From: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org (eda-thoughts-digest) To: eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Subject: eda-thoughts-digest V2 #97 Reply-To: eda-thoughts@smoe.org Sender: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk eda-thoughts-digest Wednesday, April 7 1999 Volume 02 : Number 097 * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * eda-thoughts-digest-request@smoe.org with ONLY * the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: eda-thoughts-digest V2 #xxx or the like gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. Today's Subjects: ----------------- ET: A Script [zerocool@sunlink.net (Niki)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 20:59:35 -0500 From: zerocool@sunlink.net (Niki) Subject: ET: A Script Hey guys read this and tell me what you think of it...Becky and I wrote it for theatre class...have fun and enjoy! - -Nik Sarah- 17 year old girl (senior in high school) Will- 18 year old boy (senior in high school) Sarah and Will's friends- Maggs, Travis, Zack Dealing With Suicide (Note: The whole play is set up with people from the present remembering things from the past. When speaking from the present, the light shines on that person only. When there is a scene from their memory, the spotlight opens up to include the whole scene.) SCENE 1: ZACK: Wow that was the stupidest movie I've ever seen. Bad actors left and right. Coming out of the screen at my face and making me want to cry. (Everyone laughs at Zack throwing his arms up in the air.) TRAVIS: Yea, I think that tops all the other dumb movies we've seen together. But you have to admit it was funny. WILL: Yea, cuz it was so dumb! It was dumb funny. (Everyone laughs again and starts mocking him with "Dumb funny.") WILL: Yea, shut up. Ask me if I care. SARAH: Ok Will. Do you care? WILL (seems to be thinking extremely hard) : I DON'T CARE! (Everyone laughs again.) MAGGS: So where are we going now? I mean, yea. I was supposed to be home an hour ago, but I can always blame it on Zack. ZACK: What? MAGGS: Ya know. Like the time I told my mom that he beat me up and left me in the gutter for dead and you guys came and found me an hour later and then killed him the next day. TRAVIS: That was the funniest thing. I mean, your mom actually believed it too until we told her the truth. I mean, we were only in 7th grade so I guess she thought anything was possible. WILL: (Smiling) Weren't those the days... So what are we going to do now kiddies? SARAH: I think I know where a party is. Let's go check it out and if it sucks then we'll leave and do something else. EVERYONE: Ok. (Light dims until pitch black) SCENE 2: (Darkness covers the stage. Suddenly a light opens up to reveal a girl sitting alone on the stage next to a gravestone. Flowers are setting beside her on the ground.) SARAH (speaking in present): And they say some people just do it for the attention, or at least threaten to do it, and others do it to get "revenge" on friends and family. But some people do it because they truly believe that they can't deal with anything or anyone anymore, they think they have no one to turn too...that no one can help them (starts to cry)...and they don't realize...they just don't realize... (Out of her thoughts she sees Will with a gun in his hand. He looks at the gun for a couple of minutes before shooting himself.) SARAH (speaking in present, visibly upset): That was Will, he was my boyfriend at one point...I'd even say that we were soul mates...we talked about everything...or so I thought...but everything turned out to be nothing. And every anniversary Travis, Maggs, Zack, and I go to his grave and put flowers there, and talk to him to let him know how all of us are, how we're doing in life without him...the rest of them should be here soon... (Sarah remembers one of her conversations with Will. Will appears onstage and Sarah starts talking to him.) SARAH: What's wrong with you lately? You're being so...I don't know...shutoff. WILL: No, it's no big deal. I've just had a lot on my mind lately...