What We Hate Most (Part III)

Third part of my one-act play. Rated PG13 for adult language.

                            GRACE

That sucks a*s.

 

                             JASON

Why are you down here, anyway?  Don’t you live up in New York?  What made you come all the way to Boston?

 

                            GRACE

Gramma died.

                      (Pause, then GRACE laughs.)

It’s so stupid, really; we never even saw her that often.  We barely even knew her.  I think, the last time we visited her, it was Easter.  I was like fifteen, and Logan was twelve.  And I remember she said, “You come visit again sometime, okay?”  And Mom said, “We’ll see, Mama.”  And we never did go back.  We almost always visited on Easter.  But after that, we were all so busy that we never had the time.  You know something funny?  One year, I think Logan was six, I stuck a jellybean in his ear.  Instead of freaking out, he started hitting the other ear to try and pop it back out, telling everyone, “No, this is not my mouth.  Jebby-Leans go in my mouth.”

 

                             JASON

Oh, God, did he get it out?

 

                            GRACE

Oh, yeah.  Dad got some tweezers and pulled it right out.  And afterwards, everyone was laughing.  You know, he never did tell anyone that I put it there.

 

                             JASON

He’s a good guy.

 

                            GRACE

The best.  Anyway, I needed to tell him, but I don’t know how.  He’ll just get mad at me.

 

                             JASON

No, there’s something else that brought you here.  You could have just called him and told him.  Hell, your mom could have told him.

 

                            GRACE

Okay, you got me.  Don’t tell him this, okay?

                      (JASON nods.)

I don’t want us to be like Gramma.  I want to fix things before we can’t, but I don’t know where to start.  We just keep fighting.

 

                             JASON

Ah.  I see the real problem here.  Say, have you seen the parks around here?  They’re really pretty.  You should go look at them tomorrow.

 

                            GRACE

Uh, sure.  What does that have to do-

 

                             JASON

Well, if every time you two talk, you fight, maybe you don’t need to talk at all.  Maybe you just need to enjoy something small together.

 

                      (Enter LOGAN from SL.)

 

                            LOGAN

God, are you still here?

                      (Seeing bowl)

Oh, ice cream!  Is there any left, Jay?

 

                             JASON

Yeah, we have more.  I didn’t get pizza, though.  No money.  Came back in to ask for some, but…

 

                            LOGAN

Oh, yeah, no problem.  Ice cream for dinner?  I’m not complaining!

 

                            GRACE

You could probably use a little ice cream anyway, ya twig.

 

                            LOGAN

I should take yours then, porky.

 

                             JASON

Logan.

 

                            LOGAN

Oh, come on, I’m just teasing!  Besides, she’s already eaten all of hers.

 

                            GRACE

No, he’s right.  I need to lose a little weight.  I’ll go for a walk tomorrow.  You were saying the parks were really nice anyway.

 

                             JASON

Why don’t you go with her Logan?  Show her around town?  You don’t have class until noon anyway.

 

                            LOGAN

Yeah, fine.

                      (To GRACE)

How’s school treating you, Grace?  Do you even have a place of your own yet, or do you live with Mom and Dad?

                            GRACE

I still live with them in the summers.  It’s cheaper.

 

                            LOGAN

That figures.  How is everyone else holding up?

 

                      (JASON motions to GRACE to tell him, but GRACE shakes her head.  JASON face-palms.)

 

                            GRACE

They’re okay, give or take a few.

 

                             JASON

Tell him about Gramma.

 

                            GRACE

Jason!

 

                            LOGAN

What’s wrong with Gramma?

 

                             JASON

You were gonna have to tell him eventually anyway.

 

                            LOGAN

Tell me what?

 

                            GRACE

You can’t just go blurting stuff like that!

 

                            LOGAN

Blurting what?

 

                             JASON

Well, you’d best tell him, then, because now he knows something’s up.

 

                            GRACE

But I don’t wanna!

 

                            LOGAN

What is it?

 

                            GRACE

Gramma’s dead!

                      (Silence, GRACE hides her face and cries.  LOGAN stares at her.  JASON tries to sneak into the kitchen.)

 

                            LOGAN

What?

 

                            GRACE

She just died, Logan.  There was nothing anyone could do.  She just… No one… And we never saw her for years!

 

                            LOGAN

Why didn’t you tell me?

 

                            GRACE

I couldn’t!  I mean, I didn’t know how.  I’m sorry, Logan; I’m so sorry.

