Monologues+of+a+Town's+Confessions

Monologues of a Town's Confessions By Harrison Pyros How to perform the poem: The Announcer comes out on the stage. It is all dark except for a faint light cast on him. He reads the three stanzas under Cutis Opella. Right after he ends the second verse, the lights flash and the audience sees a hanging boy and a scream from a woman. He speaks the last verse and then introduces Isabella Erickson and sets off to the side and into the darkness, but still onstage. Isabella says her two stanzas and then exits and the Announcer introduces Hannah Erickson with her name and sets away again. He does this for the rest of the characters. After Dell’s performance, he steps out into the spotlight again and says the last five stanzas and then exits. The curtain drops and when they open back up again, the hanging body is gone and the stage is fully lit. //(Officer Albert Bentley enters and stands in the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces him over the microphone with his name.)// OFFICER ALBERT BENTLEY. Yeah, it’s sad, you know. The kid hung himself. He was so young, too. What, only, just turned nineteen. (He shakes his head.) I got the case. His mother was just a wreck. She was screaming and crying and everything, and then, she just froze up. Like a rock or something. And she just didn’t talk or move or anything. She just sat there staring ahead. He was all she had left. Her husband died a long time back, and now her kid goes and commits suicide. It’s sad…

Of course, in a small town like this, its all people are talking about. Most of it is just small things, remembrances and passing on the information, and stuff like that. But then there are those people who start to make the rumors and theories. And that’s what really pisses me off. I heard they say that it really wasn’t suicide, and that someone killed the boy. First of all, they are completely wrong. It was definitely suicide. He got home and hung himself from the staircase banister. As soon as he stepped off the banister, his neck snapped from the pull of the cable. His fingerprints were the only ones on the cable he used, and they were everywhere, like they should be when he tied the knot. The coroner says it was suicide, the chief says it was suicide, I say it was suicide. We just don’t know why.

So those people who are starting these rumors have no right to say anything. What do they know about it? Nothing. Nothing at all. They are in no position to be telling people these things. And I am sick and tired of hearing it. Why they would do this: I’m not sure. Only that they want attention or something like that. But what I do know is that Curtis Opella killed himself and that is that. (Officer Albert Bentley exits.)

//(Isabella “Bella” Erickson enters. The Announcer introduces her as only: Isabella Erickson. She goes to the center of the stage.)// ISABELLA ERICKSON. Curtis. Curtis Opella. He was a nice, happy boy who everyone liked. (She nods to herself. Suddenly her real emotions of hate break out.) What the hell am I saying? I hate to speak ill of the dead, but—Curtis Opella: what a disgusting, perverted bastard! I’m glad he’s dead, that rat-faced piece of trash. I’m actually glad. I’m happy another human life ended and I’m okay with that. I hate him. I hate him! I hope he burns in hell! (Her breathing is unsteady and there are tears in her eyes. She turns her head away from the audience, as if she can’t look them in the eye.) I really do. I really do hope he suffers for all eternity. He deserves it. For everything he’s done. For everything he’s done to me. (She suddenly whips around to face the audience again.) He raped me!

He acted so nice to me, and I fell right into his trap. I actually believed the lies he told me. I’m so stupid! And then one day he took me aside after school and he did what he had been planning to do. (She starts to cry.) I resisted. I told him to leave me alone, but he wouldn’t go away. He wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t get away from him. He made me promise not to tell. (She spits out these words.) “It was our little secret.” He told me it would only be bad for me to tell anyone about this. I believed him. I was scared. I couldn’t imagine what he would do to me if he were angry. I haven’t told anyone. Not the police, not my parents, not Hannah. But I did tell Dell. I can really trust him. And I’m still scared what people will think of me if I tell them now. What will they say? What will they think about me? I—I couldn’t take it. The whispers. The rumors.

What kind of sick monster does this? Does this for fun? I can’t understand why he would do this.

(She takes a dramatic pause.) And I can’t understand why I’m still being punished. (She presses her hands to her stomach.) Punished by having me carry his baby. (Isabella Erickson exits.)

(Hannah Erickson, Isabella’s sister, enters and stands in the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces her.)

