This was a one act play that I wrote in the fall of 2015. It was selected to be in the Winter One Act Festival at Webster Groves High School in 2015, and won the Johnathan Franzen Award for Excellence in Writing in the Drama division in 2016.
CHARACTERS
LIAM: quiet, introverted, always nervous, stammers a lot, a bit unstable (male)
CONNI: extroverted, friendly, uses big outward hand movements (gender neutral)
WAITRESS: bored, easily annoyed, not very helpful (gender tbd)
-O-
[Lights on. LIAM is sitting in a cafe, at a table in the middle of the stage. Rain can be heard pattering outside. LIAM looks nervous, glancing around the cafe when not looking at his phone. The lights are warm and yellow, giving the cafe a very warm, welcoming feeling, and it makes LIAM stick out like a sore thumb.]
WAITRESS: [enters from stage left, carrying a small notepad. They stop at LIAM’s table, clearing their throat. LIAM jumps at the sound.] [droning] Good afternoon, welcome to the Lucem Cafe. Our specials today are Bitterleaf soup, Eggplant Risotto with a Balsamic Reduction, and Chocolate Ginger Cake for dessert. May I start you off with something to drink?
LIAM: Wh-What?
WAITRESS: [looking annoyed] A drink? Can I get you a drink?
LIAM: Oh! Um, I’ll take a… [pause, WAITRESS starts to tap their foot impatiently] J-just a water is fine, thanks.
WAITRESS: [huffs, rolls their eyes, and EXITS stage left]
[LIAM continues to sit in silence for a moment before CONNI enters from stage right. They let out a long sigh and stride past LIAM’s table. They stop, investigating the rest of the cafe, before turning to LIAM’s table.]
CONNI: [approaching LIAM] Excuse me, is it ok if I sit with you? This is the only empty seat left.
LIAM: [looks around the cafe before nodding]
CONNI: [beaming] Thank you kindly! [They sit down, settling their arms on the table daintily. After a moment, they speak.] I’m Conni, by the way! And you are…? [they hold their hand out to shake LIAM’s]
LIAM: [looks at CONNI’s outstretched hand, but does not shake it.] Liam.
CONNIE: [puts their hand back down awkwardly] Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Liam.
LIAM: [nods nervously, before looking back down at his phone]
WAITRESS: [ENTER stage left, carrying a glass of water and a menu. They set the glass in front of LIAM, and place the menu in the middle of the table.] Here’s your drink, I guess. I’ll come back in a while to take your order.
CONNI: [grabs the menu and smiles up at the WAITRESS.]
WAITRESS: [EXIT stage left]
CONNI: [hums while they look over the menu, rocking back and forth to the tune. After a few moments they slam the menu down, startling LIAM.] Augh, I have absolutely no idea what I want! What are you getting?
LIAM: Uh, I, I don’t know.
CONNI: Well, you’ve been here before, right? You must know what’s good.
LIAM: [tentatively] Well… I guess the salad is alright.
CONNI: Ugh, what am I, a rabbit? I want something delicious.
LIAM: [sighs] Look, I just came here to-
CONNI: [interrupting LIAM] Ooh, I wonder if they have some kind of steak here, like a prime rib or a T-bone. Do they serve steaks in Cafes? That doesn’t seem very normal, but this place is different, it’s special. There’s some kind of otherworldly energy here. Don’t you feel that-
LIAM: [abruptly stands, slamming his hand on the table] HEY! Listen to me! I just came here to relax and get something to eat, not get my ear talked off by some obnoxious stranger. Leave me alone, or go find another customer to bother!
CONNI: [Slowly sitting up] I-I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t mean to… I don’t… [holding hands up, placating Liam] Alright, of course, I’ll leave you be.
LIAM: Good. [sits back down slowly, returning to his phone.]
[A minute of tense silence passes. Rain can still be heard outside. LIAM’s eyes are still glued to his phone, while CONNI looks around awkwardly, swinging their feet and fiddling with the menu.]
CONNI: [holds their hands up in surrender] I’m sorry, I can’t help it, you’re acting so strangely! This is totally not the norm for you!
