The Treehouse

S C E N E 1

Stage is dark. Sound of rustling and talking can be heard as NICKY and AARON “climb” into the treehouse. Armed with flashlights, the boys tease the set with the beams of light. The curtains over the window are shut tight, to create the appearance that no sunlight is coming in.

AARON

(continuing to shine flashlight around set while moving STAGE LEFT)

Oh, man! What’s that smell?

(beat … runs into table)

Ouch … where’s the light at?

NICKY

(heads STAGE RIGHT toward the bed)

I know there’s a window here somewhere.

(beat … shines light on curtains)

Here it is!!

NICKY hops up on the bed excitedly, and pulls open the curtains, allowing the stage lights to come up full.

AARON

(switches off flashlight and looks around for a beat)

Man!! You were so right about this place! It’s a lot bigger than I thought it’d be.

NICKY

(plopping down on old bed, knees propped to his chest)

Yeah, I told you. Now do you believe me?

AARON

I’ve been out in the woods hundreds of times. I’ve never seen
this place in my life. How did you ever find it?

NICKY

My dad told me about it. He said he built it, but I don’t believe him.

I think he just happened to find it while he was out hunting.

AARON

(on knees, looking down at faux entrance)

Geez, Nicky … you should come over here and see how high up we are!

If your dad really did build it, he’s definitely pretty brave. I’m just glad that

I didn’t look down as we were climbing up here.

NICKY

Well …

(beat as he climbs off bed and joins AARON at fax entrance)

My dad said him and some of his friends just wanted a place to hang

out in the woods where his little sister could never find them, so all of

them spent the entire summer building this place.

(another beat as he randomly repositions the chairs at the table)

They went to this old junkyard that used to be on Grove Street and pulled

some furniture out of there. They made this place their own escape, just like home.

AARON moves away from the faux entrance, eyeing the stack of magazines in front of the bed. He moves quickly to them, picks one up and blows some dust off it.

AARON

Look at all these magazines! Man, these things have to be 30 years old!

NICKY

(joining AARON at the magazine stack)

It’s all about baseball …

(points to page for AARON)

Look at this guy! He must’ve smacked home runs all day long!

AARON

(puzzled look)

Willie Stargell? Who’s that?

NICKY

I dunno.

After making a small mess with the magazine stack, AARON loses interest and picks up the basketball (cautiously, as to not give away the fact it’s flat).

AARON

Hey! Do you think there’s a hoop in here somewhere?

AARON is about to bounce the ball, but NICKY grabs him arm to stop him.

NICKY

Don’t, Aaron!! These floor boards are real old, and I don’t think it

would be too smart to start bouncing balls in here.

AARON

(rolls eyes)

You’re always worried about something.

(jumps up and down for a beat … SFX: creaking)

These floors could hold Warren Sapp on a bad day.

AARON drops the ball, to bounce it, but instead, it drops hard on the floor, flat.

AARON

See? I told ya.

NICKY shakes his head and goes back to the bed, and back to his knee-drawn sitting position. AARON heads over to the table, grabs a chair, and moves it toward the bed, turning it around so that he can sit with the back in front.

AARON

So, anyway … I bet you dad and his friends had some wild times up here.

I couldn’t imagine ever wanting to leave this place.

NICKY

Actually, they only came up here a few times.

AARON

You’re kidding? Why would they just abandon this place?

NICKY

From what my dad says, they had only been coming up here for a few

weeks when they found out some homeless guy moved in.

AARON

You’re making that up.

NICKY

Seriously, and it scared the hell out of them, too. My dad

said he never moved so fast down a tree in his life.

(beat)

But I think he was just saying that so that I would be scared to

come up here. He said he didn’t want me to get hurt.

AARON

So, they never, ever came back up here?

NICKY

Nope. Never.

AARON nervously gets up off the chair and starts to look around.

AARON

Nicky … you don’t … you don’t think the guy still lives here, do you?

NICKY

(laughing)

That was like a long time ago. I’m sure he’s found a nice cardboard

box or something by now. I’m sure it can’t be too warm here in the winter.

AARON

(pacing a bit nervously)

But what if he hasn’t moved on? What if this is like the ultimate

In homeless pads.

(leans over to sneak a peek down the faux entrance)

He could be down there, right now, waiting for us.

(looks over at NICKY for a beat)

Did your dad say what he looked like? I mean in case he’s …

(whispers)

… in case he’s still around?

NICKY

And I thought I was the one who was worried about everything.

I never knew you to be such a wuss.

AARON

(an extended beat … and then in a loud voice)

Well, tell me what he looked like already!

NICKY

(a small jump in shock at AARON’s abruptness)

Geez, OK!! I didn’t know it was so friggin’ important to ya.

