Swingerella

Scene 4

Scene 4

ROSE walks onto SL, and a spotlight lands on her. She begins to recite her poem. DANIELLE stands C, staring up into the audience.

ROSE
Ode on a Jazz Club
By Rose Southey

Cool night, streetlight
Glowing in the misty rain
Illuminates a windowpane
Bidding one to come inside

The lights begin to glow green and orange, and smoke slowly fills the stage.

The smoke curls in soft swirls
Across the amber colored bar
Clinging to the walls of green
Fading paintings with its stain
Twisting round the nimble dancers peopling the dusty floor.

The shadows of dancers glide sleekly across the stage, and the air is filled with the soft murmur of people talking. ROSE grows more emphatic and excited as she continues.

ROSE
Ghostly visions of a crowd
Moving lithely in a cloud
As the singer softly pouts
(A singer faintly wails the line as ROSE says it)
"My darling dear, how grand you are"

A few couples of swing dancers jump into motion as they become illuminated by the stage lights.

ROSE
Damp with sweat the men and girls
Some in denim, some in pearls
Lose themselves in dips and twirls
Upon aging mahogany

Closer as the night wears thin
Wrapped around, entwined within
Yearning for a secret whim
Before the chanteuse finishes

The couples gradually scatter until only one is left on the dance floor. They reenact the poem as ROSE recites.

ROSE
Too soon the final note is dropped
Abrupt and blunt, the magic stopped
Before the night's coda is topped
By the birthing of the dawn

They stop dancing and gaze at each other.

She stares into his somber eyes
(the girl mouths as ROSE speaks)
"Don't go, my love" she softly cries
As the dance crowd thins and dies
Emptying the dusty floor

Her fingers trembling on his face
His arms enfold around her waist
While lips together softly taste
A kiss to take one's breath away

(the man mouths as ROSE speaks)
"My darling, come away with me"
He whispers so enticingly
And they are gone before the sun Exit couple.
Cruelly strips their world undone

Painting over sensual
With harsh tones of the actual.

NATALIE and the Entourage appear around ROSE, just as DANIELLE reaches an epiphany.

DANIELLE
Where is he?!

Suddenly music fills the air, mixed with the sound of people talking and dancing. It is David Brubeck's "Blue Rondo A La Turk," and once it starts DANIELLE is off, scouring through dancers . The music reflects her anxiety as she searches, desperately, to no avail. When it bursts into the jazz saxophone solo, GREG appears SL.

GREG
Danielle!

She freezes.

DANIELLE
Hey…

GREG
How are you?

DANIELLE
Fine..

GREG
Are you sure?

DANIELLE
…No. Greg, I'm so sorry about last week.. I.. I…

GREG
What?! Why are you being so hesitant?

DANIELLE
Greg… I had no idea that your brother and Natalie..

GREG
(baffled)
You didn’t?

DANIELLE
Well, no! Natalie never told me, or our parents. And you didn’t exactly act like it had happened! You didn’t even mention it!

GREG
I don’t know… I guess I forgot about it. Nick had had a really serious girlfriend before Natalie, and she totally killed him when she dumped him. They couldn’t even look at each other any more. Nat really liked him, but I guess she came on way too strong.
(pauses, finally realizing something)
Wait a minute… That’s not why she hates me, is it?

DANIELLE
(bites her lip)
…Maybe not entirely?

GREG raises an eyebrow.

GREG
Wow… guilty by association. That really sucks.

DANIELLE
She doesn’t hate you anymore. We talked about it.

GREG
And you defended me?

DANIELLE
I just told her that you didn’t deserve to be hated.

GREG
(smirking)
So you defended me?

DANIELLE
(laughs)
Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s one way to put it.

GREG
Well, that was pretty nice of you. Thanks.

DANIELLE
You’re welcome.

They smile, semi-awkwardly, at each other, when a girl rushes up to GREG and taps him on the shoulder.

GIRL
Excuse me! Want to dance?

GREG shoots a look at DANIELLE, who shrugs.

GREG
You don’t mind if I…?

DANIELLE
No, whatever. Go ahead!

GREG turns and smiles at the girl, who is obviously trying to flirt with him.

