Our Centers for Ethics:

CC! activities created by schools and youth groups

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"Taking a Stand": Scene 6

6. AFTER SCHOOL

Stacy enters crossing to Center as Narrator watches. Cory enters from behind and quickly catches up with her.

CORY
Hey. Where are you going?

STACY
Home.

CORY
Do you know where everyone goes
after school?

STACY
No. Not really.

CORY
Come on. I’ll show you.

STACY
I really should be going home.

CORY
It’s on your way. Come on.

STACY
Well, OK.

CORY
Let’s stop by my house first. It’s right here.

Parents enter sitting upstage in lawn chairs.

STACY
Oh, uh, nice house.
Are your parent’s home?

CORY
I hope not. Come on.
This is going to be real quick.

As they enter the house, the Parents start yelling at each other. Cory puts his finger to his mouth to signal Stacy to be quiet.

MOTHER
When are you going to get the car fixed?

FATHER
Where do you have to go that you need a car?

MOTHER
I thought you said you were going to look for a job today?

FATHER
How am I suppose to do that without a car!?
(Seeing Cory in the house)
Hey! When did you get here?

MOTHER
Your room’s a pig sty! Clean it up!

FATHER
We got another call about you from the school!
Ditching classes again!

FATHER
You think you’re
smart enough to get away with it, don’t you?

MOTHER
Why do you always do stupid things?

FATHER
When are you going to learn something?

MOTHER
Why can’t you do anything right?

Cory turns and heads for the door. He grabs Stacy and pushes her out in front of him.

CORY
Come on! Let’s go!

FATHER
(yelling after him)
Cornielius! We’re not done talking to you!

MOTHER
Get back in here! We’ll tell you when you can leave!

FATHER
Good for nothing, worthless kid!

The Parents exit as Narrator steps out to the audience

NARRATOR
You ever play Hide-and-Seek? Little
kids love it. Cory plays it everyday. At
home, he hides from the insults, pain and
shame, and then, he comes to school seeking
victims of his own. He’s looking for
someone to take it out on. Cory doesn’t
like playing Hide-and-Seek. It’s just part of his life.

CORY
God, I hate them!

STACY
Did your sister call you Cornielus?

CORY
(shoving her and threatening)
You better not tell anyone! You understand?

STACY
Why would I tell anyone? It’s none
of my business.

CORY
I mean it! If I ever hear anyone say
that, I’m going to find you, and I’m
going to pound you!

STACY
OK. I said I wouldn’t tell anybody.

The 7-11 scene is set up behind them.

CORY
All I was going to do was sneak in and get a joint.

STACY
A what?

CORY
I have weed hidden in my room.
We could be getting high right now.

STACY
You do drugs?

CORY
I steal it from my sister. She’s high all
the time. She’ll never know.

STACY
(aside to the audience)
He scares me. I don’t want to do or
say something that’s going to get
him madder then he already is. But all
this stuff he does, I don’t want to do that
either. I’ll go along with him today and
find some way to avoid him tomorrow.

NARRATOR
Scary situation. How far can you let
other people push you into doing things?
It’s easy to say, “Be yourself.”
But the only way to really
be yourself is to take a stand when
other people try to make you someone else.
Let’s go to the kid’s
hang out, the 7-11 down the street from school.

7-11 (a Character) stands behind the counter watching as Dudes and Pop Girls come into the store.

SPIKE
Dude, I’m hungry for like Fritos.

BUB
(dumb laugh)
Yeah. Chips.

NACHO
Nachos Dudes. We need nachos
with extra cheese.

MOE
You should eat something
healthy, like... beef jerky.

NACHO
No way Dude. I need nachos with extra cheese.

NARRATOR
Is a good person a racist or prejudice? Most
people say no, but what happens when your
friends are that way? Does that make it OK
to laugh at prejudice and racist jokes?

GERTRUDE
How much are the slushies?

7-11
Ninety-nine cents.

