31 Plays in 31 Days: #5 - "Wondra"

Today, surprisingly, was the first day I struggled a little to figure out what story to write about; the others came to relatively easily by comparison. But I settled on the silly little conceit of a stay-at-home mom who, for some reason, has a surprising amount of empathy for a local female superhero. I think this is the weakest of all the pieces I've written so far for 31 Days 31 Plays, I feel like I've missed a lot of opportunities. This should be wittier and funnier, and I should have come up with a cleverer name for the superhero than Wondra. Of course, in making fun of the fact that Wondra isn't the best name, I added in one of the few actually funny lines in the piece. Still, lame as it may be right now, it might have potential if I go back and fix it up later. I like the conceit, even if I didn't quite make it work this time. And hey, at least I'm still five for five!


Day #5 - "Wondra"

(A woman, JILLIAN, is laying out breakfasts and packing a lunchbox in the kitchen. She is dressed in a big fluffy bathrobe. She checks the large wristwatch she is wearing.)

JILLIAN: Katie! Hurry up or you’re going to be late!

(A small girl, KATIE, runs in.)

KATIE: Stop right there, evildoer! Wondra is here!

(JILLIAN laughs and hands her lunchbox to her.)

JILLIAN: Come on, Wondra, don’t forget your lunch or you’ll be fighting crime on an empty stomach.

(Enter RICH, her husband, dressed for work.)

RICH: Sweetie, don’t you have a bus to catch?

KATIE: I got bad guys to catch! Just like Wondra!

RICH: Well, get moving, Mom can’t drive you, she’s got her gymnastics class.

KATIE: I’m going to be a great gymnast too someday!

RICH: You want to win a medal too?

KATIE: No, I want to fight crime like Wondra!

(JILLIAN laughs as KATIE runs out.)

JILLIAN: She's playing superheroes again.

RICH: You know, she’s in the news again today. The real Wondra.

JILLIAN: (Pleased) Oh, yeah?

RICH: Another article in the paper for your collection. Apparently she caught a bunch of guys trying to break into a jewelry store, beat them up, and left them tied to the flag pole in the center of the mini-mall.

JILLIAN: Heh, the flag pole was a nice touch, huh?

(RICH sniggers and shakes his head.)

JILLIAN: Huh? What are you laughing about?

RICH: What? Oh, nothing, it’s just— I don’t get what could possess somebody to do this.

JILLIAN: What!?

RICH: I mean, it’s crazy! This girl’s running around in colored tights and a mask karate-kicking bad guys! She sounds like a nut!

JILLIAN: She is not!

RICH: And that name! Isn’t Wondra that special flour you can find in the grocery store that makes really good gravy?

JILLIAN: It’s because she’s wonderful, Rich!

RICH: Oh, what’s so wonderful about her?

JILLIAN: I think she’s great! She’s out there, you know, foiling crime and protecting the innocent!

RICH: She’s going to get herself killed.

JILLIAN: I think she’s brave. Risking herself to do the right thing.

(JILLIAN turns away and begins angrily eating her own breakfast. RICH is surprised by the strength of her reaction.)

RICH: Jill? Are you okay?

JILLIAN: Sure.

RICH: Come on, Jill, what’s wrong?

JILLIAN: It’s just… I don’t think it’s fair to just dismiss her as a crazy person when she’s just trying to do some good! She has… the special abilities she needs to do something nobody else can do, and you just deride her for wanting to do it?

RICH: Jeez, I didn’t mean—

JILLIAN: And God forbid somebody like her step outside their assigned role as helpless female! I for one am glad Katie has a strong female role model!

RICH: Jillian—

JILLIAN: Someone who makes a difference! Somebody who doesn’t just settle for… mundane, conventional, boring… safety.

(She finishes in a huff and crosses her arms, not looking at him.)

RICH: Oh. Wow. I, uh, I’m sorry, Jillian.

(She doesn’t answer.)

RICH: Are you okay?

JILLIAN: No!

RICH: I’m sorry. Please talk to me. We should talk about this. Do you feel like you’re conventional and boring?

JILLIAN: No!

RICH: Do you feel like we don’t appreciate the special stuff about you?

JILLIAN: No! Well… maybe.

RICH: Well, I’m sorry about that. I do think you’re special.

JILLIAN: Really?

RICH: Yeah! You’re always busy, you have a lot of projects. You expose Katie to all kinds of cool stuff I never could! And you’re really dedicated—I mean, you won all those competitions as a professional gymnast! I think it’s cool that you still keep up with it even after you retired.

(She makes a face of frustration.)

RICH: And I’m proud of the fact that you always want to do the right thing.

(She melts a little.)

JILLIAN: Well… I’m glad you see all that.

RICH: I do.

JILLIAN: And you promise you won’t make fun of Wondra anymore?

RICH: Promise. She’s pretty amazing, actually, now that you mention it.

JILLIAN: You better believe she is!

(She smacks his playfully on the shoulder, smiling again. They kiss.)

RICH: I guess I’d better get going to work. I love you, honey.

JILLIAN: I love you, too.

RICH: I’ll see you tonight. Have a good day!

(He gathers up his bag and exits.)

(Once JILLIAN is alone in the kitchen, a blue light on the wristwatch starts blinking. JILLIAN looks at it intently, then pulls a blue domino mask out of her robe pocket and puts it on her face. She throws off the robe, revealing her skintight blue Wondra costume.)

JILLIAN: Don’t worry, dear, I will!

(She dashes offstage to save the day.)