(Sarah interrupts) SARAH: Like what? Talk to me. WILL: No it's nothing you want to hear about and I really don't want to talk about it either. (Sighs) It'll all work out one way or another. SARAH (Calmly, but obviously nervous): One way or another? What is that supposed to mean? What the hell are you talking about? WILL: Jumping to some pretty harsh conclusions aren't we? (Wraps Sarah in his arms) Calm down...I just mean that things will be okay. SARAH: Yea, if you say so. (Freeze) SARAH (speaking in present): And that's how everything started off...well that's how I cam to know what was going on. Little by little...and when I finally did figure out that something was wrong it was too late to do anything about it...too late to stop it from getting worse. It's like being paralyzed-all the way- and sitting in your kitchen; a little fire starts and you can't stop it-you can only pray that someone will come and save you, that you won't be taken down in the fire. I couldn't reach Will...I couldn't do anything...I felt so alone and scared. SCENE 3: (Sarah remembers a party that Will and her attended together) SARAH: Chugging down a lot of beers aren't you? WILL: I figure I might as well do it while I can, before I'm encountered with endless responsibility and no time to do anything except stress out. SARAH: Getting a bit ahead of yourself aren't you? WILL: Aren't you supposed to care or something? Why don't you say, (sarcastically) "Will, I'm sorry, is there anything I can do to help?" (Zack appears and interrupts) ZACK: Hey guys, you look a bit down, this is a party! ENJOY! Will, why don't I get you some more beers? SARAH (sarcastically): Yea Will, why don't you have another beer? WILL: Thanks Zack, I think I'll take you up on that offer. (Sarah stand up, pauses, then leaves as Zack takes her seat next to Will and strikes up a conversation) (Scene Freezes) SARAH (speaking in present): God! I hated it when he got like that. I mean, usually he was such a nice guy when he drank, but this party was so different. Not just him, but everything. Ok, maybe not everything. I was just so upset that Will was ignoring me and drinking like there was no tomorrow and on top of that, I pretended no to care. (Pause) Maybe that's what helped him make up his mind. (Maggs unfreezes and Sarah goes back into her memory, talking to Maggs.) MAGGS: Heading out already? SARAH: Yea I have SATs in the morning...I have to get home so I can study. MAGGS: Okay well I was thinking of leaving too, I came here with Travis, but he's passed out. SARAH: Yea sounds like Travis. MAGGS: Do you think I could get a ride home with you? SARAH: Yea sure, go out and wait for me in the car. I have to go find my jacket and I'll be out in a minute. MAGGS: Ok dear. SARAH: Maggs wait. Why don't you just spend the night at my house-we can study for SATs together. MAGGS: Okay good idea! But be prepared for me to eat everything in your house again. (Both girls laugh lightly) (Sarah freezes) MAGGS (speaking in present): I remember that party and that night. I remember seeing Sarah and Will together. Will was acting weird and I think Sarah was too. When Sarah invited me over I figured it'd be best to go so I could talk to her and ask her what was going on. We talked when we got home and Sarah told me about Will and her...how she thought things were ending between the two of them and how she was really worried about them. Then she told me that she thought that Will might be thinking about committing suicide...(starts to cry) I laughed when she told me that...Will? Commit suicide? I didn't believe it, I couldn't believe it. I mean Will and I were really close too, not like him and Sarah, but I thought I would've known... (Everyone unfreezes) SARAH: Are you ready to go? I'm really tired and you know how I get. MAGGS: Yea, it's probably best if we just leave. (Scene freezes and Sarah stands alone in the spotlight.) SARAH (speaking in present): Maggs was my best friend at the time, we don't talk as much as we used to...not after the incident...you see, me, Maggs, Travis an' Will used to hang out all the time and Zack would always tag along. We were the people that everyone envied. Everyone wanted to have such a close knit group of friends...(starts to get upset) It just isn't right-something like this shouldn't have happened to us...to me... SCENE 4: (Travis, Will, Maggs, and Sarah are sitting around talking during lunch. Zack is off somewhere harassing a few girls.) TRAVIS: I think that at the end of this year we should all go on a road trip...I think we deserve one. We've been at this hellhole of a school for four years, and not one of us has gone crazy. I think we deserve a reward. WILL (trying to be funny): Yea you may not have gone crazy...but speak for yourself. TRAVIS: Yea, yea, shut up Will. (Talking to Maggs and Sarah) So what do you two think? SARAH: I think it's a cool idea...we'd have to plan it out and everything but I'd like to (Will interrupts) WILL: Well, I can tell you that this is never going to work out. Don't you think about college? I do. At then end of this year that is all I'm going to be thinking about. Get real guys, you're gonna have to do the same. MAGGS: