Play 278: One Step at a Time

CHARACTERS
JAKE, 18
SCOTT, 18

(Scott is smoking a cigarette.)

JAKE
You really should quit you know.

SCOTT
Yeah. I know.

JAKE
So why don’t you? It’s not like you’ve been smoking for too long.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
It’s been a while.

JAKE
Not much more than a month.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
I guess not.

JAKE
So quit.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
Maybe.

JAKE
Why not? It’s terrible for you and it doesn’t even give you anything.

SCOTT
It calms me down a bit.

JAKE
So that makes it worth it?

SCOTT
Don’t get all self-righteous on me, I know all that shit.

JAKE
I know. (beat.) I just don’t get it.

SCOTT
You wouldn’t.

JAKE
What’s that supposed to mean?

(Beat.)

SCOTT
Nothing.

(Long pause.)

SCOTT
I wish I had Tom Waits’s voice.

(Beat.)

JAKE
You’re kidding me.

SCOTT
What? His voice is amazing.

JAKE
That’s not what I meant, I agree it’s awesome. (beat.) Just not awesome enough to fuck my lungs up trying to get.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
I know it’s dumb.

(Pause.)

SCOTT
You have to admit it’d be cool to have his voice though.

JAKE
Yeah, it would.

(Beat.)

JAKE
And you have to admit you should stop smoking.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
Here.

(He puts his cigarette out.)

SCOTT
Happy?

JAKE
You have a pack in your pocket.

SCOTT
No I don’t.

JAKE
Then what’s that?

(Beat.)

SCOTT
A deck of cards.

JAKE
A deck of cards?

SCOTT
Yeah.

(Beat.)

JAKE
Give me them.

SCOTT
What?

JAKE
You know.

(Beat.)

SCOTT
No.

JAKE
Why not?

SCOTT
One step at a time. (beat.) One step at a time.

(Blackout.)