SCENE 2
(Spotlight on MISS CHARLOTTE)

MISS CHARLOTTE: What neither of them expected was a friendship that developed through my class. They began working on all of their assigned projects together and spending time with each other after school. Annie would ride home on the bars of John’s bike, laughing the whole time. She always laughed more when she was with John. People in my classes used to say that they would be a couple, but they both vehemently denied any romantic feelings. In their words, they were nothing more than friends. But by spring of that year, their love for each other were evident to the rest of the world.

(Lights all the way up on JOHN and ANNABEL who are in ANNABEL’s living room, working on projects, flirting, showing each other magazines, talking, eating, etc)

JOHN: (Writing on a sheet of paper and eating chips) You know what’s dumb? Math. Look at this problem.

ANNABEL: (Squinting at paper John hands her) You have the WORST handwriting. How are you actually going to college next year?

JOHN: (Throws a potato chip at her playfully) You know, Annie, I actually do have half a brain.

ANNABEL: Then why am I doing all the work on this project?

JOHN: Because you love school.

ANNABEL: Not true!

JOHN: You want to be a teacher! That’s a life of school. Torture, actually. But to each his own.

ANNABEL: (slaps JOHN’S wrist) Professor, not teacher. And shut up! (They begin poking each other and rolling around on the floor until JOHN grabs ANNABEL’S hand. They look at each other for a minute and smile, he still holding her hand. They kiss.)

JOHN: (after a moment) Um…I have to go to practice! Can we finish this later?

ANNABEL: Oh! (embarrassed) Yes. Sure. I forgot you had soccer.

JOHN: (stands awkwardly in the living room) Okay. Well, uh, see you later, Annie. (JOHN exits through ANNABEL’S front door, SR).

ANNABEL: (door closes) Bye John. (touches lip)
(lights fade out)

SCENE 3
(The next day--lights up. The scene is the same--Annabel’s living room. A pay phone DL, with John dialing. The doorbell rings)

ANNABEL: (opens door) John?
JOHN: (anxious) Annie!

ANNABEL: (nervous, high pitched) Hi John! John I’ve been wanting to tell you something. I—

JOHN: (crosses center stage)Annie, I have great news! I got that soccer scholarship! I’m going to Vermont for school, isn’t it wonderful? (embraces her in a hug)

ANNABEL: (stunned) You’re leaving?

JOHN: (realizing she is upset, though unclear as to why) Yeah but, it’s not like I won’t visit.

ANNABEL: (suddenly angry, storms SL) That’s so typical of you. (turns around and faces him) Making decisions before you even talk to anyone who might have an opinion on the matter.

JOHN: Annie, this is what I want.

ANNABEL: Fine. Go then. (pushes him towards door) Leave! Get out of here!

JOHN: What is the matter with you, Annabel?

ANNABEL: (crying, speaks sarcastically) I’m sorry, John. I just thought I meant something to you.

JOHN: (Suddenly realizes how she feels. He speaks softly) Annie…

ANNABEL: Forget it. Just leave. That’s been your ultimate plan anyway.

JOHN: I didn’t realize this is how you felt.

ANNABEL: How could you not know, John?

JOHN: (angry) Because you never told me, Annabel! You never said one goddamn word about it! Is that what you wanted? We can’t be together, and you know that. You knew I was leaving at the end of the year.

ANNABEL: That’s not a denial, John. You’re not saying you didn’t feel the same way.

JOHN: (beat) Look. We’re friends. That’s all. Is that enough for you? Do you need it written out in one of your stupid novels so you can get in your head? (ANNABEL is quiet). Oh, Annie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. (ANNABEL moves away from him)

ANNABEL: If anything else, I thought we were friends. I knew we were friends. But clearly I was wrong. I was wrong about you, John.
JOHN: Well maybe you were! But did I lead you on, did I lie to you? (beat) Answer me, Annabel! Answer me!

ANNABEL: Get out of my house, John.

JOHN: (stares at her for a moment) Is that what you want?

ANNABEL: (looks at him) Yes.

(JOHN exits, slamming the door behind him, and ANNABEL dissolves into tears. BLACKOUT)

(The same scene is present, with JOHN sitting on the stool that MISS CHARLOTTE has vacated. He is dialing on a phone. The phone rings in the living room of ANNABEL’S house)

ANNABEL: (answers) Hello? (beat) Hello?