NICKY takes a beat to hop off the bed, and with an exaggerated sinister voice, begins to describe the old resident of the treehouse … obviously making it up, but trying to continue to scare his normally courageous friend. NICKY also uses his arms and hands to provide some visual cues to what he’s saying, to help exaggerate things even more.

NICKY

Well, he was real, real old. I mean, older than your grandpa.

His hair was real long, all grey and scraggly, and it matched this

Dirty old beard that he had grown all the way down to his chest …

(takes a beat and lowers hand down to his stomach)

… no, all the way down to the top of his pants. I mean, he was real old.

NICKY grabs the chair that AARON was sitting in, turns it around so that he can sit on it backward like AARON had done previously, and goes in for the kill. As NICKY is talking, AARON slowly crouches down to hear every word that NICKY is saying. Lights begin to dim a little to focus more on the two, and to create a “scarier” setting.

NICKY

When he talked, you could see that he was missing all of his teeth, and he

smelled really bad, too. You couldn’t tell if he was just wearing old clothes,

or if he had just come across some rags somewhere, and sewed them together.

AARON

(almost a whisper)

Wow …

NICKY

Yeah, and he was really creepy, too. My dad said that he and his friends

Were up here playing for like an hour and didn’t even realize the guy was

Sneaking up the ladder. They were looking at those very baseball magazines …

(he takes a beat to gesture with his head toward the magazines)

… when the guy came right up behind all of them. He grabbed my dad by

the shoulders, dragging them kicking and screaming toward the door, yelling

at them to, “Get out of my house! Get out of my house!”

AARON

Did he drop them through the hole in the floor?

NICKY

No, he let them climb down, but he warned them never to return.

AARON

(trying to act with more courage again)

Well, if he still lives here …

(takes a beat to rise and turn toward the table)

… he needs to fire the maid. This place is a dump.

Just as AARON is finishing his line, the same creaking sound heard in the beginning when the boys were climbing up the ladder is heard offstage again. Both boys pop their heads up to the noise and are petrified by the sound.

AARON

(without moving anything but his lips, talking slowly)

Nicky … what is that noise?

NICKY

(a fake, faint chuckle, but not moving his head either)

Just … just the wind, I’m sure.

AARON

That’s what they always say in those Freddy Krueger movies.

And there, it’s never the wind.

NICKY

(rising to his feet, slowly, but still talking softly)

OK, Aaron. This is silly. Maybe we should just …

The creaking effect is heard offstage again, this time causing both boys to move STAGE RIGHT toward the bed. They both jump on it violently as the creaking continues more steadily, and louder as the sound approaches the entrance.

NICKY

(in an excited whisper)

There’s someone coming up the ladder!!

AARON

It’s the homeless guy!! Hurry up!! Close the damn curtains!

NICKY quickly closes the curtains, causing the stage to go completely dark once again. The creaking sounds continue to get louder and louder, and the heavy breathing between the two boys -- who the audience is assuming is clinging to each other can be heard. The scene is played out to really build some of the tension, and MATTIE’s silhouette can be fainly seen on the dark stage, creating the appearance that she had just climbed in. The silhouette moves toward the bed, and NICKY suddenly swishes the curtains open again, bringing the stage lights back to full.

As soon as the lights come back up, both AARON and MATTIE are face to face, and both give a death-defying scream .. drawn out for about two or three seconds. Both stop, and AARON grabs his chest, breathing real heavily.

AARON

Mattie!! What are YOU doing here?

MATTIE

(catching her breath as well)

I just … I just wanted to see what the big … secret was up here.

AARON

You scared the crap out of us!

(takes another breath for a beat)

Now … get out. If mom knew you followed us all the way

out here, you’d be in serious trouble!

MATTIE

(looking around)

Why … what are you hiding?

AARON

We ain’t hiding anything, now turn around and go back where

you came from, and forget all about this place.

MATTIE

C’mon. You boys always get to have fun. Can’t I just stay …

(a bit whiny)

… just for a little bit?

AARON

No! Get out now, or I’m gonna tell Mom.

NICKY

(moving in between the two)

Aaron, hey, come on. Let Mattie stay. She’s

not going to hurt anything.

AARON

I don’t care.

(breaking away)

She’s always tagging along. I don’t need a shadow.

MATTIE

(after a beat … more pouty)

Fine. I’ll go and leave you guys to … to whatever it is you do up here.

NICKY

Mattie, no, please stay. You can hang out with us for a little while.

It’s going to be dark soon, anyway, and you shouldn’t be out in the woods alone.

Plus …

(looking over at AARON encouragingly)

I know that Aaron really does want you to stay.

AARON

(simultaneously)

No I don’t.

MATTIE

(simultaneously)

No he doesn’t.

