Points Of Perception (My Play Not Finished Help Please)

Points Of Perception
ACT I SCENE I
[classroom scene, no assign seating, gangs back emo middle prep front]1

TEACHER: The theme is an implicit or reoccurring idea that…
[teacher uses hand motions]2

SHAY: what’s implicit mean?3

TEACHER: look it up! In order to be a more productive in class you have to find things out on your own. This class does NOT accept any negative Nellie’s. if your going to complain then I can send you back to the 7th grade where failure might be an option. But in here it is not acceptable. [she laughs] Now the theme applies to all people from 1300 b.c or 390 million years from now. It is friendship, it is love. In Romeo and Juliet what would the theme be? Alessa-Rose.4

ALESSA: huh?
[girls begin to snicker]
TEACHER: what is the theme in Romeo and Juliet?5

ALESSA: oh. Umm… when you are going to kill someone don’t get caught.
[people start laughing]
TEACHER: No! Alessa that is not it.
[teachers voice begins to fade]
SHARONDA: Aww poor little emo kid! Are you gonna cry in a corner and cut yourself?
[people in the back begin to laugh, Alessa rose says nothing but her facial expression shows that she is mad. This edges Sharonda on even more.]
SHARONDA: come on little miss emo, let me see your razor. Can I watch you cut yourself? When you die can I spit in you grave? Little miss emo cant stand the world, well let me let you in on something, the world can’t stand you either!
[with that Alessa stands up pushes her chair out of the way knocks over sharonda’s desk and picks her up by her shirt collar]
ALESSA: keep it up and you wont live to spit in my grave ill be the one spitting in yours!6


TEACHER: what is the problem here?7

ALESSA: nothing8

TEACHER: it does not look like nothing to me! What is going on? Sharonda tell me now!9

SHARONDA: Alessa was playing with a razorblade, and I told her if she kept it up I was going to tell someone, because, I thought It was dangerous. Then well….. This happened.10

TEACHER: alessa-rose office NOW!11

ALESSA: don’t you even wanna here my side of the story?12

TEACHER: NO!13

ALESSA: whatever its not like you’d actually care what I had to say anyways.14

TEACHER: Excuse me?15

ALESSA: I said that you are a stupid spineless stereotyping coward if everything isn’t peppy and pink just like you the everything is wrong, and god knows can’t nothing be wrong when you have professor pep around, can there?16

TEACHER: alessa-rose office now!!!!!
[with that alessa walks off. Teacher begins smiling again, like that never happened.]
ZA`NYAH: who is she to be talking about god anyway. Everyone knows that she’s like Satanist or something. shouldn’t it like burn for her to say the holy fathers name? I bet she is in the hallway right now like having seizures. I wonder if holy water burns her flesh off too. That would be…..17

SHAY: shut up Za`nyah18

ZA`NYAH: oh I’m sorry did I upset the rest of the devil worshipers, or emo as you prefer to be called?19


SHAY: for one we are not devil worshippers and two we are not emo! Do you know anything because I swear you are the dumbest person I’ve ever met.20

ZA`NYAH: emo means depressed people who cut themselves and write suicide notes, with black eyeliner and clothes and umm newsflash that fits your character.21

SHAY: you know what would fit your character?22

ZA`NYAH what?23

SHAY: a…..24

TEACHER: what is going on over here?25

ZA`NYAH nothing26

SHAY: not…..27

TEACHER: good then keep it that way!28

ACT I SCENE II
[curtain closes and reopens revealing alessa-rose in the office]
PRINCIPAL: can you tell me why you are in here?
[principal stares hard at Alessa until Alessa gives her attention]29

ALESSA: yes30

PRINCIPAL: and why is that?31

ALESSA: because I voiced my opinion to some girl that I hate and if Mrs. Fredell wouldn’t have so rudely interrupted me… I would have had time to explain to her that she is going to get pregnant by the time she is 16.32

PRINCIPAL: the classroom is no place to voice your opinion. That is for when you are out of my school and off of my school buses! 33

