CHARACTERSMANDY: Young Female dressed in a Parochial School Uniform.
ABIGAIL: Young Female dressed in a Parochial School Uniform.
ACT I
(An empty classroom. A stool sits at center with two chairs flanking it. MANDY and ABIGAIL, a pair of high school seniors wearing Parochial School Uniforms, walk on each caring a pad of art paper and a pencil.)
MANDYShe said the room is free until next period.
ABIGAILThis is so lame.
MANDYIt's what we get.
(Mandy tears a piece of paper from her drawing pad, crumples it up, and puts in on the stool. Both girls take a chair to sit on.)
ABIGAILWe only skipped one class.
MANDYIt's called penance. You reap what you sow and all that.
ABIGAILIt was just so weird to see you all 'yes, ma'am' with Sister Mary.
MANDYYou do the crime you do the time.
ABIGAILIt was your idea to skip.
MANDYI know. And we had fun. But we got caught. So now we pay.
ABIGAILSometimes I just don't get you.
MANDYThere's nothing to get. We should get to work. She's gonna expect to see something when the period's over.
ABIGAILOkay. What're we doing?
MANDYDrawing the paper from different perspectives.
ABIGAILSounds incredibly boring.
MANDYJust do it, okay?
(They both open their sketchpads and begin to draw.)
ABIGAILSister Mary is so creepy.
MANDYShe's old. If you were old, you'd be creepy too.
ABIGAILLike a million years old.
MANDYCan we just work, please?
(Mandy and Abigail sketch in silence.)
ABIGAILGod, I hate this.
MANDYTaking the lords name in vain. Great way to spend our penance.
ABIGAILLike I care.
MANDYWell, I do.
ABIGAILWhat's up with you? First you're like Sister Mary's new favorite-
MANDYLook who's calling the kettle black.
ABIGAILYou can't even compare them. Mr. Roth is cool-
MANDYHe's old and disgusting and I think he's a little bit of a pervert.
ABIGAILMaybe we should just get back to work.
MANDYYeah. Maybe...Look, she's been nice to me. Since my uncle died in Iraq she's really helped me understand-
ABIGAILI thought you said you never even met your uncle-
MANDYThat's my mom's fault, not mine. And it just made this whole thing more real for me.
ABIGAILOkay.
MANDYI know you can't get it-
ABIGAILI get it-
MANDYNo you don't-
ABIGAILJust the other day Mr. Roth said something that made me really think about it.
MANDYYou have such a crush on him.
ABIGAILNo, I don't.
MANDYThen why're you always talking about him?
ABIGAILBecause he makes me think.
MANDYIn a sexy way.
ABIGAILYou're disgusting. I was thinking about what he told us about when he was sent away to serve our country.
MANDYOh, yeah. That was kinda sad. How he saw all that carnage and despair. But at least it brought him back to god.
ABIGAILBut, that's my point, it doesn't seem like things have changed that much. We're still fighting senseless wars, just now we're fighting them over god.
MANDYThey're not senseless.
ABIGAILIt just made me think.
MANDYWell don't think stuff like that.
ABIGAILMr. Roth said we should think. That finding our own spirituality is important.
MANDYI don't think that's what he meant.
ABIGAILIt just seemed like he was saying there's a choice.
MANDYThis is a catholic girls school. By definition, we're catholic girls. You can't not be catholic and go here.
ABIGAILI don't know.
MANDYWhat? You want to be some sort of heathen?
ABIGAILYou sound like Sister Mary.
MANDYSister Mary may be from the Stone Age but she's got some things right. People who don't believe are lost.
ABIGAILWhen did you become a nun?
MANDYMr. Roth was telling us that story because he found god again. That was the point of his story. That he came back to Christ.
ABIGAILI know what he was saying. I got what the story meant to him. But I'm saying that what he said touched me. And it made the whole thing more real for me. Like you're uncle dying made the whole thing more real for you.
MANDYOkay.
ABIGAILIts just...the whole war thing...it screws with my head. There are all these people fighting over whose god is right, but what if they're all wrong-
MANDYAnd there's no god?
ABIGAILMaybe.
MANDYAnd you don't want to go to church anymore-
ABIGAILI don't know.
MANDYChurch is about community. It's about togetherness. You give up on god and you've given up on that.
ABIGAILYou're twisting my words-
MANDYHave you been taking your Prozac? Because it seems like this is depressive talk.
ABIGAILThinking about things doesn't mean I'm depressed.
MANDYWell, let me set you straight. Everyone believes in god. That's just the way it is.
ABIGAILNot everyone.
MANDYYeah, looser outsiders that can't get a date, they don't believe because they're pathetic.
ABIGAILI'm just asking questions. What's so wrong with asking questions?
MANDYYou're questioning your faith, that's what's wrong.
ABIGAILI'm not sure I ever had any faith. I think I've just been going along-
MANDYAnd what's so wrong about that?
ABIGAILIt doesn't seem right.
MANDYMy mom says that sometime you have to tell yourself little lies to make it through the day. You have to tell yourself what you think is true until you believe it's true. Faith is about believing what you can't see. About trusting and being vigilant.
ABIGAILStraight from Sister Mary's lips.
MANDYYeah. So what?
ABIGAILShe's a mean old woman. That hates everyone. She seems to get pleasure in making our lives harder. We skip one class and have to make up for it three times? How fair is that?
MANDYFair and right aren't always the same thing. And she can be nice. She was nice to me.
ABIGAILIf I have a crush on Mr. Roth, then you have a crush on Sister Mary.
MANDYNow you're being sick.
ABIGAILFine. Think what you want. I've just never had one of those moments that tell me god exists.
MANDYNeither have I.
ABIGAILI thought you had. I remember you sharing in class-
MANDYI don't want to be on the outside of things. And you don't either. So you need to stop talking like this.
ABIGAILRight. Your right. I guess I just took what he said wrong.
MANDYYou just need to think less. Stop over thinking things.
ABIGAILMaybe I need to ask mom to take me to the doctor. Maybe my pills aren't working.
MANDYI think that's a good idea.
ABIGAIL
(changing the subject) How many ways can you look at a crumpled piece of paper?
MANDYShe said something about how there are a bunch of different perspectives we could capture.
ABIGAILOkay.
MANDYI just see one.
ABIGAILYeah. Me too.
MANDYThree periods. I can't believe she's making us do this for the next three days.
ABIGAILI thought you were all down with doing penance for our crimes?
MANDYI am. Sorta.
ABIGAILAt least it was worth it.
MANDYIt was a beautiful day. We couldn't be cooped up inside.
ABIGAILSo, you may hate the punishment, but you don't regret the sin?
MANDYI'd do it again, in a heartbeat.
(THE END)