ma tentative de jeu

Scene 1
Setting: Classroom in Suburban High School in New York. The room is filled with an assortment of students that add up to thirty students lined up in 5 rows with 6 students in each row. A Student Teacher is leaning on the windowsill of the middle window on the right side of the classroom, facing the students. Twenty year old, olive skinned Student Teacher sips Starbucks coffee as she watches the 27-year-old, Spanish History Teacher scribble notes on the board on the Ascension of Hitler to power before World War II. After completing the notes she wanted the class to copy down for the day, she wheels around and sits back down on her desk that is to the left of the chalkboard. Some of the male students pause to examine her "assets." As soon as the teacher sits down, a student in the last seat of the middle row of the classroom raises his hand and the teacher answers.

Teacher: Yes?

Student: I was pondering something.

The student is the personification of stoicism. Blank face. No emotion. He does talk with a sort of whistle at the end of his phrases.

Teacher: Yes and what's that?

Student: You hate your job a lot.

Teacher: Excuses me? (Student Teacher chokes on coffee)

Student: You didn't get into the school you wanted to because you didn't listen to your mom and didn't join an extracurricular activity and had to settle for Hartford instead of Princeton. You were too busy giving favors to the track team before meets for that kind of crap. (Student Teacher starts to walk slowly towards the Teacher.) You crash and burn a little in college and save your GPA at the end and decide to go to graduate school where you acquire the nickname “Easy Susie” with the students for sleeping with the creeper graduate professor at Ohio University. You get a job as a teacher in a inner city school and your cocaine addiction from the second year in college starts to kick in and you decide to transfer to Easy Islip for the money and you know you only got the job because of the blowjob and an article in the paper about the lack of the diversity in Long Island School Districts so they actually hired two ethnic teachers this year. So the only highs you have in this workplace are when students gawk at your knockers, when you drink your coffee that you sprinkled with coke in the morning and when you use the janitor for a quickie every other week during your lunch break. Oh, and don't even get me started on your brother molesting you for 4 years and your father knowing for 2.

A piece of chalk falls from the board and you hear every inch of the chalk as it rolls towards the desk and it is stopped by the Teacher's desk. The Teacher gets up and picks up the chalk. She turns her back to the students and starts scribbling on the board. The students watch in silence as the letters spell out, I QUIT in yellow chalk create their own sort of shine against the deep blue of the chalkboard. She quickly exits taking her coffee mug and briefcase with her.

The Student Teacher lets out a long sigh and tells them that class is dismissed to go to Lunch or Late Hall and signs passes for all the students, but the lone student stays behind, waits one second and prepares to leave.

Student Teacher: How did you know that?

Student (still walking out of the door): Just a hunch. Or A guess. I made it up.

Student Teacher: YOU MADE IT UP?!

Scene 2
Principal Office. Midday. 50 year old, Levittown-Raised Principal fixes his toupee as he scrambles through records of the Student before him. The student’s hair is down to his chest, with a beard to match, straw hat and he crosses his feet to reveal scandals. Typical day for a principal.

Principal: My, my, my. You have an impressive record. Not only do you excel in all of your classes, ranked number 2 in your class, with a plentiful amount of clubs and leadership roles, you managed to also decorate it with plethora of disciplinary offenses such as causing the Riot of '06 which resulted in the defacing of all of our school mascots, trafficking banned books into our school district, accused of giving our special Olympics athletes drug enhancers to win races and causing one of tenured Teachers to quit and become a yoga instructor in LA. You are impressive. I say this now, because, that's my job as the principal. To see that my students are achieving their goals while at my school and at my school you listen to what I say. So, do you know why you are here?

Student (while uncrossing his legs): Nope.

Principal: Not even inkling? A guess? An idea?! God Almighty!

Student: Yes?

Principal: Sorry for the language. I am just frustrated with arrogant little twits like-

Student: Yes?
Principal: Why are you saying yes? I didn't call on you on you or anything-

Student: Why, yes you did. You said my name.