ALESSA: well the classroom may not be the place to voice my opinion but give me a call when you think that I actually care if what I do is against the rules or not.34


PRINCIPAL: that call may be long over do Miss Evans. This is my school you will respect my rules, my teachers, and you will respect me, do you understand?!35

ALESSA: I understand but like I stated before I don’t care36

PRINCIPAL: what happened that brought you hear?37

ALESSA: Well… you see when a man and a woman love each other, or when they just……38

PRINCIPAL: you know what I am talking about Alessa.39

ALESSA: oh you mean what brought me to your office, well you see I was in English one like a good little girl, of course I wasn’t paying any attention, so who calls on me but professor pep, she asked me what the theme to Romeo and Juliet was, like I actually read the book, so I answered the question with a sarcastic answer. Then…40

PRINCIPAL: It’s not such a good idea to admit that to your principal.41

ALESSA: whoa wait I wasn’t finished you can talk when I am done.42

PRINCIPAL: excuse me?43

ALESSA: as I was saying my sarcastic answer was wrong, which I knew it was, but nooo big mouth sharonda: aka the one who is going to get pregnant was calling me emo talking about spitting in my grave, and razorblades, cuz god knows this school is full of stupid stereotypes, so I politely got out of my seat, walked over to her and was about to beat her face in when the teacher sent me here.44

PRINCIPAL: What do you expect people to think when you carry an attitude like you hate the world and all things that inhabit it.45

ALESSA: I don’t hate the world I just hate some of the people in it.46

PRINCIPAL: every day you come to school wearing black topped off with black. You wear heavy eyeliner and very scary shirts, and you act like the world hates you so all you can do is hate it right back. Not to mention Mrs. Fredell found a poem that you wrote to be quite disturbing.47


ALESSA: I…..48

PRINCIPAL: let me finish. This poem talked about abuse, hate suicide and death.
Would you like to read this poem to me or would you prefer I read it aloud, so you can hear why I am majorly concerned about where you and your friends are going?49

ALESSA: you can be concerned about me all you want to, that doesn’t change a thing. I don’t know what you have been through in your life but mine hasn’t been so great and until you can change that, things aren’t going to change for me. Writing is a way to express what I can not say, or tell most people outside my little group. My writing speaks what I have been through and what I have seen if it disturbs you just imagine what it has done to me while I lived through it.50

PRINCIPAL: well I am sorry that you have been through things that you shouldn’t have. But really…. [she looks down at the poem in her hand]
“Do you love me, do you care
Would you know if I wasn’t there.
You seem to be more preoccupied,
With what’s going on in your miserable life.
The bruises get bigger day to day
And my memory want fade to gray.
Suicide is on my list
In fact this is my death wish…”
This doesn’t sound healthy alessa I’m afraid you might need some help.51

ALESSA: I don’t need any help, okay I am coping with it just fine, my poetry and what I do in my life is one none of your business and two, it is two different thoughts. Just because I write about it doesn’t mean I’ll do it.52

PRINCIPAL: If you don’t mind me asking Alessa, what does go on in your home.53

ALESSA: it depends on how far you want me to go?54

PRINCIPAL: as far as you feel comfortable.55

ALESSA: ok. But just remember you asked for it, not me. when I was about four my so called “father” began to beat and abuse my mother and I, so me, my 14 year old brother, and her went to go find refuge at a shelter for battered women and children. To our surprise they wouldn’t let us stay because my brother was of the age, to scare
the women in the shelter and they said that he would began beating and raping them. Which was not true, my brother was one of the nicest people you will ever meet, that was before he got hooked on drugs. We tried explaining this to them but they wouldn’t have it. We had to choose the shelter or my brother, so of course we chose my brother. We couldn’t go to our family because they disowned us after my brother admitting he was gay. We began living on the streets, begging for change, and only eating two to three times a week. That’s when my mother started taking night jobs, my brother got a half time job between school and drugs he never really had much time or money anymore.
[a small pause]
PRINCIPAL: alessa I am sorry for what you have been through. You’re right I cant imagine the pain you must feel, but I mean that is all in the past you have to move forward with your life, forget about the past and look towards the future.56