LIAM: [scoffs, putting his phone in his pocket and leaning back in his chair, looking around nervously] You don’t know me, this could totally be how I normally act.
CONNI: [smiling brightly] Well, of course I know you! I know everything about you, and let me tell you, this is not you.
LIAM: [slowly starts to sit up, leaning forward and looking scared] W-What do you mean?
CONNI: What, you haven’t figured it out yet? I mean, you can be a little dense sometimes, but this is a whole new level of oblivious! How can you not recognize me, your greatest confidant? I remember that time in third grade, when you stole Timmy Smith’s fruit snacks at lunch, and blamed it on that one girl, what was her name? Anna… Emma… Hannah…? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. [pauses, in deep thought] What matters is how completely dense you are! I’m honestly kind of disappointed. But I know you’ve been through a lot, you’re in shock, blah blah blah.
LIAM: [panicked] Who are you?! What do you want from me?!
CONNI: [Leans forward, snapping their fingers. The lights instantly shift to red, and the ticking of a clock can now be heard. Their smile becomes predatory and menacing, their tone low and threatening. At this point they stand, moving to stand to LIAM’s right. They lean in close to LIAM’s face.] I’m you, Liam. I’m your conscience. [Leans back abruptly, becoming cheery and nonchalant again.] So. Now that that’s settled-
LIAM: [interrupting] Wha-What do you mean, my conscience? That’s impossible, you’re just some psycho who… Who… I need to get out of here. I need to leave right now. [Tries to stand, but can’t get out of his seat.] What…?
CONNI: [They start to walk behind LIAM, circling him.] Tsk tsk. Silly Liam, you can’t run from yourself. Now, if you’re done interrupting me, we need to get down to business. It’s my job to keep you safe, to look after you. I’ll admit, you overpowered me for a short time, and I couldn’t keep you from acting out. So… I need to ask you a few questions about last night’s events.
LIAM: I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! [He pulls out his phone and attempts to dial 9-1-1.] I’m going to call 9-11! [His face falls.] It’s… dead?
CONNI: We don’t have time for this, Liam. We need to get to work, and quickly. So tell me, where were you last night?
LIAM: [looking down at the table] I can’t… I’m not going to tell you… I can’t…
CONNI: [slams their hand down on the table. LIAM jumps, startled, and stares at CONNI. CONNI continues in a sing-song voice.] Li—am! Answer my questions please. You can’t afford to ignore my help right now. [They lean in close to LIAM’s face again.] I’ll ask you again; where were you last night?
LIAM: [He pauses for a moment, and then seems to give in, letting out a shaky breath and setting his phone on the table.] I was… I was at home.
CONNI: And what were you doing?
LIAM: I was just… [takes a calming breath] I was studying for midterms, up in my room.
CONNI: Alright… And when did your father come home?
LIAM: [his eyes grow wide] I- Why does that- That doesn’t matter-
CONNI: [yelling abruptly] Yes it does, Liam! Tell me, what time did your father come home?!
LIAM: [he continues speaking, on the verge of tears] It was about… About eleven. Just past eleven. He’d been out with… Out with his friends, at the bar. I knew he’d be drunk when he came home so I just… I stayed up in my room. I thought I locked my door… [to himself] Why didn’t I lock my door…?
CONNI: Keep going…
LIAM: He… He came upstairs, yelling about something. I didn’t leave him any leftovers in the fridge, or something stupid like that. He came in my room and… And he grabbed me. Started… Started shaking me around… Calling me names, cursing at me… I’d never seen him this mad over something this stupid. So I managed to kick him, and I… I ran out into the hall…
CONNI: Yes?
LIAM: I ran to the top of the stairs, and I could hear him behind me, I could sense him there. I… I felt his arms reach towards me and turned, and I managed to look at him. He was red-faced, and wild-eyed, tripping over his own feet… Like an animal. Out of control.
CONNI: [looks up curiously, giving LIAM a prompting nod to go on.]