GREG
Sure.
They go and dance, both of them appearing to enjoy themselves immensely. Forlorn, DANIELLE leans back against the bar and looks at a tall thin man in a blue suit, smoking a cigarette.

DANIELLE
…Got an extra?

The man looks at her, smirks knowingly, and hands her one. She lights it, takes a drag, and explodes into a coughing fit. The man sneers.

DANIELLE
Thanks.

DANIELLE wipes tears away as she takes a drag from a cigarette. The MYSTERY DANCER has been sitting beside her the entire time without her even realizing it.

MYSTERY DANCER
Those aren't very good for you.

DANIELLE jumps.

DANIELLE
(softly)
..When did you get here?

MYSTERY DANCER
A minute ago.

They both look straight ahead. DANIELLE swallows hard.

DANIELLE
That's the most I think I've ever heard you say.

MYSTERY DANCER chuckles.

MYSTERY DANCER
Yeah.. I'm a man of few words.

DANIELLE
Why?

MYSTERY DANCER
(shrugs)
I never know what to say to people. I'd rather just dance.

DANIELLE
I know what you mean.

MYSTERY DANCER
I thought you would.

She gazes at him. He looks down.

DANIELLE
My friends and I.. we thought you looked kind of like someone we know. But none of us knew exactly who.
MYSTERY DANCER
(shrugs)
I get that a lot.

DANIELLE
That's funny.

MYSTERY DANCER looks at her.

MYSTERY DANCER
How?

DANIELLE
(suddenly nervous)
Well.. no one really knows what you look like, so they place a familiar face over what they can't see.

Silence.

MYSTERY DANCER
That's deep, Danny.

DANIELLE pauses, cocking an eyebrow.

DANIELLE
Only a few people ever call me that… (faces him) Who are you?

The MYSTERY DANCER removes the black fedora. It is NATHAN, white blonde hair and all.

DANIELLE
A shock of white….

Her jaw drops.

DANIELLE
(standing)
Shit!

NATHAN
Danny, wait!!

She whirls around, livid.

DANIELLE
Wait?? WAIT?!?! (throws her hands up) What have I been doing this whole damn time!!!!!

NATHAN
..I'm sorry.

DANIELLE
(scoffs)
And that's all you have to say… After this whole thing? That you're sorry?!?!?!

NATHAN
Danny-

DANIELLE
f*** you! (she turns away and he grasps her hand.)

NATHAN
Will you listen to me for a second!

DANIELLE
(whirls around)
AND WHY SHOULD I?! You never loved me! You wrote it in that damn note you left behind! Do you know how much that killed?! How it tore me in half?!?! And now, after all this, after I thought I had grown so much, it all comes back to smack me in the face!!!

NATHAN
But did you ever love me?

She freezes.

NATHAN
(quietly)
Did you?

DANIELLE fights back tears.

DANIELLE
…I'm too young to know…

NATHAN
There! That right there! How is a guy supposed to keep his pride in tact after a blow like that?! I told you I loved you that one night. We'd been together for a year, and I felt like it was the truth, so I said it. And YOU gave me that garbage!!!!

DANIELLE winces.

NATHAN
How much do you think THAT killed?

DANIELLE
I'm sorry… (puts her face in her hands. They are both silent for a beat, and then) Why did you even dance with me then?

NATHAN
I’d been coming here for a long time. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t think you liked going to clubs.

DANIELLE
I didn’t think YOU liked going to clubs!

NATHAN
It doesn’t matter, okay?! Anyway, when I saw you here I figured I’d don a cap and sunglasses and try and see if I could be close to you, without f***ing it up by being myself. Does that make any sense?

DANIELLE
Yeah… Yeah, it does. (deep breath) You were too good for me sometimes.

NATHAN
I know. That’s why I broke up with you.

DANIELLE
Oh screw you!

NATHAN
Danny! I was kidding!

DANIELLE
Why did you break up with me then?

NATHAN
I don’t know! I just figured, that after all this, if you didn’t love me, what was the point of staying together? I’m a hopeless romantic deep down. You know that. And you were so cold when we were together that I didn’t even think you cared about me at all! Hell, do you even miss me now?

DANIELLE puts her hand on her forehead.
DANIELLE
How did it get like this?

NATHAN
(shrugs)
I don't know.