ALESSA: you just don’t get it do you? I wasn’t finished, after about a year we finally got this crappy apartment, right beside the railroad, but atleast it was a roof over my head right? But things never really got better, even today they still get worse, with every passing minute.57

PRINCIPLE: what do you mean?
ACT I SCENE III
[curtain closes set crew begins to set up tables, chairs, dirty dishes, and trash all over the floor.]
ALESSA: well lets just say not only do I have to put up with the druggie brother, but a druggie alcoholic abusive mother as well.
[curtain reopens Alessa is doing homework at the kitchen table, Alessa’s mother rose walks in drunk stumbling all over the place. And looks around at the messy kitchen and goes bizerk.
ROSE: You ungrateful, waste of human air, cant you do anything right. all I said was for you to clean up around this god forsaken house and you cant even do that. [she slaps alessa hard across the face] What are you doing at the table writing about how much you are in love with that girlfriend of yours, whats her name snay, clay, fray….58

ALESSA: It’s Shay
[she says this trough clenched teeth]
ALESSA: and shes not my girlfriend shes my best friend, there is a difference.59

ROSE: I don’t care what she is, if you don’t start following my god forsaken rules and
do what I tell you, there want be anymore of this princess lifestyle you are living. I’ll make you work for what you get, sweety, then you want like me much will you?60

ALESSA: that would have to imply I liked you in the first place Rose.61

ROSE: I am your mother and you will not back talk and disrespect me like that. And you WILL call me mother.62

ALESSA: I’ll call you mother when you start acting like it and seeing as that is never going to happen, then you can stick with the name Rose.63

ROSE: I do act like your mother you ungrateful little heathen. 64

ALESSA: how is that? And if you say anything about working to keep this roof over my head, let me tell you something, spreading your legs doesn’t count as a job.
[with that rose slaps alessa once again and pushes her out of her chair]
ROSE: I am your mother you will never talk to me like that whether we are under my house or not.65

ALESSA: or what? Anything you do to me isn’t going to scare me. What can you do kick me out, ill go live with my friends. Abuse me you do that anyways. Go off and get drunk to your wits end, and not come back for days, quite frankly I could care less if you fell straight off the face of the earth.66

ROSE: you don’t mean that.
[rose backs away in shock]67

ALESSA: oh your right, because you are the best mother a girl could ask for. I mean everyone wants a broken arm for Christmas just because they woke up to late to go to church, oh wait…. No they don’t, that’s just me.68

ROSE: I never broke you arm Alessa
[shaking her head and cowering her eyes like she did remember]69

ALESSA: then what was that broken thing inside my forearm, the one I had to wrap a cast around to make it heal.70

ROSE: I am tired of your smart mouth Alessa, shut it or ill shut it for you.71

ALESSA: shut what mother dearest?72

ROSE: that’s it alessa you are an ungrateful sinful smart mouthing heathen.73

ALESSA: I never quite thought about myself as ungrateful probably because I never had anything to be grateful for. Nope wait I was grateful that time mark got a third degree burn, your boyfriend was in the hospital all the way in georgia with you right by his side. Four weeks without mother dearest trust me I was truly grateful.74

ROSE: how dare you [rose covers her ears]75

ALESSA: Do you remember what he said as soon as he was out of the hospital too. No? well I do.[in a weird immatation of a mans voice] “Listen Rose, you’re a sweet girl and all, but I think that you are taking this relationship a little to seriously, maybe we should start seeing other people” 76

ROSE: stop it Alessa77

ALESSA: do you want to know why he ended that relationship really ended it? 3 weeks before he got out of the hospital November 16, to be exact what day was it? don’t know? It was my 14th birthday. He wasn’t with you for you. You see your boyfriend had this little obsession. Quite unhealthy really.78