LIAM: And I just. Stepped out of his way. I watched him trip over his own feet, I made eye contact with him as he went down. He moved in… In slow motion, or something like that. And I blinked, for what felt like a whole minute. I couldn’t get my eyes to open up again. But once I did, he was already down at the bottom of the steps. I couldn’t even comprehend what had happened at first… I thought maybe… Maybe I’d imagined it. It wouldn’t have been the first time. But there he was, at the foot of the stairs, all… Broken. Like a broken doll…
CONNI: So… What did you do after that?
LIAM: [numbly] I went back into my room and I went to sleep. Just like… Like nothing had happened. I woke up this morning, and he was… He was still down there. His skin looked… Blue. But I just stepped over him, and I came here. I’d been here for maybe… An hour, before you showed up… And you obviously already know the rest.
CONNI: [nods] Alright… So tell me… [They move back to their seat, leaning forward across the table] Why did you do it?
LIAM: [surprised] What?
CONNI: Why did you kill your father?
LIAM: I-I didn’t kill him, I just-
CONNI: [tone becomes increasingly aggressive] But you did. You knew he couldn’t balance, that he couldnt control his feet, so you stepped out of his way and watched him fall. And then you just let him lay there all night. Why did you do it? Sick and tired of his treatment? To get back at him for driving your mother away? Or, oh, here’s a good reason; [They start to jab at LIAM’s chest, emphasizing their words] maybe you were just like him. Maybe there’s some part of you that’s broken, that he broke, that likes to see others suffer. Is that what it was?
LIAM: Don’t- Don’t say that-!
CONNI: [leaning forward, now extremely close to LIAM’s face.] You liked it, didn’t you? You liked killing him! You’d been waiting to do it for years, and last night you finally got your chance-
LIAM: [stands and moves to slap CONNI in the face, CONNI grabs his wrist and throws him to the ground.]
CONNI: Say it! Say you enjoyed it! You haven’t been that happy in a long time, have you?
LIAM: No, that’s not true!
CONNI: But now he’s dead, and you’re finally free? Is that it?
LIAM: [cries out] No! He was all I had left, and now he’s gone and I’m all alone! [He collapses on the floor, sobbing into his arms. CONNI reaches down and pulls his head into her lap.]
[LIAM continues to sob for a moment, while CONNI sits in silence and strokes his hair. After LIAM calms down, he lifts his head, sniveling and wiping his nose on his shirt sleeve. Rain can still be heard pattering outside, and the clock can still be heard ticking.]
CONNI: [soothingly] It’s alright. You’re alright, Liam. I just needed to help you face that part of yourself. You’re hurting, but you’re stronger for it.
LIAM: [whimpering] I’m alone… I’m all alone…
CONNI: Shhh… You’ll be ok. You’re strong.
LIAM: [shaking his head] I’m not… I can’t…
CONNI: You have me, I’m here for you. I’m always with you, looking after you. But you know what you need to do now, right? To make this right?
LIAM: I can’t do it… I can’t…
CONNI: You can. I know you can. I love you, Liam. Always remember that. [They start to stand]
LIAM: [panicked] No! Please, wait, don’t leave me-
[Lighting flashes and thunder cracks loudly. The lights go black, and the ticking of the clock stops. CONNI exits stage right. After a moment, the lights slowly come back on, back to their original brightness. LIAM is sitting alone at the table, looking around wildly. WAITRESS enters stage left, carrying a notepad and pen. They stop in front of LIAM.]
WAITRESS: Do you know what you want?
LIAM: W-What?
WAITRESS: [rolling their eyes in annoyance. They speak in a stuffy, faux-formal tone.] Have you decided which of the courses you will be dining on this evening?
LIAM: No, no, I don’t want anything. [He stands up abruptly, picking up his phone.] I really need to do something.
WAITRESS: [dumbfounded] What? What are you talking about?
LIAM: [He ignores the WAITRESS, looking down at his phone.] It… It works…. [He slowly dials 911. He brings the phone to his ear, while WAITRESS, still looking confused, exits stage LEFT. After a moment, Liam clears his throat.] H-hello? 911? I need to report something.
[Lightning flashes and thunder claps again, the lights go out.]
LIAM: My father is… My father is lying dead at the bottom of my stairs.
End
