The Second Encounter (Well, Technically the Third): A Short Play in One Act
The Characters:
Ami*: Your Fearless Correspondent
Take Me to Boston!**: The girl from the earlier blog post who I had a most awkward encounter with
Darney O’Malley: The PCV with the right priorities
[stage direction and motivation in brackets]
Note: The conversation between Ami and Take Me to Boston! occur in Kriolu. However, so that this play can reach the widest possible audience, the playwright has provided an English translation of their conversation.
Act 1, Scene 1.
Ami and Darney O’Malley are walking in the medical plaza, heading back to the bar to watch the rest of the football game (Beneficia ended up tying 1-1). Both are tired from spending a good part of the day working on the Haunted House along with Karate Catholic. They are walking past a bushy tree that is partially obscuring a bench and some people sitting on and around it.
Darney O’Malley [Looks to the right as passing by the bench to check out who is there.]: Hey, it’s Take Me to Boston!. I wonder why she’s crouching over there.
Ami [Is tired, wants to get back to the game, and missed most of what Darney O’Malley had said.]: Oh, ok.
Act 1, Scene 2.
Ami and Darney O’Malley are back in the bar, arriving just after Benefica scored its goal. The game is nearly over, and Darney O’Malley is having another beer. Ami mentions Take Me to Boston! for one reason or another
Darney O’Malley: Yeah, I wonder if she saw us.
Ami: Huh?
Darney O’Malley: She was crouching at that bench with her friends over at the plaza.
Ami: Oh. Yeah, you said something about someone crouching, I thought you were saying that someone was waiting there to jump us.
Darney O’Malley: Nope. It was her.
Ami: Crap.
Act 1, Scene 3.
Ami and Darney O’Malley pay the bill and head out of the bar. Darney O’Malley lives close by. Ami lives about two minutes away, and must pass by or through the medical plaza in order to get home. Ami decides to take the most direct route home, which will pass by the medical plaza, and hopefully avoid Take Me to Boston!, if she is still talking with her friends.
Darney O’Malley [Makes a right turn at the corner to head home.]: Good luck! I hope she isn’t stalking you!
Ami: Thanks.
Act 1, Scene 4.
Ami walks home at a fast pace. He passes by part of the medical plaza, and no one jumps out at him. He is now one block away from his house. He is passing by a small side street that is connected to the medical plaza.
Ami [He hears someone hiss “pssst!” to him, over his right shoulder***. He turns and sees two figures, one is gesturing to him and hissing again. Streetlamps are at odd angles and he cannot tell who it is. As the figures approach, he realizes that one is Take Me to Boston! and he silently curses]: Good evening! How are you?
Take Me to Boston!: I am good. How are you?
Ami: I’m good. What are you up to?
Take Me to Boston!: Nothing.
Ami: Walking around?
Take Me to Boston!: Yep
[They stand and stare at each other. Ami is uncomfortable, and it’s hard to judge Take Me to Boston!’s emotional state.]
Take Me to Boston!: [She points to the cement steps in front of the Mosteiros Red Cross building] You want to sit down?
Ami [His mind is screaming “bad idea, bad idea!” and he looks at her]: Do I want to sit? Yes.
[They move toward the steps, and Take Me to Boston!’s friend heads down the street. They sit, Take Me to Boston! to the right of Ami. There is maybe 20 seconds of what Ami finds to be painfully awkward silence as they adjust themselves on the cement. She stares at him.]
Ami: So, what did you do today?
Take Me to Boston!: Nothing.
Ami: But now you’re walking around?
Take Me to Boston!: Yes.
[More silence that Ami perceives to be painfully awkward. Every once in a while, he turns to his right and will stare at Take Me to Boston!. He notices that she looks off to her right every once in a while. Ami also looks off to his left, toward the empty street, simply because he does not know what to do. Take Me to Boston! sits in silence.]
Ami: So, what will you do tomorrow?
Take Me to Boston!: Tomorrow? Clean the house, make lunch. Why do you ask?
Ami [Slight panic as he realizes he should not have asked that question.]: Only asking.
Take Me to Boston!: If you want, tomorrow we can meet up and do something.
Ami [Look of confusion on his face because he only understood “If you want…” and is unsure as to what else she had said]: What? Please repeat.
Take Me to Boston!: [Makes slight exasperated sound.]
Ami [Does short laugh]: Sorry! My Kriolu is bad. Repeat! Repeat!
Take Me to Boston!: [In the same speed as before]: If you want, tomorrow we can meet up and do something.
Ami: Ah. You said, urm…um…urm…if… [Language panic because he suddenly has forgotten how to say “If I want…” in Kriolu.] If I want, we can meet tomorrow?
Take Me to Boston!: Yes.
