CHARACTERS:
MORGAN (she/her): 19, acting and playwriting major, transgender woman, VERY attractive. Unreliable. She never stops talking. She talks really fast. Like she can literally never shut up. She’s early on in her transition, but don’t bring that up. She started smoking cigarettes because she liked a boy. She writes plays about the people in her life and doesn’t change much. She’s kind of a cunt. The worst parts of myself. The girl I’m afraid I am.
MIRROR: What Morgan sees in the Mirror.
HUNTER (he/him): 19, acting major… Kinda perfect kinda 5’8”. Amazing personality though. Super funny. He is NOT settling. I SWEAR. Did I mention he’s perfect?
SETTING:
Inside Morgan’s mind. A basement in Ridgewood, Queens. An apartment in Brooklyn. A college or university. A campus coffee shop.
Scene Four.
(Back to the MIRROR.)
MORGAN: So, I went! It was. Um… it was interesting. He sat next to me! HE SAT NEXT TO ME! AT THE EVENT CONCERT THING THAT WAS IN BROOKLYN IN BUSHWICK BUT ACTUALLY RIDGEWOOD, QUEENS. And then after the performance was over he came up to me and he was like.
(HUNTER appears.)
HUNTER: Are you coming to the after party?
MORGAN: Um… Yeah…
(The MIRROR appears.)
HUNTER: You should perform at the next one.
MORGAN: What??? ME?
HUNTER: Yeah. Sing some songs. You’ve got a good voice.
MIRROR: Be coy.
MORGAN: Oh, I don’t really like my singing voice.
HUNTER: I like your singing voice. It’s cute. I’m gonna take the subway to the after. Who's coming with?
MORGAN: I’ll come.
(Time passes.)
MIRROR: We’re at the after party.
HUNTER: (drunk) Yeah, I’ve always wanted to travel to Brazil. I was supposed to go last semester but some stuff came up.
MIRROR: (drunk) Act like you don’t care.
MORGAN: (drunk) No, that sucks.
MIRROR: Very good.
HUNTER: Yeah, I had a whole trip planned and everything.
MIRROR: Keep the conversation going but only act half enthused.
MORGAN: That’s awful. What happened?
HUNTER: Just health stuff.
MORGAN: No way.
HUNTER: Yeah.
MIRROR: Perfect. You got him right where you want him.
MORGAN: I had surgery. When I was twelve.
HUNTER: No way.
(MORGAN shows off her abdomen that has a scar that travels from her abdomen to below her belly button.)
(This is very, very sexy.)
MORGAN: Yeah. Bike accident. Now I have to take pills everyday.
HUNTER: Wow. That’s intense.
MORGAN: (gesturing to the joint behind his ear) Are we ever gonna smoke that?
HUNTER: Oh yeah totally… HEY GUYS WE’RE GOING TO THE ROOF!!!
(Back in MORGAN’s mind.)
MIRROR: And so they went to the roof. And he started talking about his dating life.
(Back to reality.)
(HUNTER pounds down two shots.)
HUNTER: (drunker) I’M UP RIGHT NOW. I’M UP. NOW THAT I’M SINGLE I’VE BEEN LOWKEY PULLING.
MORGAN: (drunker) Are you still talking to that girl?
HUNTER: Oh no, that’s way over. Way over… but there’s other girls… So, who inspires you as a playwright?
MORGAN: Oh, I don’t know. I kinda just write.
HUNTER: Oh, come on!
(And now…)
MIRROR: Eventually, the party was winding down.
HUNTER: Who’s going back to Manhattan?
(Back in MORGAN’s mind.)
MORGAN: And we took the subway home… and it was awkward? And then he walked me home.
(Back to reality.)
HUNTER: Goodnight Morgan…
(Back in MORGAN’s mind.)
MORGAN: And he walked away. And I did something atrocious. I did something absolutely horrid. I am not proud of this in the slightest. I said…
(Back to reality.)
MORGAN: (drunkest) Wait…
(MORGAN puts her hands out for a hug.)
(HUNTER obliges.)
(Back in MORGAN’s mind.)
MORGAN: I literally said everything but “Where’s my hug?” Like, I hate myself. Why the fuck did I do that? And we shared this kind of short but kind of too long hug that was the most awkward three seconds of my life. And I went home and then I went outside and had like three cigarettes. Just fucking chain smoking. And I texted him, “really fun time tonight” Send. “gonna come out for the next one” And the next day he said “yay!” Send. “Yeah come through” Send. “All the time” Send. And he loved my message. Loved. Not liked. Loved.
i found an apple in the garden of eden in the springtime when the weather was cold but just hot enough for us, Cont’d.
(thunder, lighting.)
(a WOMAN comes out from behind a tree.)
woman:
in my dreams we meet
in my dreams he eats my apple
(the WOMAN disappears behind the tree.)
(the MAN appears from behind the tree.)
(he finds the apple.)
(a WOMAN and a MAN meet in the forest.)
(they meet.)
man: (to the audience)
now is the moment
i can hardly bare it
i must come out and say it
woman: (to the audience)
how time can stop and flee
when I share my soul with him
god, I wish he’d just say it
(the rain clears.)
man:
i found an apple
woman:
you found an apple?
man:
in your eye
woman:
in my eye?
man:
did you see it in mine?
woman
oh…
man
oh?
(the MAN offers her his apple.)
(the WOMAN offers him her apple.)
(the WOMAN takes a bite from his apple.)
woman
i eat his apple
i eat to the core
the juice dripping down my mouth
wet and juicy so wet juicy
(the MAN takes a bite from her apple.)
woman:
he eats mine
man:
i eat hers
woman:
until it’s merely a memory
man:
until it’s merely a memory
woman:
he sees my soul
and we take each other in
in the new moonlight
man:
o, come spring, come!
woman:
o, come spring, come!