Picture Perfect, More Or Less.
Who Me? Yes, you. Not me. Well, Then Who?
[Numa looks at his phone desperately, waiting once again in vain for Nat to reply to one of his texts. After a few minutes of fruitless waiting, he chucks his phone into the chair next to him, then takes a big hit from his blunt, taking in every bit of smoke he could.]
Carter, afraid to say the wrong thing: Nothing still? (Numa lets out a long sigh.)
Numa, sounding exhausted: Nope. I don't know what the fuck she wants from me, it wasn't my fault... I said sorry... (They hear the shower shut off, and Carter begins to quicken his puffs.)
Numa: The fuck you doing, dude?
Carter's voice cracks: Well... Ross wanted us done, right? Besides, I don't wanna be stoned too much for presents.
Numa considers: I guess not... (They both put out their blunts and crack open a nearby window. Soon Ross comes down, nice and comfy in his pajamas.)
Numa with a big, dumb smile: Squeaky clean, huh bitch?
Ross smiles: You know it! Too bad I can't say the same for that shitty bathroom.
Numa: Yeah, your mom keeps telling me she'll clean it every time me and her use it. (Ross goes to sit down and sits on Numa's phone. Then it begins to vibrate, and Ross jumps up, startled. He brings it up and looks at the screen.)
Carter, laughing absurdly: Did that thing just get jiggy with your ass?
Ross, serious: It's Nat. (Numa's head shoots up.)
Numa, quickly: Give it, give it! (Ross tosses the phone to Numa, who quickly opens and reads.)
Numa, slowly: "Quit stalking me, butt monkey." The fuck?
Carter, noticing the phone: Huh. She texts like Lexas. (Ross joins looking at the text.)
Ross: Yeah, she doesn't type like Nat. That's Lexas fucking around.
Numa, pissed: What a fucking bitch! (Carter's head shoots up, and he speaks with surprising strength.)
Carter: Hey! Don't talk about her like that!
Numa: What the fuck ever, dude. I don't know why she won't just talk to me, I didn't... I didn't mean what I did.
Ross, calmly: But you did it. Come on Numa, would you forgive you?
Numa jumps up: That's a fucking stupid question! (He stops for a second.) You weren't there! In fact, why the fuck weren't you? You could've stopped me! (Ross gets up, downright offended by the Numa was saying.)
Ross shouting back: What am I, your fucking keeper? You expect me to let you get into trouble, but when it backfires you want to go off and blame it on me you little shit! (Numa screams at the top of his lungs.)
Numa: STOP CALLING ME LITTLE, YOU FUCKING BEAN POLE. (Carter gets up and steps between Ross and Numa, just as Numa swings. He gets Carter in the face, but he shrugs it off.)
Carter, with strength in his voice: Will you two shut the fuck up for one god damn night? We come together trying to have a decent Christmas and we have to fight over some girl that's been long gone and over shit that happened last summer. It's a new year soon, why don't we start it off nice and be friends, at least for tonight? (Numa and Ross look each other in the eye, and they both back down, sick of throwing punches. Numa sits on the couch, Ross on the chair, and Carter is still standing, thrown out into his own zoning mind. For a few moments, there is silence.)
Numa: I should have never went to that fucking party. (Ross notices he's nearly about to cry. He goes to him, sits next to him, and Numa leans on him in an awkward moment of comfort.)
Ross: It's not you, dude. None of us would have bee strong enough to break from what happened to you. (Carter looks at them, and sits next to Ross.)
Numa: It's just... She... She was...
Ross: It's okay. Tell it again, as many times as you want to talk about it. (It suddenly gets cold, as the winter storm outside seems to have turned into a powerful blizzard. Carter slams the window shut, and listens closely to Numa's retelling of his least favorite story. He rarely told this one.)
Carter, afraid to say the wrong thing: Nothing still? (Numa lets out a long sigh.)
Numa, sounding exhausted: Nope. I don't know what the fuck she wants from me, it wasn't my fault... I said sorry... (They hear the shower shut off, and Carter begins to quicken his puffs.)
Numa: The fuck you doing, dude?
Carter's voice cracks: Well... Ross wanted us done, right? Besides, I don't wanna be stoned too much for presents.
Numa considers: I guess not... (They both put out their blunts and crack open a nearby window. Soon Ross comes down, nice and comfy in his pajamas.)
Numa with a big, dumb smile: Squeaky clean, huh bitch?
Ross smiles: You know it! Too bad I can't say the same for that shitty bathroom.
Numa: Yeah, your mom keeps telling me she'll clean it every time me and her use it. (Ross goes to sit down and sits on Numa's phone. Then it begins to vibrate, and Ross jumps up, startled. He brings it up and looks at the screen.)
Carter, laughing absurdly: Did that thing just get jiggy with your ass?
Ross, serious: It's Nat. (Numa's head shoots up.)
Numa, quickly: Give it, give it! (Ross tosses the phone to Numa, who quickly opens and reads.)
Numa, slowly: "Quit stalking me, butt monkey." The fuck?
Carter, noticing the phone: Huh. She texts like Lexas. (Ross joins looking at the text.)
Ross: Yeah, she doesn't type like Nat. That's Lexas fucking around.
Numa, pissed: What a fucking bitch! (Carter's head shoots up, and he speaks with surprising strength.)
Carter: Hey! Don't talk about her like that!
Numa: What the fuck ever, dude. I don't know why she won't just talk to me, I didn't... I didn't mean what I did.
Ross, calmly: But you did it. Come on Numa, would you forgive you?
Numa jumps up: That's a fucking stupid question! (He stops for a second.) You weren't there! In fact, why the fuck weren't you? You could've stopped me! (Ross gets up, downright offended by the Numa was saying.)
Ross shouting back: What am I, your fucking keeper? You expect me to let you get into trouble, but when it backfires you want to go off and blame it on me you little shit! (Numa screams at the top of his lungs.)
Numa: STOP CALLING ME LITTLE, YOU FUCKING BEAN POLE. (Carter gets up and steps between Ross and Numa, just as Numa swings. He gets Carter in the face, but he shrugs it off.)
Carter, with strength in his voice: Will you two shut the fuck up for one god damn night? We come together trying to have a decent Christmas and we have to fight over some girl that's been long gone and over shit that happened last summer. It's a new year soon, why don't we start it off nice and be friends, at least for tonight? (Numa and Ross look each other in the eye, and they both back down, sick of throwing punches. Numa sits on the couch, Ross on the chair, and Carter is still standing, thrown out into his own zoning mind. For a few moments, there is silence.)
Numa: I should have never went to that fucking party. (Ross notices he's nearly about to cry. He goes to him, sits next to him, and Numa leans on him in an awkward moment of comfort.)
Ross: It's not you, dude. None of us would have bee strong enough to break from what happened to you. (Carter looks at them, and sits next to Ross.)
Numa: It's just... She... She was...
Ross: It's okay. Tell it again, as many times as you want to talk about it. (It suddenly gets cold, as the winter storm outside seems to have turned into a powerful blizzard. Carter slams the window shut, and listens closely to Numa's retelling of his least favorite story. He rarely told this one.)