Ep. I Scene 2
[In the woods. Sy is carrying home her laundry. She trips over a root and her laundry goes everywhere. She is picking it up when Betty, whom she has never seen before, walks by. Betty looks at Sy with all her laundry around her and snorts.]
Sy- Who are you?
Betty- *What* are you?
[Sy narrows her eyes at Betty’s comments. It is obvious that these 2 people hate each other at first sight. Sy's pride is wounded, but her overall nice nature wins over her desire to smack this girl over the head.]
Sy- I am Sy. I live here at Beaver’s Creek. I have lived here most of my life.
I know everybody. You must be new around here. I haven’t seen you at any of Billy Bro Rev. Joe’s sermons.
Betty- I'm Betty. I just moved here from Mississippi.
Sy- So you *are* new. [eyeing Betty supiciously] Mississippi, where in West Virginia is that?
Betty- It isn’t in West Virginia. Mississippi is its own state. Don’t you know anything?
Sy- Oh sure. I know lots of things. My ma tried to teach me all of that school stuff, but I refused to learn how to read. I told her that I would never learn. And she said that any girl that lived under her roof and wore her clothes would do as she said, and she said that I was gonna have to read. Well, I couldn’t take that, so I ran stark naked into the woods. And I have been on my own ever since. But I accidentally learned to read while I was workin' in a rifle shop. Damn.
Betty- You did all that and now live by yourself just because you didn’t want to learn how to read?
Sy- No! That would be just plain dumb. I did that so I wouldn’t have to do what my ma told me too. And who the hell ever said that I lived by myself? I live with Jim. He's my cousin, and my lover. But he don’t take care of me, I take care of myself.
Betty- You are very strange.
Sy- Aw, thank you so much! She goes through her rice bag. Here, take a
bra, from me to you.
Betty- I have to go now.
[Betty runs away. She drops the bra that Sy gave her. Sy picks it up and waves it over her head.]
Sy- You forgot your bra, Betty! Your bra!
) to scene 3 (
back to Beaver's Creek
Why did the chicken cross the road? What's YOUR theory?
