By Alessandro V.
CHARACTERS
SPIFF: Cheetah. 17 years. Male
JAY: Rotweiler. 21 years. Male
SETTING
A hot sandy desert. Population is scarce.
TIME
Middle of July. Hottest week of the year.
SCENE1
At rise. JAY and SPIFF on stage, facing each other. Hostile demeanor. JAY is sharpening his claws and poisoning them while SPIFF watches.
JAY
I do this for our own protection Spiff. It’s to our advantage when we fight, you know that.
SPIFF
I don’t know, to me it seems excessive. You’re going overboard man. You do enough damage as it is, but poison, really?
JAY
Look, you do you, let me do me, I have to make them pay for killing my father. I don’t take it lightly you know.
SPIFF
I get it, but you’re fighting fire with fire already, now your adding gas to the already burning fire, ya feel me?
JAY
I get it, but aye, I’m a savage at heart, live by the claw you die by it right?
SPIFF
You’re crazy man. You’re just plain insane.
JAY
I know. So you comin tonight? We finna get another one of them again, I know where he’s going to be after work and we’re gonna give it to him good.
SPIFF
Yeah, about that, I’ll go, but I’m already sore from last night’s fight, and we’re doing this way too often, it’s hot man, if we do this every night it increases our chances of getting caught. We’re not going tomorrow right?
JAY
I don’t know, maybe not, we’ll see wassup.
SPIFF
I’m serious, and you gotta stop with all the poion stuff, something bad finna happen, I can tell.
JAY
This again, man, talk about something now, we already went through this, you know I’m not going to stop.
SPIFF
Okay, you win, you got a real hard head though, I’m just sayin’, your head is harder than you hit.
JAY
Aye, shut up, before I show you how hard I hit. Go get ready for tonight, we’re leaving in an hour.
THEY exit.
SCENE 2
Hunting later that night. SPIFF and JAY are walking towards their destination.
JAY
We’re going to the club in the cactus forrest, you know the scorpions like to hang out around there. Anyway I found out one of them for sure is going to be there tonight and he’s rumoured to be one of the guys who was there when my pops was killed.
SPIFF
F’real? Where did you find that out? Actually, scratch that, I don’t even want to know.
JAY
Alright, come on, get down, we’re here.
THEY crouch down to hide behind a cactus
SPIFF (To audience)
I’ve finally realized that Jay is bringing me down the wrong path, I mean, I’ve known it before now, but I can finally admit it to myself. All this hunting he’s doing is starting to get to be too much. He’s doing is too often now, and he is fighting too dirty. At first it was okay, everything felt somewhat normal going out hunting with Jay. But now he wants to go every day, and it’s way too dangerous; One of us could die! I could never forgive myself if I was there and he died and I know he would feel the same way, the hard part is that I know he wouldn’t realize it until it actually happens. But then leaving him would put him in danger, fighting all alone like that, no matter how savage he can be. He’s like a father to me, but he’s doing all the wrong things. I know I should stop, but abandoning him would be so difficult. But what if I die, I couldn’t do that to my mom. If he can’t make the choice for himself, then I will have to step back. Then, I can achieve my goal.
JAY (To SPIFF)
Look, there he is, we’re gonna wait for him to go to the bathroom which I assure he will, seeing as he has already had enough to drink, and when he comes out, we ambush him okay.
SPIFF
Okay, I got it.
JAY
There he goes, cmon.
SPIFF and JAY move out from behind the cactus
The scorpion comes out of the restroom
JAY
Hey you! You about to wish your mama gave you this whoopin and not me.
JAY and SPIFF start attacking the man ferociously.
JAY and SPIFF run away from the scene.
SCENE 3
Back home after the hunt
JAY
Yoooo! We beat his ass! He wasn’t ready for us, nobody ready for us, nobody!
SPIFF
Mhmm…
JAY
You seen all that blood man, he gon die from that beating.
SPIFF
Look man we got em, but it’s over, it’s been like an hour since it happened and you’re still hella loud about it, can you shut up already.
JAY
Damn, what’s wrong wit you cuz, blood got you spooked.
SPIFF
No Jay! You got me sppoked! You’re freaking me out with this killing pride that you have and I don’t know if I can keep doing this, I’m going to sleep.
SPIFF goes into his room alone
SPIFF
What the hell is going on! We just caught a body! Tis is bad, real bad. I don’t know if I could keep doin this, I don’t know, I don’t know, I DON’T KNOW!! Aghh. I probably look crzy right now just yelling at myself like this, but maybe I am crazy, I don’t know anymore. Jay is like my dad, I mean my real dad, I never met him, so Jay feels like my dad. I can’t just abandon him like that , But I can’t keep doing this if I even want the chance to move my family to a better place. Screw this I’m going to sleep, I’ll figure this out tomorrow.