HANNAH ERICKSON. Nothing like a death to get everyone in this tiny town all riled up. Its all people are talking about now. It’s like everyone has this morbid interest in Curtis Opella now and are trying to get all the details on how he died. Especially Lucas White.

Lucas White. He’s one of those people that have a face that just makes you want to punch him. He looks like a little weasel, almost like a sleazy lawyer. Now, he’s the one starting all these rumors and theories about Curtis. Like how he really didn’t commit suicide and someone actually murdered him. He has all these reasons for all these people. (She rolls her eyes.) Me being one of them. It’s like, don’t you have anything better to do besides be a pain in the ass?

He has this theory that it could’ve been me because he thinks I’m, like, obsessed with him or something, and he’s seen me following him after school. He thinks I was in love with him and Curtis told me to get lost or something, and he only loved his girlfriend, Catalina. And in a jealous rage, I killed Curtis and made it look like a suicide. What an idiot. I mean, really? That is so stupid.

First of all, the only person capable of falling in love with Curtis Opella should be locked in a mental asylum because you know that person is crazy. And what is this crap about Curtis loving his girlfriend? If he loved Catt, then he wouldn’t be hitting her. Yeah, that’s right, he was abusing his girlfriend.

I saw Catt had a huge bruise on her hip when she was changing in the locker room and I asked where she got it and she gave some lame excuse about falling into the wall. So I decided to follow Curt after school to see if he was the one who was hurting her. And sure enough, I was right. Poor, Catt. She’s so nice. The principal, Principal Kimbull, and his wife Lucy have been acting really weird lately. Especially Principal Kimbull. They look awkward around each other and I’ve noticed he always tries to change the subject when someone brings up Curtis. Which is pretty hard since that’s all people are talking about. Principal Kimbull and his wife are part of another one of Lucas’s theories. It’s all total bull. And Lucas is always giving excuses of where he was when Curtis died and giving everything a reason. Going way too much into everything. It was like he was trying to state his alibi or something. Number One: I don’t care about Lucas. At all. Number Two: I’ve had enough of his stupid, annoying theories. And Number Three: What he says isn’t true, especially about me. Curtis died. The end. So all those people who think I was Curtis’s obsessive stalker, they can go and kiss my ass. //(Hannah Erickson exits.)// //(Lucas White enters and goes to the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces him.)// **LUCAS WHITE.** Some people are saying that Curt’s suicide is a real tragedy, but I can’t say I feel the same way. In fact, I’m a little relieved he’s dead. I was so damn scared about what he might say about me, so now that he’s kicked the bucket, I can breathe a little easier. Okay, I know that sounds a bit morbid, but it’s the truth. I can’t help that. About a month ago, I was sitting in detention alone and the teacher was looking over some papers and then she got a class and stepped out of the class. She just left the papers sitting on the desk, and I was like, “What the hell. Why not? I’ve nothing better to do anyway.” So I walk up to the desk to kill some time and there they are. Sitting flat center on the desk, out for everyone to see. A bunch of the SAT questions with the answers! I couldn’t believe my luck. It was like a hit the jackpot. So I get my cell phone and take pictures of all the pages and go back to my seat before the teacher could come back in. It was awesome. I was set. I didn’t need to do anything. I didn’t need to study or prepare or prep myself. Just memorize the orders of some letters. It was fantastic. So I go and show them to Curtis. //(He purses his lips.)// He was still my friend then. And you know what he does when I show him this? He totally flips out. He’s all like //(In a mocking tone.)//, “Dude, that’s wrong. You shouldn’t do that.” Total bullshit. The only reason he didn’t want the answers is ’cause he was too chicken and was afraid to get caught. Pathetic, right? //(He rolls his eyes.)// And it was like he was worried about something else. Like he couldn’t “worry” about a perfect score on the SAT. Who has something goin’ on that’s more important that an a-hundred on the SAT’s? And then he freaks out some more threatens to tell that I have the answers. And I’m like, “What the hell? What did I do to you?” And after he’s done with his big dramatic threats and all that crap, he leaves and I don’t see him for like a week. It was like he was avoiding me, ’cause he knew I would convince him to change his mind. And now, he turns up dead. Dead with my secret, so you can understand why I’m a teensy bit relieved. Now, the cops say it was suicide, but they didn’t know Curtis, which is pretty hard in a tiny town like this. Curt wouldn’t do himself in. No way. That’s why I say someone killed him. Yeah, //murder//. And I got all these people with all these reasons. //(He counts off on his fingers.)