A Play by Gabrielle B.
| CHARACTERS: |
Tremble the Fault Line, Female, age since the dawn of time Mini the Pebble, Female, age since the dinosaurs roamed the earth
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| SETTING: |
Near a scenic part of 101 North in San Francisco. They are still covered by the early morning darkness. You can see the first few cars of the day. Feels like the day is starting to heat up. The sounds of some honking and soft music is heard
|
| TIME: |
6:00 am on a cool San Francisco morning in late fall |
| AT RISE: |
Tremble and Mini wake up, not well rested. They didn’t get much sleep last night because they both were so anxious about today. Silently their gazes meet. They then begin to look around. They can feel the tension
|
Mini:
Hey? How did you sleep?
Tremble:
Ha! Not at all. What about you?
Mini:
Me either
Tremble:
I think I was too stressed to sleep. I have so many problems! Between my family &…the meeting! It’s today! I can’t believe it came so fast
Mini:
Ya, I know you got a lot to talk about huh? Wasn’t the last family meeting in 89? And you know how that went
Tremble:
Well, it isn’t easy having a mom who’s always so heated. I mean; she is the earth’s crust but still. And my dad being the San Adreas fault, he is always ready to shake things up
Mini:
Well what exactly happened in 89?
Tremble:
Well…we all met up and…I…um kinda told my parents that I was worried about the people getting hurt in all the quakes my Dad was having. He was quaking so much because my mom always gets heated and that pushed him to his pressure points. When I brought
Tremble (Cont’d):
it up, they told me to stay out of it. That made me soooo mad…& you know the rest
Mini:
So what happened since then? And what are you going to do this time? You know you only have two hours right.
Tremble:
It’s not my fault! I just wanted to help, to keep people safe and for my parents to stop fighting! Ever since then, nothing has been the same! I feel like we’re all so distant. Everything just fell apart…exactly like the city! I think my parents are separated …there is so much tension, so much pressure. There have been a lot of tremors, not from me that I noticed. But that doesn’t seem like it would blow off enough steam. There’s something coming. I can feel it
Tremble is shaking mildly. It brings Mini a little closer to the edge
Mini:
(Nervously) I can’t believe all that has happened. Why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you that you can talk to me about anything?
Tremble:
(Calm from hearing the anxiety in Mini’s voice)
I don’t know. I mean, I wanted to tell you. I just…didn’t know how to say it. I’ve always known I could talk to you. I was just afraid I’d loose it. I feel like I have no control over my temper. My parents just never listen. IT’S NOT FAIR!
Tremble begins to shake without realizing it. The trees begin to quiver
Mini:
(Anxious) Ah! Ok! I hear you. You know when you get angry you have a lot of power. You just need to do what you want to do with it. Don’t let it take over. That’s when it gets out of control & people get hurt.
Tremble:
(Calmer but on Edge) I know, but I feel like it’s so hard to stop it. Sometimes I let it happen just to see if maybe my parents will listen
Mini:
It’s not that you’re angry, but acting angry because it’s your only way of letting it out. You’re just sad that your parents won’t listen.
Tremble:
I feel horrible! All I wanted to do was help my parents stop fighting & stop all the quakes! It was hurting too many people! I feel like my parents blamed me! I just wish I could fix it! I know if something happens this time, it will be worse than 89.
The sun is starting to rise and Mini can tell Trembling is becoming uneasy
Mini:
You just have to go in there, stand your ground, not even quiver and tell them exactly what you need from them
Tremble:
(Softly) I’m so glad at least you listen to me. You give such great advice and you’re always there for me. Thank you.
The sun has almost risen completely. Mini and Tremble sigh!
Tremble:
Well, it’s almost that time. I better get going…
Mini:
Wait! I have to tell you one more thing. I have to be honest; if that meeting doesn’t go well, I don’t think I will be able to take another “big one” and neither will San Francisco. I’m just to close to the edge and the people are still picking up all the rubble from last time. But if you can remember what I told you, you will do fine.
Tremble:
(Smiles an anxious smile) Thank you. Wish me luck
Tremble shakes away. It’s 8am, the time of the family meeting. Tremble arrives and finds her parents already waiting, in silence. They begin to talk and she feels the tension. She tells them exactly how she feels. She tells them that she wants to be listened too, that she wants to help the people and most of all she wants to stop all the fighting in the family. Tremble’s parents begin to yell. She can feel herself starting to get angry and then her parents are yelling at her. She then finds herself yelling back. The temperature in the room rises, as Tremble’s mom gets more upset. She feels her dad’s tremors starting. All of a sudden it’s all quiet. She realizes that the tremors were not her dads at all, but that she had a small quake and stopped herself. She did it! She looks at her parents and says
Tremble:
You obviously won’t listen. You keep hurting me. I guess I have to do this on my own. I know there is a way
Tremble hears a faint noise. She shakes off to go find Mini
Tremble:
Mini! Mini! I did it Mini! I did what you told me… (Silence) Mini?
THE END
