Secretary in the program.
Bev and her husband separated when she took the role and moved to California. He managed to get uncontested custody of the child. Bev picked up after the two young women for two years as the show grew and the salaries for the regulars grew. Denise and Jan were signed for year three at over one million dollars. Within two weeks after the signing Denise bought a seven million dollar mansion, three cars and hired a staff of four to care for her and them. Jan bought a modest home, a new Saturn to replace her seven year old car and hired a widowed aunt with two married children from back home at a significant increase in pay as a full time housekeeper. The aunt was an astute ex-homemaker who took care of Jan’s financial affairs, took care of the house and worked with local venders to care for the lawn and home. She became known as one who drove a hard bargain but treated them fairly. The show offered Bev an increase from $150,000 to $250,00 to return for the third year. She told her agent she would give them an answer at the end of the week. The offer wasn’t that great and she was more mature than the others. She wanted to see what else was available before she signed.
In Hollywood there are no secrets. Within an hour of her answer Bev got a call from her agent. He was just approached by another producer who was casting a new show for the next season. The woman the new show had courted as a leading lady procrastinated and then refused their last offer. Her reasons for refusing were sound. It was a new show. She was an established actress. It was a risky role for her. And worse, she wanted far too much money. Bev was number one of the three on the list of potential replacements. They had thought she would sign for School Days and they had already looked for alternates. They were offering only $450,000 for her to sign for a year on a show that may not last a full season. Bev told the agent she would think about it. The called back the next day, the other two alternates had signed for other shows, they were now offering $600,000. Bev told the agent to set up a meeting. Unless School Days came back with a better offer she would sign. The agent checked and they would not make a counter offer. By evening she was signed to star in the new show. Two days later her husband called from Iowa. He had previously refused to leave his home area to be with her but he had decided being with her was more important. If she would have him, he would move and the family would be together as soon as he could sell the house and move. He asked how they would live if he gave up his job as a teacher. “Hon, you can find one here. There is a shortage of Math teachers. I checked yesterday. And they will honor your certification without taking a test, which you could easily pass if you had to take it.”
“What will we do till I find work? We have a child to keep.”
“Well. For starters, I just signed a contract for $600,000 a year, I have over $90,000 in bank and I have a condo that is more than one third paid off. If you get anything out of the house we should be fine.”
“How?”
“I’ve been planning for the day we can be together. I’ll tell you when you get here. I just want to see you and the kids.”
In two months the family was together, he was teaching summer school Math and she was preparing for the new show. The house back home sold for enough to pay off the condo and have some money left. They could not live lavishly but they would not be scraping to pay the bills.
Bev had been house mother and housekeeper for the two young women. By hiring her aunt the twenty year old Jan was afforded a solid adviser. With Bev out of the picture Denise felt freedom and hit the party circuit. She began drinking heavily. She missed some days of work because she was hung over and the studio retaliated. By the end of the fourth year on the show Jan was offered $3 million to return, Denise was offered only $2.5 million. She refused to sign till she was given the same contract. They gave in, after all, she was one of the reasons the show was continuing its popularity.
Chapter list.
Denise Chapter 01: Success in Hollywood
Denise Chapter 02: Denise Falls From Favor
Denise Chapter 03: School Days Without Denise
Denise Chapter 04: Hollywood Marches on Without Denise
Denise Chapter 05: The World Around Denise Collapses
Denise Chapter 06: Denise Screws Up Again
Denise Chapter 07: Denise, No Longer the Prima Dona
Denise Chapter 08: Fritz Offers a Contract
Denise Chapter 09: Fritz Offers a New and Not Better Contract
Denise Chapter 10: The Fritz Gives Denise an Ultimatum
Denise Chapter 12: Denise Gets a View of the Future
Denise Chapter 13: Denise Gets Another View of the Future
Denise Chapter 14: And Still Another View
Denise Chapter 15: The First Day of the Tour
Denise Chapter 16: Denise Realizes She is Unique
Denise Chapter 17: Denise Finds a Place to Drink
Denise Chapter 18: The Impatient Patient
Denise Chapter 19: The Nasty Drunk
Denise Chapter 20: The Tour is Tougher on Crutches
Denise Chapter 21: A Public Appearance in a Wheel Chair
Denise Chapter 22: Carol Applies the Carrot and the Stick
Denise Chapter 23: Denise Gets Acquainted with a Peg Leg
Denise Chapter 24: Denise Gets Snookered and Nasty Again and Again
Denise Chapter 25: Grace for Denise Runs Out
Denise Chapter 26: The Hospital Again
Denise Chapter 27: The Doctor Brings a Surprise for Them
Denise Chapter 28: Denise on One Leg Without Booze
Denise Chapter 29: Creating a Dry Denise
Denise Chapter 30: Living in a Modified Body
Denise Chapter 31: Carol Gets the Nod for Surgery
Denise Chapter 32 – Getting Denise More Mobile
Denise Chapter 33 – Carol’s Confession
Denise Chapter 34 – Denise Faces Her Past and Her Future
Denise Chapter 35 – the Therapy Intensifies
Denise Chapter 36 – Carol Prepares for Surgery
Denise Chapter 37 – Joan Sutter Calls
Denise Chapter 38 – Carol Calls Sandra
Denise Chapter 39 – Fritz Calls Sandra
Denise Chapter 40: Sandra Faces More Surgery
Denise Chapter 41 – Carol’s Surgery
Denise Chapter 42 – Sandra’s Surgery
Denise Chapter 43 – The Assault on Dr. Davis
Denise Chapter 44 – Dr. Davis, Patient and Evidence Gatherer
Denise Chapter 45: The Police Search for the Attackers
Denise Chapter 46: The Arrest Goes Bad, Real Bad
Denise Chapter 47: The Investigation is Costly
Denise Chapter 48: Dr. Davis Tries to Play Patient
Denise Chapter 49: Carol Gets Her New Leg
Denise Chapter 50: Ellen and Liz Davis – The Starner Carnage Continues
Denise Chapter 51: Back on the Road for the Original Crew
Denise Chapter 52 – the Investigation Continues
Denise Chapter 53: Sandra’s First Stop
Denise Chapter 54: A Public Confessional
Denise Chapter 55: Feedback From the Boss
Denise Chapter 56 – They Meet Ellen
Denise Chapter 57 – Donna Joins the Team
Denise Chapter 58 – A Day with Ellen
Denise Chapter 59 – Blue Crutches for Annette
Denise Chapter 60 – Secret Perp Walk
Denise Chapter 61 – The USA Today Article
Denise Chapter 62 – Debbie Sees the Bigger Picture
Denise Chapter 63 – Barb and Lou Go on the Road
Denise Chapter 64 – Barb and Lou on Stage
Denise Chapter 65 – They Learn About Jan and Judd
Denise Chapter 66 – Jan and Judd Arrive
Denise Chapter 67 – Judd Has an Announcement
Denise Chapter 68 – Donna’s First Appearance
Denise Chapter 69 – Their Roles Expand
Other novels by Ralph Brandt
Alpha Four Chapter 01: Two Autopsies
The First Family: Chapter 1 – Introduction
World War II – a Novel Chapter One
Sandra Chapter 01: the Accident
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