// Hannah Erickson, Catalina Lowell, Principal Kimbull and his wife. Especially Principal Kimbull. Curtis told me that his mom and the Principal were having an affair. I know, the principal! And I bet Curt was planning to tell Kimbull’s wife: Lucy. And to keep him quiet, Principal Kimbull killed him. And that way, with Curtis dead, he could also divorce his wife, marry Mrs. Opella, Curtis’ mom, and start fresh like a newly wed without any children. It all works out perfectly. And now //(He clasps his hands together.)// all that’s left to do is sit back and see what happens. //(Lucas White exits.)// //(Principal Timothy “Tim” Kimbull enters and stands at center stage. The Announcer introduces him as Principal Timothy Kimbull.)// **PRINCIPAL TIMOTHY KIMBULL.** Let me tell you, Cutis Opella’s death may have brought relief and confidence to some, but not me. Oh, no. Even when that boy is dead, he is still making things worse. I’m glad he’s dead. And I’m sure others are too. I just wish he’d been killed sooner. That’s right. I know that stupid kid was murdered. It’s obvious. I’ve seen him at school. He had the biggest ego I’ve ever seen. He had the most beautiful girl. Catalina Lowell. Poor girl; she could do better. Why the hell would he want to kill himself? Are you telling me that he went and hung himself right after he screwed up my marriage? He found out about Carol and me. Carol //(He pauses.)// his mother. I don’t know what got into me, but Carol just took my breath away. She made me feel young again, like I was back in college with Lucy. I didn’t mean for it to turn into anything, I didn’t mean for it to happen at all, it’s just…I don’t know what I was thinking. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t know. If I hadn’t been so stupid, none of this would have happened. And then Curtis wouldn’t have told Lucy about what was going on between Carol and I. I—I was planning to break it off with Carol and go back to normal, but then Lucy comes to me about it. She knew. Curtis told her, that rat-bastard. And then he ends up dead a few days later. I should’ve just taken the kid’s deal. He came to me before and told me he knew about his mother and me. He said—no, wait. He threatened me that if I didn’t give him a perfect or close to perfect score on the SAT’s, that he would tell my wife Lucy. Like an idiot, I brushed him away. “You have no proof,” I told him. “Lucy will never believe it.” I was wrong. So he smiles deviously and goes, “Fine.” And then turns and leaves the room. He had a way of wriggling his way into your head. His voice was sickly-sweet and taunting and what he just said just stuck with you. I don’t know how he did it, but it worked. I still remember everything he said. And his eyes, oh, his eyes! They had this creepy, sinister twinkle and they always squinted when he smiled. His eyes were horrid. I still don’t know what is going to happen with Lucy and me. Whatever she does, I can’t blame her. But whoever killed Curtis Opella, //(He chuckles as he cherishes the thought.)// oh, I hope he knew it was coming. I hope he knew why the person wanted to kill him. I’m thankful for the person who killed Curtis. //(Pause.)// But I’m also jealous that they got to him first. //(Principal Timothy Kimbull exits.)// //(Lucy Kimbull enters and stands in the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces her.)// **LUCY KIMBULL.** Death. That is all people are talking about nowadays. To be more specific: Cutis Opella’s death. But I have something else on my mind. It’s about how my husband cheated on me with that slut, Carol. And the son of that slut was Curtis Opella. And now he ends up dead. Pretty shocking, huh? Well, it’s a nasty version of karma, don’t you think? You have an affair with a married man and your son suddenly gets the urge to off himself. Now I’m waiting for Tim’s karma to kick in. Perhaps I need to do it myself. I should divorce him. I really should. He went behind my back with another woman and he should pay the price for his stupidity. //(Pause.)// But I can’t help forgiving him. He’s my husband and I love him. We’ve been through so much together and I can’t just leave him because he made one stupid mistake. And I can’t just cry over it either. He’s going to learn from his mistakes, I guarantee that. But another thing is bothering me. Curtis Opella. Not his death, but what happened before. About a week ago, I get a letter from him, signing and everything, telling me about Tim and his mother’s affair. I didn’t believe him at first, so I called him and I demanded what he meant by sending me the letter. Did he think it was funny to screw with me? But he was telling the truth. He showed me photographs he took of Tim leaving his house when he was supposed to be at the school. He showed me the tie Tim had left at his and Carol’s house one night. He said I had a right to know. And then a few days later, he’s thought to commit suicide. That’s right, I said //thought//. Think about it: he turns over this information to me, not at all looking depressed, and then goes and hangs himself? Why the hell would he do that? His mother was having an affair. She has no husband and I’ve seen Carol dating in the past years and from what I’ve seen, Curtis was fine with her dating. So why would he want to kill himself just because his mother was with a man? There wasn’t even a suicide note. I say someone killed him and then made it look like a suicide. That’s right, no one ever considered