CAST OF CHARACTERSLEONA: A female college student, dressed in a cotton nightgown.
JOHN: A male college student.
SAMMIE: A drunk female college student.
ACT I
SCENE 1
AT RISE: Leona is in bed with her eyes closed. The sounds of a party can be heard off. Leona opens her eyes and sits up with a frustrated sigh. She gets up and walks off. We hear the sound of a door closing and the party sounds become more muffled. Leona comes on.
LEONA
(walking back to bed)Two AM. You would think...
Leona sits down on bed.
LEONAI mean, I have class...
She lies down and punches pillow to adjust it.
LEONAIt's not like I'm jealous. It's not like I want him up here with me, instead of enjoying his birthday party.
She closes her eyes. A bright light appears on the side of the stage where the door is supposed to be and the party sounds return. Leona shades her eyes with her arms. JOHN stumbles onto stage, through the light, with SAMMIE leaning against him.
JOHNHey Leona.
John leads Sammie to the other bed.
JOHNSorry about this. I think someone gave her Tequila.
Leona sits up and modestly tugs at her blanket.
JOHNI found her asleep on the bathroom floor. Someone said she was throwing up earlier. I guess no one thought to bring her upstairs when she stopped.
LEONAHow inconsiderate.
John goes off and comes back with a trashcan. He puts the can next to Sammie's bed.
JOHNThe girls downstairs said you have to sleep. Something about an early class.
LEONAYeah.
JOHNI wanna watch her for a while. To make sure she's okay. But I'll be quiet as a mouse. You go back to sleep.
LEONAOkay.
Leona lies back in bed and rolls away from John, but her eyes are still open. A moment passes.
LEONAI wasn't really asleep.
JOHNPretty loud, huh? Sorry about that.
Leona sits up in bed.
LEONAYou don't have to keep apologizing. I mean, it's your birthday. You shouldn't have to apologize for your birthday.
JOHNBad habit. It's the people pleaser in me.
LEONAThat's why everyone's here. Because they all like you.
JOHNIt's nice to be liked.
LEONAYou make it sound like there's a bad side to that.
John comes over and sits on Leona's bed. Leona scoots away nervously.
JOHNI don't get to speak my mind. Not like you do.
LEONAMy big mouth does not serve me well in life.
JOHNYou have respect. And you don't have to hide who you are.
LEONAI hide sometimes.
JOHNWhen?
Leona looks away.
JOHNSee. You can't even come up with an example.
LEONAIt's not...
JOHNI never thought I'd see the day. Leona McKean speechless.
LEONAMaybe I'm hiding now.
JOHN
(teasing)There's something your not saying?
LEONAYes.
JOHNC'mon then. Spit it out. Say what's on your mind-
LEONA
(blurts)Maybe I want you in bed with me.
JOHN
(chuckling)That's a good one.
LEONADon't laugh at me.
John shakes his head, still laughing. Leona yanks at the covers, putting him off balance.
LEONAI said shut up.
John stands and kicks off his shoes.
LEONAWhat're you doing?
John crawls under the covers, next to her.
JOHNLet it never be said that I let a woman go to sleep angry. It's the people pleaser in me, rearing its ugly head again.
Leona sits tensely on the bed next to him. John rubs a hand on her arm. The caress is meant to be friendly and soothing but it has the opposite effect on Leona.
LEONAI'm not mad.
John pats her arm.
JOHNThen relax.
Leona takes a breath but her body remains tense.
JOHNI like how honest you are. I have friends, some people might even say too many friends, but the friendship I have with you is special because I know you won't pull any punches.
LEONANow you're making me feel bad.
JOHNWhy?
LEONAI haven't been completely honest with you.
JOHNAbout what?
LEONAI like you.
JOHNI like you, too.
LEONANo. Not like that. A stupid schoolgirl crush kinda like.
John stares at her, surprised.
LEONA
(Babbling)I knew it would hurt our friendship. And I didn't want that. I value what we have too and I hate that by sating-
JOHNHey. Hey. It's okay.
John puts some distance between them on the bed.
JOHNYou like me.
(shakes his head) I didn't expect you to say that.
