(Teachers are seated in the Gym. Bryan walks on stage with a microphone. A pause, and then …)

BRYAN. Highschoolers are definitely not the brightest bunch. We do lots and lots of things, but most of them are stupid things that we regret right after. And disrespect is a whole other thing, I mean where did the common sense go when we do these irregular things? I always wonder if it's just that the very second you enter highschool you think “I should do something bad!”. Maybe it's the law of nature.

When I bring up “treating people well” my classmates just turn into brainless goblins, almost like it's a foreign concept to them. I thought that school was supposed to be a place where your imagination can prosper and express yourself at any time. But it's almost like the devil itself is watching over you just to make sure you have the same identity as the others. The High School experience was definitely not what I thought it was going to be.

Don't even get me started on the fights, it's almost like a gladiator arena out there. People stealing from each other, getting rid of all chances of peace among the school grounds. It's a shame to think that a place meant for learning has become a battleground for teenagers that have no idea what they are doing.

All of this chaos and even the teachers don't want to step in. What was originally the guiding light for young adults have simply just given up and went on to grading their tests. In fact, sometimes it almost seems like they are just as lost as us.

With this said, I still think that there's a chance for the curriculum to fix these problems, stealing? Offer proper support to victims instead of sending them on their way. Fighting? Why don't teachers really take a stand for once instead of just accepting the fact that this is how it is for the rest of time? All of these problems can be fixed with a little bit of time, schools just aren't focusing on these major problems enough, and so students are left to figure things out on their own.

(Lights up on MR. WONG’S office. He is drinking a cup of coffee and reading yet another R.F. Kuang book. KAI YEE enters, thinking about food. She slams the backpack onto the ground.)

MR. WONG. Hi, Kai Yee, how did the monologue writing assignment go?

KAI YEE. Listen here, Mr. Wong. (points finger). Monologues have never really been my thing. I just can’t think of anything when I have to write a monologue. There’s so much stuff I want to say but I just can’t organise it into one monologue that somebody else is going to perform, somebody else is going to interpret, and probably criticise.

For poems, at least I can bury myself under metaphors, hide under similes and various illustrations. Like, a literal dying tree could mean the loss of hope. In a monologue, I can’t do that. What is my character supposed to say, like “Oh, I look upon the dying tree that represents my hope”? NO! The character usually breaks down crying or something. The meaning has to be clear. The person has to KNOW what I want to convey. And sure, call me cowardly, but I don’t want to step into the light and yell to a bunch of old, white, straight, conservative men at the top of my lungs, “HEY GUYS. SEXISM EXISTS. HOMOPHOBIA EXISTS. CHANCES ARE, YOU GUYS ARE DISCRIMINATORY.”

In monologues, I have to organise my thoughts into one, coherent, linear timeline, well, sort of. I’m terrible at that. I mean, that’s probably why the councillors never actually understand what I’m babbling on about, and why my classmates call me “Yappanese”.

MR. WONG. I see.

(LEAH walks on stage annoyed from an encounter with THAT kid. She puts her backpack down on the ground and faces the audience.)


LEAH. To all the curious students out there, alright, alright, I hear you okay? Some students need more explanation than others, but the line for dumb questions needs to be drawn somewhere and I just happen to draw it at that kid [points off stage]. You know, the one who seems to have an endless supply of inquiries that make you want to pull your hair out?? Seriously, it's like they never run out of things to ask, and it's starting to drive me crazy. [Pause] I mean, don't they understand that not everything requires an explanation? Sometimes, things just are what they are, and we don't need to overanalyze every single little detail. It's exhausting to constantly be on the receiving end of their never-ending dumb questions! And don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the curiosity, but there's a limit!

Now don’t make me sound like the bad guy; I'm not saying we should shut down their curiosity completely, ... but a little restraint wouldn't hurt. Maybe they could save some of their questions for… I don’t know, later? Or find alternative outlets to satisfy their uh, what do you call it….[clears throat] thirst for knowledge. And maybe when that kid grows up, they will be more tolerable?

So, to that kid who just can't stop asking questions, remember that there is a time and place for everything. Just right now, I need to keep my sanity intact.

As normal, I stumped down to my car, opened the door and stormed right into my car. I am having a really bad day. I lost my purse, I failed my job application, and it was raining heavily and I was all wet. I started the engine. “TA TA TA”, the engine started with a loud roar, just like how angry I am right now.

