Dungeons by Ivy M. Jones Page A

evening."
       "Goodnight Mrs. C.  Thanks so much!"  Lana practically skipped as she wandered to the prop room to grab another roll of tape.  She planned to tackle the last few items on her checklist.
       When she had finished, she looked up to realize all the lights in the hall had been turned off and she couldn't hear any voices.  She looked at her watch and realized she had been working for almost 40 minutes.  Her stomach chose that moment to loudly reminded her that she had worked through dinner, so she stuck her hand in her bag and pulled out a handful of coins and some lint.  She was sorting through the stack when someone started locking the door to the prop room from outside.
       "Hey!  There's someone still in the dungeon!"  She yelled, unlocking the door from the inside.  The Dungeon was what the technical crew called the prop room because it frequently had carabiners in the ceiling and walls in order to hoist furniture and materials up off the floor for space.  She opened the door as a voice from outside began to apologize.
       "Sorry, I didn't‒ Oh hey, Lana.  I didn't mean anything by it."  Brian had a chain with a huge ring of keys, and he was pulling the key to the prop room back out of the door.  "I thought maybe you just forgot to shut off the light and lock the door."
       "I never forget to lock the door."  Lana bristled at the insult.
       "But you've forgotten to turn off the light?"  Brian crossed his arms over his wide chest and flicked his head to get the long blonde hair out of his eyes.
       "No, I don't forget to do that either!"  Lana growled at him.  She was getting angry at him again.  And her evening had been so happy since her conversation with Mrs. C.  Slowly, Lana forced herself to relax and take in a deep breath.  "You know what?  I'm not going to argue with you tonight, Brian.  I had a great conversation with Mrs. C, and I'm feeling good about the future, and there's nothing you can do to bring me down."
       "Yeah, 'cause that's what I live for...  Making your life miserable."  Brian leaned a shoulder against the doorframe, his arms still crossed as the sarcasm rolled off him like waves.
       "You know?  Sometimes I'd swear it is.  We were having a mostly civil conversation earlier, and before I know it, it's another fight.  I don't even know who started it and I don't care!  Because there's nothing you can say that's going to bring me down!  I'm sick of dealing with you, and it's almost over.  This is the last performance of the year, and after that I'm going to Hartman, and I'll never have to see you again!"  Lana's volume had increased until she was yelling the last sentence at him, the sound echoing off the high walls of the prop room.
       Brian chuckled for a second before he looked at her.  "Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but I have a feeling we'll still be seeing each other from time to time."
       "I know we live in the same town, and that's not going to change, but unless you plan on stalking me, I won't even know you're around."  Lana threw the change into her pocket and started walking to the vending machines in the lobby.  Brian paced after her.
       "It's not stalking if I'm taking classes there, too."  He said, grinning like an idiot.
       Lana stopped mid-stride and turned to glare at Brian.  He had stopped a few steps behind her and he watched as her eyes seemed to burn holes in him.  Then he noticed as her eyes dropped to his crotch before they darted back up to his face.
       "Checking out my junk?"  He asked flippantly.
       "Thinking I might have to hit you with my knee a few times before I found your tiny dick."  Lana turned around without waiting for his reply and walked as fast as possible to the vending machines.  When she got there, she searched until she found a box of raisins.  She located a box of chocolate milk in the refrigerated machine and bought them both.  Starving, she quickly drained the milk