Act I PROLOGUE DR. C sits at a bar, looking up at a mounted TV. The light from the TV flashes on her face. The bartender, Bill, places a manhattan up in front of her. Her eyes are fixed on the TV. BILL Rye manhattan, up, cherries. DR. C Impeached. BILL Huh? Oh, right. Surprised? DR. C No. Rather pleased. He disgusts me. BILL A lot of folks like him. DR. C Which will never cease to amaze me. BILL I’m surprised you’re surprised. In your line of work I would have thought you’d met all types. DR. C I work with kids Bill, my goal is to get to the root of things BEFORE they turn into womanizing megalomaniacs. When they’re not quite baked yet, still a little soft, toothpick comes out messy, time before things set. BILL Lords work. Cheers to that. Bill places two shot glasses on the bar, fills them with whiskey. So what’s the verdict on today’s youth? You think there’s hope? DR. C (looking up at the TV) Who can say? Sometimes I understand why they don’t trust me. Why they resist. Why do the work to heal into a world that doesn’t reward it?
2. (to the TV) That rewards THAT. How do I convince them it’s worth it? When I can’t promise them it is. BILL Do you think it’s worth it? DR. C Yeah. But when I was their age I don’t think anyone could have convinced me that airing the squirmiest parts of my interior life was a good idea and would save me a LOT of time later. BILL You don’t know that. DR. C Oh, I do. I was an annoyingly smart and stubborn little fucker. BILL So you became the therapist you needed. Me too. He gestures to the bar. DR. C Fair enough. BILL (a long exhale) Damn. At least the people I therapize can drink about it. DR. C Still children though. Same show. To helping other people so we can avoid our own shit! BILL Here here! They take the shot. SUMMER approaches, taps her on the shoulder. SUMMER Hi, I thought that was you. DR. C (she doesn’t recognize her) Oh - hey.
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3. SUMMER I haven’t heard from you in a while. DR. C looks down. Bill takes his leave. DR. C Oh yeah, work has been nuts. SUMMER I’d love to see you again. Funny to run into you here after I spotted you here. She produces a magazine, hands it to DR. C. DR. C Oh that yeah I um - silly, really SUMMER It’s really impressive. DR. C It’s nothing, really DR. C tries to get off of the bar stool, staggers. The light changes. I - um - did it just get really bright in here or something? SUMMER No just - just the TV. I could ask them to turn it off. How many times do we need to see impeached scroll across the bottom of the screen? But Child Psychologist of the Year? That is very very far from nothing. That’s huge. DR. C Yeah no it’s I’m very honored I just - excuse me, please. SUMMER touches her shoulder. SUMMER Hey are you ok? DR. C pulls away. DR. C Yeah just the - stand up moment. I guess I’m - too old for shots. Little tipsier than I - I have to go. She starts to cough. As she turns to leave she runs into someone.
4. DR. C Sorry Bill. MAN I’m not Bill. DR. C Do I know you? MAN Are you ok miss? DR. C Who are you? MAN Do you need some help? DR. C No I just - fresh air. She realizes she’s still holding the magazine. DR. C You can - um - have this. She shoves it into his hands. It’s just - too bright in here. MAN Are you sure you’re ok? DR. C Yes, long day, weird day, do I know you I think I know you? I’m gonna go, bye Bill. MAN I’m not She’s gone. He looks at the cover, drops it. Shit. Blackout. Lights up on a blank stage, the screen is still there but it has been adjusted so that now we can see what’s on it. The magazine remains where it was dropped.
5. MAX, 13, enters, picks up the magazine, lays on the floor, half reading it, half writing in a journal. A CD player sits next to her. MAX Celebrities. They’re just like us. Doubtful. She flips a bit more. They walk their dogs! Their shoelaces come untied! They trip on the sidewalk and look at the sidewalk like it’s the sidewalk’s fault! What they fail to mention is that there are cameras capturing their every mundane life event which makes them very very not like us. They are always watched. Max looks up at the screen and we hear the dial up sounds of AOL. It connects and chat boxes start popping up instantly. Obx85: hey chewbacca how are those furry legs? Nickmuscleman23: hey lezbo, I can straighten you out. MAX (to the audience) I’m not gay. Opizza33: have you ever had sex? A/s/l? NShaqhitman: wanna go to a party? You’re hot. I’ll show u a good time. MAX We are not always watched. MOM (OFF) Max! Are you practicing? With a wave of her hands the screen goes blank and we hear AOL say “goodbye” to Max. Max hits a button on the CD player, “Fur Elise” begins to play. MAX YEP! MOM (OFF) Sounds great sweetie!
