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| MARIA CLARISSA ESTUAR |
| Ask Me Again When I'm 30 |
| THIS IS PART OF THE LITERATURA READING SERIES | CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO LITERATURA |
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| An Excerpt From a Full-Length Play CHARACTERS MAREN 27, introverted, manages a bookstore AWI 27, slightly overweight, funny girl who’s between careers BRENNA 27, jaded, works in her family’s business YURI fancies himself as a Casanova JON Maren’s longtime crush MIKE a guy who’s intimately connected to Brenna ACT ONE MAREN is sitting alone on pillows set on the floor in the upstairs of a Moroccan-style resto/bar somewhere in Manila. She can’t quite sit still: first pulling up the neckline of the dress that she’s wearing, and then pulling it back down. MAREN Awi will kill me if she sees I tried getting rid of this cleavage. But it really is just too much. Too much. Maren looks up, noticing for the music wafting through the restaurant’s sound system: Crystal Waters’ 100% Love. MAREN Of course. I spent four years in high school trying to escape this noise and here it is, coming back to haunt me. Maren takes a sip from the nearly-empty glass in front of her. She pulls the dress neckline up again. MAREN Why am I even bothering? It’s not as if anyone is going to notice either way. YURI ENTERS. He’s a flashy character, with a chunky gold bracelet on one wrist and an inappropriately tight shirt. He notices Maren right away. YURI Looks like I came just in time. C’mon, let’s dance! He tries to pull Maren to her feet. Maren pulls back. MAREN Sorry, I don’t dance. YURI (shrugs his shoulders) Fine by me. I’ll just sit with you then. He sits beside her, not waiting for an invitation. YURI How do you like this: a Moroccan nightmare straight from the ‘90s? Whoever set all this up had a weird sense of humor. Maren hesitates for a while before speaking again. MAREN Excuse me... that seat—I mean, that space is taken. Actually, this whole area is taken. YURI Still the ice queen, I see. But then, I guess I should thank my lucky stars that you’re even speaking to me. (looks around) Whoever thought this was a good place for the reunion should be shot. Didn’t think of all you ladies who’d come decked out in those dresses. I really should look into it... maybe it was one of the guys from varsity, wanted to give us a chance at some cheap panty shots. If that’s the case, then it’s genius! Maren is shocked and a bit disgusted even. MAREN Do I know you? YURI (crosses his arms) Maren, you’re an embarrassment to the whole reunion tradition. Aren’t you supposed to be all puffed up, eager to cut down any old ghosts who make the mistake of saying hello to you? Or is that exactly what you’re doing, pretending not to know me to show how important you’ve become just 10 years after graduation? MAREN (realizing) Yuri. I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. YURI (good-naturedly) It’s the shaved head, isn’t it? MAREN It is a different look for you. If I’m not mistaken, you used to get sent to the principal’s office all the time because your hair always reached your collar. YURI That was when I had hair. Now I have to Vin Diesel things and make people wonder if I went with this look because I wanted to or because I had to. Works well with the ladies though, can’t complain about that. The music switches to Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy. YURI Hey, that should be my song! (hams it up as he sings along) Too sexy for my body... too sexy for the body... the way you’re disco dancing... MAREN (forces herself to smile) Suits you and your, you know... (points to his head) Yuri smiles widely. He starts flaying his arms about in time with the music. YURI So Maren, how have you been? If nobody’s told you, the reunion’s downstairs. MAREN I know. I just came up here to rest a bit. YURI Perfect. We can keep each other company. MAREN The truth is I’d rather be... I’d really prefer to wait alone. YURI Oh, c’mon, just for a while, so we can catch up. Yuri moves closer, knocking down Maren’s bag, a large, rectangular affair. The bag lands on the floor with a thump. Maren seems a bit embarrassed. YURI What’s in this, a brick? (peers into the bag) Worse, a book! Afraid the world would self-destruct some time during the reunion so you thought, might as well take this along so you can finish it? MAREN It’s a habit, I guess, to have one in my bag everywhere I go. YURI This is just like you. If I remember right, you were the girl who went to what, one party every year in high school? And right after you arrive, you’d hang out with your friends in one of the bedroom with your friends—all girls of course—and you wouldn’t come out until it was time to go. MAREN May I have my book back? Yuri shrugs his shoulders and hands her the book. Maren puts it back inside her bag. MAREN What about you—why did you come up here? Also trying to escape the madness for a while? YURI Heck no. I wanted to check the upstairs. People were saying how dark it was up here, thought I’d get to see some stuff going down. I guess nobody’s drunk enough yet to try anything, but give us another hour or so and things will get interesting, I tell you. MAREN (her voice stiff) That’s a charming thought. My friends should be coming up shortly, so if you don’t mind... YURI Don’t tell me... Awi and Brenna? I think I saw them downstairs. You should get a medal. Some of the people who got married after college have split up, but you three are still friends? I don’t even talk to my friends from high school anymore. (uncrosses his legs with difficulty) I change my mind. This is no place for a reunion. Reminds me how unlimber I’ve become. But don’t worry, I’ve still got some working parts on me. I’m not totally useless in the areas that really count. He wiggles his eyebrows at Maren in a naughty way. Maren takes a long sip from her glass and empties it. She encircles the glass with both hands as a defensive gesture, closing her body effectively at Yuri. The techno music continues. YURI I love this music! Don’t you wish the ‘90s didn’t end? (notices Maren’s empty glass) Hey, you want another drink? MAREN No, I’m fine. YURI What’s this—a virgin orange juice, I bet. It will only take me a minute to go down to the bar. Or if you want, I’ll get one of the waiters to serve us. That is, if you don’t mind the intrusion. If you ask me though, I wouldn’t mind if I had you all to myself... He attempts to take the glass from Maren, covering her fingers with his. Maren pulls away. YURI Can’t blame a guy for trying. I bet 90% of the guys downstairs are here trying to score, doesn’t matter if they’re married or not. You’re hoping to see someone? MAREN No one in particular. YURI Really? I don’t know. Something tells me you wouldn’t mind seeing who was that guy again? Tall, always had that earnest look that got all the ladies? Jon. Maren forgets to put on any pretension and lets herself perk up. MAREN Is he here? YURI (crosses his arms again) And you said you didn’t want to see anyone in particular. MAREN (stuttering a bit) I have to admit, I am a little bit curious about him. YURI Makes sense. You used to have the biggest crush on him. Maren is embarrassed. YURI You think no one knew about that didn’t you? But I noticed. She is saved from having to reply as her two friends enter. BRENNA sits with them first. Brenna is wearing a dressy black top and slacks, nothing too flashy. She bears a couple of plates of food, which she sets on the low table. BRENNA It’s still not safe to go