What If?

CHARACTERS
SAMIRA, 24
MILES, 25

TIME
The present, early evening

PLACE
SAMIRA and MILES are sitting close together on a park bench after the sunset, watching the clear night sky. Crickets quietly chirp in the background creating a serene atmosphere with the two of them silently staring at the stars. A small notebook rests to the side of SAMIRA. The lighting is cool, offering an otherworldly quality.

MILES
Wow, it’s actually clear out tonight.

SAMIRA
Yeah, it is.

MILES
So…
(Turning towards SAMIRA, waving his fingers at her)
Do you think the aliens are out there watching us?

SAMIRA
(Laughing)
If they are, why would they care about what we’re doing?

MILES
(Shrugging)
I don’t know, maybe they know I’m on to them.

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA lets out a breathy laugh)
You and all the other conspiracy theorists.

MILES
Come on, don’t you think there’s at least a chance they could be real? I mean, look at that—
(MILES points up at the other planets and stars in the sky)
How is it possible that we’re the only ones out here in the entire universe? There’s just no way. You have to admit that’s weird.

SAMIRA
I guess. I’ve never really thought about it.

MILES
Well, you should. I’m just saying, you never know.

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA looks away from him, trailing off)
Yeah, you never know…

MILES
(He gives her a concerned look)
What’s wrong?

SAMIRA
(Turning away to face in front of her)
It’s just— I don’t know.

MILES
What is it?

SAMIRA
It’s nothing.

MILES
Don’t tell me…Are you still trying to figure out what you wanna do?

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA sighs, then glances towards MILES, smiling)
Damn it, you know me too well.

MILES
Yep. You can’t hide anything from me, I know when something is bothering you.

SAMIRA
Yeah, and it’s really annoying.

MILES
Welp, too bad. Tell me what’s wrong.

SAMIRA
Or…we could just pretend everything’s okay?

(He raises his eyebrows, giving her a knowing look. SAMIRA groans.)

It’s nothing, I just…I’ve just been thinking…

MILES
Uh oh.

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA slaps his arm playfully)
Shut up! Anyways, I’ve been thinking…what if I mess this up? What if I…What if in ten years I realize I wasted my time trying to be a writer? What would my mom think? After everything she did? And if we’re still together…won’t you get tired of me being broke? All because I wanted to follow some dumb dream?

MILES
I don’t care if you’re broke.

SAMIRA
That’s not the point, Miles.
(She buries her face in her hands)
I just— I don’t know.

MILES
Look, I get it. For some reason, we are expected to know exactly what we want to do for the rest of our lives right after highschool. It’s stupid. I don’t know though. I feel like once you turn twenty five, you start looking at things differently.

SAMIRA
(She lifts her head back up, glancing at him)
I’m only a year younger than you.

MILES
I don’t know how to explain it, you just…I don’t know. Something clicks.

SAMIRA
What clicks?

MILES
You know…Your uhh…
(MILES taps in the middle of his forehead, unable to think of the words)

SAMIRA
(Confused)
Your what? Your third eye? What the hell are you talking about?

MILES
(MILES snaps his fingers, suddenly remembering)
Prefrontal cortex! It’s the part of the brain that fully develops when you turn twenty five.

SAMIRA
So?

MILES
So, you start to see the big picture. What really matters. And you start caring a lot less about what others think.

SAMIRA
So, what, you’re telling me that when you turn twenty five you magically figure everything out? Come on.

MILES
That’s not what I’m saying.

SAMIRA
Then what are you saying? I’m confused.

MILES
What I’m saying is that…you have to think about what you actually want. Not what your mom wants, not what others want. What do you want?

SAMIRA
(Frustrated)
That’s the problem, I don’t know!

(A moment of silence passes between them before MILES speaks again)

MILES
Do you remember what a fucking mess I was last year?

SAMIRA
Yeah…

MILES
Well, what if I kept working at the office? What if another twenty five years went by and I became just like every other rat in the rat race? What if my time came—God forbid—and all I did was spend my time worrying?

(SAMIRA looks at him with a sad expression, lightly touching her notebook)

What if I just kept talking about what I actually wanted to do instead of just doing it? Nobody wants to be around that. Honestly, I should have started way sooner. But at least I’m here now, making people laugh.

SAMIRA
Wasn’t your dad pissed, though?

MILES
Oh yeah.

SAMIRA
And haven’t you bombed?

MILES
(Wincing)
Yep. It was brutal the first time.

