Launching

by Nancy Lucia Hoffman

 

The woods at night. Summer. Faint light from a nearby house filters into the scene from stage right.

 

ARCHIE, 13 years old, sits on a sleeping bag, and leans against a rock. He roots through a box that holds a variety of small objects. A wrist-rocket slingshot is on his other hand.  He pulls out a small object, loads it into the slingshot, pulls and fires it into the woods stage left. The object strikes a few branches in the distance as it completes its trajectory. ARCHIE listens to the object’s flight until it’s quiet again.  He repeats his actions twice more, then leans back and rests his head. All is quiet for a moment.

 

He hears sounds of someone walking towards him. ARCHIE hides the box and wrist-rocket under the sleeping bag. JORDAN, 17 years old, enters.

 

JORDAN

Hey.

 

ARCHIE

Hey.

 

JORDAN

What’re you doing?

 

ARCHIE

Nothing. Just hanging out.

 

JORDAN

Cool.

 

(beat)

 

JORDAN

It’s mad nice out tonight.

 

ARCHIE

Yeah.

 

JORDAN

Lotta stars.

 

ARCHIE

What do you want?

 

JORDAN

Nothin’, man. Just chillin’.

 

ARCHIE

What’d you do tonight?

 

JORDAN

Just driving around a little. Mellow. Mom said you were up here.

 

ARCHIE

Yup.

 

JORDAN

Mom said you’ve been coming out here a lot.

 

ARCHIE

So?

 

JORDAN

So, nothing. I’m just saying. (beat) But I do want to see what you hid there when you heard me comin’.

 

JORDAN makes a move for the covered up box. ARCHIE pulls it all away.

 

ARCHIE

Jesus, Jordan.

​

ARCHIE reveals the box, but not the wrist rocket.

​

ARCHIE (cont.) 

Look. It’s just a bunch of Dad’s junk. It’s nothin’.

 

JORDAN

Huh. You just, like, bring his stuff out here and hang out or whatever.

 

ARCHIE

I guess.

 

JORDAN

Why’d you hide it?  Dude, Mom was worried you were smokin’ weed or doin’ meth out here or something.

 

ARCHIE

Good lord.

 

JORDAN

I know. I told her you wouldn’t do that, but she wanted me to check on you. Why’re you hiding everything though?

 

ARCHIE

I don’t know. Cause it’s Dad’s stuff.

 

JORDAN

Can I see?

 

ARCHIE

Sure.

 

JORDAN sits. ARCHIE puts the box between them. JORDAN pokes through the things.

 

JORDAN

So you just hang out with this stuff and think or whatever. That’s cool.  Ooh, pocketknife.

 

ARCHIE

I guess. Sort of.

 

JORDAN

Yeah.

 

ARCHIE

Mom still has all of his stuff everywhere. She doesn't move anything.

 

JORDAN

I know.  Hey, I don’t care if you bring stuff up here. I mean, I know she like totally hasn’t moved anything.  I remember this thing.

 

ARCHIE

I know. I mean I like having it around sometimes, but sometimes I feel bad if I, like, move something to put something new on a shelf or whatever.

 

JORDAN

Yeah, I know.

 

ARCHIE

So, where do you go when you go driving?

 

JORDAN

Wherever. Nowhere. Just around.

 

ARCHIE

So just driving around.

 

JORDAN

Yeah.

 

ARCHIE

Just destroying the environment.

 

JORDAN

Oh, c’mon.

 

ARCHIE

Raising the global temperature.

 

JORDAN

Give me a break.

 

ARCHIE

Melting the polar ice caps.

 

JORDAN

Oh, my God. Yes. As a matter of fact, I’m hoping to melt them all down by the end of summer and that way –

​

JORDAN puts Archie in a headlock.

​

ARCHIE

Get off me, man!

 

JORDAN

- that way the sea levels will rise so much we’ll have to all use kayaks and canoes instead of our nasty cars so that way there won’t be anymore pollution. Ever. See? And then I’ll have more time to pile drive my little brother. 

 

ARCHIE

Get off me!

 

JORDAN

Who’s the master of doom?? WHO IS THE MASTER OF DOOM??

 

ARCHIE

GET OFFA ME!

  

ARCHIE shakes off Jordan, stands, grabs the wrist-rocket, an object and fires it quickly into the woods. And another. Another.

 

JORDAN

Whoa, man! Whoa! What’re you doing?

 

JORDAN grabs box away from Archie.

 

ARCHIE

Gimme it.

 

JORDAN

No, dude, why are you freakin’ flyin Dad’s stuff into the woods?

 

ARCHIE

It’s all mine now. Give it to me.

 

JORDAN

No. It’s not yours just cause you brought them out here.

 

ARCHIE

Gimme it!! 

 

ARCHIE gets a rock, loads it and points the wrist-rocket at JORDAN. JORDAN puts the box down.

 

JORDAN

Whoa, hey, man. Jesus Christ, Archie!  What are you doing?

 

ARCHIE grabs the box and fires more things.

​

--- end first 5 pages.