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ACT ISCENE 1
THE STAGE IS SET WITH CHAIRS, BOXES, TABLES ALL WHICH CAN BE ARRANGED TO ACCOMMODATE THE VARIOUS SCENES. ALL SCENE CHANGES, COSTUME CHANGES, ETC HAPPEN IN FRONT OF THE AUDIENCE. THE STYLE IS VERY REPRESENTATIONAL AND STORY- THEATRE LIKE. ON THE SIDES ARE TWO SCREENS USED TO DISPLAY THE TEXTS AND TWEETS THAT APPEAR IN THE SHOW. DIRECTORS MAY ALSO CHOOSE TO USE A SCRIM HANGING UPSTAGE OF THE ACTION TO DISPLAY THE TEXTS. WHATEVER YOUR BUDGET ALLOWS...HAVE AT IT!
OLDER KATE:This video doesn’t show you everything. Every so often I pull out my dad’s old camera and watch my first game. Dad says back then, every gadget had a single purpose. Phones were for making calls, video cameras were for making, well...videos. But soccer games were for making friends. At least that’s what mom explain to me the morning this video was made.
YOUNGER KATE:I don’t want to mess up. (She fidgets nervously with her braids)
MOM:It’s okay if you mess up. Everybody does. All you can do is try your best,
YOUNGER KATE:Ben is my friend, and he never messes up.
OLDER KATE :You never see my dad on-screen, but his is the only voice you can hear clearly most of the time. My father yelled himself hoarse that morning.
DAD:Hustle, Kate! Atta girl!
OLDER KATE:He cheered me on to do what all five year olds playing soccer do: chase the ball around the field in a herd. My dad calls it “bumble bee soccer”. I pause the playback at this point and wish that all of life could work the way this camera does. Sometimes, things happen too fast. On the screen, my five year- old foot is frozen mid stride. Even now it makes my stomach drop when I see my right cleat clip Ben in the back of the head. I didn’t do any major damage-just a cut near his hairline-but I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was I kicked my friend in the head and now he was bleeding. A couple of stitches fixed it right up. You can barely see the scar now. Unless you know where to look. Ben wasn’t mad at all. In fact I was the one crying “I hurt my friend, I hurt my friend over and over”. What you can’t learn from this video is this was the moment I knew for the first time what it was really like to have a friend; to make a true connection to someone. And in that sense, this video
doesn’t show you anything at all.
ON SCREEN: AFTER THE PARTY
OLDER KATE: Sometimes I have these moments where I examine my life and think “Kate Weston, how did you get here? HOw did this happen?”
This is not one of those situations. When I finally woke up, I was convinced the old pickup I inherited from my dad was parked on my head.
KATE:CRAP! THE TRUCK!
OLDER KATE:I left my truck across town... I won’t have to worry about this hangover killing me, my father will be happy to assist. I hear my phone blinging, bleeping non-stop. I finally manage to make my eyes squint at the screen. Seven texts from Rachel Henderling. The last one is a picture of me from last night. It isn’t pretty. I appear to be a cross eyed zombie; there’s a strand of my own hair stuck in the corner of my mouth and my arm is thrown around Stacey Stallard like she’s my best friend. I just look...trashed.
(On screen we see two columns, the left is Rachel’s texts and the right is Kate’s responses)
DEF your new profile pic.
DELETE THAT RIGHT NOW
SHOULD SEND THIS TO YOUR NEW BOYFRIEND
DON’T MAKE ME KILL YOU
LOL. OMG. OK, OK DELETED.
(The phone rings)
RACHEL: Good morning, sunshine!(ENTIRELY TOO CHEERY)
KATE: What the hell are you doing up so early?
RACHEL:Those preschoolers don’t teach themselves Sunday School.
KATE: Will you be teaching them to make the margaritas you mixed last night?
RACHEL:You’re the one who switched to shots.
KATE: Which I would have never done if the margaritas hadn’t gotten me hammered. I can’t believe they let you step foot in that church. (pauses) I’m not sure how I even got home. I guess Ben drove me back home in my truck?
RACHEL: Um, yeah. He was gone from the party for like an hour, He must have walked back.
KATE: Wait, he was at the party?
RACHEL: The night was still young. You were wasted by 10:45.
KATE:Again, your fault.
RACHEL:Ohhhh…my…...g…..
KATE:WHAT?
RACHEL: Looks like we weren’t the only ones who had fun last night. And there are Instagram pics to prove it.
KATE:Who is it?
RACHEL: Crap, Gotta go. Late for church. Text you later. (HANGS UP)
(Kate’s brother WILL enters room)
WILL:How you feeling ,rock star?
(Kate tries to stand but trips on a pair of shoes, bringing WILL down with her)
That good, huh? You. Are. Toast.
KATE:You’re not going to tell Mom and Dad, are you?
WILL: Depends.
KATE: On what?
WILL: On whether you’ll take me with you next time.
(KATE grabs a pillow and hits WILL with it.)
You were pretty wrecked last night. I think I should chaperone next time.
KATE:Let’s just see if I survive this time first.