The sound of the rain falling down from the sky on my car and the sound of the engine provided a soothing background as I drove down the street and finally I forgot about the anger I had five minutes ago. Outside the window, people were running in the rain, trying to go somewhere they could avoid the heavy rain pouring down from the sky. But I was sitting in my comfortable car listening to the radio about the news today. It was just such a wonderful time.

The light turned green and I needed to turn. The quiet drive turned to a scary driveway in an instant as I saw another car coming toward me. The car was so fast and it was getting closer and closer. I was stunned and terrified. I could see the driver of that car also yelling and screaming, trying to avoid the crash. Without any further thinking, I quickly started going back to the street I came from, but everything was too late. I finally realized the seriousness, and seconds later, I watched the other car crashing on my car, and a white pillow-like thing popped on my face. As a sudden, I felt like I was on my comfortable bed on a rainy night, trying to go to sleep, and the sound of the two crashing cars became the sound of the thunder.

PAIN! PAIN! Where did it come from?

I opened my eyes. My head was surrounded by a “pillow”. I gotta get out of here. I lifted my right arm, trying to grab the pillow and threw it away, but then I felt it again.
PAIN! This time, I know clearly where it came from, my right arm. I quickly put down my arm, trying to stop the excruciating pain coming out from my arm. Then I quickly used my left arm to grab and threw away the pillow.

With pain traveling through my injured arm, I tried my best to crawl to the side of the road. The world was spinning in front of me, and the sidewalk felt cold and ruthless. Every time I wanted to move, it was a disaster as someone was burning my arm, but determination prevailed my slow progress. And finally I was out of the dangerous street to the safe sidewalk.

Dear Universe, everyone, and everything that is watching over me. How are you? How’s your day? Mine has been great, thanks for asking. So ummm, I just wanna start off by saying that I think I’ve been a great kid, you know? I mean I’m doing pretty good in school, I play sports, I have hobbies, I spend time with family and friends! I’m a great kid, in fact I’m awesome! And to top all of that, I’m a really big Taylor Swift fan! Yea, just adding this for no reason… yup. Anyways… have you ever wanted something? Like wanted it bad, real bad? Yea, I have too. And what are those? Tickets to the Taylor Swift Era’s tour. Yea, I want them really bad. So, you might be thinking. Alright, why don’t you get them then? Well the thing is, I have tried. And… it wasn’t successful. I’ve gotten waitlisted everytime. It was a bad, horrible, terrible memory. Soooo… this is why I really want to ask for a favor. As you probably heard about already, Taylor is coming to Vancouver. Nope not Taylor Lautner, not Taylor Momsen, but THE one and only Taylor Swift. Taylor Alison Swift. Yup that’s right, she is coming to Vancouver. So remember how I mentioned before? Yea, I’m a big Taylor fan. A HUGE Taylor Swift fan. A swiftie. I’ve listened to her practically since I was out of the womb and know most of the lyrics to 95% of all her songs. Yup. Who else can be as much of a Taylor Swift fan as me? I doubt it a lot. So about her coming to Vancouver, I think it would be really cool if I got a pre-sale code for verified fans, then got floor tickets, and got the 22 hat! Well, fine. I won’t be that greedy. I personally think as long as I get a pre-sale code and a ticket, I’ll be pretty much set! And I’m not talking about some VIP floor tickets or smack right in the middle lower bowl tickets, I’m talking any ticket to any seat. After all, any seat at a Taylor Swift concert is a good seat. Anyways, I’m thinking it would be real cool if I got to experience the magic of Taylor Swift. You know, be there at her concert, seeing her in person, hearing her voice live, being able to scream my lungs out, wearing a very cute outfit to the concert and just being in my natural habitat with all the other swifties! That’s right, I think it would be a great memory and experience for me. Now as a swiftie, I would be extremely upset if I don’t end up with a pre-sale code and tickets because I genuinely believe that I deserve to go out there and experience the magic of Taylor Swift. So now you’ve heard about my little rant about not getting tickets, please reconsider before the next presale codes come out, and consider give me a code! Thank you!

… Oh, what? I just read my paragraph out loud and the whole class heard? Oh and I was supposed to write about the Medieval Ages history? Oh… Well if you’re gonna talk to me with all that attitude, tell you what Ms. Adams, I bet you don’t have tickets to the taylor swift era’s tour. Yea, that’s what I thought.