dialogue assignment for UNIV 112... write a short story in nothing but dialogue. Possibly, one of the most difficult assignments I have had. I'm posting this, though, because (for whatever reason) I'm intrigued.
“Hey there.”
“…”
“I said, ‘hey there,’”
“…”
“Hey, buddy. I’m trying to say hello, over here!”
“…Hey…”
“My name’s Dave.”
“…”
“What’s your name?”
“John.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, John! Where are you heading, this fine spring morning?”
“…”
“I said, ‘where are-‘”
“Nowhere.”
“Well how can you be going somewhere, if you're going nowhere?”
“I don’t know. Just… going. Doesn’t matter where.”
“Huh. Doesn’t sound too logical, does it? Well, me? I’m starting fresh. Yes, sir, starting fresh! My girl kicked me out. Something ‘bout not doing anything with my life or some bullshit, like that. Can you believe it? You know what I say, though? I say, good riddance. I’m gunna go out there and start fresh. Make a new name for myself. What about you? You starting fresh, too?”
“You could say that.”
“Well, you got about fifteen minutes to decide what you’re guna do with your life, then the bus is guna take you somewhere or another and you’ll be stuck.”
“I don’t get stuck.”
“I don’t mean stuck like stuck. I mean stuck like lost.”
“I don’t get lost.”
“Nah, everybody gets lost.”
“Not if you’re not trying to get anywhere.”
“Well, everyone is trying to get somewhere.”
“Not everyone.”
“Well, like me. I’m trying to start fresh, remember? I think I want to go to New York or California or something fancy like that, eventually, where everybody’s somebody. That’s where I’m trying to get. I want to be a somebody. What about you? You want to be a somebody, ‘cause everybody wants to be a somebody, so everybody’s trying to get somewhere.”
“Just trying to get away.”
“Away from what?”
“From everything.”
“Come on, John. Tell me.”
“I don’t think that’s really-“
“I’ll tell you a secret, and you tell me one.”
“I really don't think that's necessary.”
“Well, when I was younger, my grandpa used to take me down to the lake by his house, where we’d-“
“I said to drop it.”
“…”
“…”
“Well… you want to know my story, anyways?”
“Dave.”
“Hey, look at that! The bus is here! Alright, here we go! Starting the next adventure of my life, with my new pal John! No, I’m good to go, Mr. Bus driver. My buddy here has got my ticket covered.”
“What? No. I think you’re confused.”
“All that stuff you said about getting away made me think, John. I’m a grown man. Time to get out on my own. You’re alone. I’m alone. Two of us gotta stick together. And you look like you need a friend.”
“Seriously, I’m going to get on the bus now, and you’re just going to…go…”
“Go where?”
“Wherever you were going before this.”
“But… I got kicked out, remember? I don’t… I don’t have anywhere to go…”
“...”
“No, that’s okay. You’re right. You don’t need me tagging along. Said you were getting away from everything, but how can you get away from everything when you got dumb ol’ Dave following you around? Damn it, Dave.”
“…”
“No, no. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Don’t you worry about me. You can’t get lost if you’re not going nowhere, right, John? And I’ve got nowhere to go, so I’ll be just fine.”
“Don’t…”
“You were a good friend, John. Bout the best friend I coulda ever had.”
“I'm not…"
"Good luck, buddy. You take care of yourself. Don't worry about me. No, sir. Don't you-"
"Two, please.”
"Good luck, buddy. You take care of yourself. Don't worry about me. No, sir. Don't you-"
"Two, please.”
Wow, this story is really interesting. I'm confused though, was Dave trying to guilt-trip John into letting him tag along with him? If so that's pretty funny, if not than I'm still confused. I really liked your dialogue especially the part where John says "you can't get lost if you have nowhere to go." I totally agree with that statement, it's a good thing you said you were going to add on to this story b/c now I'm really interested to find out. I'm going to have to make sure I return to this blog more often, keep up the good work :)
ReplyDeleteyeah he was guilt tripping him into it, haha.
ReplyDeletethat kind of like no dont worry about me... hint hint! you know?
yeah I had the idea for a story actually about John, but it's turning into Dave a little. I don't know how to continue it, but I really want to.
That was a very interesting story and i dont know if it was just me but i got more out of the story. more like, life is a journey and you get no where without going somewhere whatever the moral is i loved
ReplyDeleteyes, there is def more to it. This comes from a longer idea of John running away from everything, due to a loss he suffered and finding meaning in other things. Glad you picked up on that!
ReplyDeleteDave is interesting... I definitely want to know more about him, because I could see him being genuine or slightly manipulative at this point. Maybe a bit of both. John also has some secrets... haha. I liked this story and if you decide to post any more bits of it I'll definitely read.
ReplyDelete