INT. RHD OFFICE.

JORDAN RILEY, 20, frantically rifles through the bottom drawer of the desk she's pried open. She's pullled out everything from cans of spray paint, to bear mace, to a bong. It becomes increasingly clear that these items have been confiscated over the last several weeks,and she's looking for something specific.

------------------------------------ JORDAN
--------------------------------- (desperate)
-------------------- Come on, come on! Where the fuck are you?

She continues pawing through the drawer; blood clings to her previously immaculate ocean blue shirt, ROTHFIELD UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE SERVICES logo sticking out even more thanks to it. She only stops when her phone rings and she springs up to grab it, a shaky breath escaping her as she sees NICK glowing across the screen.

------------------------------------ JORDAN
-------------------- Nick, thank god. Colin is dead, I can't reach
-------------------- Will on my cell-

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
-------------------- Looks like you're not reaching Nick either,
-------------------- babe.

Jordan's face falls immediately; her throat feels like it's closing as the room seems to spin, her heart rate kicking up.

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
------------------------------------ (smug)
--------------------- What's the matter, Jordan? I didn't think you
--------------------- knew how to keep your mouth shut.

------------------------------------ JORDAN
--------------------- What the fuck do you want, asshole?

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
--------------------- I think we both know the answer to that
------------------------------------ (beat)
--------------------- Main Auditorium, in an hour. Come alone,
--------------------- or I kill Nick. You don't want that, -do
--------------------- you?

------------------------------------ JORDAN
--------------------------------- (venomously)
----------------------------------- Fuck you.

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
--------------------------------- See you soon.

The line goes dead, and Jordan does little more than stare off at the wall until her body catches up with her and she sets the phone back down slowly. Tears well in her eyes but she blinks them back, inhaling and exhaling shakily. Her head dips down, frustrated; and that's when she sees it.

Hand reaches into the drawer, pulling out a small switchblade. Her free hand comes to wipe at her eyes, before she pockets the knife and her phone, rising to her feet.

This ends tonight.

PROCEED?

HOW THEATRE SAVED MY LIFE

A COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY BY JORDAN RILEY

I was sixteen years old when I lost my virginity, my sense of self, and my voice.

I remember that night vividly. I remember the rush I felt following a successful encore night performance of the crucible, I remember being excited to celebrate at a house party with my friends and peers, and I remember overestimating my tolerance for alcohol.

Most of all, I remember saying no when I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I wasn't alone.

I'm a pretty friendly person. I like to put peanuts out for the squirrels. When I meet my friends' parents for the first time, I bring flowers or homemade brownies. I've cut class to cheer up friends who are having a bad day, I volunteer at the senior center twice a month. I'm telling you this because, after spending hours in a cold hospital room being examined, swabbed and photographed, I spent more hours with detectives, being questioned.

How old are you? How much do you weigh? What did you eat that day? Did you drink with dinner? How much did you drink? What did you drink? What container did you drink out of? Who gave you the drink? Who dropped you off at the party? At what time? Where were you, exactly? What were you wearing? Why were you at this party? What did you do when you got there? Are you sure you did that? Do you drink often? How many times did you black out? Do you have a boyfriend? Are you sexually active? Do you remember what time you woke up? Do you remember who was in the room with you? Are you sure who you saw was who you saw? Were you still clothed when you fell asleep?

That day is known in my family as the longest Sunday, and it was only the beginning. I knew who assaulted me, but his name isn't important. The culture I faced at school that Monday, arguably, is. I didn't make it to lunch; feeling everyone's eyes on me and catching whispers as I walked down the halls was too much to handle, too fast. My mom took an early lunch to pick me up and take me home. I slept all day, because I barely slept the previous night.

Tuesday was worse. The staring and the whispers were all still there, but there was the lovely addendum of LYING SLUT spray painted across my locker, nine scarlet letters branding me this horrible person for labeling the most affluent, popular guy in school for what he was: dangerous and predatory. I went home from school again. I didn't go back.

My sophomore year was completed online as my parents and I decided it would be best for me to change schools. My abuela took me in with no questions and no qualms; Columbus was a major change from Brentwood, and normally, the change of scenery would excite me. But I didn't want to leave the house, didn't want to open myself back up to the world. I no longer felt safe alone. I couldn't sleep at night without the lights on. There were many times I would stay awake until the sun came up, and finally, I felt peaceful and safe enough to fall asleep. For weeks, my bed time was six in the morning.

