Word of the Day
*** an excerpt ***
__________________________
By Katherine Murphy
Contact:
Katherine Murphy
10879 Whipple St
North Hollywood CA 91602
(818) 667-3992
[email protected]
ii.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
JANE, age 8 to 18, and mid-forties. A good girl.
MAX, age 8 to 18. A tomboy.
MRS. GOODE, mid-thirties to mid-forties. Jane's mom. A drinker.
iii.
SETTINGS
The Goode Home. Visible are two primary locations:
The fort, or rather a portion of a sparse garage and an unfinished,
makeshift room commandeered from the garage to be a fort. The fort is
decorated with found objects to the sensibility of an innocent but
gifted ten-year-old -- perhaps peace posters mixed with Happy Days.
There are two entrances to the fort. A door and a blacked-out window:
the door leads to the garage interior; the window leads to the alley.
The kitchen of a shabby but well-kept 1950’s ranch house.
iv.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Time: Mid-1970's to the mid-1980's. And somewhere outside of time.
Author's Note:
The appearance of a forward slash [/] in the middle of a speech
indicates that the next speech begins to overlap at that point.
An ellipsis […] at the end of a line indicates that the speech trails
off.
An em-dash [--] at the end of a line indicates an abrupt ending.
If the script does not say “pause” or “silence,” don’t.
INTERLUDE 1 - NIGHT
The fort. Nighttime. The present.
Jane, mid-forties, is looking for the
dictionary.
JANE
(To the audience.)
When I was eight, I killed the neighbor girl.
Silence.
I, w ell... you see, I’d always been afraid of the bushes in the
churchyard. My mother always said, “Don’t eat the oleander. It’s
poison.” As if I were considering it. But I suppose that’s w hat you
tell children. They’ll eat anything.
Pause
JANE
No one w as supposed to eat it.
Jane finds the dictionary.
JANE
Ah, there it is.
END OF
INTERLUDE
FORT & KITCHEN - NIGHT
Later that night.
Jane, age 10, is alone in the fort,
reading.
Lights come up in the kitchen. Mrs.
Goode enters. She is a tired w oman in
her mid-thirties. She takes a beer from
the refrigerator and presses the
intercom button.
2.
The intercom buzzes in the fort. Jane
looks at the intercom but does not
answer. She continues reading.
Answer.
MRS. GOODE
(She is more hungover than
drunk.)
Mrs. Goode takes a drink of her beer.
She buzzes the intercom again. Jane
still does not answ er. She still
continues reading.
Answer, answ er, answ er.
MRS. GOODE
She buzzes the intercom for a long
time. Jane just keeps reading.
Okay.
MRS. GOODE
Mrs. Goode heads to the fort.
MRS. GOODE
(Mumbling under her breath.)
Don’t answ er. There’s more than one w ay to skin you.
Mrs. Goode knocks.
Who is it?
JANE
MRS. GOODE
(Exasperated.)
It’s your mother. Let me in.
I’m busy.
JANE
MRS. GOODE
Is that w hy you didn’t answ er the intercom?
3.
JANE
Yes.
MRS. GOODE
You need to open this door right now .
JANE
Or w hat?
Or you’re grounded is w hat.
MRS. GOODE
JANE
Yeah right.
MRS. GOODE
I mean it.
Go ahead. Ground me.
JANE
MRS. GOODE
Okay. If that’s w hat you w ant.
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Jane. Let me in. I’m not playing with you.
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Jane, I don’t have time for your games.
Good. Then leave.
JANE
MRS. GOODE
Is that little friend of yours in there w ith you?
Who?
JANE
MRS. GOODE
You know who. The one you are always w ith.
4.
Who?
JANE
MRS. GOODE
(Whispering.)
The one w ho looks like a boy.
JANE
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
MRS. GOODE
(Whispering less.)
Yes, you do. The little urchiny one. Maxine.
JANE
Her name is Max. And, no. She’s not.
Not what?
In here.
Let me in, then.
I said, I’m busy!
MRS. GOODE
JANE
MRS. GOODE
JANE
MRS. GOODE
You need to come in for dinner.
I already ate.
When did you eat?
Like an hour ago.
JANE
MRS. GOODE
JANE
MRS. GOODE
And w hat did you eat that counts as a dinner?
5.
Peanut butter and jelly.
You call that dinner?
JANE
MRS. GOODE
JANE
Yes.
You need to come in.
MRS. GOODE
JANE
I’m staying out here tonight.
MRS. GOODE
No you’re not.
JANE
Yes, I am.
You come home right now.
MRS. GOODE
JANE
I am home.
You are infuriating me.
MRS. GOODE
JANE
So?
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Jane Elizabeth Goode, you need to come out here right now.
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Jane. Please.
Pause.
6.
MRS. GOODE
Jane. Jane? Answ er me. Answ er me!
Jane says nothing.
MRS. GOODE
Jane, please. Jane. I, I, I, Honey? Sw eetie? I need you... Jane...
Come inside.
Mrs. Goode hides her beer.
