YOUNG HOWARD. Relax, Janice. I’ll hide. Your boyfriend won’t find me. (He runs up behind the garbage cans and ducks down)

JANICE. (Greatly relieved and defensive at the same time.) He’s not my boyfriend! We’re just study partners, that’s all.

(Enter RANDALL stage right He is a strapping, athletic-looking young man. Wears the same school uniform as YOUNG HOWARD, but he has a school letter sweater on also.)

RANDALL. (Runs up to JANICE) There you are! Why didn’t you answer me?

JANICE. (pretending to be startled.) Randy! You startled me! I didn’t hear you coming!

RANDALL. It’s all right kid. (Drops his book to the ground in a heap. And throws his arms open to her.) Come here, you!

(RANDALL advances toward JANICE, and JANICE backs away, throwing a guilty glance back at the garbage pails. For the next several minutes YOUNG HOWARD periodically lifts his head up over the cans to take in the scene. He is extremely amused by the events he is witnessing.)

JANICE. Ummm, shall we study English?

RANDALL. (stops dead in his tracks. Shakes his head.) Study?

JANICE. Uh-huh! Study! (She plops down on the ground and opens a novel.

)

RANDALL. (Looking down at her perplexed.) What are you doing?

JANICE. Reading my novel for English class!

RANDALL. (sits down beside her.) Yeah. Right.

(RANDALL puts his arms around JANICE and tries to kiss her. JANICE fights him off.)

JANICE. Randy! What are you doing? (sniffs the air) What’s that smell?

RANDALL (turns head away) What smell?

JANICE. Alcohol! Randy! You’ve been drinking!

RANDALL. No. I haven’t.

JANICE (sniffing again) Yes! You have!

RANDALL. Well. Maybe just a little!

JANICE. Where?

RANDALL. In my car. Bill and Jake and I snuck out of last period study and just had a little nip in the parking lot. No big deal.

JANICE. The nuns will kill you!

RANDALL. They’ll never find out

JANICE (starting to gather up her things) I’m getting out of here.

RANDALL. You’ve got to be kidding.

(He reaches out and grabs her shoulder to pull her towards him.)

JANICE. I am not!

(She grabs his arm that is on her shoulder and throws it back him.)

RANDALL. What’s going on here?

JANICE.(almost shouting) Nothing! (Through gritted teeth) Absolutely nothing!

RANDALL. You mean, you don’t want to make out?

(YOUNG HOWARD lets out a short, involuntary laugh at this. He immediately panics and drops down behind the garbage cans. RANDALL does not hear it, but JANICE does and shoots a hate stare back towards the cans.)

JANICE. (pretending to be shocked) WHAT? Where did you ever get the idea that I wanted to make out!?!?

RANDALL (totally confused and now getting angry) Probably from the note you passed me during study period. (He produces a folded up scrap of paper from his pocket. He unfolds it and reads from it.) Meet me in our usual spot after school for the usual activities.

JANICE. (Again glancing back at the garbage cans) And you thought that the "usual activities" were making out?

RANDALL. What else?

JANICE. Studying!

RANDALL. Since when?

JANICE. Since always.

RANDALL. (shaking his head in disbelief.) Janice. We’ve met here a least a dozen times since we starting going steady. Not once have we ever studied!

(Another snort from the cans. Another killer look from JANICE.)

JANICE. (Closing her book , gathering her things and standing up.) I think I had better go.

RANDALL. (Stops her by grabbing both of her arms.) Come on, Janice! Cut the clowning around.

JANICE (Struggles in vain to get free.) I’m not clowning around. Let me go!

RANDALL. What is the matter with you?

JANICE. (Struggles harder.) Nothing! Let me go!

RANDALL. You get me all hot and bothered with that note, and now you’re leaving?

(JANICE stops struggling. She stares at RANDALL with eyes as large as quarters.)

JANICE. Randy. Let me go.

RANDALL. In a minute.

(RANDALL then thrusts himself upon JANICE, kissing her roughly on the mouth. Her books go flying in every direction. JANICE pounds RANDALL’s chest frantically with her fist and tries to scream. Finally, he backs away. She is crying. He smiles breathlessly.)

RANDALL. How was that?

(JANICE hauls off and slaps RANDALL across the face with all of her might.)

JANICE. How was that? I’m not that kind of a girl!

RANDALL. (looks at her dumbfounded for a second) You’ve always been "that kind of girl" before!

JANICE. How dare you!

RANDALL. (Again advancing on her and attempting to kiss her.) Relax will you? This is supposed to be fun!

