Words

By Ricky Diaz

Characters:

Eric (28): Eric is Marcias husband of four years. They have had a happy marriage up to this point. Eric is intelligent and witty, but is quick to jump to conclusions sometimes. He and his wife love to face each in a battle of wits by playing Scrabble. Marcia (26): Marcia is Erics wife. She is happy in her marriage with Eric. Marcia is very intelligent a quick-witted, more so even than Eric. She is more than a match for Eric when it comes to most aspects of life. However, she can be snarky, sarcastic, and guarded, even with Eric. Marcia is a newspaper columnist, which means shes excellent with words, so she often beats Eric in their Scrabble games.

1. SCENE 1: SCRABBLE Lights fade up on a household living/dining room. ERIC and MARCIA sit across from each other at a table. They are in the middle of an intense game of Scrabble. ERIC grabs some tiles and lays them out on the board. ERIC Entwine! E-n-t-w-i-n-e. To wind or twist together. Plus a double word score under the I... How many points is that worth? MARCIA 26 points. ERIC What does that give me? MARCIA 77. ERIC What about you? MARCIA 62. ERIC Im actually winning? I never beat you. MARCIA Its still early in the game. Theres a brief pause. ERIC observes MARCIAs body language for a moment. MARCIA stares at her letter tiles. ERIC Are you okay, babe? Youre kind of quiet tonight. MARCIA Im fine. ERIC Is there something on your mind?

2. MARCIA Yes. What my next word is going to be. ERIC All Im saying is that you seem a little preoccupied. MARCIA looks up from her tiles and shoots ERIC an irritated glare. MARCIA Well Im not, so will you please stop talking to me so I can think? ERIC Sure, I can do that. MARCIA looks back down at her tiles. Theres a long pause. ERIC shifts in his chair uncomfortably. You only have 30 seconds left to-- MARCIA Silence! ERIC is surprised by this outburst. MARCIA stares at ERIC for a few moments. Theres a brief pause. MARCIA grabs her tiles and lays them on the board. S-i-l-e-n-c-e. Silence, a complete absence of sound. And theres a triple letter score under the C. Thats worth 19 points, which gives me a total of 81. [Beat.] Your turn. ERIC gives MARCIA a glance of confusion. ERIC Good word. MARCIA Thank you. ERIC looks at his tiles. He glances back at MARCIA for a beat. Then he grabs his tiles and lays them on the board. ERIC Suspect. S-u-s-p-e-c-t. A person thought to be guilty of a crime or the belief that someone or something is guilty of some kind of offense.

3. After ERIC lays down his tiles, he stares into MARCIAs eyes. They maintain this gaze for a beat or two. How many points is that worth? MARCIA Double letter score on the U... 15. That brings your score to 82. ERIC Its a lot closer now, but the lead still belongs to me. MARCIA Not for long. MARCIA looks down at her tiles. ERIC Is something going on here? Im getting the feeling-- MARCIA Cease! [Beat.] MARCIA catches ERICs stare. She grabs her tiles and lays them out on the board. C-e-a-s-e. To bring to an end. Thats a triple word score, so thats worth 24 points, giving me 105. ERIC looks suspiciously at MARCIA. ERIC Dishonest. D-i-s-h-o-n-e-s-t. Being prone to behave in a untrustworthy or fraudulent way. MARCIA Playing off of one of my words, huh? ERIC Absolutely. MARCIA Youre pulling out all the moves today.

4. ERIC I guess so. For some reason I feel very focused right now. MARCIA and ERIC look at each other suspiciously. MARCIA Good. I enjoy having a little competition every so often. [Beat.] MARCIA grabs her tiles. Annoyed, A-n-n-o-y-e-d. To be made angry or irritated. ERIC Fraud. Wrongful or criminal deception. MARCIA gasps. MARCIA Fallacious! A mistaken belief based upon an unsound argument! ERIC Conceal! To keep something secret or prevent from being known! MARCIA Fictitious. Not real or true. ERIC Cuckold! A husband of an adulteress! MARCIA Lunacy! The state of being a lunatic or insane! ERIC swipes the game board off of the table and it scatters all over the ground. Theres a few beats. of intense silence. ERIC bends down and picks up a few tiles and lays them out on the table. ERIC Honesty. The process of being truthful. MARCIA begins to emotionally break down. She pulls a pregnancy test out of her pocket and lays it on the table. She looks up at ERIC.

5. MARCIA Positive Baffled, ERIC stares at the word on the table for a few beat. He walks over to MARCIA and passionately embraces her. Lights fade to black. END OF PLAY