ALMOST SIXTEEN Written by Robert Cloutier 2/25/20
2/25/20
CHARACTERS: JOE – 40s KID / MIKE - 15
2
2/25/20
3 (Two car garage, one door open to the alley. It’s daylight—but dingy looking. Garage across the alley has graffiti on it. Older guy standing in the doorway smoking. Young kid strolls into view.) JOE
Hey kid — you got a second? (Kid slows down.) KID What’s up? JOE Look, I ain’t blamin’ you — or accusing anyone of anything — but shits been getting broken into around here. KID (Backing off.) It ain’t me — JOE Slow down, said I wasn’t accusing you. I been seein’ you around – KID So what? JOE Look. Let me start over. My bad. Okay? Want a cigarette? (Kid Reaches for the pack and lights one up.) What’s your name dude? KID Mike. (Both shake hands, mumble nice to meet you.) JOE Ok Mike – there’s been some break-ins and burglaries in the neighborhood.
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4 MIKE
I said it ain’t me – JOE I’m not accusing you. In my day we didn’t fuck around in our hood. That’s for other neighborhoods. MIKE I don’t mess around Joe – JOE That’s good. You shouldn’t, but if you did don’t shit where you live that ain’t cool. MIKE Why are you sweatin’ me? JOE I ain’t. I’m not one to judge. But if someone tried for my shit bad things are goin’ down. MIKE Look dude, I don’t need any lectures — JOE I really ain’t tryin’ to lecture – I heard the same shit when I was your age: Don’t shit where you live. Don’t fuck with the neighborhood. MIKE Dude stop preachin’ – JOE Not tryin’ to preach. Let the guys hangin’ out know to keep an eye out. You ain’t got to tell on anyone – the shit has to stop. MIKE It ain’t no one I know. JOE Ok. Cool. That’s easier. Look you, kids got it hard these days. Camera’s everywhere — MIKE You ain’t got none.
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5
JOE Nope. Don’t need ‘em. My dogs, my pistols. I ain’t worried. Look. I haven’t always been old. In my day we robbed the trains comin’ through. MIKE What? – JOE Yeah, that’s before all these cameras on everyone’s property. We did ok for a while, then they noticed and shit turned. (Joe leans against the door, looking at Mike intently while lighting a cigarette.) JOE You look real familiar. You’re from around here ain’t you? MIKE Born and raised. I cut through here to get to the liquor store or the hotdog stand. JOE It’s still a free country, walk where you walk. (He points to the graffiti on the garage across the alley.) What’s that shit? MIKE Don’t know. But it’s been showin’ up more and more. JOE We never allowed that while I was growin’ up around here. You find out who’s doin’ that bullshit tell them do it somewheres else. That’s disrespectful to peoples’ property. MIKE I ain’t the graffiti police — JOE You ok with that shit? What if it was your mom and dad’s place? Be cool then.
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6
MIKE Ain’t got no dad – no ones taggin’ my mom’s shit. JOE Taggin’? MIKE (With a smile.) Graffiti gramps. JOE You do look familiar – who’s your mom and dad? MIKE Told you – ain’t got a dad. He died before I was born. My mom’s name is Margo. (Joe gets a far away look in his eyes.) JOE McDonald? MIKE How’d you know that? JOE Look kid, I told you you looked familiar right? MIKE So? JOE So I know who you are now. (Still not looking right. Like he’s seein’ the kid anew.) MIKE So who am I? I know who you are. Most of the neighborhood does. You’ve done time. More than once – JOE Doin’ time ain’t shit. Don’t glamorize that shit. You do time because you fucked up. It’s nothing to be proud of.
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7
MIKE Yeah, yeah, yeah. My mom’s pointed you out when you rode by the house a few years back — told me to stay away from you. JOE (Smiles wistfully.) Your mom always hated me. Can’t say I blame her. But I don’t carry no grudges — MIKE Why does she hate you? You don’t bother anyone. (Joe walks into the garage and opens the fridge. He grabs a quart of beer.) JOE You want a pop or somethin’? MIKE I’m good. What you stallin’ for – why does my mom hate you? JOE (Looks directly into Mike’s eyes.) What do you know about your dad? MIKE Not a lot. He died before I was born. Mom won’t talk about it. My grandparents never discuss it. I kinda gave up askin’. JOE How old are you? MIKE Almost sixteen. (Joe takes a long swig of beer and gets that far away look in his eyes again.) MIKE Dude, are you alright? That’s the second time you looked kind of shakey. (Joe sighs. Looks like he’s made up his mind and tells Mike to...)