NICKY

Yes …. You DO, don’t you Aaron?

AARON

(defeated)

Oh … all, right.

(beat)

But just stay out of the way, OK?

MATTIE sits down at the table, and wipes her finger across the table top, and looks at the dust on her finger.

MATTIE

Geez, what do boys see in dumps like this anyway?

AARON

Hey! No one is forcing you to stay!

MATTIE

(puts hands up in the air)

OOOOKAAY!! Sorry!

(sits down in other chair at table, arms across chest)

Soooo …. What were you guys talking about before I came up? Girrrrrls?

AARON

Shut up!

NICKY

(trying to intervene)

Nah … we were just talking about how nice it is to have treehouses like this.

AARON

It’s cool and everything, but it is kind of boring. I mean,

where do you plug in the Playstation 2?

NICKY

No way, man! No Playstations, no computers, nothing.

(gets back on bed, with arms stretched out)

That’s the beauty of being out here … it’s like being back in touch with nature.

AARON

(rolls eyes)

Whatever. Treehouses are like … so old fashioned.

NICKY

Ya know, not everyone gets to have things like this.

AARON

So? It’s a treehouse. It’s in the middle of nowhere. There’s wooden walls,

old furniture, and a smell that hasn’t gone away since we got here. I mean,

come on, Nicky … let’s get out of here and go bike riding or something.

MATTIE

I swear, boys never stop for just a minute. You always have to do something.

AARON

No one’s asking you!

NICKY

You know, Aaron … why don’t you just back off?

AARON

(throws hands up)

Fine … I don’t care. If you think sitting around reading

old baseball magazines and playing with flat basketballs

is fun, fine. But just don’t expect me to be tagging along.

AARON drags his chair back over the table, and attempts to sit in the far corner, basically pushing MATTIE out of the way. MATTIE goes over and joins NICKY, who should be back on the bed again.

MATTIE

(somewhat softly, to imply it’s out of ear range of AARON.

She puts her arm around NICKY)

Don’t worry. Aaron just gets that way sometime. Just let it go.

NICKY

I know … but, it’s just … I dunno, unfair.

MATTIE

What’s unfair?

NICKY

Just everything. We all have so much … but really,

we just don’t realize how good we have it. Ya know?

MATTIE

Well, I know I’m just some tag-along little sister, but I

know exactly what you mean.

NICKY

(rises from bed, louder so that AARON can hear)

I know that this is just a bunch of old boards nailed together,

but there’s a lot more here than meets the eye.

AARON

(rising himself)

Oh, come on, Nicky. Like what?

NICKY

Well …

(beat)

Well … just think of all the cool things you can do up here.

NICKY jumps on the bed, still standing, holding arms out the windows as if cradling an assault rifle. EFX: War sounds, distant soldier screams, explosions, guns firing.

NICKY

I could be a sniper … sitting up in a tower during a war, just waiting

to be the hero in attacking the enemy troops.

Pow!! Pow!! Pow!!

NICKY jumps off the bed, and grabs the flattened basketball, simulating going to the hoop on a big slam dunk. EFX: Crowds cheering, referee whistles, sneaker squeaks.

NICKY

Or I could be a basketball star, swooshing in basket after basket

just like Michael Jordan!

NICKY drops the ball (it falls flat again), and grabs MATTIE, pulling her from her seat on the bed, dancing her around the room while MATTIE giggles. EFX: Ballroom music.

NICKY

Or I could be a wealthy oil tycoon, who does nothing but

Dance with the most beautiful women at glamorous banquets each night.

MATTIE

(still giggling)

You’re so silly, Nicky!

EFX ends. MATTIE goes to the empty chair, and NICKY retreats back to the bed, facing STAGE LEFT.

NICKY

(softly … and maybe just a bit dejected)

It’s just that there’s so many places I’d rather be than here.

AARON

(walks over the bed, and sits next to NICKY)

I’m sorry … I didn’t realize this place meant so much to you.

What’s wrong with you, anyway? You never act like this.

NICKY’s gaze turns out the window, not offering any answers. MATTIE rises from her seat, realizing that there’s something wrong.

AARON

(putting arms around NICKY)

Hey, Nicky … what’s wrong with you, man?

NICKY

No … it’s, it’s just so …

MATTIE

Nicky?

NICKY

(ignoring Mattie’s query)

When I allow my mind to wander off, I can be with anyone,

anywhere, and nothing else matters at all. At least in my

imagination … at least in my imagination, I’m not alone.

AARON

But you’re not alone. You’ve got me here. You’ve got Mattie here.

I mean, c’mon, man. We’re not going anywhere.

