Podcast Script

Scene 1: Present Day in Kitchen  

Cindy and Steve are in the kitchen. Cindy is doing dishes and Steve is cooking breakfast harper comes running through

Harper: Bye Mom Bye Dad love ya! I’m gonna be late and Mrs. Spector is teaching us how to apply for college today!

Steve and Cindy: bye honey love you!

Harper: Oh yea mom and can you get all the paperwork I need out so I can start doing applications before school?

Cindy: Of course honey!

Sound: door slams

Cindy: Steve...we have to tell her the truth.

Steve: Jeez Cindy we have been over this thousands of times no it will ruin our family.

Cindy: Whether she figures out from us it would be so much better than her figuring out some other way

Steve: There is no way she will figure out the only people that know are our parents and they would never tell Harper that.

Cindy: I don’t know Steve she is a smart girl she already has made comments

Steve: You are just overthinking this honey now we gotta get going, don’t want to be late for work

Cindy: Okay but I’m not over this yet

Scene 2: Flashback Steve and Cindy are in a hospital room

Hospital machine noises

Cindy: I’m so scared

Steve: We did the treatments right, everything will be okay honey

Cindy: Yea well some…

Steve: I don’t wanna hear it only positive thoughts

Door Opens doctor enters

Doctor: Hello Mr. and Mrs. Adler, I have gotten back your results

….

Doctor: I’m sorry to say but it seems these treatments aren’t working and you are infertile

Cindy: What do you mean no? This can’t be

Steve: What can we do, is there anything else

Doctor: I’m sorry I hate to tell couples this news and unfortunately no there is nothing else for you to do. I can put you in contact with some good adoption agencies that I have referred many of couples to who are in the same situation

Crying

Steve: We will take the information.  

Scene 3

Opens door

Harper: Mom, Dad anyone home?

No response from either

Harper: Great, Mom forgot to get the paperwork I needed. Guess I will get it myself

Walks up stairs opens door takes down box

Shuffles through paperwork

Harper: What no.   

Harper: *as she sifts through the paper:* Middletown adoption agency? What?

*Flashback* (Use some noise for that)

*Middle School Classroom*

Teacher: Ok class, so make sure you all turn in your family tree, with photos sometime by the end of class.

Random Kid: Hey harper, how come no one looks like you?

Harper: What do you mean?

RK: You have blonde hair, and everyone else has black hair!

Another kid: Haha, harper was probably adopted! HAHAHA she doesn’t even know.

Harper: Shut up, just Shut up!

*Present day*

Harper: it all makes sense, but why would mom and dad keep it from me all this time. My mother is really Angela Marie Quinn from San Diego, California that's only 30 minutes away from me… why didn’t they ever tell me?

-----

Scene 4

Next day

Parents enter house with groceries

Steve: Alright Cindy alright I heard you the first five thousand times stop repeating yourself please just please

Cindy: No Steve not until you really listen to me she’s been acting weird since yesterday for whatever reason and I don’t like it

Steve: Okay well she’s a teenage girl I don’t understand why her mood swings are alarming you now

Cindy: Because something just isn’t right and all I can keep thinking about is how she needed the paperwork for her applications

Steve: Okay yes she needed them what about it and asked you to get them for her as soon as we got home because she said she didn’t know where they were

Cindy: I know that but they seemed out of place when I went to collect them

Steve: I honestly think you’re just overthinking this a little bit

Cindy: I’m telling you I’m not and I want to tell her because I feel like she’s catching on

Steve: What if you’re wrong about this though what if we tell her and it upsets her to the point where is affects her work on all of the applications

Cindy: Well at least she’ll know the truth and if I didn’t have a strong feeling about this I wouldn’t keep being so persistent and bring it up every five minutes

Steve: Alright fine  We’ll tell her tomorrow after she gets back from soccer practice

Cindy: Great

------

Scene 5

Middletown Adoption Agency

Adoption Center Agent: Harper Alice McCollins?

Harper: Yes that’s my full name

Adoption Center Agent: It says here that you were adopted a couple of month before turning a year old on June 6 2000 by Mr. Steven Richard McCollins and Mrs. Lucinda Avery McCollins

Harper: Yes those are my parents

Adoption Center Agent: Uh huhh…

Pauses and looks at Harper for a few seconds

Adoption Center Agent: Did they tell you about all of this

Harper: Well… no but I found the papers so I decided to come over here

Adoption Center Agent: Alright well I’m assuming they don’t know you’re here so what else would you like to know dear

Harper: What were my birth parents’ names

Adoption Center Agent: As it says on your adoption papers your biological mother is Angela Marie Quinn and she’s currently residing in San Diego, California your biological father’s information does not seem to appear on any of these documents

Harper: Is the information on my birth mother still accurate

Adoption Center Agent: Let me see if it’s been updated since then

Goes onto the computer and searches information

Adoption Center Agent: It seems like it was last updated in 2016 and the location she claims as her current residency is the same