Well I'm sure that if we do go on a trip it's only going to be for a week or two...not the whole summer. I'm sure you can take a little time out of your schedule to hang out with four of your best buds-can't you? (Will throws Maggs a disgusted look) WILL: I think I am going to leave now. Let me know if you guys decide on anything...depending on when and to where I might be able to go, but I doubt it. (Will leaves) TRAVIS: Jeez, what's wrong with him lately? He's being so obsessive with college and everything...I mean sure it's important and especially to him...but look at the way he's acting. MAGGS: I know what you mean. I asked him what was wrong, what was going on, but he just rolled his eyes (Imitates Will) "I see you're been talking to Sarah about me." I just dropped it then, didn't feel like getting into an argument with him. SARAH: That's all we've been doing lately, arguing. It's ridiculous. I have to be so care about what I say around him anymore... TRAVIS: Well I can try to talk to him if you want me too... SARAH: Would you please? (Zack returns) ZACK: Hey guys! Did I miss anything? (Everyone one laughs bitterly and rolls their eyes at Zack.) MAGGS: Yeah, Will just spazzed out on us. ZACK (shrugging his shoulders) : He's been under a lot of pressure. (Scene freezes and spotlight shines on Travis.) TRAVIS (speaking in present): I knew there was something wrong, but nothing a good party couldn't fix. I thought that Sarah and Maggs were just over- reacting about his behavior and stuff, but then I thought about it some more and I realized that Will had never ever acted like this before. He was usually so laid back and easygoing. Usually it was everyone around his stressing out, but not lately. So I told the girls that I would talk to him, but I had no idea what I was going to say. What do you say in a situation like that? "Will, I think you're being weird and you're scaring everyone around you. Could you please convert yourself back to the old?" (Chuckles lightly) I don't think so. Based on his behavior I think he would've punched me. And that's sad thing to say because I know that Will would have never wanted to hurt anyone. But since he'd been acting this way...well I wasn't so sure about him anymore. I don't think anyone was sure about him. His parents even tried to talk to me about him, but out of loyalty for Will, I didn't tell them much. I mean, at that point I wasn't too worried about him. SCENE 5: (Sarah, Maggs, Travis, Will, and Zack are talking about their summer plans) SARAH (excited): I can't believe it. Two more weeks until we're out of here. Things just can't get any better. MAGGS: Actually, no. (Laughs) But ya know, it's kind of scary. It seems like I was a freshman just yesterday; sitting in Mr. Ryan's class and wishing that I could just die from boredom. (Everyone laughs, even Will) TRAVIS: Yea that class almost killed me. ZACK: Yea you almost didn't pass! (Travis hits Zack lightly on the arm) TRAVIS: Shut up man! WILL: I remember sitting there and all the times we made fun of that Annabelle chick who kept saying she was from another country and talked in some accent only when a guy came near her! MAGGS: You guys were so vicious to her! SARAH: Hold up guys. Have we made plans for the summer yet? I don't think we actually sat sat down and made concrete plans about our road trip idea. MAGGS: Oh my God. I forgot all about it. Let's go to the beach and rent a house. After senior week. WILL: Why? ZACK: For fun, dumbass. That does sound like a lot of fun seriously. We could pick up chicks, drink beer, and party 'till we drop! SARAH: Um, you can pick up chicks, but you're not bringing them back to the house. TRAVIS: Yea man. That definitely would not be cool. Not unless I'm getting some action too! (Travis and Zack give each other five while Sarah and Maggs give a look of disgust) WILL: You guys are so stupid. It's not going to work. What happened the last time we went somewhere? That's right. We all got into a fight and Travis, you ended up going home early. Don't give me this, "we'll all have so much fun together" because you'll all just end up screwing everything up. And what is there to do at the beach? Nothing. Sit on the beach, get a tan, and jump in the freezing ocean. MAGGS: Somebody has a problem with having a little fun. WILL: Yea, it's you. All your stupid dreams and hopes. Maggs, I'm so sick of it. All you ever do is dream about stuff. You never actually do it. I'm tired of hearing about what you want to do since you never do it anyway. (Stands up) And the rest of you, all you ever do is follow each other around like a flock of sheep. You