Tales From Creative Writing

Interdimensional Prom

At RISE:
(A jungle-like setting, maybe with ambient sound effects and dimmed lighting except for a light on upstage, focused on a ring large enough for someone to jump through. TIANA and OTTO, both wearing slightly tattered prom outfits, jump through the hoop from backstage. The hoop is taken away and lighting is dimmed.)

(Otto sighs and sits down, exhausted.)

OTTO: No. Nope. This is so unreal. I'm so done.

(Tiana stands up straight and looks at Otto disapprovingly.)

TIANA: I think this is plenty real. Get up, I don't think we're home just yet.

OTTO: Nothing's trying to kill us right now, right? I need a break to process everything that's happened in the last…hour?

(Otto checks his phone. He lays flat on his back.)

OTTO: Yeah. Ohhhh my god, this is the worst prom ever. Absolute worst way this could’ve gone.

TIANA: Well, your whining isn’t really helping– Otto, was it? Yeah. You’re not helping.

OTTO: Look, I’m sorry, this is just…a lot, you know? Don’t you feel overwhelmed? Scared?

TIANA: I’m focusing on what we need to do, and that starts with getting it together. I agree, we should go over what happened, but we don’t need complaining on top of it.

(Otto sits back up.)

OTTO: Okay, yeah, yeah, I’m with you. Sorry.

TIANA: Thank you. (She sits next to him.) First, our prom was crashed, and then we were attacked by something…unnatural. Any ideas on what they were?

OTTO: Um…aliens?

TIANA: Okay. Aliens. We’ll go with that. They came out of these…portal things, and we escaped through one of them. Then we landed somewhere like a grassland, and we got attacked again by…ugh, I don’t even know what it was.

OTTO: Kind of looked like a saber-toothed tiger? But if they were seven feet tall and had two foot long chompers.

TIANA: How is that even possible?

OTTO: Maybe we time-traveled?

TIANA: That’s ridiculous.

OTTO: So is aliens crashing our senior prom.

TIANA: Right. Yeah. Back on topic. We escaped again, through another portal, right?

OTTO: Yeah. Still don’t know how that happened. Dimension anomaly?

TIANA: What?

OTTO: Okay, uh– this is a science-fiction-slash-fantasy thing so hear me out. Those aliens came from interdimensional portals, and now that’s caused anomalies all over the multiverse, and that’s how all this is happening right now.

TIANA: What are you talking about.

OTTO: Nevermind, i-it’s silly. (Beat.) But it’s also the only explanation I have.

TIANA: Why would aliens attack a senior prom, of all things? Why is any of this happening, actually!?

OTTO: Alien…things. Have you ever watched a movie with aliens in it? It’s kind of their thing.

TIANA: No, I– Ugh. Can you think of anything else?

OTTO: Not…not right now, no. I mean, I’m trying, but there’s only so much I can extrapolate from, uh. Aliens coming out of portals, you know. It kind of is the only explanation when you think about it.

(Tiana stands up and starts pacing.)

TIANA: This makes no sense. This makes no sense.

(Otto stands up, reaches to put his hand on her shoulder, but retracts it.)