back down there. The perk pusher ex-cheerleaders are still running the show. I got all the food and drinks I can carry so that we wouldn’t have to go back down for a while. Don’t worry, I didn’t get anything with alcohol. I know we agreed to— (looks at Yuri) Do we know you? YURI Not well enough as I’d like. BRENNA Eh? (eyebrow shoots up) Brenna wrinkles her nose with distaste. AWI sits with them and starts talking a mile a minute. The first thing that one notices about her is her appearance: ‘90s style clothes, teased bangs. AWI Five, Maren. Remember that number. Five batchmates asked me when I got married. MAREN Why are you upset? I don’t get it. AWI They asked me if I got married because they thought I was pregnant. I spent five months in constant pain in exhaustion, almost living in the gym, and people still think I look pregnant? BRENNA There’s a poetic symmetry in there somewhere. Five months at the gym, five people thought you were pregnant. Think of it this way: at least she automatically assumed you were married. She thinks you’re not the kind of girl who gets knocked up before getting a ring on her finger. AWI How am I going to face the Great Trainwreck now? I thought when my ex sees me now, he’d think, she’s the one who got away. Now he’s going to think I’m the whale that got away. If he takes one look at me and think I’m disgusting, we’re all going out for ice cream later. BRENNA Can you tone down the drama queen thing? You don’t want to set off an earthquake, do you? YURI Too late, there’s already a tsunami on top of her head. AWI (turns to Brenna, ignores Yuri) What can I do? Being a drama queen is part of my genetic composition. You know what, the Great Trainwreck can’t see me like this. Let’s just go home. Awi starts to stand up. Brenna pulls her back down. BRENNA We’re doing no such thing. YURI (confused) Who is this Great Trainwreck that we’re talking about here? Yuri takes the opportunity to put his arm around Maren as he feigns confusion. AWI I wasn’t talking to you, Yuri, and get your hand away from Maren. What are you even thinking? Yuri is amused. YURI Finally, someone remembered me. BRENNA So that’s why you look familiar. I spent a good deal of time in P.E. class swatting you away. YURI Girls in tight white shorts. Hard to resist. Those were the days, huh? AWI Just keep your hands where I can see ‘em. YURI I’m hurt that you all think of me that way. To think, I had a past with all three of you. AWI If trying to cop a feel from everyone at this table constitutes that “past” you’re talking about, we’d rather pretend we forgot. How did you choose your victim-of-the-week again? Was it alphabetically or did you follow our seating plan? Yuri just grins at Awi, unaffected by what she said. AWI Can you quit staring at me? YURI It’s just that... your hair, your clothes... AWI (smiles) Like it? They say everybody looked their best in high school so I figured, it won’t if I dressed this way. YURI And you look good enough to eat. (leers at her) Where were we again? Ah, yeah. This great trainwreck you were talking about— AWI The biggest mistake of my life. Greatest heartache. Just thinking about him causes me to feel little needles behind my eye. Yuri is silent. Awi loses her patience. AWI It was Chris, alright? BRENNA Awi—don’t encourage him. He might think he’s actually part of this conversation. MAREN I’m afraid it’s a little too late for that. YURI Don’t worry. I won’t bite... unless you ask me to. BRENNA Let’s keep the number of questionable comments to a minimum, shall we? YURI Alright, I apologize. (turns to Awi) So what did Chris do to earn that nickname you gave him? From what I remember, you were crazy about him all throughout high school. AWI I was crazy alright. Crazy to think it was a good idea—Chris and I together. YURI You ended up together after graduation, right? I swear I heard something about that. You two were the only ones in our batch who enrolled in Los Baños. I guess that worked for your favor. AWI Just by looking at me, you think there’s no way that a hearthrob like Chris can actually choose to have me as a girlfriend? Oh, he didn’t know anybody in our university. Oh, he must’ve been homesick. Oh, I was probably just convenient. You know what? You make me sick. You make me sick because you’re probably right, I should’ve known better even then. But hey, he unmade his mistake soon enough. Realized that he was embarrassed to introduce me as his girlfriend to his newfound friends, so that was that, thank you, Awi, it was alright while it lasted, goodbye, sorry if I pretend I don’t know you if we bump into each other in the halls, that’s just how it is. You know what, I deserve a drink. She takes out a bottle of red wine that she must’ve swiped from downstairs. Brenna and Maren react unfavorably. MAREN Awi! BRENNA We agreed not to drink at the reunion, remember? YURI What’s a party without some booze? Or are you afraid you’ll lose control if you drink and you won’t be able to resist me? BRENNA Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Brenna takes the bottle away from Awi. AWI Hey! Yuri suddenly puts his arm around her, so Awi forgets about continuing her protest. YURI You know what, Awi, you wouldn’t have gone through that nasty spell if you hooked up with me instead. I’d have kept my Mondays open for you, and would’ve proudly introduced you as my girlfriend to anybody we’d meet. AWI But that offer would’ve been good only for Mondays? YURI Of course. I need to keep my other days open for other girls who might be interested. Like your friends, for example. There’s enough of me to go around. I’d show all of you a great time. BRENNA Keep your “great time” inside your pants. Really, Yuri, just stop trying. Do your lines even work? YURI You’d be surprised. (pauses) I see nobody has wedding bands on. BRENNA You could’ve tried to ask how our parents are or what we do for a living. But of course, first chance you got, that’s what you noticed, that we were all missing a little band on our left ring finger. Is a woman’s marital status the only thing that’s important to know about her? How would you feel if I asked you, how come you’re not married? YURI I wouldn’t mind giving you an answer. (he points to the chunky gold chain on his wrist) See this bracelet? My dad gave this to me when I turned 25 for reaching that age without getting hitched. He said I was his smartest son because of that. AWI You got jewelry for staying single? All I get from my mom are magazine clippings on where to meet men or how to become the kind of girl who attracts the marrying kind. It’s enough to make me want to go on a rampage and get rid of all these married couples for making us look bad. YURI We’re better off, I tell you. Most of them got married because they’re lazy and they want sex. We’ll run out of fingers and toes if we count the number of our classmates who got married because they got someone knocked up. Too lazy for birth control. And the rest, well, they just want a steady supply of sex. Too lazy to go out and get it from someone new. Hey Maren, I almost forgot you were here. Lost your voice again? MAREN I always preferred listening than speaking. YURI Don’t be selfish with your thoughts. MAREN Well... I was thinking about what you said—about the people our age who married early. Can’t you make room for the possibility that some of them actually love each other? YURI I think most of them don’t know enough about each other. Most of us don’t even know ourselves! Not yet anyway. Most of us are just a bundle of tricks we’ve come up with to create a semblence of a personality to present to the world. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. As for me, these lines I have better do wonders for me later. There’s no way I’m going home alone tonight. BRENNA Don’t tell me you plan to hit on our batchmates? Just when I thought my opinion of you couldn’t get any lower... YURI Oh c’mon. We’re all here for the same thing, to find someone—it’s just a question of if it’s for keeps or for one night. You know what, I should tell you—don’t even bother. Guys our age are usually on the lookout for fresh, perky luscious 21-year-olds to have a good time with for a while. AWI There’s that word again: perk! BRENNA We hate perk. YURI Guys love it. Perky girls are fun. See, we don’t want to be bothered deflecting sarcastic barbs (gestures to Brenna), or sitting through comedy acts (glances at Awi) or attempt to bring out anyone who’s even too timid to carry on a conversation with us (makes a small nod at Maren’s direction). BRENNA Hey! YURI It’s not easy to hear the truth, is it? If you really want to find someone here, at least you’d know how you should act so that somebody will take you on. BRENNA So what you’re telling us is if we were to attempt to attract the attention of any guy here, we should impersonate these sweet young things, try to be a wonderful conversationalists without seeming too confident or brash... We shouldn’t let on that we have even a trace of intelligence in our brains... And of course, we shouldn’t dare to be funnier than the guy we are speaking to. All this to have someone for what, three months, six months, tops? Because like you said, sane guys our age aren’t intersted in the long time. Well then, the 21-year-olds of the world can have you. YURI It isn’t necessarily only for the short term... Take me for example. I know that if I’m lucky enough to find a girl who’s smart but not too opinionated and looks good in my arm, then I’d consider settling down with her—you know, eventually. BRENNA Note the use of the term “girl”. (to Awi and Maren) These guys aren’t looking for women, they’re looking for girls. YURI Well... yeah. And we guys know there won’t be any uh, girls here but we’re open-minded. We wouldn’t mind a change of pace for one night with one of you ladies. BRENNA Women! YURI Alright, women. But come tomorrow, we’d be back looking at these pretty young things as you say and trying to find a good enough match. It’s not pretty, but I’m just telling you how it is. You’re welcome to try changing my mind about the merits of 21-year-olds over you though. I’m all for equal opportunity... BRENNA Thanks, but I think we’ll pass. YURI (stands) Sure? Well, I should go before they run out of presentable desperate women to hit on downstairs. Look me up later, will you? BRENNA (faintly sarcatic) We’d keep you in mind. He leaves. BRENNA Finally! The girls pick at their hors d’oeuvres and drinks for a while. Awi sighs. BRENNA What was that for? Don’t tell me you wish Yuri didn’t leave. AWI That’s not it. I just realized, look at us. Ten years have passed and here we are: wallflowers again. MAREN I didn’t expect it would be this hard: seeing the same old people standing in the same old groups— AWI Was enough for us to retreat to a corner. Don’t you find it silly that we can still be terrified by a bunch of over-the-hill cheerleaders? BRENNA Nobody can accuse us of being inconsistent then. Just like Yuri who’s still trying to get into our pants—any girl’s pants. For an early starter, he hasn’t smoothened his style. MAREN Maybe he thinks that gruff style of his will set him apart. BRENNA But it won’t get him laid. AWI Do you think what he said was true though—about the men our age wanting girls younger than us? That they’d probably won’t throw a glance our way? MAREN Not all of them are that way. At least I’d like to think so. BRENNA Just our luck that the age requirement for dirty old men is getting lower and lower. AWI I guess it makes sense. Men our age don’t want to be reminded that they’re getting older. They’d like to think that they’re still college frat boys, so they need someone who can keep up with their shenanegans. And that’s not us. When I was in my early 20s, I could drink all night and then go straight to work, but that’s just not going to happen anymore. She sees that Maren is looking at her with disapproval. AWI Not that there had been that many drunken nights, okay, Maren? But now I’m thinking, maybe I gave them up too soon. MAREN It seems wrong to pick up from where you left off now. AWI Aren’t you tired of living like old maids, rushing home everyday for what, a Koreanovela marathon? How did we end up this way? We’re only 27, but the way we act, we might as well be 67. Brenna, you made your escape once. You can do it again. Go, now, before it’s too late for you! MAREN You make it sound like we’re the most boring people on earth. AWI No wonder Brenna looked for a new barkada in college. BRENNA For the last time—it wasn’t intentional, alright? It’s just that we were all studying far from each other and I didn’t have time to write you back... AWI Back in the day of snail mail. We really are old. BRENNA I was always with this group of classmates, so I thought, might as well try to be friends with them. They were a good change of pace, I have to admit. We had joyrides, trips out of town... But even then, I really missed you guys. AWI It took you long enough to tell us. Good thing Maren’s family still has the same phone number from way back, or you would’ve never been able to track us down. BRENNA These last couple of months were enough to renew our friendship though, don’t you think? It was a relief to see I had somewhere to go back to. AWI We couldn’t very well turn you away. You’ve seen us with zits. You stayed up late with Maren to finish sewing projects for me. You composed my secret admirer letters for Chris. We’ve been through too much to say sayonara, goodbye forever, what was your name again? (jokes) Does anybody else feel like crying? How about a drink instead? She tries to reach for the wine, but Brenna places it farther away from her. AWI There you again with that good girl thing again! BRENNA You can’t expect us to make a complete turnaround. And anyway, is it such a bad thing if we are still basically the same kind of people we were in high school? At least there are some things that have changed. I remember what a scared bunch we were back then. We hardly spent time away from each other in school, I bet some people couldn’t tell us apart. We always ate the same food at the same table, went to the ladies’ room as a pack, wore the same exact outfits, from the thing in our hair down to our feet. MAREN I remember those little headband we used to wear, the ones with that stiff bows on the side! BRENNA Those things used to give me a headache—they pinched the sides of my head all day you know—but I wore them just the same. Back then I thought, heaven help me if I had an opinion of my own! And when a guy made the mistake to approach us, the same thing happened every time. Maren would retreat into her shell and lose the capacity for speech. I’d scare him off with retorts that always went straight for their jugular. And Awi would make nonstop jokes that left the poor guy exhausted. No wonder we didn’t have boyfriends back then. AWI And ten years later, that is still our lot. MAREN Sometimes I wish we were back in high school, if only because it was alright to be just part of a group, never having to face anything alone. BRENNA May I try something? She reaches for Maren’s bag and retrieves