GERTRUDE
How am suppose to understand you
when you talk with that goofy accent?

CANDY
He sounds just like that guy on The Simpsons.

7-11
You know how much they cost. You buy them all the time.

CANDY
Why don’t you lose the accent?
You’d be doing your customers a favor.

MANDY
Yeah. Talk like an American.

NARRATOR
When you’re part of a big group, it’s easy to
laugh when people make racist and prejudiced
jokes at another person. But after you laugh, how
do you feel about yourself?

SPIKE
Hey Dudes, check out this beef jerky.
It says made in India, that’s where that guy comes from.

Moe
He’s probably the guy that made this beef jerky.

SPIKE
Hey, you’re the beef jerky Dude!

NARRATOR
(to Audience)
If you were laughing at his accent or their jokes,
you were being prejudiceD.
(to Moe)
Do you really think it’s that funny?

MOE
No. I feel bad for him. Everybody is making fun
of him because of his nationality.

NARRATOR
You’re not acting like it bothers you very much.

7-11
If you want to buy something, buy it.

Cory and Stacy enter moving past the other kids.

CORY
(to Stacy)
I rip this guy off all the time. Grab a candy bar.

STACY
I have some money. I’ll buy one.

CORY
I have money too. That’s not the point.
Rip him off. He deserves it.

NARRATOR
He deserves to get ripped off? What do you think?

MOE
(to audience)
No, he doesn’t. He’s not hurting anybody.
He’s only trying to make money for his family.

NARRATOR
Then, why don’t you say something about it?

MOE
I want to fit in. I’m too afraid to say anything.

NARRATOR
Sometimes it’s hard to be a good person.
You have to take a stand and say how you really feel.

SANDY

(to Eve, pointing to Stacy)
Hey look. It’s like, your loser ex friend.

GERTRUDE
Yeah. She’s a low life, just like Cory.
We did you a big favor getting you away from her.

EVE
(to audience)
I thought I’d really like being in this group.
It’s not fun at all. I liked being friends with Stacy,
and I miss hanging around her.
Cory’s pushing her into doing weird things,
and she doesn’t have any friends to help her.
Tomorrow, I’m going to report that she was with
Cory when he took the money and phone. I don’t
want to report it, but it’s the right thing to do.
If I had been a real friend, these
things wouldn’t be happening to her.

CORY
(shoving a candy bar in Stacy’s hand)
Here! take it!

STACY
(taking the candy bar)
Fine. I took it. Are you happy now?

CORY
Come on. We’ll rip off slushies too.

STACY
What is the point in that?

CORY
What are you afraid of? You’re not smart
enough to get away with it? Too stupid?

STACY
No. I don’t think I’m stupid at all.

CORY
Why don’t you grow up?

STACY
You’re talking just like your parents
talk to you.

CORY
You better stop talking about my parents!
You’re nothing but a useless, worthless kid!

STACY
(looks at the others staring at her)
I don’t have to let you push me into
doing anything.

CANDY
Like, awkward moment.

GERTRUDE
Welcome to Loserville. Population: you.

Stacy exits.

MANDY
(to Eve)
Let’s hope nobody remembers you were
talking with her this morning.

EVE
Why should I care about that?

CANDY
Besides the fact she’s a social reject?

EVE
At least she stood up for herself,
and she stopped letting him push her around.
That takes a lot of courage.

MANDY
Maybe you should run after her and
tell her how wonderful she is.

EVE
(exiting)
Maybe I should.

CANDY
Like, don’t tell me she just walked
away from us.

SANDY
She’s even dumber than we thought.

GERTRUDE
Which one of you drove her out of this group?
(Candy and Sandy both point at Mandy)
You better get her back. I want that homework.
(to Candy and Sandy)
Let’s go.

Everyone exits but 7-11 and the Narrator.

NARRATOR
Later that day, Stacy went back to the 7-11.
She was embarrassed that she took the candy
bar and decided to pay for it because it’s
the right thing to do.

