Script: Private Time

Private Time

age:	adults
characters:	2
focus:	past tense forms
time:	10 min

By Bara Dockalova

(TOM and LISA’s living room. Tom is sitting on the sofa, eating ice cream and watching a movie. He is wearing a dressing gown and he is barefoot. His socks are on the floor. The coffee table is covered with packs of various sorts of cookies and chocolate bars. Next to the television there is a pile of rented DVDs. We hear the music from the movie that is just ending. Tom turns it off with a remote control. He gets up, takes it out of the DVD player, and picks up the pile of DVDs to choose the next film. He goes through the pile, rejecting the films one by one, until he is holding the last one. He looks at it for a moment, thinking. He goes to insert it in the DVD player. Then he changes his mind.)

TOM: No. Not yet, not yet. Tomorrow.

(He lays the film on the table, separately from the others. He then chooses another film and puts it in the DVD player. He sits down and starts the film. Suddenly, we hear the key in the lock.)

LISA’s voice: Surprise!

(Tom gets up fast and runs to the entrance area. Lisa comes in.)

TOM: Lisa? What are you doing here?

LISA: I’m home!

TOM: I see, yeah… Wait… what… what happened?

LISA: I hated it there. It was the worst holiday ever.

TOM: Why?

LISA: Hawaii was beautiful, but the hotel was terrible. The food was just dreadful! Can you imagine they didn’t have low fat milk? And that’s not all. Guess what I could see from my hotel room?

TOM: I don’t know… the sea?

LISA: A wall.

TOM: A wall? What… what do you mean?

LISA: A wall of another hotel. For all that money! And the weather was bad, too.

TOM: I can’t believe you’re back… let me just-

LISA: Well, how is work going?

TOM: Yeah, I’ve… I’ve been working a lot, and-

LISA: That was another thing. I felt so sorry for you!

TOM: Oh, you shouldn’t have! I’ve been doing fine, and-

LISA: I couldn’t enjoy it there without you. I’m tired of vacations by myself!

TOM: Well, I couldn’t go, really, you know-

LISA: You haven’t been able to go on vacation for the past five years.

TOM: Yeah, I’ve been busy, but that’s-

LISA: You poor thing! I’ve brought you something.

TOM: Oh!

(Lisa takes out a present.)

TOM: Thank you… What is it?

LISA: It’s an anti-stress cushion.

TOM: An anti-stress cushion? I’ve never seen anything like that bef-

LISA: You put it behind your back when you work on the computer. It takes away stress and bad energy.

TOM: Wow, thank you!

(She gives him a kiss. She withdraws from him in surprise.)

LISA: Oh… what’s that? Have you been eating chocolate?

TOM: Yeah, a little. Listen, I’m sorry, but this place is a mess because-

LISA: That’s OK. I knew it would be.

TOM: No, but… really. I don’t want you to see it. Why don’t you wait in the café across the street? I’ll clean up, and I’ll be right with you and then we can-

LISA: Is… is there anyone here?

TOM: No!

LISA: But I’ve just heard something.

TOM: No, that was…

(Lisa walks into the living room area.)

LISA: The television? Oh my goodness, what’s this?

TOM: Well… I’ve been taking a little break from… work…

LISA: What have you done to the sofa?

TOM: I’ll clean up!

LISA: (picking up a packet of cookies and reading) Richie’s Rich cookies?

TOM: I’ll go jogging.

LISA: DVDs? You’ve been watching DVDs? Superman I… Superman II…

TOM: No, no, don’t look… I’ll… Just-

LISA: King Kong, Jaws, Jaws II…

TOM: No, please!

LISA: Have you been watching movies the whole week?

TOM: No, not the whole week!

LISA: (picking up a dirty sock) And what is this? You were wearing these socks when I left.

TOM: That doesn’t prove anything!

LISA: You’ve been sitting here like this the whole week!

TOM: Well, you have only been gone for six days, so technically, it hasn’t been a week ye-

LISA: (yelling) What is all this supposed to mean?

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Private Time

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