Insane Reversal by Gary O. Bennett

INT INSTITUTIONAL ROOM

Arlene is in ripped clothes with matted hair. Doris is
casually dressed, but clearly in better shape than Arlene.
Though their circumstances are at odds with how they appear.
Arlene is standing. Doris is tied to a chair.

DORIS
Are you going to give it to me?

ARLENE
Shut up.

DORIS
Don’t tell me to shut up.

ARLENE
Alright. Alright. I’m sorry.

DORIS
Cut the crap and just give it to
me.

ARLENE
It happened this morning. Before
you woke me.

DORIS
You WOKE me. You’re reversing
things.

ARLENE
Don’t do that. Don’t try to
confuse me.

DORIS
Take your medication.

ARLENE
What medication? You’re on
medication. Not me. You’re doing
it again.

DORIS
Are you going to give it to me?

ARLENE
Give you what?

DORIS
OK. OK. Now I am getting
irritated.

ARLENE
I get it. I get it. This is all
part of the therapy. You’re trying
to fuck with my brain so I end up
like you.

DORIS
Insane.

ARLENE
Yes, insane. I am not going to end
up like you. Not me. Not insane.

DORIS
You must give it to me.

ARLENE
No.

DORIS
You will die if you don’t.

ARLENE
You’re tricking me.

DORIS
You have fifteen minutes to live
unless you give it to me.

ARLENE
Bullshit.

DORIS
OK. So you don’t have fifteen
minutes. I lied. But you will end
up brain dead, or brain weird. You
want to end up brain weird? So
give it to me.

ARLENE
I just can’t do what you are
asking. My brain hurts. Dammit.
How do I do that?

DORIS
Will it. You must your mind to
will it.

ARLENE
I can’t give you sanity like
handing you a cookie. Sanity is
something you earn.

DORIS
No. No. Sanity is a limited
commodity. A commodity that is in
a very limited supply. Like oil or
gold or currency. And commodities
need to keep moving, remaining
liquid. You must pass it on to
me. That is why you tied me up.

ARLENE
I didn’t tie you up. If I tied you
up, then I am the one insane.

DORIS
It just appears that way. You are
a nurse, Arlene. A psychiatric
nurse. Think hard. Try to
remember. I have been locked up in
here for three years.

ARLENE
Look at me. I am a mess. I can’t
think. Things don’t add up. This
is not a good time for me to be
handing over anything.

DORIS
And I convinced you to reverse
things. To give me your sanity so
I can get out of here. That is the
trade. You hate this job. You are
in a dead end. So if you give up
your sanity, pass it to me, you
will no longer have this crappy job
dealing with psychotics like me.
You will merely enjoy life as a
resident here.

ARLENE
That’s insane.

DORIS
And you agreed. You agreed to turn
over your life, your brain, your
sanity to me. And so I can be
free.

ARLENE
That is not clinically possible.

DORIS
It has already started. You
admitted yourself.
You resigned as a nurse in this
institution. You are now under
care. And I have been released.
Officially. But I need one thing
to happen. Just one thing.

ARLENE
I am admitted? I am admitted to
this hospital? I am a patient.
No. I am a nurse. I am a health
care professional.

DORIS
You’ve been locked up. A
straightjacket. Everyone is
worried about you. They have
placed you on lithium. You had
electro-shock treatment. You are
now officially sick. You have
taken all of me. Or most of me.
You have made me well. It is you
who are sick now. Not me.

ARLENE
Why did I tie you up?

DORIS
We agreed. You tied me up in
return for the final delivery. The
final bit of normalcy that floats
through your diminishing brain.
Now give it to me. Now. Do you
fucking hear me?

ARLENE
OK. OK. Stop yelling. Stop it.
My brain. You are giving
me…shit…shit…my head is going
to explode.

Arlene is writhing with head pain.

DORIS
Good. This is the right time.
Make it explode. Make it explode,
and the delivery will be complete.
Do it, and watch me become a
totally normal and functioning
human being.

ARLENE
Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Arlene is grabbing her head and screams and falls to the
floor. A breeze seems to hit Doris in the face, causing her
to take on a moment of contentment. Doris then stands, her
hands free.

DORIS
Cool. It is done. You are now
clinically and legally insane,
Arlene. Congratulations. You have
joined a very select group.

ARLENE
I can’t see myself. I can’t see
myself. Am I here? Am I here?
Where is this? Where is this?

DORIS
Yeah, it starts that way. You feel
sort of lost.

ARLENE
Fuck. Fuck. My eyeballs. They
are bulging. They are popping. My
body. I’m in water. It is wet
here. My body is wet. Fuck. Why
is everything blue. It is so ugly.
Like shit. Fuck ugly.

DORIS
There’s going to be a lot of
swearing. That seems to happen.
Lot’s of bad words because you
can’t put thoughts together.
You’re neurons are no longer
connected. They are all misfiring.

ARLENE
Shut up. Stop vomiting. You’re
vomiting on me.

DORIS
Goodbye Arlene. Enjoy the next
several years. Things will settle
down. You’ll start to enjoy the
daytime game shows and the dry food
on paper plates. And by the way.
You’re name is now Doris. You now
have my name.

ARLENE
My name is Doris? Yes. Yes. My
name is Doris. And you?

DORIS
Arlene. It’s a good name.

Doris leaves. Arlene/Doris holds her head on the floor as if
trying to keep her skull from falling apart.

THE END.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment

Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>