 July 1989. CHRISTIE’s bedroom. Two
figures: CHRISTIE and JULIE are lying next to each other: Motionless.
Silence for a few seconds before CHRISTIE starts to shift about. |
| CHRISTIE: Sorry. |
| JULIE. What for? |
| CHRISTIE. Movin’
… fidgitin’ about. |
| JULIE. Don’t be.
You’re dead still. I’ve slept with some right fidgeters. |
| Pause. |
| Girls. Mates an’
that … me sister. |
| CHRISTIE. What? |
| JULIE. When I said
that then … about sleeping with people who … fidgeters an that’
… I meant, like me sister and me mates. Girls. Sleeping with girls,
mates an’ that … I didn’t mean … men …boys or anything … I
haven’t – |
| CHRISTIE. Oh right. I
didn’t even think nothin’. |
| JULE. I know … I
just thought, God … sounds a bit … |
| CHRISTIE. Nah. |
| Silence.
|
| It’s not even a
single bed this, yer know. |
| JULIE. Eh? |
| CHRISTIE. It’s
littler. |
| JULIE. It’s
littler than a single bed? |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah. Not
shorter … just narrower. It’s two foot six. |
| JULIE. Have you had it
since you were dead small? |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah.
‘Bout six or somethin’. |
| JULIE. Aaah.
It’s got a Banana Splits sticker on this side. |
| CHRISTIE. Has it? |
| JULIE. I used to
love the Banana Splits. |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah.
They’re alright … can’t remember really. Just remember the song
they did. |
| JULIE. Oh yeah …
what did it go like? |
| CHRISTIE. I
can’t remember the words – |
| JULIE. The bit in the
middle though, what was that? It didn’t have words, it was where
they – |
| CHRISTIE. The ‘nah
nah’ bit? |
| JULIE. Yeah,
that’s it. What did that go like? |
| Pause. |
| CHRISTIE. ‘Nah
nah nah, nah na na nah, nah nah nah na na na na nah. |
| Silence. |
| JULIE. That was it,
yeah. |
| Silence. |
| CHRISTIE. Are you
alright? |
| JULIE. Fine. |
| A barely audible noise from
CHRISTIE. |
| Pardon? |
| CHRISTIE. Nothing. |
| JULIE.
Did you wanna say – |
| CHRISTIE.
No. It wa’ just a cough. |
| At this point Christie asks Julie if
he can move to her end of the bed and she says yes. He moves his arm
round her ever so slowly.
|
| Is that – |
| JULIE.
Fine. |
| Pause. |
| CHRISTIE. I got into
college. Art and English. |
| JULIE. How come yer
didn’t say before? |
| CHRISTIE. I dunno… I
forgot, I think. |
| JULIE.
How d’yer forget that, Christie? |
| CHRISTIE.
I wasn’t… I just knew I would. |
| JULIE. Big-‘ead. |
| CHRISTIE. No … I’m
not being – I just knew I would. |
| JULIE.
Cos yer brilliant. |
| CHRISTIE.
No I’m not. I’m gonna do just them two, then do Art Foundation. |
| JULIE. Literature or
language? |
| CHRISTIE. Language.
Write some of me own things. |
| JULIE. Will yer write
something for me? |
| CHRISTIE.
What like? |
| JULIE.
Anything. Stories, letters … poems. |
| CHRISTIE.
Yeah. If yer want me to … If yer won’t laugh. |
| JULIE. Course I won’t. |
| CHRISTIE.
Might write yer a song. |
| JULIE. Will yer sing it
to me? |
|
CHRISTIE. Might,
yeah. |
| JULIE. Didn’t know you
could write songs. |
| CHRISTIE. Me dad were in
a band. |
| JULIE. Was he? |
| CHRISTIE. In the
sixties. |
| JULIE. What were they
called? |
| CHRISTIE. Rockin’
Robin and the Redbreasts. |
| JULIE. Was yer dad
Robin? |
| CHRISTIE. No, there
wasn’t a Robin. They were rubbish anyway. Me dad was dead good but
they were shite. |
| Pause.
|
| JULIE. I like it …
here. I like being here. |
| CHRISTIE. I like yer
being here. |
| JULIE. S’like hidin’
away. I could do it for days, make a little nest. |
| A loud series of bangs as stones are
thrown at the window. CHRISTIE jumps up and dashes over to the
window, opening it and shouting out into the street. |
| CHRISTIE. What are you
doing, dickhead? |
| LUKE (offstage).
