-Scene 1-

Cast–

Q. Kindergarten, attending in person. 5 years old.

G. First grade, attending remotely. 6 years old.

KJ/Killjoy. College, attending remotely. 21 years old. 

[G and Q kneeling in an alcove under the cover of cedar trees. G piles dead leaves onto her legs. Her mask keeps slipping below her nose and her mother shouts across the backyard every few minutes with a reminder to tug it back upwards. Q recedes deeper into the trees with a “menu” from their make-believe restaurant/bakery. Before them, Killjoy squats, ignoring the twigs and branches jutting into her backside, the pins-and-needles sensation of her legs falling asleep.]

KJ: Do you guys know about coronavirus?

G: Um…what’s coronavirus? 

KJ: Covid-19. 

G (shrieking): Don’t! Don’t tell me that! Please just don’t tell— everybody knows that! Everybody. Don’t just tell them, it’ll be scary.

[Off-screen, Q marvels at the red and gold Bakugan Battle Planet dragon he pulls from his pocket. He unfurls its limbs and squeezes it back into a tiny sphere over and over again.]

KJ: Okay, sorry. Tell me more about it. 

G: Coronavirus?

KJ: Yes. 

G (soberly): No. I am not. 

KJ: Why? 

G: Because, they’re just killing. 

[They’re. Like an invisible army of angry red viruses. Killjoy pauses, regretting her choice of small-talk, the decision to interrupt a game of imaginary sweet-shop with heavy conversation.]

KJ: Oh. 

G: If you don’t wear a mask, it could kill you. 

KJ: What? 

G: Coronavirus. If you don’t do–what it is, you’re gonna die. Coronavirus is…something that we…

[She trails off, searching for the words in the pile of leaves on her legs.]

G: Coronavirus is a bad thing. You have to keep yourself safe.

KJ: Yeah, how do you keep yourself safe? 

G: You have to wear a mask, eat healthy food, and— and you need to…what else?

[G raises a finger to her chin, paused in thought. Her royal blue mask has slipped down past her mouth, and she rests grubby, dirt-covered fingers against her face.]

G: You have to wash your hands, you have to brush your teeth. That’s how you’re gonna keep yourself safe. Stay six feet away—

[Q leans forward, re-entering the scene.]

Q: Wear a mask. 

G (exasperated): Wear a mask…Q, we just said that!

[Off-screen, someone yells FIRE IN THE HOLE. A piece of chalk gets launched into the alcove and tumbles into the neighbor’s backyard. It’s hard to conduct an interview with children at a party. The group scatters.]

 

-Scene 2-

Cast–

Q. Kindergarten, attending in person. 5 years old.

G. First grade, attending remotely. 6 years old.

K. Twelfth grade, attending hybrid classes. 17 years old.

KJ/Killjoy. College, attending remotely. 21 years old. 

[We rejoin the group on a patio, sitting around a table and eating caramel cake. G has a spoon, but resorts to scooping up ice cream and cake with her fingers.]

KJ: Do you like doing virtual school?

G: Huh?

K (echoes): Do you like doing virtual school? 

G: What’s virtual school?

KJ: School online. 

G (enthusiastic): School online? Yeah! Because of the coronavirus, it’s not gonna keep you safe. You can’t just really go to your school. We go to our school to get stuff that we need. So we talk on… my auntie got me a computer now we can do Zoom on there. 

KJ: Really? Cool. 

G: Yeah we sometimes do it on my iPad. I got a new iPad. We didn’t really have Roblox on there because I was on my dad’s account. I like being on his account, but his account doesn’t have any games. 

KJ: Do you want to go back to school? 

G: No. 

KJ: Q, do you like going to school in person? 

Q: Uh huh. That’s the only thing I do! And I also wear a mask over my nose every time at school. 

[Beside them, G quietly admits to wanting a sleepover with her friend. Her older sister will be having one with a classmate in the upcoming week for the first time since the pandemic began. K tells G to ask her mom. Beyond their conversation, her mother can be heard calling G’s younger brother over to pull up his mask. He runs in the opposite direction.]

G: Well, she’s probably gonna say no. 

KJ: Do you miss seeing your friends?

Q: I miss seeing my friends!

K: You see them though! You go to school. 

Q: Yeah, but–

[Q trails off, returning to the mushy remains of his cake. G has set aside her bowl, pouting.]

KJ: What’s wrong, G? You miss your friends?

G (shrugging): Yeah. A little. 

[Killjoy frowns, makes an attempt to change the subject.]

KJ: How do you like first grade? 

[G perks up instantly, flashing a snaggletoothed smile. She’s lost a few teeth during quarantine.]

G: Great! I got new friends. 

KJ: Did you meet them on Zoom? 

G (head tilted in confusion): Did I meet my friends at the Z-O-O? 

K: No, did you meet your friends on Zoom. Like, through the computer screen. 

[G shrugs. Killjoy wonders what it even means to make new friends in a remote environment. She’s going to ask a question again, even though she already asked G it once before.]

KJ: Do you want to go back to school? 

G (pauses): Yes, I do.