the mother. In fact, no one ever considered anyone at all, but I say different. So Carol finds out that her son has exposed her secret to me, the wife, and she gets angry. A room in their house is getting remodeled along with the lighting and wiring so all this cable is everywhere. She comes home and finds him, still pissed off and confronts him about it. He obviously confesses, he has no reason to hide, and tells her it is wrong. They start to argue and Curtis sees she is being stubborn and starts up the stairs to his room to leave her alone. She follows him and moves in front of him at the top of the stairs to keep arguing. He finally can’t ignore her anymore and says something back. Probably something mean and evil, like calling her a whore. Carol loses it about in a blind fury pushes him, forgetting they are at the top of the stairs, and he flails and tumbles down the stairs and breaks his neck. Carol freaks out and decides to make it look like a suicide. She puts on gloves, takes the cable and ties Curtis up and hangs him from the banister, before presses his fingers all over the entire cable. She didn’t have to wipe anything down because her fingerprints should be all over the house since it is her house. And then she screams and calls the police saying that she’s found her son dead. After the adrenaline has died down, she realizes what she’s done. She’s killed her own son. And then she goes into a weird coma where she’s awake but just sits there. And //wall-ah//, it all fits in perfectly. Carol Opella killed her son, I am sure of it. My husband cheated on me with that same woman. I will forgive him, but he’s not getting off that easy. //(Lucy Kimbull exits.)// //(Catalina “Catt” Lowell enters and stands at the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces her as Catalina Lowell.)// **CATALINA LOWELL.** All right, I’m going to waste no time in saying this: I’m glad Curtis Opella is dead. It’s a better place now that he’s gone. The town is a better place. The world is a better place. Who wouldn’t be happy he his dead? After all he’s done? I hope he’s burning in hell. No, I //know// he’s burning in hell. He has wronged everyone. He was a vile, evil human being, and that is me being nice. Do you know what he did? That boy was sick. He hit me, but still tried to convince me he loved me. Did he think I was an idiot? I mean, how the hell does that even work? You’re pissed off and you hit your girlfriend and then you try to apologize? Huh, sorry, buddy, but that bull doesn’t work. I tried to get him away from me, but it always ended the same. I’d turn to walk out the door for the fiftieth time and he would grab my arm and turn me around. //(She sneers this. She obviously has no respect for Curtis.)// He’d say he loved me, that he was sorry, that he would never do it again. I could see right through him. I tried to take my arm from him and tell him no, but he would not take that as an answer. He smiled at me and said please, and tightened his grip. So hard that it hurt. He would look deep into my eyes and say please once more. I would refuse. I would tell him to get his disgusting hand off me. In response, he would put the other hand on my shoulder and bring me closer. And then he would pull me close, so close that I could smell his rank breath, and he would say, “Come on, Catt. You don’t want to walk out that door. You’re making a bad choice.” There was something about the way he said it. He was dangerously persuasive, and I didn’t want to find out what would happen to me if I ever did walk out that door. I knew what he was capable of. //(She turns to the side and lifts up her shirt a little so the audience sees her hip. On her hip is a large purple and black bruise.)// Curtis did this. He always hits in the right places so no one would notice. This could have easily come from diving for the volleyball. //(She puts her shirt back down.)// I could have gone to police, I could have told my parents, but that’s not the way I wanted it dealt with. I wanted for him to be hit for a change. I wanted someone to kick his ass and then I’d come in and it’d be my turn. It would be my turn to have justice. And it all would be in self-defense. I told Dell Callow, a quiet boy who recently hated Curtis for some reason, of what Curtis was doing to me. We both had a score to settle. So the plan was for me to aggravate Curtis. Dell would take a few pictures from a few ways away and then step in and be all like, “What the hell is going on?” And from there, Dell would beat the shit out of him. Dell is bigger and stronger than Curtis and Curtis is pretty tall. It was going to be hilarious to see Curt finally fall. //(Her tone changes.)// But it all went wrong. We went to Curtis’s house, like we planned, where Dell was going to wait outside. And then I opened the door and we saw him. Just hanging there. Dead. I didn’t know what to do. I freaked out and I screamed and we got out of there. Actually, Dell got me out of there. He was so calm and he took care of me. And he got me out of there and drove me home and we pretended nothing ever happened. But I remember a feeling a got when I saw Curtis dead. It was a weird feeling. Two feelings, actually. Those feeling were…those feelings were relief and satisfaction. Relief and satisfaction that he was finally dead. //(Catalina Lowell exits.)