One of Three

One of Three by Carl M.

1/3

(It is about 7 PM at a small college in the middle of the Midwest. One early twenty-something boy [Kevin] is standing on top of his dorm building. As the sun is starting to set, a female guidance councilor [Mandy] and a glasses wearing campus security man [Barry] are rushing upstairs to Kevin)

Kevin: (Standing) *sigh* (begins to sit down)

Barry: (rushes in, almost breaks door, out of breath) STOP!!!

Mandy: (enters right behind Barry) Kevin?! Oh thank god! Kevin, get off the ledge NOW!

Kevin: I’m not actually on the ledge…

Barry: (interrupts) STOP RIGHT NOW! NOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS NICE AND CALMLY! THERE IS SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR! NOW STEP DOWN AND FOLLOW US DOWNSTAIRS (almost starts to wretch). God damn (heavy breathing), I am out of shape…hold on a sec…(almost doubles over trying to catch his breath). Man, why do I keep doing this?

Mandy: Kevin, please, listen to the security officer and follow us downstairs.

Kevin: Wait, I wanna talk first.

Mandy: I don’t know Kevin, we should really do this downstairs…

Barry: No ma’am (catching breath), actually it is better to talk to the suicide attemptee about why he wants to commit suicide rather than try and divert the conversation. So boy, why you want to kill yourself?

Mandy: Kevin, I know you have been feeling down lately because of a breakup, but this is not the answer!

Kevin: It’s not, I mean, I’m not, this...(beat) this isn’t really about my suicide.

Mandy: What do you mean Kevin?

Barry: You planning on suiciding someone else?!

Kevin: No, well, kind of.

Mandy: I am not sure what you are saying.

Barry: I don’t see anyone…wait…(looks over edge and only sees gathering crowd of people), yeah, no one else is up here.

Mandy: Kevin, what are you trying to say?

Kevin: Okay…see…have you ever, you know…hmmmm…have you ever thought you had a power, like, the power to change history?

Mandy: We all have the power to change our own histories Kevin, that is why we all must live! To be able to change our futures!

Barry: You mean like a gun, kid? ‘Cause if you have a gun, I am going to have to arrest you right now (looks down at non-existant badge).

Kevin: No, not like a gun. More like…like a switch. Like if you can pull this switch, then everything changes. I feel like, I have this power, somehow.

Mandy: Kevin, I know life has been hard, the end of a relationship can be very tough, but if you just give it some time, then everything will be okay!

Kevin: That’s not it! I’m not suicidal, or heartbroken, or, or, or whatever! I think I have this power, and I want to use it, but I’m afraid!

Barry: Easy kid, now calm down and tell us exactly what in the world you are talking about.

Kevin: I think…I think I can reset…

Mandy: Its okay Kevin, let it all out.

Kevin: I think I can reset time.

Barry: What?

Mandy: Now, Kevin…

Kevin: I know it sounds crazy, but, well, I may be crazy, but in order to find out, I have to risk, well, everything!

Mandy: Alright, Kevin, there is no reason that we can’t just go back inside and talk about this like adults. Is that okay with you Kevin?

Kevin: NO! This is NOT okay! I know it sounds impossible but its true! I KNOW its true! I don’t want this power! I don’t want this responsibility!

Barry: Alright, I have just had enough of this. The kid ain’t gonna kill himself, so I am bringing him back inside.

Mandy: Kevin, listen to the man, you can sleep on this and come to my office in the morning.

Kevin: NO! STAY AWAY!

Barry: Ma’am, he may not be “suicidal,” but he isn’t technically supposed to be up here, and he is getting a little rowdy, so I may have to resort to non-lethal take-down here.

Mandy: KEVIN! Please, listen to him! We can all go downstairs and everything will be okay!

Kevin: No, you don’t understand. All the hate and sadness in the world, and I may have the key to solve it all…or, or, or it could be worse! But, if I don’t try…

Barry: I am going to count to three, Kevin. One….Two.....

Kevin: Well, here goes nothing.

Barry: THREE!

