Girlus Equinus by Eleven Eleven

Girlus Equinus

Anne GarcĂa-Romero

CHARACTERS Angela, 17 Hector, 17, her soon to be ex-boyfriend Miguel, 17, her friend FEMALE ACTOR, 40â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, plays: Dr. Walker, her doctor Linda, her mother SETTING Present. California. Suburbs.

Note: The quotes on scenes 5 and 15 are from the high school textbook, World History: Perspectives on the Past by Steven L. Jantzen, Kenneth Neill, and Larry Krieger. Lexington, Mass: D.C. Heath, 1997.

1. Dreaming ANGELA I dream I gallop beside a river in the wilderness. I can see salmon swimming fast upstream. I can hear the breeze rustling through birch trees. As I gallop, I fly across the earth. 2. Prognosis ANGELA AND DR. WALKER IN THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE. DR. WALKER I’d like permission to take your photo. For scientific purposes. ANGELA Forget it. DR. WALKER Forty cases have been reported in the past one hundred and fifty years and... ANGELA I don’t want my picture taken. DR. WALKER Other medical personnel would benefit... ANGELA Tell them yourself. DR. WALKER You have an extremely rare condition. You’d be helping modern science. ANGELA I’m not a science project.

DR. WALKER Equine coccygeal hirsutism appears only once in every two hundred thousand females. ANGELA Translation please? DR. WALKER Your genetic anomaly. ANGELA Animal-y? DR. WALKER Genetics. Male. XY. Female. XX. Equine. HH. You are XH. ANGELA Genetically. DR. WALKER But the H chromosome never fully activates so the X, the female, is dominant. ANGELA So I’m a horsey girl. DR. WALKER Fully female. Yes. ANGELA Or should I say girlus equinus? DR. WALKER Sometimes the secondary development isn’t impacted but in your case... ANGELA In my case... DR. WALKER If we could photograph your operation then we might...

ANGELA My mom says she doesn’t want me to have the operation until after graduation. DR. WALKER Seven centimeters in two months is cause for concern. ANGELA I can live like this. For now. DR. WALKER We need to continue to closely monitor the growth. ANGELA I don’t wanna be photographed or dissected ‘kay? 3. Discovery ANGELA AND HECTOR STANDING IN FRONT OF A RAILING ON A PATH NEXT TO AN OCEAN BEACH. NIGHT. HECTOR Race you. ANGELA I’m not big on running. HECTOR Come on. From here to the water. ANGELA I dunno... HECTOR No one’s around. We could even strip down and go like body boarding. ANGELA Okay, that is so not happening. HECTOR Nothing like the feel of the ocean waves next to your skin.

ANGELA Ah...no. HECTOR Come on, Angie. Can I call you Angie? ANGELA No one calls me that. HECTOR Come on. You probably hide like killer...uh...abs underneath those overalls. HECTOR PUTS HIS HAND ON HER SHOULDER. ANGELA Don’t. I don’t want to. Awright? HECTOR What’evs. I’m chill. ANGELA I wanna leave. HECTOR Come on, Angie. ANGELA I’m not down with going in the water. HECTOR Cool. That’s chill. HECTOR PUTS HIS HAND AROUND HER WAIST. HECTOR I like mysterious girls. ANGELA Uh. Okay. Right. AWKWARD PAUSE. 4

HECTOR The other day, my dad is like “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”. That is so lame. I mean like who eats horses? ANGELA Yeah. That’s completely pathetic. HECTOR I mean, horses are like majestic animals. Palominos. Clydesdales. Apaloosas. Mustangs. Dignified creatures. ANGELA You like horses? HECTOR I did a report on them in middle school ‘cause I used to wanna be a cowboy. Ride a wild mustang. I took a couple of lessons once. You ride? ANGELA Nope. HECTOR You should try it. Galloping’s awesome. Cantering’s sick. ANGELA Okay. HECTOR MOVES HIS HAND FURTHER DOWN ANGELA’S BACK TRYING TO GRAB HER BUTT. HE STOPS AND JUMPS BACK. HECTOR Whoah. What the... ANGELA What? HECTOR Your back. There’s this thing that... ANGELA 5

