INT. THE AUDITION PLACE
October stands in front of a table. Her hair is now shoulder length and dyed white, and she is wearing a casual suit (very stylish). Sitting behind the table are Dylan and Vanessa. Dylan is the writer and director of the play, and Vanessa is clearly involved in the production but no one is quite sure exactly what her job is.
Vanessa: October, thank you for coming in. This production is entitled The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, based on the David Bowie album of the same name, and you are auditioning for the part of Ziggy Stardust. Are you familiar with the album?
October: Um, no, sorry, I’m not.
Vanessa: Are you familiar with the Ziggy Stardust character?
October: It’s a character?
Vanessa (amazed): Do you at least know who David Bowie is?
October: Yeah, I’ve heard of him, he died recently, right?
Vanessa does that typical Vanessa thing where she acts all Vanessa-ey. Dylan, meanwhile, contemplatively swivels his chair so his back is facing October, thinks for a moment, then decisively swivels that sucker right back around.
Dylan (popping on the edge of his seat): I have found my Ziggy Stardust!
Vanessa (head in hand): Alright, congratulations, you’ve got the part.
October does a little dance and then exits.
Vanessa: You have to let people read a few lines, at least, before you hand out these parts.
Dylan: I don’t know that even David Bowie knew who David Bowie was.
Vanessa: What does that even mean?
Dylan (twiddling his fingers): “Waiting for the gift of sound and vision.”
CUT TO:
INT. OCTOBER’S BEDROOM
October enters her room and quickly rummages through her things in search of her umbrella. She finds it and decides to check herself in the mirror. She looks herself up and down, clearly not pleased, and fusses with her hair for a good, long while before giving up. As she turns around to leave, her cell phone rings. It’s her grandmother. How lovely. She takes the call.
October: Hi, grandma.
Edna (old sounding): Is this October?
October: Yeah, grandma it’s me. How are you?
Edna: Terrible, child. Just terrible. My head is very bad. I get dizzy a lot. You don’t call.
October: I’m sorry grandma. I’ll try to call more.
Edna: I heard you auditioned for a play.
October: Yeah, that just happened. How did you find out about that?
Edna: Haven’t I told you that you are under no circumstances to perform in a play?
October: Listen, grandma. I’m supposed to meet my friends in a couple minutes, and I’m already late.
Edna (growing agitated): I am your grandmother. I forbid you. You will obey your elders, you rusty piss stain of a child!
October: I’ll talk to you later grandma.
October hangs up the phone and exits.
CUT TO:
EXT. SIDEWALK (A REALLY NICE ONE)
October, holding an open umbrella despite it not being raining, walks up to Elaine and Louis, who are waiting at a bus stop. October asked Elaine and Louis to meet her at the bus station, so I think it’s a bit rude that she showed up late, but I guess I’m just old-fashioned that way.
Louis: What’s up with the umbrella?
October: Can we talk about something else, please?
Louis (amused): No, I think we have to address this.
October (slightly annoyed): I thought it would be cool, and I felt self-conscious about it the whole way here. Alright?
Elaine (laughing): I love you.
The bus arrives, and they get on, as you do in those situations.
Elaine: So where are we going?
October: I thought we could just get off somewhere random and try to make a time of it. It’ll be an adventure.
Louis: Sounds like a lack of a plan.
Elaine: Hey, how did your audition go?
CUT TO:
EXT. THE SAME SIDEWALK (BUT LATER THAT NIGHT)
October, Louis, and Elaine get off the bus after what can lazily be described as a long day. It’s raining and suddenly October bringing her umbrella doesn’t seem like such a silly idea.
Louis: Well, that certainly was an adventure.
Elaine: I’ll give you credit, when I woke up this morning I never imagined that I was going to eat an entire box of Little Debbies in a convenient store. I mean, I certainly hoped it. But my dreams are often fettered by my lack of fortitude and fortune.
Louis (to Elaine): Let’s get some food in you, before you come down off your sugar high.
October (with a chuckle): Alright, see you guys later.
October walks to the corner of West 12th and College Road and sees Bradley, waiting for the light to change, on his way to pick her up for dinner. She notices that he’s getting wet from the rain, and as she walks up behind him, she lifts the umbrella above his head.
