Bittersweet November

Characters:

Jenny: 19 year old girl, rather short with brown hair and dark brown eyes. Ambitious, sings well, creative, but a procrastinator.

Missy: Loud, flamboyant, and quick-tempered. Often neglected by her parents and overshadowed by her star-football playing brother. Best friend of Jenny for 16 years

Lucas: Jenny’s Boyfriend. 21, tall, lanky, and odd. Dances to the beat of his own drum more often than the world would like. Quiet, and studious. Not interested in other girls, hardly interested in Jenny.

Eric: Lucas’s little brother. 17. Affectionate. Outgoing.

Micah: Director. Leader of the choir. Usually patient but lack that certain quality when under pressure.

Harmony: Rude, rough girl. 19.

Lana: Mousy, annoying girl. Tall, about 5’8, with brown Willy wonka style hair 18.

Agnus: Large, beastly looking girl. Stringy black hair, and big thick dorky glasses. Wears stained nasty sweats. Speaks in a deep gurgling voice. Braces on really white teeth. Very pale, veins show through her skin. Age unknown.

Scene One: The Beginning

Setting: Auditorium inside the Rehearsal house. The wood floor is covered with a khaki colored tarp that is marked up with blue painters tape. The tape outlines the setting of the scene the youth is doing for the Theatre’s Christmas play. The entire youth choir is sitting on the floor entertaining them while the leadership team is fine-tuning everything before running rehearsal.

Jenny: “It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils-”

Eric: What are you doing, Jenny? (Looks over Jenny’s shoulder to the copy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Jenny: Catching up on some homework I neglected to do earlier. Micah won’t mind, you know… It’s not like we’re really doing anything.

Eric: (Grins widely) Of course, that’s typical of you.

Jenny: (Laughs quietly) I suppose, I suppose…

Lana: (Quietly leans over to Jenny and Eric and in a whisper) Pst, pst… Jenny, don’t look now-

Jenny: (Looks up from her book) What, who-

Lucas: (Enters from the front of the gym, carrying books for calculus, and AP English. Takes a seat next to several junior and senior boys, laughing and grinning. He is completely oblivious of Jenny. Jenny is inwardly hurt, and shows this for half a second, with a hint of a frown, but then grins as she turns back to her friends. )

Jenny: I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lana. ( Goes back to reading her book ).

Eric : (Raises his eyebrows and turns away. Begins to converse with several other boys )

Micah : (Enters with two other directors and claps his hands) Guys! Come on, let’s get to our entrance points. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time.

Scene Two: Jealousy A Brew

Setting: Stage right actors are sitting on the floor, while Center and stage left actors are milling around the room. Lucas is seated in the bleachers parallel to Jenny, alongside several underclassmen boys and Missy. Micah is speaking to the specialty groups, giving the outer fringes of the group to mingle and speak to each other.

Lana: (Whispering) Hey, isn’t that Missy, talking to Lucas?

Jenny: (Looks up at the two, raises a brow) Wonder why she’d bother with him-

Lana: He’s your boyfriend, how can you say that!

Jenny: (Looks at Lana with a slightly angry look on her face) –When she clearly stated to me that she doesn’t bother with skinny, “dorky”, not athletic guys like him.

Lana: She’s been your friend for years- Oh my gosh! How can you go back to reading when she’s flirting with him?

Jenny: (Looks up from her book with lazy eyes) Lana, leave it alone. She’s having a harmless conversation, read my lips, Lana, HARMLESS.

There is silence for several moments. Lana is watching Missy, and shakes her head at Jenny. Jenny is reading Frankenstein still, and taking notes in the margin of her copy. Missy turns to one boy, and makes a hand gesture. She then turns to Lucas and puts a hand on his knee, leans to his ear and speaks. After a moment Lucas looks up and joins the conversation. Again several moments pass and the group seems to have a good time, Lucas is even laughing.

Lana: OH MY GOSH, JENNY!

Jenny: What, Lana, what!? (Looks up slamming her book shut)

Lana: Well, first of all, I really don’t appreciate your tone, JenJen. (glares) Second, Missy touched his leg. I mean she put her hand on Lucas’s leg, and whispered in his ear! (waves her arms frantically) Hellll-lo! Is that not a red flag in your crowded brain? Jenny! Please, girl, say something to me!