WILL:So you’re saying there’s a chance?
KATE:I’ll think about it. Just don’t tell mom and dad.
WILL: What are you doing today?
KATE:First, Advil. I haven’t let myself dream beyond that.
WILL: (exiting)
Brush your teeth. You smell like the bar at Aztecas.
NEXT SCENE
ON SCREEN
IOWA WAS ONCE AN OCEAN
OLDER KATE: Ahhh, basketball championship week.The promise of Hawkeye Basketball has a chokehold on this town. Varsity Basketball? They get all the glory. Varsity Basketball Player? Every boy wants to be one. They get all the respect, and lately...all the Division 1 scouts. I see my boyfriend and childhood crush Ben, who, despite my five year old fisticuffs an scar infliction, finally got the courage to ask me out a few weeks ago. He spins the ball to his hip then squares and pretends to shoot. Precision, Timing, Balance, Concentration: Ben in his natural habitat. He doesn't miss a single shot even when I call his name..
BEN:She lives.
KATE:Disappointed?
( He bounces the ball in her direction she catches it and slowly dribbles in place, daring him on)
BEN: Okay Hot Shot..show me what you got.
With a single step, he cuts Kate off, his wide stance and low. It's a textbook illustration of that chant the cheerleaders do : Hands Up, Defense! Kate closes her eyes and braces for impact. Instead Ben's arm snakes around her waist and pulls her sideways into him. When she opens her eyes his face is inches from hers.
BEN: Gotcha.
KATE: That was a foul.
BEN: Yep, on YOU. We call it charging.
KATE: No way. You fouled me. And you almost brained me while I was in a legal defensive position.
BEN: Oh, is that what we call cheating these days?
(He Palms the ball over Kate’s head and she tries to grab it. He swings it over to his other hand and I try to grab it... this is clearly not fair). Hey don't hate the player...those are the rules... I set and you made contact.
KATE: I'll show you contact.
( She charges him with a growl. He tries to protect his rebound as shejumps on his back throwing her arms around his neck. She tries for a headlock but is no match as he swings her around..
OLDER KATE: As I slid down his back I found the scar behind his ear I gave him all those years ago. I resisted the urge to brush my lips against it. I didn't mean to feel this way about Ben; we have known each other forever. It was a fluke when it started last September. Something that would fade away like the tan I got on Labor Day. I assumed it would be gone by October. I thought I could control it.I was wrong. I was full on in-love. I hoped he was , too.
BEN: You've always had it out for me, Weston ever since that first time you fouled me when we were five years old. But I love you anyway.
OLDER KATE: (to audience) Wait, you guys heard that, right?
KATE Thank You.
BEN: For what?
KATE: For inviting me to the party last night. And for driving me home. Thank you. You didn't have to do that.
BEN: Well, somebody did.
KATE: I'm glad it was you.
BEN: I wasn't going to trust any of those other losers.
KATE: Yeah, Dad would have been pissed off if I left my truck at the Doone’s.
(Immediately Ben’s mother comes onto the stage with a huge box of Powerades.)
ADELE: Benny, do you think you can get these into the garage for me? I have to hurry.
BEN: Mom, we don't have room for all this crap.
ADELE: I cleared some space this morning. The shelf under the ramen and the tapioca.
OLDER KATE: Ben's mom had become one of those, what do you call them... extreme couponers? Ever since the divorce she's been hitting Zumba classes and counting her coupons trying to make a nice life for her and Ben. I found it endearing. Ben found it obnoxious and embarrassing.
BEN: But this is Powerade. P comes before R.
ADELE: S is for sports drink. If we land some Gatorade next week I don't want it all on different shelves.
BEN: Guess I'll go get the dolly.
KATE: Might as well take a couple with you.
BEN : Why do I have to take two now?
KATE: It’s part of that new Powerade workout (laughing)
BEN: What are you going to do while I haul these around ?
KATE: Enjoy the view.
Ben walks off, trying to be “sexy” carrying two sports drinks.
NEXT SCENE
ON SCREEN: SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
OLDER KATE: Ben and I had been dating for a couple of weeks. It's not awkward at all like I thought it would be, the quiet between us is different from the tongue-tied awkwardness when I first felt the crush on him.
BEN: Iowa and Indiana have been watching my Clips online. Told Coach they're both sending people to see the tournament.
KATE: Are you kidding? That's huge. You're only a junior.
BEN: Don't know whether to feel relieved, or guilty.
KATE: Guilty?
BEN: About leaving. Her.
OLDER KATE: I know he's talking about his mother Adele so I proceed with caution.
KATE: Is she collecting all that crap in case you don't get a scholarship? Stocking up now so she can spend all her money on tuition later?
BEN: Who knows? She's constantly afraid of not having enough cash or enough... anything. Ever since Dad took off I'm just afraid I'll come home to shelves and every room in the whole damn place will be packed full of crap from Ajax to Zyrtec. (long pause). She's been hiding stuff in the house again.. the other day I went by the guest room and the closet was open...there was a little Rubbermaid bin full of tube socks and boxer briefs.
KATE: For you?