Huh? HECTOR I felt this thing move. ANGELA I wanna leave. HECTOR What is that? ANGELA Forget it. HECTOR Lemme see. ANGELA I can walk home from here. HECTOR Down two miles of highway? No way. ANGELA Later. ANGELA TRIES TO LEAVE. HECTOR STOPS HER. HE GRAPPLES WITH ANGELA AND PUTS HIS HAND DOWN THE BACK OF HER OVERALLS. HECTOR Oh. My. God. ANGELA If you don’t get your hand out of there I swear I’ll bite your arm so hard... HECTOR TAKES HIS HAND OUT. ANGELA Now you know. Now you can leave. Now you can disappear. HECTOR 6

Whoah. What is... ANGELA Don’t even. AWKWARD PAUSE. HECTOR Were you born like that? ANGELA Just forget it. HECTOR That’s intense. ANGELA Shut up. HECTOR Mind blowing. Whoah. Dude. ANGELA I swear, if you even tell anyone... HECTOR Can I touch it again? 4. Dreaming ANGELA I can feel moist soil underneath my feet pushing me forward. Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip. Clop-clip-clop-clip-clop. The sound of my legs slices the silence. pushing me forward.

5. Refuge ANGELA AND MIGUEL SITTING IN THE LIBRARY AND READING FROM A TEXT BOOK. MIGUEL (reading) Between nine hundred and thirteen hundred waves of warlike invaders swept into the Valley of Mexico. ANGELA (reading) One of these was a fierce and desperate poor group of people who called themselves Aztec. MIGUEL (reading) According to Aztec legend, their war god Huitzilopochtli ordered them to build a city in the place where an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth. ANGELA (reading) In about 1325, the Aztec spotted such a sight on an island in Lake Texcoco. MIGUEL (reading) Within a short time, they began building there a great city called Tenochtitlan. ANGELA (reading) The place of the prickly-pear cactus. MIGUEL I think we should do it with animals. ANGELA Do what with animals? MIGUEL Our presentation should be on the Aztec animals. ANGELA Oh. Okay.

MIGUEL The eagle. ANGELA And the horse? MIGUEL The horse wasn’t an Aztec animal. It was a conquistador animal. An instrument of torture. ANGELA You hate horses? MIGUEL We just need to do the presentation on animals from the ancient culture, I think. ANGELA Cause that would suck if you hated horses. MIGUEL I don’t. ANGELA Good. MIGUEL (recognition) Huh. So you like animals? ANGELA Uh-huh. MIGUEL Sea, air or land? ANGELA Number one. Land. Number two. Air. Number three. Sea. You? MIGUEL Number one. Air. Number two. Land. Number three. Sea.

ANGELA I prefer land creatures that have elbows and knees, parts that bend so they can escape predators and defend themselves. MIGUEL Have you ever tried to communicate with animals? My Tio Diego has this parrot, Rascacielos, and I read somewhere that birds think in images. So I try to look at my uncle’s Rascacielos with an image of a tiny parrot resting on my palm so he’ll know I feel warm feelings toward him and he’ll squawk nice things to me. ANGELA Animals are so sensitive. They can tell what kind of heart you have. If your heart is gentle, they trust. If your heart is dark, they scratch, bite or kick. MIGUEL How do animals treat you? ANGELA They lick me. MIGUEL I can’t understand how people can mistreat animals. Like those animal cop shows? I can’t watch them. ANGELA Those people are evil. MIGUEL They starve them. Beat them. Do all kinds of... ANGELA I mean maybe the animals feel lonely. Maybe they feel completely abandoned in the world. Maybe sometimes they even have suicidal animal thoughts. MIGUEL Exactly. So the owners, if they could only communicate with them like regular empathetic pet owners do, they wouldn’t be so evil. ANGELA Do you have pets? 10

MIGUEL Our apartment has a no-pet rule. ANGELA Ditto. MIGUEL Hopefully one day. ANGELA Miguel? MIGUEL Yeah? ANGELA Do I seem animal-like to you? MIGUEL Uh. No. Weird question. ANGELA Right. Cool. 6. Secret ANGELA AND LINDA, HER MOTHER IN THE LIVING ROOM OF THEIR SMALL APARTMENT. LINDA LOUNGES ON FADED FURNITURE, GLUED TO AN OLD TV. LINDA I don’t have ten extra dollars. ANGELA What about the quarters in your underwear drawer? LINDA Did you go into my panties drawer? ANGELA No, I’m just asking. 11

LINDA So don’t ask me. ANGELA I need it for my world history presentation. Miguel and I... LINDA Miguel? Who’s that kid? Is he being mean to you? Is he forcing you to pay him money? ANGELA No. I have to go to this museum with him and buy postcards of these Aztec animals. This presentation thing. LINDA I told you. No going out with boys. Not until after your operation. ANGELA Awright. I told you I wouldn’t. LINDA Are you going out with boys? ANGELA (lying) No, Ma. LINDA I don’t want any boy touching you or making fun of you. ANGELA I’m not. LINDA I don’t want you telling any boy about your condition. ANGELA Don’t worry. LINDA Because if a boy found out, he’d wanna take advantage of you.

