4

Three A.M.

ALAN's bedroom.

MARNIE, creeping, singing under her breath, again à la "We're Off to See the Wizard":

MARNIE

We're inside Alan's bedroom, in the midd-ddle of the niiiiiight, in the mid-dle, mid-dle, mid-dle, mid-dle middddddle of the night, to borrow to borrow his radio, la la la la, la la la la…

She spots his radio, glowing like a Holy Grail (or not) above his bed. She leans in, reaches for it, smiles as she has it in her grasp—when she hits a button by accident and the radio turns on and country music blasts out!

ALAN flies out of bed!

ALAN

Thief! Thief!

The noise draws DAD and MOM; they rush in and see MARNIE!

DAD

The thief looks familiar—!

MOM

Marnie, what is this—?

ALAN

It's three in the morning—!

MARNIE

It's nothing! It's… you are still dreeeeeeaammmming…

ALAN

I don't think that'll work, Marns.

MARNIE

Oh! Eek! Bye!

She runs away. They wait for her. A moment. She returns.

Oh hi, everybody! Ah. What's everybody still doing up? It's three in the morning!

They stare at her.

MOM

Explanation, Marnie?

MARNIE

Me no speakie English.

ALAN

I'm going back to bed.

MOM

You woke your brother, Marnie.

ALAN

That's okay, I don't sleep anyway, I'm an insomniac, remember? God. People these days.

MARNIE

Sorry, Alan.

ALAN

Oh, it's not your fault. You're innocent.

MARNIE

Thanks, Alan.

ALAN

It's the adults who are corrupting what's pure in today's—

DAD

Weren't you going back to bed, Alan?

MOM

Please, do we have to do this in the middle of the night—?

ALAN

My night started three days ago, because I HAVE INSOMNIA, Mom—

DAD

Maybe you're falling asleep and dreaming you're still awake—

ALAN

Great, Dad, so I'm not an insomniac, I'm just an idiot who can't tell dreams from—

MARNIE

Stop stop stop!

They stop.

Your interrogation methods are horrible! Okay—I'll show you what I'm doing. But only if you promise you won't make me stop doing it.

MOM

Well, what is it you're doing?

MARNIE

No, promise me first.

MOM

How can we promise if we don't know what the promise entails?

ALAN

Mom's a logician, Marnie. It's like a magician, but less fun.

DAD

I promise you I'll promise if it's a promiseable promise.

MARNIE

And if it isn't?

DAD

I promise I'll hope it is.

ALAN

Don't worry, Marnie, they'll probably forget about it within a couple of days anyway.

MOM

That's not true. Why would you say that?

ALAN

Because your short-term memory is starting to fail. It's perfectly natural, if a little sad—

DAD

Very nice, Alan—

MARNIE

Arrêtez!

Ils arrêtent.

Come with me. It's in the basement.

She leads them into the basement.

Now, I don't want you to be shocked. Or alarmed! So don't be. It's not what it looks like.

They stare at her. She goes over to her would-be spaceship and pulls away the sheet that covers it, and…

Silence.

Her family doesn't gasp or shout. So MARNIE gasps for them. Dramatically. She looks for a response. Gets none.

Well?

Silence.

So?

Nothing.

Sew?

That is: "sue"?

MOM

…it's pronounced "so."

MARNIE

Aren't you shocked? Or alarmed?! Ahhhhhh! Ahh.

ALAN

What…

MARNIE

Yes?

ALAN

…oh never mind.

DAD

I think what your brother wanted to ask is—

MOM

What is it?

MARNIE

…what is it?

DAD

Yeah.

MARNIE

Haven't you ever seen a spaceship before?

Silence. They look at her. They look at it. They look at her.

ALAN

I'm going back to sleep. Or not sleep.

MOM

Me too.

MARNIE

But aren't you… upset?

MOM

Upset? I'm relieved this is just playing pretend. For a moment there you really had me worried.

MARNIE

But… but…

ALAN

Send me a postcard from the moon, okay?

MARNIE

You're… you're laughing…?

MOM

We're not laughing—

ALAN

We're laughing a little. It's cute.

MARNIE

Cute?

MOM

Cute when it's not in a pile that anybody can trip over. We'll keep it over in the corner, okay, Marnie?

MARNIE

But I… I… CUTE!?

MOM

We'll talk about this when I'm more awake.

MARNIE

And you!

ALAN

Me?

MARNIE

You! I didn't laugh at you, when you told me about your—

ALAN

Shh.

MARNIE

Your—

ALAN

Shh. Okay. Sure.

MOM

Your what?

ALAN

Yawn. I'm tired. Me no speakie English. Bye bye.

He leaves.

MOM

(to MARNIE) You and I. Conversation about this. Later.

She goes too.

MARNIE looks very small, bewildered, defeated. Pause.

DAD

You want to build a spaceship?

MARNIE

Never mind. I'm just… playing pretend.

DAD

But you really want to build a spaceship?

MARNIE

Forget it. I'm just being cute.

DAD

Because if you were really trying to build a spaceship… maybe I could help. If you tell me why you want to build one.

MARNIE

…that's simple. To be independent. To be alone. To be in outer space, where you're happy because you're all on your own, not counting the Martians, and you're not surrounded by grown-ups who…

DAD

You don't like it here?

MARNIE

No, I do, I do, I think I do, sometimes, but…

DAD

But you want to know what it's like to be alone.

MARNIE

Yeah.

DAD

I understand.

MARNIE

You do?

DAD

Let's build ourselves a spaceship.