All That You Can't Leave Behind _
-a short play
[Scene: Friday. Music class, right before lunch. The music room is semi-circular with steps, every other containing desks. The teacher, Mrs. E, is sitting at her desk and students are filing in. In the bottom of the rows, on the ground, there is a microphone standing by itself.]
Haley: (Haley is a student. She turns towards her friends, Brooke, Jenna and Laura) Why is there a microphone here?
Brooke: (Trying to finish the math homework due today.) Maybe someone's going to play something, or give a speech, or sing?
Jenna: (squeals) How cool would it be if Justin Bieber came?
Laura: (shaking her head) Will you not get over him? He's so gay…
Jenna: Is not!
[The bell rings. Everyone gets in his or her seat. Some people shift in their chairs and there are a few coughs. Once everything is quiet, Mrs. E makes some clicks on her computer to submit attendance. She then rises and goes to the center of the room and stands by the microphone.]
Mrs. E: (enthusiastically) Good morning class!
Class: (halfheartedly) Good morning, Mrs. E.
Mrs. E: Since we have been doing those boring theory packets for over a week, today I have something different…something special.
Sully: Whoo-hoo!
[The rest of the class, including Mrs. E, glare at Sully annoyingly.]
Mrs. E: Anyways, our very own Hannah Taylor has decided that she would like to perform a piece for us. Hannah, would you like to come down?
Brooke: (To Haley, in a whisper.) Ha! Told you.
[The class looks to the bottom row where Hannah gets up and walks toward Mrs. E. She is wearing a light green dress with a white cardigan on top. She is wearing heels so she looks really tall. Her straight, shoulder-length chestnut brown hair falls just below her shoulders. She smiles to the class.]
Jenna: (Looking almost disgusted and surprised at the same time.) She's going to sing? I'd like to see this.
Laura: You are going to see this.
Jenna: Oh, hush up.
Tyler: (He is a boy who sits in the row above the girls. He looks down at them and smirks.) This is going to be hilarious.
Trevor: (A friend of Tyler's who is sitting next to him) Oops. I forgot to bring my camera. (He laughs at his own pathetic joke and Tyler high-fives him.)
Mrs. E: I want you to pay your full respects to her. (She looks around the room and eyes all of her students, but especially glares at Tyler, Trevor and the girls sitting below them.)
Luke: (He is a student sitting towards the center of the room along with his friends Carson, Conor, Lucas and Zach.) Hannah's going to sing? She's barely talked all year.
Carson: Maybe she overcame her shyness?
Zach: (Laughing.) How funny would it be if she sang a "Disturbed" song? (The other's laugh a little.)
Conor: That would be epic.
Lucas: I don't believe that's her personality.
Zach: Oh, Lucas. Since when did you become a psychologist? (Lucas shakes his head smiling.)
[Mrs. E and Hannah are preparing the room for Hannah's performance. While Hannah sets the microphone, Mrs. E is practicing the piano which she'll play when Hannah sings.]
Sarah: (She is a girl who sits at the very end of the third row. She says to her friends, Alexis and Allie who are sitting by her.) I bet I can sing better than her. She's not even in choir. (Her tone is very arrogant.)
Alexis: (Replying nicely.) You haven't even heard her sing yet.
Allie: (Agreeing.) Yeah. Then how do you know?
Sarah: I just do.
Hannah: Umm…hi, everyone.
Class: Hi.
Haley: (Sarcastically.) Well, hello there, Miss Obvious.
Hannah: (Her voice is a little quaky.) So I'm going to sing a song called Total Eclipse of the Heart. It was originally sung by Bonnie Tyler. Umm, and um I think Mrs. E selected three of you to have a little part in the beginning. It's supposed to be extra credit…
Mrs. E: (Nodding from the piano.) Yes. I have selected three of you, the lyrics you have to sing are highlighted on a piece of paper in front of you. (We hear two consecutive grunts from the class.) And just so everyone knows, it's Liam, Trevor and Carson. In that order.
Carson: (In a terrified voice.) Oh dear God.
Trevor: (Tyler is laughing at him.) Are you kidding me? Mrs. E, this is pure torture. Torture. Why? Wait, if this was her (he points to Hannah) idea, I'm not gonna hear this.
Mrs. E: Calm down. It was mine. It's extra credit, but mostly, I did it because I felt like embarrassing you. (She laughs.)
[Liam is the only one who doesn't protest. He is sitting at the very top right-hand corner, looking crucially at his lyrics.]
Mrs. E: Ok. Hannah. Ready? (Hannah nods. Mrs. E begins playing the intro to the song. At just the right time, Liam comes in with his part.)
[Note: This is where the song, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Glee Cast Version should be played to the reader/listener.]
Liam: "Turn around."
Hannah: (Looking at Liam.)"Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round."
Trevor: (In a voice that surprised everyone because it's unexpectedly good, but not as good as Liam's.) "Turn around."
Hannah: (Looking at Trevor.)"Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears."
Carson: (In a deep voice, compared to the other two.) "Turn around…"
Hannah: (Looking at Carson.) "Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by…" (She continues to sing, but in a part where she thought she was singing by herself, another voice accompanies hers…)
Liam: "Turn around, bright eyes."