(JANICE struggles against him. She slaps him harder than before. RANDALL staggers back, holding his hand to his cheek. His shock then turns to anger. He hauls off and slaps JANICE back. She falls to the ground in tears. RANDALL then realizes what he has done. He is at once filled with shame and fear. He takes one step towards JANICE to help her, stops, and then turns and runs off stage right. After a few moments, YOUNG HOWARD slowly emerges from behind the garbage cans. JANICE is still on the ground covering her face and crying softly. He comes up to her and stands over her, not sure exactly what to do.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (Quietly) That was Randall Cranston, wasn’t it?

(JANICE doesn’t respond. YOUNG HOWARD then looks around and sees her things strewn everywhere. He begins to pick them up for her.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (picking up a paperback book) Here’s the novel you were reading. (He looks at the cover.) Figures. The Scarlet Letter.

(JANICE slowly sits up and wipes her face with the back of her hands. She gives him a dirty look. He reaches into his pocket and hands her a handkerchief. She snaps it out of his hands without saying a word and begins wiping her face with it.)

YOUNG HOWARD. Parts of it are clean.

JANICE. (stopping dead and holding handkerchief away from her with her thumb and index finger.) EEEEEWWWWW!

YOUNG HOWARD. I was only kidding. Trying to make a little joke. It’s clean.

JANICE. Are you sure?

(YOUNG HOWARD nods silently. JANICE finishes wiping her cheeks. Then she blows her nose loudly into the handkerchief.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (to audience) No more.

JANICE. (holding the handkerchief out to YOUNG HOWARD.) Thank you.

YOUNG HOWARD (refusing to take the handkerchief) Keep it. I insist. A gift from me to you.

JANICE. (smiling in spite of herself. She speaks softly.) Thank you again.

YOUNG HOWARD. That was all my fault, wasn’t it?

JANICE (starts to nod, catches herself, and then shakes her head.) No. It’s not your fault. I’d like to say that it is, but it’s not. You just happened to be here. I brought this on myself.

YOUNG HOWARD. But if I wasn’t here, you’d be having a good time right now. You wouldn’t have gotten slapped, and you wouldn’t have cried.

JANICE. Howard. You have as much right to be here as anybody else. And you didn’t know that Randy and I come up here sometimes.

(YOUNG HOWARD hangs his head and looks down at the ground.)

JANICE. Howard? Now what’s the matter?

(YOUNG HOWARD shakes his head. JANICE takes him by the shoulders and forces him to look at her.)

JANICE. Tell me.

YOUNG HOWARD. (biting his lip and wringing his hands) I did know that you came up here with a boy. I didn’t know who, but I knew that you did. I’ve seen you.

JANICE. (Suddenly frightened.) You’ve seen me up here?

YOUNG HOWARD. Yes. I watched you from the high school parking lot.

JANICE (Her eyes darting stage right towards the school.) My God! Has anybody else seen me?

YOUNG HOWARD. I don’t think so. Nobody else has binoculars.

JANICE (turning back to YOUNG HOWARD in anger.) You watched me with binoculars?

YOUNG HOWARD. It was an accident…at first! I was out bird watching for Mr. Jonassen’s science class, and I saw you up here. (Pause) I’ve done a lot of bird watching from the parking lot ever since.

JANICE. Um. What did you see?

YOUNG HOWARD. You…studying.

JANICE. (embarrassed) Oh.

(Turns her back to him)

YOUNG HOWARD. It’s okay Janice.

JANICE. Who did you tell?

YOUNG HOWARD. (offended) Now why would I want to tell anybody?

JANICE. (turning back to him, hopefully) You didn’t tell anybody.

(YOUNG HOWARD shakes his head.)

JANICE (sighs deeply) Thank you!

(YOUNG HOWARD shrugs.)

JANICE. (struck by a thought) Howard? Did you come up here today to spy on me?

YOUNG HOWARD. (shakes his head vehemently) No! I’ve never seen you up here on Wednesdays! You’re usually here on Tuesdays and Thursdays! I came up here today to study.

JANICE (nods) Anatomy.

YOUNG HOWARD. (Embarrassed) Yes. Anatomy.

(JANICE gently rubs her cheek where she was slapped and grimaces.)

YOUNG HOWARD. Does it hurt?

JANICE. A little. Not bad.

YOUNG HOWARD. I should have done something.

JANICE. What’s that?

YOUNG HOWARD. When he started getting rough with you. I should have done something.