This lasted six weeks before my abuela had enough, and started taking me with her to wardrobe fittings for the local theatre and their upcoming production of The Music Man. It was almost reminiscent of when I was four and had my first introduction to musical theatre. I was bitten by the bug then, and immediately begged my parents to let me take dance classes and vocal lessons, to let me participate in the local community theatre. I think my abuela was hoping it would reignite the spark in me that seemed to have dimmed.

In some ways, it did; in others, it made me sad. It reminded me of my life before everything fell apart around me and I learned to be less trusting and open. I still went with abuela to rehearsals and was even allowed to attend performances for free. It was a nice gesture, but it made that sadness, that bittersweet feeling, stronger.

I had all summer to mope, but when school started that fall and I began attending Eastmoor High. My abuela is a kind and loving woman, but she was also sick and tired of me spending all my time at home. If I wanted to continue living peacefully and rent-free under her roof, I had to participate in an extracurricular. It didn't have to be drama, it could have been cross country or volleyball for all she cared. But I had to have something to keep me busy after school, and I chose drama.

Eastmoor's drama department was intimidating at first solely because Brentwood's department was barely a department at all. I wasn't used to an environment where everyone wanted to be in the school play, let alone one where full-scale musicals were routinely being produced and mostly ran by the students, with supervision from faculty. I auditioned for the fall musical and was relegated to ensemble member, ready to step into Cinderella's glass slippers should the lead have gotten sick or stage fright or had a last-minute diva fit on opening night.

While none of the above happened, it was exactly what I needed. The other students were welcoming; I was expecting hostility in some capacity, but the moment I stepped off that stage after my audition, I had people asking to exchange numbers and what other arts-related classes I was looking into adding to my schedule.

It was eye-opening; over the previous five months, I had shut myself off from everything that was a reminder of my old self, afraid that it wouldn't feel or be the same. In some ways, it did change. Theatre became a more tight-knit community for me to allow myself to step back into.

My walls didn't start to lower until next spring; the drama department was putting on Little Shop of Horrors and I felt compelled to push myself into the spotlight and try out for the lead. I needed to be better, to make myself leave behind all the negativity I had been carrying with me. I was at a point where I was sick of feeling sad all the time, sick of feeling like that was what my life was going to be for the rest of eternity.

Playing Audrey was an experience I'll never forget. I heard actors everywhere have at least one "forever" role that they could play until the day they die and never get tired of it. I connected so deeply with Audrey's story, of how she was so used to the ugly truths of the world and so stuck in a horrible situation, but longing to escape from it and find her happiness in something so simple and sweet. Stepping into her leopard-print pumps was like accepting a warm hug from a friend.

Since I was four years old, I wanted to get involved with acting, but it was through reconnecting with theatre while working through trauma that I realized how much the art is part of the person I am. The stage is my safe space; it's a place where I can explore the depth of my personhood, my pain, my joy, my drive, my anguish, free from the scrutiny and the pressures of the real world.

I don't know where I would be as a person without theatre. I don't like to think about it, if I can help it. I just know that it's been there for me when I've been at my lowest, to pick me up and help me find the pieces of myself, so that I can be whole again. I can't imagine doing anything else with my life.

PROCEED?

INT. MAIN AUDITORIUM.

A lot has happened tonight, as proven by the state of the main stage. Backdrop is ripped, set pieces are toppled over, and two men, both LATE TEENS / EARLY TWENTIES, lay motionless on the ground. One of them is NICK ROBERTSON, 20, best friend to JORDAN RILEY. The other is ETHAN THOMPSON, 18. NICK'S chest moves, slight and erratic. He's still breathing. The same cannot be said for ETHAN, though both are covered in blood, some theirs, some not.

ELLIOT MARTIN, 22, emerges from back stage, holding a knife with
the blade caked in blood. His eyes move frantically as he scans the stage and then the audience, a predator hunting its prey.

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
---------------------------------- (booming)
----------------------- Where the fuck are you, bitch?
------------------------------------ (beat)
----------------------- Come out now and I'll make it real
----------------------- quick and painless.

It's silent and still for a few, short moments; out of nowhere, a hand emerges from the orchestra pit, clutching a knife that sinks through leather boot and into Elliot's heel. He lets out a sharp wail of pain, knees buckling.

CUT TO:

JORDAN, holding the handle of the blade tightly, pushing it in just that little bit further, before pulling it out with some effort. She uses the momentum to reach around his legs and tug pulling him down into the orchestra pit with her.