Harper: Where in San Francisco is she

Adoption Center Agent: She’s in the Excelsior district at 243 Madrid St

Harper: Okay thank you so much for your help

Harper starts to excuse herself by standing up

Adoption Center Agent: Wait one second

Harper pauses and slowly sits back down

Adoption Center Agent: Be careful okay love I know this is all knew to you so maybe you should take some time to process it all I don’t you to do anything irrational

Harper: I won’t I just really want to meet her

Adoption Center Agent: I understand alright then good luck dear

Harper: Thanks again

Harper gets up completely this time and heads out through the door

-----

Scene 6

Cindy and Steve are in the living room watching TV

Cindy: She’s been gone for a long time now

Steve: Cindy oh my god she’s 18 and is probably out with her friends having fun because it’s Friday night

Cindy: I know but she usually comes home first to drop her stuff off and then goes out again

Steve: Maybe she just decided to leave it in one of her friend’s cars instead this time

Cindy: (sighs) I guess so…

Cindy pauses

Cindy: We are definitely telling her tomorrow first thing in the morning

Steve: I know that we are!

------

Scene 7

Harper is on the bus

Harper: Oh my God I’m so close

Bus stops on Mission Street a few block away from Harper’s birth mother’s house

Harper: Thank you (she says to the bus driver as she gets off)

Harper walks down hurriedly at the sight of it becoming late and there being a substantial amount of homeless people all walking around her. Harper stops in front of the door of her destination and sees several door bells

Harper: Angela Marie Quinn… It only says Quinn so let’s go for this one

Rings doorbell and waits about a minute before she hears someone coming down the stairs.

Door is slowly opened, all Harper can see is the very beginning of someone’s forehead

Angela: Yes?

Harper: Hi, I’m looking for Angela Marie Quinn

Angela: That’s me and who’s asking

Harper: My name is Harper and I found your name in my adoption papers earlier on this week. I think you’re my birth mother

Angela opens the door all the way

Harper’s Thoughts: Standing in front of me was a woman who was the spitting image of me in 20 years. She has long blonde hair and cold green eyes, but her presence felt soft - just like mine. I kept staring at her in disbelief and could not believe that we were actually meeting each other in person.

"Are you watching closely?"

Are you watching closely? Podcast 

“Are you watching closely?” A tall, skinny, old man says walking out of the darkness, his washed out skin is iridescent in the pale moon light, he has a black top hat on and an old fashioned black suit. His beard is milky white and well-manicured and he walks with a black cane. His voice echoes and he kept on repeating his words inching closer and closer till I fell back. I sprung up in my bed with my heart racing and body sweating. The dream had a terrifying feeling almost like a cautionary tale that I could not quite figure out. I look at my clock and it reads 3:53 A.M. despite the late hour I could not bring myself to go to bed, I want to know the significance of this dream so I lay their pondering. Eventually I dose off again and was entrapped in another dream. I’m on a beach, the waves are crashing at the breaking point which sounds like a storm with each crash. There were seagulls squawking in the background and a breeze came off the water and filled my nose with the salty smell of the beach. The sand was cool and squishy between my toes and the sun hit my face adding a warmth to my body. I look up to the clouds and watch them move slowly across the sky like molasses. Some of the clouds look like beloved cartoon characters others like my worst nightmares. I stand here looking at the beach and feel happiness and peace rush through my veins to my core. I begin to walk toward the ocean when I get to the edge my phone begins to ring, the noise irritates me and interrupts my peace. I look at the screen and it reads, “Are you watching closely?” I read this and felt a sense of enlightenment, and as if it is a natural instinct I take my phone and throw it as far as possible into the choppy blue ocean and felt freedom from that. Behind me I heard a familiar voice that said, “You are watching closely” it was the old man but this time he looked different. The man was wearing the same clothing but he took his hat off to reveal a bald shiny head and a warm face with a big smile. He bows his head at me with sense of pride and that is when I understand his presence. I wake up from my dream to a beautiful spring morning with birds chirping and a  fresh cool breeze breaking through my window. But this morning was different instead of reaching for my phone I walk to my window look out and watch closely.

