10 min play

[The two double doors open as two nurses push the rolling bed into an empty spot. On the bed lays a young women still unconscious. The nurses pull the curtain shut enclosing the women in her own space, unable to be seen by the others in the ward.]

TROY
[Looks curiously over at the closed curtain]

Who is that? I can’t see her face.

NURSE CLAIRE
[Addresses TROY sitting on his bed]

That’s because you wouldn’t know who that is, Troy.

TROY
So? Who is it?

NURSE CLAIRE
[Placing a cup full of pills into TROY’S hand]

Just another patient troy..

TROY
But who..

NURSE CLAIRE
[Pouring a glass of water and hands it to TROY]

She is a patient and you don’t need to know another thing

TROY
[Takes a sip of water]

Humph. So, when will she be awake?

NURSE CLAIRE
You need to become a nurse yourself so you can know everyone’s business

TROY
[Swallows pills]

I do not need to know everyone’s business. I just happen to be a likeable guy that
people get magnetized towards and for some reason need to tell me things


NURSE CLAIRE
[Continuing with her own thoughts ignoring him]

Oh or better you should be a cop. They interrogate people.

TROY
I DO NOT INTERIGATE PEOPLE. What kind of nurse are you anyways? Your supposed to make your patients feel better right?

NURSE CLAIRE
My job is to make sure you don’t get in trouble and to keep your heart nice and healthy so you can go home to your family. Just because you pay a lot doesn’t mean I can give you special treatment Troy.

TROY
[Looks at CLAIRE]

NURSE CLAIRE
[Walks away from his bed towards the doors she pushed the women through]

Goodnight, Troy, I will check up on you later. You better not be standing over the poor girl waiting for her to wake up now.

TROY
O hush. I will never do that again. Ceder sure knew how to put someone in a good headlock.

NURSE CLAIRE
Night Troy

TROY
Night Ms. Claire

[It’s the following morning and TROY opens the shade reveling the dewy window. The young women opens her eyes and blinks viciously from the sunlight peeking through her curtain. TROY looks in the side of the curtain at the young women with a widely puzzled look on her face.]

TROY
Why good morning miss!

SANDRA
[Jumps in her bed yet realizes that she can move much because the pain in her side is too overwhelming. She tries to slowly move her head in the direction of TROYS voice. She feels as if she has been ran over.]

Who, who are you?

TROY
[Opens the curtain and greets the young women with a smile.]

Hello! My name is Troy. What’s yours?

[TROY puts out his hand to shake her hand. SANDRA reaches for his hand. They both noticed cuts and bandages all over her hand, sharing the same thought; curiosity.]



SANDRA
[Looks up at Troy.]

Sandra.

TROY
Well hello SANDRA! What brings you by on this gloomy spring day

SANDRA
Ugh umm..

[Trying to change the subject.]

What did you say your name was again?

TROY
Why the name is Troy. And what did you say happened to you.

SANDRA
[Looks down in embarrassment.]

Well, you see, I, I don’t remember.

TROY
Oh happens all the time around here. I sometimes think it is a good thing. Once people find out what happened they sometimes don’t take it very well.

[SANDRA gets a look of worry across her face.]

I didn’t mean to scare you miss. I’m sure nothing bad happened to you..

SANDRA
[Ignoring his comment.]


Why are you here?

TROY
My heart, I get these hear attacks like every other day, My brother insists I stay in this hell hole of a place until I get fully better. I know how to handle the attacks. I don’t need to monitored.

SANDRA
[Looks around.]

This place. Is, gosh I would kill myself if I had to stay here all the time.

TROY
[Gives her a deep glare.]

I wouldn’t say that.

SANDRA
It’s just so depressing.

TROY
The reason why people are here is o get better and NOT die!

SANDRA

[Oblivious of TROY”S anger.]

It would give me a reason to die..

[SANDRA finally looks at TROY and smiles.]

What is wrong with you?

[TROY, with out saying a word, closes the curtain and walks towards the window to shut it. In walks NURSE CLAIRE with a cart full of what looks like medical supplies and the mornings breakfast. TROY walks to his bed and sits on the edge.]

NURSE CLAIRE
Why good morning Troy. Did you sleep well last night? I bet you did, your pills ought to have done the trick to your sleeping issues you have been having lately

TROY
She’s awake


NURSE CLAIRE
[Rummages through the box of pills and pours some into a cup.]

She, what’s that Troy? Why are you talking to the floor?

[NURSE CLAIRE walks over to TROY’S bedside table and sets his pill onto a book.]

TROY
Sandra. She is awake

NURSE CLAIRE
[Pauses in her footsteps and turns to look at TROY.]

You talked to her… Troy I told you not to. You ought to stop..


TROY
[Lifts his head up and tries to project his voice loud enough so SANDRA could hear him.]

She is definitely NOT a morning person if you know what I mean. Negative. Very negative. Said she would rather die than stay in here.

NURSE CLAIRE
Don’t they all.

[TROY beckons NURSE CLAIRE to come over to him. He leans in and whispers into her ear.]

TROY
She said she doesn’t remember how she got hurt.

NURSE CLAIRE
[Walks back to her cart.]

I hate having to bring the police in for investigation. It causes such an eruption.

[NURSE CLAIRE walks to SANDRA’S bed and draws back the curtains.]

Hello! My name is Claire Prenborn and I will be your nurse here during your stay and Francis Hospital. You had a pretty rough night last night. How are you feeling this morning?

[NURSE CLAIRE examines SANDRAS bruises and bandages and attends to the ones that need resealing.]