Jenny: (Watching Missy and Lucas intently and is silent for several moments) You know what. I don’t care. (Glares at Lana) Shouldn’t I trust my best friend? Shouldn’t I trust my boyfriend? Is there any reason not for me to trust him? I mean really… The more I linger on the thought, the more I realize YOU are the one I don’t want to trust. I don’t need you, so… So, just leave me alone! (Stands up, and storms off to the restroom. Shaking with anger)

Lana: (Blinks several times, before slowly getting up and ambling after Jenny)

Setting changes to the lady’s room just outside where they were rehearsing. Lana is sitting on the counter with her back facing the mirror. Her legs are swinging, and she has a hand to her head. Her face is contorted with frustration. Jenny is leaning on one of the bathroom doors, with her back to Lana. She has her eyes closed, and her arms crossed. She is shaking her head, and has one foot leaning against the door.

Lana: (Taps her fingernails against the counter) You have to talk to me sometime. You can’t just hide in here. What happens when rehearsal’s over? What are you going to do? Look, I know you’re hurt and angry, but you can’t act like this-

Bathroom door opens. Harmony enters.

Harmony: (Pulls out a hairbrush, slowly begins to brush her hair)

Lana: Jenny. You’re being stupid. He’s just a dumb boy.

Harmony: (Opens her mouth to speak)

Jenny: Yeah, well, she was just my best friend since preschool. No significant loss there, right.

Lana: (Sighs and looks around) Well, it’s not like you can do anything.

Harmony: Oh… Is this about Missy and Luc? (Pauses brushing momentarily to switch from one part of her hair, to the other, and resumes brushing ) She was all over him, I mean, I know I’m cuddly-lovey but she was being just plain trashy. (Shakes her head) Jenny, you have even right on God’s green earth to be angry. In fact, I think you should get even.

Lana: That’s never a good idea. (alarmed at how Jenny will take this suggestion) This is ridiculous Jenny. I mean, really. You’re an intelligent girl, and intelligent people sort out their problems an intelligent way. Revenge is a barbaric way to go about things. Why not go and talk about it with them.

Harmony: (Laughs at Lana) Girl, she’s hurt, and why shouldn’t she be? Her best friend, who KNOWS she’s seeing him! Barbaric, maybe… Effective, YES! Lana, she NEEDS to express her anger before she goes crazy on the wrong person. (To Jenny) Just sock her one… Right in the face! That’ll teach her to mess with your man!

Lana: No, no, no, no, no! She’d get in trouble! Do you know how much trouble she’d be in? Did you stop to think about her reputation? Or her parents? What about Lucas?

Harmony: What about Jenny, Lana? What about her feelings? What about her broken heart? What about those angry feelings tearing at her insides? What about-

Jenny: What about you two just shutting up?! (Slams her fist on the door, and fiddles with the lock. Flings open the door) Just shut up! Close your mouth! Taisez-vous! Fermez vous bousches! Incessant arguing about ME! I don’t care, you don’t care! NO ONE REALLY CARES! (Touches her hands to her temples) Please, GOD, just shut up. (Looks at Lana and Harmony) I will solve this problem MY way. I don’t want to hear another word about it! I want this issue to remain dead silent, or you two will end up like her. (Makes a hand gesture, and then makes a dramatic exit through the bathroom door.)

Harmony: What do you think she meant by that? (Looks at Lana)

Lana: (Slides down from off the counter) I don’t know… But I’m afraid to find out.

Their eyes fall to the floor, and rest on Frankenstein. The page is marked.

Harmony: (Leans down and picks up the book, and shows Lana the highlighted area)

Harmony & Lana in unison: “The thought was madness; it stirred the fiend within me- not I, but she, shall suffer; the murder I have committed because I am forever robbed of all the she could give me, she shall atone. The crime had its source in her; be hers the punishment!” (Their faces lift from the book, and pale in horror).

Lights in the bathroom fade to a spotlight on the girls, and then the spotlight fades on them as the scene closes.

Scene Three: Marked by My Words

Setting: Lights are dimmed, and on the feet of two actors. Fog machines provide a rolling cloud that curls around the feet. Agnus is draped in thick clothing so she isn’t visible. Jenny is wearing a top hat, Trench coat, boots, and holds a piece of cloth to her mouth.