MRS. GOODE
Please? I haven’t had anything to drink. I promise. Please? I, I,
Honey, w hat do you want for dessert? Do you w ant to go out for ice
cream? W e can go get sundaes. We can sit at the counter. Please?
Jane? Honey? Don’t you want a hot fudge sundae?
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Jane, I can’t take this. I need you to come in now . Now . No more
kidding around. You are too young to spend the night out here
alone. Do you w ant me to call the police? Do you?
JANE
You’re not gonna call the police.
MRS. GOODE
I am. I am! You w atch me. I’m going inside right now to get the
phone. Right now .
Silence.
MRS. GOODE
Please, Sw eetie. I can’t take it. Please. Please? I, I, I,
Mrs. Goode starts to cry.
Okay. I’m coming.
JANE
END OF SCENE
7.
INTERLUDE 2 - NIGHT
The fort. The present.
Jane, mid-forties, opens the dictionary
blindly.
JANE
(To herself.)
Flam. A lie. A hoax. Deception, ruse, trick. No. That’s not it...
JANE
(To the audience.)
Ever since I was little, the rumor w as that I w as a w itch because I
w as, w ell I am, different. Almost no friends. Never w ent out much except to school. The rule w as -- my mother wasn’t much on rules
except the one -- the rule w as that I had to come straight home
after school. Straight home. I can still hear her. “Come straight
home, Janey. Straight home. Don’t stop anyw here. Don’t talk to
anyone. Just come straight home.” And, of course, the moment, the
instant, the second I w alked in the door, I w as to call my mother at
w ork, let her know I was home safe. Then, I was allow ed to play
w ith the kids on the block... as long as I told her w here I was at
every minute.
When my father lived w ith us, I w as allow ed to get aw ay w ith a
little more. Sometimes, if he was home when I got home, he’d call
my mom and tell her w e were going to the library and instead, we’d
go to the bar and he’d order me a grape soda and I’d eat peanuts.
My dad, all his friends at the bar w ould dote on me. And then, w e’d
sw ing by the library afterward and grab a few random books off the
shelf. Then w e’d tell my mom I w asn’t hungry for dinner because I’d
had a peanut butter & jelly.
Silence.
JANE
After he left, I had to plead w ith my mother to even leave the yard.
No more secret excursions. I suppose she was afraid I’d hurt
someone else.
She returns to the dictionary.
END OF
INTERLUDE
8.
FORT & KITCHEN - MORNING
Early the next morning. Mrs. Goode sits
in the kitchen, drinking coffee. The fort
is empty.
Roofus barks.
Shut up, Roofus. It's me.
MAX (O.S.)
The barking stops. The w indow opens
and a soccer ball comes through before
Max hoists herself through, flopping on
the mattress below , as before. She
w ears a soccer uniform.
MAX
(To herself.)
Well, ain’t that a fine how dy do.
Max rummages around through things
and finds the stash of cookies.
MAX
Score! Breakfast of champions.
She eats the cookies and starts
reading one of the strewn comic books.
She realizes she needs something to
drink. She goes to the intercom and
calls the house.
MAX
Hello? Is this room service?...
Who is this?
MRS. GOODE
(Answ ering the intercom)
MAX
Oh, hi Mrs. Goode. Sorry. This is Max. I w as just, uh, calling for Jane.
9.
MRS. GOODE
Just one moment, Maxine. I’ll get her.
MAX
Thanks...
Mrs. Goode releases the intercom and
hollers for Jane.
MRS. GOODE
Jane? Jane?! Come in here and answer the intercom. It’s your little
friend.
Jane enters.
You don’t have to yell.
JANE
MRS. GOODE
Apparently I do. Apparently, this intercom is some great and novel
toy for her.
Hello?
JANE
(Over the intercom, but
uncomfortable because her
mom is standing over her.)
MAX
Dude, what’s your mom doing answering?...
JANE
She can hear you, you know .
Oh. Yeah.
Are you in the fort?
MAX
JANE
MAX
No duh. Can you bring out some milk?
10.
JANE
Sure.
MAX
Cool. Thanks.
JANE
Sure.
Ten-four, good buddy.
MAX
As Max fends off boredom, perhaps
playing w ith the cookies and the soccer
ball, Jane grabs milk from the kitchen
refrigerator.
MRS. GOODE
Where do you think you’re going w ith that?
JANE
The fort.
That costs money.
MRS. GOODE
JANE
I know.
Jane grabs a couple of cups.
MRS. GOODE
I’m not going to clean up after you.
I know.
Good morning, Jane.
JANE
(Leaving the kitchen.)
MRS. GOODE
(To herself.)
11.
Jane arrives at the fort and performs
an intricate series of knocks on the
door. Max follows w ith her response of
several more knocks.
Max opens the door and Jane enters,
milk in hand.
JANE
Hey.
MAX
Hey.
Silence.
JANE
What are you doing here so early?
Oh. I’ve got a game.
MAX
(Indicating the ball and possibly
her jersey.)
Oh. Yeah. Duh. I guess so.
Yeah.
Where at?
The park on Main.
How you getting there?
My bike.
That’s far.
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
12.
I’ve gone that far before.
MAX
JANE
Alone?