might as well lead yourselves off a cliff or to hell. Why NOT to the damn beach? (Will storms off, while the rest look puzzled) ZACK (confused and pissed off): Would someone like to tell me what that was about? (Total silence) WELL?! SARAH (lost and quiet): I was hoping someone else could tell me. For the past few months, he just...I don't know. I just wish that he would be himself again. I don't know what's happening to him. (Gets teary) If only he would tell me what's going on inside his head. (Freeze) ZACK (speaking in present): That was the last time we actually had somewhat of a conversation. Will secluded himself off from the rest of us and wouldn't talk to anyone. Not even Sarah sometimes. I just didn't know what to do or say to him. I didn't think it would be appropriate for me to just get in his face and be like, what's wrong with you? He would've just walked away or gotten up and punched me like that. Maybe it would have been worth it. SCENE 6: (Travis and Maggs are talking after school in the parking lot.) TRAVIS: So, what are you doing after graduation tomorrow? MAGGS: I think I'm going over to Sarah's house, but I'm not sure. I know there are tons of parties to go too, but I haven't made any commitments anywhere. TRAVIS: Yea, Zack said he wanted to go out drinking or something like that. MAGGS: That's Zack for you. Always finding a party or something like that. TRAVIS (laughs lightly): Yea, but there's nothing I can do about it and I'm not about to stop him. ZACK: I heard my name from across the parking lot. What didn't I do this time? (Travis and Maggs laugh) MAGGS: Nothing, we were talking about what we're going to do after graduation tomorrow. ZACK: Yea, I figure if I can get this kid (puts his arm around Travis's shoulders) out to find some chicks, drink a little, and drive around...it'll be a good day. MAGGS: I know this is a little off the subject, but has anyone talked to Will about tomorrow or the beach or anything? (Travis and Zack pretend not to hear this.) MAGGS: Ok guys. Maybe he has been a little out of it lately, but... ZACK: Lately? Yea right. You may think that, but you're just a little off. He's been such a butt for the past few months I've even forgotten what the old Will was like. TRAVIS: He sure wasn't this "I'm a dick to everyone" kind of guy. MAGGS: I don't even want to know what's going on between him and Sarah. She's been so depressed lately. I just wish there was something I, we could do. TRAVIS: There has got to be something seriously wrong, but what can we do? I don't want to just run off to some psychiatrist or something and be like, "My friend is losing it and what can I do to help?" ZACK: Yea that definitely would not be cool. MAGGS: What if it's the only thing we can do? (Freeze) TRAVIS (speaking in present): I guess we just didn't want to talk about it anymore because we finished our conversation with a "Well, see you guys tomorrow after school and we'll go do something." Thinking about it now...well now I know we were wrong to have not done anything about Will. We should've talked to someone...anyone...but we thought that would be disrespecting Will and his privacy. Well because we didn't do anything, he ended up dead...and maybe if we would've done something it would've worked out differently...just maybe... SCENE 7: (All the characters see Will shoot himself again) MAGGS: We were all together in study hall talking about our summer plans when we found out what had happened. What Will had done. Sarah just started screaming and crying, saying how she just talked to him this morning on the phone and that he was just sick, that he wasn't dead. I just went into shock. I knew it was true...I couldn't say anything or do anything... After that, everything just went in slow motion. The principal said we could all go home. Thing is, we all drove to school with Sarah...and on our way home she insisted on driving to Will's house. ZACK: You know, when my cousin died I thought it was the most terrible thing that could ever happen to me. But now that I think about it, the thing with Will was a lot worse than that. You always have other family members like one another, but you never have two friends that are the same. I know I annoyed the hell out of him sometimes since I was always tagging along, but I think that he was the closet thing to a best friend that I'll ever have. TRAVIS: God, I knew him since he was six. He lived right down the street from me and I remember meeting him in 1st grade. He was this dorky little kid who wore glasses and everyone picked on him, but somehow I got attached to him and he grew up to be this