STEMS OF YOU
BY: Tyrone Almon Lucious
(Inspired by real life people and real life vibes)
INT. HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM- TED TALK
The auditorium is filling up with students, dreading the day and fitting into their seats. There is chatter about who they think the guest speaker is. Many think it's a celebrity or a professional athlete. A few kids are wearing shirts with red roses on them. The stage is empty until everyone is settled in a nearly silent. An older man walks onto the stage and sits in a lone chair in the middle. He crosses his arms and looks around at the students. He coughs and takes a pause. We know him as Mr. G.
MR. G
(calmly)
Hello, students. Hello staff. You probably are all wondering why some old man is sitting in a cracked up wooden chair talking in front of you. You probably see that I shake a lot when I talk. You know what that's from? Practicing making people feel bad for you.
The audience lightens up and laughs as Mr. G raises up from the chair.
MR. G
I'm here to tell you all a story about a man and a woman's journey that changed their life forever. So, they were each 18 years old in Wisconsin. Actually she was 18 and he was 17. The girl was an exchange student from Italy and the boy was a plain American writer with aspirations to write for the youth generation. The girl simply could never figure out what she wanted to pursue. One day she was an ambassador, the next day she was a zookeeper. We'll call the boy Tom and the girl, Sue. Sue came to America with only the thought of education and an 'experience.' Let's just say she got that and then some. Tom was feeling as if he had no hope or faith in women anymore. He had ultimately given up.
Dexter takes a sip of water and takes a seat back on the wooden chair.
MR. G
Now I sit as the story gets good. They eventually met through a mutual friend of theirs in about December. There was an awkward exchange over text because obviously english was her second language. It was a little unsettling for the both of them but Tom was persistent. In a sense, he saw something in her. Conversations escalated to romantic levels and they each felt great, telling all of their family and friends about each other. Fast forwarding, they fell in love as easy as you'd ever imagine. It was a natural love. It was a poetic love that could be simply explained but never imaginable. Fast forwarding even further, they fell in love...hard. She had to go back home in June and it was devastating for the both of them. They were soulmates in an obvious sense. What was the point of this story? This story sparks so many things in young minds. There is the general idea of being open minded and believing that love exists. Many of us are on either side of the "love" gate. It's either "love sucks" or "that's all that exists." Both sides get you hurt severely. When you get thrown the signs, don't ignore them. I'm not here today to preach God to you, because I, myself don't necessarily believe. The item of life is to love, live and laugh...also to judge your ass off. The worst part about bad stories is that you can't feel it. Feeling is the central idea of mankind.
The appear confused but oddly intrigued. A girl stands up and walks to the microphone in the middle aisle. She looks proud and confident. She is identified as Chelsea Wellz.
CHELSEA
Hi, Mr-?
DEXTER
Mr. G.
CHELSEA
This may be a broad question but what is YOUR story?
MR. G
