The Pursuit of Happiness | Teen Ink

The Pursuit of Happiness

December 21, 2018
By FaEA54 PLATINUM, Louisville, Kentucky
FaEA54 PLATINUM, Louisville, Kentucky
29 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Lights up on Liberty’s dorm room on stage right. There are no windows, therefore the time of day is undetermined. There is a wooden bed with yellow sheets and a gray pillow on stage right.  A desk sits at the end of her bed as well as a swivel chair next to a space heater. There is a succulent, a desk lamp and a large stack of disorganized papers on her desk. Her phone rests within the papers. Liberty, a 21-year old in college, sits at her desk wearing a gray and white striped long sleeve tee, pale blue jeans and cream colored fuzzy socks. Her hair is in a messy braid. She has recently gone through a rough breakup with her ex-boyfriend Robert, and she is still trying to discover who she is and what she wants. She is rifling through the papers on her desk, trying to organize them.

Liberty: Hmm…ok so this is…for Wednesday (Setting a paper in one stack) …And that’s due tomorrow (Setting another paper to the side, making a new stack) …and this is due on Tuesday. (Setting another paper in another stack. She brings her hands and brushes the hair out of her face and rubs her forehead. Her phone rings a text message notification and she flinches. She searches through the papers for it. She finds her phone, lifts it up to her face and reads the text message. Her mood instantly changes and she becomes almost disturbed but entranced. Suddenly a spotlight appears on Robert, downstage left. He is about 23 years old. He is wearing a gray sweater, dark blue jeans, and black converse shoes. He is carrying an old dirty orange backpack. He stands there with a vacant expression on his face.)

Liberty: (Disgusted by his presence) You. what are you doing here? What do you want?

(He does not answer. He faces forward and only makes a face as if she should know why he is there.)

Liberty: Can you please just leave? I thought we already went through this. I want you to go.

(A beat. Liberty is already impatient with him being completely stationary.)

Liberty: Look, I know why you’re here, but I really don’t care. Just get out. Get out of my life. I do not want you here, and you know that. I still feel the same way the day we broke up. I want you to go. I don’t want to be with you anymore.

(Another beat. He cunningly looks at her. He takes off the backpack and begins taking out bundles of clothes and tossing them on her floor. Making a mess. Liberty becomes even more annoyed.)

Liberty: K, what is the point of you even doing that?

(He continues tossing his clothes all over the floor, grinning)

Liberty: (Raising her voice) Can you stop that? You’re making a mess!

(He stops and looks at her)

Liberty: Look, I’m not coming back. I know you want me to come running back to you, but I really just don’t want to date anyone. I mean…you really hurt me. And what? You expect me to be swayed to be all like, (in an overly-exaggerated desperate voice) “Oh I need you! I miss you! I am nothing without you!” … (Scoffs, cynically), please. Cut the bullshit.

(He walks toward her, and gently takes her hand)

Liberty: No. (Offended at his gesture) Don’t do that. I want you to leave.

(He throws his hands up in the air in frustration and turns his back to her)

Liberty: I’m…I’m sorry. I just don’t think us getting back together is a good idea. I just…I am better without you. I am happier…when you aren’t here. Cause like, I just feel sad when I am reminded of you. I just can’t think about you anymore. My life is better when you aren’t in it.

(he turns to her with tears running down his face. She stares at him in bewilderment and astonishment. She suddenly snaps out of her trance)

Liberty: (Remorsefully) I want you to go.

(He suddenly kisses her and she, for some reason, kisses back)

Liberty: (Pulling back, in frustration and confusion) What? What the hell? What was that? No. Get out of here! You cannot come back and do this! You had your chance with me when we were dating, and you blew it! You ignored me! You cheated on me! You hurt me! You never cared about me! You manipulated me into thinking that we were meant for each other! You told me that you loved me! How dare you?! You cannot crawl your way back into my life! I do not care why you want me now, its too late. You do not love me and you never did. You just acted like you did and then when she came along, I was just invisible. I was nothing to you. I am nothing to you. So don’t act like I mean something to you now, because I know that I obviously don’t. I am valuable without you and I don’t need your lies or your fake love and affection to give me any slight fleeting feeling of being important to you. I don’t need you to prove that I am something. And once again, you can’t even try to prove it now anyways because I know you and how you work and I know that you are lying right now. And I can’t trust you ever again so just get out of here. Get out of here. I want you to go. Do not touch me. (Crying) You have to leave. You can’t do this. I am better without you. I can only breathe, when you aren’t with me. I am happy when you aren’t around. When I think of you, I get really upset. So, do me a favor, get out. Just get out. All of you.

(He pauses at her speech and lets out a sigh. He exits STAGE LEFT.)

(Liberty exhales in relief and exhaustion)

Liberty: Okay…you’re ok. Time to get back to work

(Liberty sits back down and gets back to work)

(Lights fade. End.)



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