MAX
Well, no.
Can’t your dad take you?
JANE
MAX
Nope.
JANE
Do you w ant me to see if my mom will take you?
MAX
Nope.
JANE
I’ll ask.
I don’t thinks so. Thanks.
MAX
JANE
She w on’t mind.
MAX
I’m not getting in a car w ith her.
JANE
Okay.
MAX
Okay.
Pause.
I’ll be fine.
MAX
13.
JANE
Okay.
Pause.
What were you doing.
MAX
JANE
Cartoons.
MAX
Cool.
Silence.
Word of the day?
JANE
MAX
Sure.
Jane picks up the dictionary and hands
it to Max.
Here. It’s your turn.
JANE
MAX
Thanks.
Max flips through the dictionary blindly,
opening to a random page.
MAX
Too easy.
Max keeps flipping through the
dictionary.
Too easy.
They can’t all be that easy.
MAX
JANE
14.
They can for you.
MAX
JANE
Just pick.
Max tries one more time.
MAX
Ah-hah! That’ll work. Betimes. B.E.T.I.M.E.S. Betimes.
JANE
Betimes.
MAX
Yup. Betimes.
JANE
Betimes.
MAX
(Sarcastically)
Oh my god. You got it already.
Just guess.
Pause.
It’s not a verb.
Right.
It’s not an adjective.
Just get it w rong already!
Then I’m w rong!
Guess. Guess/. Guess.
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
15.
Shut up!
JANE
MAX
(Taunting.)
You don’t know it. You don’t know it. You don’t/ know it.
Okay. I’ll guess.
Well, it’s about betimes.
Sometimes?
Nope.
I give.
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
Totally. Betimes you give up.
Meaning.
JANE
MAX
And betimes I totally stump you.
I said I give.
JANE
MAX
“Once in a w hile.” Like, every so often.
Like, sometimes?
Close.
Not close. Right on!
JANE
MAX
JANE
16.
MAX
Not right on.
JANE
Admit it. Betimes means sometimes. I got it right.
MAX
I guess.
JANE
You guess w hat?
That you’re right.
MAX
JANE
And so...
MAX
You w in.
Jane spins around.
JANE
That I win! I w in! I w in! I win! I w in! I w in! I win! I w in! I w in!
Okay.
I really, really win!
Okay. I get it already
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
What do I w ant? Hmmm. Let me see. W hat can you give me?
MAX
I know how the stupid game works.
JANE
There’s your coveted poster of Shaun Cassidy.
17.
You don’t even like him.
I know. So... There’s...
MAX
JANE
Grabbing the soccer ball.
...your soccer ball.
You w ouldn’t.
JANE
MAX
JANE
(Tossing Max the ball)
Yeah, like I’m gonna want a soccer ball. Could you hear my mom?
MAX
(Imitating Mrs. Goode)
“Janey? Honey? I don’t w ant you to hurt yourself. Remember the
last time!”
JANE
Like I’m ever gonna play soccer again. How dumb does she think I
am?
MAX
“But Janey! Sw eetie! You’ll scrape your knees!”
She actually said that!
JANE
MAX
I know! I heard her! Too bad you got the w ind knocked out of you
cause otherw ise you could’ve totally used that against her.
JANE
Don’t distract me. I’ve got a prize coming.
MAX
And I’ve got a soccer game. Remember how faaaaaaaar it is?
I’ve got it!
JANE
18.
Jane stares dow n Max.
What?
The story.
What story.
The story. The fight.
That’s it?
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
JANE
And you have to let me interrupt as many times as I want.
MAX
Except I really do have to go to my game.
No!
I have to.
Cheater!
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
I have to go. I can’t be late or the coach w ill make me run extra
laps.
JANE
Sorry. It’s the story or the soccer ball.
But I swear I’ll tell you later.
Later isn’t my prize.
MAX
JANE
19.
That’s bogus.
MAX
JANE
Not bogus. I w on. So, that means... I get the soccer ball.
MAX
Okay. Okay. I’ll tell you the story. But I gotta go right after.
JANE
So, you w ent to the church yard. At four o’clock.
Yup.
MAX
JANE
And you brought a ton of people.
Yup.
MAX
JANE
Everyone from the playground.
It’s my story. Let me tell it.
But I w on.
MAX
JANE
MAX
Sorry. I know . So, no. Not everyone w as there. Just handball and
caroms. And a couple of kids from basketball, cause we w ere all
going over in a group and we passed the basketball court and Mark
McStinkbutt was there and he asked w hat w as going on and this
girl goes, “We’re going to w atch Max and Davey Johnson fight.” And
McStinkbutt is all, “I gotta see this. He’s gonna beat her up.”
He’s such a buttface.
JANE
MAX
Complete. So then Mark and a few guys follow along, too.
20.
I hate him.
JANE
MAX
Me, too. And I didn’t want him to see me lose, so it made me
madder. Scared, too, but madder.
I w ould’ve peed my pants.
I know.
Shut up.
JANE
MAX
JANE
MAX
You shut up and let me tell my story.
JANE
Okay, okay. Sorry. Shutting up.
END OF SAMPLE