the book inside. BRENNA Aha. Just as I thought! Same old Maren who wishes she can still use her friends as crutches just makes do with losing herself in the world of her books. You can’t stay that way forever. It’s not healthy. That’s the problem with you. You’ve built your life so that you never have to take chances, you never have to go beyond your comfort zone, you never have to do something that makes your heart beat faster, even a little. Go out more. Experience things. Then maybe you wouldn’t have to live in the past so much. Awi nods in agreement. Maren is quiet. Brenna puts the book back inside her bag. BRENNA Maren, I’m not saying this to hurt you, but really, you have to get out of this rut. AWI We all have to do that. There’s so much we have yet to try. Being good girls hadn’t done a lot for us. We’ve led uninteresting lives. What if it’s too late and now this is all there is for us? The next thing we know, we’d be 30-year-old virgins. That’ll be embarrassing. It’s as if nobody ever wanted us in that way. It’s... well, it’s pathetic. I tell you, if I see Chris downstairs, he says the word and I’ll climb on top of him so fast, he’ll see stars. Then I’d leave in the morning without a word. Let’s see how he’d like that. BRENNA He’d like it very much, I’m sure. It’s the ultimate male fantasy to be used in that way. MAREN And how will you feel about yourself in the morning? AWI Maren, it’s our high school reunion. Can’t you let up on the puritan mindset and let me have my fantasies even just for one day? Don’t tell me, the thought hadn’t crossed your mind. With Jon... MAREN It’s different. We’ve never had that kind of thing between us. We’ve never been an us. BRENNA Doesn’t hurt that you probably don’t see him with a penis. MAREN Brenna! BRENNA I’m right, aren’t I? You probably have him elevated in some pedestal, all good and pure... MAREN I just don’t think of him in that way. And anyway, I just want to see how he is. It’s not as if I’m expecting anything to happen... Brenna and Awi hoot. MAREN Give me some credit. I know it’s been 10 years. I should keep my expectations low. I don’t even know for sure if he’ll show up or not. BRENNA But? MAREN But I hope he does remember me. AWI If those conversations you had in school were as sweet as you said they were, he’d remember you. MAREN I wouldn’t say they were sweet, but somehow, I don’t know... We never talked during class. We never seemed to have a chance. But there were other times—at the library, on that pathway leading to the gym... We’d mean only to say hello but we’d end up talking for an hour or so, always starting as if we were already in mid-conversation. A pretty rare thing, especially for someone like me... BRENNA Maren, maybe I should’ve told you this a long time ago... but aren’t you holding this crush of yours a bit too far? AWI Let her be. If he does show up, nothing will come of it anyway. (teasing) You know how she is, playing safe all the time. MAREN (lowers her eyes) I won’t. Not this time. AWI That remains to be seen. I guess it is romantic—the idea that later, he’d come in and see you across the room... You’d go to each other and it would seem like it hadn’t been ten years since the last time you were together. But there’s another fantasy in my mind. Of seeing someone, a beautiful man, and I’d catch his eye. We’d find a quiet corner and know that the time is right. Maybe I’ll pause to think, then I’ll shake my head and think, what am I doing? The choice is clear. I’ll push him against the wall and then you know, we’ll just get it on! MAREN Talk all you want. I refuse to be shocked. In this table, we’re all talk when it comes to these things anyway. AWI What things? MAREN You know. AWI Oh, right. Sex. You can’t even say it. Maybe that’s what got us in this whole predicament in the first place. We are so skittish about sex that men won’t give us a second look. They think we’re these ice princesses who are horrified about the idea of a man’s skin touching us. If they only knew... Most of the time, I feel like I’m in a friggin’ Joey Gosenfiao movie, except that my hallucinations don’t involve me standing beside a giant electric fan but a big shlong. Yup, a big ding dong tubthumper one-eyed wonder magic stick of a shlong in the middle of the desert that is my life. BRENNA (dryly) Can you repeat that? Because you really didn’t make it clear enough. AWI You know what really gets me? I hate it that we bought into that whole “a man won’t buy the cow if he gets the milk for free” bit. Why do we have to when nobody else does? Our mothers did such a number on us. Now all the sluts are married, and here we are. It’s funny, we used to think those girls who knew how to use tongue when they kissed were the aberrations. Do you know that I can’t even admit to the people at the office that I’m a virgin? They’d think there’s something wrong with me. So I let these smug twenty year olds talk about their blowjobs and being 69’d and running out of lubricant in the middle of the night. I laugh along with them and come up with my own little vulgarities and all throughout I’m hoping that they don’t figure out that all my information came from old episodes of Sex and the City and you know, porn. BRENNA (surprised) You watch porn? AWI (defensive) Well, yeah, sure. Why, haven’t you? BRENNA (shrugs her shoulders) My college friends, you know, as a joke... Jow do you even get your hands on some? So you go out to your neighborhood tiangge and say, “Hi I’d like to buy some pornography, please. The sleazier the better?” AWI Goodness, no! I mean, I don’t own porn, I just borrow it from someone I know. Actually, I don’t even borrow, he just shoves me these things without asking, I don’t know... BRENNA He? AWI He’s a friend, alright? Story of my life. Tell me, what is it about me that makes them all think I’m one of the boys? Come on, I can take it. (sighs) Anyway, I don’t think it’s such a big deal. Who hasn’t seen even a little porn at our age? Brenna tilts her head at Maren’s direction. MAREN You’d be surprised to know, I’m not such the innocent you think. I mean, I did grow up with a brother. I peeked at the TV in his room when he was watching Blue Lagood. And that was when I was what, thirteen? Brenna and Awi start laughing. MAREN What is it this time? AWI Oh, Maren... I think we’ve just discovered what we have to do the next time we get together. We’re going to hijack your parents’ TV and make you watch real porn with the sweat, the horrible dialogue, faceless bodies... BRENNA ... Bodies contorted in unnatural positions. MAREN No thank you. I’d rather let my mind left unpolluted by such things. AWI There you go again, giving too much weight on things. A good thing about porn is it makes sex look so silly. Turns you off to casual sex completely. BRENNA So now are you admitting that you were all talk about taking Chris and ravaging him? AWI Truth? I don’t know. I used to think I knew where I stand about these things, but as I inch closer to 30, I become unsure about many things that I thought I knew about myself. You know what, if I had the chance, I’d ask men why they get so hooked on porn. After several of those, you realize, it’s all the same, heaving body parts and moves that I’m sure have to basis in real life. BRENNA Tell me about it... (pauses) Well, if I do the asking, I’d ask, why most men still have that hunter- gatherer instinct in them when it comes to women. It’s always the more the merrier for them. When do they realize that if they get one good woman, it’s more than enough? AWI It’s a pride thing, I guess. The