ROSE: stop it Alessa!79

ALESSA: you see he liked little girls.13 and under actually. You know what he said to me all the time, while he was babysitting. He said “your mother told me to punish you if I have to and to reward you if I wanted to. So do you wanna play a game sweety?” you see when he first said this I was only 9 so I didn’t know any better, so I said yea. He took me in the room and we played a game. He would tell me that it was a game most little girls played with their fathers but since he was the closest thing I had to a father he would let me play with him so I woudnt be left out.80

ROSE: stop alessa!81

ALESSA: you see this game went on for a while untill I learned what it was he was doing, and when I began to refuse you wanna know what he did. Of course you already know this one, as a matter of fact you would do it with him. He would beat me until every welt I had was bleeding and you, you sick sadistic woman what would you do, well first you would watch him then when he was finished you would beat me until I was bleeding from every part of my body.82

ROSE: Alessa rose I don’t want to hear another word83

ALESSA: why mother, does the truth sting just a little? Do you still think that you diserve to be called mother? Because if you do you are sicker than I thought!
[rose finally loses it and begins kicking and punching alessa she pushes her and alessa lands on her head on the edge of the chair, feeling slightly nausess and dizzy she walks off stage to her room.]
ACT II SCENE I
[scene begins in an empty alleyway. Sharonda
Dayquan mike and za`nyah are walking home]
SHARONDA: That was so funny, she like almost started crying.84

ZA`NYAH: I wish she would have, I would have laughed so hard, she wouldn’t be so tough then.85

MIKE: speaking of tough, she almost killed you today.86

DAYQUAN: my girl can handle herself.
[he puts his arm around her shoulders]
MIKE: I didn’t say she couldn’t handle herself, I just don’t think she would have been able to handle herelf in that situation. Alessa could have killed her.87

ZA`NYAH: we don’t count squishing people as killing them around here mike.88

DAYQUAN: and since when do we use the emo’s name?89

SHARONDA: yea what are you trying to do get yourself killed?90

MIKE: by saying Alessa, I don’t get it.91

SHARONDA: you wouldn’t white boy. 92

MIKE: but doesn’t not speaking there name show fear?93

ZA`NYAH: No it shows hatred. We hate those emo freaks, because they go around getting more people to pay more attention to us “kids” and I personally already have enough people following me around like im some kind of criminal.94

DAYQUAN: baby; you are a criminal!95

ZA`NYAH: I aint yo baby and I aint no criminal.96

DAYQUAN: then where’d you get them shoes from, find them on the road somewhere?97

ZA`NYAH: so I stole a pair of shoes, atleast I didn’t rape and murder some ghetto hooker I met on the street.98

DAYQUAN: shut up za`nyah99

ZA`NYAH: what not so big now. Does your home boy over here know about that one. I don’t think little white boy would be okay with that. 100

SHARONDA: what is she talking about D?101

DAYQUAN: nothing and if she knows whats good for her she will shut up.102

ZA`NYAH: are you going to do to me what you did to that poor innocent girl what was her name j…..
[she couldn’t finish her line, D had his hand over her throat and the other over her mouth he began moving towards the curtain , but not actually leaving just inching back slowly}
DAYQUAN: whats wrong sharonda, not so big now are you? Can you finish that sentence. What were you going to say was it that important. 103

SHARONDA: please D just let her go she wont say nothing. She’ll swear, I make sure she doesn’t say anything please, let her go.104

DAYQUAN: shut up Sharonda, mike shut her up now. 105

MIKE: how man?106

DAYQUAN: I don’t know just do it NOW!107

SHARONDA: please just let her go?108

DAYQUAN: mike I said now
[mike grabs Sharonda and holds her in he same position that d is holding Za`nyah in]]
MIKE: [whispering] Im sorry Sharonda, I promise I want let anything happen to you or her!
[ Za`nyah is crying hysterically, scared as is Sharonda They look at each other a if knowing that this will be there last time. They finally exit stage and gunshots are heard]
CURTAIN CLOSES109