SANDRA
[Sits up, and leans to NURSE CLAIRE.]

What am I doing here? What happened to me?

NURSE CLAIRE
Oh but don’t you remember Ms. Johnson You were dropped off by your husband. He said you fell in the shower and you were knocked out and cut by the tile.

SANDRA
Mrs.? What did you call me?

NURSE CLAIRE
Mrs. Johnson..


SANDRA
That’s not my name

NURSE CLAIRE
You must have some slight amnesia you should recover soon from that. Now Mrs. Johnson do you have a work that we should call and be informing you wont be coming in today? Your husband only signed and left.

SANDRA
[Pulls her arm away from NURSE CALIRES grasp.]

STOP CALLING ME MRS JOHNSON. That is not my name! And I am not married!

NURSE CLAIRE
[Confusion takes over her face.]

I’m sorry miss. What would you like to be called then?

[Walks over to her clipboard so she can write it down.]

SANDRA
Sandra.

NURSE CLAIRE
[Puts her clipboard away and gives SANDRA her breakfast.]

Okay Mrs., umm Sandra. Here is your breakfast. It would benefit you if you would eat all of it. I will come in later to check in on you.

SANDRA
[Takes the tray from NURSE.]

But what am I doing here?

NURSE CLAIRE
[Walking towards the door.]

I will just be back later, enjoy your food.


SANDRA
[Hollers to the NURSE.]

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!!??

[TROY stares at SANDRA as she throws her breakfast away.]

SANDRA
[Pacing at the end of her bed.]

What kind of hospital doesn’t know why their patients are there?

[Stops abruptly and turns to TROY.]

Hello? ARE YOU DEAF?

TROY
What do you want from me? You were just yelling at me earlier.

SANDRA
I was not yelling!

TROY
You shouldn’t be pacing like that.

SANDRA
O and what do you know

[Continues pacing.]

TROY
You. You just need to eat what they give you that’s all. It helps..

SANDRA
I don’t eat breakfast

TROY
It’s good for your metabolism. You actually can loose..

SANDRA
O shut up! I don’t know how I got here! And I don’t understand how they didn’t know what happened to me. And they said my husband? MY HUSBAND! dropped me off.

TROY
Your amnesia is just making you forget.

SANDRA
How did I get my bruises? I don’t..

[Suddenly stops pacing.]

TROY
[Looks curiously at her.]

You don’t..


SANDRA
[SANDRA’S memory comes suddenly back to her. She remembers what happened. The fight she had with her partner. How she didn’t want to do this, but now she had to. She had to kill TROY. There was no other way out. Pretending to be scared.]

I, I remember.

[She slowly backs away from TROY pointing at him with shock.]

You.

SANDRA
It, it was. YOU!

TROY
What?

SANDRA
Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about!

TROY
Ugh.. I

SANDRA
[Points at her bruises on her arms.]

I know you did this to me!!

TROY
I have never met you before yesterday lady.

[Knowing what she has to do, she runs at him. She violently pushes him away. TROY falls to the ground hitting his head on the bed post. SANDRA screams, terrified by what she has done. NURSE CLAIRE comes rushing into the room.]


NURSE CLAIRE
Mrs., I mean Sandra. What happened?

SANDRA
[Points at the motionless body on the floor.]

Him!

[NURSE ClAIRE looks down at Troy and realizes that he is on the floor.]

NURSE CLAIRE
WHAT HAPPENED!

[She is bent over his body examining it.]

What did you do!!!

SANDRA
What did I do?! HE is the one..

NURSE CLAIRE
He isn’t breathing! GO GET SOMEONE!
[SANDRA looks at NURSE CLAIRE and then TROY lying in her arms, then runs through the double doors. NURSE CLAIRE reaches up on the book where she left his pills earlier and tries to insert it into TROY’S mouth. There is not reaction. Four doctors come running in with a table, followed by SANDRA walking slowly in.]

NURSE CLAIRE
[To the doctors.]

He’s dead. His heart has stopped. He had no reply to his meds.

[The head doctor pushes NURSE CLAIRE to the side and examines TROY’S limp body.]

DOCTOR
Declared dead at 8:33 a.m. on March 25, 2007. Cause of death, loss of blood from the head.

[Everybody stares as they realize the tragedy of this accident. Nurse Claire gets up and approaches SANDRA.]

Sandra. You need to come with me

SANDRA
What? Where?

[NURSE CLAIRE takes her by the arm.]

What did I do?

NURSE CLAIRE
You just killed a man.

SANDRA
In defense! He raped me Mrs. Claire! He raped me! I remember now! I have bruises!

NURSE CLAIRE
You did not.

SANDRA
Yes I

NURSE CLAIRE
I regret to inform you that your accomplice that you have been working with has been arrested.

SANDRA
Who?

NURSE CALIRE
Don’t play dumb. I informed the police once you said you didn’t remember what happened to you like we do with all of our patients who do not remember what happened.. They investigated. And found your so called “husband”. He confessed about your two’s plan about killing Troy. He was a great man.


SANDRA
[Gives in with a look of defeat on her face.]

And he also was a rich man. And now all of his money is left to me and my partner, who happens to be his only brother. A couple years in jail is nothing with the reward of all his inheritance.

NURSE CLAIRE
No. You really did come in here with amnesia. You forgot all about what you were supposed to do. That’s why you freaked out about what happened to you. Halfway through your meltdown you realized that you were here to kill and blame Troy. Well, it wont work


[Two police officers come walking in and handcuff SANDRA taking her away.]