The Thoroughbred Racing Pigeon by Leonardo Hernandez
This Play is the copyright of the Author and must NOT be Performed without the Author's PRIOR consent
ACT I
Scene I- Dolly On The Loose
The scene opens on the campus. There are students walking to and from classes and several teachers might be taking a break outdoors. Noah enters, worriedly rushing on.
NOAH: Here, Dolly, Dolly! Where are ya, girl? Come on, Dolly, come to papa! I know you’re around here somewhere!
Weston enters, rushing on as if he had been following Noah.
WESTON: Do you see her anywhere?
NOAH: Nowhere, Weston! I’ve even tried calling out to her, but no answer!
WESTON: Maybe she’s not buying your pigeon calls?
NOAH: No, way! I’m the top pigeon trainer in the club— probably the whole country, no doubt! My call is one hundred percent authentic!
WESTON: Okay then, Noah, let’s hear it. Call for her.
NOAH: Alright… you asked for it!
Noah clears his throat and begins cooing in a very awkward and annoying manner; not realistic at all.
NOAH: Coo! Coo! Coooooooo!
Weston covers his ears.
WESTON: Okay, okay, cut it out!
NOAH: Pretty realistic, huh?
WESTON: That was certainly… something. Unfortunately, no matter how stellar your pigeon call is, she still didn’t answer.
NOAH: Darn.
WESTON: Did you check on the dorm roof and see if she flew back to the coop this morning?
NOAH: Yeah, I checked about an hour after I woke you up to tell you she was missing in the first place.
WESTON: By the way, next time you wake me up about a missing pigeon, can you not do it by pouring your breakfast smoothie on my feet?
NOAH: Hey, you wouldn’t wake up and I didn’t want to waste any time looking for her! You’d be just as worried if Ricardo went missing!
WESTON: Well at least Ricardo was smart enough to not fly the coop the second he noticed the door got knocked open.
NOAH: I don’t even know how that happened in the first place… it wasn’t even that windy last night and all the locks are brand new!
WESTON: Maybe we should double-check the coop and see if she came back?
NOAH: Maybe… I just don’t understand why she would have left in the first place…
WESTON: Wait!
NOAH: What?
WESTON: Have you checked over by the English lecture hall yet?
NOAH: No… maybe she’s roosting in a tree somewhere over there?
Elliot enters and Weston takes notice.
WESTON: Hey, here comes Professor Elliot! Maybe he saw Dolly over by the lecture hall when he was there for morning classes!
Elliot does not notice the boys, so both call for his attention.
NOAH & WESTON: Professor Elliot!
NOAH: Hey!
WESTON: Over here!
Elliot notices them and walks over to the two.
ELLIOT: Hello, boys. What seems to be the matter?
WESTON: It’s Noah’s racing pigeon, Dolly! She’s gone missing!
ELLIOT: Dolly?! Missing?! That’s simply disastrous! Why she’s the finest thoroughbred racing pigeon I’ve ever laid eyes on! I presume you two have yet to recover her?
NOAH: We can’t find her anywhere! We were hoping you might have seen her over by the English lecture hall.
ELLIOT: Well, I just came from there after my last class of the morning… I did observe a few pigeons flying about the campus, but I didn’t pay them much mind. My apologies, boys, but I can’t be certain if any of them were Dolly.
WESTON: That’s alright, Professor. We were gonna go back and check the coop again to see if she came back. We might as well go run over to the lecture hall real quick to see if any of the pigeons you saw were Dolly.
ELLIOT: Alright then, but remember, “The sands are number’d that make up my life; here must I stay, and here my life must end!”
NOAH: Huh?
Weston leans over to whisper to Noah.
WESTON: Part three of Henry the sixth.
ELLIOT: Much like the minutes of our lives are numbered and precious, so are those of Dolly’s life. Take haste and don’t waste time finding her! Who knows what kind of troubles that pigeon of yours could be in!
Elliot exits.
NOAH: Great. Very reassuring.
Blackout, end of scene.
Scene II- Super Senses
The scene opens in Noah and Weston’s dorm. Weston is seated and watching Noah pace around the room.
NOAH: I don’t understand... where could she be!? She’s not by the lecture hall, she hasn’t returned to the coop, and she— Weston!
WESTON: What?
NOAH: What if… what if she’s dead!?
WESTON: Noah—
NOAH: She’s probably lying in a gutter somewhere! Cold and lifeless! Oh… my poor Dolly!
WESTON: Noah! I’m sure she’s not dead! She’s a great homing pigeon and an even better flyer. She knows how to survive out there and take care of herself!
NOAH: Yeah, well if she’s such a great homing pigeon, then tell me why she hasn’t flown back to the coop yet!? Wanna know why, Weston!? It’s because she’s—!
WESTON: Gosh darn it, Noah! For the last time! She’s not dead!
Noah goes to sit down with Weston.
NOAH: Yeah, yeah, you’re probably right. Dolly’s a smart girl.
WESTON: Don’t let this get you down, we’ll find her. I promise.
NOAH: You’re right! We just have to keep looking!
WESTON: Alright, think. Is there anywhere we forgot to search?
NOAH: Hmmm… English lecture hall… tennis court…
WESTON: ...The coop on the roof…
NOAH: ...The park by the science lab…
WESTON: Hey!
NOAH: What?
WESTON: What if another student saw Dolly and took her to the lost and found over by the front office?!
NOAH: Weston, I doubt that anyone who saw a random pigeon flying around campus would assume it belonged to someone and then take it to the lost and found. If anyone has seen her, they wouldn’t know, they’d probably just think she was a wild pigeon. Besides, most of the people here probably don’t even know that the school has a pigeon racing club.
WESTON: You’re probably right.
NOAH: I appreciate the thought, though.
WESTON: Well, if she wouldn’t be at the lost and found… and we’ve checked everywhere else…
NOAH: Where could she be?
WESTON: I know!
NOAH: Huh?
Weston takes out his phone.
WESTON: I’ll message everyone in the club and call for an emergency meeting! “Hey guys, Noah’s pigeon, Dolly, went missing sometime last night. We’ve been searching all day for her but cannot find her anywhere. If you don’t have any classes at this time, we will be calling an emergency meeting over by our usual racing spot in…”
NOAH: How does half an hour sound?
WESTON: “...In half an hour! Please come and let us know if you’ve seen Dolly at all today and help us commence a search party. If we work together, we’ll be able to cover more ground and find her in no time! Thanks!”
NOAH: Sounds good to me.
WESTON: Alright, and… sent!
NOAH: Do you really think any of the others will have seen her?
WESTON: Maybe, maybe not. But if we have a bigger search party, we'll have a better chance of finding her.
NOAH: Okay, let's get ready.
WESTON: You get ready, I’m going to go and check up on Ricardo real quick. He gets antsy if I don’t visit him at least five times a day, and I’m sure he’s lonely without Dolly to keep him company.
NOAH: You’re not trying to blame my Dolly for your pigeon’s attachment issues, are you?
WESTON: Not at all, I’m just saying if Dolly hadn’t flown the coop, maybe Ricardo wouldn’t be pacing around and crying his beady little eyes out!
NOAH: How do you know that's what he’s doing?
WESTON: Why, my fantastic, super-human pigeon senses, of course!
NOAH: Uh huh, why don’t you go stick your head out the window and use those “pigeon senses” of yours to spot Dolly, okay?
WESTON: Oh, yee of little faith!
Blackout, all exit. End of scene.