2/25/20
8
JOE Sit down, I’ll be right back. (Mike grabs a milk crate and sits down. A large German Shepard walks into the garage. Joe tells Sarge to stay. The dog and the kid eye each other wearily as Joe leaves.) (He returns with 2 photo albums. Mike and the dog are sitting quietly together.) JOE (CONT’D) Your mom already hates me. Probably can’t hate me more. Mike, me and your pops were best friends. You look a lot like him – but I see your mom in you too. MIKE You knew my dad? JOE No. I loved your dad. Best friend I ever had. (He opens an album.) Come look at these. (Mike reacts reluctantly. He reaches slowly.) JOE That’s me and Timmie. Timmie was 2 years older than me. I never had a brother until I met your dad. (Joe flips through more pictures.) (Mike sees a picture and stops Joe. Mike laughs.) JOE What’s so funny? MIKE Mom. She looks –
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9 JOE
Hot? MIKE No asshole, not hot different. Hell, I seen a lot of pictures with the three of you. She didn’t hate you then – JOE No. Not then. She didn’t really like me — but your dad had a quality about him. He could bring people together. Like he had a spirit about him. Everyone loved your dad. He could piss you off — yet you couldn’t stay mad at him. MIKE So what happened? JOE (Hesitates and quietly asks.) What do you know? MIKE Nothin’. (Joe gets the far-off look again. Mike prods him.) You know don’t you? JOE Yeah. But is it my place to say anything? MIKE Shit. I think you’re obligated. You can’t start talkin’ to me about neighborhood shit – find out who I am – show me pictures for Christ’s sake – now you wonder whether you should say something? Too late dude. You started. You might as well finish. JOE (Smiles.) Yep that’s Timmie and your mom. Timmie was a motherfucker. Your mom was a ball buster. You are a product of them. I’ll tell you that. (Joe drinks from his beer. He studies one picture for a minute. Mike looks at it. It’s Joe and Tim. Arm in arm in front of a keg.)
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(Joe nods once.) JOE Look Mike, me and your dad were into some shit when we were young. We robbed trains a lot. MIKE Like the cowboys? JOE No stupid. Shut up and listen. The train turns left on Cicero right – on Central it turns right. That’s a mile where it has to go slow. We would open the train doors, if something nice was there we’d throw it off the train. Drive up and pick up the merchandise. People loved bargains and we made some nice money for a while. MIKE Wow. JOE Don’t get no ideas. Too many cameras around and too many stool pigeons. Wouldn’t work anymore. MIKE So what happened? JOE Like most dumb kids, we got greedy. Got to over doin’ it. We brought heat. Mostly beltway pigs. MIKE Beltway pigs? JOE That’s what we called them. They were security for the beltway railroad. Jag-offs shot me in the ass with rock salt. MIKE Rock salt? JOE You kids don’t know nothin’? Yeah rock salt. You empty a shotgun round of its pellets, fill it with rock salt and
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11
JOE (CONT’D) it’s a non-lethal round. Burns like a son of a bitch though. Your pops almost shit himself when he heard the shot. Dove off the train into some swampy ass ditch water. Laughed till he cried as we ran away. MIKE Wow. JOE Wow nuthin’. We were dumbass kids. I waited for him to get on the other side of the train, didn’t want to get boxed in if they had more cops waitin’. I hollered gun when the cop aimed at me. Timmy looked back and bam! Asshole shot me. MIKE It was my dad’s fault? JOE No, it was my fault. I was there too. Look kid. Choices come with consequences. You might not think so now – but you should start thinking about it. MIKE What about my dad? JOE Well once I got shot in the ass I couldn’t run so well for a while. Riding was out too. Tim went with another guy and they got caught. You wouldn’t believe the beatin’ your gramps gave Timmie. It was ugly. A couple of months later he got caught again. His mom and dad brought him home. He got another beating. The first case the judge gave him probation. Tim wasn’t going to get probation the second time. He was going to jail. He was your age. Almost sixteen. At seventeen, he’d leave kiddie prison for adult prison. He didn’t want to go. MIKE He didn’t have a choice did he? If you’re caught, you’re caught. JOE You make it sound real simple. Easy even. What would you do in that situation? MIKE Shit. Not get caught. I wouldn’t be there.
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12 JOE
Smart kid. (Joe lights a cigarette.) (Mike reaches for one.) JOE Next pack is on you. Mike what you’re gonna hear next ain’t easy. Want to come back some other time? MIKE Hell no. (He flips through pictures of his father, looks up and says...) Go ahead. JOE After the second time he got busted he started talking about not being able to go to jail. MIKE He was scared? JOE Wouldn’t you be? Jail ain’t fun son it ain’t a walk in the park. Your dad wasn’t a punk. He could fight. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around going to jail. MIKE So? JOE So he killed himself — MIKE What? JOE Yep at a party. A bunch of us were in a basement drinkin’ beer smokin’ weed. MIKE He killed himself at a party? What?!?
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13 JOE
Yeah. (Joe puts whispers.)
his
head
down
and
With my gun. MIKE (Stands up.) You gave my dad a gun to shoot himself? (Joe looks up with watery eyes.) JOE I wouldn’t have ever done that. Because we were gettin’ high I hid my pistol in a bookcase – MIKE Why did you have a pistol anyway? JOE We were into with some guys, it was escalating. I was trying to be safe. Dude I relive that moment way too often. I wish I never saw that pistol. MIKE Me too – JOE Now you know why your mom hates me. She might not know it was my gun – but she knows we robbed trains together. MIKE But – JOE Mike I can’t believe he knew your mom was pregnant. We were kids, we didn’t think about having kids. I just couldn’t see him doin’ that at all. MIKE But what about – JOE My gun. My fault. You missed out knowing a great motherfucker. Your pops was the shit. For that I’m sorry.
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14
MIKE You didn’t shoot him. JOE No I didn’t. But if the gun wasn’t there... MIKE I need to think about this. JOE Yeah you do. I’m sure of that. Look, I got a few things goin’ on. Legit. You need to make some dough come see me. You got a problem come see me. You want to talk some more – I’m here. MIKE I’ll be back. I got to clear my head. I will have more questions. JOE You know where I’m at. Mike, I’m...sorry. MIKE Yeah. (Mike looks at Joe and walks out.) (Joe lights a cigarette and watches him go.) END OF PLAY