JOHN: Don’t hang up.(ANNABEL freezes) Listen,. I….I’m so sorry about what happened, Annie. I’m sorry for everything. (ANNABEL is quiet, listening) But Annie….I don’t think we should see each other before I leave, except in class. It’s for the best. But I’ll write you when I get to Vermont. I promise. (beat) Goodbye, Annie. (hangs up)

ANNABEL: John? John? Please don’t go, John. (quietly) Don’t go. (LIGHTS FADE OUT)

(Lights up on MISS CHARLOTTE, who has returned to her place on the stool)
MISS CHARLOTTE: John left the day after graduation for Vermont, and Annie sat at home that day. Her friends came over to cheer her up but couldn’t do much. Just as promised, John wrote to Annie. He called her and e-mailed her and wrote to her so much that she had no choice but to put their fight behind her. He came home on Labor Day weekend, and they were once again inseparable. Time passed, and they continued to stay in touch. It’s true what they say—you only meet you’re once in a lifetime friend, once in a lifetime.

(Lights up on ANNABEL’S living room. The phone rings, and it is answered by MR.PARKER)

MR. PARKER: Hello? Mr. Cunningham! How is John liking Vermont? (beat) What? No. (beat) Does she know, Sam? (beat) I see. I will. Thank you. (hangs up) Annabel? Could you come here for a moment?

ANNABEL: (enters from SL) Dad, did the phone ring? Was it—? (sees his face) Dad, what’s wrong?

MR.PARKER: Annabel, there’s something I need to tell you…

(Sirens. Lights fade out as ANNABEL runs out of the room, crying)

(Lights up on graveyard, which is simplistic and peaceful. ANNABEL, MR. PARKER, AND EXTRAS present)

MISS CHARLOTTE: John was hit by a drunk driver three on the way back up to Vermont after a weekend in Lakefield. The car smashed into the driver’s side of John’s car and he went into a coma. Less than two days later, the doctor told his family that he wouldn’t make it.

REVEREND PAUL: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to lay our dear friend and brother, John David Stephens to rest. The Good Lord has taken him to a better place, and it’s important to know that he’s not in pain. He’ll be remembered by his older sister, Allison, his father Samuel, and his mother Christine. (clears throat) John passed away on August 3rd, when his family made the hard yet best decision to…(ANNABEL runs out of funeral)

(lights dim, and the only light remaining is the spotlight DL on MISS CHARLOTTE)

MISS CHARLOTTE: Annabel took John’s death hard. She stayed at home whenever possible, and only talked to her family and her friend Cassie. All of them tried to convince her to join a grief group, but to no avail. Annie was having trouble adjusting.

Lights all the way up. ANNABEL is sitting on her couch, in her living room)

CASSIE: (enters through the open door SR) Annabel?

ANNABEL: Cass…

CASSIE: I brought you some stuff from school. (hands her notebooks, etc)

ANNABEL: Thanks.

CASSIE: Listen. You have to come back sometime.

ANNABEL: Don’t bring it up, Cassie.

CASSIE: He’s gone, Annabel. He can’t come back.

ANNABEL: You think I don’t know that? Of course I realize that, Cassie! I wake up every day and I want to call him, I want to hear his voice! (gets off couch) I want to tell him everything that’s going on, and I want to make fun of him for eating those dumb Pez candies, and I want him to laugh at me and call me uptight and I want him to bring me mix CD’s of those rock bands that are too loud. I want him back.

CASSIE: (softly) I understand.

ANNABEL: No, you don’t! You have no idea what it’s like! You’ve never lost anyone, Cass. John was my best friend. And now he’s gone. Forever.

CASSIE: He was more than that, Annabel.

ANNABEL: No…he wasn’t.

CASSIE: Annabel…you loved him. You still do.

ANNABEL: I thought I did. But he was my friend, that’s it. He made me realize that. I just miss him.

CASSIE: He loved you too.

ANNABEL: (beat) What?

CASSIE: You’re all he ever talked about.

ANNABEL: But he didn’t. He pushed me away before he left for school.

CASSIE: Annabel, be serious. He always asked you who you were dating, if you were. And he never was seeing anyone. He came down as often as possible, and who did he spend all his time with? Those little presents he always sent you? All those letters and phone calls? He was in love with you.

ANNABEL: (beat) Cassie. I need him. He can’t be gone.

CASSIE: He is. But if he could see you, right now, do you think he would you want him to see you like this?

ANNABEL: No. He would hate this.

CASSIE: Then come with me.

ANNABEL: Cassie…

CASSIE: Just trust me.