JAY
I need SPIFF, he doesn’t realize it but I do really need him. Without him the fighting would be too hard for me. But I also can’t just stop and give the scorpions a pass for what they did to my father. I won’t stop until they all have paid their dues. Recently I’ve notice Spiff making excuses like “Oh, I really shouldn’t go tonight, my head is hurting from all this violence.” I can tell he’s starting to realize that maybe fighting for my pops is not what he wants to keep doing. The beef is mine, not Spiff’s, but he was his family too, would he really just back off like that, he’s being such a coward. I know I’m pretty cold hearted but I honestly could not forgive myself if Spiff died or got hurt fighting with me. We’re like brothers and I can’t lose that. It’s not like I’m forcing him to fight with me, he could choose not to, but he knows I would go myself with or without him, no matter how dangerous. I know I’m being a bad influence for him as a father figure, but it’s something I just can’t let go. It hurts me on the inside.
SCENE 4
The next morning at breakfast
SPIFF
We need to talk.
JAY
Hold up, this is more important and I gotta tell you, I found this out last night.
SPIFF
NO! I was talking, don’t interrupt me! We’ve been doing this fighting for years, to avenge your pops, years! Haven’t we accomplished that by now? (sarcastically) No, no, no now we need to poison and sharpen our claws, and kill them all until there are none of them left, happily ever after. No Jay, I’m done, I don’t care what you have to tell me, I’m done, no mas, no more fighting. I swear to you I’m done, don’t even try to convince me to keep going, I’m done.
JAY
You’re… done?
SPIFF
Done.
JAY
Done…
SPIFF
Yess dammit! I’m done, you heard me right!!
JAY
I heard you I just
SPIFF
Yes… Done, D.O.N.E Done.
JAY
So I’ll be going out alone tonight then.
SPIFF
No. I want you to be done too.
JAY
I can’t.
SPIFF
You mean you can, you just don’t want to.
JAY
I don’t know, but I’m still fighting, with or without you, potato or potAto, tomato or tomAto, I’m going. And if you’re not going, I don’t know what will happened.
SPIFF
Then don’t go… stay.
JAY
There’s more of them now, that’s what I was trying to tell you when I cut you off.
SPIFF
More of who?
JAY
Them, the scorpions, the guys who killed my pops, you’re uncle. After what we did last night, they called in for their families and friends. They put 10,000 sand dollars on our heads, anyone who sees us is gonna wanna kill us.
SPIFF
Even more reason for you not to want to fight! Just stop! Stop fighting and lets move, mom, me, and you. We can move to the relaxing jungles of New Guinea, and we won’t have to worry about this any more.
Long Silence
JAY
I can’t just give up like that, it’s not me.
SPIFF
Are you going hunting tonight?
JAY
I don’t know.
SPIFF
Okay, well look, you really leave me no choice. I’m not going to fight or hunt with you any more, so tomorrow I’m taking mom and we’re going to move, we’re going to New Guinea and we’re not coming back. It’s up to you if you’re gonna come or not, you’ve got till tomorrow to decide.
JAY
What! Really you’re going to give me an ultimatum like that? Spiff man c’mon, we’re cousins, I’m like your father.
SPIFF
You may be like my father but you don’t do a very good job at it.
JAY
I can’t believe this anymore, I’m leaving, I’m going hunting right now. I just can’t.
JAY leaves angrily
SPIFF takes a deep breath
SPIFF
What the hell did I just do. Oh my god that felt great finally standing up to him like that but it feels strangely bad. Horrid. Who gives someone an ultimatum like that, I feel like I’ve betrayed him somehow. But it had to be done. It had to.
SCENE 5
JAY is out hunting alone
JAY
I can’t believe he would do this to me, he’s betrayed me, backstabbed me. That grimey son of a, aghhh. Right when I needed him most to hunt with me. I hope he knows I’m going to die fighting alone against all the scorpions. I’ll take a few with me but, I will not survive. And Auntie, how could I do that to her, she’s been like a mother to me since my mom died. She practically raised me. I don’t know what to do. Maybe he’s right. We have been hunting them down for years now, maybe we have had enough revenge. I don’t know what to do. Who forces someone into a predicament like this? But my pops, he deserves more, they all deserve to die for what they’ve done. I can’t choose. Family comes first, if they truly come first then I would go back, I should go back. I thought I did a good job at taking over the role of Spiff’s father. I’m not perfect, but nobody’s perfect. I should go back, I can’t leave Spiff, he and Auntie might not be safe wherever they go, and I have to be there to protect them. I must go back.
HE turns around and heads home
SCENE 6
The Next Morning
SPIFF
C’mon mother, hurry up in there we must leave for New Guinea in ten minutes if we want to make it there by sundown. Jay’s not coming. We’re leaving in ten minutes.
JAY comes out of nowhere
JAY
Who’s not coming?
SPIFF
Jay! Wait do I hit you or hug you?
JAY
You could try to hit me but you won’t like how it ends for you, But… I’m coming with you. I have decided that although you abandoned me in fighting, I cannot abandon you or your mother. We’ve done enough fighting, I’m satisfied with my revenge, and I also promise to try and be a better father figure to you as well. You deserve it. I’m sorry.
SPIFF gives JAY a big hug
SPIFF
Thank you… thank you.
END OF PLAY