more women you have, the bigger man you are, supposedly. Brenna starts laughing. AWI Look who has her head in the gutter. BRENNA It’s the way you say it, I swear! Brenna is still laughing when Maren turns pensive. MAREN If I can do the asking, I’d ask men why it’s all about this anal sex thing all of a sudden. Awi almost sprays her friends with the juice she’s drinking. AWI Maren! MAREN I told you, I’m not quite the innocent as you think. (whispers to Brenna) I watch Sex and the City too. AWI You did that on purpose! You wanted to see if I’d choke on this! (holds up her empty bottle of sparkly water) BRENNA One good thing about tonight is we’re getting to know more about each other than in the last couple of months. What if we play a game, make it official? She takes the bottle from Awi and turns it on its side in the middle of their table. MAREN No! AWI Why not? We don’t have anything to hide from each other anyway, right? C’mon, it’ll help us loosen up before we have to go back to the reunion downstairs. MAREN Alright. AWI Can I make the first spin? BRENNA Be my guest. Awi spins the bottle. It points to Maren. AWI and BRENNA (screaming) Truth or consequence! MAREN I knew it. Of course I’d be the first victim. AWI Let’s make her do a consequence. Um... do the Macarena. BRENNA Too easy. Do the Macarena while singing Ecstasy Extano. AWI No, no. Do the Macarena while singing Ecstasy Extano, but with Ricky Martin hips. BRENNA I have something even better— MAREN (stands) I’m leaving. AWI No, stay! Promise, we won’t make you do anything too silly. MAREN You won’t have the chance because I choose “truth”. AWI (rubs her palms together with anticipation) I’ll get this. I have a good one. Maren, did you ever, in your entire adult life, have a dirty dream about a man—any man, real or imaginary, stranger or friend? MAREN Yes. Brenna and Awi lean forward, waiting for her to continue. MAREN What? Your question could be answered by a simple yes or no. So I’m finished, yes? Brenna hits Awi on the arm. AWI Ow! BRENNA You said you had a good one. Now look, we lost one turn to ask Maren something actually interesting. AWI We’ve just started the game. I’m sure we’ll have another chance. C’mon, let’s move it along. Maren spins. The bottle points at Awi. MAREN Awi, truth or consequence. AWI Truth. MAREN Alright. What did you do when Chris broke up with you? BRENNA Oh Maren, what kind of question is that? MAREN A valid one, I think. The way I remember it, you didn’t come home for a month’s worth of weekends after your breakup. I kept calling your dorm but you were never there. Afterwards, I asked you what happened to you in that month that we didn’t speak, and you never told me. AWI (takes a deep breath) I became Chris’ stalker. BRENNA You what? AWI It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. Imagine how it was for me. I spent the better part of high school pining, dreaming about him. I was so Maren about it too, always just watching him from afar— MAREN Hey— AWI That was how you were with Jon! MAREN Yes, but— AWI I know, you and Jon had all those magical conversations every three months or so... It was just a figure of speech, okay? Anyway, you get the picture. I spent all that time on him—or on the idea of him—and then, freshman year of college, it finally happened. He and I became friends. It was more than I had ever hoped for... MAREN He was a nicer person than you thought? AWI No. He was even more handsome up close! His eyes when he was looking at me... That nose that denied that he was Filipino... Brenna snorted. AWI Give me a break. I was young. I was in love. And then, just before the second semester, he broke up with me. I went through all five stages. Denial: He can’t mean it; he’s going to come back to me. Anger: I’m going to kill him, I swear, I will. Bargaining: If I give in to what he wants 80, no, 85% of the time, maybe he’ll come back to me. Depression: How can I go on? I can’t live without him! Acceptance: There’s no other choice; I have to follow him day and night, everywhere he goes, I have to find out the real reason why he dumped me! I bribed someone from the student’s affairs office to get his new class schedule. I found out he was pledging for a frat, so one of my dormmates who was in their sister sorority became my eyes and ears. She started going out with someone from his dorm so that we’d have an excuse to hang out in their lobby— BRENNA She did all that for you? AWI Gave her half my allowance that month, so she did what I wanted. BRENNA The humiliation of him breaking up with you because of your weight wasn’t enough? You just had to do this. AWI At least I lost weight that semester. I didn’t weigh that low since I was in Grade 5, but you think Chris noticed? No! He was too busy cavorting with schoolmates that had the balingkinitan gene. He became too busy for someone made artificially slim by heartbreak. MAREN So after a month of this, you got over him? AWI Of course not. I spent years watching him from a distance, and you expect me to get over all this just like that? BRENNA According to Maren, you did rejoin the normal world after a month. AWI That’s because I had no choice. I started getting these terrible pains in my gut. At first I thought I was just imagining things, but when I finally went to the infirmary, they told me that I was getting ulcers from all the meals I skipped because I turned over half of my allowance to my spy. No bribe money, no spy. And that, folks, is my story. So, who’s up next? She spins the bottle and it points at Maren. MAREN That bottle sure doesn’t like me. BRENNA Or it likes you too much. Maren, truth or consequence. MAREN Truth. Brenna whispers something to Awi. AWI Now that’s something we should ask! BRENNA Maren, if you found out that you only had a week to live, who would you sleep with—excluding Jon, of course. That’ll be the obvious answer, so it’s kind of like cheating. MAREN By asking me that, you’re assuming that I would sleep with someone just because I found out I was dying. What if it was a misdiagnosis? Then I’d have to live with the knowledge that I slept with someone that I didn’t really love— AWI (exasperated) Maren, just imagine that you’re dying. Disease is slowly eating away at your body. Before it gets your pussy, don’t you want to do something happy with it for once? MAREN I am ignoring that last statement. And I refuse to answer the question because it is anchored on a false assumption. BRENNA and AWI Just answer the question! MAREN (sighs) Alright. If I had a week to live, I’d ask I don’t know... that guy from Lovers in Paris. AWI The guy with the motorcycle and the goatee? MAREN No. The older brother. AWI Ah. The boring one. Of course. MAREN No, the clean-cut responsible one. I’d make him marry me first of course, and he will because he’ll be overcome with pity and he’ll figure it’ll be a short marriage anyway— BRENNA Leave it to Maren to find a way to get around to answering a controversial question. MAREN At least I did answer it. On to the next one! She spins the bottle. It points to Brenna. MAREN Finally. Payback. Well, Brenna, truth or consequence. BRENNA Consequence. MAREN I’ll take care of this one, Awi. Brenna, explain to us why you always said as early as high school that you didn’t want to get married... but you have to hop on one leg while doing it. BRENNA Hey, that’s two things, a truth and a consequence! MAREN We didn’t say anything about appending not allowed... BRENNA Fine. She stands up and starts hopping one one leg. BRENNA I always said I never want to get married because