JANICE. Like what?

YOUNG HOWARD. I don’t know. (getting flustered) I should have come out and defended you. I should have stopped him.

JANICE. Oh Howard! This isn’t a John Wayne movie!

YOUNG HOWARD. Still. I should have done something. Instead, I just stayed hidden like a coward.

JANICE. You’re not a coward.

YOUNG HOWARD. Yes. Yes I am. Take my word for it. I sat there behind those cans just as scared as you were when he started getting aggressive. What’s worse is that I knew that you were in that situation because of me.

JANICE. That’s not true!

YOUNG HOWARD. Sure it is! If I wasn’t here, you two would be rolling around in the grass right now like a couple of gophers in heat. You’d be happy, he’d be happy, and nobody would be hurt or upset.

JANICE. And I wouldn’t have found out what a pig he really is.

YOUNG HOWARD. He’s not a pig. He’s just a guy who got his hormones all revved up. That’s all.

JANICE. He’s a pig.

YOUNG HOWARD. No. He’s not. Take my word for it. As far as wanting to make out is concerned, he’s a normal, all-American teenage guy.

JANICE. It’s normal that he hit me?

YOUNG HOWARD. No. In that respect, he’s a pig. But I can understand where his frustration came from.

JANICE. Are you saying that I’m to blame?

YOUNG HOWARD. For getting him up here? Yes. For him hitting you? No.

JANICE. But you understand him doing it.

YOUNG HOWARD. Nobody ever has a right to hit another person, except in self defense. All I’m saying is that I understand the feelings that he was feeling. I don’t condone his actions though.

JANICE. Are you telling me that I egged him on?

YOUNG HOWARD. Are you telling me that you didn’t?

JANICE. So, I’m to blame!

YOUNG HOWARD. Only partially. You’re to blame for turning him on. I’m to blame for being here and not letting you two have some fun. He’s to blame for hitting you. And God is to blame for everything!

JANICE. God?

YOUNG HOWARD. If you believe Sister Agatha in religion class, God created everything, even hormones.

JANICE (Blessing herself.) You take that back right now, Howard Lazarini!

YOUNG HOWARD. WHAT?

JANICE. That God is to blame! That’s blasphemous!

YOUNG HOWARD. I’m only repeating what the nuns taught us!

JANICE. The nuns never talked about God and sex in the same sentence!

YOUNG HOWARD. Are you saying that God doesn’t know about sex? That sex is just a dirty little secret that we creatures invented, and that God hasn’t got a clue how we make babies?

JANICE. Don’t be stupid. God knows sex. He just doesn’t like it!

YOUNG HOWARD. How do you know that?

JANICE. It says so in the Bible.

YOUNG HOWARD. No, it doesn’t!

JANICE. Yes. It does!

YOUNG HOWARD. Where!

JANICE. Right in Genesis! After Adam and Eve ate the apple, they became embarrassed because they discovered that they were naked. So they fashioned clothes out of fig leaves! What does that tell you.

YOUNG HOWARD. Don’t eat fruit.

JANICE. Howard!!!

YOUNG HOWARD. Okay. Okay. Who cares about that? We’re getting away from the point.

JANICE. Say that God’s not to blame.

YOUNG HOWARD. Oh, come off it, Janice.

JANICE. Say it! Howard, if you don’t, you’ll go to Hell when you die!

YOUNG HOWARD. WHAT?

JANICE. Just say it, will you?

YOUNG HOWARD. (pauses) Okay. Okay. God’s not to blame. Happy?

JANICE. Yes.

YOUNG HOWARD. Anyway, what I was saying was that, if I didn’t come up here today, things would have been all right between you and Randy now.

JANICE. He hit me, and he tried to force himself on me.

YOUNG HOWARD. True. And if I weren’t here, he wouldn’t have had to force himself on you, and he wouldn’t have slapped you.

JANICE. But he did, and he shouldn’t have.

YOUNG HOWARD. But he wouldn’t have if I weren’t here.

JANICE. But if I didn’t find out now, he might have done something worse to me at a later time!

YOUNG HOWARD. You don’t know that.

JANICE. Howard, I never knew he had a temper. What would have happened if I did something to really upset him? He might have beaten me up or…or…violated me!

YOUNG HOWARD. You’ve seen too many movies.

JANICE. He hit me, and that is unacceptable.

YOUNG HOWARD. I agree.

JANICE. Good!

YOUNG HOWARD. And he wouldn’t have hit you if I wasn’t here!

JANICE. AAARRRRGGGHHHH! You argue in circles!

