Truck Stop (5 page)

SAM:
What you want to do that for?

KELLY:
Don't be a bitch.

SAM:
Guys love it, spice shit up. You know, like meet someone at a party, show each other your junk…

KELLY:
A girl?

SAM:
As if Trent'd do it with a guy.

KELLY:
So you'd…

SAM:
Yeah.

KELLY:
Do you even like /

SAM:
It's not about that Kelly.

Feel left out? Get a boyfriend.

KELLY:
Yeah, easy.

SAM:
You're not that bad.

Don't know why you'd bother. Teenage boys are hopeless, not like in the movies. When Trent and I first started, he kissed like a salmon.

He's more sensual now.

KELLY:
What? Like a shark?

SAM:
Funny. Someone older might have their own place.

KELLY:
What do you mean?

SAM:
With school boys there's nowhere to do it. Like I can hardly just come home and say oh hey Mum and Dad Trent's here and he's really horny and I'll be out for dinner in a minute, I just got to give him head.

Trent wants to do it everywhere.

KELLY:
Like where?

SAM:
You know.

KELLY:
No.

SAM:
Like he took me into the disabled toilets at Westfield once said
get down on your knees and suck my cock
.

KELLY:
At Westfield?

SAM:
Imagine it. Some cripple needs a shit and… you know… I didn't want to. Not there. It always leads to the same thing with Trent. And I don't want to…

Down on your knees bitch and suck
. Like we are in some porno. Says stuff, swears and shit. He spat on me.

Jessica Tovey as Kelly in the 2012 Q Theatre production at the Seymour Centre. (Photo © Amanda James)

KELLY
looks shocked.

SAM:
And I spat back. In his eye and I told him not to say shit like that again and if he did /

KELLY:
I don't know why you stay with him.

We hear truck drivers on a CB, everyday banter with static and interference.
KELLY
returns to the picnic table. Waits with a plastic cup of water.

KELLY:
Now.

In the clinic waiting room.

Fluorescent lights off, me alone.

Flick through a magazine pictures of the Kardashians, tennis players, soapie stars and their ugly looking kids, nurse passes, smiles, flicks the light on says: /

NURSE:
You'll go blind if you read in the dark love.

KELLY:
Smell perfume, then these two women walk in.

Look real glamorous at first, but then under the light…

One of them is in pink but it's spattered with blood, tattoo of a leopard on her calf, long bleached hair, split ends.

Other one's skinny and isn't in much at all. Her body shakes and she's crying. Her eyes red and her head shakes, back and forth she's saying / I can't believe he did that to me,

SEX WORKER
: I can't believe he did that to me—

KELLY:
Her friend reaches out to hold her hand and I see bruises up her skinny arms.

She looks at me and opens her mouth, is about to say something, I can see her rotten teeth.

Josie comes to the door, looks at them, then at me,

JOSIE:
Kelly.

KELLY:
I look back at those two women under the flicking light.

JOSIE:
What did she say to you?

KELLY:
Is she okay?

Her friend… Are they prostitutes?

JOSIE:
We don't use that term here Kelly. Sex workers.

How are you today?

KELLY:
It's cleared up.

JOSIE:
Good. Most of the tests are back. There was an infection. It should be fine now but I'd like to check. Take off your pants and lie back on the bed.

KELLY:
I hate this. Pants down, I lie on that bed and stare up at the ceiling.

The sex worker's shouting something down the hall like she's gone crazy.

JOSIE:
Okay. Looks fine Kelly. But you know that / there is still the window period.

KELLY:
There is still the window period. Yes.

JOSIE:
I'd like you to talk to the councellor.

KELLY:
Don't want to.

JOSIE:
Why is that?

KELLY:
Just don't.

JOSIE:
You are under the age of consent Kelly. You could /

KELLY:
What? Report them?

JOSIE:
Yes. It's illegal. You could talk to the police or /

KELLY:
I wasn't raped. I wasn't drunk or out of control. I just did it. They had money and I took it. I just let them do it. And I don't want to talk to anyone else about it.

Can I go?

KELLY
now sits in front of the television staring. We hear some mindless American talk show which morphs into loud white noise.

SAM:
Then

AISHA:
In the middle of Maths

KELLY:
Miss going on about surds and indices then / BANG.

SAM/AISHA:
BANG.

KELLY:
An explosion outside. / Something's happened.

SAM/AISHA:
Something's happened.

AISHA:
Like what happened on the trains.

KELLY:
Like the World Trade Towers.

SAM:
Like an action movie, extras catch alight and burn alive.

SAM/KELLY:
Something's happened.

AISHA:
No bell ringing, no announcement, nothing at all.

SAM:
And you can see on Miss' face she wants to find out what just blew up /

KELLY:
We just walk, calm from the classroom towards the hill that overlooks the road.

SAM/KELLY
/
AISHA:
Truck on its side.

SAM:
Driver stands in the dirt by the side of the road, shakes his head.

AISHA:
Skid marks, wheels spin.

KELLY:
Dead dog in a pool of blood.

SAM:
One less mutt to scare you Aish.

AISHA:
Back doors of the truck open and boxes everywhere.

KELLY:
It's a Cadbury truck!

SAM/
KELLY
/
AISHA:
Chocolate.

SAM:
OMG. Can we…

KELLY:
Miss mouth wide open, thinks the same thing as us you can see but /

SAM:
Then Miss Rowse is behind us yelling /

ROWSE:
Go back to class right now, on the double or you can have detention for a term.

SAM:
What about Miss, Miss?

KELLY:
And then after school.

SAM:
Word of the crash spread like Ebola.

Let's go out and watch Kel. Just us two.

KELLY:
Dog gone and the truck as well just skid marks on the road.

SAM:
Some moron boys from Year Seven fossick on the edge of the highway for chocolate find a couple of smarties, hold them up like nuggets of gold.

KELLY:
Wonder if the family know the dog's dead yet?

SAM:
Wonder if he'll get sacked.

KELLY:
The truckie?

SAM:
Yeah.

KELLY:
Na. He'll just make up some story.

SAM:
When did you find out your parents lie?

KELLY:
You serious?

SAM:
Yeah. When did you realise?

KELLY:
I don't know. Why you asking that?

SAM:
Dunno. Just thinking about it. How they tell. How the truck driver tells his boss and his wife and shit.

KELLY:
How they tell the kids about the dog.

SAM:
No point telling kids that. Why would you tell them their dog got crushed?

Just say chocolate's bad for dogs.

They laugh.

KELLY:
Nat's party on the weekend. She sent me a text today.

SAM:
She didn't send me one.

KELLY:
Facebook?

SAM:
Nothing. Not even a fucking poke. Not going to her party. Don't care if her parents have gone away and the whole of her new school is going. Haven't heard from her and I don't give a shit. Fucking stuck up bitch. She thinks she's moved to Summer Bay. Take Aisha with you /

KELLY:
Don't /

SAM:
She'll film it for her mates back home. Curries must all have boring fucking lives if the best thing they can do is sit around and watch what she's filmed in this dump.

KELLY:
She just misses them Sam. Like we miss Nat.

SAM:
I don't miss Nat. Take Curry. I'm not going.

Take her stinky mum too. She can look at everyone like they've got / three heads.

AISHA
enters.

AISHA:
Hi.

KELLY:
Hi Aish.

SAM:
What do you want?

KELLY:
Sam!

SAM:
What? What do you want Aish?

AISHA:
I hang out with you guys.

SAM:
We're not guys. We don't have dicks.

KELLY:
Sam.

AISHA:
What's the problem? Have I done something?

SAM:
Suppose Nat's been in touch with you too has she? Saw you two are friends on facebook even though you have never met.

AISHA:
She
asked
me
.

SAM:
I bet she did.

AISHA:
What was I meant to do? Ignore her?

SAM:
You going Saturday night? To Nat's.

AISHA:
Not allowed.

SAM:
So why should that stop you?

SAM:
Do our friendships mean something to you?

AISHA:
Yeah.

SAM:
Then figure it out.

AISHA
goes.

KELLY:
So you gonna come as well?

SAM:
Yeah.

KELLY:
Sam. About Aish…

It was you who got her to be a skank.

SAM:
Her name started with an A.

KELLY:
Yeah.

SAM:
And I thought I'd give her a go.

KELLY:
Then give her a go.

SAM
goes.
KELLY
is alone. We hear the following radio conversation.

MERCER:
This is Love Song Dedications and I've got Charmaine on the line. How are you on this chilly night Charmaine?

CHARMAINE:
I'm doing alright Richard.

MERCER:
You don't sound like you are.

CHARMAINE:
No.

MERCER:
What's been happening Charmaine?

CHARMAINE:
Things have been a bit tough lately Richard.

MERCER:
That's not good Charmaine.

CHARMAINE:
No it's not.

MERCER:
And is there someone out there who could make things better?

CHARMAINE:
Yes.

MERCER:
You think he might be listening tonight?

CHARMAINE:
I don't know.

MERCER/CHARMAINE:
You can hope / I can hope.

MERCER:
There's always hope.

CHARMAINE:
We used to listen to your show together Richard. After we'd had our tea.

MERCER:
I'm sure you'll listen together again Charmaine. And if that person out there is listening right now, what would you like to say?

CHARMAINE:
I'd like to say I miss you Tom. Nothing is the same now. Without you. We should have tried harder. [
Savage Garden ‘Truly Madly Deeply' plays softly.
]
We could have spoken about things more and if you come back…

We hear
CHARMAINE
break down.
KELLY
goes.

AISHA
dances in front of the mirror. She practises moves for the party and sings along.

The music stops.

INDHU:
What sort of party? Who are you going with? Who's going to be there?

AISHA:
My brother stops, a shadow in the doorway.

INDHU:
Aisha?

AISHA:
He stares at me, at what I'm wearing,