Principal: No, I didn't. This file says your name is... You are a trickster, you. You think you are a wise guy, don't you?

Student: No, I don't. Will you excuse me; I've got to go back to Home Ec…

Principal: YOU WILL GO WHEN I SAY SO, YOUNG MAN! Now, do you know why you are here? You know, you ingrate. We found 35 bottles of water filled with alcohol in your locker. The janitor told a teacher that your locker reeked of alcohol. I would know that smell from anywhere. Why did you have such things in your locker?

Student: It was fun. Life should be fun. Get a hold of yourself Seymour, if you mind me calling me Seymour. Wait. I don’t care. Just because your wife is cheating on you and you cradle a bottle of whiskey every night after you come back from the bar and don't see Kathleen in your bed next to you, doesn't mean you should take it out on us.

Principal: How do… You are a menace. A menace, I tell you. I will have you expelled, I tell you. Expelled!

Student: I needed to blow this place anyway. Talk to you soon, Seymour. Your mother is going to call again. Just lie to her again and tell her you will come visit soon, but you will be too late because the cancer is already spreading

Principal: I am going to kill you.

Student: It happens.

Principal: Jesus!

Student: Yes? You rang?

Principal: Shit! Go eat shit! Leave my office and go eat shit!

Jesus: Will do.


Scene 3
Same day. Jesus and his father are driving home from school after the incident with the Principal. They are at a stoplight, waiting for children to cross as well.

Father: You must be ashamed of yourself. You have brought the ultimate shame to our family. Expelled?! What do we do now? Find another school? We've been kicked out of 3 public schools and 13 private schools already and I don't know what to do about you anymore. You have sinned.

Jesus: We all have immortal sin, Dad.

Father: Do you ever listen? Do you want to learn? Do you want to grow as person, as a functioning member of this society? Do you want to be like me? Heck, look at me. I finished high school to become a carpenter. It pays crap. I want you to better than me. You know what I could be doing now if I didn't care about you? I could be retired already, living in Cape Cod or Block Island or something, but I don't do that. I love you so much. Don't you see that? I suffer for you so you can have a better life than me. So I can grow old knowing that you can take care of your mother and I in that state. Listen to me. I tell you this because I love you. You know that. Talk to me, son.

Jesus: I know. Can you stop lecturing me, please? I'm old enough, Dad. I get lectured enough by idiots who don't know how to maintain their lives and don't know a thing about what real knowledge is. Epictetus said is best when he states that, "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." This world is plagued by madness and a universal feeling of settling into the mold that this is the way things are. Dad, I can't do that anymore. I can't.

Father: Come down, kid. You will be fine in time. What were you staying after for anyway?

Jesus shifts in car and does nothing but watch the clouds blanket the sky and the world transforms a few shades darker.

Father: Answer me. You might be God and all, but you are still my son and I am your father. Tell me.

Jesus turns to the window and watches a robin feed its babies in a nest. All the babies eager to ingest whatever food is given to them to guarantee survival.

Jesus (turns back): I stayed after for the debate club.

Father: Did you tell me you only stayed after for Home Ec.

Jesus: I quit that a while ago. Too boring. I went to debate once because of this hot girl in my History class and I feel in love. I become the captain after 2 weeks!

Father: How could you?

Jesus: What? It is just another club, Dad. Come down.

Father: I can't make you do it. Why am I so stupid? I am just there, aren’t I? You give him a plan. You give her a plan? Why not me? I get the bullshit, take care of everyone award. I think I got my biscuit through Holy Mail. You couldn't give him one thing that is similar? One thing that makes him mine? What did I do to deserve this?

Jesus: If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.

Father: You scare me sometimes, kid. In a good way.

Jesus: Dad! Watch out!

A driver who tries to beat the red light hits car on the passenger side. Fade to black. End.

Nowhere near complete, but I wanted to get this idea down before I forget it.
Tell me what you think. It would be greatly appreciated.