October: Hi!
Bradley: Oh, hey, I was just walking over to get you.
October: I’m easy to find.
Bradley: Do you like Indian food?
October: We’re going to get Indian food! Aw, man, now I’m really excited. I’m starving. My friends and I spent the whole day wandering around the middle of nowhere looking for a place to eat.
CUT TO:
INT. MUGHAL DARBAR
October and Bradley Duncan Chase are sitting at a table at Mughal Darbar, an Indian restaurant, which, although not exactly fancy, is still nicer than most restaurants located near a college campus. I mean, the food is great. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not putting the place down. If you like Indian food check it out. But it looks like somebody bought two shitty old houses, did some light construction, and turned it into an Indian restaurant. Which I’m pretty sure is exactly what happened. But again it’s really out-of-sight food.
Bradley: I don’t understand. If you were hoping to stumble upon a cute bookstore or a cozy, little restaurant, why didn’t you just go to the Short North?
October: But this way it was an adventure. You know, anyone can go to a nice place on purpose. But in life you have to fly by the seat of your pants, you can’t plan everything.
Bradley (with a twinkle of affection in his eyes): Who are you getting your life advice from, the old woman on the slot machine?
October: Well, where are you getting your life advice from that’s so great?
Bradley: The Bible, mostly.
“Damn it,” October thought. She didn’t want Louis to be proven right. She had to change the subject quickly.
October: So what are you majoring in?
Bradley: Religious studies.
No help there. October decided that there was nothing to do but just roll with it.
Bradley: Are you religious?
October: Not really. I’ve always been fascinated by religion, but I grew up in a pretty liberal household, and my parents didn’t really believe in God.
Bradley: Really? Well, have you ever thought about joining a faith?
October: I don’t know. You always hear about people finding themselves in college, or changing a lot. And I guess I always thought that sort of thing would happen to me when I went to college. So I suppose I did think about it.
Bradley: You know it’s interesting that you should mention that. Because I was at a philosophy club meeting last night and we were talking about The Myth of Autumn Wind, and how it relates to the Ship of Theseus and Heraclitus’s views on change.
October: What’s The Myth of Autumn Wind?
Bradley: Oh it’s this old campus folktale about how if you stand on the edge of Mirror Lake at just the right time in the midst of fall, while staring at your reflection, the wind will hit you in just the right way and carry away your reflection, leaving in its place the person you’d like to be, instead of the person you are. In other words, your ideal version of yourself.
October: And how does that relate the other two things?
Bradley: Well, I’m not the one who made the connection. But Theseus’s ship is a paradox, that basically—if you take a ship and slowly start replacing the planks and the parts and the sails, until none of the original parts remain, is it still the same ship? The Heraclitus thing I’m not super familiar with, but I think it goes something like, “You can’t step into the same river twice.” And that refers to this theory of continual change. You know, something can be constantly changing and remain the same. For instance, the water in a river is always moving, and at no two moments is it exactly the same, and yet we call the Mississippi river the Mississippi river. And the question is: do people actually change? Because everyone, or a lot of people, I think, feel a disconnect between the self they present to the world and their inner self—their soul, so to speak. And all of these extraneous things, be they appearance or mood or even elements of a person’s personality change over time, but they’re still the same person, because they have the same soul.
October: But how do they relate?
Bradley: Well, again, it wasn’t my point. But you’ve got to understand that these are just a bunch of kids that are trying to get extra credit in their introductory philosophy classes. The discussion almost always deteriorates into a series of logical rabbit holes that never return to original premise. That’s what I don’t like about philosophy in general, actually. It’s just a bunch of people sitting around asking questions. And they never can come up with any answers, just more questions. Meanwhile, the answers they’re looking for are all there in the Bible. Right there under their noses.
October: Did you say that during the discussion?
Bradley: I mean, I didn’t openly denounce philosophy or anything. I did relate The Myth of Autumn Wind to baptism, because I felt like it was an obvious parallel. You know, because baptism is a kind of physical metaphor for washing away your sins, and accepting Jesus Christ as your lord and savior, and starting to build a new life with God. And, you know, becoming a Christian can really change your perception of yourself, because you begin seeing yourself as a unique and loved individual made by God in his own image.