I didn’t want to turn out like my parents! I never told you this, but in high school I was always hoping they’d split up. I was tired of their fights. I was tired of hearing all the nasty things they said to each other. I was tired of them puting up this front whenever they were with their friends that everything was fine when I knew it wasn’t. I just wanted it to end and I promised myself I won’t let the same thing happen to me, ever! She sits down, slightly out of breath. BRENNA I don’t know why you make such a big fuss out of this whole marriage thing in the first place. You don’t see how lucky single girls are. You’re free to do whatever you want with no regard for your partner’s feelings. Go travel, climb mountains, learn how to dive, you’re not hampered by strings. And if you don’t like your life, you’re free to complain, moan about all the things you don’t have, all your regrets. You say, “I wish I had a boyfriend, I wish I was married,” and it’s okay. Imagine if a woman said, “I wish I wasn’t married. I wish I didn’t give birth to my children.” She is seen as a bad person automatically. We all have our reasons to be unhappy. You just have to find a way to live with it. MAREN I just wish someone warned us about this, you know? When I was growing up, I was taught: study well, get good grades, don’t step on other people’s toes, and everything will be okay. Now I see how the people who lie, steal and cheat go father in life. And of course, as modern women, we’re only supposed to focus on our work, make something of ourselves. Falling in love and getting married, those are things that are supposed to take care of themselves. But year after year passes, still nothing. I’m starting to think it might not happen for me. I want it all, be a wife, have kids... but I can’t even imagine myself being those things anymore and it scares me. For other people, it’s true—they don’t have to do anything, it just happens to them. The perky girls with no brains— AWI —and no real personalities, I might add— MAREN Yes, they’re the one who don’t have to actually do anything, they just need to be and they catch a man’s eye. BRENNA Down with the cheerleaders! AWI But you know what they say: alone doesn’t have to mean lonely. Gag! The person who said that probably never had a boyfriendless month, ever. MAREN The truth is I’m even embarrassed that I feel this way. Even if I can’t really speak up in a group of people I don’t know, I see myself as a strong woman. I have convictions, I know what I want my life to look like. Strong women aren’t supposed to admit that they need a man. But I sit there everyday behind the counter of the little secondhand bookstore that I manage that isn’t even mine. I see quiet-looking women, mousy women going in sometimes hand-in-hand with a man. And I think, why can’t I have that? They seem to be just like me, but they’re so much luckier than me. That’s the only thing about my job. I have a lot of time to think and to wish for all the things that I thought I’d have when I reach 27. But all I get are handfuls of nothing. BRENNA If I make you choose between a better job—like managing your own bookstore, for example, or having a boyfriend, what will you choose? MAREN You know what my choice would be. It’s not bad, managing a shop for someone else. My days are spent exactly the way I want to—reading, ringing up purchases once in a while. I’m almost content in that area. But when it comes to love, I’ve gone totally without for so long— BRENNA You did have a boyfriend right after college, didn’t you? MAREN I don’t even know if he counts. We were only together for a week. AWI And guess who broke it off? What do you suppose is more difficult—having your heart broken over and over by men who aren’t the least bit suitable to you or going for years without getting into a relationship because you’re waiting for the right person to come along? When you think about it, what you get is the same thing—with every passing hour, you feel more despair with the idea that you’ll never find someone whom you can call your own. MAREN My own struggle is this. Other people have someone that they think of as “the one who got away”: someone who treated them with respect, made them feel valued, made them believe relationships and love, really. But for some reason or other, it didn’t work out for them. These people have all these regrets about letting go of that person who could’ve made them happy. Then there are people like me, who never had anybody to show us how it’s like to be cherished, to be in a relationship where you actually feel safe. At 27, isn’t that just tragic? AWI You have Jon to look back on. MAREN I never had him. I only imagine how it would’ve been with him. But we never had anything real. You know that. I know that. BRENNA It just hasn’t happened for you yet. Who knows, someone might come along, sooner than you think. I hope though that you’re not so focused on your wishful thinking about Jon that you would let someone pass you by without giving him a chance. MAREN If and when it happens for me, I don’t even know if I’d be prepared. At our age, we’re expected to think about marriage and babies, but I haven’t experienced even the blush of first love. Not really. AWI Did you ever do anything for yourself, an indulgence because you felt so lonely, and then was too embarrassed to admit to anyone? MAREN Like what? AWI You know how my mom never ends a long-distance phone call without somehow sneaking in the fact that she’s getting old and she wants to see me with a husband who’ll keep me barefoot and pregnant until she gets a dozen or so grandkids? Well, last Christmas, she sent me a whole balikbayan box of I’m-giving-my-daughter-away material. Low-cut dresses, stilletos, red silk sheets for my bed, can you imagine? Of course after that, nobody asked me out for almost six months. So where would I use those clothes my mom sent me, right? One night, I had nothing to do so I put on one of those dresses, the shoes with the spikiest heels and my trusty rubber gloves and spent that whole evening cleaning my kitchen. BRENNA Dressed that way? AWI (nods) I never believed that everything we do should make sense anyway. BRENNA (shakes her head while laughing) You’re the only person I know who’d even think of doing something like that for fun. MAREN I bought a silver ring that resembles the wedding ring that I wish I’d have one day. If I squeezed my eyes a certain way, I could pretend that it was actually made of white gold and platinum. I used to wear it in private, smiling to myself and praying that someone will give me a real ring someday. After a year though, I feel that belief becoming weaker every day. AWI Do you still have that ring? MAREN No. On my last birthday, I went up to the rooftop of the building where I work and threw it away. I thought if I kept my ring finger bare, the heavens will smile down on me and let the man I’ve been waiting for come and find me. Then that someone will give me a ring, for real this time. AWI That makes me feel so good, knowing I’m not the only Ally McBealic kook around. You know, with that active inner life, over-analyzing the littlest thing about a relationship— BRENNA Or even non-relationships, come to think of it. AWI But you know what’s scary? I didn’t really get that show the first time it aired here. We were what, 18, 19 back then and here was this woman—sure, she’s strong, she’s capable, successful even, but she’s teethering on the outer edge of that marriageable spectrum of ages... Well, one of my officemates lent me the DVDs of the 1st