LEONACould this just be one of those things I told you in confidence that solidifies our friendship? Instead of the thing I told you that ruined it?
John reaches out and touches her face.
LEONADon't do that.
JOHNWhat?
LEONAFeel all sorry for me.
John moves in closer to her on the bed.
JOHNI don't.
John leans in to kiss Leona. Stunned, Leona is frozen. After a moment of kissing her frozen lips, John pulls away.
JOHN
(sighing)Sorry. I figured it was worth a try. We couldn't know if there was chemistry until we-
LEONAWhat? Wait! That wasn't rejection. That was shock.
Leona shakes her head, as if shaking the fog from her brain.
LEONAYou didn't give me any warning. And I didn't ever consider the possibility that you'd ever want to kiss me. Even now, I'm wondering if it really happened.
JOHNI need to give you warning?
Leona unclenches her body and tries to relax. She folds her hand on her stomach and stares at him.
JOHNReady now?
Leona nods. John leans in and kisses her. He starts out slow but Leona is impatient. She slides her hands under his shirt and pushes it up.
JOHNTrying to undress me already?
She uses the opportunity to take his shirt completely off.
JOHNYou wanna slow down?
LEONANo.
Leona is the one to initiate the kiss this time. Sammie flops around on her bed. John pulls back.
JOHNWhat was that?
LEONAYou sure like to talk.
JOHNI'm a considerate lover.
LEONAAre you okay with this? Are you okay with where this is going?
JOHNAre you?
LEONAWeather this is romance or just a birthday fuck, I have no doubts. I want to be with you. And I won't regret it.
JOHNLeona, you seem to be under the impression that girls are falling at my feet.
LEONASure. Everyone likes you.
JOHNNot like this.
LEONAYou don't want to me my girlfriend.
(grimacing)I mean, boyfriend.
JOHN
(smiling)Where did you get the impression that I'm not interested in being your girlfriend?
LEONAWhat are you saying? You wanna be my girlfriend?
John leans in and kisses Leona.
LEONAThat's not an answer.
JOHNYes, it is.
John kisses her again. After a moment, Sammie sits up.
SAMMIELeo...Leona?
Leona jerks away from John.
LEONAYeah, hon?
SAMMIEThey're still partying?
LEONAYeah. Downstairs. They're still partying.
Sammie gets up and stumbles from her bed.
SAMMIEHafta go pee.
Sammie stumbles off.
JOHNDo you think she'd notice...?
LEONAYeah.
(sighing)I don't think we can. Not tonight, anyway.
JOHNYeah.
LEONA
(desperately)Is there anyplace else?
JOHNHey. It's okay. This is not a one-time thing.
LEONAReally?
JOHNAfter that little taste?
LEONAI'm sure other girls-
JOHNNot the girls I know.
Sammie stumbles back on, stops and covers her mouth, and then stumbles quickly off.
LEONA
(looking at John with disappointment)I suppose you should go.
JOHNYou know, this is only a secret if you want it to be.
LEONAI wasn't sure...
JOHNYou can omit the part where I'm you're girlfriend. But the part about you being my girlfriend, I was kinda looking forward to telling that.
LEONASo...I'm you're girlfriend. Right now, I'm you're girlfriend.
John nods.
LEONA
(scrunches up her nose and squeaks)I'm you're girlfriend.
Leona hits the bed with open palms.
LEONAOh! And we're gonna have sex. Not just one time. But lots of sex!
JOHNYes. Much with the sex.
Sammie stumbles back on and flops down on her bed. Sammie leans up and looks over at John.
SAMMIEJohn?
JOHNYeah.
SAMMIEWhat're you doing here?
LEONALet's talk about that in the morning.
SAMMIE'K.
John goes over to Sammie's bed.
JOHNLeona is my new girlfriend. She didn't want me to tell you because she's afraid you'll be jealous.
LEONAShut up!
John stands.
JOHNGo to bed. Both of you.
(to Leona) You've got a test in the morning and a long night after that of the 'more sex' part.
LEONAHappy Birthday.
JOHNBest birthday I've had in years.
John walks off.
(THE END)