Stacy enters, crosses to 7-11.

STACY
Do you remember me? I was in here
after school with the other kids.

7-11
I’m sorry, but I don’t. A lot of kids come in here.

STACY
(holds out a dollar)
I took a candy bar and didn’t pay for it. I owe you this.

7-11
You’ve shown a lot of responsibility,
It must have been very hard for you to
come back and tell me what you did, and I
respect you for that.
It’s OK. You can have the candy bar.

STACY
Why would you want to be nice to me
after all those kids were so mean to you?

7-11
I look at everybody as an individual.
Thank you for caring about me.
Keep your money. It’s been nice meeting you.

STACY
Thank you.
(to audience as 7-11 exits)
I’m glad I went back and told him
what I did. I didn’t know he was such a nice person.

Stacy exits as Mandy enters and sits.

NARRATOR
So Stacy walked home feeling a lot better.
The great thing about being honest,
you have nothing to hide.
Mandy walked home feeling a lot worse.
She was in fear of being rejected by her group.

Mandy's older sister (SIS) enters.

SIS
How are you doing Sis?

MANDY
OK.

SIS
Doesn’t look like it.

MANDY
Maybe it’s just a bad day.

SIS
What’s wrong?

MANDY
Tomorrow, I might not be part of the
Popular Girls. They’re the only friends I have.

SIS
Are they real friends?

MANDY
How do you know if someone is a real friend?

SIS
Friends are people you can trust, people who respect
and care about you.

MANDY
They gossip all the time, so I’d never trust them
with a secret. And Gertrude, I don’t think she
respects or cares about anyone. We kind of
do whatever she tells us to do.

SIS
What changed things?

MANDY
Gertrude wants a new girl, Eve, to join
our group. She doesn’t like her, but she
wants her to be in the group so she’ll
make cheat sheets for us and let us copy
her homework.

SIS
What’s that got to do with you?

MANDY
I said something mean to Eve. She
got mad and left the group.

SIS
What did you say?

MANDY
Who knows? I can’t even remember.
I really don’t want to talk about it. Maybe
tomorrow.

SIS
OK. We’ll talk later.
Good night.

MANDY
Good night.

Candy, Sandy, and Gertrude enter behind her.

NARRATOR
Mandy fell asleep, and all of her troubles
came back to her in a nightmare.

GERTRUDE
You drove her out of this group.

(Candy and Sandy point at Mandy)
You’d better get her back.

MANDY
What are you doing in my room?

CANDY
We’re here to take the test.

SANDY
We don’t have a cheat sheet because of you.

GERTRUDE
You’d better find it before the teacher
gets here or you’ll never be popular again.

MANDY
OK. I’ll find the cheat sheet.
(stops, looking at Brandy)
Who are you?

Pop Girls look at her like she’s nuts.

BRANDY
I’m Brandy.
Who are you to ask?

MANDY
I’m Mandy. Is this some kind of joke?
You let her have my spot in the group?

SANDY
Your spot?

MANDY
She’s a phony. She’s not even real.

CANDY
Neither are you.

BRANDY
You’re the one who’s not real.
You’re the phony.

GERTRUDE
Really. You’ll do whatever I tell you to.
You’ll be any person I want you to be.

SANDY
You’re such a follower.

GERTRUDE
You want back in the group Randy?

MANDY
It’s Mandy.

GERTRUDE
Yeah, whatever. Find the cheat sheet,
and you can be popular again.
But for now, get lost. Loser.

BRANDY
Thrift store queen of the year.

CANDY
Pathetic

SANDY
Worthless.

ALL POP GIRLS TOGETHER
Loner!

MANDY
OK! Stop! I’ll find the cheat sheet!

Nacho, Bub, Moe and Spike enter looking around the room.

MANDY
What are you doing here?

NACHO
We’re looking for like, the chips and the cheese.

BUB
No. Beef Jerky Dude. Let’s catch the Beef Jerky.

