NO NEED APOLOGIES FROM A 15 YEAR OLD
BY JEFFREY LO (DOWNLOAD PDF HERE)
Darkness.
We hear the deep breaths of someone crying.
Lights slowly rise on GETH, a fifteen year old boy sitting in his room.
He is the one crying.
He is alone.
It is summer vacation.
GETH sits in silence for some moments.
After a moment, the tears stop.
After another moment, the tears dry up.
The moment after that, BRIE appears behind GETH.
BRIE: Geth.
GETH: Huh?
BRIE: You ok?
GETH: Brie?
BRIE: Um. Yeah.
GETH: What are you doing here?
BRIE: Aren’t you my friend?
GETH: But –
BRIE: Are you ok?
GETH: I don’t know anymore.
BRIE: Why not?
GETH: I’m confused.
BRIE: Life can be confusing.
GETH: No, not that –
BRIE: No?
GETH: I mean, yeah I guess life can be confusing but that’s not what I –
BRIE: Meant?
GETH: Yeah.
BRIE: Then tell me what you mean.
GETH stares at BRIE.
Silence.
Beat.
GETH: I forgot the question.
BRIE: You said you were confused.
GETH: Right.
BRIE: I asked if you were ok.
GETH: Right.
BRIE: You said you didn’t know anymore.
GETH: Right.
BRIE: Because you’re confused.
GETH: I’m remembering now.
BRIE: Why are you confused?
GETH: Umm…
GETH again, can’t help but just stare at BRIE.
GETH: Are you alive?
BRIE: Oh.
GETH: Oh?
BRIE: No.
GETH: No.
BRIE: No.
GETH: That’s what I thought.
BRIE: So?
GETH: So, like, what are you doing here?
Pause.
BRIE: Checking in on you.
GETH: But how?
BRIE: I don’t know.
GETH: You don’t know?
BRIE: No, I just thought I wanted to see how my friend was doing and here I am.
GETH: Here you are…
BRIE: Yes.
Pause.
GETH: Are you real?
BRIE: I don’t know.
GETH: You don’t know again…
BRIE: I don’t know a lot of things.
GETH: I’m noticing.
BRIE: This is all new to me.
GETH: Right… Right.
Pause.
Pause.
Silence.
BRIE: Geth?
GETH: Why did you do it?
BRIE: What?
GETH: Why did you kill yourself?
BRIE: Oh… I want to know how you are doi –
GETH: If you say you are dead then you are dead. But you might really be here so I need to know. Why did you kill yourself? Why would you do that?
BRIE: This isn’t about you –
GETH: But it is, in a way. Not the only way of course, but in some ways it is.
BRIE: You were a great friend.
GETH: I KNOW!
A brief tense pause.
GETH: I know I was a great friend.
BRIE: And I thank you for that.
GETH: And I’m sorry.
BRIE: For what?
GETH: What I didn’t do.
BRIE: What didn’t you do?
GETH: I don’t know!
BRIE: You have nothing to be sorry for.
GETH: Then why do I feel sorry?
BRIE: You were a great friend.
GETH: But I wasn’t enough.
Pause.
GETH: I need to know why you did it. Why you killed your... -
Pause.
BRIE: Why?
GETH: Why?
BRIE: Why do you need to know?
GETH: BECAUSE – … Because… Because I think I loved you? And I’m not sure if I did, to be honest. Because I’m just a kid. We are just kids… Were… just kids. So no, I don’t know if I loved you because who the hell am I to know what love is but… I wanted to find out. We should have had the opportunity to find out. And we didn’t. And things won’t be the same. For you, for me, for anyone. So the reason… whoever the reason… whatever the reason… why you killed yourself… Fuck whatever it is.
GETH, again, is crying.
BRIE: Geth… -
GETH: Whatever it is that made you do it. Fuck it.
BRIE: Geth… The reason I did it? I’m sorry but…
Pause.
BRIE: I don’t know.
Pause.
BRIE: But thank you.
BRIE disappears.
GETH is left alone.
Again.
Silence.
Lights fade.
END OF PLAY.