ANGELA And do what? LINDA Boys’re crazy. They can’t control themselves. ANGELA God. Really? LINDA This’ll just be our secret. 7. Dreaming ANGELA I breathe in crisp air as I focus on the vast horizon with snow-capped mountains. Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip. Clop-clip-clop-clip-clop. My flesh filled with calm as I gallop on. 8. Tattoo ANGELA AND HECTOR STANDING ON THE SCHOOL LAWN AT LUNCH TIME. HECTOR You know you want to. ANGELA You are not taking me back to that beach. Ever. HECTOR Oh what, you hate beaches now? ANGELA We’re so over, Hector. Later.

HECTOR Fine. We don’t ever have to go to the beach ever again. ANGELA (lying) Too late. I’m with someone else now. HECTOR Okay. That was quick. ANGELA Yeah. Whatever. HECTOR You know, I tattooed your name on my ankle. ANGELA Liar. HECTOR I never told you because I thought it might flip you out. But every time I lift up my foot to scratch an itch, I see your name poking out from underneath my sock. You’re underneath my skin, Angela. ANGELA Your dad let you get a tattoo? HECTOR He doesn’t care. ANGELA Yeah right. HECTOR Only you know. ANGELA Let me see it. HECTOR Here?

ANGELA It’s on your ankle, not your... HECTOR Fine. HECTOR SHOWS HER HIS ANKLE TATOO. ANGELA Did it hurt? HECTOR A little when they got close to the bone but not really. ANGELA Why did you do that? HECTOR My ankle hurts with the pain I caused you. ANGELA That’s beyond lame. HECTOR What’s his name? ANGELA Who? HECTOR The new... ANGELA Whatever. I’m not telling you his name. HECTOR Are you gonna get his name tattooed on your... ANGELA Nothing you can do will get you inside these overalls. Ever again. Got that?

HECTOR Angela... ANGELA And that is totally one of those fake store bought decal kinds of tattoos. 9. Animals MIGUEL AND ANGELA SIT IN THE LIBRARY WORKING ON THEIR PRESENTATION. MIGUEL So we have eagles, parrots, macaws, monkeys, serpents, rabbits, jaguars, toads, deer and hummingbirds. ANGELA Some people say every time you see a hummingbird, it’s actually an angel. MIGUEL The Aztecs believed that dead warriors came back to life as hummingbirds. Huitzilopochtli wore a helmet made of hummingbird feathers with a small beak pointing out the top. ANGELA But he would also be disguised as an eagle or even an eagle serpent. Hey, what if we also create Aztec animals of our own, for extra credit. Mrs. T would go for that. MIGUEL Ah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. (beat) I got one. You’re only allowed to ask three questions before you start guessing. And I can only answer yes or no. ANGELA Who made up the rules to this game? MIGUEL These rules? They appear out of thin air, or out of some god’s head...like Huitzilopochtli.

ANGELA This is not a war-like game. Huitzilopochtli is the god of war, so...how many questions do I have again? MIGUEL Three. ANGELA Does this creature’s name start with the letter h? MIGUEL Ah...no. ANGELA So it’s not hummingbird cobra? MIGUEL Nope. ANGELA Oh. Was that my second question? I didn’t mean for it to be my second question. It was more like a subquestion to the first question. MIGUEL Question number two? ANGELA Is the creature a combination of land and air? MIGUEL Yes. ANGELA I’m never gonna guess this. MIGUEL Keep trying. ANGELA Okay. Okay. Does the creature have four legs?

