Country Music by Simon Stephens

Author:Simon Stephens [Stephens, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472517678
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2004-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

Two

Tuesday 15 September 1994, 2.15 p.m. The visiting room of Her Majesty’s Prison Grendon, Buckinghamshire.

A white table with a blue Formica top. Two blue plastic chairs.

There is a constant noise of echoes. Steel. Shouts. Incoherent. Ever present.

Matty Carris, nineteen years old, stands above one of the chairs. He has a jacket on over a jumper and black jeans. Jamie Carris stands across the room from him. Jamie is wearing a grey sweatshirt, grey sweatpants, and trainers. He is thicker-set than we last saw him. Tougher. More muscular. He is twenty-nine years old. He is in the fifth year of what will be a fourteen-year stretch.

The two stare at each other for a short while.

Jamie You have to sit down.

Matty What?

Jamie You can’t stand up. They have to do checks on you if you touch us. You have to sit down. I’m sorry.

Matty Right.

Very long pause. The two men examine each other’s face and then, led by Jamie, they break into smiles.

Jamie Hello, Matty.

Matty Hello, Jamie.

Jamie How are you, mate?

Matty I’m, I’m, I’m.

Jamie It’s good you’re here.

Matty Yeah. I. It’s good to see you.

Very long pause. The two of them stare at each other.

It’s funny as it goes.

Jamie What is?

Matty When I come in. They did a, one of them things, a rub down on us.

Jamie Oh yeah?

Matty I got the, the giggles, didn’t I? I couldn’t help myself. It was ticklish.

Jamie You fucking Muppet.

Matty And the more I tried not to. The more I wanted to laugh. Fucking.

Jamie What you like?

Matty I know.

Jamie You should sit down, mate.

Matty Right.

He does. Jamie sits with him.

Jamie Don’t panic.

Matty No. I won’t. I’m all right.

Pause. Then Matty nods, smiling encouragement.

Matty It’s all right here. Innit?

Jamie What?

Matty I, when I was coming up. All the, the garden out front. That house and everything.

Jamie Yeah.

Matty I thought. Y’know? Looked all right.

Jamie Yeah.

Matty You get to do that, do yer?

Jamie The garden?

Matty Yeah.

Jamie Not that one. No. Others.

Matty Right. That’s all right, innit?

Jamie Yeah. Yeah. It’s not bad. It’s. That’s another nick actually.

Matty What?

Jamie It is. There’re two. This one. Springhill. Is the other one.

Matty Bloody hell.

Jamie Yeah.

Matty Some places there are no prisons, are there? Here you can’t fucking move for them.

Jamie That’s right.

Matty Yeah.

Jamie How was your journey?

Matty Yeah. It was, easy. Y’know?

Jamie Yeah?

Matty Nice. Coming up through the country and that. Funny, innit?

Jamie What?

Matty The way this place just sits here. Don’t notice it. Do yer? Until you’re right here.

Jamie No.

Matty Takes yer by surprise, kind of, don’t it?

Jamie smiles. Tries to hold his eye contact. Matty can’t.

Jamie Five year.

Matty Yeah.

Jamie Five years, Matty.

Matty Yeah.

Jamie You were thirteen.

Matty Yeah.

Jamie You want a cup of tea, mate?

Matty What?

Jamie You can get them. You ask them. They’ll give you. I could murder a cup. They’re like twenty pence or summink.

Matty I can go.

Jamie You got any money?

Matty Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Jamie I can make us a, make us a rollie. You want a rollie?

Matty Yeah. Go on.

Jamie You go and get the teas and I’ll.

Matty Sure.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.