MRS. FREDELL: as some of you may know two of our students suffered tragic deaths last night as a result of gang violence. This was probably an act from the new emo cult that is forming in our school an….110

CHRISTABELLA: and what exactly is this emo cult forming in our school, I have a feeling you couldn’t tell the difference between emo and the back of your hand111

MRS. FREDELL: you know exactly what I am talking about Christabella112

CHRISTABELLA: no I am afraid I don’t, because I don’t know any emo cult that is forming at our school.113

ARABELLA: yeah how do you know it wasn’t some gangster dewd killing someone cuz his “shawty” was cheating on him 114

MRS. FREDELL: you know who this emo cult consist of arabella as well as Christabella. There arent any gangsters going to this school, there is only one gang we have to worry about, that is why the principal would like to see Christabella, Arabella, Shay, Alessa-rose, ian, and the rest of that emo crew in the office to discuss your punishment.115

CHRISTABELLA: we are not emo116

ARABELLA: just leave it alone Christi they could care less If we are emo or not, they hate us because of the way we dress, we could act like perfect angels and the only thing that they would notice was that we wore black 90% of the time. Lets just go its not like we could actually get in trouble we didn’t do anything
[they walk in front of the curtains curtains close office scene is set up while “emo” crew still talk]117

CHRISTABELLA: well that’s stupid and they need to get a clue, okay they don’t know what emo is or the story behind why we, or emo people act the way we act. They either need to find out the facts, or stop judging us, because its not fair.118

SHAY: newsflash Christi lifes not fair, we of all people at this school should know that.119

CHRISTABELLA: what do you mean?120

IAN: what she is trying to say christi is that we aka the emo cult should know the most that life isn’t fair, because everyone else at this school, isn’t treated the way we are.121

SHAY: like outcasts122

IAN: exactly everyone else at this school is treated like they belong, but we are treated like….123

ALESSA: we’re going to kill somebody.124

SHAY: most likely ourselves
[the curtain opens revealing the principal sitting at her desk with a few available chairs]
CHRISTABELLA: we didn’t do nothing125

PRINCIPAL: im not blaming yall for anything Christabella126

CHRISTABELLA: then why are we here127

PRINCIPAL: will you please be seated?
[the students remain standing]128

PRINCIPAL: very well then. Some of the teachers are showing some concern for their students, they think that you are starting up a cult, Mrs. Fredell s….129

SHAY: god forbid she ever leave us alone, let me guess she found a razor blade on her way home from school and thought about us, because god knows we all cut ourselves. 130

PRINCIPAL: no, she found a paper with the words black parade written on it. She went home and did some research and found out that the black parade is a place where “Emos” believe that they will go when they die. She brought this issue up with me and I assured her it had nothing to do with killing yourselves..131

ARABELLA: it doesn’t….132

PRINCIPLE: let me finish, I was just wondering if my assumptions were right, please tell me it doesn’t have anything to do with killing yourselves.133

ARABELLA: it doesn’t The Black Parade is a song by My Chemical romance. It doesn’t have anything to do with killing…134

SHAY, ALESSA, AND IAN: no she’s right135

PRINCIPAL: what do you mean?136

IAN: the black parade is thought of to be…137

ALESSA: a sanctity138

SHAY: a sanctuary139

IAN: a place that they will go after death140

ALESSA: so some people do kill themselves just to get to that happiness141

CHRISTABELLA: something most of us don’t feel in our human selves142

SHAY: but anyone who is actually going to kill themselves to get there is just a…143

IAN: coward144

ALESSA: idiot145

SHAY: I was thinking more along the lines of moron146

CHRISTABELLA: I can honestly say that none of us actually believe in the black parade, we just like the band and the song.147

ALESSA: that’s because Gerard way is delicious148

PRINCIPLE: are you sure?149

SHAY: I think we know what we plan on doing with our lives150

ARABELLA: atleast as far as killing ourselves goes151

PRINCIPLE: then I have one more question to ask you152

CHRISTABELLA: we don’t know anything about what happened to the two kids last night, honestly we had nothing to do with it.153

