Once upon a time, three girls were sitting in a playground.
It's a fine start to the play, albeit blunt. I suppose that's just the writing style - it's clearly amateur.
Tess, Lemon, and Kate are three girls of seemingly no great importance (obviously they're somwhat interesting, they're the main characters). They grew up in the same quiet neighborhood, and have been friends ever since grade four - they met at a birthday party where they bonded over the hatred of Daniel, a presumably obnoxious boy who isn't mentioned anywhere else in the text. Boom, friendship!
Pointless backfill aside, the story begins in the middle of their conversation on a park bench, where Kate is telling her friends all about her wonderfully bland trip to the mountains - more specifically how she got the tacky red sweater she was currently wearing. Tess sits to her right, visibly bored, whilst Lemon makes more of an effort to look interested. You can only imagine their sighs of relief when Kate runs off to bug her parents for travel photos.
...
Lemon's glow-in-the-dark watch says that Kate's been gone for ten minutes, but to the girls, it couldn't have been more than five. Still, as the hands converge closer to 4:30, she can't help but worry. Lemon is a paranoid girl, and the conveniently located Forboding Forest is making her even more anxious than usual. Despite her requests to search for their missing friend, the two of them sit there for another five minutes - two to Tess, and ten to Lemon.
Tess is more than happy to leave Kate behind. She'd been frustrated with her over-the-top chattiness for weeks, and with the first day of Official Middle School coming up, she can't afford to be seen with someone like her (oh my gosh who wrote this???). It's only because of Lemon's insistance that she agrees to look, and even then she barely does. After half-heartedly checking under the slide and trailing behind when Lemon questions the parents, she tries to cop out. I believe the exact quote reads: if she's gone, she's gone! It's really no big deal.
But, as luck would have it, she trips. Not over a stick, or a pothole, but something red that trails into the forest...
Yarn.
The way it's written, the story really wants you to think the yarn is blood. It details Lemon and Tess' horrified reactions, even having one yell out "KATE IS DEAD!" for extra flare. But they're not stupid. It's out of character - not to spoil anything, but the entire plot hinges on the two being smart and perceptive.
Either way, the girls eventually realise that
A) The blood is, in fact yarn.
B) It's the same shade as Kate's sweater.
and therefore,
C) It'll lead them to Kate.
So, after a few generic lines of deliberation, they follow it into the forest.
SCENE 2: THE FOREST
A dark forest with dim lights. EERIE FOREST AMBIENCE plays in the background, NOT just forest ambience. There IS a difference.
TESS and LEMON are following a red string, looking for KATE. LEMON is in front, enthusiastic. TESS is uninterested.
LEMON.
KATE! Can you hear us?
TESS.
Are we done yet?
LEMON.
Wha- she has to be here! The string...
TESS.
The string means nothing, Lemon. I've been trying to tell you that for the past 20 minutes.
TESS drops the string and sighs (the first of many...)
LEMON (emotionally).
I'm not giving up on her!
TESS.
Well I am. Heck, I did 20 minutes ago. I'm going back.
TESS (to self).
Alright, which way did we come...
TESS steps on a plate, opening a trapdoor. DOOR CREAKING sound plays.
TESS (cont'd.)
...from.
LEMON excitedly examines the trapdoor.
LEMON.
Oh my gosh, how did I not see this before? She has to be down here.
TESS.
...are you sure? This door looks... ancient.
LEMON.
Yeah yeah, just come down already.
LEMON runs offstage, 'through' the trapdoor. Tess rolls her eyes, stands for a while, then sighs and walks through as well.
Sounds
Before show
Scene 2 - Forest
Scene 3 - Lab
Sponsor break (QuickHear)
[redacted]
You cannot be serious. How many times have I told you to stop using the typewriter for your stupid lists! I can only hope it flagged as irrelevant this time...
Sorry. It should be okay this time, I didn't get too far.
That's missing the point, plus, you know how smart the audience is.
I know. Sorry.
Just get out...
Scene four begins when Tess and Lemon descend a rickety metal staircase into an abandoned science lab. The equipment is dangerously cobbled together - an amalgamation of test tubes and big red buttons that warn you not to push them. After Tess breaks an empty glass as a one-off joke to emphasise the lab's age, they resume their search for Kate.
In another room, a figure shifts in her chair. She's been sitting for longer than she can remember, anxious, waiting for someone to save her. Brought in a hurry, told to stay put until they came. She's helpless and lost and confused and so, so scared. When she hears the door open, she knows this is her chance.