SAMIRA
Didn’t that make you want to quit?

MILES
It did. For a bit. But then, I got my first good set. Seeing the entire crowd laughing at one of my stupid-ass jokes…that was amazing. That one win made all the failures worth it.

SAMIRA
(Looking past him)
Yeah…I bet you were great…

MILES
It’s time to be honest with yourself. What do you want?

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA shifts awkwardly, thinking for a moment too long)
I…I think…I want to write…

MILES
Then do it.

SAMIRA
But what if—

MILES
What if the aliens decide to take over our planet? What if the moon is actually an egg? What if I’m a reptilian in disguise?

SAMIRA
(Laughing)
Stop it, I’m being serious.

MILES
You can ask these questions all day, but at some point, you’ve gotta decide. We’re not gonna be here forever, y’know. We all run out of time.

SAMIRA
Yeah, you’re right…like always.

MILES
Damn right I am.
(MILES makes a dramatic gesture)
You’re lucky I’m here to share my infinite wisdom.

SAMIRA
(She chuckles quietly)
Yeah, yeah I get it.

MILES
So…what are you going to do?

SAMIRA
I’m gonna have to tell my mom.

MILES
Can’t imagine she’ll be very happy.

SAMIRA
Nope. Definitely not. Can’t believe she sacrificed everything for…
(SAMIRA waves her hands over herself)
All this.

MILES
Hey, I very much happen to like all of —
(MILES imitates her own hand movement, waving his hands over her)
That.

SAMIRA
She’s gonna be so disappointed…

MILES
Maybe. But it’s your life, Samira.

SAMIRA
I just feel so bad. She did so much to get here.

MILES
She did it for you, though. For the American Dream? For Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness— All that crap.

SAMIRA
I guess, but what if—

MILES
What if you write the next big thing? You never know! But you gotta try before you find out.

SAMIRA
I’m terrified though.

MILES
I know. It’s terrifying.

SAMIRA
How did you do it?

MILES
(MILES looks back at the sky, thinking)
I guess at some point, I kind of just said…Fuck it.

SAMIRA
Fuck it?

MILES
Yep.

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA stares at him in astonishment)
That’s it?

MILES
Pretty much.

SAMIRA
You make it sound so easy.

MILES
It can be.

SAMIRA
It doesn’t feel easy…

MILES
Might not right now, but it will.

SAMIRA
How do you know that though?

MILES
Because of my infinite wisdom, remember?

SAMIRA
You’re an idiot.

MILES
An idiot who’s right.

(SAMIRA laughs silently as MILES looks smug)

Oh, Samira. What would you do without me?

SAMIRA
(She looks at him longingly, with a hint of sadness)
I don’t know. I’d be totally lost.

MILES
I’m not gonna lie though, it’s probably gonna be really hard. If writing stories is anything like writing jokes…You’ll suck. For a while.

SAMIRA
(Sarcastically, as she chuckles lightly)
That’s very encouraging.

MILES
If you really love it though, you’ll work your ass off till you finally start getting good. Do you remember what you loved to do when you were a kid?

SAMIRA
Yeah, I loved reading.

MILES
Oh! And you also wrote all of those fanfic—

SAMIRA
(SAMIRA hides her face in embarrassment, turning away from him)
Oh God, don’t remind me!

MILES
Point is, try making that version of yourself happy. I know I used to do all sorts of dumb things when I was a kid. You remember.

SAMIRA
(Laughing to herself, staring into the distance)
Yeah, you were an idiot always trying to make people laugh.

MILES
And don’t you think little Miles would be happy to see me now?

SAMIRA
Yeah.

MILES
I’m sure you’ll make that version of yourself happy if you just went for it.

SAMIRA
(She looks down at her lap, taking time to think about he said)
You’re right…Fuck it.

(Smiling, she turns to MILES, who smiles back)
Thank you, I really needed this.

MILES
Of course. But…I won’t always be here to help you, y’know…

SAMIRA
(Heartbroken, she reaches for him, but not quite touching him)
Why not?

MILES
I don’t know…That’s just life.

SAMIRA
But, I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to do this without you…

MILES
(MILES pauses, looking back at her sadly)
I know…But, you can. And you will.

(He stands up as SAMIRA turns away from him again, resigned)

SAMIRA
I know…But, what if…

(The lights FADE to black, natural lighting comes back on, with only SAMIRA sitting on the bench as she writes in her notebook and looks up at the sky)

What if…you had more time?