MOE
Yeah Dude. Beef.

SPIKE
There they are! Whoa!

CHIPS & CHEESE enter as Dudes drop to their knees bow and chanting.

DUDES
Chips and extra cheese. Chips and extra cheese.

NACHO
It’s Nacho Supreme Dude.

Chips and Cheese cross as Dudes follow in slow motion running.

MANDY
(turning back to Pop Girls)
Oh my God! Did you see that? The Dudes were …

The Teacher Enters.

MANDY
My teacher?
What are you doing here?

TEACHER
I’m here to give you your test. Did you bring your
materials?

MANDY
No. They’re at school.

TEACHER
What good are they doing you there?
I’m going to give you a “U” for keeping
your test materials at school.

Skeeter enters with his hand raised.

TEACHER
Yes Skeeter?

SKEETER
Can we have the test in my room next week?

MANDY
Skeeter?
Skeeter! Hey, got a cheat sheet?

SKEETER
Sure Mandy.
(As she turns to him, he puts his hand in her face)
Just kidding.

MANDY
Oh my God!
(she turns to see the Narrator)
Hey! You’re the school custodian.
What are you doing here?

NARRATOR
Me? Oh, uh, just cleaning up your nightmare.

Jessie, Wally, Danny and Alex enter.

WALLY
Wow! That was a great cheat sheet wasn’t it?

DANNY
The coolest cheat sheet I’ve ever seen!

MANDY
Where is it? Where’s the cheat sheet?

JESSIE
(pointing off stage)
Right over there.

Mandy turns to run off stage, but Jessie puts out her foot and trips her. The others point at Mandy and laugh.

JESSIE
Have a nice trip Mandork.

DANNY
You’re not popular anymore. We can make
as much fun of you as we want!

MANDY
No! No! I’ll find the cheat sheet!

Mandy runs off stage for a second and backs in screaming in terror as a giant monster CHEAT SHEET comes in after her.

CHEAT SHEET
I have all the answers!

MANDY
Get away from me!

The Cheat Sheet chases her around as the others laugh at her.

CHEAT SHEET
Two plus two is seven! Chips plus cheese
equals nachos with extra cheese!

The others exits laughing as the Cheat Sheet continues to chase her around. She falls to her knees and screams as it exits past her. Sis Enters.

SIS
What’s wrong? Are you OK?

MANDY
Oh. I had a nightmare. Everything was different.
Everyone was laughing at me and
being mean to me

SIS
Sounds like you’re still bothered about
what happened today.

MANDY
It’s not just today. I’ve been mean to a lot
of people. It’s part of being one of the
Popular Girls. It’s how I’m suppose to act
if I want to fit in.

SIS
You’re suppose to act like yourself.

MANDY
I guess you’re right. I’m tired of being a
phony. It’s too much pressure But it’s so hard
to be honest. I don’t know what I should be.

SIS
Be yourself. Don’t let them change you
into something you are not. You know
what I’ve found out? The older I get,
the less concerned I am about being
popular and the more concerned I am about
being someone who earns respect.

MANDY
I guess you’re right. If I should feel badly about
anything, it should be that I was mean to
somebody who didn’t deserve it.
Thanks for the talk Sis.

SIS
You’re a good person Mandy.
Don’t let your group change that. Good night.

They exit as the Narrator steps in.

NARRATOR
Let’s move things up to the next day at school. Stacy
has decided to be completely honest about Cory.

STACY
(Dean’s Office set up behind her.)
I couldn’t tell what Cory was doing
yesterday, but I think he gave me money that
he took from another kid. I have to find out how to fix that.

NARRATOR
Stacy doesn’t know that it’s already being
fixed and she’s headed for the Dean’s office.
She’s about to find something out.
If you show someone you care, sometimes
other people will be able to show it too.

TEACHER
(entering to Stacy, hands her a summons)
Stacy, you have a summons to go to the Dean’s office at once.
 

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