Ami [Rapidly thinking up reason as to why he can’t meet up tomorrow]: Oh. Sorry, I can’t meet tomorrow, I have to help Darney O’Malley, you know Darney O’Malley, right? He works at the CeJ?
Take Me to Boston!: Yeah, I know him.
Ami: Yeah, I have to help him tomorrow with the party that we are putting on tomorrow night. Sorry.
Take Me to Boston!: OK.
[More awkward sitting and Ami continues to stare away from Take Me to Boston!. He glances down at his watch and notes the time. He is out of conversation. He thinks it would be rude to just up and leave, but he knows if he doesn’t do something, he could end up sitting there all night. Vaguely considers inviting Take Me to Boston! up to his apartment, but knows that whatever short term pleasure he may derive from that encounter would be offset by a lot of long-term awkwardness. Mentally slaps himself for even having that thought. Looks at his watch again and decides to come up with an exit strategy.]
Ami: Ah, well, I have to go. I got up early today to help Darney O’Malley and I am tired, so I need sleep. I will talk to you later, ok?
Take Me to Boston!: OK.
[Ami heads to the left toward his house and Take Me to Boston! goes right, back toward the medical plaza. As Ami gets closer to his house, he sees Take Me to Boston!’s friend walking back up the street. Guesses that the friend had been sent away for a few minutes, and then asked to reappear so that Take Me to Boston! could make a graceful exit. Though he is sure that they already know where he lives, Ami does not want Take Me to Boston!’s friend to see him entering his apartment. So he walks past his front door and around the corner, hangs out for about 15 seconds, and, commando style, sneaks back toward his door. He unlocks, enters and locks the door behind him. Safety!]
*Language Note: “Ami” is Kriolu for “me”
**Cultural Note: “Take me to Boston” translated into Kriolu also has the slang meaning of “Have sex with me.” As far as your playwright understands it, this slang is only found on the island of Fogo, and is assuredly related to the fact that almost everyone in Mosteiros has family in Boston, or has lived there at one point in time.
***Cultural Note: Hissing is a perfectly acceptable way for Cape Verdeans to get each other’s attention. It is not considered rude, though there can be a more harassing element (perceived or otherwise) to it when men hiss toward women, and especially when Cape Verdean men are hissing toward American women. In recent days, your playwright has had to restrain himself from hissing at a few people, and is fearful that once he gets back to the States, he will be considered incredibly rude by friends and strangers alike. He will also probably be making what will be considered random hand gestures to get people’s attention.
Ami*: Your Fearless Correspondent
Take Me to Boston!**: The girl from the earlier blog post who I had a most awkward encounter with
Darney O’Malley: The PCV with the right priorities
[stage direction and motivation in brackets]
Note: The conversation between Ami and Take Me to Boston! occur in Kriolu. However, so that this play can reach the widest possible audience, the playwright has provided an English translation of their conversation.
Act 1, Scene 1.
Ami and Darney O’Malley are walking in the medical plaza, heading back to the bar to watch the rest of the football game (Beneficia ended up tying 1-1). Both are tired from spending a good part of the day working on the Haunted House along with Karate Catholic. They are walking past a bushy tree that is partially obscuring a bench and some people sitting on and around it.
Darney O’Malley [Looks to the right as passing by the bench to check out who is there.]: Hey, it’s Take Me to Boston!. I wonder why she’s crouching over there.
Ami [Is tired, wants to get back to the game, and missed most of what Darney O’Malley had said.]: Oh, ok.
Act 1, Scene 2.
Ami and Darney O’Malley are back in the bar, arriving just after Benefica scored its goal. The game is nearly over, and Darney O’Malley is having another beer. Ami mentions Take Me to Boston! for one reason or another
Darney O’Malley: Yeah, I wonder if she saw us.
Ami: Huh?
Darney O’Malley: She was crouching at that bench with her friends over at the plaza.
Ami: Oh. Yeah, you said something about someone crouching, I thought you were saying that someone was waiting there to jump us.
Darney O’Malley: Nope. It was her.
Ami: Crap.
Act 1, Scene 3.
Ami and Darney O’Malley pay the bill and head out of the bar. Darney O’Malley lives close by. Ami lives about two minutes away, and must pass by or through the medical plaza in order to get home. Ami decides to take the most direct route home, which will pass by the medical plaza, and hopefully avoid Take Me to Boston!, if she is still talking with her friends.
Darney O’Malley [Makes a right turn at the corner to head home.]: Good luck! I hope she isn’t stalking you!
Ami: Thanks.
Act 1, Scene 4.
Ami walks home at a fast pace. He passes by part of the medical plaza, and no one jumps out at him. He is now one block away from his house. He is passing by a small side street that is connected to the medical plaza.