Word Count:454

Penguin's are Better than People

"NO NO NO" screamed Rosa, "HOW CAN HE BE SO STUPID" her best friend Mia replied with equal frustration. The girls were sitting in Rosa's cozy New York City apartment in front of the television digesting what they had just seen on the screen. Rosa and Mia were in baggy sweat pants and sweat shirts wrapped in cozy blankets, both their hair was plopped on the tops of their heads in messy buns, and faces had no sign of any make-up. Rosa and Mia were very ashamed that they were so invested in such a stupid show like "The Bachelor" but it was a guilty pleasure for both of them. "Another failed episode, I'm gonna head home now, hope the next episode is better love ya" Mia said while hugging Rosa good bye. As Rosa heard the door slam behind Mia she clicked off the television. Rosa sat on the couch with a defeated expression on her face and let out a deep sigh. Being a hopeless romantic she fed into all the tv and movie garbage spewed out by Hollywood. Rosa was a beautiful girl with black curly hair, she has been approached by men left and right but none lived up to those in the movies. She thought back to a particular man who was exceptionally awful. His name was Adam and he was equivalent to a flashy vacation ad on a computer. It looks very attractive at first with the beach chairs a crystal-clear water, but once you agree to take the quick survey to claim your vacation, your computer crashes and is nothing short of a disappointment. It all started at a food store, Rosa dropped a box of cereal while trying to juggle her groceries in her hands. That is when a tall stunning man had knelt down next to her to pick it up. As he came to her eye level Rosa was stunned by his perfect complexion, weirdly white teeth, and hair that was so voluminous he must have had to be a super hero. Rosa blushed and smiled as the man said, "Here ya go, you dropped this" Rosa replied, "Thank you" and laughed nervously. Adam said, "I'm Adam what is your name?" Rosa managed to spit her name out and the rest of the conversation was a nauseating interaction when Rosa thinks back, filled with cheesy complements and banter. The conversation ended with Rosa being persuaded on a date with Adam. Rosa remembered getting ready for the date, she put on a black dress and fashionable stripped jacket and red lipstick. Her hair was its usual bouncy curly self which replicated her excited mood for this date. She thought this was what she had been waiting for this is the man from the movies. The date started out great Adam picked Rosa up in a sleek brown leather jacket, he looked like just as dreamy as the first time she laid eyes on him. "Good evening, you ready to go?" Adam said, Rosa replied, "yes of course" with a smile on her face and the nervous butterfly feeling in her stomach. In the car, Adam clicked on the music (A.K.A. the first red flag), the speakers blared out Robin Thicke's music, starting off with one of the most repulsive songs ever, "Blurred Lines," Adam said, "I love this man, his music really speaks to the soul, don't ya feel it?" Rosa caught off guard replied, "Uhhhh not sure he is really my type." Rosa was hoping this was a weird hiccup to his personality because she could not understand how Robin Thicke could speak to anyone's soul. Adam scoffed at her reply and muttered “women” in an annoyed tone. Rosa had become alarmed because a man who worshiped Robin Thicke and was insulted by her opinion of the singer was driving out of the city, she said, "Where are we going to eat anyway?" Adam got excited, "Oh it is this really nice restaurant a little outside the city." That provided no relief for her. They arrived at a rusty hunk of metal in the middle of nowhere, there was a bright red neon sign above the restaurant that read "Danny's Diner" the r and apostrophe on the sign were flickering while half of the sign was completely out. The rusty door cranked open and the sound was piercing, inside the smell of mold assaulted Rosa's nostrils. They were sat down in a booth that had obnoxiously bright lighting (equivalent to a police station’s interrogation room.) There was a bucket at the side of the table that was collecting water from the leaky roof. While looking at the menu Adam explained how the ribs were the best here, Rosa smiled and decided on turkey and swiss wrap, she figured it was the safest bet. After ordering they conversed…scratch that, more like Adam, bragging to Rosa about how much he can lift at the gym and how half the people there have horrible form. Also, he informed Rosa about the best supplements to take in order to see the best results followed by him implying she should work out more. She learned he had a promising career in banking due to his father’s business but he ended up getting kicked out of college due to poor grades and excessive partying. Adam explained how the joke is still on everyone else because his father gave him a job anyway. Rosa was filled with rage that this arrogant entitled man had been wasting her time. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, the final straw came. Adam's phone rang at the table and the contact ID read Ronnie he told Rosa he had to take this. Adam picked it up before Rosa could speak and began talking, "Hey, what’s up.... No, I'm just out with some chick...Yea sure I will pick you up for lunch tomorrow...Yea gym too, maybe this girl I’m with can come she looks a little frail (he winked at Rosa while saying this) .... alright I gotta go...wish me luck bye." Rosa was so appalled her jaw pretty much dropped to the floor but then she shut it quickly scared that one of the many flies in the restaurant would fly into it. Rosa remained to keep to her rage in check in order to hitch a ride home with this creep because they were in the middle of nowhere. Dinner wrapped up and the check came and Adam looked dumb founded because he was short on cash so Rosa took the bill. The ride home consisted of Adam continuing to brag about his entitled life style while Rosa bit her tongue so hard she swore she could taste blood. As they pulled up in front of her apartment building Adam managed to open the door for her to let her free from his death trap of a car. As she said good bye Adam said, "I had a great time let’s do this again" and he went in for a kiss that Rosa froze in that moment and weirdly recalled a nature documentary about penguins she saw and how great their relationships were. She thought of how she would be happier dating a penguin than men like Adam. She felt she hit rock-bottom in the dating world but realized that there is nowhere but up from there. Her mind caught up with time just at the perfect moment and before his slimy barbecue rib smelling lips got near her she stomped on his foot and ran inside saying, "I would thank you for a great night but this may have been the worst ever, I hope I never see your rude stupid face again, your welcome for dinner!” She felt liberated by being the slightest bit rude. After recalling that tragic night, she looked back at her blank tv and saw her reflection and felt that awful cringe feeling. Rosa went to bed and debated applying to the bachelor as a joke but quickly shrugged it off in her moment of desperation and went to bed hopeful she would one day find a decent guy.