 

                            LOGAN

You even told Jason before you told me!  He’s never even met Gramma.  What the hell, Grace?

 

                            GRACE

I knew you’d get mad.  That’s why I didn’t say anything!

 

                            LOGAN

Jay, you f*****g traitor!

 

                             JASON

Hey, calm down, I wouldn’t do that to you on purpose, Logan.

 

                            GRACE

Logan, please.

 

                            LOGAN

                      (To GRACE)

You get out!  Just get the hell out of my house!

 

                             JASON

Logan, she’s your sister!  Please-

 

                            LOGAN

Don’t you take her side, Jay.  Ever since I came out, she’s been hiding s**t from me and bossing me around.  I’m always the last to know anything!  Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you’re entitled to s**t, you know!

 

                            GRACE

Stop it!

 

                            LOGAN

No, Grace!  What do you want from me that you do this s**t?  Huh?  Tell me what you want Grace!  Just tell me what it is that I can’t do so we can be out of each other’s lives forever!

 

                            GRACE

I want to be your sister!

 

                             JASON

Please stop, Logan!

 

                            LOGAN

That’s bullshit!  You’re my sister because that’s how we were born.  It’s not something you can just choose to do!

 

                            GRACE

What do you want me to tell you?

 

                            LOGAN

Tell me you’re leaving!

 

                            GRACE

Fine, then, I’m leaving!

 

                      (GRACE grabs her suitcase and moves to SR.)

 

                            GRACE

I won’t ever bother you again, Logan.  I’m sorry for whatever hell I put you through.

 

                      (She exits.  JASON is frozen, but LOGAN paces the room.)

 

                             JASON

Logan?

 

                            LOGAN

WHAT?

 

                             JASON

Please don’t hate me.

 

                      (LOGAN stops.)

                            LOGAN

Aw, Jay, I couldn’t hate you.  Come here.

                      (Hugs JASON)

I’m sorry you had to see me like that.  She just knows how to tick me off, you see?

 

                             JASON

You hate that she gets whatever she wants, don’t you?

 

                            LOGAN

Yeah.

 

                             JASON

She hates that about you, too.

 

                            LOGAN

What?  What are you talking about?

 

                             JASON

When you were hiding in the bedroom, we were talking.  And she hates how you get away with everything.

 

                            LOGAN

I do not!

 

                             JASON

I know that.  Calm down, Logan.  But she thinks you do.  She thinks you have all the free time in the world, too.

 

                            LOGAN

Like hell.

 

                             JASON

Yeah, I know.  No one has time.  Not really.  We don’t have time to stop and look at what goes on around us.  We don’t have time to figure out how to fix ourselves when people break us.  We don’t even have time to take back the things we say, even if we regret it right away.

 

                            LOGAN

Yeah.  Man, Gracie must be really mad right now.  You know, when I was like 12, we visited Gramma for Easter.  Gracie would have been like fifteen.  It was the last time we ever went.

 

                             JASON

Why?  Why didn’t you ever go back?

 

 

                            LOGAN

Well, as we were pulling away from her house, Grace looked right at Mom and said, “God, she’s so weird.  I hope we never have to visit her again.”  Can you imagine that being the last thing you say about someone?

 

                             JASON

Logan, I love you, but do you listen to yourself when you talk?

 

                      (LOGAN pauses, then exits SR.  JASON sits on the couch.)

 

                             JASON

                      (To himself)

I remember this.  That tall guy from the baseball team that kept picking on me.  Yeah, he hated me.  That whole team was a bunch of homophobes.  ‘Cept him.  Just too afraid of being found out, he was.  Man, am I glad Amy told me about him or what?  Probably would have kept doing it until graduation if she hadn’t blackmailed him.  I guess it doesn’t matter where you come from or what your relations are or even what sport you play.  Just a fact of life, really: we’re always going to hate people who have what we hate most about ourselves.

 

                      (He stands up and looks down on the street through the window.)

 

                             JASON

                      (Smiling)

Eh, that’s cute.

 

                      (JASON opens the window and sticks his head out.)

 

                             JASON

You two get your asses back up here before ya freeze to death!  I’m making macaroni!

 

                        GRACE (OS)

And cheese!

 

                        LOGAN (OS)

With hot dogs!

 

                      (JASON shuts the window.)

 

                             JASON

Well, that’s not so bad at all, now is it?

Author's Note

You think you can offend me? You think you can offend ME? You can't handle the truth!