Ami [He hears someone hiss “pssst!” to him, over his right shoulder***. He turns and sees two figures, one is gesturing to him and hissing again. Streetlamps are at odd angles and he cannot tell who it is. As the figures approach, he realizes that one is Take Me to Boston! and he silently curses]: Good evening! How are you?
Take Me to Boston!: I am good. How are you?
Ami: I’m good. What are you up to?
Take Me to Boston!: Nothing.
Ami: Walking around?
Take Me to Boston!: Yep
[They stand and stare at each other. Ami is uncomfortable, and it’s hard to judge Take Me to Boston!’s emotional state.]
Take Me to Boston!: [She points to the cement steps in front of the Mosteiros Red Cross building] You want to sit down?
Ami [His mind is screaming “bad idea, bad idea!” and he looks at her]: Do I want to sit? Yes.
[They move toward the steps, and Take Me to Boston!’s friend heads down the street. They sit, Take Me to Boston! to the right of Ami. There is maybe 20 seconds of what Ami finds to be painfully awkward silence as they adjust themselves on the cement. She stares at him.]
Ami: So, what did you do today?
Take Me to Boston!: Nothing.
Ami: But now you’re walking around?
Take Me to Boston!: Yes.
[More silence that Ami perceives to be painfully awkward. Every once in a while, he turns to his right and will stare at Take Me to Boston!. He notices that she looks off to her right every once in a while. Ami also looks off to his left, toward the empty street, simply because he does not know what to do. Take Me to Boston! sits in silence.]
Ami: So, what will you do tomorrow?
Take Me to Boston!: Tomorrow? Clean the house, make lunch. Why do you ask?
Ami [Slight panic as he realizes he should not have asked that question.]: Only asking.
Take Me to Boston!: If you want, tomorrow we can meet up and do something.
Ami [Look of confusion on his face because he only understood “If you want…” and is unsure as to what else she had said]: What? Please repeat.
Take Me to Boston!: [Makes slight exasperated sound.]
Ami [Does short laugh]: Sorry! My Kriolu is bad. Repeat! Repeat!
Take Me to Boston!: [In the same speed as before]: If you want, tomorrow we can meet up and do something.
Ami: Ah. You said, urm…um…urm…if… [Language panic because he suddenly has forgotten how to say “If I want…” in Kriolu.] If I want, we can meet tomorrow?
Take Me to Boston!: Yes.
Ami [Rapidly thinking up reason as to why he can’t meet up tomorrow]: Oh. Sorry, I can’t meet tomorrow, I have to help Darney O’Malley, you know Darney O’Malley, right? He works at the CeJ?
Take Me to Boston!: Yeah, I know him.
Ami: Yeah, I have to help him tomorrow with the party that we are putting on tomorrow night. Sorry.
Take Me to Boston!: OK.
[More awkward sitting and Ami continues to stare away from Take Me to Boston!. He glances down at his watch and notes the time. He is out of conversation. He thinks it would be rude to just up and leave, but he knows if he doesn’t do something, he could end up sitting there all night. Vaguely considers inviting Take Me to Boston! up to his apartment, but knows that whatever short term pleasure he may derive from that encounter would be offset by a lot of long-term awkwardness. Mentally slaps himself for even having that thought. Looks at his watch again and decides to come up with an exit strategy.]
Ami: Ah, well, I have to go. I got up early today to help Darney O’Malley and I am tired, so I need sleep. I will talk to you later, ok?
Take Me to Boston!: OK.
[Ami heads to the left toward his house and Take Me to Boston! goes right, back toward the medical plaza. As Ami gets closer to his house, he sees Take Me to Boston!’s friend walking back up the street. Guesses that the friend had been sent away for a few minutes, and then asked to reappear so that Take Me to Boston! could make a graceful exit. Though he is sure that they already know where he lives, Ami does not want Take Me to Boston!’s friend to see him entering his apartment. So he walks past his front door and around the corner, hangs out for about 15 seconds, and, commando style, sneaks back toward his door. He unlocks, enters and locks the door behind him. Safety!]
*Language Note: “Ami” is Kriolu for “me”
**Cultural Note: “Take me to Boston” translated into Kriolu also has the slang meaning of “Have sex with me.” As far as your playwright understands it, this slang is only found on the island of Fogo, and is assuredly related to the fact that almost everyone in Mosteiros has family in Boston, or has lived there at one point in time.
***Cultural Note: Hissing is a perfectly acceptable way for Cape Verdeans to get each other’s attention. It is not considered rude, though there can be a more harassing element (perceived or otherwise) to it when men hiss toward women, and especially when Cape Verdean men are hissing toward American women. In recent days, your playwright has had to restrain himself from hissing at a few people, and is fearful that once he gets back to the States, he will be considered incredibly rude by friends and strangers alike. He will also probably be making what will be considered random hand gestures to get people’s attention.
posted by jende turtle at 11:15 AM
1 Comments:
Hissss!!!
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