MIGUEL Yes. ANGELA Okay, okay. I’m getting closer. MIGUEL Oh. That was three questions. But. Now I give you one last clue and you start guessing for like ten seconds. You stop. And we’ll see if you win. ANGELA Who made up these rules? MIGUEL God. ANGELA That’s not funny. Don’t joke about God. MIGUEL Oh. You’re religious. Sorry. ANGELA I’m not like really religious. I just don’t think you should joke like that. MIGUEL Right. Okay. So. The clue is...airplane pilot. Ready? And...Go. ANGELA Airplane pilot. Airplane pilot. Flies. Human. Animal. Mammal. Uh...Wolf eagle? Monkey macaw? Jaguar Hummingbird? MIGUEL And your time is up. ANGELA What is it? MIGUEL Señores y señoritas...it saunters, squawks and soars...and the creature is a palominoparrot. 18

ANGELA Wait. You didn’t say we could include non-Aztec animals. I thought you said horses were like instruments of torture. MIGUEL Well, I mean, at first perhaps, but then they blended into the culture and became like instruments of blessing. ANGELA A horse that flies? Forget it. That’s lame. I hate this game. This presentation sucks MIGUEL Whoah. Okay. So... ANGELA You know...I’m outta here. MIGUEL Okay. Forget it. No games. I’ll be serious. Let’s get back to work. ANGELA Because you can’t change your mind like that. Either horses are horrible or holy to you. They can’t be both. MIGUEL I think they’re holy. ANGELA Liar. MIGUEL I am not. ANGELA You’re saying holy but deep down you think they’re despicable and you want to get out a whip and beat them. MIGUEL Ah. Whoah. No.

ANGELA Then you want to put a bridle on them and dig your spurs into their flesh to tame them. I mean you keep saying, “Whoah.” MIGUEL I went horseback riding once with my Uncle Ernie. I fell off. I never got back on. To this day, I’m still scared of them. ANGELA You get hurt? MIGUEL No. Just super spooked. So horses remind me... ANGELA Maybe the horse didn’t mean it... MIGUEL I didn’t know what I was doing. I was riding bareback. I started to canter. I lost my balance. ANGELA Oh. MIGUEL So. No. They are holy. Faith and fear. I just need to have faith I could even be around one again. 10. Dreaming ANGELA I hear the river. I feel the warm breeze. I smell the damp earth. I taste the fresh hay. I can see miles of open space ahead. 11. Exhibition ANGELA AND MIGUEL IN A MUSEUM LOOKING AT AN EXHIBIT. 20

MIGUEL Stone marvels. ANGELA The Aztecs carved some creepy animals. MIGUEL Guardians of the earth. ANGELA Serpent. Dog. Flea? AWKWARD PAUSE. ANGELA Why do you always wear that baseball jacket when you don’t even do P.E.? MIGUEL I would if I could but I can’t. So I skate. Skater parks. Quarter Pipes. Ollieing. I get stoked with the feeling of my body moving through air like that. ANGELA Why don’t you do P.E.? MIGUEL Health reasons. ANGELA Oh. MIGUEL Why don’t you do P.E.? ANGELA Mrs. Ross with her boy haircut and her kinda mustachy puffy red face scares me plus I have a note from my doctor. I have bad...lungs. MIGUEL I have bad...feet.

ANGELA Oh. MIGUEL I dig history though. AWKWARD PAUSE. ANGELA Huh. I’m so over our world history class. (quickly) I’m tired of reading what other people say about what other people did when half the time they don’t really know what they did because I mean like who is the one who is writing it all down? I mean how can people call this culture evil when they carve fleas out of stone? MIGUEL No sleep again? ANGELA I keep having these weird dreams that keep me up at night. MIGUEL The other night I dreamt that mad deranged killer elephants were trampling all over my brand new home and I was left in the dust with nothing but a broken flower pot and a daffodil in my hand. ANGELA I keep having this one where I’m galloping and... HECTOR ENTERS. HECTOR She telling you her horsey dream? MIGUEL Excuse me? ANGELA Hector...

HECTOR APPROACHES ANGELA AND MIGUEL STANDS IN FRONT OF HER, BLOCKING HECTOR. HECTOR Is little book boy here gonna protect his precious princess with her golden tiara? ANGELA Hector, chill. HECTOR (to Miguel) You probably live in some tiny room in this cinder block apartment with crusty pizza cheese on the ceiling and sticky mags under your bed. Don’t even... MIGUEL DOESN’T BUDGE. MIGUEL Dude, chill. HECTOR Or what? ANGELA Stop. It. Now. HECTOR Angela likes you. She told me she did. ANGELA Shut up. HECTOR But don’t worry. She’ll get tired of you too. MIGUEL Back off, jock strap. HECTOR Is that all you’ve got? Pathetic.

