Final Announcement
Total silence. The wad of gum observes passively from
the floor.
Man 2 clears his throat.
MAN 2 (cont’d)
Mister, was that you speaking?
Nothing.
MAN 2 (cont’d)
Excuse me, sir, do you know why
you’re here?
Nothing. Man 2 slowly turns away, staring ahead again,
as though he were looking in a mirror at himself.
MAN 2 (cont’d)
Why am I here?
He turns to the wad of gum on the floor, expecting a
reply. Angry, he reaches out toward the wad with his
leg. He is careful to remain seated on the bench, like a
child playing a game where the bench is a safe zone.
With his boot, Man 2 squashes the wad of gum and
retrieves his leg beneath the bench. He stares at where
the gum used to be and realizes it is now on his boot.
Reaching down, he removes the hardened gum from the
bottom of his shoe, and without looking at it, sticks it
back beneath the arm of the bench.
The two men sit on the bench, motionless. The light hums
overhead.
MAN 2 (cont’d)
I think . . . it came from above.
Looking up, Man 2 counts the lights from one side of
the hall to the other, mouthing the numbers silently.
There are 12 exactly. He notices that the rectangular
fluorescent light overhead is off-centered to the bench,
and leans his head out from the bench to center himself
beneath the light.
Quickly finding this uncomfortable, he slowly stands.
His boots squeak very loudly on the linoleum and his
stiff clothes rustle like wind.
Man 1 glances up at him drearily with his eyes,
otherwise totally disinterested and motionless.
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