October: Hmm, that seems very romantic. It would be cool to talk to somebody right after they’ve been baptized and hear what it’s like.
Bradley: Funny you should say that. Next Sunday my church is baptizing a bunch of people, you’re welcome to come if you’d like.
October pauses to feel out the situation.
October: Is this a date?
Bradley: What?
October: This is a date, right? You’re not just trying to convert me?
Bradley (taken aback): No, I mean, I certainly thought this was a date.
October (embarrassed): I’m sorry, we were just talking about religion so much, I thought…
Bradley: Well, it is a pet topic of mine, but I don’t go around trying to convert people.
October: Right. I don’t know, a friend said something to me the other day, and it just made me a little paranoid. Anyway, I’d love to go to your church next Sunday.
The waiter brings them their food.
CUT TO:
INT. OCTOBER’S BEDROOM
October enters the room, drops her umbrella in the corner, and falls into the nearest chair. Julia is sitting in bed, stirring a cup of hot chocolate, watching Seinfeld.
October: Are you watching The West Wing again?
Julia: No, Seinfeld.
October: Don’t you have an exam tomorrow?
Julia: Yeah, but it’s for my voting behavior class, all of the questions are like: “Are well-educated people more likely to vote than poorly educated people?” Yeah, probably, man. “But then why hasn’t turnout increased over time, even though more people attend college today than fifty years ago?” Um, I don’t know, maybe… that’s a good question, actually.
October looks at Julia quizzically.
Julia: Maybe I should’ve studied more for this. Oh well, too late now.
Julia takes a swig of hot chocolate to wash down her pain.
Julia: This is a great episode, though. I’m watching “The Bizarro Jerry.” And Kramer starts showing up for work at a company he doesn’t actually work for. And he basically makes believe like he’s a businessman, even though he has no idea what he’s doing. It’s really a great metaphor for how I feel about life.
There is a pause in the conversation long enough for October to completely change the subject without it being awkward.
October: I’ve decided to start going to church.
Julia (looking up from her computer): Aren’t you an atheist?
October: I can be more than one thing!
Julia: How was your date?
October: It was alright. He spent most of the time talking, and didn’t really ask me any questions, which I thought was a tad rude. A bit self-centered. But he bought me chicken masala, so that was cool.
Julia (closing her computer): So, let me get this right. You’re considering converting to Christianity and going straight for a guy you don’t even really like that much.
October: I’m just trying to be flexible.
Julia: This is passed flexibility. These are Michael Jackson level alterations. You’re becoming a completely different person. You’re becoming Bizarro October.
October’s phone rings.
October: Hang on, my mom’s calling.
October takes the call.
October: Hey, Mom.
Sheryl Woods: Toby, sweetheart, how are you? Are you busy?
CUT TO:
INT. DONATOS BASEMENT
It’s Monday night, and October, Elaine, and Louis are sitting in the basement of Donatos waiting for play practice to start. There are several other students present who are also involved in the production. October and Elaine are sitting at a table at one end of the room, and Louis is sitting at a table on the other end.
October: I didn’t know you guys were going to be in this show.
Elaine: Yeah, we asked Dylan yesterday if we could, and he said he’d rewrite the play so that we could have parts.
October: In one night?
Elaine: That’s what I said when he told me he was going to rewrite it, but he just started singing, “Baby, baby, I’ll never let you down. I can’t stand another sound,” and walked out of the room. And then Vanessa did that thing where she acts all Vanessa-ey. You know what I’m talking about?
October: Yeah, I hate that.
Elaine: Anyway, I thought it would be a nice surprise, and that it would be fun for us to all hang out together. But then Louis and I got into a fight. So now that’s all ruined.
October: Well, that explains why he’s not sitting with us.
Elaine: I don’t think I can be friends with him anymore.
October: What happened?
Elaine: We started talking about politics, you know, after one of those volunteers that register people to vote stopped us on campus, and, get this, he likes Donald Trump. He wants to vote for him. Donald Trump!
October: I didn’t know you were so passionate about politics.
Elaine: Oh sure, I’m very liberal. You know, most college students are, especially art students. That’s why it doesn’t make any sense that Louis likes Trump. I mean, liking Trump has always been my litmus test for whether or not someone is a f#@&ing idiot. And he likes him? It’s insane. It’s asinine… Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. What’s new with you? What did you do this weekend?