INT. ORCHESTRA PIT.

Elliot hits the ground with a hard THUD, and Jordan uses this moment to lunge with her knife, narrowly missing his shoulder as he rolls just in time. She's quick to spring back into action; Elliot is faster as he hits her shoulder with a sharp jab, fingers pressing into the still-fresh stab wound from the earlier struggle with Ethan. A shrill cry escapes her and he uses this moment to drive the knife into her abdomen, grazing her hip bone.

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
--------------------------------- (breathless)
------------------------- I told you, this could've been
------------------------- quick and painless.

Jordan collapses on the floor as Elliot pulls the knife out and stares at it one moment, shrugging his shoulders and turning to stare down, instead, at Jordan as he moves to straddle her, pinning her to the floor.

------------------------------------ ELLIOT
------------------------- This whole thing could've been
------------------------- so different for you. -But you
------------------------- had to be- the fucking victim,
------------------------- didn't you?

Palms grip the handle of the knife as he raises it high in the air, as if he's pulling off some grand sacrifice. It's in this moment that Jordan musters all her energy and might to take her own knife and lean up, one hand gripping his shoulder as she plunges the blade deep into his chest, sanguine liquid pouring out.

------------------------------------ JORDAN
----------------------------------- (hissing)
-------------------------- I'm not your fucking victim.

Words are thick with venom as she pulls the knife out, Elliot's blood spilling down the front of her as he sputters in disbelief. She takes the moment and sinks blade into flesh again, for good measure.

As the life he clings to wanes, Elliot collapses, falling in a heap on top of Jordan. She feebly presses her palms against him, pushing at him and groaning at the effort until he flops next to her on the floor. As she stares up at the ceiling, it becomes clear how tired she is from everything that has transpired over the last four hours. In the distance, sirens can be heard. As her eyes slowly fall shut, she sighs in relief.

At long last, it's over.

❚ ARC ONE — POST ROTHFIELD UNIVERSITY MASSACRE.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  21.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  rothfield, ohio.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  student, resident assistant.

it's been six months since the rothfield university massacre has left six dead, with jordan one of the only survivors of the tragedy. she's eager to continue her college education with as little interruption as possible, and spends much of her days keeping her head down and dodging interview requests from reporters.

❚ ARC TWO — POST GRAD, ASPIRING BROADWAY ACTRESS.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  23 - 24.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  new york city, new york.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  aspiring actress, bartender.

with graduation day come and gone, jordan riley packs up her things and finds her sights set on new york city. it's an ambitious move, but one that jordan is confident in despite the odds stacked against her.

❚ ARC THREE — WORKING BROADWAY ACTRESS.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  24.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  new york city, new york.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  working actress.

jordan catches her moment in the spotlight when she's cast as eponine in a revival of les miserables; it's the first step into a promising career on the stage, according to playbill and the broadway message boards. her favorite part of acting on stage? getting to talk to people at the stage door after curtain.

❚ ARC FOUR — FILM / TELEVISION ACTRESS.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  26.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  los angeles, california.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  working actress.

for two years, jordan stays with the broadway revival of les miserables when an opportunity to audition for the lead an untitled netflix thriller/horror series comes her way. while a transition to film and television has always been on her radar, jordan didn't think it would come so quickly. still, she seizes the opportunity, finding the audition material interesting. after several rounds of auditions and a screen test, she's offered the role of julie chambers, a photojournalist who returns to her hometown to attend the funeral of a childhood friend and discovers that not everything is as it seems.

the series, later named behind the curtain, is received with extremely positive reception, and jordan skyrockets from relative unknown to up-and-coming hollywood actress overnight. offers come pouring in and she starts shifting her focus toward the screen.

❚ AU — DEAD BY DAYLIGHT.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  eternally 20.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  the entity's realm.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  survivor.

spring break has been anything but relaxing for jordan riley. despite spending a duty night from hell fighting for her life and ultimately killing her attackers in self-defense, she loses consciousness from her wounds as police and emergency responders arrive at the scene of the bloodbath of the rothfield university massacre. her body is never recovered; instead, when she wakes up, serious wounds healed ( yet scarred ), she's sat in front of a sparking campfire in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces staring, wide-eyed, back at her.

The hell has only just begun.

