(WORLDS APART)
ACT ONE.
SCENE ONE. SETTING: Modern day earth. A bedroom with one window. Sunlight filters in and we hear the sounds of a city awakening. There is a bed and a dresser and clothes are on the floor like someone was to tired to pick them up. There is a form in the bed and we see the form begin to stir.
JAKARI sits up and stretches, he scratches his head and eventually stands. We see that he is a young man of about 20 or 21 years of age and he has a semi-athletic build. Not remarkable but not average either. He is wearing a white T-shirt and some boxers. He looks about the room and finds what he is looking for and he picks his pants up off the floor and sits back on the bed as he pulls them on. He leaves the room and we hear him peeing and he flushes the toilet and we hear the sound of water running and it shuts off. He re-enters the room and sits back on the bed. He reaches behind him and picks up the remote that he finds in the bed and turns on his stereo and the sounds of {Nightmares on Wax "Flip Ya Lid"} fill the room as he reaches onto the nightstand beside his bed and picks up a sack of weed and starts to twist a blunt. We can tell by his proficiency that this is a daily occurrence. There is a knock on his door and JOHN peeks his head in. He is JAKARI'S roommate and they have been friends for a long time.
JOHN Whats up Jakari? I thought I heard you stirring around in here. You need a light for that?
JAKARI Yeah man, what the hell you doing up so early bro?
JOHN Man I got to take this girl home.
JAKARI What girl?
JOHN The one from the club last night. Remember I gave her my number? Well she called and we both wanted the same thing sooooo.
JAKARI Man yo ass is a trip.
JOHN Man shut yo ass up and fire that shit up.
A young black woman in panties walks by the door and we hear a door close and water run. The men light the blunt and pull on it. The girl walks into the room and she has on no shirt and she is not embarrassed by the fact that she wears no shirt. She walks in and introduces herself.
SHEANTE Hi i'm SHEANTE she says as JOHN passes her the blunt. She pulls on it and they talk as if there is not a half naked woman standing in the room.
JAKARI So what do you do SHEANTE?
SHEANTE. I work at the blue flame.
JAKARI So you dance. He looks at JOHN when he says that and by the look you can tell that JOHN does his a lot. Brings women like this home.
SHEANTE Yes I do.
JOHN So tell him where you are from.
SHEANTE North Dakota.
At this both of the men burst out laughing and JAKARI is pulling the blunt and his laughter is mixed with coughing.
SHEANTE looks confused as she asks: "Whats so funny.'
JOHN laughs and says "We finally found the one black person in North Dakota who is not in jail. As he and JAKARI fall back into laughter again.
SHEANTE looks blank and JAKARI explains through his laughter. "There aint but two niggers in North Dakota and both of them are in jail.
SHEANTE LAUGHS at that remark and says there are black people in North Dakota.
JOHN says "How many black people went to your high school?"
SHEANTE looks at him and says "About 25."
JOHN and JAKARI look at each other and burst out laughing again. SHEANTE smiles sheepishly and says "That is not funny."
ACT ONE: SCENE TWO. It is later in the day and We find JAKARI downstairs in the living room sitting at a desk which is in front of a bay window with cushions in it. He leans back and looks around for a second before he opens a drawer of the desk and pulls out a picture. He looks at it and sighs and we can see that this picture holds some importance to him. JOHN walks in from his room and says Bro no matter how much you look at that picture you are not going to be able to bring her back." JOHN looks up and says "I know that bro but I dont think that I am ever going to find someone like her. I do miss her bro."
JOHN Man you need to get over that, she is gone and you need to get on with the rest of your life. You are still young and you have so much living to do. It was not your fault. what happened happened and if it was meant for you you would be right where she is now. It was not your time to go and you need to realize that.
JAKARI That is way easier to say than do bro. It seems like I can almost be about to forget that day, the days that she was in my life and then all of a sudden I see her in a dream or in the raindrops. I see her in the sky when I look up and on the ground when I look up. I miss her bro.
JOHN I know bro but you gotta let this shit go. "When was the last time you left this damn house except to go to work at the magazine and I know for a fact that you do most of that shit from home so you don't have to go as often. All that you are doing is hiding from the world. JOHN walks out of the front door of the house and JAKARI is left alone. He sits in place for a minute and stares off into space. He starts to write when all of a sudden he hears a voice. Someone is crying and it sounds as if it coming from one of the rooms. He stands and walks to the door of his room which is on the right of the room he is in and opens the door he looks in and sees no one and he closes the door and crosses to the door of JOHN'S room he opens the door and looks in. There is no one there either and he closes the door. He walks around and checks the closet and looks in the door of the kitchen. He stands in place for a minute and he says "What the hell." The cries stop and the voice of a woman says "Who said that?" JAKARI looks around and speaks into the empty room "Its me."
The VOICE says "Me who? Where are you? How did you get in my room?"
JAKARI This is my house and my living room, where are you? He looks around and the frustration is clear on his face.
TheVOICE No this is my room of books and my place of waking and sleeping. Where are you? the frustration is clear in the woman's voice as well.
JAKARI I am here and you are as well. Where is here to you?
The VOICE My place of waking and sleeping.
JAKARI Okay I do not know what that means. I mean where is home? I live on Joe Louis Street.
The VOICE. What is home? What is street?
JAKARI JAKARI looks around confused and says "What the fuck?" under his breath. Out loud he says. What do you mean what is street?"
The VOICE I mean what is this street thing that you talk of? I live in quadrant six, sector 3 in the peoples quarter.
JAKARI What is that?
The VOICE It is where I live.
JAKARI Looks around and asks the room "Is this some kind of a prank or something?"
The VOICE Starting to fade away says "A prank? what is this thing prank?"
JAKARI Hey whats happening? I cant hear you.
The door opens and JOHN walks in.
JOHN Man whats up? We got any more of that diesel left? I needs to smoke.
JAKARI Man thats a nice trick.
JOHN looks at him in bewilderment.
JOHN Man I do not know what the fuck you talkin bout but you reaalllly needs to stop smoking if its gonna do you like that.
JAKARI Man you telling me you didn't have nothing to do with what just went on here?
JOHN Bro I just pulled up. what the fuck are you talking bout.
JAKARI looks at him for a brief second
JAKARI Awww nothing man I was just fucking with you.
The men sit at the bar and start to talk and roll a blunt as the scene fades to black.
JERALD HAMZAHFARUQ MURPHY