// //(Dell Callow enters and stands at the center of the stage. The Announcer introduces him.)// **DELL CALLOW.** That boy deserved to die. Curtis Opella. He deserved to die more than anyone else. Bella told me what he did to her; that sick creep. He’s lucky he hung himself before I could kill him myself. And what a coward. After all that he’s done, he takes the easy way out and hangs himself. He abuses his girlfriend, he rapes a girl, and he’s probably done so much more I don’t know about. And then he goes and kills himself. He wasn’t man enough to take what he had coming. What compels a person to do those horrible things? What did Catt or Bella ever do to him? //(He sighs.)// Bella. Poor, Bella. She’s so scared. She doesn’t know what to do. She’s going to have to tell someone other than me soon. The worst part is, //(He pauses.)// I still love her. But she only loves me as a friend, as a brother. That’s why we broke up some time ago. But she never understood that I still loved her. I still do. And that is why I agreed to what Catt was planning. A perfect way to bring Bella justice. And to bring Catt justice. I’m just sorry that Curtis had to kill himself before it all went down. Catt and I walk up to the house, we’re ready for it all to start. The beginning of the end. The great fall of Curtis Opella. And then we open the door and there he is: swaying there. Hanging from a cable from the banister. I remember Catt screamed and she started to lose it and all I could think was: “Damn it. He’s already dead.” I was actually //disappointed//. That’s how horrible this boy was. I was disappointed I couldn’t beat the hell out of him. He made a girl, only seventeen, scared to tell something to her own family. She’s afraid of what will happen to her when the secret is uncovered. He’s ruined part of her life because of one action. She’s so scared that the only person she told was me. Not her parents, not her sister, not the police, just me. Because she knows I can take care of her. Just like I took care of Catt and got her away from the house. Between us, we were never there and we didn’t see anything. None of that ever happened. I’ve been trying to get Bella to tell her parents, but she says she can’t do it. I have to respect that, so I don’t tell. That poor girl, she’s been through so much and now she is pregnant. But it’s only a matter of time before her secret gets out and the truth about Curtis Opella is exposed. //(Dell Callow exits.)// //(The stage goes dark for a few seconds and then a lone spotlight comes on the Announcer in the upper center of the stage. Slowly, the lights behind him come on and all seven characters are lined up behind him.)// __ The Announcer __ You have heard their stories and their thoughts About the boy in hell who now rots. He did not kill himself, I can assure you that. But he deserved to die, that dirty rat. We all know their motives and their reasons That have built up in these past seasons. So what happened on that day in winter? And who is really capable of murder? (The Announcer finishes and the stage goes black. Everyone exits.) //(Isabella Erickson enters and stands at center stage.)// **ISABELLA.** I can’t get him out of my head. He’s dead and yet he haunts me still. I hear him all the time. I hear his voice in my ear when I’m lying in bed. “It’s our little secret. It’s our little secret.” I think I’m going crazy! I hate him and I can’t bear the thought of him, and yet that’s all in my head. I can still feel his hand grab my arm. I take hour-long showers and I scrub and I scrub and I still don’t feel clean! I burned those clothes I wore to try and get rid of everything of what happened, but I still remember everything. I can’t get rid of him. Even when he’s dead, he still tortures me. And he leaves me with this //(She presses her hand to her stomach.)//. He leaves me with a copy of him. I can feel him going inside me. Feeding off of me. It’s disgusting. It’s him. And yet //(Pause.)// it’s me too. It’s me too, even if I don’t want it to be. I don’t know what I’m going to do with him when he’s born. I know it’s a boy, I can feel it. I just know. What will I say to him when he asks about his daddy? What will I tell him? That he raped me, never intended for you to happen, and then went and hung himself? Is that what I’m supposed to tell an innocent, no matter how he can to be, child looking up at me? And even if I lie to him, the truth will find a way out. In a small town like this, the truth is bound to get out. And that child is going to grow up knowing he’s was an accident, an unintended surprise. Should I give him up? Put him up for adoption? What would happen to him? Will he find me later asking about his father? Why I gave him up? And would I be able to just give up my child, even if I hate how he became mine? I don’t know! //(She pauses and then bursts out.)// This is all Curtis’s fault! That stupid, ugly, disgusting pervert! I hate him! He ruined my life! I hate him! And then he goes and takes the easy way out of this mess and hangs himself. I can’t understand that. I can’t comprehend why he would go after me, but what really confuses me is why he would kill himself. I can’t help feeling that there is something else bound to come. A mystery to be solved about what really happened to Curtis Opella. //(Isabella Erickson exits.)//