❚ AU — ROSEVILLE, FLORIDA.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  1990s.
... ● ...  AGE.  25.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  roseville, florida.
... ● ...  AFFILIATED WITH.  egotistikill
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  music and drama teacher.

with a bachelor's of fine arts from one of the premiere performing arts universities under her belt, jordan packs up her things and moves to the cozy, up-and-coming community of roseville, florida. it's a perfect place for her to begin setting down roots and start her life — until murders start to plague the quiet little community. reports in the roseville gazette advise citizens to be cautious of THE GHOSTFACE, he who slips in and out of homes unnoticed, taking lives in increasingly brutal and macabre ways. months go by with jordan exercising certain caution, but ultimately rationalizing that her circle is small and she will be fine.

until the first of many phone calls from unknown numbers come in, followed by increasingly harmful and hostile stagings of evidence and photographs from crime scenes in her home. THE GHOSTFACE has selected his next victim — and jordan's prepared to go down fighting, if that's what it comes to.

❚ AU — SCREAM.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  1997.
... ● ...  AGE.  20.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  windsor, ohio.
... ● ...  AFFILIATED WITH.  dierected
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  student.

windsor university boasts a strong reputation in the arts community; combined with being an in-state university and a mountain of scholarships earned through pageants, jordan riley snatches her chance to study among the best creative minds in the country. she quickly makes connections with a few students from california, and finds herself integrated into a friend group. all goes well until spring of sophomore year, when STAB premieres and the notorious ghostface from woodsboro, california starts plaguing campus, seeking out the survivors of the original murders and anyone who stands in the way.

❚ AU — CRIME.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  present day.
... ● ...  AGE.  27.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  new york city, new york.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  singer in a nightclub.

years have gone by since surviving a brutal murder spree and moving to the big city to start her career on the stage, but success has been hard to come by. after years of dancing through audition after audition until her feet bleed and facing rejection, after rejection, after rejection, she's ready to give up on everything — until a man comes into her life with an opportunity she can't afford to say no to. jordan begins singing at inferno, one of the most well-known nightclubs in the city, frequented by both influential persons and the who's who of the criminal underground alike. the promise of success is a sweet one, to the point that jordan doesn't realize the offer is rotted from the inside out until it's too late.

❚ AU — RESIDENT EVIL.

SCRAPPED AND REPLACED WITH A BETTER AU; ASK ME ABOUT IT!

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  1998.
... ● ...  AGE.  21.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  raccoon city, pennsylvania.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  part-time waitress.

following the rothfield university massacre, jordan strives to keep a low profile. even when the academic year ends and she returns home to columbus, it's hard to escape the stigma and the whispers about her survival of a harrowing murder spree. by the time summer rolls around, she's made arrangements to move in with her aunt, NATALIA MARTINEZ, who is a detective within the raccoon police department.

the first month a refreshing change of pace; no one in the city knows who she is or of her very recent, trauma-filled past, and it's an opportunity for her to heal and figure out her next steps. but when reports of aggressive, cannibalistic-motivated attacks start to circulate and people go out less and less, jordan starts to doubt her choice to move. as her aunt's hours at the police station get longer, she starts to consider moving back home to columbus.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1998: raccoon police turn the station into a temporary shelter due to a massive, sudden outbreak. natalia martinez manages to make contact with jordan from the station, telling her that a patrol car will be by to pick her up and transport her to the station. jordan packs a bag and waits for the arrival. the patrol car never comes.

SEPTEMBER 26, 1998: jordan tries to get in contact with natalia, with no success. outside, things are getting worse; all she hears at night is a continuous loop of sirens, sometimes overshadowed by screams and cries from people on the streets below.

SEPTEMBER 27, 1998: jordan moves from trying to get in contact with natalia to trying to get in contact with anyone she knows at the station and within the city; lines are either dead or ring with no answer in sight. outside, chaos continues to surge. she gets a glimpse of mobs breaking down storefronts and overrunning the streets and is grateful the apartment she shares with her aunt is so high up. the sense of security she feels is false, and fragile — and she is completely aware of it.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1998: things are getting worse and worse as the hours tick by; with no word from natalia for days and her resolve wearing thin, she packs a light go bag with essentials — dry food, some bottled water, a first-aid kit, a knife and a 9mm smith & wesson sigma with as much ammo as she was able to find stashed in the security box under the loose floorboard in the closet.

her first destination is the police station, to find natalia.

her next is getting the hell out of raccoon city.