Yer mum still at yer auntie’s? |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah but the
fuckin’ neighbours aren’t. |
| LUKE. Let’s in. |
| CHRISTIE. What for? |
| LUKE. Just let’s in |
| CHRISTIE. What’s up? |
| LUKE. Come down. |
| CHRISTIE. What you doin’? |
| LUKE. Fuckin’ … open
the door. |
| CHRISTIE. Hold on. |
| Stumbling, CHRISTIE pulls on
tracksuit bottoms and heads out of the room. |
| JULIE. What’s going
on? |
| CHRISTIE. Nothin’ …
sorry, it’s just Luke – |
| JULIE. He’s not comin’
in, is he? |
| CHRISTIE. Just
downstairs … just seeing what he wants. He won’t come up. |
| JULIE. Don’t let him
come up. |
| CHRISTIE. I won’t. |
| JULIE. I don’t want
him coming up. Seeing me. |
| CHRISTIE. He won’t.
I’ll tell him. |
| JULIE. What if he wants
the loo? |
| CHRISTIE. He’ll go to
the bathroom. |
| LUKE. (offstage,
shouting). Chris … come on, man. |
| CHRISTIE. Bollocks,
he’ll wake the street. (Out of the window.) You’ll wake the
fuckin’ street. He won’t come up. |
| JULIE. Don’t let him. |
| CHRISTIE. I won’t. |
| JULIE. Don’t. Please. |
| CHRISTIE exits and runs downstairs.
The door can be heard opening. JULIE checks her breath by
licking her hand and smelling. As footsteps are heard thudding up the
stairs, JULIE dives under the covers, trying to hide herself as
much as possible. LUKE enters first, drink, and thows himself
onto the bed, breathless, JULIE screams. |
| LUKE. Fuckin’ ‘ell. |
| CHRISTIE enters. LUKE stands,
revealing JULIE wearing a T-shirt pulled over her knees, curled
up in a ball. |
| CHRISTIE. What are you
doing? |
| LUKE. Alright, love. (To
CHRISTIE.) Nice one, mate. |
| CHRISTIE. Shurrup, Luke. |
| LUKE. Dark horse. |
| CHRISTIE. What yer doin’? |
| LUKE. Sayin’ ‘ello.
Thought she didn’t fancy yer? |
| CHRISTIE. Come
downstairs? |
| LUKE. Sorry, Janet. I
come to see Christie a minute … sorry to interrupt. If I’d known
… yer never said. He never said. He tells me everything. Usually. |
| JULIE. It’s Julie. |
| LUKE.
Sorry, Julie. |
| CHRISTIE. Luke. |
| LUKE. I’ll get off in
a minute. |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah, yer
will. (To JULIE.) He’ll get off in a minute. |
| LUKE. (pulls two cans
from each of his pockets). Want one? |
| CHRISTIE. No. |
| LUKE. Julie? |
| JULIE. No. Thanks. |
| CHRISTIE. Will you fuck
off, Luke. Yer can’t just barge – |
| LUKE. I didn’t know
there was anything to barge in on, did I? Sorry Julie. |
| JULIE. I feel a bit …
sick. |
| CHRISTIE. Do you want
some water? |
| JULIE. No, I might just
– |
| LUKE. How’s Shelley? |
| JULIE. She’s alright. |
| LUKE. Nice one. Reckon
she’d come on a double date. Four of us. Be a laugh that. |
| JULIE. I don’t know. I
want … I need to go to the bathroom. Could yer just … could yer
… shut yer eyes. Please. |
| CHRISTIE. Luke. |
| LUKE. Go on. I’m not
lookin’. |
| JULIE scrambles across the bed and
out of the door, tugging to pull the T-shirt as far down as possible.