ANGELA Hector. I don’t wanna see you. HECTOR Oh you will. Poor Miguel here doesn’t know what surprises he’s in for, does he? HECTOR ATTEMPTS TO PAT MIGUEL’S BACK AND MIGUEL SLAPS HIS HAND AWAY. 12. Dreaming ANGELA Hitting ground with hooves, grasping air with arms, both parts alive while I slow, stop and drink Quenching endless thirst. 13. Dissection ANGELA AND HECTOR SITTING IN A LOCKER ROOM. ANGELA (lying) He already knows. HECTOR And you think I told him? Well, I didn’t. ANGELA Liar. HECTOR So. What did he say about it? ANGELA (lying) Nothing. No big deal. HECTOR That’s lame.

ANGELA It’s kind. HECTOR Loser. ANGELA Victor. HECTOR I thought his name was Miguel. You’re dating a Victor now? ANGELA (sarcastic) Oh wow, that’s hilarious. HECTOR Get it? Victor as in winner but it can also be a dude’s name? ANGELA You don’t have to like stalk me thinking that you’ll tell him and humiliate me because you’re jealous. He’s totally okay with it. HECTOR He says he’s okay with it but he lies. ANGELA Whatever. Just stop stalking me. HECTOR Who’s stalking who in the boys’ locker room. ANGELA STARTS TO LEAVE. HECTOR How can he be okay with it? Huh? What guy would be okay with it? ANGELA Someone who’s not you.

HECTOR So he’s okay with it. You go to prom. You go to college together. You get married. You’re on your honeymoon. He knocks you up. Nine months go by. And out comes a tiny horsey baby. And ask me if he’ll be okay then. SOUND OF SOMEONE ENTERING THE LOCKER ROOM. HECTOR You’ll be suspended if you get caught in here. ANGELA Whatever. MIGUEL ENTERS. ANGELA Hey. MIGUEL Angela, you cool? ANGELA Yeah. MIGUEL You sure? ‘Cause I got your text and... HECTOR In locker room. Stalking Hector. L O L. MIGUEL Come on, Angela. ANGELA I’m cool. HECTOR What she’s trying to say is you don’t have to be here. She’s doing just fine by herself. She’s in no danger, if that’s what you’re worried about.

MIGUEL Angela... HECTOR She’s chill, dude. MIGUEL I don’t even wanna deal with jock strap. I came to get you. ANGELA I’ll text you during lunch. HECTOR Book boy won’t even say my name. ANGELA STARTS TO GET UP OFF THE BENCH. HECTOR (to Miguel) Why doesn’t it bother you? Huh? Huh? ‘Cause it bothered me at first, but now I’m totally into it. You know? Animal love. MIGUEL GIVES HIM A LOOK LIKE “WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” AND THEN REACHES OUT HIS HAND TO ANGELA. HECTOR SLAPS HIS HAND AWAY. HECTOR You know what? I’ve been thinking. I’m oughta do both of you a favor and just cut it off. Yup. Grab her from her hind hairs and whack it off. She doesn’t need it. And you know, she’ll heal up. A few stitches and good as new. MIGUEL Don’t touch her. HECTOR Oooo. Book boy tough talk. HECTOR GRABS HIS GYM BAG. HECTOR This way I get something from the girl who wouldn’t give me a piece of tail and you get a brand new love. 27

MIGUEL Don’t even get near her. HECTOR STANDS POISED TO OPEN UP HIS GYM BAG. HECTOR Or what? What’re you gonna do, tough book boy? MIGUEL We’re outta here, Angela. HECTOR BLOCKS ANGELA AND MIGUEL FROM LEAVING. ANGELA GRABS HECTOR’S GYM BAG. HECTOR GRABS THE BAG BACK AND OPENS IT UP. ANGELA Cut it out, Hector. HECTOR Cut. Cut. Cut. That’s right. Just a little cut. You don’t mind a little cut, do you Angie? MIGUEL You don’t have to listen to this. Angela... HECTOR If I can’t have her, I want a memento. Okay, it doesn’t have to be flesh. But a few hind hairs so I can put them under my pillow and have sweet and wild dreams. MIGUEL You are not touching her hair. HECTOR But wait ‘til you do. 14. Dreaming ANGELA A doorway appears. I can’t fit through. 28