YOUNG HOWARD. You’re frustrated because you know I’m right.

JANICE. I’m frustrated because you’re so pigheaded!

YOUNG HOWARD. Maybe, but I’m right.

JANICE. (pauses as she sizes him up for a moment) It’s really important for you to be right, isn’t it?

YOUNG HOWARD. It is for everybody.

JANICE. Yes. But, somehow, it MORE important to you.

YOUNG HOWARD. That’s not true.

JANICED. Yes. It is.

YOUNG HOWARD. I’m no different than anybody else.

JANICE. I think you are.

YOUNG HOWARD (suddenly having a hard time standing still.) I’m not a freak.

JANICE. I didn’t say you were.

YOUNG HOWARD. You said I was different. What does that mean?

JANICE. It doesn’t mean anything bad! Different is nice sometimes. Even better…sometimes.

YOUNG HOWARD. You’re just saying that.

JANICE. You have a hard time taking compliments, don’t you?

YOUNG HOWARD. Let’s talk about something else.

JANICE. You don’t like talking about yourself.

YOUNG HOWARD. No.

JANICE. Why not?

YOUNG HOWARD. I don’t always like myself.

JANICE. Why not?

YOUNG HOWARD. (head and eyes downcast) Because…because I’m a coward.

JANICE. (bending down in front of him, trying to make eye contact) What makes you say that?

YOUNG HOWARD. (He looks up at her, opens his mouth to say something, closes it again, and then turns away.) Never mind.

JANICE. (runs around to get in front of him again.) What makes you say that?

YOUNG HOWARD (looks at her silently for a moment, then swallows hard.) Because I didn’t do anything when Randy was being a bully to you just now!

JANICE. (shakes her head and screws up her face) What should you have done?

YOUNG HOWARD. (fighting back tears) I should have come out from behind those stupid garbage cans and made him stop.

JANICE. You didn’t know what he was going to do.

YOUNG HOWARD. (nodding) Yes. I had a pretty good idea. Especially when you pushed him off you. I knew what was coming next. And I didn’t do anything.

JANICE. You thought about defending me?

YOUNG HOWARD. Yes. I wanted to get between the two of you and tell him to leave you alone. And if he continued to be belligerent, I should have hit him.

JANICE. He would have cleaned your clock.

YOUNG HOWARD. I know. (head down) That’s why I stayed behind garbage cans.

JANICE. (Takes his chin in her hand and raises his head.) That’s so sweet! You were going to defend me!

YOUNG HOWARD. No. No, I wasn’t. I was just thinking about it. I have a very low threshold for pain.

JANICE. But you were thinking about it! That is so sweet!

(YOUNG HOWARD and JANICE both stop and stare into other’s eyes for a long moment.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (Obviously uneasy) Do you want me to kiss you or something now?

JANICE. (shrugs) That depends. Do you want to?

YOUNG HOWARD. (shrugs) That depends. Do you want me to?

(JANICE nods slowly. YOUNG HOWARD stands perfectly still for a moment. Then he licks his lips, takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, puckers up and bends at the waist to kiss JANICE. JANICE just stands there, takes in the action, and laughs.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (Opening one eye.) What?

JANICE (Shakes her head and stiffles her laughter.) Nothing.

(YOUNG HOWARD closes his eye again and resumes his bending forward and puckering. JANICE leans forward, attempting to complete the kiss. The two of them look like support beams for an "A"-frame house. Just before there is contact, JANICE cannot contain her laughter anymore, and it bursts out, ruining the moment for YOUNG HOWARD.)

YOUNG HOWARD. WHAT?!

JANICE. Howard. Have you ever kissed a girl before?

YOUNG HOWARD. (offended and self-conscious) What’s that got to do with anything?

JANICE. Nothing. Just that, well, maybe you should, you know, lean into it more.

YOUNG HOWARD. What the hell are you talking about?

JANICE. You know. Use your whole body, not just your lips. Put your hands on my hips.

(During this sequence, YOUNG HOWARD does everything that JANICE suggests, but his does it woodenly and awkwardly.)

JANICE. That’s it. Now, bend your knees a little. Good. Now, draw me in closer to you. That’s right. And now…

(Suddenly, YOUNG HOWARD takes the initiative and kisses her hard and long on the lips.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (pulling back and smiling triumphantly) How was that?

JANICE. (catching her breath and readjusting her jaw.) Fine. That was fine Howard. But, it would be better if you did it just a touch more gently. Like this.