6. MAX Sometimes I imagine I could fix up my whole room so any time someone checked on me something automatic would reply. Kinda like in Home Alone when Kevin makes the robbers think there’s a party going on so they won’t try to rob his house. Nothing to see here. Not that I want to be alone per se (I learned that word from The West Wing) but I like how he took a bad situation (he was a sitting duck!) and righted it. Plus it looked pretty fun. Does that exist? I wish I could talk to the air and the air would answer. Max writes in her journal feverishly. She goes back to the magazine. Sometimes I pretend I’m Matilda and I stare at something for a really long time and eventually I’m pretty sure it moves. I don’t want to sound conceited but it doesn’t seem way off the mark that my brain might be largely unused, and if I could put that extra brain power to use to move stuff with my mind that would be very convenient. Watch. Max puts her journal and pen a bit away from her. She backs up from it. Sits and stares at it. She really tries to move it. She refuses to give up. Suddenly, the pen rises as Max rises, eyes still fixed. The music swells. The journal flips open. The pen hovers above a blank page. Blackout. In the darkness, the screen lights up, on it appears a note written entirely in magazine cut out letters. It is the only source of light. The note appears one letter at a time. Finally, it reads: “WE’RE COMING FOR YOU. WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. YOU’RE GONNA DIE.” The theatre plunges into darkness for a brief second before lights pop up on Max, standing center, beneath the screen. She wears a Catholic school uniform and a backpack, which she is clutching tightly. She steps forward, and is immediately met by another 13 year old in a similar jacket, JACKIE. JACKIE It’s like - a sea of Adidas jackets. MAX Cause EVERY girl in the 8th grade has the same jacket. JACKIE No duh. That jacket’s too big. Why didn’t you get the right size?
7. MAX Because they didn’t have it and who knows when they would have gotten more in. JACKIE That’s true. Better that than get it on Ebay second hand, which I’m pretty sure is what Trista did. Gross. Whatever. Are you going to Tara’s pool party? Her parents are getting a DJ. MAX Um JACKIE Do you need a ride? MAX I wasn’t invited. But I have a basketball tournament anyway. JACKIE Again?? MAX Yeah, I wasn’t invited again. JACKIE I /meant MAX I know. I’m kidding. Yeah, again. It’s in New Hampshire. It’s almost nationals. JACKIE Whatever. Well maybe Tara knew you wouldn’t be around and didn’t want to waste her breath. MAX Yeah, maybe. JACKIE We hardly see you anymore. MAX Well maybe we can hang out next weekend? Jackie hesitates. What? JACKIE Is it true? You’re gonna be in a movie?
8. MAX It’s not a big deal. JACKIE Yes it is! Is anyone famous in it? MAX No it’s just - it’s small. Independent they call it. JACKIE Do you get paid? Max looks around as if suspicious someone is watching. MAX Yeah, why? JACKIE Are your parents making you work to pay their bills? MAX What?! No - who told you that? JACKIE No one. It’s just a joke. Ok, well, my mom hates waiting, so, gotta go. She starts to leave, then sees the note. What’s that? MAX What’s what? JACKIE In your hood? Max tries to reach for her hood but her arms aren’t long enough so Jackie reaches into her hood and pulls it out. She opens it. Oh my god. MAX What? What is it? The screen flashes. Give it to me!
9. She grabs it. She stares at it. Jackie stares at her and starts backing away slowly. What? It’s just - um - it’s nothing - I should - should I tell someone? Jackie turns and bolts offstage. Max turns to the audience. MAX May the fourth, 1999. A note appears in the hood of my adidas jacket, as if by magic. Did someone in an invisibility cloak walk by and gently drop it there? That’s from Harry Potter. Prisoner of Azkaban (book not movie) will be released in two months and it’s my favorite because I think the Patronus spell is very useful. It’ll come out exactly a month before The Sixth Sense is released and everyone FREAKS OUT cause Bruce Willis is DEAD SORRY - guess it’s gonna be a summer of young boys with powers figuring themselves out. Can’t wait. This is the year of “Genie in a Bottle” and President Clinton was impeached and Monica Lewinsky is a household name and I know she’s bad but I’m not sure why and “Livin la vida loca” and JFK Jr hasn’t died yet but he will soon and “I Want it That Way” and also the year everyone got this Adidas reversible hooded blue jacket with the stripes but no one ever reverses it cause that’s lame and everyone knows it. Columbine happened this year and school still feels pretty safe to me but adults are freaked out cause they hate being reminded that they don’t pay enough attention. Lights up on PRINCIPAL CANUTO, nun, principal, nuff said. PRINCIPAL CANUTO It was in the hood of your jacket? Max fidgets. PRINCIPAL CANUTO Max? MAX I didn’t see it, I just grabbed my jacket and - I didn’t see it there. I wasn’t paying attention I guess. PRINCIPAL CANUTO Can you think of anyone who would send this to you? MAX IPRINCIPAL CANUTO Think Max. MAX I am! I mean - I’m trying. I’m sorry.
10. PRINCIPAL CANUTO It’s ok - I know you are. It’s ok Max. I know you might not want to get anyone into trouble, but this is not ok. I’m just - I guess I’m a little jumpy - this is very upsetting. MAX Do you think - it’s just a joke, right? PRINCIPAL CANUTO We can’t treat it like a joke. We have to take this very seriously. MAX Because /of PRINCIPAL CANUTO /yes. MAX Right. PRINCIPAL CANUTO I hear something happened with Obie during recess? MAX No, no it was just, it was stupid. They were just playing around. I got in the way. It was fun. PRINCIPAL CANUTO Tell me what happened, Max, as clearly as you remember it. Max rises and walks into OBIE and NICK. Obie tosses a handball against a wall. OBIE Careful Maxine. Flying balls around. MAX Very funny Obed. OBIE Don’t call me that. MAX Don’t call me Maxine; that’s not my name. NICK Max and Obie sittin’ in a tree, aren’t you two adorable?