Hannah: (Shocked, but continues to sing with a smile on her face.)
[Hanna sings looking only at Liam. Liam is smiling at her, but Hannah realizes that there are others in the room and starts looking at the audience as a whole. Liam is looking at Hannah with a look of total affection. Everyone is shocked, but the chemistry between them is almost tangible in the room. There is a short period of the song where there are no lyrics. Hannah stares at her shoes while Liam looks at her, smiling. Classmates talk amongst each other.]
Alexis: (To Sarah.) She's has an amazing voice.
Allie: Yeah, she's really, really good.
Sarah: (Aggravated.) Will you two just freaking shut up?
Brooke: (Stunned.) Hey, can you see the way Liam's looking at her?
Jenna: (Gasps.) It's almost as if…
Laura: …there is no way…
Haley: He's in love with her…
{ }
Conor: Dude, she's good. (His friends nod.)
[The interlude ends and Hannah begins singing again and so does Liam. By the end chorus of the song, Hannah is only singing with Liam. The class is staring at them singing to each other. Mrs. E smiles to herself as she plays the piano.]
Luke: (Awed.) And so is Liam…
Carson: You know, he never seemed like the type.
Lucas: Why, did he only pass as the quarterback? The star of the football team and nothing more?
Zach: Yep, that's exactly it. (Lucas sighs.) And this Hannah chick…how come we've never heard her before? (They all shrug their shoulders.)
[The song ends and the class politely applauds. Shortly after the bell rings.]
Mrs. E: Good job, Hannah! I'm gonna go run out for some coffee, you can stay after and gather your things, 'kay?
Hannah: (Smiling.) Yeah. Thank you so much, Mrs. E. (Mrs. E smiles back and exits the room.)
[The class exits, totally awed by the entire performance and mostly, the surprise, all of sudden chemistry between Liam and Hannah. As everyone quickly exits, Hannah cleans up some papers around the microphone. Liam is slowly cleaning up his binder and papers. As he is, he eyes Hannah. Obviously he is stalling so he can talk to her alone. The last to exit the room are Haley, Brooke, Laura and Jenna. They purposely close the door behind them. They look through the window on the door for a while, but get bored and hungry, so they leave for lunch. When they are alone, Liam comes down from his desk at the top row.]
Liam: (Looking at Hannah who is still fixing her papers.) You were…simply…amazing.
Hannah: (Laughs.) Before you start complimenting people, I think you should compliment yourself first. You were simply amazing, too.
Liam: Well, I just sang my part.
Hannah: No, (she smiles) you sang way past your highlighted lines.
Liam: (Grins.) What can I say? (Suddenly a bit more serious.) I really felt like I had to. I just felt like it would complete the song. I don't know, it's stupid. (Hannah shakes her head, implying it's not stupid.)
[Hannah walks over with her stack of papers to the back of the music room by the guitars. There is a small area of countertop. Her backpack sits there. She takes off her heels.]
Hannah: Look. I was taller than you, but now I'm just a little bit shorter.
Liam: The magic of heels.
[Hannah puts the heels in her backpack and pulls out a pair of green flats. She places her backpack on the ground and sits on the counter. Liam stands in front of her as she tries to put on her shoes.]
Liam: I'm really glad Mrs. E chose me to be one of the "volunteers". (He smiles. He then gets up and sits next to her on the counter. Hannah finishes putting on her second shoe and brushes her hands off.)
Hannah: (She begins to say…) Well, I'm reall_
[Hannah is cut off because Liam turns and kisses her.]
Liam: (After.) I'm hungry. (He walks towards the microphone. Hannah grabs her backpack and follows him.)
Liam: (Pointing towards the microphone.) Maybe we should do this again sometime?
Hannah: Hmm…what do you think?
Liam: Saturday?
Hannah: (At the same time.) Tomorrow?
Liam: (Laughing.) Well, that's the same thing.
Liam: How about at 7?
Hannah: (Again, at the same time as Liam.) 8?
Liam: (Laughing.) How does 7:30 sound?
Hannah: Perfect.
[Hannah and Liam exit the music room talking. They head into the lunchroom, which is just in front of the music room. As Liam walks towards the cafeteria to get his food, he hears his name being called.]
Voice: Crawford!
[Hannah and Liam both turn around to see where the voice came from. It is from Nick, one of the football players and Liam's friend. The table where Nick is sitting is filled with the jocks and cheerleaders_ the "popular" people of their school. Haley, Brooke, Jenna and Laura are sitting at the table staring at Hannah.]
Liam: (Looking awkwardly between Nick and Hannah. He whispers.) I'll see you tomorrow 'kay?
Hannah: (Smiling awkwardly.) Yeah, bye.
[Hannah walks, almost runs, towards the bathroom. When she arrives, there is no one there. She walks into the large, handicap stall, slams the door shut, and locks it. She leans against the wall, tears streaming down her face. She slides down the wall, sobbing with the chatter of the lunchroom as just background noise.]