She slams the door. |
| Crackin’ pair of legs,
mate. Fuckin’ ‘ell I can’t believe - |
|
| JULIE has appeared in the bedroom
doorway, wearing a flowery dressing gown. |
| JULIE. I borrowed this
from the back of yer mum’s door. |
| CHRISTIE. S’OK. |
| LUKE. S’nice, that. |
| LUKE gets a look from CHRISTIE. |
| What? |
| JULIE. I might go home
now. |
| CHRISTIE. No, don’t
… he’s going downstairs. |
| JULIE. I know but – |
| LUKE. I’m goin’
downstairs now, Janet, honest … just finishing this. |
| CHRISTIE. Get back into
bed. |
| JULIE. I’ll sit on the
floor for now. |
| CHRISTIE. No, don’t.
Here y’are. I’ll sit on the floor ‘til he’s finished that. You
get in. |
| JULIE. No, I’m – |
| CHRISTIE. No go on,
please. |
| He stands up and after a couple of
seconds’ hesitation, JULIE clambers into the bed still
wearing the dressing gown. CHRISTIE sits on the floor with LUKE. |
| LUKE. (passing the other
can to CHRISTIE). Go ‘ead, yer might as well, I’ll take it down wi’
me if yer don’t want it all. |
| CHRISTIE. Julie, d’yer
– |
| JULIE. No thanks. |
| CHRISTIE. Just a swig
then down, yeah? You nearly finished that? |
| LUKE. Easy mate,
twenty-five per cent extra free. I’m not a fuckin’ fish. Yer can
drown drinkin’ quick, yer know. |
| CHRISTIE. No yer
can’t. |
| LUKE. Yer can … or in
a puddle. Something fucking stupid anyway. Like yer’d have to be a
right fuckin’ feeble ‘ead … like Barry Morgan or someone. Proper
wet lettuce. |
| JULIE. He’s my cousin. |
| LUKE. Is he? Fuckin’
‘ell. (Beat.) Sound. What’s he up to? |
| JULIE. He’s going to
catering college. |
| LUKE tries not to laugh
but fails. |
| What’s wrong with
that? |
| LUKE. Nothin’. |
| CHRISTIE. Just ignore
him. |
| LUKE. Sorry. I’m just
in one of those moods. Y’know, when everythin’s funny? |
| CHRISTIE. No. |
| LUKE. Me and Christie
had one, Julie, the other month when we were at the Clough. Where we
go. It’s our place like. Where we just go like. A little patch of
us. |
| JULIE. I know I’ve
been. |
| LUKE. Where? |
| JULIE. Boggart’s
Clough. Christie’s took me. |
| LUKE. Did yer? |
| CHRISTIE. Yeah. Just
showin’ where it is. |
| JULIE. It’s nice, I
like it. I caught a fish but put it back. |
| LUKE. When? |
| CHRISTIE. Other day.
Just went … just showin’ where it is. |
| Silence. |
| JULIE. What happened? |
| LUKE. How d’yer mean? |
| JULIE. What happened at
the Clough that was funny? |
| Pause. |
| LUKE. Doesn’t sound
funny probably, when you tell it. |
| JULIE. Go on. I bet it
is. |
| LUKE. We had mushrooms
from the field and this group of people rode past on bikes an’ …
they just looked dead funny like. (Pause.) We just got on to like if
yer didn’t know what a bike was … how funny it’d be if yer saw
one for the first time. |
| Silence. |
| That was it. Told yer it
doesn’t sound funny. (Beat.) I’ve finished that now. ‘Ave yer
got a blanket for the couch? |
| CHRISTIE. There’s some
in me mum’s chest of drawers. D’yer wanna finish that wi’ me? |
| LUKE Nah, I’m
knackered. |
| LUKE stands. |
| Night then. Sorry Julie
… ‘bout bargin’ in an’ that. |
| JULIE. It’s OK. |
| CHRISTIE. Night. Don’t
worry about Dennis an’ that. |
| LUKE. Yeah … like I
would. |
| LUKE leaves and shuts the door. |
| JULIE. Christie … Are
yer getting’ back in? |
July 1989. CHRISTIE’s bedroom. Two
figures: CHRISTIE and JULIE are lying next to each other: Motionless.
Silence for a few seconds before CHRISTIE starts to shift about.