91 pages, Drama in two acts
5 M, 2 W – 2009 (new draft, 2019)
Pained by her parents’ fraying marriage and her mother’s public fight against teaching creation science, Phoebe seeks independence through romance. Her passion for self-fulfillment triggers unforeseen violence between jealous boyfriends. Facing the costs that teens and parents must pay for physical, psychological and spiritual survival, Phoebe discovers that every relationship, life’s essential building block, brings shock and regret.
Characters
Janis Brighton 38, Teacher swearing by science
Roy Sturdivant 38, Preacher fighting for God
Paul Sturdivant 17, Student chasing achievement
Phoebe Brighton 15, Student loving through poetry
Ben Brighton 39, Meteorologist stuck to the silver lining
Victor Akins 16, Basketball player shooting for life
Ezekiel Akins 45, Minister leaning on science
Time
December, 1981
Place
Little Rock, Arkansas: including homes, the federal courthouse, a TV station, school, church and an emergency room. All seem spare against the changing sky.
“Knowledge about life is one thing; effective occupation of a place in life, with its dynamic currents passing through your being, is another.”
~William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience
