Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script

Teachers Note:
The following scenes are excerpts from the short story Sneakers and Suspicion from
the Twinkl Originals Flourishing Friendships collection. The scenes focus on navigating
through friendship issues and can either be used as a class or small group activity.

Follow-up discussion questions are included and are designed to promote discussions
around help-seeking and problem solving within friendship groups.

Characters
Cooper Tyson
A primary- A primary-
school-aged boy school-aged boy
who is great at who goes with
basketball. the crowd.

Brodie Mr Lee

A confident
primary-school- A classroom
aged boy who teacher.
speaks his mind.

Miss Myrtle Paige

The new school

An unwell student
PE teacher
(non-speaking).
(non-speaking).

Page 1 of 6
 Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script
Scene 1 - Local Pool

Speaker Dialogue

Lights up. Cooper, Tyson and Brodie are sitting around together talking. Children
are playing and relaxing under the trees and the shade sails around them.

Tyson: Could you get us an ice-block, Cooper? We haven’t got any cash.

Cooper: (annoyed) Really? C’mon guys, I brought the last one.

Brodie: That’s because you’re better at saving than we are.

Tyson: C’mon Coop, be a mate.

Cooper: Oh, alright then.

Cooper stands up and walks to the canteen queue. Brodie and Tyson leave. Cooper
buys three ice-blocks and walks back to the spot they were sitting beforehand. He
looks around to try and find Brodie and Tyson.

Cooper: Where did they go?

Looking defeated, Cooper turns to walk to two kids (offstage).

Cooper: (sighing) Hey, do you want these?

Lights down.

Page 2 of 6
 Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script
Scene 2 - The Classroom

Speaker Dialogue

Lights up. The classroom is messy with paint, paper, glue and other art materials
strewn around. Students work on their projects. A small girl looking unwell is
standing next to the teacher in the background whilst Tyson, Brodie and Cooper
work in the foreground.

Mr Lee Brodie, Paige isn’t feeling well. Could you please take her to the
office? Thanks.

Brodie: Hey, Coop, can you take Paige to the office?

Cooper: Didn’t Mr Lee just ask you?

Brodie: Yeah, but I need to finish this off. (He signals towards
his artwork).

Paige walks over to Cooper and stares at him. Cooper’s expression

turns from annoyance to sympathy.

Cooper: Okay, come on then. Do you have your bag?

Paige and Cooper walk towards stage left, as they do Miss Myrtle
(the PE teacher) passes them in the opposite direction. Cooper looks
back at her.

Cooper: Hey Paige, I think that’s our new PE teacher, Miss Myrtle.
I wonder if she knows when try-outs for the basketball
team will be.

Lights down.

Page 3 of 6
 Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script
Scene 3 - In Line Outside The Classroom

Speaker Dialogue

Lights up. Brodie and Tyson are in line with other students outside the classroom.
Cooper walks up to them holding a crumpled brown paper bag. He looks frustrated.

Cooper: Where were you guys? I looked everywhere! (He hands Tyson the
brown paper bag) Here’s your lunch, you forgot it.

Tyson: In the gym.

Cooper: What were you doing in the gym?

Brodie: (muttering) Basketball trials.

Cooper: (shocked) What? There were basketball trials today?

Tyson and Brodie look away from Cooper.

Cooper: I better go and see Miss Myrtle then.

Cooper starts to move towards the gym.

Tyson: (shouting) She’s already picked the team. You needed to bring a
signed permission slip back.

Cooper freezes on the spot.

Cooper: When did you two hear about the trials?

Brodie: Yesterday, after lunch ... during art.

Cooper: What? When I took Paige to the office?

Page 4 of 6
 Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script
Scene 3 - In Line Outside The Classroom

Speaker Dialogue

Tyson: We didn’t know you weren’t there, Cooper.

Cooper: (voice rising) But you didn’t think to check did you? Or tell
me later?

Brodie and Tyson look at each other.

Cooper: I suppose you both got picked?

Mr Lee opens the classroom door and ushers everyone inside.

Lights down.

Page 5 of 6
 Sneakers and Suspicion Play Script

Discussion Questions

• If you were Cooper, how would you have responded to these situations?

• How do you think Cooper was feeling after each scene?

• Do you think Brodie and Tyson were behaving like good friends? Why or why not?

• What help-seeking strategies could Cooper use to solve

his friendship issues with Tyson and Brodie?

• What help-seeking strategies could Cooper use to solve his issue

of not being able to try out for the basketball team?

Page 6 of 6