On the Commute

MAN

BOY

SCENE 1: A subway station.

A man stands before the metro card machine. A boy waits behind him impatiently. The man opens a birthday card and removes a crisp twenty-dollar bill from it. He holds it in one hand while punching a few buttons on the metro card machine with the other. Just as he starts to slip it into the machine, the boy stops him.

BOY

Wait…

(The boy pulls a crumpled twenty from his wallet and holds it out to the man. The man stares at him.)

You can’t buy a metro card with… birthday money.

MAN

(holding up the greeting card)

Father’s Day.

BOY

That’s got to be bad luck or something. Just… please.

(The man takes the twenty, buys a metro card, and slips the crisp bill back into the card. He proceeds to the turnstile without saying thank you. The train arrives and he boards it before the boy has purchased his own metro card.)

BOY

(yelling after the train has left the station)

You’re welcome!

SCENE 2: The next day. Same station.

The man again stands in front of the card machine, punching in numbers. The boy enters. The man retrieves the same birthday card and removes the crisp twenty-dollar bill from it.

BOY

What are you doing?

MAN

What does it look like I’m doing?

BOY

I bought you a card yesterday.

MAN

I lost it.

(They stand there looking at each other.)

MAN

Do you want to buy me another one?

BOY

No I don’t want to buy you another one!

(The man shrugs, slips the twenty into the machine, and proceeds through the turnstile. The boy follows him. They stand in silence for several beats. The boy takes out a fresh looking copy of The Road and opens it to an earmarked page somewhere in the middle.)

BOY

You could say thank you.

MAN

Thank you. (Beat.) Like that book?

BOY

It’s amazing. (Beat.) You read Kerouac?

MAN

Nah.

BOY

You should read this. It’s good.

MAN

Read it already.

BOY

You said you didn’t know Kerouac.

MAN

He didn’t write that.

(The boy looks at the cover sheepishly. The train arrives.)

SCENE 3: The next day. The station.

The boy arrives on the subway platform. He stands reading his book. The man arrives, pulls a used copy of On the Road from his pocket and hands it to the boy.

BOY

Thanks.