(They exit SR through the front door)

(The therapy group)
MR.SIMPSON: Alright everyone, we have a new member joining us today. Annabel! Welcome!
ANNIE: Hi.
MR.SIMPSON: As tradition, Annabel, we always have newcomers tell us a little bit about themselves, and, when they feel ready, a small bit about the friend or family member that they have lost. It doesn’t have to be today, it doesn’t even have to be a month from now. It’s just whenever you’re ready. But first we’ll go around the group and have everyone tell a little bit about themselves. Who would like to start?
SAMANTHA: I will! I’m Samantha, and I’m twenty-six years old and eighteen weeks pregnant. I lost my husband, Alex, in a plane accident three months ago. He loved to paint.
DEAN: I’m Dean and I lost my parents a few years ago in a car accident. They were both dentists.
ANDY: My name is Andy. I’m fifteen and my sister Julie died last spring from cancer. She wanted to be a singer.
MR. SIMPSON: Wonderful! Annabel?
ANNIE: (pauses) Well, John was always smiling. I think that’s the most important thing about him, and I’m afraid I’ll forget about that. He was always happy and everybody loved him—he got prom king two years in a row. I never understood why he spent his time with me. I was so boring compared to him—he had colleges competing for his attention left and right and he was by far the best player on our soccer team. He was nice, too. I’ve found that you don’t meet too many genuinely nice people in life, unless they want something out of you. But John was different. And he called me Annie. I have no idea why. I always thought Annie was a little girl name but John just said it was fitting. He only called me Annabel once.
SAMANTHA: Annie is a beautiful name. (ANNIE smiles)
ANDY: (interjecting) When did he call you Annabel?
MR.SIMPSON: Andy!
ANDY: Sorry, Mr. Simpson.
MR. SIMPSON: That’s all right. Annabel, we consider this therapy group to be very open and we encourage the members to ask questions to one another. However, we understand if you are not ready to talk about these things yet.
ANNIE: It’s okay. I’ll tell you. It was a little while before he died, when he told me that he de had decided to go to school in Vermont. That was the day after I told him how I felt about him.
MR.SIMPSON: And how did you feel about John?
ANNIE: (quietly) I loved him.
SAMANTHA: (pats ANNIE on the shoulder) How did he respond?
ANNIE: He—he just didn’t feel the same way.
DEAN: It sounds like he did, though.
ANNIE: No. He saw me as a friend, a sister. The one time I tried to tell him my feelings he would change the subject or try to tell me why it wouldn’t work out between us.
MR.SIMPSON: What did he say?
ANNIE: Just that—I was a friend. And besides, he was going to Vermont in the fall, as I found out shortly after. It just wouldn’t have gone anywhere. It wasn’t meant to be. (Beat)
(Cue timer)
MR.SIMPSON: Well, I’m afraid that’s all we have time for today. Thank you so much for joining us, Annabel. And I hope you’ll come back to see us next week.
ANNABEL: Thank you. I think I will.
*ALL exit except for ANNABEL and DEAN*
DEAN: You don’t know that.
ANNIE: Don’t know what?
DEAN: That it wasn’t meant to be.
ANNIE: Maybe. But I don’t like to think about what could have been but never was. (Beat)
DEAN: That’s so funny.
ANNIE: How?
DEAN: I’m the exact opposite. I’d much rather love someone and lose them than never have had the opportunity of loving them.
ANNIE: I would have loved for John to feel the same way about me. But at the same time, I’m glad to have had him in my life, even if it was just as a friend.
DEAN: That’s true. Say, would you like to finish this conversation over a coffee? I know a great shop just a few blocks from here.
ANNIE: I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t come here looking for new relationships.
DEAN: Neither did I—but we both need a friend right now. So what do you say?
ANNIE: (smiles) Alright.
*lights dim*
MISS CHARLOTTE: Annie stayed in the grief group for six months, going to it twice a week. Mr. Simpson and the other members decided that they should continue to meet so that they could stay in touch—they didn’t necessarily have to talk about their losses. Towards the end of the group session, Samantha had her baby.
*Lights up on hospital scene. GROUP around SAMANTHA who is holding a baby.*
DEAN: He’s beautiful. What did you decide to name him?
SAMANTHA: (Looks at Annie and smiles) Well, his middle name is Alexander, after his father.
ANDY: And his first name?
SAMANTHA: John.
ANNIE: (Looks up questioningly)
SAMANTHA: Yes, John. I hope that’s okay with you, Annabel. Would you like to hold him?
ANNIE: (holding the baby) Hi John, my name is Annie
*BLACKOUT*
End of play