October (after giving it a moment’s consideration): My grandma died. She had a stroke a few nights ago.
Although it wasn’t obvious, Elaine had been waiting for the opportunity to console someone for months. She had always been particularly inept at this aspect of socializing. When her roommate, Christina, was dumped by her long-time boyfriend, she came across as insensitive, when she almost immediately changed the subject to her own love interest, who didn’t seem nearly as enthusiastic about bumping into her in the hallway as she was about bumping into him. Or the time that Christina’s friend committed suicide and she chose to bring up the rumor that you get free tuition if your roommate dies. Geez, Christina had a pretty bad freshman year. But all of that was in the past. This was Elaine’s chance to turn the tide and overcome her shortcomings. This was her chance to comfort a friend in a time of need, to help them through the grieving process, to provide a glimmer of light in a time of darkness. This was her chance to shine.
Elaine: Maybe the thought of you being in a play killed her.
God damn it, Elaine.
October (suddenly stricken with feelings of mournfulness): Yeah, maybe.
Elaine: I’m sorry, I’m not very good at consoling people.
October: No, that’s alright. It’s just funny that you mentioned that. Because she died right after she called me on the phone to tell me not to be in this play.
Elaine: Wow, that’s spooky. It’s like it was her dying wish.
Louis (from across the room): Are you seriously still mad at me?
Elaine (annoyed): Oh my god! Maybe we should build a wall through the center of the room!
Elaine (to October): It doesn’t even make sense. He’s latino! I mean, I’m fine with people being self-loathing, but there’s a limit.
Dylan and Vanessa enter. Dylan’s hair is messy, and he’s wearing a disheveled suit, sun glasses, and is mercurially wandering around his mind. Vanessa, forever irritated, is holding a stack of scripts.
Vanessa: Alright, welcome everyone. Today we’re doing a table read. Although, this will probably be nothing like the final draft, since Dylan keeps changing it. So don’t bother memorizing your lines.
Dylan (staring at the ceiling): “And I’ve been putting out fire with gasoline.”
CUT TO:
INT. OCTOBER’S BEDROOM
October enters the room all enthusiastic and jazzed up from play practice. Julia is lying on the floor with a pillow and blanket underneath her, watching Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
October: I’ve decided that I’m going to be a Democrat.
Julia (sitting up a bit): Are you going to drop a bombshell every time you come in here?
October (falling into a chair): No, I’m serious. I’m really going to be politically active. I’m talking hardcore stuff like protesting in the streets and posting articles on Facebook about black people. I’m really gonna do it.
Julia: Why the sudden interest in politics? What, did you see a cute girl in a Rock the Vote t-shirt?
October: No, I was just talking to Elaine, and she was saying how most theater students are liberal. And I thought, you know, if I’m really going to acclimate to and inhabit my newfound theatrical lifestyle, I ought to start participating in the process. She and, my other friend, Louis are fighting because he supports Trump, and she thinks anyone who supports Trump is a you-know-what.
Julia: Huh, that’s pretty uncommon, Trump has really low approval ratings amongst college students.
October: Plus, he’s latino.
Julia: Wait, a young latino, majoring in theater, who supports Trump? That’s like finding a unicorn.
October walks over to the fridge, grabs a Coca-Cola, pops it open, and enjoys a cool, delicious can full of bubbly goodness. “Nothing better than a Coke,” she thinks. (This Sundial article is brought to you by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola, recommended by 4 out of 5 money grubbing dentists*.)
*Dentists surveyed may or may not be licensed. We did not check.
October: You know what I’d like to do? I’d like to flip him—change his mind.
Julia: I don’t know. That’s really hard to do.
October: What are you talking about? That’s like your entire major.
Julia: No, no, no. You know that’s not true.
October: Come on, Julia. You’re a brilliant political mind. A master debater. A once in a generation talent. You’re telling me you can’t convince a college student to stop supporting a race-baiting fascist?
Julia (standing up): I know that you’re just trying to flatter me, but damn it if I’m not inspired. Alright, I’ll do it.
October: Woo! Alright! What’s our plan?
