entry five: an excerpt

ACT I

1.1 (MAX, ROSE: clean up)

Lights up. MAX and ROSE are in the living room. MAX (25) is cleaning up the room for Thanksgiving dinner while ROSE (19) is sitting on the dining table, reading Anais Nin.

MAX

Can you help?

ROSE

You seem to be doing just fine.

MAX

I'm trying to sort this shit out before Mum- Fuck, I swear nothing has moved since we were last here. What the- Why is there a-

ROSE

Is that a dictaphone? Jesus, I didn't know Mum wrote.

MAX presses 'play' and their mother, (JOANNA)'s voice fills the room.

JOANNA

His eyes, emerald green with gold flecks, pierce my soul, his lips, soft and warm, hidden under a scruff of beard... And when he took my hand in his, I felt butterflies for the first time, a pulsating, throbbing, flushed-

ROSE

Oh, Jesus-

MAX

That's enough of that.

The dictaphone is silenced. ROSE hops down off the table and saunters around MAX, reading aloud from her book-

ROSE

"And in his eyes he had the look of the cat who inspires a desire to caress but loves no one, who never feels he must respond to the impulses he arouses."

Laughing-

MAX

Get out! You're disgusting!

ROSE

It's Anais Nin, you uncultured peasant. Besides, you're just jealous that Mum's getting more.

MAX

I'm happy waiting for the right guy.

ROSE

Your fairytale prince.

MAX

Exactly.

A silence.

MAX (cont'd)

I wonder what he's like. Mum's new boyfriend.

ROSE

Probably a dick.

MAX

Probably.

ROSE

How long?

MAX

What?

ROSE

How long do you reckon this one'll last?

MAX

With Mum's track record? Who knows. She seems pretty serious about him though. Writing poetry and everything.

ROSE

I hope he's not one of those wierdos, like an accordion player, or a china doll collector, or something.

MAX

It's good to have you home again Rose.

ROSE

Missed you. It's weird coming home, do you feel that?

MAX

Yeah. Strange, huh? Nothing's really changed, but like, so much has. You know?

ROSE

Mm.

MAX

Anyway. I should clear some of this junk away before the gross lovebirds arrive. Can I put it in your room?

ROSE

     Sure.

MAX picks up a box and leaves the room. ROSE heads over to the old record player, and begins to flick through. She finds one, and puts it on to play. Some French something, with the song 'Bang Bang' playing later.

End scene.

~

Until then,
Spinach x