The Message

(A messy office, either for a theater company or a circus. Books are stacked everywhere. A piece of chalk sits precariously on a desk. The rest of the desk is cluttered with paper clips, tissue boxes, coloring books and a fourth-grade science project. Chairs, couches, carpet, trash receptacles.)

(JOHN, a 20-something surfer from Kentucky, sits at the desk. MARC, who dropped out of school at the age of 17, lies on a couch. The phone rings. JOHN answers.)

JOHN: Hello? No, Tom isn't here.
MARC: Wait I'll get him.
JOHN: (Into phone.) Hold on.

(MARC gets up, exits. A moment. TOM enters.)

TOM: Marc told me there's a call for me.
JOHN: Yes, there is.

(Blackout.)