Play 286: Penny in a Coke Bottle

CHARACTERS
IVAN

IVAN
Why do I always say okay?

(Beat.)

Whenever anyone asks me how I’m doing, I always say okay. Sometimes I stare off when I’m around people, trying to get that perfect look of melancholy in my eyes to see if they notice. Most the time they don’t. Sometimes they do though, and ask me if I’m all right. I always tell them I am. I’m not sure why.

(Beat.)

And I guess I am. To some degree at least. Nothing terrible’s happened to me. Nothing much ever does really.

(Pause.)

I don’t know why I feel like this. It’s nothing specific. I wish it was, it’d give me something to pin it on. It’s nice to have that, gives you somewhere to put the anger and frustration. Better than just having it just sit there.

(Beat.)

It’s this build up. Nothing by itself is the problem, it’s all of it. It’s cumulative, each one feeds of the others. After a while I don’t even remember the individual ones. They’ve all soaked into me so much that I don’t remember what’s causing any of it.

(Pause.)

You know that slight sting you get in your mouth when you drink a soda? That’s all the acid in it does when it’s in your mouth for the couple seconds before you swallow it. But, you leave a rusty penny in it overnight, and when you take it out it shines like new. Strips the rust right off. Bet if you left it in long enough it’d dissolve the whole thing.

(Beat.)

That’s how it goes. Doesn’t matter how mild something is, if you give it enough time to soak in, it might as well be a thousand times stronger.

(Beat.)

I guess nothing terrible has to happen to me. Enough of these little things for long enough had the same effect.

(Beat.)

Sometimes I’m just worried it’ll be like the penny. If I wait too long, maybe it’ll keep eating away at me until there’s nothing left.

(Pause.)

But I guess I’m okay.

(Beat.)

At least that’s what I’d tell you if you asked.

(Blackout.)