Jenny: (Voice is muffled) You shall do it then?

Agnus: You are sure?

Jenny: I have been so wronged, it would relieve my heart for the deed to be done with.

Agnus: And when I am done?

Jenny: When you are done, tell her “The wicked shall receive a just punishment for their sin”. But mark my words, creature, you must leave her alive. Do you understand me?

Angus: (Grunts) What do you take me for? A hit man?

Jenny: That… Is to be decided.

Agnus: And the date?

Jenny: (Steps into the light just far enough to show her mouth. Smiles) “It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.”

Lighting fades after Jenny speaks. Both characters exit after the light fades.

Scene Four: The Wicked Hath Received

Setting: Dark ally behind the rehearsal studio. The only lights are imitating the moon behind the building and a street lamp on the right side of the stage. Agnus lingers in the shadows with her layers of clothes on. Sounds of the city are in the background.

Missy enters talking on a phone, not paying attention to anything.

Agnus: (Slowly moves out of the shadows, behind Missy with a wooden baseball bat, breathing heavily)

Missy: Like, I know… Yeah, yeah… I’ll be home soon… No, don’t worry, please… PLEASE, she’s nothing, she doesn’t even know…

Agnus: (Raises the bat behind Missy’s head)

The lights fade to black, and two thin spotlights shine on Missy and Agnus

Agnus: You will pay for what you have done! (this sounds more like a grunt than an articulate line)

Missy: (Turns and faces Agnus with a horrified look on her face) What are you talking about?!

Agnus: (Back to the audience, begins to hit Missy) “The wicked shall receive a just punishment for their sin”.

The brawl continues, and after a moment or so, Missy crumples to the floor. Agnus stares at the body and then runs off down the street. The second spotlight on Agnus fades, and the spotlight on missy enlarges, and then fades to black.

Scene Five: All These Things That I Have Done

Setting: The stage is dark and footlights illuminate two feet. The setting seems to be under a street lamp, perhaps outside of a public building. Either a police station or the rehearsal house.

Jenny: (Voice is muffled) What have you done! I specifically asked for you NOT to-

Agnus: I did what I had to do.

Jenny: You did nothing of the sort!

Agnus: I punished her! You said to punish her!

Jenny: But not like this! You should have been humane in going about it! How could you commit such a crime?!

Agnus: HUMANE?! You ask me to be HUMANE?! (Steps out of the foot lights, and a faint spotlight shines on her) You come to me, and tell me of your frustrations! Your angst! You beg me to commit your crime! To be your scapegoat! How dare you ask ME to be humane! (Spotlight strengthens, and Agnus begins to wave a finger in a silhouette’s direction) I am anything but! You knew when you came to me what I was capable of! Do not blame me for your ill-considered solution! Do not blame me for your guilty conscience! I am not the soul at fault!

Jenny: I asked you-

Agnus: Your petty stumbling and requests were not enough to suppress your rage! I am not the one you should be pointing your finger at! Do not think I cannot see you! I was merely a harbor for your long silenced emotions! You know exactly what you said! Her death was not anything you are ashamed of! You-

Jenny: SILENCE! Be gone daemon from HELL! If not for I you would have no purpose!

Agnus: Fool! Do not comfort yourself in thinking that I need you! Because you and I both know the truth!

Jenny: (Steps into the light, and waves her finger at Agnus) The truth is that you do not belong! You are a stick in the mud! A stone among gems! Begone from this life, and torture me no more, creature!

Agnus: Silence to you, girl! I will leave! But may the guilt lie deep within your heart and cut like daggers a thousand times over every time you think of her. Let those daggers leave deep jagged wounds every time you think of what you’ve done! Let your heart bleed every time you are with some one you love. So that you may think twice before you act in such a way!

Jenny: Your words pass by my ears. Leave me alone with my sorrows.

Agnus exits and her spotlight fades as she leaves

Jenny: (Steps forward to front center stage, and removes her hat and scarf. The audience can clearly see her face. ) Leave me alone with my sorrows I said. Wounds in my heart… (Steps to the opposite side of the stage where there seems to be a shadow of something. A lump that resembles a body. ) … These wounds will never heal. For the pain I feel is great, when I think of all these things that I have done. (Bows her head, and in a low voice) “It was a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils.”