SYBIL
Chapter 20: The Novel

Characters

BEN: a man in his 40’s.

GIRL: a young female college student.

NARATOR: a middle aged man, dressed in black.

Setting

BEN and the GIRL are on a campus walkway.

Scene 1

(NARRATOR to the audience.)

NARATOR

Ben is an English professor at a small college. His actions are often shrouded in mystery and occasionally he disappears. This is one of those stories.

(Ben and a female student are on a campus walkway. The girl is jogging. She runs past Ben, stops, and runs back.)

GIRL

You’re that professor, aren’t you?

BEN

Which professor?

GIRL

The one that everybody is talking about.

BEN

You mean the one whose novel he’s hoping to have published soon?

GIRL

No, the one that all the girls are talking about?

BEN

Well, that would be nice, too. But, I don’t think so.

GIRL

You are the one that assigned the sex novel for the literature class.

BEN

Are you talking about Vladimir Nabokov?

GIRL

Is he the one who wrote about the illicit relationship between an English professor and his 12-year-old step-daughter?

BEN

Lolita.

GIRL

Yes. That’s it. It’s about pedophilia.

BEN

It’s love story.

GIRL

It’s creepy.

BEN

It was one of the great novels of the twentieth century.

GIRL

Nobody reads that anymore.

BEN

They should.

GIRL

Well, this is the twenty-first century. You could have been more current.

BEN

Good literature stands the test of time.

GIRL

It’s pornography.

BEN

Who says so?

GIRL

All the girls in your class. I heard they went to the Dean.

BEN

That has all been cleared up.

GIRL

I heard that you were in trouble.

BEN

Because of the novel?

GIRL

No. Because you were inappropriate with one of the students.

BEN

I don’t think so.

GIRL

They say you’ve been seeing a student outside of class, at the beach.

BEN

Who’s saying that?

GIRL

The girl who went to the beach.

BEN

Is that a problem?

GIRL

The Dean thinks so. It’s all over campus.

BEN

I didn’t hear that.

GIRL

Social media too. I suppose you didn’t know that either?

BEN

No. And, nothing happened at the beach.

GIRL

Well. Everyone thinks so.

BEN

But I didn’t do anything. I simply assigned a novel by one of the great authors of all time and I met to discuss it with a student.

GIRL

Sex novel. Inappropriate meetings. Maybe, you should have talked to her on campus? (beat) Once.

BEN

I have academic freedom. I can pick whatever novels I want. And, I can discuss them with students wherever.

GIRL

I’m just saying, you need to do something.

BEN

What?

GIRL

Get a lawyer.

BEN

But I didn’t do anything.

GIRL

That doesn’t matter. You need legal counsel.

BEN

I’m innocent.

GIRL

It’s not looking that way on campus.

BEN

I don’t know what to do?

GIRL

It might be good to lay low. You could disappear for a while.

(NARRATOR to the audience.)

NARATOR

The girl then turns away from Ben and continues on her run. Ben has a look of bewilderment. Even those closest to Ben couldn’t see what was coming next.

BLACKOUT

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