Julia: Aw, man, now I have to come up with a plan?
Julia sits back down, suddenly somber.
CUT TO:
EXT. SCOTT DINING HALL
October and Elaine exit the dining hall after enjoying a nice lunch together. What great friends.
Elaine: Do you really think we can change his mind?
October: I think Julia came up with a pretty good plan.
A Pretty Good Plan
After drinking a cup of coffee and watching a couple more episodes of Last Week Tonight, Julia came up with a plan. The idea was particularly appealing to her, mainly because it was the only one she came up with. In order to get Louis to change his mind, he must be subjected to enormous social pressure. It’s possible that some other type of pressure would do, but it’s a bit difficult to cause a war or a depression or something like that. Why do people change their minds? Julia hadn’t a clue, but she figured someone probably did. Here’s what she believed: People are more likely to change their minds when they want to get busy with someone who disagrees with them. Thus the plan: First, get Louis to agree to go to two political events, one for Hillary supporters and one for Trump supporters. Second, pack the Hillary event with young, hip, attractive Democrats that Louis would want to get down with. Then, pack the Trump event with people no one would want to get down with. For Julia this would just be Trump supporters in general, but for Louis they probably need to act particularly racist and violent.
Elaine: I’m not sure. You know, just because she’s a political science major doesn’t make her automatically good at this type of stuff.
October: She’d argue that it indicates she’s not very good at anything.
Elaine: Alright, I have to get to my dance class. I’ll talk to you later.
Elaine starts off towards her modern dance class, leaving October to wander around like a lost soul—all the more lost as a result of not having any clue how to get back to Baker from Scott. Eventually, she happens upon Mirror Lake, and she thinks, “Hey, maybe I’ll test out that myth.” She carefully edges toward the edge of the “lake,” and stares at her reflection as the wind blows through her hair, like it does to people in those movies where two lovers reunite in a field after being separated for years.
CUT TO:
EXT. JESSICA VENTURA GIVING A TOUR TO A GROUP OF PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
Jessica leads the students and their parents through the South Oval.
Jessica Ventura: This is the South Oval. It’s like the North Oval but smaller and south.
Jessica immediately realizes what a dumb thing this is to say, but when you’ve given as many tours as she has, you start saying whatever pops into your head.
They make their way to Mirror Lake and see October standing on the edge, staring, transfixed, into the water.
CUT TO:
EXT. BACK TO OCTOBER
October’s reflection begins to blur, as the wind picks up around her, and slowly transforms into the image of her late grandmother, Edna.
October: Oh no.
Edna slowly emerges from the water.
CUT TO:
EXT. BACK TO JESSICA
The group of students see October standing in terror, seemingly unsettled by the sight of her own reflection.
Kid from Cincinnati: I think that means there’s six more weeks of winter.
Kid from Cincinnati’s brother: It’s September, dummy!
Kid from Cincinnati: Shut up! It’s a joke, dummy! If a groundhog saw you, it’d be winter for a year!
The mother of the kids from Cincinnati: Quit fighting, dummies! This isn’t the dummy show!
Jessica Ventura: Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on over there, folks. Sometimes during football season people jump in there for whatever reason, she might be confused about the timing. There’s a lot of strange people on campus, but that’s all part of the school’s charm.
Kid from Cincinnati: Do you know Jesse Ventura?
Jessica Ventura: Please don’t ask me about Jesse Ventura.
Kid from Cincinnati’s brother: They’re probably related, dummy.
CUT TO:
EXT. OCTOBER AGAIN
October’s grandmother wades out of the water and climbs onto the sidewalk. Her clothes dry instantly upon hitting the air, which might sound eery, but was, in actuality, oddly comforting. No one else can see Edna, so that explains why no one’s freaking out about the old lady in the lake.
October: Grandma?
Edna: I thought I told you, child.
October: How did your clothes dry so quickly?
Edna: You are forbidden from acting in a play! I forbid you!
October: I thought you were dead.
Edna: It is my dying command, and yet you forsake me. Look at your reflection, child. You’re not pretty enough to be an actress.
Edna disappears and October sees her same old reflection in the water.
October: But I was gonna play Ziggy Stardust.
CUT TO:
END PART TWO
–EJS, Staff Member