season, and do you know what age Ally was at back then? MAREN Don’t tell me— AWI Yes, she was 27. Only 27 and she was having all these panic attacks about still being single. And the show was a hit! Makes you think, doesn’t it? BRENNA I’m sure it does, especially since the guy who dumped Ally when they were in school died because of a brain tumor. Don’t tell me that you don’t wish that on Chris at least some of the time. AWI Sure... after I have my way with him, his head can implode, I wouldn’t really mind. BRENNA Of course you won’t. This just goes to show, those critics were right. Even if Ally McBeal landed the cover of Time magazine, she shouldn’t be thought of as a role model for single women. AWI Why, because she’s actually honest about needing a man? No—to quote: “I don’t need a man, I just want one.” BRENNA Really? Because that’s not what I’ve been hearing at this table. Since we got here, it’s all about men—acquiring one, making one stay, having one fill up our supposedly empty lives... If you really want to be modern woman about it all, be a Carrie who doesn’t spend time moping and just has a fabulous time being single. AWI We’re talking about Sex and the City Carrie? BRENNA Yeah. You said you also watch that show, why can’t you see yourself in her? AWI Well, let’s see. There’s the bed hopping— BRENNA Your Ally isn’t exactly an innocent either— AWI Alright. But I have an issue to pick with your Carrie with all those shoes! The Manolos and Jimmy Choos and what have yous... how can I relate to her when I have to stop myself from weeping every time I see a pair of P300 Parisians at SM that I like because I know it’s a choice between those shoes or paying the rent of my little studio flat which itself is just a little bit more than a shoebox. See the difference in our lifestyles? So if I feel a little less fabulous than your Carrie, maybe I can be forgiven. MAREN I was hoping I can end this argument by suggesting someone else whom we can all find agreeable as a single woman’s icon, but I can’t think of anyone. It seems like after the Sex and the City girls, everything has become all about those Desperate Housewives. It’s alarming, really— AWI It’s as if Hollywood is telling us that singlehood is getting out of style, I know! MAREN Wait, I got one! Kim Sam-soon! Homely, chubby, opinionated Kim Sam-soon who refuses to change just to find a man. See, those Koreanovelas are good for something. Hollywood might be turning its back on us single women, but at least, Asian television is still on our side. AWI At least, the situation maybe isn’t that dire. You’re not a virgin anymore, aren’t you, Brenna? BRENNA Hey, unfair sneaking that in! You should at least wait for the bottle to point to me again. AWI Well, I’ve been wondering. Every time the subject came up, you always changed the topic. BRENNA Fine. I don’t mind answering anyway. No, Awi, I’m not a virgin anymore. (to Maren) Should I run downstairs to get you some water? Smelling salts, perhaps? AWI So how did it happen? Come on, tell! BRENNA It shouldn’t even be an issue anymore! In this day and age— MAREN If you’re having second thoughs about telling us on my account, please, go on. I can be open- inded. I know it happens— AWI (singsong) Maren wants to hear a dirty story... At least now I know not all of us our freaks. I say, kudos to you, Brenna. As for me and Maren, I don’t know. Sometimes, I still hear my grandmother’s voice ringing in my ear, warning me about the dirty things boys would try to make me do. I try telling her that I want to be ravished, I want to be a dirty girl, so get out of there, Lola, if you don’t want to see it... But so far, no luck, she’s still in there, stuck with the other voices in my head. MAREN You are hopeless! AWI I just hate the fact that we’ve always been more naive than people our age when it comes to sex. BRENNA Those pocketbooks you read during our senior year didn’t help? AWI Well, funny story. During freshman year of college, my mom caught me reading one of those on a weekend when I came home from the dorm. Of course she had to walk in on me while I was pouring over one of those nasty parts where the hero finally claims the heroine who, though shy and inexperienced, cries out with each touch, each kiss, each lick... And my mom made me read whole bit, all five pages of it, I think. I tell you, before the hero and heroine were sated, I felt all interest on those books disappear. BRENNA I guess your mom is one of the other voices in your head, huh? AWI You said it. Well, because of that, up until my last year in college, I could never understand the big deal people were making about those prank calls where you’d hear some guy breathing into the phone. I was like—so what? It didn’t even occur to me that maybe he was doing things with his hands which was the reason why he was breathing so deeply. MAREN And I just lost my appetite. BRENNA Well, how about me? Sophomore year of college, I had a crush on this guy whom I knew also liked me but for some reason never made a move to court me. He’d always be around just kind of feeling his way around me, you know? finally I got fed up and told him maybe we should settle for a fling. MAREN Brenna, really, second year? You were what, all of 18 and offering such a thing? BRENNA Give me a break. I thought I was offering an M.U. of some sort. I didn’t really know what I was talking about. Good thing he dind’t take me up on my offer or we both would’ve been in for a nasty surprise. AWI It wouldn’t be such a bad thing now though, right? I mean we’re adults, supposedly we can already handle these things. MAREN What assurance do you have though that you won’t feel used afterwars? AWI I don’t know. I just feel cheated somehow. We let so many experiences passed by for what? Because we were afraid of the consequences? Because we were afraid of what people would think? I never thought good girls can have regrets too, but hello, here we are. MAREN Alright, I admit, we missed out on a lot. I do feel curious what all the fuss is about once in a while, but I don’t know. I still think it’s not the same with someone you don’t love. AWI That’s why it’s doubly unfair. We haven’t found love, now we can’t even experience sex? It’s like having a basic human right taken away from us! That’s just too unfair. BRENNA Well, think of it this way. What if you indulge, give in, forget everything else... then you get pregnant? AWI I can always ship the baby off to my mom. She’s always harping on about wanting a dozen or so grandchildren, at least this way, she and her new American husband can have a kid instead. And the kid gets to be Stateside. Who wants to grow up here anyway, right? MAREN And then what, one day nine years from now, the kid will come back here with your mom wanting to meet you. She—of course she’ll be a girl—she’ll look at you with these sad eyes and say, “Mother, Mother, why did you give me away?” AWI First of all, I don’t think my mom will teach my daughter to speak like a reject from an old Sesame Street skit. Second of all, I don’t mind. People think I’m pregnant anyway. Seriously. I’ll find a way to raise it. