Under the Influence by Susie Weidmann

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Susie Weidmann Beaumont School - Year 12

This confidently written encounter between a lawyer and her client, a convicted dangerous driver, takes a surprising turn. The writing shows an impressive attention to detail in its back story, while always keeping the action in the present moment. The emotional reality of Jim’s predicament is poignantly portrayed, and his lawyer’s exasperation well observed. This is another piece which feels as if it could be from a longer play, announcing another young writer with mastery of the twists and turns of two-hander dialogue.

JIM CARTWRIGHT, 31 GENEVIEVE MILLER, 26

Blackout. Warm light comes up on a man dressed in black joggers, oversized dark blue t-shirt sticking out underneath a black jumper. He is wearing black trainers, and has on a silver-band wedding ring. Small coffee machine upstage left. GENEVIEVE enters from a door upstage right, carrying a black briefcase and sheaf of papers. JIM sits up accordingly.

JIM Morning.

GENEVIEVE Good afternoon, Mr Cartwright.

JIM Sorry. I tend to lose track of time. [He makes a move to stand]. Black coffee, right?

GENEVIEVE My system would crash if I had any more caffeine. But I appreciate the sentiment. How are you holding up?

JIM Well, I’m bored. But no worse than you’d expect. I am enjoying the reading. Have you ever read The Bookthief? Marcus Zusak? It’s really quite a wonderful read.

GENEVIEVE I read it in class when I was at school. Anyway, Mr Cartwright-

JIM Come on, now. Call me Jim. [she holds his gaze a moment].

GENEVIEVE Mr Cartwright. You called me in to request an appeal for your case.

JIM I did.

GENEVIEVE I must say, I’m a little confused as to why. I reviewed your case record. You were convicted on a charge of death by careless driving under the influence of drugs. You and I both know that was the lightest sentence you could have received, given the circumstances.

JIM That’s exactly why I need to go for an appeal.

GENEVIEVE I’m afraid I don’t understand you, Mr Cartwright.

JIM It was too light.

GENEVIEVE I’m afraid I don’t-

JIM It took two hours. They read some statements, played some CCTV [His voice chokes slightly. He looks down].

GENEVIEVE Mr Cartwright, if you believe the court didn’t truly review your case with the proper thoroughness-

JIM A family is dead! I killed a family. I got fourteen years, but I’ll be done in seven. I’ll be free, because the world is full of people like me.

GENEVIEVE You want a longer sentence.

JIM is silent. GENEVIEVE sits forward.

GENEVIEVE What kind of sentence are you looking for exactly, Mr Cartwright?

JIM Life.

GENEVIEVE is silent for a moment. She and JIM maintain eye contact. He won’t back down. Nor will she.

GENEVIEVE Only one crime offers that kind of sentence. And no defence lawyer is going to take you to trial if you’re asking for murder.

JIM It was murder.

GENEVIEVE It wasn’t murder-

JIM Yes, it was-

GENEVIEVE No! It was not, Jim! How could it have possibly been murder? You made a mistake! Murder demands a pre-meditated motive, which in this case, simply doesn’t exist!

She pauses, and breathes. JIM stares at her, his face hard.

JIM All you need is a dead body. There’s a mother and her child lying in St Peter’s cemetery. I’d say that’s pretty solid evidence.

GENEVIEVE meets his eyes. They hold eye contact for a tense moment. She breaks it, standing abruptly. She pours herself a coffee. JIM, staring at the table, raises his eyebrows and a smile twitches his mouth. GENEVIEVE sits again and takes a long sip.

GENEVIEVE At best, I could argue a case for manslaughter, Jim. But if your lawyer doesn’t even believe your case, you’ve got no chance. [Pause] I’ll do my best for you. But if you want to argue this, I need to hear the night from your perspective, not just what’s written in here.

She gestures to her briefcase. He meets her eyes, and nods.

GENEVIEVE The night in question. The 22nd of June?

JIM I remember it very well. My daughter had just turned four the day before. I needed to get away from all those pink balloons.

GENEVIEVE How long had you been clean?

JIM 4 years. [She opens her mouth: he holds up a hand]. You’re asking why I relapsed. To be honest, I can’t give you a straight answer. I don’t think addiction ever really leaves you.

GENEVIEVE nods almost imperceptibly. He notices, and frowns, but continues as if he hadn’t.

JIM I’d had a stressful couple of months at work. I almost got fired. My daughter was starting school, my wife was going back to her job. I just needed a break. Even just a night. I suppose the idea had been welling up inside me for a while, and I just broke.

GENEVIEVE You went to a colleague’s party, correct?

JIM [he nods]. My friend was turning 25. She was having some work drinks at a nice restaurant. I told her I wouldn’t be coming. I was meant to go up north with my wife to see her parents, but I had to work late that night. I was at home, on my own. I needed to get out, and I heard that they’d ended up at some club.

JIM [He nods again, more slowly].I drove down to the area and found the place. They were all hammered. I could see some of them had been doing more than drinking, too. They were all really excited to see me, bought me some drinks. Offered me some coke. It was right there. Just in my face. I just couldn’t stop myself. [He starts.] That’s a lie. I could’ve stopped myself. I could have stayed at home and not gone to the club in the first place-

GENEVIEVE Jim.

He breathes heavily. She starts to reach out a hand, then stops herself and rifles briefly through her papers.

GENEVIEVE And you left shortly after?

JIM Right after. I felt sick as soon as I did it. I remember thinking, “You’re a husband... you’re a father”.

He chokes up slightly on the last line. GENEVIEVE is tearing up. He meets her eyes.

GENEVIEVE That’s all I needed to clarify, Jim. We don’t have to talk about it anymore-

JIM I was speeding. I remember that. The roads were empty. It was around midnight, and I was almost home. I needed to get home. I thought that when I got home I could just forget anything had happened. Just, you know. Go to bed and start again. I remember thinking all the lights on the streets looked so bright. I remember seeing two lights ahead of me. I closed my eyes. I wanted them to switch off. I had a headache. [In a broken voice]. I remember how knackered the other car was. A beat-up Tauran. Even worse shape now.

He lets out a bitter laugh and wipes his eye quickly.

I remember thinking, the number plate looked familiar. The whole car, even in the dark, it looked familiar. It was the same shitty, mustard-yellow pile of crap I’d bought five years ago. A week after I got married. The day I found out I was going to be a father.

GENEVIEVE lets out a small breath. The sound is almost a sob. She reaches for JIM’s hand as he steels himself. Beat.

JIM I remember seeing my wife dead in the frontseat. And my daughter strapped in behind her.