(She puts her hand behind YOUNG HOWARD’s head, draws him near, and slowly and sensuously kisses him.)

(Suddenly, there is offstage noise and we hear RANDALL’s voice calling JANICE’s name. YOUNG HOWARD and JANICE panic.)

JANICE. Quick Howard! Behind the garbage cans!

(YOUNG HOWARD takes three panic-stricken steps towards the cans. Then he stops short and walks back downstage.)

YOUNG HOWARD. No. I think I’ll stay right here.

JANICE. Howard! He’ll kill you.

YOUNG HOWARD. Maybe not. I think I can hold my own against him.

JANICE. No, you can’t! He’ll knock you into next week! He works out!

YOUNG HOWARD. He is indecisive for a moment, torn between facing RANDALL and running for cover.) OOOOhhhh!

(He runs for cover. RANDALL enters stage right.)

RANDALL. Good! You’re still here! I’ve got something to say to you!

JANICE. (picking up her books.) I was just leaving.

RANDALL. (grabbing her roughly by the arm.) You’re not going anywhere until I say so.

JANICE. Ouch! Randy! Let go! You’re hurting me!

RANDALL (pulls her in close to him) Then just shut up and do as you’re told!

JANICE. How dare you talk to me that way!

RANDALL. How dare you tease me and then leave me high and dry!

(He twists her arm, and she cries out in pain.)

JANICE. Let me go!

RANDALL. I don’t think so.

(He pulls her in close to him and roughly kisses her lips. She tries to slap his face, but he catches her hand and then slaps her hard across the face. There is a scuffle, and RANDALL wrestles JANICE to the ground and then sits on top of her.)

JANICE. Get off of me!

RANDALL (Laughs) I don’t think so, girly. Not until I get what I want.

(JANICE becomes frightened now and begins screaming and struggling underneath RANDALL. RANDALL covers her mouth with his hand.)

RANDALL. Shut up! This will be over in a few minutes!

(YOUNG HOWARD has been watching the whole scene from behind the garbage cans. He is scared to death. However, when it becomes apparent that RANDALL is about to rape JANICE, YOUNG HOWARD pushes both garbage cans over and charges RANDALL.)

YOUNG HOWARD. (tackling RANDALL) It’s over now!

(YOUNG HOWARD and RANDALL

wrestle on the ground for a full half minute down stage left. JANICE scrambles to her feet and backs off to center stage. Finally, RANDALL ends up on top of YOUNG HOWARD, pinning his arms under him and kneeling on his shoulders.)

RANDALL. Who the hell are you?

YOUNG HOWARD. None of your business, scumball!

RANDALL. (Punches YOUNG HOWARD in the side of the head.) Don’t call me names.

JANICE. Randy! Leave him alone, you big bully!

RANDALL (to Janice) You like this guy, do you? Is he my replacement? (RANDALL looks down at YOUNG HOWARD and then back at JANICE.) I’ll tell you something, girly. You can do a lot better than this.

YOUNG HOWARD. Don’t call her ‘girly’, you scumball!

RANDALL. (hits YOUNG HOWARD again hard on the side of the head.) I said don’t call me names!

JANICE. (crying) Get off of him! He hasn’t done anything to hurt you!

RANDALL. All right, girly. You want me to get off of him? I’ll do it for you!

(RANDALL stands up, then he picks up a woozy YOUNG HOWARD. It is apparent that YOUNG HOWARD cannot stand up by himself. RANDALL keeps him propped up.)

(Suddenly, YOUNG HOWARD takes a wild, haymaker swing at RANDALL, and punches him squarely in the stomach. JANICE screams. RANDALL doubles over for a few moments. YOUNG HOWARD swoons, but manages to stay on his feet. RANDALL straightens up after a few seconds. His face is now the picture of uncontrollable rage.)

RANDALL. (to YOUNG HOWARD) Why you dirty little rat!

(RANDALL punches YOUNG HOWARD hard in the head, sending him sprawling over a garbage can. When YOUNG HOWARD hits the ground, lies there motionless. RANDALL runs over to him and drags him down to the edge of stage. YOUNG HOWARD is like a rag doll.)

JANICE. (screaming in terror) What have you done to him? What have you done?!

RANDALL (Letting YOUNG HOWARD drop to the ground in a heap. He now turns all of his attention to JANICE.) Never mind him, girly. Let’s talk about you!

(RANDALL lunges at JANICE and throws her to the ground. She is struggling and screaming. He climbs on top of her as the lights go out.)

There, happy now girly?