No Place to Go

A group of kids in a small town get into an argument with an elderly woman outside her shop.

CAST

Chloe……………………………………………………. Ashleigh

Fred……………………………………………………… Brad

Mark……………………………………………………... Shane

Joey…………………………………………………….... Zach

Mrs. Martin…………………………………………......... Jen

Mr. Smith……………………………………………….... Trevor

 

[A small town corner on the main street lined with shops. Two shops adjacent to each other on the corner are Shir-Lou’s Candy Store and Milk and Variety. A group of teenagers are clustered together on the corner between these two shops. They are wearing torn-up jeans and worn-out graphic t-shirts. The leader, Chloe, is wearing a sideways dirty baseball cap and a faded leather belt with chains hanging off of it. The other teenagers are crowded around her, ooohing and ahhhing.]

 

JOEY. Man, that cell phone sure is nice.

 

MARK. Move over, Chloe. I can’t see it.

 

FRED. Man, I wish I had a nice one like that. You ever see the hunk o’ junk I have?

 

[Mrs. Martin walks out of Milk and Variety. She is an elderly woman with a wrinkled and sour expression. She’s wearing a shapeless, grey wool dress that reaches down to her ankles, where she has thick knitted socks underneath leather sandals on her feet. Her grey hair is pulled up in a bun at the top of her head, but it’s coming out and beginning to fly every which way. She has a heavy limp and carries a cane.]

 

MARK. [softly] Don’t look now, but old Mrs. Martin just came outta her store. I think we’d better get the hell outta here.

 

[Mark starts to walk away. The rest of the group except Chloe follow him.]

 

MRS. MARTIN. [to Chloe] How many times did I tell you not to hang around here? Now, get off this street!

 

CHLOE. [realizes her group is leaving and calls out to them] What are you running for? [the group stops and faces Chloe] Don’t you see that she wants you to run away? If you show her you’re afraid, then she has you!

 

MRS. MARTIN. [to Chloe] You’re Chloe, aren’t you? You’re the leader. [Chloe is silent and stands her ground] Well, I don’t want you hanging around here like this. The people who come into my store don’t like it and it doesn’t look nice. Don’t you hoodlums have homes to go to?

 

CHLOE. Don’t you?

 

[her gang laughs]

 

MRS. MARTIN. I’ll remember you! You’re the bad one!

 

CHLOE. If we was standing in front o’ your store, ma’am, then you might have some rights, but from here to the corner [she points from Shir Lou’s Candy Store to the edge of Milk and Variety] is Shir Lou’s. When we stand in front o’ your store, then you can say something.

 

MRS. MARTIN. Don’t talk wise to me, young lady! All I have to do is go right back into my store and call the police. There is a law against standing around on street corners in this town.

 

JOEY. Is that so? Well, I guess you better get back in your store before the police see you, ma’am.

 

[the gang laughs. Joey and Mark high-five each other.]

 

FRED. We don’t understand the laws so good.

 

MRS. MARTIN. When the police take all of you down to the station house, you will understand that!

 

[Mr. Smith, Shir-Lou’s owner, steps out of his store and stands by the door of his shop. He is a middle-aged man with brown hair that is greying slightly at the temples. He’s wearing a purple sweater vest with a long-sleeved collared shirt underneath and beige dress pants with shiny black shoes. He’s wearing eye glasses. He sighs softly to himself and shakes his head when he sees the confrontation going on.]

 

CHLOE. [to Mrs. Martin] Where do you want us to go?

 

MRS. MARTIN. Go? [looks around wildly, with exaggerated, flailing hand gestures] Go anywhere, but keep off this corner!

 

CHLOE. Go anywhere? You name a place to go in this town!

 

MRS. MARTIN. That is something for you to worry about; not me.

 

[Chloe gathers her gang and walks downstage right. Mr. Smith and Mrs. Martin move downstage center.]

 

MR. SMITH. [to Mrs. Martin] Those kids are right, Gretta. What do you want from them? They’re not bad kids, and if they had someplace to go, they wouldn’t be standing here.

 

MRS. MARTIN. Oh please! Just because they spend a few cents in your store, you try to help them, but we’ll see who’s right! [she goes back into her store]

 

MR. SMITH. [to Chloe and her gang] Try to take it easy, youngsters.

 

[They do not answer. Mr. Smith returns to Shir-Lou’s.]

 

FRED. Do you think ol’ Mrs. Martin’ll really call the cops?

 

CHLOE. Let her!

 

JOEY. She thinks she owns this street.

 

MARK. [hesitatingly] Maybe we should go.

 

FRED. [jeeringly] Why, Mark, are you afraid?

 

MARK. [getting defensive] Hey, don’t worry ‘bout me!

 

MRS. MARTIN. [peering out from her store’s window] The police are on their way!

 

JOEY. [sarcastically] Thanks for letting us know; we was just leaving!

 

CHLOE. C’mon guys. We can go over to the gas station.

 

[Kids exit upstage right. End of scene.]

Author's Note

I wrote this short little skit back in ninth grade for my drama class. I recently discovered it scribbled on a scrap piece of paper shoved in an old box while I was searching for a notebook with a plot line I was looking for written in it.

I left out the last names of the actors who put on this skit, purely because this is the internet and one cannot be too careful on the internet.

Reviews

[Bugg]

This piece is good. It shows potential. I just don't understand the ending. I think if the character, Chloe, had more emotion it would help the piece. And I think if you add more detail to the end it would also help some. Just some suggestions...

Bugg

[Brendan Kerestes]

Very good; you are a gifted script writer!

[Sagemind]

Nicely done. I can just imagine all of these different people interacting in this way.