Where's Your Brother?

Where's Your Brother
by conrad panganiban

Louise Parker - Mid 50's
Benny Parker - Late teens

Setting: Night, The Parker living room, Rural Kansas, Present

LOUISE and her teenage son, BENNY, are in their living room where BENNY is cutting his mother's toenails. There's an pizza box and a glass of wine on a table.

LOUISE
Don't cut my toe nails too close, Benny.

BENNY
Sorry, Ma.

LOUISE
Did you hear from your brother yet?

BENNY
No, Ma.

LOUISE
It's getting late out there.

BENNY
Yes, Ma.

LOUISE
Just one at a time Benny. You don't have to go so fast. Look at that. They're crooked.

BENNY
Sorry, Ma.

LOUISE
It's okay, Sweety. Did you eat all your slices?

BENNY
Yes, Ma.

(BENNY gets up to open the window.)

LOUISE
Look at you. So thin. Don't they feed you anything at that school of yours? I swear, this heat is killing me. Open the window dear. Let some air in. Doesn't it sound pretty out there? Me and your daddy used to sit under those stars and just wonder how our life would turn out. I miss him. While you're up, get me that glass on the table will ya? (BENNY gives wine glass to LOUISE) That's a good, son. Your brother shoulda come home by now.

BENNY
He'll be here soon Ma. He told me after he dropped me home. He always keeps... keeps his word Ma.

LOUISE
I wished your daddy did the same.

BENNY
What are you thinkin' Ma?

LOUISE
Just where the hell your brother's at.

BENNY
You... you don't have to worry about him Ma. I'm... I'm here. You don't need him to protect you.

LOUISE
I didn't mean it like that.

BENNY
I think... I think that you did. I'm a big boy too, Ma.

LOUISE
Oh Benny. I know you are.

BENNY
The you don't need... him... any more.

LOUISE
I love you both Benny.

BENNY
No... no you don't!

LOUISE
Now, don't get huffy and puffy.

(BENNY picts up the bottle of red wine.)

LOUISE
Benny. Put that down!

BENNY
You don't need him!

(BENNY throws the bottle of wine down causing the red wine to splatter everywhere.)

LOUISE
Look what you did! The wine's all on the carpet. That stain's going to be hard to come off. And look at your shirt. You got wine all over it.

BENNY
I'm a big boy, Ma. You don't need him.

LOUISE
Oh, my. I ran out of Clorox the other day. How'm I gonna get that red out of your brand new shirt? I told your brother to bring back some clorox on the way back from the store, and it's already late.

BENNY
No Clorox! No Clorox coming!

LOUISE
Okay, I'll call it bleach.

BENNY
Why do you love him more?

LOUISE
And I just washed the whites yesterday.

BENNY
Ma?

LOUISE
Take off your shirt, boy. I'll get rid of that stain.

BENNY
No! No Clorox coming! Never. Why don't you love me?

LOUISE
What's this have to do with this stain?

BENNY
The stain is Robert. Barn.

LOUISE
Robert? What about your brother? Where you two messin' with the barn paint again? No wonder this stain is so red.

BENNY
Robert... stain... love me Ma!

(BENNY starts to sob.)

LOUISE
Oh dear. Don't start cryin'. It'll come out. Look, it's a little red. Where is that brother of yours now that I need him.

BENNY
Stain... Robert...

LOUISE
You said that already. Robert this this stain on you at the barn.

BENNY
No! Robert is the stain. He's already home.

LOUISE
Well, why didn't you say that? Where is he?

BENNY
Behind the barn.

LOUISE
Well go get him.

BENNY
He's dead and I killed him.

LOUISE
What?...


THE END... for now.


NOTE: This is written as an exercise for my Playwriting Workshop. The workshop is offered through Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco for their Stories High Program. The assignment was to write a dialogue between two people. We were given the names and the setting with the rule that these two people would not be allowed to leave the room. Also, we had 20 minutes of continuous writing to come up with this scene.

So, I had no idea where this was going when I first started writing. Slowly, the characters started to open up and tell their story.