Storm

As Che walked down the road he noticed someone on the other side of the street. She had light brown skin, fabulous bone structure, stylish, yet enigmatic and on trend. One of those people you look at who raises your brow and you're unsure if you're in love or going to throw up. Either way he had no idea where she was going or how he truly felt about her. His mind was on other things like the hook-up he had just escaped. He was an older man which wasn't out of the box for our Che. This man was broad chested, covered in hair and muscles, reasonably intelligent, and a quarterback in the sack. But the sex wasn't what caused Che to sneak out while the man took a snooze. It was the after-glow dialogue. The conversation was as follows:

Man: If I give up something then you should have to give up something as well.
Che: Excuse me?
Man: That's fair right?
Che: I don't know. I guess it depends
Man: If I gave up something really important to me.
Che: I don't see how this is relevant to...
Man: Just indulge me.
Che: Ok...then yes if you gave up something then yeah I think it would be fair that gave up something as well. Where the hell are you going with this?
Man: So if I have to give up my flag.
Che: Nope. I don't mix sex and politics.
Man: If I have to give up my flag then I think black people should have to give up something as well.
CHE
Man: It's only fair like you said.
Che: And what would you have us give up?
Man: The N word. Now I'm not saying I use it and I was raised where that just wasn't a word that you used. But you look at the music and movies today and it's everywhere.
Che: Yes it is.
Man:  And do you agree with it.
Che: Well there was a whole movement to reclaim the word, and it didn't originate with us.
Man: Now don't get hostile.
Che: I'm not I'm merely stating the facts. Why would you want to hold onto the flag in the first place.
Man: It's my heritage.
Che: Some may say that the word is to. Now I don't agree with its rampant use and plenty of musicians are against using it altogether. However, it is part of the black experience. Why would you ask me that?
Man: Well you seem like a nice guy and it
Che: You mean a non-threatening black man.
Man: Yeah. And it had been mulling in my head. I mean I have ancestors who died for the South in my family I just don't agree that I should have to stop flying my flag because it offends some people.
Che: You know blacks died on both sided of that war, many who were forced to fight. It's more about what the flag stands for. A symbol of Jim Crow. Really what it was used to support years after the Civil War was over.
Man: Still if I can't say it you can't say it. It's a terrible word and a beautiful flag.
Che: So you feel cheated.
Man: I grew up my whole life respecting and loving everyone that I came into contact with and this is a free country. That word is evil and y'all use it all the time. If this is about making the world a better place then you can't use it anymore.
Che: We are not the only people who use the word. Hispanics, Whites, Asians all people use it.
Man: That's just what I believe.

Che's stomach rolled with the thunder in his brain and he excused himself to the restroom. When he returned he found the man had been swept into a deep slumber. So he quietly dressed and slipped out the front door. What surprised him most was that the man was so resolved and thought himself  absolutely free and right in his indignation. "Are white people in this country that far gone?" " How can one be so progressive and so backwards at the same time?" The questions knocked round Che's head like balls on a billiards table.What truly haunted him was that he had missed a chance to set a man straight. He told himself then and there that he'd stop looking for love on OK Cupid. Though he knew that wouldn't calm the storm.

DO

There must be something I can do
This ink is inconsequential
There must be something we can do
Our brothers and sisters are dying in droves
There must be something you can do
Release your language to Peace and Respect
There must be something I can do
While I take daily stabs at century old calamity
I fear the recompense from those whom I played 4-square
We are more than I
Now to Arms
Now to the Wars of Speech
There is something that I can do and I am no longer afraid to do it.

FORT

Lights Up. We see a dock on a lake at sunrise. The dock extends on a diagonal down stage left with a beach on the right. There are three boys on the beach asleep on a blanket they are in their late teens. It is summer, they are all dressed accordingly. There is a cooler with beer in it and several bottles of whiskey around. There is a girl sitting at the edge of the dock. The girl looks at us.

