B-Sides: Track Six

Scene Six of Eleven. "A twenty-seven year old despondent writer and a sixteen year old musician form a profound attachment to each other through their love of David Bowie."

 

 

 

SIDE TWO

 

TRACK SIX

              [Lady Stardust plays]

[Lights up on a chair sitting center stage. Mayya and Clive both enter the stage. Mayya slowly sits on the chair and faces Clive. Clive produces a make-up kit and, very gently, begins to apply the make-up for the bruise to Mayya’s right eye. After he finishes, Mayya gets up and Clive hands her the make-up and sits down. Mayya begins to apply the cuts and scrapes of Clive’s mugging to his face. When she is finished, Clive gently touches her hand. The lights fade.]

[Spotlight on stage right. Sarah is on the phone. Spotlight stage left. Josh answers.]

                   SARAH

Josh?

                   JOSH

What happened? I tried calling Clive.

                   SARAH

He’s not answering.

                   JOSH

What did you say to him?

                   SARAH

We had an argument, and he left.

                   JOSH

What did you talk about?

                   SARAH

Mayya, what do you think we talked about?

                   JOSH

Where is he?

SARAH

Did he f**k Mayya? Josh?

                   JOSH

Where is he?

                   SARAH

Why didn’t you tell me he had been seeing her?

                   JOSH

Because I’m his friend, not yours, and I personally don’t give a s**t about whether or not he did or didn’t, I just want to know where he is.

                   SARAH

I don’t know.

[The spotlights fade on them as the lights rise on Clive, sitting on the park bench by himself. Mayya enters.]

     MAYYA

Hey.

[Clive sees her face and immediately runs up to comfort her.]

     CLIVE

Jesus, what happened to you?

                   MAYYA

What happened to you?

                   CLIVE

Who did this?

                   MAYYA

Clive?

              [Clive holds Mayya.]

                   CLIVE

It’s okay. We’ll figure this out.

                   MAYYA

Why aren’t you home?

                   CLIVE

Sarah and I had a fight.

              [pause]

She didn’t do this. This was someone else.

                   MAYYA

I’m sorry.

                   CLIVE

Don’t be.

                   MAYYA

Why is this happening to us?

                   CLIVE

Mayya…

              [Mayya goes to sit down.]

                   MAYYA

I hate everyone and everything.

                   CLIVE

It’s not so bad.

                   MAYYA

Whatever.

                   CLIVE

You’ve still got your guitar. Your art. Bowie’s still there.

                   MAYYA

It doesn’t make me feel better.

                   CLIVE

I know.

                   MAYYA

When did things start turning to this?

              [Clive sits down next to Mayya.]

                   CLIVE

S**t like this starts to build up, I guess. First it starts out small and you think you can take it, then the next thing you know you’re drowning.

                   MAYYA

I’m drowning.

                   CLIVE

Maybe now you are. But things will start to look up. I guarantee it. You’re a special kind of person, Mayya. The kind of person who gets through the worst kind of s**t and goes on to do amazing things.

                   MAYYA

And what kind of person are you?

                   CLIVE

Someday you’ll be playing one of your shows, and this big-time producer will see you playing and love your sound, and he’ll sign you to a label, and you’ll record an album and be famous. You’ll own a mansion, and tour all around the world. And then you can visit all the places you’ve always wanted to see.

                   MAYYA

And you’ll be with me?

                   CLIVE

As your manager it would be odd if I wasn’t.

                   MAYYA

Yeah?

                   CLIVE

Yeah. I’ll be in charge of scheduling shows and tours, and choose what venues you play at and in which cities. Of course, I’ll probably pick cities that I want to visit.

                   MAYYA

That’s okay.

                   CLIVE

And since you’ll be playing all these huge stadiums and crazy venues, you’ll need a backing band.

                   MAYYA

Like Siouxse Sioux.

                   CLIVE

Or Elvis Costello. And they’ll have a name too, so you’ll be known as, “Mayya and the…” And the uh…

                   MAYYA

Centaurs.

                   CLIVE

What?

                   MAYYA

It’s a half-man half-horse.

CLIVE

I know.

              [he smiles]

It’s perfect. So “Mayya and the Centaurs” will play all these shows all across the world.

                   MAYYA

And you’ll be there.

                   CLIVE

And I’ll be there. Standing in the crowd, surrounded by the thousands of people jumping to the music, screaming, shouting your name, and I’ll turn to one of them and I’ll say, “You see that girl Mayya. You have no idea the kind of s**t she’s been through. She’s the toughest girl I know.”

              [Mayya starts to cry.]

Hey, come here.

[Clive puts Mayya’s head in her lap and gently starts to stroke her hair.]

                   CLIVE

Tell me about Moscow.

                   MAYYA

I don’t remember.

                   CLIVE

Make it up.

                   MAYYA

It’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful; it’s like a fairy tale. Everything is white. There’s freshly fallen snow all over the place but it’s never cold. All of the buildings are old, and each and every one of them has a history behind it. Its own story. And on every street there are people, tons of people, playing music, selling artwork, talking and laughing with each other. And nobody is unhappy. Everyone has a smile on their face because it’s just so perfect. They’re exactly where they want to be.

                   CLIVE

It sounds wonderful.

                   MAYYA

              [smiling]

It is.

                   CLIVE

Hey.

                   MAYYA

What?

                   CLIVE

You know what you remind me of?

                   MAYYA

What?

                   CLIVE

You remind me of the babe.

              [Mayya laughs]

                   MAYYA

What babe?

                   CLIVE

Babe with the power.

                   MAYYA

What power?

                   CLIVE

Power of voodoo.

                   MAYYA

Who do?

CLIVE

You do?

                   MAYYA

Do what?

                   CLIVE

Remind me of the babe.

              [Lights fade]

Author's Note

This is a very rough first draft of the full length I just finished; I would be tremendously grateful of any opinions or suggestions for it; it's a story I'm rather passionate about and would like to know just how much work I have left to do on it; more scenes to follow