Balanced/Unbalanced

College student Aubrey has tragic news to break to her best friend Ryan’s mother, Mrs. Murray, over a game of Jenga, but Mrs. Murray’s unbothered demeanor may conceal an even more disturbing truth.

Balanced/Unbalanced

AUBREY is a sophomore in college, which she attends with her high school best friend Ryan. She is nervous, depressive, and nonconfrontational even when it comes to important matters, but she harbors an anger deep down. She is one of those young adults who don’t believe they should count as adults at all.

MRS. MURRAY is Ryan’s cheery middle-aged mother, a traditional stay-at-home type with a maternal attitude towards all people her son’s age. She tends to deflect from conflict, preferring instead to maintain peace at all costs, and believes that if she does this enough, the conflict at hand will disappear.

SETTING: the interior of the Murray household, late evening/night. Minimalist set: a table, two chairs, and a game of Jenga.

AUBREY stands by the door of MRS. MURRAY’s house, looking pensive and troubled. She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath, before knocking on the door. After a moment, MRS. MURRAY opens the door.

AUBREY

Hello.

MRS. MURRAY

Aubrey! Come in, come in! 

AUBREY enters tentatively, taking a seat and steeling herself while MRS. MURRAY fusses about with nothing, perhaps imaginary table setting. On the table is one game of Jenga, in its box.

I was expecting my son actually, but you have to know you’re always welcome in the Murray household. I’ll put on coffee.

AUBREY

Thank you.

MRS. MURRAY exits for a moment to start the coffee, then re-enters.

MRS. MURRAY

When is Ry going to be back? There are so few school breaks for you university people.

AUBREY

Actually, I - he’ll be awhile.

MRS. MURRAY

Oh, he was always one to stay out past curfew. Over at yours, I’d usually expect back then. Been so lonely now that you two are away at college. How is that going, dear?

AUBREY

I don’t think I was ready for it all, to be honest. I don’t think any of us were ready.

MRS. MURRAY

Nonsense, you’re such a capable young lady. I’m sure it’s just old-fashioned jitters.

AUBREY

Thank you.

MRS. MURRAY

When I went to college, I thought for sure I wasn’t cut out for it, being away from my mother and sisters and all. And then of course I thought, what on God's green Earth am I going to do with an English degree? But that’s where I met my husband Tom, so it worked out in the end. I’m sure your life will go the way it’s meant to.

AUBREY

Meant to?

MRS. MURRAY

Oh, just one of those things I believe - there’s a plan for everyone, you know, and even when things get hard it’s all just as it’s supposed to be in the end.

AUBREY

That’s a nice thought.

MRS. MURRAY

I think so too. 

MRS. MURRAY takes a seat opposite AUBREY and dumps out the Jenga box, beginning to stack the tower.

Now, I had this game set up for Ry, but it’s so short, I’m sure we can get a few rounds in before he gets here, if you don’t mind entertaining an old woman for a bit.

AUBREY

(mind in another world) …How do you play?

MRS. MURRAY

Well, we stack this here tower, and we take turns pulling out blocks until it falls over. The strategy’s all in keeping it balanced as it loses more and more structure, until the whole thing just comes apart at the seams.

AUBREY

And whoever knocks it over loses?

MRS. MURRAY

Not the way we play it  - Ry never liked losing as a child, so we would just start again and again until we got bored of the game. Less pressure on a young soul that way.

MRS. MURRAY finishes stacking the tower.

AUBREY

I - I’ll play.

MRS. MURRAY

You seem down today, dear. 

AUBREY

No, no - just tired from… final exams.

MRS. MURRAY

They work you kids ragged, don’t they?

AUBREY

Kinda, yeah.

MRS. MURRAY

At any rate, you’re here now.

AUBREY

Mrs. Murray, I-

MRS. MURRAY

Call me Martha, dear child. 

AUBREY

I have to tell you something.

A loud whistle, as from a kettle, plays. MRS. MURRAY bolts up, ignoring what AUBREY said.

MRS. MURRAY

Ope, that’ll be the kettle. I’ll get you a mug. Sugar?