BEN: I can buy my own damn underwear. I know I'm a total tool for feeling this way. It's just, mom’s obsessed. There's enough crap in the guest room to fill every sock drawer I own from now until I'm 70.
KATE: If you have a scholarship, do you think she'll chill out?
BEN: I don't think it works that way. Pretty sure I have zero power where this whole coupon hoarding thing is concerned. It's like some bad reality show.
OLDER KATE: While Ben was confessing his secrets to me I tried to think of something, something in my life that I could relate to...but I had nothing because my parents are still together and actually really aren't that bad…
KATE: I like my mom and dad, but sometimes I wish they would admit that they don't know everything.
BEN: All parents have that... none of them know the truths about themselves. I think all parents are just faking it. No grown-up really feels like an “adult”.
Ben’s phone rings
BEN: It's DOONEY.
KATE: Want me to answer it for you?
BEN: Na- I'll call him back... he probably just woke up.
KATE: How's he going to put his house back together before his parents come home?
BEN (smiling): Deacon told him to just burn it down.
KATE: Wish I could have stayed longer. Did you have fun after you dropped me off?
BEN: Nothing's ever fun without you there.
He starts to sing that cheesy song You Light Up My Life
KATE: (punches his arm) Asshole.
OLDER KATE: Ahh, see him smiling his irresistible, grand smile. The one that made my mom's sneak him an extra juice box back at age six when we had snacks after the game. Some things never change. He’s so freakin’ adorable.
BEN: Seriously. I would have stayed at the party if you'd been with me. Since you weren't, I walked back to get my truck and left.
KATE: Oh. Rachel said she saw you coming in when she was headed out.
BEN: Just to tell Dooney bye. He and Deacon were wrecked by that point.
KATE: Yeah Rachel sent me a picture and-
BEN:Of what? abruptly
KATE: UMM of ME?
BEN: relaxing Oh, cool.
KATE: It was not cool. I was black -out wasted. But don't worry, I deleted it. I made Rachel delete it, too. I was doing shots with Stacy. I didn't even remember Stacy being there till I saw that picture. I didn't know she even hung out with Dooney that much.
OLDER KATE: Why am I talking about Stacey in a
moment like this? You're walking with the hottest guy in school. FOCUS KATE.
Of course Will is in our driveway dribbling the ball. He’s ALWAYS dribbling that stupid ball.
Why is it so cute when Ben does it?
BEN: Dude, I'm open.
OLDER KATE: Will was completely caught off guard and shot Ben a sloppy pass. It still makes me laugh. Ben was practically his idol.
BEN: Man! Got to be ready. Eyes on the ball, not on my face. I can make you think I'm headed one way with my eyes, but my hands and feet are busy doing something else.
OLDER KATE: There's a big brother friendliness about his schooling my brother that warmed my heart, and anyone could see Will eager to earn from the “master” . Court time with a starting junior is a rare commodity for a benchwarmer on the JV team.
KATE: Hi Mom! Mom comes outside on the porch and studies Kate and Ben a moment as Kate has been watching Ben squatting low on defense.
OLDER KATE: Oh who am I kidding, I was totally checking out his butt.
MOM: Your powers of observation seem especially well-tuned today.
OLDER KATE- Busted! Before I could even protest, Mom jumped up and down and cheering for Will, who is stealing the ball from Ben. He holds up a hand and Will leaps to him high-fiving his basketball Jedi.
BEN: No way dude! Where the hell did that come from? Your bro is a freaking pistol!
KATE: Don't brag on him too much...if his head gets any bigger he'll float away.
OLDER KATE: Will is in heaven. I've seen him copying what Ben and the rest of the guys on the varsity team do: same haircuts, high tops, baggy tank tops. Now he's been handed the highest honor and upperclassmen can bestow upon a humble freshie... “the nickname”. In this town basketball is King, and Will has just been made a squire to one of the Knights of the Round Table. The boys walk off talking and ”wrestling”as Kate and mom exit left.
NEW SCENE
SCREEN SAYS
RACHEL: Oh my God... I left you three voice mails.
KATE: You know I never check my voicemails. You might as well write me a message, put it in a bottle and throw it in the creek behind your house.
RACHEL: One day, someone important is going to call you, and you're going to be sorry.
KATE: Rachel, you are important. You're also the only person in the 21st century who still leaves voicemails.
RACHEL: I sent texts and Facebook messages and Instagram DM's too. Lindsay and Chrissy are on high alert
KATE: For what?
RACHEL: A Search party.
KATE: For whom?
RACHEL: For you, and your flawless pronoun usage. Where were you all day that you couldn't check your phone?
OLDER KATE: While I was hanging out with Ben, I didn't think twice about reading texts or checking Facebook or Instagram or Twitter. Not at all... not even once.
KATE: I was... Busy.
RACHEL: With who?
KATE: With whom
(WE HEAR RACHEL AAAAAAAAAAHHHH INTO THE PHONE)
RACHEL: Lindsay said she saw you hanging out at the park with Ben.I knew it was serious! You Liar! Give me the details. Don't. Make. Me. Come. Over. There.