//(Lucas White enters and stands at the center of the stage.)// **LUCAS.** I’m scared. I really am. I’m scared for what’s going to happen to me. And I think it’s going to happen soon. I’ve been thinking. And all those theories and ideas I came up with, well, I don’t know if they could be true anymore. I’ve been doubting they are. Because—Because of something I realized. Perhaps—Perhaps Principal Kimbull didn’t kill Curtis to keep him quiet, or Hannah because she was obsessed with him, or Catt for revenge. Maybe he was killed for an entirely different reason. Maybe he was killed because someone thought he had answers. Answers to the SAT’s. Answers that //I// have! Maybe he was killed because he wouldn’t give them up or kept telling the person he didn’t have the answers and the person wouldn’t believe him and got mad and killed him. What about that, huh? And where does that leave me? Curt could have told them I had the answers. They could come after me next! I can’t give them the answers, because then it’s my ass on the chopping block if they get caught. What am I going to do? I should have never taken those answers. I should’ve never done that. I wouldn’t be screwed up in all of this right now if I hadn’t been so stupid. What was I thinking? //(Something dawns on him.)// Catt was acting really weird the day after they found Curt. Maybe the person came to her too since she was Curt’s girlfriend. What did they say to her that made her so freaked out? She looked like a ghost for God’s sake. They must have known she really didn’t have the answers and that’s why she’s still alive. But what are they going to do to me if I don’t give up the answers? Should I just give it to them? Should I? What if they get caught? //(Realizes something.)// What am I saying? I’d rather get caught then killed. But I don’t want to give them up and I obviously don’t want to get killed. I’m in a lose-lose situation. //(Thinks.)// So what I’ll do is hide them, or say I gave them back to the school. I’ll say I felt guilty. //(He’s very jumpy.)// But I have to act fast, because I know they’ll come soon. Very soon. //(Lucas White exits.)//