AUBREY

No thanks.

MRS. MURRAY

Anything you say, dear.

MRS. MURRAY exits. AUBREY puts her head in her hands, but returns to a neutral position when MRS. MURRAY returns with the coffee. AUBREY  takes out a Jenga piece and places it on top.

Here you are - a tad hot, so I put an ice cube in it for you.

AUBREY

You’re very kind. 

AUBREY takes a drink.

MRS. MURRAY

It really is nothing. You said you had to tell me something?

MRS. MURRAY removes a Jenga piece. AUBREY takes a deep breath.

AUBREY

Well - Ryan and I - he -

MRS. MURRAY

(interrupting, placing her block on top of the tower) Is this about that stargazing club he was calling me about all in a tizzy? However did that go?

AUBREY loses her carefully-built resolve. She sips some coffee.

AUBREY

…Well, we didn’t get any members the first time around, so it was just him and me on the quad staring straight up. He forgot the telescope, so we were just kinda looking. He said he saw the north star, but it was just a helicopter - probably messing with me, but there’s a nonzero chance he really thought the north star flickered red and streaked across the sky. Reminded me of middle school when he would try to convince me your cat was an alien, but I knew she was really just hairless. 

MRS. MURRAY

That sounds so lovely.

AUBREY

It was. Of course, we got a bit of interest eventually, and remembered the equipment properly, so the next one went a bit more normally. We scheduled it over a meteor shower, but I never saw any. Ryan said he did, but I don’t know. He was explaining the difference between a meteor and a comet pretty well though, getting all excited like he always does.

MRS. MURRAY

And what would that be?

AUBREY

When it looks like a meteor is falling, it actually is - burning up in our atmosphere until there’s nothing left. Sometimes a little chunk survives, but then it’s a meteorite. Comets, though - they’re not really falling at all, they just have a massive orbit, travelling all the way outside the furthest planets in the solar system and back again to whoosh just past us. They go away for years and years, but they come back. 

Beat. She removes a Jenga piece and places it on top.

Even when you’re sure they’re gone, they come back.

MRS. MURRAY

My son has a keen eye, that’s why he was always so talented in his science classes. When he won the science fair in 8th grade, I thought I’d burst with motherly pride. 

AUBREY

(smiling) I remember that. I was so jealous because I thought for sure my volcano was the most impressive thing out there, never mind the 15 other ones. He was a smart kid.

At that last sentence, MRS. MURRAY flinches while removing a block from the Jenga tower.

MRS. MURRAY

Oh, look at that-! Whole thing almost fell over. This game is a little too exciting for my old lady bones.

AUBREY

Well, we don’t have to play-

MRS. MURRAY

Nonsense. 

She places the block on top.

I’m sure Ry is almost here, and then we can all play together. He’ll be ecstatic to see you here, even if you did just spend the whole semester together. Such luck!

AUBREY

Yeah. It was a good year. Look, Mrs. Murray-

MRS. MURRAY

Martha.

AUBREY

Martha, I’m not just here to say hi, I really need to tell you something.

MRS. MURRAY

Did Ry finally pop the question!? 

Beat.

Oh, dear, I shouldn’t have said that. I just get so excited these days, it’s about time for him to settle down.

AUBREY

Did he - what?!

MRS. MURRAY

Pop the question, dear. He told me time and time again, it’s not like that Mom, but I know true love when I see it, and I told him, go get her before it’s too late! I could tell you were all in a daze today, dear. What did you say? When’s the wedding?

AUBREY

No, that’s not, that’s not - I can’t believe that was even on the table. You know that’s not what he wanted. I… oh my god. 

MRS. MURRAY

You mean he didn’t ask?

AUBREY shakes her head, shocked

You two will come around. I can always tell what’s meant to be and what isn’t, and you two would make the most perfect couple. Imagine the children! With your hair and his eyes… I’ve always wanted to be a grandmother, you know.

AUBREY

Oh, Mrs. Murray, I… I really do need to tell you -

MRS. MURRAY

All things in good time, dear. We have all the time in the world. How are you liking the coffee?