PRINCIPLE: that will be all then, thank you and have a nice rest of the day.154

ARABELLA: I doubt that will actually be possible155

ACT II SCENE II
SAMANTHA: oh my bob, did you hear the news, last night Dayquan and Za`nyah were killed. That’s why Sharonda isn’t here today she was there when it happened, but they say she doesn’t know who it was who killed them.156

DEREK: now that you mention it mike isn’t here either, you figure he would be here to check out Alexis everyone knows he has the biggest crush on her.157

ALEXIS: no he doesn’t were just friends158

SAMANTHA: yea friends with benefits159

ALEXIS: gross that’s disgusting Sam [she smacks seanacee in the head]160

SAMANTHA: oh my god I was just kidding lexi, and ouch that hurt.161

ALEXIS: im sorry Samantha I didn’t really mean to smack you that hard.162

IAN: that’s funny I didn’t know preps could hit that hard163

SAMANTHA: I’m not a prep164

IAN: I was talkin about lexi dimwit165

ALEXIS: im a cheerleader I gotta have some muscle somewhere even if it doesn’t show.166

IAN: well you got that part right, looking at you I would think you couldn’t harm a fly.167

DEREK: [sounding irritated] back to what we were talking about earlier, do you think it was mike that killed them.168

IAN: Who died?169

DEREK: [rolling his eyes] Za`nyah and dayquan we think that mike killed them170

ALEXIS: no he thinks that mike killed them171

SAMANTHA: we think that it is just a coincidence 172

IAN: what? 173

DEREK: Sharonda and mike are both missing on the day after dayquan and Za`nyah murder174

IAN: oh and you think that he killed them what about Sharonda175

ARABELLA: I think that that is all some stupid lie people are telling, just like the emo cult thing they are making up.176

SAMANTHA: you know what, Mrs. Fredell actually had the nerve to call me gothic this morning.177

CHRISTABELLA: no, guess what, Lisa and za`nyah called lexi emo Thursday because she was wearing a black miniskirt178

ALEXIS: I know right, I was wearing a black miniskirt with a pink aeropostle shirt and they walked up to me, scraped a needle across my arm and called me emo. They were like we have proof we have proof there is a cut mark on her arm shes a cutter shes a cutter. I was all like shut up I do not cut myself179

DEREK: they’re just jealous because your way much prettier then they are180

SHAY: okay we can stop this love fest no one actually cares that you are so much in love with lexi181

DEREK: I am not in love with Lexi182

IAN: that’s why you are so jealous of me, like every time I come near lexi you freak183

DEREK: I do not 184

IAN: ohh your right you just carry that look of ohh I could just kill you any minute if you get to close to her around all day long.185

ALEXIS: cut it out guys we cant help that he is in love with me, they all are186

ALESSA: I love you lexi, but you are so conceited187

ALEXIS: I was just kiddin and I love you too188

ARABELLA: but seriously the next person that calls me gothic, is going too…189

CHRISTABELLA: your not going to do nothing, you heard what mom said, just ignore them they’ll go away.190

ARABELLA: yeah and you heard what I said, how long have we been ignoring them, and how long have they kept it up. 3 years of this idiocracy and I am sick and tired of it.191

DEREK: join the club, I mean I am on the football team, so to my face people act like I am going to kill them if they say one thing wrong. But behind my back they talk about how I’m so big and bad and I think I can beat everybody up because I’m a jock.192

SHAY: well we know that’s not true, because I could beat you193

DEREK: exactly, and so could lexi194

ALESSA: winning a fair game and letting someone win are two different things Derek, and we know that if you were to ever get into it with lexi you would let her win.195


DEREK:shutup196

(Derek punches her and she slaps him in the back of the head playfully, curtain closes as they walk off stage.]
ACT II SCENE III
[CURTAIN CLOSES]
[gangster crew walk in front of curtains and talk while scene is set up]
[everything is taken off stage except for the kitchen scene from earlier just rearranged to make it look different.]197

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