Play 199: I’m Not Sure

CHARACTERS
VINCENT, 17
DAVID, 17

(They are sitting at a table in a lunchroom. David is picking at his food, Vincent is staring off blankly.)

(Suddenly shudders slightly and shakes his head a bit, then blinks his eyes several times in rapid succession. He has a look of confusion on his face.)

(David looks up at him.)

DAVID
Are you alright?

(Beat.)

VINCENT
Yeah.

(Beat.)

I think so.

DAVID
What happened?

VINCENT
I’m not sure.

DAVID
How so?

VINCENT
I’m not completely sure whether it happened or not.

DAVID
Well, what might’ve happened?

VINCENT
My eyes kind of freaked out on me for a second there.

DAVID
Did you like hallucinate or shit?

VINCENT
No, nothing that extreme.

DAVID
Then what?

VINCENT
They just kind of darted back and forth slightly and my vision got a little blurry for a second.

DAVID
That’s odd.

VINCENT
Yeah.

DAVID
Any idea why?

VINCENT
Sometimes recently I feel a little like I’m breaking down.

DAVID
Why?

VINCENT
I haven’t really been sleeping enough.

DAVID
That’s not good.

VINCENT
I know.

(Beat.)

But I’m not sure if that eye thing there was them tripping out on me and me losing control of them, or me consciously doing it on some level.

DAVID
Why would you do that?

VINCENT
Maybe on some level I want to be breaking down.

(Beat.)

Or losing my mind.

DAVID
(Confused.)
Why?

VINCENT
I’m not sure really.

DAVID
But you think you might feel that way.

VINCENT
Yeah.

DAVID
Maybe you’re just being paranoid.

VINCENT
How so?

DAVID
You’re doubting that you are just losing control of your eyes because you’re tired, because you think maybe you’re deluding yourself into thinking you are because you secretly want to be insane.

VINCENT
Makes sense to me.

DAVID
I think that might be the most paranoid thing I’ve ever heard.

VINCENT
I doubt that.

DAVID
It is, because you’re paranoid that your own mind is the one trying to trick you.

VINCENT
I guess it’s a little paranoid.

DAVID
No shit.

VINCENT
Doesn’t mean I’m not right though.

DAVID
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not after you.

VINCENT
Exactly.

(Beat.)

Plus, I didn’t say I thought that was what was happening, I was just saying I thought it was a possibility.

DAVID
My point still rests.

VINCENT
True.

(Beat.)

It still makes a lot of sense to me when I think about it though.

DAVID
Maybe that’s because you are insane.

VINCENT
Maybe.

(Beat.)

That was a joke wasn’t it?

DAVID
(Sarcastically.)
Or maybe it was just you imagining it was a joke because you want to feel like I was making fun of you so that you are the one being victimized.

VINCENT
(Flatly.)
Very funny.

DAVID
I thought so.

(Blackout.)