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? Women in telenovelas do it all the time. I’ll dodge murder plots and baby switching and evil twins while I’m at it even. You know what? This conversation is scaring me. I’m trying to be serious, but I end up cracking jokes. Real grown ups aren’t supposed to be like this. BRENNA You’re not alone. Almost everybody I know still feel like they’re just pretending to be grown up. Why do you think that is? MAREN Maybe it’s because here we are, a stone’s throw from thirty, and we aren’t anywhere near what we hope we’d be at that age. Many of us are probably scared this is all we’d be—failures. AWI Don’t say that! Don’t even mention that word. MAREN Failure? AWI Thirty! Just think of it, by the time Jesus and Rizal were in their early 30s, they’ve already fulfilled their life missions. Of course, I’d like to believe we can come close to doing that too by that age, but how can we when here I am at 27, still struggling just to buy myself groceries. How can I achieve greatness when I’m bogged down with trivial concerns such as that? If only we had actual careers, or maybe a family business such as Brenna’s... BRENNA You don’t want to wish that on yourself. It’s not a picnic, knowing that it doesn’t matter what you actually want because the kind of life you’ll have is already spread ahead of you. AWI I don’t know, I’m just starting to get tired of my own situation, I guess. Four career shifts in six years, and still, I don’t know what I really want to do with my life. Each time it happens, I go back to zero—no savings to speak of, no pertinent experience for the next job I set my eyes on... MAREN Think of it this way, at least you get to say you’ve been a banker, copywriter, paralegal and apprentice cook. How many people do you suppose can say the same thing? AWI Well, I’d rather be able to say, look at my new condo, it’s almost as big as my fabulous vacation house in Greece. (gestures as if she’s one of those girls on The Price is Right) BRENNA What is it that you really want, do you at least know that? AWI Well, I’ve always wanted to see the world, but good luck finding something that will help me get that, right? But alright, I’d give it a try, keep the faith, keep a positive outlook. Maybe in five years or so, I’d have those stamps in my passport. I’d change cars as often as other people change cellphones. Most likely I’d have to be a druglord, but you know, everything comes with a cost... BRENNA What is it about reunions that they always seem to make people end up feeling less proud of themselves than when they arrived? AWI Let’s just think of it on our taxi rides home, shall we? (sighs) Now if we can only find rich men to marry us, then in the next reunion, we’d arrive and leave in style. But then, who am I kididng? We can’t even find a halfway decent man. So what do you suppose our chances are of getting one with money? MAREN Maybe next to nill? AWI (sighs) I suppose. But then, if one should fantasize, might as well make it good, right? MAREN Actually, I have a simple enough fantasy. You know how when you’re just starting to date, couples sit facing each other? They say it’s because the man prefers to see the girl’s face as he eats. Then when a couple has been together for a long time, they start to sit beside each other. The need for proximity takes over. I never had that. Which isn’t much of a surprise. I’ve hardly dated at all... But to have that, even for a while, that will be more than enough for me. It wouldn’t even matter if the man sitting beside me isn’t rich or handsome as long as I experience that simple thing with him. AWI Well, that’s well and good, but I’m still holding it for my dreams of being a rich missus. You suppose if I can afford it, I can get liposuction from head to foot all at once? But maybe I should take that European trip first. It might take too long for me to heal... BRENNA But you’ll look great in your vacation pictures. AWI Of course, I hadn’t thought about that. So it’s liposuction first, Europe second. I’ll have to keep that in mind. BRENNA Just don’t forget to send us a postcard or two when you do leave. And look at that, you’ve sucked me into that little world of yours. It’s not that bad, as it turns out. Must try to come up with my own sometime. Everyone becomes quiet. Awi puts her hand on the now forgotten truth or consequence bottle. She holds it upright. AWI We’re still playing, right? How about just one more question for everyone. What is your deepest darkest secret? I’ll go first. I broke the weighing scale in the school clinic in grade 6. MAREN (shocked) You were that heavy? AWI No, I was still within the weight limit of the scale, but I got so frustrated when I found out I was the heaviest in my whole section—including the boys—that when the nurse went to the other room, I gave the scale a good hard kick, and that was that. BRENNA I had a crush on Maren’s brother. Maren becomes quiet. BRENNA I’m sorry, Maren. I shouldn’t have brought it up. MAREN No, it’s fine. (sighs) I gues it’s my turn. My deepest darkest secret must be... I never liked the Spice Girls. I just pretended I did because you were all so crazy about them. AWI That’s it? Give us a good answer. A juicy one. Brenna sees Maren is uncomfortable. BRENNA Maybe she will answer if you tell us what you really weigh now. AWI That’s it. Truth or Consequence is over! You know what, screw seeing The Great Trainwreck again. Who wants to go home? Oh right. We’ll have to wait for Jon. You just don’t want to leave without seeing Jon again. Maren is quiet. AWI Maren, don’t worry, if you really don’t want to leave yet, we’ll be here for you. But you better make it good. I don’t want to end up waiting for so long, then having you freeze up in front of Jon. MAREN I’ll try my very best. But I’m starting to have doubts. My nerves fail me when I want something this bad. BRENNA What is it about him? What if he had forgotten those talks you shared with him because they weren’t important to him? BRENNA I’m telling you, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. You lose yourself in these fantasies because you’re afraid of rejection, you don’t put yourself out there and you expect to find someone? AWI Hey—I am out there, but still nothing. BRENNA Maybe for you, but look at Maren. MAREN You think you know how it is for me? You don’t. I blush when I speak to a stranger. Sometimes I can’t even find my voice. I’m too strange for most people. I thought my friends more than anybody would understand that. I don’t want to be this kind of person, but if it helps me to daydream about Jon, who are you to stop me? I don’t want this life, but this is my life! Silence. Awi speaks up to ease the tension between the three of them. AWI Well... as long as you make it clear. A guy suddenly arrives. He looks at Brenna, his jaw clenched. GUY Brenna, I’ve been looking all over for you. Your phone is off, you didn’t even leave a note to tell me you’re going. I knew that you’d come here even if we agreed we’d go to my parents’ 32nd anniversary. BRENNA Your parents celebrate their anniversary every year. This is my only 10th year high school reunion! GUY But we agreed... BRENNA We agreed? No, you decided. GUY Let’s just go home. He tries to take Brenna by the arm but she pulls away. BRENNA I am not going anywhere with you. GUY You’re being unreasonable. BRENNA I’m being unreasonable? You’re the one who followed me here to drag me away. If you want, you can stay outside in the car until I’m ready to go home. GUY I knew shouldn’t have allowed you to become friends with people I don’t know. Awi finally butts in. AWI Hey, who are you to stop Brenna from doing what she wants anyway? GUY I’m her husband. Maren and Awi are shocked. MAREN and AWI Husband? BRENNA (sighs) Awi, Maren, meet Mike, my bitter half. MIKE Are you coming or not? BRENNA I’m not leaving, and that’s final. Blackout. To be continued... This play won Third Prize for the Full-Length Play in English in the 2006 Palanca Awards |