"TESS! LEMON!" she yells as loud as her voice permits.
Lemon perks up at the sound of her friend's voice; Tess, not so much. She's more concerned about the dust clinging to her hair - she'll have to wash it twice tonight. Lemon doesn't buy it when she insists it was nothing, so she resigns to brooding as her friend frantically examines the room.
Lemon knows where the exit is. Not by heart, but she'll recognise it when they leave. Plus, the main priority right now is finding Kate. Not the exit. Kate. She knows she's in here - that was her voice she heard (right?). No. She isn't doubting herself. She could recognise Kate's voice anywhere and she definitely heard it coming from... which direction did the voice come from again? Gosh, this lab is weird. Whoever brought Kate here clearly has the worst intentions if they've made the place this hard to navigate. See! it's fine that she isn't actively thinking about the exit, good, even! That means she's using 100% of her energy on looking for Kate. No, she's not being snappy. Tess is just getting on her nerves - really, how can she be so careless? saying all these horrible things about Kate and the lab and threatening to press that button and-
what?
"I'm gonna do it if we don't leave."
"Tess."
"I will. I'm going to, see?"
Her hand hovers over a button on the wall that's practically radiating danger.
"You can't press that, you don't know what it does."
"Go home."
"You can't be serious. Tess." Lemon almost laughs. What actually comes out is more of a dry choking the walls don't bother to mirror.
Tess' fingers dance across the plastic, tapping the edge of the button, a promise about to snap.
Lemon is a paranoid girl,
and a smart one. She knows this isn't normal.
The rules that governed life abandoned her at 4:35.
And even though it makes no sense for the button to kill her,
There's always the chance it could.
(She lands with a thud) She lunged towards Tess, (against the wall; a click!) eyes burning, (To her growing horror,) heart pounding, (she begins to realise) thoughts racing to catch up with her body. (what she's done.)
The alarm is already blaring.
[redacted], THE ALARM!
[alarm]
Okay, everyone in positions? Jeffrey, is the elevator music ready?
"In position, we'll count on the start of three. Start on the count of three, ack! Okay. One, two, three!"
[elevator music]
I'm sure you're all wondering how Lemon and Tess will fare in the underground lab, but first, a word from our sponsor...
...
Jeffrey, drumroll.
"Sorry!"
[drumroll]
QuickHear!
Are you tired of low-quality sound effects with
[static]
More static than a slide?
Do you want clean, uninterrupted music for your projects?
Well, look no further than QuickHear!
Every crash,
[crash]
footstep,
[footsteps]
and ear-splitting scream that you hear in this play was ethically sourced from QuickHear.
Their website is easy to use, hassle free, and most importantly,
You don't need to pay!
Visit QuickHear.site, where quality sounds are just a click away.
[scream]
"Ack. Sorry."
Anyways, back to the story, where Tess and Lemon must find a way to escape.
JEFFREY, YOU'RE FIRED!
"QuickHear? Sounds like a scam."
"You were listening to that? I'm- no. Tess, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking? You can't mess around in places like this, you, we could get hurt."
"Woah there. I didn't press the button, that was your fault."
"Wha- You started it! I wasn't the-"
"GUYS! IN HERE!"
"That was loud. We're getting closer."
"No we're not, it's probably just, like, the echoes. Something sciencey."
"Keep yelling, we'll find you!"
"OVER HERE!"
"Tess, I found it!"
"That? It's so... small."
"We'll have to crawl, but I think we can fit."
"I'm not doing that."
"Tess."
"You go in, i'll wait here."
"Oh my gosh, you're joking."
"No."
"Get in."
"You first."
"No, then you'll just stay here."
"Oh no, you caught me!"
"I'll literally do anything."
"Anything?"
"Well. Um... Not EVERYTHING everything. Obviously there are exeptions. Like, I'm not going to kill anyone, if that's what you mean."
"Not even Daniel?"
"Like I said. Exceptions."
"Okay, deal. But you go in first. Like actually please go in first."
"Why does it even matter? Actually, don't answer that. Whatever. I'm going in."
Shadows veil a darkened face.
You thought I'd gone and left no trace
But props stay sidestage, tasks undone -
Without my help, this place can't run!
If i'm being honest, open,
I've openly bashed their motives.
Told to go back to my chores:
Don't touch things that aren't yours.
Day by day, suspicions grow.
I have to see, I have to know
If i'm aiding a worthy cause,
Or letting them omit its flaws.
I will atone for my mistakes.
This time it's real, I know the stakes.
So now I wait, I lie backstage,
Revising lines for our big break.