But something stops me and I tilt my body. My human half through. My horse half is stuck. I’m suspended as light glimmers on me while my hind legs kick in the damp shadows as I fill with a warmth and excitement but I cannot fit through the open door. 15. Glyphs MIGUEL AND ANGELA AT THE PICNIC TABLES ON THE SCHOOL LAWN AT LUNCH WORKING ON THEIR PRESENTATION. MIGUEL READS FROM A BOOK. MIGUEL (reading) Aztec writing had a phonetic element. Every word in spoken language has a sound as well as a meaning, and glyphs were sometimes used to indicate the phonetic value of a word rather than its sense. ANGELA Why don’t you just get another presentation partner? MIGUEL (reading) For example, it’s possible to write the sentence, “I can be hospitable” as a series of phonetic glyphs: an eye, a tin can, a bee, a horse, a peach pit, and a table. Eyeball. I. Tincan. Can. Bumblebee. Be. Horse-Peach pit- Picnic Table. Hoss-pit-able. ANGELA I’m just gonna leave now. MIGUEL The Aztecs applied the same technique to the writing of Nahuatl. So I thought we could make up our own animal glyphs as part of the presentation. Like. You. Are. Dear. So a picture of a ewe, E-W-E, a female sheep. A picture of air bubbles. A picture of a deer. Ewe. Air. Deer. You. Are. Dear. 29

ANGELA Miguel, Okay. This is me walking. MIGUEL I think that what Hector said to you is haunting you and I don’t want him to continue to do that to you. ANGELA I’m fine. MIGUEL You use words like pseudo weapons trying to cover over something. And you don’t have to. Cover things. With me. ANGELA It’s better this way. MIGUEL No it’s not. ANGELA Look. You’re cool and everything. And like Mrs. Torres thinks you’re super smart in World History. And she’ll get you another presentation partner or just let you do it on your own. MIGUEL Don’t do this. ANGELA It’s just a lame presentation. MIGUEL No it’s not. ANGELA Whatever. MIGUEL It’s not whatever!

ANGELA Chill. The cheerleaders are so staring at us. MIGUEL I don’t care what they think. ANGELA Yeah right. MIGUEL Angela, girls don’t talk to me. And you do and I like that and it’s like you’re super smart and you’re scared and you’re kinda like me. ANGELA Really. MIGUEL Honestly. So why be a loner? ANGELA Easier that way. MIGUEL For who? ANGELA Everyone involved. MIGUEL Well, it’s not. ANGELA You’ll find a hot girl to hang out with who’ll be like all into you and you’ll be so into her and her hot little body and it’ll be all good. MIGUEL An eyeball. A sea wave. A female sheep. ANGELA What?

MIGUEL Eyeball. I. A sea wave. See. E.W.E. You. 16. Lies. ANGELA AND LINDA IN THEIR LIVINGROOM. LINDA BRUSHES ANGELA’S HAIR. ANGELA Was dad like a stallion or something? LINDA That’s vile. ANGELA I mean like a stallion. As in hot. I’m not like saying you did it with...ew. LINDA There are something’s I will not discuss with my daughter. ANGELA Why did you like him? LINDA End of story. ANGELA I wanna know. I need to know. Why do you hide things from me? I can handle it. LINDA He...he had this way of saying my name, “Linda” that made me feel all melty inside. ANGELA Like good melty? LINDA Uh. Yeah.

ANGELA What did his voice sound like? LINDA Like a million pounds of melted chocolate. ANGELA Sweet? LINDA Fattening. ANGELA Sickening? LINDA After a while, it made me sick. ANGELA Was he mean to you? LINDA My head would get all muddy inside when I was with him. He smelled all musky and it got up in my nose when I was too young to know how to close my nose and breathe through my mouth. ANGELA But why can’t I go out with boys? LINDA Because once they know about your secret, they’ll wanna do things to you and treat you like a piece ‘a meat. ANGELA How do you know that? LINDA They’ll go into their animal side, jaguar, lion, bear, stallion and you will be what they feed on.

ANGELA Really? LINDA Trust me. ANGELA So I don’t tell anyone my secret? LINDA After your operation, no one will need to know. You’ll be normal. ANGELA It’s almost like you want me to be this way still so no boy will ever get close to me. LINDA You’re smart. I was young and not so smart. ANGELA But what if I feel things inside? For boys. LINDA Watch T.V. There’re lots of handsome boys on television. Dream about them. Like that tall boy with the goofball smile on that one show who kissed his sister by mistake because he didn’t know she was really his sister. Don’t you think he’s cute? ANGELA He’s old. LINDA Do not go out with boys. Do not tell boys your secret. They will take advantage of you. Period. 17. Bribe ANGELA STANDING WITH HECTOR IN A PUBLIC PARK. ANGELA HANDS HECTOR A SMALL WHITE ENVELOPE. HECTOR OPENS THE ENVELOPE AND LOOKS INSIDE.

