The Small Hours (NHB Modern Plays) by Katherine Soper

Author:Katherine Soper [Soper, Katherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781788503075
Publisher: Nick Hern Books

4 a.m.

The sticks

A house party.

VJ. Wolfie! Hide me.

WOLFIE. I –

VJ. You have to hide me from Tuss. Please. I’ll explain later. Help me, Wolfie, you’re my only hope.

WOLFIE. Upstairs loo – window in back – through that, onto the roof.

Beat.

Maybe lock it behind us.

And they’re off. They rush through to the loo past various obstacles, and climb out of the window in a really convoluted, difficult way, maybe one having to push the other through.

But they make it, and they emerge onto the roof. VJ tries to recover.

VJ. Oh my god. Okay.

WOLFIE. VJ.

VJ. Wow.

WOLFIE. VJ! Can you still hear Tuss?

They both freeze and listen.

VJ. I think we’re safe.

Beat.

I never even knew this existed.

WOLFIE. Yeah, I – I’ve come here a few times.

What’s Tuss want with you?

VJ. Uhhh – knows I’m at the point of embarrassing myself.

WOLFIE. Ah.

VJ. I knew you wouldn’t judge me. Don’t want the same thing to happen again.

I just need to – like – sober up a bit. Fresh air is good.

Beat. VJ tries to make out the landscape, squinting.

You can’t actually see anything.

WOLFIE. Yeah. I mean it’d just be trees anyway.

VJ. Ugh. Yeah.

What time is it now?

WOLFIE. Uh. Four. Ish.

VJ. First bus in – six hours.

I’m gonna have to stay awake or I’ll just sleep through it.

WOLFIE. My mum could give you a lift back with me.

I dunno, like, if you want.

VJ. Nah, don’t worry. It’s such an awkward place to get to.

WOLFIE. I guess.

VJ. And I’m gonna have an amazing bus nap.

Beat.

Y’know, this conversation is like my last bit of human contact with a sane person for a week.

WOLFIE. Is it?

VJ. Oh yeah. Once I get home, family time all the time.

Pause as WOLFIE visibly considers saying one thing – then changes her mind.

WOLFIE. I shoulda brought my jacket out here. I always forget cos I think it’s gonna be warm.

I swear this is like the worst party so far. Ever since Lee did the shit in the bath I worry about someone doing that again.

VJ. Wasn’t Lee.

WOLFIE. Oh, sure –

VJ. Nah, he stepped up later when I had a fit about no one owning up and he was like ‘VJ, I’ll clean it up but if I clean it up no one’s allowed to say I did it’ so I’m not gonna slander him.

WOLFIE. Aw. Okay.

So… we’re staying up here till ten?

VJ. We should have got food right?

WOLFIE. I can go find all that cake you brought.

VJ. Nah. Stay here. Sit.

WOLFIE doesn’t have to be told more than that.

Pause.

My mum always gives me so much stuff to bring cos she’s worried I’ll look, I dunno, ungrateful.

WOLFIE. I love your mum.

VJ makes a long, sceptical ‘hmmmmm’ noise.

What?

VJ. No, nothing.

She just hates me hanging around and being under her feet but then if I want to go to a party so I can get out from under her feet she starts moaning about driving me places and makes all this cake for no reason cos she cares more about what people think of her as a mum than what I actually want.

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