PLOT LINE
Assignment given.
Moment of uncertainty.
Then clarity, she has a brief idea of what to do for said assignment.
Her initial idea she hates, so she decides to wait until tomorrow for inspiration.
Tomorrow comes and she still doesn’t know what she wants to do. So she does some things that are more fun and entertaining instead.
She takes her niece to the mall to visit Him and then back home.
Goes to sleep because pretending to be a mother is harder than she thought it would be.
Then takes niece to the park and yells at her for getting in the water after being told not to on a particularly cool summer day.
Considers using that experience as material, but than decides it is now too hot to even write anything in her hot computer room, or room, or house – period.
Feels a level of discouragement but plans for better days in the future.
Decides she’s wrong and wants everyone else to know that.
Finally make a huge attempt at the assignment.
But its still hot and that creates a trickle of sweat that falls into her eyes and blinds her.
So she walks away from the computer and into an air-conditioned room, where she finds her cat sleeping. So she sleeps next to her cat, missing her initial deadline.
She finally wakes her, gives herself a pip talk.
Steps inside the hot computer room, sits on the leather chair and writes.
CHARACTER
Her- soft spoken, but defiant. Gives off completely that she is in control of things, everything, but slowly slipping away. That can be seen in her erratic behavior and constant inconsistencies. Wants to always do well, but doesn’t.
Niece- young, 3, cute, rambunctious, handful – but obedient
Him- makes her stutter, but is more and more unappealing as time progress. Unfortunate because he has a lot of potential, which he strictly uses for work and school.
SCENE
"Generally, it really doesn’t matter why I procrastinate. Like … no excuse is really a good excuse." She muses, "I’ve had ‘Excuses’ drilled into my skull since senior year of High School– I hate them now."
"It wouldn’t kill you to let people know when you plan to dip out especially when you have responsibilities." The ideal would be that one lets those who need to be informed know that something has ‘come up’ and something always ‘comes up’. She just never thinks of any of it as important enough to make one aware of. Or perhaps, the things that have come up are more important than that prior engagement. Therefore, she does not see the need to address the prior engagement at all.
"Excuses are tools of the incompetent. Used to build monuments of nothing. Those who specialize in them seldom amount to anything. Hence, I have messed up magnanimously. Excuses, excuses, excuses." She smiles. "Something like that. If I had known you would have been coming this weekend I would have been done WAY in advance."
"Sure"
"I wasn’t expecting you."
"I know, but you should expect something. Always."
"I try. Especially now." She pauses, almost as if she has reconsidered her stance. Feeling the need to defend herself with a little more humility this time around she says, "I would have done it."
"I know."
She sighs and then laughs, "excuses, excuses, excuses. I recited ‘Excuses’ for him once because he stays with an excuse. He thinks I’m emotionally unstable.""Really?""Mm-hm. I thought that was funny because I’m far from EMOTIONALLY unstable."
"Yeah, we’re not emotionally unstable really."
"I WOULD have done it. I don’t mean to procrastinate as much as I do… I just –"
She’s interrupted, "things come up." The ideal would be that no matter what comes up she would always be prepared. Especially at this time, knowing how her life is. Knowing she should always be prepared. And knowing she doesn’t tell anyone anything about herself which is why the preparedness is so vital. How in one second her sense of self and level of sensibility is completely wiped away and she could possibly be in need of four padded walls and a straight jacket. But because she’s been able to put on a farce for so many years she has not informed any additional people of her propensity to shut off the world. And once she shuts out the world she won’t need four padded walls and a little tiny plastic cup with her daily meds. All she needs is a quiet space and the comfort to know that the outside world is just that – outside.
"I would have done it. I can’t help that I procrastinate, things come up." She gets out of the chair, walks across the room and looks at no one in particular, "you’re a lot better to talk to than most people."
"Its because everyone else is in your head, but I’m really here."