//(Dell Callow enters and stands at the center of the stage.)//

**DELL.** I’m worried about Catt. When we found Curt in his house, she looked like she was about to go into shock. I did my best to calm her down and get her away from there. I’ve been checking up on her at school the past couple of days. To make sure she’s all right. She seems to be recovering. She smiles. She laughs. She looks normal. But I can tell this has affected her. Her eyes. Her eyes rarely change. We saw something terrible, even if it was Curtis Opella. And that has scarred her. Her eyes are still a mixture of horror and relief. I can tell. Because that’s exactly how her eyes looked when she opened the door. I’m still helping Bella. I think I’ve finally convinced her to tell. And that’s good. It can only get better from then on. She’ll get through it, the baby will be born and she’ll probably give it away, and then she can move on and forget any of it ever happened. I want her to forget it happened. She shouldn’t be burdened with all those terrible memories. She’s told me everything and I’ve told her everything. //(Pause.)// Except for one thing. I still have one secret to myself. And I can never share it. It’s bigger than anything. It’s more important than all my other secrets. Bigger than seeing Curtis dead. Bigger than knowing about Bella. Bigger than knowing what Curtis did to Catt. My secret is that I know who killed Curtis Opella. //(He takes a pause.)// And I’ll never tell. //(Dell Callow exits.)//

//(The stage goes dark as Dell exits. Dark, dramatic music slowly comes up over the speakers. The lights flash and we catch a glimpse of a silhouette standing on stage. Their back is to the audience when the lights flash. After a few seconds, the spotlight comes down onto the murderer of Curtis Opella: Hannah Erickson.)//

**HANNAH.** I confess. I did it. I killed him. I killed him and I got away with it. I murdered Curtis Opella and I haven’t lost a second of sleep over it. I don’t regret it and I never will. Curtis deserved to die. He deserved to be put in the ground and slowly eaten by worms. What he did to Bella was sick and disgusting. He took away her innocence and just didn’t care. She was only seventeen and now she’s pregnant thanks to him. He ruined part of her life. So I //ended// his. At first, I didn’t know what was wrong with Bella. She was acting so strange and distant. She wouldn’t talk to me and it was like she was avoiding me. And then one day I saw a pregnancy test in the bathroom trashcan. I knew it was Bella. I just knew, but I didn’t want to say anything before I was sure. I went into her room with she was out of the house and I read her diary. And that’s when I absolutely knew for sure. She wrote that Curtis Opella had raped her. You wouldn’t believe the anger I felt. The fury. The hatred. The days after he went after Bella, he passed me in the hallway and gave that friendly smile like nothing was wrong. A smile that said, “You don’t know, do you?” And I didn’t. But right then, I did. I knew everything. And Curtis Opella was going to pay for what he did. I began to follow him home, watching to see what he would do. If anyone caught me, I’d say I was following him because I thought he hit Catt, which I had already suspected. I don’t know why I said I was just following him before. I was in denial, I guess. I had killed someone, but now—now, why should I hold back anything? People shouldn’t be horrified by me of they ever found out, they should thank me. Thank me for getting rid of such a terrible human being. And in a way, Lucas was right. I was becoming obsessed with Curtis. But I wasn’t obsessed with him because I loved him. Oh, no. I was obsessed with getting revenge on him. And then I left my house that day, bundled up against the cold weather wearing gloves and a scarf. And I went to Curtis’s house. I confronted him. I told him he was going to prison for what he did to my sister. I said he was going to hell. And you know what he said to me? He brushed me aside, told me to get out of his house, and then called me a good-for-nothing bitch. That’s when I snapped. I couldn’t take it anymore. He turned his back, expecting me to leave, and I grabbed that cable from the floor. I came up from behind him //(She acts this out with her hands.)// and I put the cable around his throat and I yanked from behind him. I //felt// the bones in his neck snap as I pulled to the side. I felt them break. And then he crumpled and fell to the floor in front of me. And I couldn’t help but feeling happy. I realized what I had done and I took his hands and pressed them all over the cable, just everywhere like he had just tied a knot. Then I dragged him up the steps, tied the cable around his neck and the banister, and sent him over the edge where he would be found hanging there dead. Dead by suicide. I made my way out the back door and back to my house as if nothing had happened. Later that day, they found him and the police declared it a suicide. I had gotten away with it. But I’m not the only one who knows. Dell figured it out. He pulled me aside a few days after and told me. He said he would never tell and then—and then he thanked me for what I did. Bella will never find out because this secret is going to be taken to our graves and stay there. But let me tell you: My only regret is that Curtis Opella didn’t suffer enough.

//(The lights slowly fade as Hannah Erickson exits. The curtain drops and the show ends.)// THE END