Play for Young Girls: Choices

CHOICES - Premiered Oct 2008 - South Africa

CHARACTERS
Mother – In her early forties
Angel – her 18 year old daughter, who is in her gap year
Thami – younger daughter, it’s her 16th birthday
Kay – Thami’s long time friend, battling with a personal secret
Dee Dee – Thami’s long time friend from school, over the top, ‘popular’ one of the four
Norma – Thami’s long time friend, serious, conscientious character

Set: A kitchen with a rectangular table and four chairs, one chair on stage left of table and one on stage right. Two chairs are centre stage facing the audience.

SCENE ONE:
Mother walks in downstage right with present in hand, taking off a jacket to reveal a nurse’s outfit underneath. She has just returned from night shift to make breakfast for her two daughters. She hangs her coat on the back of a chair, places the present at one of the table settings and starts to put the bowls and glasses on the table at 2 centre stage chairs and stage left chair. Whilst she is preparing the table Angel walks in wearing her nightgown.

Mother: Morning Angel
Angel: (wiping her eyes she goes over to her mom and kisses her on the cheek) Morning mom. (She sits down and starts to eat breakfast) How was your shift?
Mother: (sitting down sipping a mug of tea) There were two taxi accidents last night. All the wards and passageways were full again. Unfortunately two people died, and four are still in ICU. Oh my child, life is so precious.
Angel quietly leans over and gives her mother a tender hug.
Mother: We were lucky to be able to save the other passengers. Promise me you will always only get into the taxis you know are safe. Promise me Angel.
Angel: I promise mom.
Mother: Good. I haven’t spent all my effort to have one of those drivers take you away from me. Now, why aren’t you dressed for work? It’s already 6 o’clock!
Angel: Ah mom, I’ll be ready in time, I still have 20 minutes. Why are you home already?
Mother: Haikona, you children always rush, rush, rush. You should wake up earlier and then you wouldn’t have only 20 minutes, you would have 30 minutes and get to work early instead of running out of here late to catch the first taxi you see!
Angel: Yes, mom (Angel smiles), but then we would be old people.
Mother: Just you wait my girl, one day you will be old too, then we’ll see if you still think you are funny. Where is your sister? I thought she would be awake already…(sipping tea, she remembers Angel’s question) I’m home early because I organised with the head nurse to let me work a double shift on Sunday so I could be here for Thami when she gets up for her sixteenth birthday today. Where is she?
Angel: You really love that child too much, you always battle when you work a double shift, and she really doesn’t deserve it.
Mother: Angel, how can you say that about your sister? I love you both more than anything, you know that. Now where is she?
Angel: I think she’s still sleeping. She was up really late last night talking to Zee on the phone. I think she only went to bed at 2am.
Mother: 2 am! Angel, why did you let her stay up so late? It’s a school night! You know she has to be in bed, or she will sleep all day in class.
Angel: Ah mom, I tried. I promise you I tried, but she started throwing a tantrum and telling me that I’m not her mother and that she is old enough to do whatever she wants to do. She told me that just because I’ve finished school I mustn’t think that I’m better than her. I told her that I wasn’t trying to be her mother, or be better than her. I told her I want her to do well in school so she can be better than me. She said I was talking nonsense and I was just jealous because she has a boyfriend and I don’t. Mom she is so difficult. I can’t talk to her; she doesn’t listen to anything I say. She doesn’t even listen to what you say anymore.
Mother: (shaking her head) Oh that one. You are right, she doesn’t listen to me. She thinks she knows better than both of us.
Angel: Mom, I’m worried about her.
Mother: Don’t you worry Angel. It will sort itself out. All we can do for the moment is pray for her. Pray that in some way the Lord can bring the old Thami back to us. That in some way He will show her that there is more to life than boys and clothes and being on the telephone.
Angel: Oh mom, you have so much faith. Sometimes I worry about you too!
Mother: My child you make me smile. It is not your job to worry about me either. You just need to worry about deciding what you want to study next year. You can’t waitress forever.

Rest available on Kindle:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Short-Play-Girls-Shannan-Browne-ebook/dp/B00J4PGTAW