Jen: If God loves us all then why does he force us to say goodbye to those whom we love the most. Not our parents but those siblings that we never knew we had. The ones he put in our lives, forced us to bleed for. Life is full of inpasses, moments of maturation that we have to go through. He puts the challenge to us to stay connected but history tells us that we a deemed to loose touch. It’s Sunday. It used to be my least favorite day of the week but because of those oafs over there it’s now my favorite. My brothers from another mother. My brothers in Christ.  

Hey Dicks.The sun’s coming up are we going to do this shit or not.

Ted: Don’t call me a dick unless you have one.

Jess: I’ve still got bigger balls than you do.

Ted: Now we solved that mystery in Cozumel, so you know I’m right.

Jess: Just wake them up.

Ted: Hell no, you’re the only one who can wake Jared up, I don’t need another broken rib.

Jess (starting to wake up): If you’re too much of a pussy...

Ted: Okay okay.

Ted looks around for a bottle of whisky, opens it up and goes to Jared who’s next to him.

Wafting the smell to Jared’s nose.

Ted: Jared there’s somebody who wants to talk to you,

Jared: Well tell them I’m still asleep.

Ted: I’ve got a drink

Jared wakes up and takes the bottle from ted and takes a swig

Jared: See Jess, he does know how to wake me up.

Ted: Bitch.

Jared: I just wanted you to get me a drink before I got up. Best cure for a hangover is...

Ted/Jared/Jess: Keep drinking.

Jess: Sun’s barely up and you’re already sinning.

Jared: Jesus still loves me.

Ted: Just because the bible says so, doesnt means it’s the truth.

Jared(after another swig): Lee still asleep?

Jess: Looks that way.

Ted: Anybody want to bake?

Jared: I can’t believe you have to actually ask that.

Jess: Stupid question

Ted: Hey, there are no stupid questions.

Jess: So are we still going to do this ritual

Ted(rolling a joint): I am doing it already.

Jess: You know what I mean.

Jared: I’m a little surprised you’d actually follow through with some stupid game from a retreat. I mean we’ve been on a hundred of these things and you know they all bullshit. Plus. We were all baked out of our heads, least I was. How the hell did you remember it.

Jess: Look I agree with the bullshit part, I just think it’s be important for us to do something. I mean it’s our last summer together.

Ted (still rolling the joint): We are not going to loose each other Jessica. Ok Pastor B was just doing some transitional shit out of a book he read, you know he doesn’t know what he’s doing with us. We’re his first class to graduate.

Lee: Plus he’s drunk half the time.

Jared: AMEN! Knew he wasn’t asleep.

Lee: How am I supposed to with you people yammering so much.

Jared: YOU PEOPLE!?!?

Lee: Shut the hell up

Jared: I’m just saying we’ve been friends since grade school

Lee: You know I’m not racist.

Jared: I know, I just like to fuck with you while you’re waking up. (handing Lee the bottle) Here’s your reward for surviving the  reverse racism.

Lee: Thank you.

Ted: Joint time.

Jess: Finally.

Ted: Now Jared don’t Nigga Lip it.

Jared: Asshole.

Ted lights up

Lee: So he can say it.

Ted: He gave me permission.

Jess: Doesn’t mean you should say it.

Jared: Still bothers me.

Ted: When you stop giving Lee shit, I’ll stop.

Jared: That’s Fair.

Lee: It’ll never happen.

Jess: Ok. So one ritual down now we’ve got one more.

Lee: Why are we going to do this,

Jess going to her purse and takes out pens and paper and passes them out.

Jess: We all write down why much we love one another, put it in a box,and swear in ten years we’ll be back to this spot. Our Post retreat Fort, open it, and read them out loud.

Jared: It’s a dock at your lake house.

Lee: We did build a fort here ten years ago.

Jess: Thank you Lee.

Jess takes a toke and passes.

Jen: Ten years from now we return to this spot  re open the box and read them to one another.

Jared: You said that already and sure I’ll cooperate.

Ted: I’m down.

Lee: I already told you I would.

They all begin to write. Lights down.