HECTOR Almost like fishing wire. Like the kind you put on a pole to catch a gold fish at the county fair. ANGELA I cut off a couple. HECTOR PUTS HIS HAND INSIDE THE ENVELOPE AND FEELS ITS CONTENTS. HECTOR Thicker than human hair. ANGELA So you can have it and stop bothering me... HECTOR Wow. ANGELA So just keep it, okay? HECTOR PUTS HIS FINGERS INSIDE THE ENVELOPE. HECTOR I run the fifty yard dash. I feel my legs hit the track and my muscles tense and release as I race toward the finish line. I know every inch of my body. Bodies fascinate me. ANGELA Dude, that’s creepy. HECTOR When my hand first felt this fishing-wire-hair-like-thing that moved I was trippin’ but then I was like “Whoah” and I felt this tingly feeling on the back of my neck and in the pit of my stomach. ANGELA But you...you’d wanna keep me like in a corral. Locked up. Your little treasure. And that’s not me. I’m giving this to you so you’ll stay away from me. Period.

HECTOR I tried, Angela. ANGELA Tried what? HECTOR To be close to you. ANGELA But like you were mean. HECTOR I get kinda crazy inside when I think of you and that book boy. ANGELA Miguel. HECTOR Book boy. I mean you think I’m this douche bag but I’m not. I can’t sleep too well at night now. I keep having these dreams where it’s you and me and we’re on this running track and like jumping over hurdles and we both jump really high and then the track turns into a pile of rocks and we fall onto the jagged edges and then I wake up. ANGELA Because it’s like you wanna go out to an equestrian shop and buy a Western style saddle with this big horn on top and like nice wooden stirrups and then come over and slap it on my back so you can jump over fences. HECTOR Oh, you can read my mind now? So what? Well so what? How do you know you wouldn’t like me to saddle you up? How do you know you wouldn’t find it extremely...rad? ANGELA I wouldn’t. HECTOR Aren’t you curious?

ANGELA About your sketchiness? HECTOR About what it would be like. You. Me. No overalls. No track outfit. You know. ANGELA God my mom was right. You wanna do it with animals. Well Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not an animal. Go find a sheep or a goat or a horse. Live your perverted animal dreams and leave me alone. 18. Dreaming ANGELA Then I start falling deep into the earth covered in debris until I land in the ocean and swim as my legs scramble to keep me afloat. Then I reach a field of blooming flowers lilac, tulip, rose jasmine, marigold and I begin to trot, gallop, canter toward the horizon. 19. Mass ANGELA AND DR. WALKER IN HER OFFICE. DR. WALKER Fifteen centimeters in ten weeks. Potentially carcinomic mass in the first coccygeal vertebrae. Surgical intervention is needed. ANGELA Translation please?

DR. WALKER We make an incision which then leads to the removal of all eight coccygeal vertebrae. ANGELA Removal? DR. WALKER Yes. ANGELA But I like it now. DR. WALKER But it doesn’t like you. ANGELA How do you know? DR. WALKER X-ray. Biopsy. MRI. ANGELA But it’s a part of me. DR. WALKER I realize that... ANGELA I used to hate it but I’ve been having these dreams where I’m galloping alongside a river in the wilderness and... DR. WALKER But if the mass becomes metastatic, you won’t ever gallop again. ANGELA As in I wouldn’t ever... DR. WALKER You wouldn’t even be around to gallop.

ANGELA Oh. DR. WALKER We need to schedule the procedure as soon as possible. ANGELA So I can keep it for another month? DR. WALKER You will be here for approximately one week. ANGELA Are you sure? DR. WALKER Equine coccygeal hirsutism is a genetic anomaly in which a small percentage develop dysgerminomas which could become carcinomas. ANGELA But I was finally getting used to it. DR. WALKER After the procedure you will be normal. ANGELA Normal. DR. WALKER Do you want to gallop? ANGELA Yes. DR. WALKER Then... ANGELA But a part of me will be gone.

20. Flight ANGELA AND MIGUEL STANDING IN AN EMPTY LOT. A SKATERTYPE WOODEN RAMP STANDS TO ONE SIDE. MIGUEL So you’re a hummingbird and this is your field? ANGELA Is that someone coming down the road? MIGUEL No. So you’re a serpent and this is your oasis? ANGELA I really need us to be alone right now. MIGUEL Do you ever wish you were floating over the Pacific Ocean? ANGELA Feel this. (beat) Wait. MIGUEL What? ANGELA Come ‘ere. MIGUEL Why? ANGELA Feel this. MIGUEL What? ANGELA Here.