(Blackout)

2/3

(It is about 8 PM at a small college in the middle of the Midwest. One early twenty-something boy [Kevin] is standing close to the edge of the ledge of his dorm building. As the sun sets, a female guidance councilor [Mandy] and a glasses wearing campus security man [Barry] are rushing upstairs to Kevin)

Kevin: (standing) *Sigh* (steps up on ledge)

Mandy: (rushes in, almost breaks door, out of breath) STOP!!

Barry: Now Kevin, I want you to get off that ledge right now!

Mandy: Jesus! Don’t do it! You have so much to…(trying to catch breath)…aw crap…live for (doubles over, trying to catch breath) Man, why do I keep doing that?

Barry: (gives Mandy a look) Anyway, Kevin, you don’t need to talk about why you are doing this right now, I just want you to come down from the edge and we can talk about your schoolin’ here.

Kevin: NO! I’m not coming down! I’M GONNA DO IT!

Mandy: No! You’re not supposed to divert attention from the suicide!

Barry: Oh yeah, that does sound familiar…

Kevin: She is all I had! Now that she is gone, OH GOD, I JUST WANNA DIE!

Barry: Kevin, now Kevin, there are plenty of girls in the world, as there are fish in the sea, killing yourself over one isn’t going to help anyone, especially yourself.

Kevin: You don’t understand! This is different!

Barry: Kevin, it’s gonna be okay. I know this is the pits right now, but it gets better! I guarantee it! I will bet my badge on it (looks at chest) or, well, you know!

Kevin: No, I, I couldn’t change it, I couldn’t change anything!

Barry: Now, Kevin, you can change anything! The future is oyster!

Kevin: No, I think, I think I can reset time! But I just don’t know!

Mandy: What?

Barry: Alright, Kevin, there is no reason that we’ll can’t just go back inside and talk about this like adults. Is that okay with you Kevin?

Kevin: I saw the signs, I knew it was ending, but I didn’t have the balls to go through with it! I could prevent everything! But I did nothing! What if…what if I can never be happy? What if I am stuck with this no matter what I do? What if this isn’t even the first time I reset time? Oh god…

Mandy: Just take a deep breath, okay? Through the nose (inhales through nose) and out the mouth (exhales out mouth). Now, there is nothing you could have done. A breakup is a very tough thing to go through, and I am here for you. Anytime you want to talk about it I am here for you. Do you want to talk about it now?

Kevin: You’re right…time is on my side. Next time, next time things will be different (jumps off ledge)

Barry and Mandy: NO!

(Blackout)

3/3

(It is about 9 PM at a small college in the middle of the Midwest. One Early twenty-something boy [Kevin] is sitting close to the edge of the ledge of his dorm building. As the moon shines, a female guidance councilor [Mandy] and a glasses wearing campus security man [Barry] are walking upstairs to Kevin)

Kevin: (sits for a while, then stands up) *sigh*

Mandy: (opens door tentively) Kevin, are you out there?

Barry: Kevin, if you are out there, you gotta say something!

Mandy: We heard from your girlfriend that you might be up here. Did you guys have a fight?

Barry: She seems pretty worried about you. Girlfriends like that are…

Kevin: She’s not my girlfriend, okay!

Barry: Really? Well, she seems like a good friend at least…

Kevin: We just broke up.

Mandy: Oh, I’m so sorry, Kevin! Do you want to talk about it?

Barry: You technically shouldn’t be up here, you know. Broken heart or not.

Kevin: No, its just…*sigh*, I was thinking of maybe ending it all, but I got this strange sense of…I dunno, pointlessness. I mean, I tried so hard to keep it together, and now that it is all falling apart, I don’t even have the energy to give up anymore.

Mandy: Its alright, we are here for you now.

Kevin: It all feels, feels like this has all been done before. Even if I were to kill myself, it wouldn’t change anything.

Mandy: Now, there is nothing you could have done. A breakup is a very tough thing to go through, and I am here for you. Anytime you want to talk about it I am here for you. Do you want to talk about it now?

Kevin: Yeah, actually that would be nice (gets up and walks toward Mandy). Don’t you sometimes wish you could…do it all over again?

Mandy: Sometimes, but I figure that even if I could do everything all over again, I would probably make the same mistakes anyway.

Kevin: Yeah…that’s probably right.

(Mandy and Kevin leave)

Barry: Offah, another night, another crazy kid.

(END)