Lights begin to slowly dim on stage, indicative of a setting sun outside. A spotlight is trained, however, on the three actors on stage. Stage lights should continue to dim gradually, however, and be completely dim by the time AARON and MATTIE have exited the stage.

MATTIE

Umm, Aaron … we ARE going to have to go soon.

It’s starting to get dark outside, and I don’t want mom to get worried.

AARON

Mattie, you can head down the ladder if you want, and I’ll

catch up in a few minutes.

NICKY

(an uneasy laugh)

No, no, seriously, I’m OK. Seriously, you guys go ahead.

(beat)

I’m just going to spend a few more minutes here before I head back.

AARON

Are you sure?

NICKY continues to stare out the window as the lights continue to dim.

AARON

(touching NICKY’s shoulder to get his attention)

Hey, why don’t you come back with us. I think my mom is making

lasagna tonight, and you know she can’t have pasta without making that

garlic bread I know you really, really like.

MATTIE

Yeah, come on, Nicky!! It’ll be fun!!

NICKY

Thanks, guys, but I should head home tonight, you know,

spend some time with the folks. I’m sure my mom has dinner ready, too.

AARON

(getting up and heading toward faux exit)

Well, OK, but if you change your mind, just come over. No need

To call or anything like that. Hell, we’ll save a spot for you at the table.

MATTIE

Aaron! I’m telling Mom!!

AARON

(looking over at MATTIE)

Oh, get over it.

(beat)

Are you sure you’re going to be OK?

NICKY

(another kind of fake chuckle)

Yes, go. Get out of here.

(beat)

I don’t want you getting lost in the dark woods and then

I have to rescue you two.

AARON

(kind of a playful buccaneer voice)

Saving us? Ha!, Sir, I think not. It would be ME saving YOU.

NICKY

(really laughing)

Go away!

AARON

Hey … don’t forget our hoops game tomorrow.

(takes a beat to look over at the deflated basketball)

Ummm … I’ll bring the ball.

S C E N E 2

Lights on stage completely dim, except for the single spotlight trained on NICKY, who is still on the bed. Spotlight tightens up more on NICKY has he continues to stare out the window. The faux entrance is removed, and the deflated basketball is fixed to appear as if it is filled with air again as it was in the beginning. After a few brief beats, the light comes back to full as BLAKE enters from STAGE LEFT.

While much of the set has remained the same, the lighting has changed to mostly hard whites, creating a sterile look on the flat walls. NICKY continues to stare out window.

BLAKE

(runs over to messed up pile of magazines on floor)

Who the hell has been messing with my magazines again?

(takes a beat to look over at NICKY)

Nick!

(beat)

Nick!

(beat)

NICHOLAS!

NICKY

(snapping at Blake’s yell)

Wh-what?

BLAKE

Have you been screwing with my magazines again?

I told you to leave them the hell alone.

NICKY

I’m sorry … I just …

(beat)

I just wanted to look at them.

BLAKE

(reorganizing the pile)

This is the very last thing I have left of my father,

and I don’t want little kids like you ruining it. So just stay

the hell out of my stuff, OK?

NICKY

(distantly)

Sure …

(beat)

sorry.

BLAKE finishes rearranging the pile, and looks over at NICKY. He gets up and peers over NICKY’s shoulder out the window.

BLAKE

What are you looking at? Do you see a girl?

NICKY

(not meeting BLAKE’s gaze)

Nah … I’m just thinking.

BLAKE

(mockingly)

Nah … I’m just thinking.

(beat)

You know, man, you really need to get out more instead of

spending so much time in here thinking. If you spent less time

off in your own world and more time here, the other kids around here

probably wouldn’t think you were so weird.

BLAKE heads toward the STAGE LEFT exit.

BLAKE

Hey, come on. Food’s going to be ready soon.

NICKY

Blake?

BLAKE

(turns back to look at NICKY for several beats, and then impatiently)

Yes?

NICKY

Do you think we’ll ever have families of our own?

BLAKE

(rolling eyes as if he’s heard it all before, with some sarcasm)

Sure we will. That’s why we all keep bouncing from orphanage to orphanage.

You know better than that. I know nothing BUT places like this, and neither do you.

(beat)

Seriously, dude, at least I know who my father was.

(beat)

But in any event, we’re here now, and we’re not on the street. And not every

family is like the Brady Bunch anyway, so I don’t think we’re missing very much.

(beat)

Come on, Nick. I’m hungry, and the cafeteria ain’t gonna be open all night.

BLAKE exits, and NICKY slowly crawls off the old bed. He picks up the basketball, holding it for a few seconds, and then drops it on the floor, as if expecting it to bounce. But like it did with AARON earlier, it just falls flat on the floor with a huge thud. NICKY stares at the ball for a couple of beats, and then exits STAGE LEFT as well as lights fade to black.