ANGELA TAKES MIGUEL’S HAND AND SLOWLY PUTS IT DOWN THE BACK OF HER OVERALLS. SHE MOTIONS HIS HAND AROUND. ANGELA Right...there. MIGUEL Holy mother of the most high God. ANGELA Yeah. MIGUEL Were you born with that? ANGELA It’s been there since childhood but the length and the hair are new. MIGUEL What kind is it? ANGELA Palomino, maybe. MIGUEL Does this run in your family? ANGELA Not that I know of. I don’t really talk about it to any relatives. My mother knows and that’s about it. MIGUEL Can I touch it again? ANGELA As in creepy? MIGUEL Wonderment.

ANGELA ‘Kay. MIGUEL PUTS HIS HAND IN THE BACK OF HER OVERALLS. HE TAKES HIS HAND OUT. MIGUEL Wow. ANGELA Don’t tell anyone. MIGUEL I won’t. ANGELA And don't be all squizzy about it. MIGUEL You mean scuzzy? ANGELA Don’t. Okay. MIGUEL I never would. ANGELA Okay. MIGUEL Yeah. ANGELA So. MIGUEL Um. ANGELA Right.

AWKWARD PAUSE. MIGUEL So. Um. Now. Feel. This. MIGUEL TAKES ANGELA’S HAND AND PUTS IT UNDER HIS JACKET ON HIS BACK. HE SLOWLY MOVES HER HAND AROUND HIS SHOULDER BLADE AREA. ANGELA Huh? Oo. Wow. MIGUEL Not so fast. Gentle please. ANGELA Those bumps are crazy large. You should have that checked out. MIGUEL PUTS ANGELA’S HEAD INSIDE THE BACK OF HIS JACKET. ANGELA Wooowwwweeee. MIGUEL Be careful in there. ANGELA TAKES HER HEAD OUT OF HIS JACKET. ANGELA How long have you had those? MIGUEL Since childhood but the plumage only started to grow recently. ANGELA Does this run in your family? MIGUEL Not that I know of.

ANGELA Huh. MIGUEL What? ANGELA So could you jump off that ramp and be like Huitzilopochtli’s hummingbird? MIGUEL I dunno. That quarter pipe’s pretty steep. MIGUEL LOOKS TOWARD THE TOP OF THE RAMP. MIGUEL I mean I kinda wanna try. But... ANGELA I’ll push you. ANGELA AND MIGUEL STAND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RAMP. MIGUEL I dunno about this. ANGELA Here touch it for good luck. ANGELA GESTURES TOWARD HER TAIL. MIGUEL Take it out. ANGELA Now? MIGUEL Why not. ANGELA People could see. 44

MIGUEL There’s no one here. ANGELA Just us. MIGUEL Take it out and then push me. ANGELA REACHES INTO THE BACK OF HER OVERALLS AND SLOWLY, GINGERLY, TAKES OUT A SMALL PONY-LIKE HORSE TAIL WHICH IS ATTACHED TO HER LOWER BACK. HE ADMIRES THE TAIL. ANGELA Take off your jacket. MIGUEL TAKES OFF HIS JACKET TO REVEAL A SMALL YET STURDY PAIR OF WINGS PROTRUDING FROM THE BACK OF HIS T-SHIRT. MIGUEL There. Ready. ANGELA You sure. MIGUEL Uh-huh. ANGELA Okay. One, two... HECTOR ENTERS RUNNING HOLDING A BROWN, FAKE PONY’S TAIL. HECTOR Angie... HECTOR PUTS ON THE FAKE PONY’S TAIL.

HECTOR I wanna be just like you. HECTOR SEES MIGUEL. HECTOR Whoah. Book boy’s now bird boy? ANGELA (to Miguel) We’re outta here. HECTOR But you and me, Angie, we can gallop off together. ANGELA Too late, Hector. MIGUEL Ready? HECTOR Come on, Angie. MIGUEL (to Angela) Hold tight. ANGELA What if I let go? MIGUEL Don’t. ANGELA What if we fall? MIGUEL We won’t. HECTOR Angie...

HECTOR LET’S OUT A HORSE-LIKE WHINNY. ANGELA I’m gonna gallop through the deep blue sky. Shame vanishing as I canter on clouds. HOLDING HANDS TIGHTLY, MIGUEL AND ANGELA RUN UP THE SKATING RAMP AND TAKE A LEAP. AS HECTOR LOOKS ON, MIGUEL AND ANGELA BEGIN TO FLY UP INTO THE AIR AS LIGHTS FADE. END OF PLAY.