Our Centers for Ethics:

CC! activities created by schools and youth groups

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"Taking a Stand": Scene 7

7. DEAN’S OFFICE

Cory sits with five empty chairs Stage Right. The DEAN sits Left. COUNCILOR stands Up center.

CORY
So here I am back at the Dean’s office.
I don’t know why they called me in this
time. Like it really matters. The Councilor
will talk to me first. She’ll want me to write a letter.
That’s always annoying.

COUNCILOR
(crossing to Cory)
While you’re waiting to see the Dean,
why don’t you write a letter?

CORY
A letter? What about?

COUNCILOR
How you feel.

CORY
I feel angry.

COUNCILOR
Then write about feeling angry.

CORY
Why don’t you write a letter?
(The Councilor exits)
A letter on why I’m so angry. How about this?
My parents are divorced and they still fight
all the time. My mother and my step father
fight all the time. I wish my sister
wasn’t so messed up on drugs all the time,
and I can’t make any friends for some reason.
And I’ve got a lot more problems than writing
on a piece of paper is going to take care of.

Wally, Alex, Danny and Jessie enter and sit in the empty chairs. They all look away from Cory.

CORY
Which one of you told on me?

ALEX
I didn’t. I won’t say anything.

CORY
(to Wally)
What about you?

WALLY
I don’t even know why we’re here.

CORY
(to Danny)
Did you say something?

DANNY
No.

CORY
Somebody’s lying. I’m going to
find out who got me in trouble.
(Stacy enters and sits.)
Look who showed up. What did you tell them?

STACY
Aboutwhat?

CORY
You tell me. You ever been in a Dean’s office?

STACY
No.

CORY
He’s going to try to scare you into telling him things.
If you’re smart, you’re going to be a lot
more afraid of me than that Dean. That goes for all of you.

COUNCILOR
(entering to group)
The Dean will see all of you but Cory.

ALEX
(to Wally)
I feel like I should tell what happened.

WALLY
You better not. He’ll end up getting back at all of us.

ALEX
He’s going to do something with my cell
phone, and it’s going to cost my parents
a lot of money and get me in a lot of trouble.

WALLY
Just keep your mouth shut.

The five kids cross to the Dean.

DEAN
How are you today?
(they all shrug.)
Do you know why you’ve been sent here?
(They shake their heads.)
A robbery has been reported to me. I was
wondering if you could tell me about it.

WALLY
I don’t know anything about a robbery.

DEAN
Are you Alex?

ALEX
I am.

DEAN
Did you have something taken from you?

ALEX
Me? No. I uh- why would you think that?
I mean, who would steal something from me?

DEAN
If there’s no victim, I can’t report any crime.
That means, if you let him, he’s going to get
awaywith it.

ALEX
Nobody took anything.

STACY
You don’t have to do whatever Cory says.
(to Dean)
I saw Cory take something that looked like
a phone. I’m pretty sure he took money too.

DEAN
You’re new at this school, aren’t you?

STACY
Yes.

DEAN
How were you involved?

STACY
Hegaveme some money. I think
he took it from one of them. I didn’t report
it, but I know now I should have.

JESSIE
Cory stole her phone, and he takes our
lunch money too.
They won’t say anything because they’re
afraid of him.

DEAN
Are you afraid of him?

JESSIE
Yes.

DEAN
But you told anyway.

JESSIE
Stacy is right. He gets away with it because we
wont stand up for each other.

DANNY
He did take her phone, and he takes
our lunch money if he can catch
us in the lunch line.

DEAN
(to Alex)
Do you want to change your story?

CORY
(to audience)
I can see their faces from here. They all keep looking
at Alex. She’ll never tell. She’s too
afraid of me.

The students leave the Deans office and walk past Cory.

CORY
(with confidence to Alex)
You didn’t say anything, did you?

ALEX
I told him you took my phone, and I want it back.

JESSIE
We all told him about you.

WALLY
Don’t say that all of us told. I didn’t say anything.

DANNY
I did. I told him about the money and the phone.

CORY
I’ll pay you back for that. Everyone of
you that told.

ALEX
We’re not the ones in trouble. You are.

Danny, Wally, Alex and Jessie leave. Stacy stays, looking at Cory.

CORY
I bet you were the first one to tell, weren’t you?

STACY
I told the truth.

CORY
The truth can get you in trouble.

STACY
Why is it you always have to try
to scare people into doing things?
I’m already in trouble. I’ve got a one day
suspension, and he’s calling my parents right now.

CORY
That’s what you get for being stupid.

STACY
It’s what I get for watching you take things
from them and not report it.

CORY
I treated you like a friend. I didn’t
see anybody else being nice to you.
No one was going to pick on you or make
fun of you while you’re around me.
I trusted you, and look what happens.
I end up in trouble, and it’s all your fault.

STACY
I know that you were being nice to me,
and you were trying to be a friend. But
the things you were doing to other people
weren’t right. And If I do it too, or even
if I just stand and watch, I’m not
doing the right thing either.

DEAN
Cory, could you come in here?

Stacy exits and Cory crosses to Dean.

DEAN
You took a cell phone. Where is it?

CORY
Why don’t you check my locker?

DEAN
I already have.

CORY
(to audience)
I’ve been through this drill before.
First she’ll try to scare me with my parents. Good luck.

DEAN
We’re going have to call your parents
and let them know what’s going on here.

CORY
(to audience)
Then she’ll threaten me with the cops.

DEAN
I’ll get the campus cop to write up
a report. We’ll try and get most of
this taken care of today. Cory, I think
we’ve tried hard enough to get you to
fit into the school here. It may be best
if we transfer you to another school.

CORY
(to audience)
Best for who? They're looking to dump
me on some other school. Like I’m the
only problem they have to deal with. What if I
do push people around. Who doesn’t?
How else are you suppose to get respect around here?

BOB
You could be fair to people.
That’s the best way to get respect.

CORY
Fair? There’s no such thing as fair.
Fairy tale is more like it.

Wally, Jessie, Danny, Alex enter along back wall.

BOB
Fair is when you can take advantage of
someone else, but you don’t do it, because
you’re a better person than that.
Do you think you’re fair to people?

CORY
Not all the time. But it’s not like I really hurt anyone.

BOB
How would you know?
What if you could hear how what
other people are feeling?

Victims line up behind Cory as he faces the audience.

WALLY
Leave me alone. You’re such a jerk.

JESSIE
What is your problem?

ALEX
You’re really messed up.

DANNY
Someday you’re going to get what you deserve.

CORY
OK, I got it.
(Wally, Jessie, Danny, Alex all exit)
I can hurt their feelings, scare them, make them
angry, embarrass them, but I
can’t make any of them like me, or respect me.

BOB
Why not?

CORY
I guess it’s me. That’s the way I am. I
don’t remember anybody being fair to me.

BOB
That doesn’t mean you have the
right to take it out on others. If you
want friends, you have to be fair to
people and show them respect.

DEAN
Cory, why don’t you wait outside until
the campus cop shows up?

BOB
They know you did it. Why not admit it
and get it over with.

CORY
(pulls phone out of his pocket, hands it to Dean)
Here’s the cell phone. I took money too, but
I don’t think I’ll be able to pay them back.

DEAN
I don’t know why you’ve suddenly become so
honest, but I hope you can stay that way.
It will make things a lot easier on you.

BOB
(to audience)
Sometimes taking a stand means being
honest about yourself.
Let’s move time up to today’s lunch period.
 

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