You are on page 1of 2

RX> OF YOUTHACT

' of BOSS FINLEY

an. The forestage is i-^m


'stunabfy the floodlight i | |
to the hotel. This is tkt.
waiting for. Everybody
one on stage is CHANCE,- ^
e HECKLER is at the bmi
go. Now, off Left, BOSS
crudity very much "on."
off:]
it, smfle! Go on, smile fsr 1
I't Hiat the rig^t name for.
ttogoinl
to face CHANCE.
_
stant, CHANCE and HEA\'E!>C^
iding to the Palm Garden md
ige. They simply look at cscl
n them. Then the BCs comt^^
. . And there he is facing tk^
. For a spUt second he faem
ke at them, but doesn't strikm,
off Left stage . . . where iht\
proceed during what follows,
is going to go on the platform
iere stunned....]
I

IHe turns to her blindly.]


^tiling's packed, even the . . .
voice on i t . . .
7 his position at the bar. Now
pie of other of the boys have
^ees them and is silent, . . .
:e this before. . . .]
lere, will you.
HI want?

101

Come down here. Ill tea ywi.


You come up here and tell me.

jUNun: Come on, you chicken-gut bastard,


s: Why, hello, Tom Jimior. Why are you hiding
You're hiding, not me, chicken-gut.
i: You're in the dark, not me.
i: Tom Junior wants to talk to you privately down

JUNIOR:

B: He can talk to me privately up here.


M JUNIOR: Hatch, tell him Fll talk to him in the
Itti^oom on the mezzanine floor.
:HANCB: I don't hxAd conversations with people in wash:mi. . , .
'JfOM^~7Cl\i\ji^^JliJ[uiiulud, slaris to nah forward, iieg
ffuiii hitn.]
What is all this an^ow? It's fantastic. You all having a
^ l e conference there? I used to leave places when I was
ssid to. Not now. That time's over. Now I leave when Fm
^ d y . Hear that, Tom Junior? Give your father that message.
This is my town. I was bom in St Cloud, not him. He was
fust called here. He was just called down from the hills to
preach hate. I was bom here to make love. Tdl him about
that diffoence between him and me, and ask him vdiich he
thinks has more right to stay here. . . . [He gets no answer
from the huddled little group which is restraining TOM
JUNIOR from perpetrating murder right there in the cocktml
lounge. After all, that would be a bad incident to precede the
BOSS'S all-South-wide TV appearance . , . and they all know
CHANCE, at the same time, continues to taunt them.] Tom,

102
SWEET BIRD OF YOUTHACT TWO
Tom Juntel What do yoa want me t<xt1 To pay me back
fat the ball game and ^cture show money I gave you wfaea
you were cutting your father's yard grass for a dollar on
Saturday? Thank me for the times I gave you my motorcycle
and got you a gul to ride the buddy seat with you? Come
herel IH give you the keys to my Caddy. IH give yoa the
price of any whtae in S t Cloud. You still got credit with
me because you're Heavcnly'g brother.
TDM juNKHt [almost bursting free]: Don't say the name
of my sister!
CHANCE: I said the name of my giril
T O M JUNIOR [breaking away from the group]: Tm aS
right Tm all ri^t Leave us alone, will you. I don't warn
Chance to fed that he's outnumbered. [He herds them out]
O.K.? Come on down here.
noNCESS [trying to restrain CHANCE]: N O , Chance, don^ ^
iDM JUNIOR: Excuae youndf from the bidy and^
down here. Don't be scared t a I just want to talk to yoc
qototty. Joat talk. Quiet talk.
CHANCE: Tom Junior, I know that shice the last tune I
here something haa hi^pened to Heavenly and I
TOM JUNIOR: Dontapeak the name of my sister. Jm
leave her name off your tongue
CHANCE: Jost tdl me what happened to her.

TOM JUNiCtt: Just k e ^ your ruttin' vmce down.


CHANCE: I know Tve dcme many wng things in my '
many mm than I can name or number, but I swear I
hurt Heavenly in my life.
TOM JtnaoR: You mean to say my sisttf was had by i
body elsediseased by somdx>dy else tlw last time yoa <

SCENE

TWO

n St Cloud? . . . I know, it's possiUe, i


at you didn't know what you done to n
ast time you come to St Cloud. You rei
^nea you came home broke? My sister ha
ahj in restaurants and bars, and had to
:u wrote on banks whwe you had no ac
~st this rich bitch, Minnie, the Texas on
.-;d started spending week ends on her y
t&A Mondays with money frxMn Blinnie i
sater. I mean, you'd sleep with Minnie, ti
^ddam gigdb bastard she could pidc up (
7 the docks, and dien ycMi would go on si
- s i s t e r . And sometime, during that tin
T. ng besides your gigolo fee &om Mini
my sister, my little sister that had 1
a thing like thiU, and didn't know wha)
fooe on too long and
CHANCE: I left town bef(H I foimd out IIThe lamentation music is haari.}
tOM JtJNiOR: You found ootl Did yoo t
CHANCE:

KorcaB:

I dwogbt if sanedOiV

WM

TOM jvmoR: How could she write you o


addresses, no phone numbers in guttc
youhere, oa this spot! . . . My littl<
s't know about tiie diseases and op
she had to be deaned and c u r e d n
by Dr. George Scudda's knife. Tb
And tonightif you stay here
after this rally, you're gonna get tb
The knife? That's all. Now go on
t going b e ^ to toy father, [TOM J U N U A <
[Of CHANCE returns to her]: i

, k f s go n o w . . .

You might also like