AUBREY sighs and removes a piece, placing it on top.

AUBREY

It’s very good.

MRS. MURRAY removes a piece and places it on top.

MRS. MURRAY

I ground it myself, you know. Me and Tom and Ry went to Costa Rica this past summer vacation, and the coffee there was just so perfect, you could see the trees it grew on, and I knew I wasn’t going to let the deliciousness end. So I bought the biggest bag they sold at one of the farms we visited, and my morning cup has been perfect ever since. It will never run out. I ration it just so.

AUBREY

That’s not - coffee beans don’t work like that. They go bad eventually.

MRS MURRAY

I ration it just so.

AUBREY wavers, struggles to breathe evenly, and tries to remove a piece. It doesn’t work. She tries another. It comes out, but as she places it on top, the tower topples. Beat. AUBREY makes a decision.

AUBREY

Look, I’m sorry, but I’m about to just start talking, because if I don’t, I never will. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s - something happened today, Mrs. Murray.

MRS. MURRAY

And what would that be, dear? I know coming home for the summer can be so stressful, all that packing.

AUBREY

 Me and Ryan, this morning after we packed up, I - so Ryan and I were in different cars, but we were on the phone the whole time, right? We had been talking about, I don’t know, some video game, and we didn’t want to stop, so we stayed on call. When it started raining, we thought we needed to keep calling just in case one of us got lost, but I kept him in my sight from behind. It’s not easy to lose a neon green Jeep. He wanted to slow down when it started storming, but the flow of traffic can be pretty brutal, y’know? So I said, let’s just wait until we hit our exit, and then we can pull over a while. So we kept going 5, 10 over, together all the way. I started to get worried when we couldn’t see the stoplights anymore, but he said that all you really needed to do on roads like these was follow the car in front of you. Herd immunity protects the people who can’t protect themselves, so as long as everyone else, y’know, the drivers more familiar with these roads, knew what they were doing, we’d be fine, right? He said he knew how independent I was, but this wasn’t a time for forging my own path, and I laughed, and he laughed too. But I guess the driver in front of him ran a red light or something, because that Jeep never made it to our exit. Jesus, Martha, I’m so sorry. It was all my fault, I should have gone in front -

MRS. MURRAY

(completely unbothered) No worries, dear.

Beat.

AUBREY

(utterly floored) What?

MRS. MURRAY

That car was old anyway, and I was planning to surprise him with a new one for his 21st. Much nicer than that old eyesore.

MRS. MURRAY starts stacking the Jenga tower anew.

AUBREY

Ryan was in the Jeep when it got hit, Martha.

MRS. MURRAY

I’m sure he’ll be alright.

AUBREY

He got T-boned by a pickup at 70 miles an hour, Martha. He - Ryan didn’t make it.

MRS. MURRAY

Oh, I know dear.

AUBREY

You - what?

MRS. MURRAY

The hospital people called me about it around, ooh, an hour ago? I’m sure it’ll blow over, though, these things tend to. You young people are so pessimistic these days, It’s the phones I’m sure. All that bad news.

AUBREY

He’s dead, Mrs. Murray.

MRS. MURRAY

Nothing a healthy young man can’t get over!

AUBREY

I saw it. 

MRS. MURRAY

And? Things always go the way they’re meant to, dear, just as I said, and Ry’s meant for great things.

AUBREY

I don’t think you understand - 

MRS. MURRAY

No, no, you get to understand these things when you’re older - being a mother just gives you a certain intuition. What was it you were saying about space rocks a few minutes ago?

AUBREY

…Meteors crash and burn, but comets keep coming back.

MRS. MURRAY

Just so, dear. My son’s more of a comet type.

AUBREY struggles to make sense of this complete illogic and watches MRS. MURRAY stack the tower, getting angrier and sadder as the tower gets taller. Eventually, AUBREY knocks over the tower, sending blocks flying. She speaks untethered, both grieving and furious.