DANIELLE
We used to be happy. Now we're both broken, just because we're two stupid kids who don't know what to do when we're caught with our guard down…

NATHAN
Danny…

DANIELLE
I’m sorry I hurt you, Nathan…

NATHAN
..Me too.

Their eyes meet and they embrace, tumbling into each other's arms. DANIELLE nuzzles her face into his shoulder. As couples continue to swirl around the floor, the two of them are silent, still.

He pulls away and stares into her eyes, before trying to kiss her. She backs away.

DANIELLE
What are you doing?

He steps back, shocked.

NATHAN
..What's wrong?

DANIELLE
(takes a deep breath)
Nathan, if we do this, we'll go back to square one.. We're not good for each other. You deserve someone so much better than me… And you have taught me a huge lesson about myself… That I need to do something because it's what I want, not because it's what I think will make me loved.

NATHAN
..So.. there's no chance for us?

DANIELLE
(in pain)
…You're not in love with me, Nathan… And I have to admit, I'm not in love with you either..

She kisses his cheek.

DANIELLE
But that doesn't mean I won't always love you… Truce?

NATHAN pauses thoughtfully, then looks at her, smiling.

NATHAN
Alright. Truce.

She smiles.

DANIELLE
Now go over to Flapper Girl and swing like it's going out of style.

He rolls his eyes.

NATHAN
(affectionately)
You always were so cheesy.
He walks away and DANIELLE watches as he asks FLAPPER GIRL to dance, before seeing GREG sitting at the bar. The lights dim, and everyone freezes except for DANIELLE, who is under a spotlight.

DANIELLE
(to audience)
Why do we always keep putting ourselves through things like this?
You could have been dragged through such a hell in your last relationship that you swear off all that sappy shit that makes people act like idiots- love, romance, anything like that. And for a while you could be happy! Nothing can touch you anymore! You’re immune to pain! There are more important things in life, right?
But then you crash into someone again.
And then you find out that you haven’t just been immune to pain. You’ve been immune to feeling anything at all.
And then your world gets screwed up again.

She looks over at the bar.

DANIELLE
..Or does it?

The lights go back up and the club jumps back to life as DANIELLE walks to the bar and sits next to GREG.

DANIELLE
(softly)
Hey.

He looks up at her from his drink.

GREG
Hey.

DANIELLE
(teasing)
How was your dance? You two looked pretty hot-and-heavy over there.

GREG
Gah! She was cute, but she had NO personality, or even a sense of rhythm! It was awful. (pause)
Don’t play innocent. I saw you with a guy over there too.

DANIELLE
Yeah, but I’m back now.

GREG
For good this time?

DANIELLE
Well, that depends on whether you'd like that or not.

GREG looks at her.

GREG
Is this some kind of a game, Danielle? What are you doing? What do you want?

DANIELLE
Well, for starters, I guess a dance would be nice.

She holds out her hand as "Something Beautiful" by Robbie Williams begins to play. He simply looks at it.

DANIELLE
Are you going to take it or not?

GREG
(mocking fear)
What if your SISTER sees us?!?!

DANIELLE
(laughs)
She’ll have to live with it.

She continues to hold it out to him, pleadingly.

DANIELLE
Please.

GREG looks for another long moment at DANIELLE'S hand, before finally taking it. DANIELLE grins.

DANIELLE
You won't regret this.

Unbeknownst to her, GREG is an incredible swing dancer, and pulls her close to him without warning. She gasps, and takes a moment to become in synch with his dance steps, before the two of them are gently circling across the floor. She smiles serenely.

DANIELLE
I didn't know you could dance like that…

GREG
I didn't want to intimidate you. If someone's dancing with someone they know is amazing, they get intimidated. This way, we both have fun.

DANIELLE
Yeah.. We both have fun.

She kisses him. He jumps back at first, startled, but smiles.

GREG
I didn't know you could kiss like that.

DANIELLE
(smiling)
I didn't want to intimidate you.

GREG laughs, and kisses her.

DANIELLE
It's a beautiful night.

GREG
Yeah. The best I've seen in a while.

DANIELLE
(smiling)
You have no idea…

They slowly lean their foreheads against each other, occasionally kissing and laughing while trying to keep in step. The lights dim until only their silhouettes can be seen, and then complete black.

THE END