Lights up. We see the dock, it is the middle of the day in the summer. Jared enters he is dressed in black slacks, a black dress shirt and tie. He walks to the end of the dock and lights a cigarette. He then goes to the beach and begins to dig a hole in the sand, finds nothing, moves to another spot and begins to dig again. Lee enters, in similar clothing.

Lee: What are you doing?

Jared: It’s got to be here.

Lee: What?

Jared: What do you mean what the fucking box.

Lee: There’s no way.

Jared: Yes there is, no one even/

Lee: It’s been ten years man.

Jared: Stop being so fatalistic.

Lee: Fatalistic?

Jared: It means negative.

Lee: I’m pretty sure it means you’ve gone crazy.

Jared: Like having a negative pessimistic outlook on a situation. On purpose.

Lee: Stop that shit man, you’ve done that since we were kids. Explaining shit to me like I’m five. I never called you out on it/

Jared: You did.

Lee: No. Ted did, I just agreed that you were full of shit.

Jared stops digging.

Jared: Fuck man he’s gone/

Lee: It was his fault anyway.

Jared: How the fuck can you say that?

Lee: He OD’d Jared. He knew what he was doing when he stuck that needle in his arm.

Jared: Asshole, He’s Dead. Not away on some vacation, how can you/

Lee: Look man I’m hurting same as you but he knew better.

Jared: You have no idea what he was going through.

Lee: I don’t care. If he loved us he wouldn’t have done it.

Jared: You make it sound like he choose to die.

Lee: Maybe he did.

Beat

Lee: I hadn’t really talked to him in years, you?

Jared: A little. We grew apart.

Lee: You left.

Jared: I went to school.

Lee: Fuck you man. There’s phones, email. You left. You went away and never looked back. I didn’t hear from you until we had graduated college.

Jared: Phones work both ways.

Lee: I’m not saying I didn’t see you ever becuase I did. But we were brothers. Not that brothers in Christ bullshit. We spent all of lives together since we were two.

Jared: I know, I just got caught up. It happens, life hasn’t been easy for me.  

Lee: Me either, but how would you know.

Jared: God dammit we just buried our friend would you lay off.

Lee: No. He listened to you more than anyone even as bullheaded as he was he actually did what you told him.

Jared: You think I didn’t try/ I told him to stop, we always said..look you didn’t talk to him either so don’t giving me shit. Just help me find the damn box.

Lee: Where the hell is Jen, she buried it.

Jared: She couldn’t come. I talked to her after you told me and she just couldn’t take it.

Lee: Damn

Jared: Yeah. Of all of us I think she had a thing for him.

Lee: Nope. She was in love with you.

Jared: I’m gay.

Lee: Told me when we were fifteen. Hand on the bible.

Jared: Shit.

Lee: I always knew about you, she just never saw it. In the end I don’t think it mattered to her.I think she put it over there, on the other side of the dock.

Jared: Really?

Lee: Yeah, you smoke too much weed.

Jared crawls under the dock and exits stage left. Lee pulls out a flask from his pocket, pours some on the sand then takes a long sip.

Lee: Can’t believe you’re gone brother.

Jared returns with the box.

Jared: It was fucking there.

Lee: Told yah. You smoke too much.

Jared: Speaking of (Pulls out a joint and lights it, he smokes)

Ted enters from the right and walks to the end of the dock

Lee: Next time remember were the damn box is on your own.

Jared: Not funny.

Lee: Open it.

Jared pulls out the paper and hands one to Lee.

Lee: Why you give me mine dumbass I know what I wrote, read his.

Ted: God, I just want to thank you for giving me these crazy mofos to grow up with. It’s through their love that I am sure that you exist. Not some man standing behind a pulpit. Even if we grow apart and we probably will I know our love will never fade. On this beach today I will always do the right thing by them and love them sink or swim. Thank you. P.S Future self in 10 years when you read this answer me this. Did you ever find another batch of people that loved you like this and is sex all I hoped it was?

Lee: Of course he ends with that.

Jared: Yeah. Hand me the flask.

Lights Out.

End of Play.