AUBREY

You aren’t listening to me! Do you know how hard it was to watch that happen? A lifetime of friendship buried in burning wreckage? The smoke was so much, I felt like throwing up. I still do. I didn’t even get to see him before they wheeled him off to the hospital, and when I got there, that was that. Over and done with. No more. I don’t know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. He was my person, you know? When I had a stupid idea in the middle of the night, I would call him. I don’t think I’ll ever sleep again.

MRS. MURRAY

(unfazed) That wasn’t very kind, knocking over my tower like that. I can always just build it again, you know. You had more manners as a child.

AUBREY

Life isn’t f*****g Jenga! Sometimes a building collapses, and people die, and there’s nothing you can do about it. And you know what? In real Jenga, the person who knocks the tower over loses.

MRS. MURRAY

I’m sorry you’re so narrow-minded.

AUBREY

I saw it! I saw it…

MRS. MURRAY

I remember when I was smaller like you, I used to be so convinced that there was a great white shark under my bed. Never mind that sharks live in the ocean, that I was born and raised in Nebraska, but I had read this book and I was utterly convinced. My mind just couldn’t take it. And I stopped sleeping at night, you know, my grades dropped and such. But one night my mother came in, and she heard me crying about the shark, how I didn’t want to be eaten and killed without even saying goodbye - that was what I was really worried about, saying goodbye - and she looked with me under the bed and asked me what I saw, and in that moment, Aubrey dear, I saw it. Its big teeth just gnashing to get me. And she said, Martha, sometimes we get so afraid that we see things that aren’t there at all, but I can promise that you and this family will always be safe, and someday, you’ll have your own family to keep safe from the sharks in their minds. I’ll always be here, she said, but when you stop being scared, the shark will disappear. All the bad things in your mind will. And I never saw it again, dear.

AUBREY

But I’m not crazy! I saw it, the people at the hospital, they marked down his time of death and everything! I saw it…

MRS. MURRAY softens. She stands, walks over, and gives AUBREY a big hug, stroking her hair. The next lines are spoken through the hug.

MRS. MURRAY

Being young is so very difficult, isn’t it?

AUBREY makes a sound that could be a sob, or could be “...yeah.”

I’ll get you a tissue, and then we can play another round while we wait for Ry, okay?

MRS. MURRAY lets go and exits. AUBREY is angry; she flings more Jenga pieces about until she runs out of energy. She heaves a big sigh, looks around, and starts stacking the tower anew. Blackout.

Fin

Author's Note

Written for performance by students at a high school but has not been performed yet, feedback welcome

Reviews

[Kane Hagwood]

Wow. Just.... woah. When I saw this, I told myself "You know what, I'm gonna have a notepad out and take notes. As I started reading, that idea faded. This is VERY well written, and there's a LOT of work that was put into this. My only regret is I won't be able to touch on every topic that was mentioned. Although I'm not experienced in writing plays, I know quality work when I see it.

Poor Aubrey. I wanted to give her a freaking hug before I even knew what happened. The weight the world throws on young shoulders never seems fair, and to witness what happened to Ryan, I felt my stomach turn. I very much felt like Mrs. Murray in that moment. "No, he's still alive. He HAS to be, right?" The way Mrs. Murry brushes off the trauma, discounting it as "sharks under the bed" in her own eyes.... I hate to admit I've met too many people like that in my life. Completely broken, or completely ignorant, to what is right in front of them.

I have full trust in what Aubrey witnessed, but at the same time, the childish side of me wants a happy ending. I feel this play leaves so many possibilities on where to move forward with the story. Or, to leave it as it is. The imagery with the Janga, and the coffee grounds conversation. All of this is wonderful.

"Meteors crash and burn, but comets keep coming back." That line.... oh, there's SO much to unpack with that, with all the characters. Is Aubrey a "Meteor" that crushes and burns, or will she bounce back and return like a comet? What about Ryan? Did he literally crash and burn, or was his mother really right about him? And Mrs. Murray, bless her heart, how about her? Is she going to live in denial of what Aubrey told her? Or is she too going to crash and burn when she finally accepts her son's fate?

This is so wonderfully put together, and I'd LOVE to read more of your work. Keep writing. Keep growing. And let's all try to be more like comets rather than meteors, coming back to what matters and what truly moves us. :)