❚ AU — STRANGER THINGS.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  1985 - 1986.
... ● ...  AGE.  16 - 17.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  hawkins, indiana.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  student, family video employee.

BRENTWOOD, OHIO, SPRING 1985. true to the saying, march goes out like a lamb with cloudless blue, sunny skies and record-breaking warm temperatures that prophesize a pleasant spring season. but as flowers begin to bloom and birds sing their songs, jordan riley is facing a new world — one marred by broken trust, violence, things stolen in vulnerable moments that she’ll never get back. the police are virtually useless, asking invasive questions that end with a shaky promise at best that they’ll see what they can do. school is worse; rumors fly around the halls of brentwood high. did you hear that jordan slept with elliot at his party saturday? did you hear that she pressed charges because she’s embarrassed? oh that’s nothing, I heard drama queen got with the whole varsity team! what a joke.

school administration is a joke at cutting down on the bullying, the vandalism on her locker, and the inherent violence jordan endures just by daring to press charges against her abuser. by mid-april, she’s pulled out of brentwood and has her bags packed to move in with her abuela across state lines in hawkins, indiana.

HAWKINS, INDIANA, SPRING 1985. enrolling in a new school five weeks before the academic year ends is as awkward as it can be, but jordan is virtually invisible to those around her and after the hellish few weeks she’s endured back in ohio, it’s a welcome change of pace. she keeps her head down, gets by in her classes and is content to spend her summer sleeping in and doing virtually nothing.

abuela has other plans.

HAWKINS, INDIANA, SUMMER 1985. insistent that her granddaughter won’t be moping around the house all summer, abuela pushes jordan to get a summer job and with jordan having to maintain her own car, it’s not the worst idea. starcourt’s endless list of stores includes sam goody and jordan is an immediate hire. retail is a decent distraction from the other horrors in her life; namely, the fact that she can’t sleep most nights without being awoken from nightmares about what happened back in ohio. coffee is enough to sustain her and she pushes it away, trying to leave it behind so she can move forward.

sam goody is short-lived when starcourt burns to the ground in july, and jordan finds herself both grateful to not have been near when the fire happened and apprehensive at the fact that disaster seems to be looming over her like a thick, dark cloud.

she finds new employment at the local family video, preferring rewinding tapes and trying to help customers find the “perfect” date night movie over dealing with shit pay and shit tips at the local diner.

HAWKINS, INDIANA, FALL 1985. the summer comes and goes and by the time jordan’s junior year rolls around, she’s more acclimated to the climate of hawkins high. she joins the drama club, eager to find comfort in something familiar, and abuela is happier than ever that jordan is trying to live a normal life. she doesn’t know about the nightmares that still plague her granddaughter, or that she’s been seeing the school counselor about it to try and navigate through them.

HAWKINS, INDIANA, SPRING 1986. on the surface, things are good for jordan riley. she’s made some friends; she’s made some rivals as well, usurping first soprano in the school choir and landing the lead in the spring musical despite being so ‘new’ to the hawkins drama club. things at family video are going well and her grades are decent.

she always has been good at acting happy. it’s a skill, practiced over months, and it’s how she’s able to mask the torment brought on by those nightmares, growing more intense by the day. she’s trapped in a house, surrounded by her former classmates at brentwood, being pushed and shoved and pulled in every direction until she feels like she’s going to break apart.

it’s all documented with ms. kelly but as much as jordan hopes the counseling sessions will help, that hope dwindles day by day, especially as hawkins teenagers start ending up murdered. deep in her gut, she knows there’s more to what’s happening, and feels a thread connecting her to it, but she can’t place how, and can’t seem to push it aside as easily as everything else.

❚ AU — THE QUARRY.

... ● ...  TIMELINE.  summer 2021.
... ● ...  AGE.  18.
... ● ...  LOCATION.  hackett's quarry.
... ● ...  OCCUPATION.  camp counselor.

HACKETTS QUARRY SUMMER CAMP, also known as jordan riley’s chosen summer getaway and official source of the college textbook fund ahead of her freshman year as a drama student at rothfield university. while emma mountebank holds down the fort over camp drama activities, jordan finds her home leading music classes, teaching campers the ins and outs of guitar and the basics of singing. it’s difficult to spot her at the campfire without her vintage acoustic, strumming out old and new favorites and of course, the camp song. it’s a pleasant summer overall and there’s a bittersweet feeling in the pit of her stomach when the time comes to leave… until a broken down van changes things in an instant.

one thing rings true: what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.