ZAC AND SIAH (Scene 1) BY JEFFREY LO
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Lights rise on ZAC in front of his home. ZAC is crying.
After some time passes we hear a voice from afar.
SIAH (Offstage)
Zac!
(Pause)
Zac!!!
(Pause)
ZAC!!!!
SIAH runs on stage.
SIAH(cont’d)
(Passing ZAC as he screams:)
ZACHARY WE’RE GOING TO BE LATE!!!
SIAH runs past ZAC and offstage.
ZAC just continues to cry.
SIAH returns.
SIAH(cont’d)
Zac?
ZAC
Hey.
SIAH
Have you been here this whole time?
ZAC
Yeah.
SIAH
Like, how long would you say?
ZAC
This whole time.
SIAH
Like, did you see me run past you?
ZAC
Yes.
SIAH
Why didn’t you say anything!?
No response.
SIAH (cont’d)
What are you doing out here?
ZAC
I live here.
SIAH
(Laughing:)
You live here. Very fu –
(Stops laughing:)
Wait are you serious?
ZAC
Yes.
SIAH
When did you move?
ZAC
I didn’t move.
SIAH
How long have you lived here?
ZAC
As long as I’ve known you.
SIAH
But then why did I run past you when I was looking for you?
ZAC
I don’t know.
SIAH
But I’ve been to your house before.
ZAC
You have.
SIAH
But I’ve never been –
SIAH walks into ZAC’s house and immediately comes back out.
SIAH(cont’d)
Well shit, I have definitely been here before.
ZAC
Yeah.
SIAH
That’s so weird.
ZAC
I guess.
SIAH
You’re distracting me from why I’m here.
ZAC! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WE ARE LATE!! WE’RE GOING TO MISS IT! WE ARE GOING TO MISS JESUS’ THING!
Wait, are you crying? You’re crying.
ZAC
Yes, I am crying.
SIAH
Why are you crying?
ZAC
Because Jesus is being CRUCIFIED TODAY JOSIAH!
SIAH
Oh…
That…
Right…
AND WE ARE GOING TO MISS IT IF YOU DON’T GO BACK INSIDE AND GET READY TO GO!
ZAC
Don’t you care?
SIAH
Don’t I care? Of course I care. You have no right to question if I care, I am the one ready to be there for MY FRIEND. You’re the one sitting here catching a tan.
ZAC
I am not catching a tan.
SIAH
You know I’m kidding Zac.
ZAC
Fuck you, Siah.
SIAH
Hey…
No need to…
That’s not nice.
Silence.
SIAH looks around, unsure.
Pause.
SIAH(cont’d)
(Somewhat carefully:)
Hey…
Umm…
We really are going to be late though.
ZAC
I don’t want to go.
SIAH
What?
ZAC
I don’t want to go!
SIAH
Why not?
ZAC
Because I don’t know about you, Siah, but I’m not particularly looking forward to watching my friend die on a cross today.
SIAH
I know but…
I mean, look, I’m not looking forward to this either.
Who do I look like? Judas?
ZAC
Fuck that guy.
SIAH
Seriously, fuck that guy.
…
But… -
ZAC
But what?
SIAH
This is what he wanted, isn’t it?
ZAC looks away from SIAH.
SIAH(cont’d)
This is what he said would happen.
He called it. And he obviously wanted to be right… right?
ZAC
I don’t know.
SIAH
Of course he wanted to be right.
Who wants to be wrong?
(Beat)
And even if we don’t want to watch our friend die – which NEITHER of us want to do – what he’s going through is like super scary and… I think our guy wants us there.
…
When we were walking with him from village to village and we’d get hungry. What would he get us?
ZAC
Fish…
SIAH
All of that fish. Delicious fish.
ZAC
That fish was good.
SIAH
So good.
…
We gotta be there for J the way he was there for us.
A brief silence.
ZAC
You’re right.
SIAH
Alright!
ZAC
Jesus is doing this for us.
SIAH
He is!
ZAC
And even if I don’t agree with this –
SIAH
We all thought it was pretty extreme…
ZAC
He expects me to be there for him. We’ve been following him this long. I can’t stop now.
SIAH
Atta boy Zac!
ZAC
(Standing up:)
Alright.
SIAH
Now go in there, put on something decent and let’s get going.
We’ll probably have to run up most of Calvary.
Seeing as how he got a head start and all…
But then again we’re not carrying a cross so you’d think we’d be faster.
I hear those crosses are heavy.
ZAC
I’m going to go get ready now.
SIAH
You do that. I’ll be out here.
ZAC starts to enter his hone.
ZAC
Siah.
SIAH
Yeah?
ZAC
Thanks for talking me into the right thing.
End of Scene.