smart, laid-back, popular kind of guy that everyone wanted to be friends with. Once we were such good friends. Me, Maggs, Sarah, Will, Zack, and no one could touch us, but now after what happened with Will, we're all afraid to have friends like each other. It was the fear of losing a close friend like that again. I don't think we could have dealt with another situation like that, but then again, I don't think we have to worry about making close friends like that because I grew up with Will and eventually the rest of them and you can't just become best friends with someone that you just met. We had a history together, and nothing can take it's place, and I don't want anything to take its place. SARAH: Sitting there, after what happened was the absolute hardest thing I have ever done. After I heard what happened, what Will did, I just freaked out. I needed some kind of comfort, so I drove to Will's house and went to his room. All the memories came rushing back...all the good times Will and I had had...and now it was not more. There weren't going to be anymore memories. No more...no more...none...no more Will and Sarah. No more Will, Sarah, Zack, Travis, and Maggs. The best of friends. It was all gone. All gone...in one second everything that we had known was just gone. I couldn't believe any of it. It took me awhile to actually believe that he was gone, dead. Not gone, dead. It took me awhile to learn how to admit that Will was dead. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to say...it tears me apart when I say it, even now. Two years after it happened. (Everyone is now at Will's grave. Everyone hugs one another and they sit down in silence. Sarah's flowers are already on the grave and Maggs sets her flowers down beside them. Will appears. No one can see him though and no matter what he does they are oblivious to his actions.) WILL (quiet and sad): Hi guys. (Sighs) Please don't say anything because I know I have a lot of explaining to do. First off, I know I hurt all of you so so much and I don't know how to say I'm sorry. There's just so much to say and so little time. Maggs, (he moves to her) I know that we were so close for so long and I know I hurt you by not telling you what was going on in my head. I just didn't think you'd understand. Zack, man, (moves to Zack) you were such a good friend. I know you didn't think we were that close, but you were always there for a laugh and if it makes you feel any better, you were my best friend. Travis, (walks to Travis) what can I say? I know you're probably going to yell at me, but...oh God. I should've said something to you. You always understood. I should've known you would've been there for me. You would've known what to do. (Looks at Sarah) Oh God Sarah. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. (Rushes to her side and sits down beside her and takes her hand) What have I done? What did I do to you? You look so much older and so tired. I'm so sorry. Oh God. I love you so much. Why didn't I say something? Why didn't I just trust you and tell you everything?. I know that now. Oh dear Lord. I didn't realize...I only have a short time. I have to tell you all why I did it. (Pause) My mom was diagnosed with cancer. I just couldn't handle the thought of her dying and then me going off to college and leaving everything behind. I just wanted to stay in high school forever. We all would've just separated anyway and Sarah, I would've lost you eventually. I just couldn't deal with the thought of losing all of you. My very best friends and my mother on top of that. I just want you all to understand and I wish I would've told you sooner before I did what I did. I wish I could've gone to that damn beach. I know I said some mean things, but why couldn't of I been a sheep in the flock and let you all lead me to the beach too? I'm so sorry. You didn't even get to go because of me. Why did I have to screw up so many people's lives? Especially my best friends? (Everyone stands up except for Sarah and starts to walk away) Wait! Where are you going? You can't just walk out on me. I want you to understand why I killed myself. I don't want you to be angry with me or be upset about this anymore. Where are you going? Sarah, I knew you wouldn't leave me. Oh God, look at me. Please. Sarah, don't do this. (Sarah stands and walks away) Sarah! Sarah! (Pause) What have I done? Why can't I just rewind time? Why couldn't I have said something? (Whispers) I'm so sorry guys...I love you all...God I miss you all so much...it's so hard... ------------------------------ End of eda-thoughts-digest V2 #97 *********************************