The Tragic Tale of Mr. Billy
It is a fine spring afternoon where the laughter of children can be heard through the darkness of stage. A low toned voice of a grown man can be heard through the laughter and soon it is apparent that he is a teacher, giving a lecture on Abraham Lincoln's assassination. The classroom is diverse, filled with young minds, seemingly not paying attention to the man in front of them in the slightest as they are too busy entertaining themselves in various ways. One girl at the front of the class is texting, hiding her phone very obviously in her purse on her desk. There is a heavier set boy in the middle of the class who is wearing a gold necklace that says "KYLE" on it in fake diamonds, throwing up gang signs to his "homies" outside the window, who look at him very puzzled as they have never seen the small white child before in their lives. A skinny, pale child sits in the back of the class, glaring at the blackboard, obviously thinking of other things. In fact there is only one boy in the class who is paying attention. The boy could be described as a "poindexter", his hair combed to the side, wearing a tie and pens in his shirt pocket. He sits at the edge of his chair, listening intently to the older man that stands before him.
Mr. Billy: So it was then that John Wilkes booth fled into the city, attempting to hid in th-
The girl in the front row interrupts him
Lauren: [Stands Up] Oh...My God! You guys! The captain of the cheerleading squad... Is pregnant! Again! What a freaking slut...
Child 1: [From the back of the class] Sounds like you're just jealous!
Lauren: Shut Up!
Sherman: [Meekly] Lauren, you really shouldn't interrupt Mr. Billy durin-
He is interrupted by the heavyset child in the middle of the class
Kyle: [Stands up] Fuck you!
Sherman: [Looks to Mr. Billy] Mr. Billy! I-
He is again interrupted by Lauren
Lauren: So anyway, I heard from Francine, who heard from Darla, who slept with Jackson, who slept with Courtney, who is totally bi because she made out with Carla at Kelly's party- Uh... And now she's totally pregnant!
Logan: [The pale child in the back shifts his eyes, looking at everyone in the class] Shut up, shut up, shut up! I will kill every single last one of you if you don't shut up!
Mr. Billy: [Pulls at his hair, or what little he has left anyway] Stop It! Every day, I come into a classroom, filled with little shits who don't listen- no, who don't care! Then I get to drive home in the care I got a great deal on, 40 years ago, to my wife who hasn't even said so much as "I love you" in twenty years! All she does is spend her days watching cooking shows and Benny Hinn, just waiting for the day she gets the call that they found her husband robbed, raped and killed on the side of the road so she can take the insurance money and use it to snort coke lines of the stomach of some asshole in a Florida retirement home, and do you know what? I do too! Well, that wait is over!
Mr. Billy then reaches into his desk and pulls out a gun he has had hidden under some papers for some time now.
Lauren: Oh my god! He has a gun!
Lauren begins texting all her friends about it
Mr. Billy: [Points the gun at Lauren] Shut up! I don't want to hear another word! Everyone against the wall... Now!
Kyle: [Gets up against the wall and mumbles under his breath] Yo, dawg, this is seriously whack...
Logan: [Glares at Kyle] Shut up! You're not black! Just because a black man probably raped your mom when she was pregnant and your daddy didn't love you enough, it does not make you black!
Kyle: [Pushes him] Yo, shut up, man! You don't know nothin'! You ain't black! You ain't bad!
Logan: [Just stands there] Black? Black is the color of my soul... I have seen worse things in my life then you could possibly dream of. You want to talk about bad? Bad is when you tie a dead puppy to a tree and let it starve to death for you're own amusement. Bad is tying a kitten by it's tail to a ceiling fan and letting it spin until it dies. I know bad, Kyle... I have seen it on the internet.
Lauren: Great... A sob story from the emo before we die. You wanna talk about bad? Look in your pants, that's as far as you need to go to see bad!
Lauren shoves Logan into the wall and a fight ensues and in the commotion, Mr. Billy shoots his gun to retain order.
Mr. Billy: Shut up! Just... Shut up!
Sherman: Mr. Billy...
Mr. Billy looks down and sees that in the chaos, he has actually shot Sherman. On his white shirt, a red bloodstain begins to grow out from under his hand. Mr. Billy drops the gun and falls to his knees and holds Sherman's head to his chest.
Mr. Billy: Oh my god... [He begins to cry] What have I done?
Sirens can be heard approaching from the distance as the class stands around Mr. Billy, holding the lifeless corpse of the young boy. The lights begin to fad to where there only remains a single spotlight on the two.
Mr. Billy: [Looks up at the audience] What have I done?
The spotlight fades and Mr. Billy's sobs can be heard in the dark, though they are soon drowned out by the sirens. After a moment, there is silence, then a lone gunshot.