Overview
- Female: 2
- Male: 0
Context
Always a high achiever at high school, Jeanette is frustrated at not getting in to a prestigious summer engineering program. She is particularly annoyed that her best friend, Sarah, and her boyfriend have both got in and are going without her. She has been taking out her frustration on Sarah, who is packing to go away. Finally, Sarah has had enough, and openly accuses Jeanette of blatant jealousy.
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SARAH You know, I don’t think you’re mad that I’m going without you--
JEANETTE I’m not mad. I’m hurt.
SARAH I think you are hurt -- and mad -- that Tim is going without you and you are taking it out on me.
JEANETTE I’m not mad at Tim. Tim was always going. You only learned about it from Tim. So I’m not mad at Tim. I’m mad at you. And I’m not mad, I’m hurt.
SARAH So it has nothing to do with Tim?
JEANETTE Well, it only has to do with Tim insofar as I don’t understand why you think it’s okay to go away with my boyfriend for the summer. Like, as my friend I don’t understand why you would think that is okay.
SARAH I’m not “going away with him.” We’re both going to the same program.
JEANETTE The same program together, yes.
SARAH Maybe I should room with him.
A beat.
JEANETTE That’s not funny. And they wouldn’t allow it, anyway.
SARAH I know. It was a joke.
JEANETTE Well then, maybe you should go to comedy camp this summer instead, because you’re not very good at jokes.
SARAH So, wait. If you had gotten in and I hadn’t, you wouldn’t go?
JEANETTE That’s not the same thing--
SARAH That’s exactly, precisely the same thing.
JEANETTE It’s not because it would be, like, really weird for me to not go with Tim if I could.
SARAH So it is about Tim.
JEANETTE No, I’m just saying it would be weird for me to not go with him. But it’s not weird for you to not go with him because he’s not you’re boyfriend.
SARAH But it would be weird for me to go to this super competitive engineering program that I got into, just because you didn’t get in.
JEANETTE It’s not that I didn’t get in. I could have gotten in. You only got in because I helped you with your application.
SARAH You read my essay. After I finished it.
JEANETTE And I gave you feedback.
SARAH You gave me some feedback.
JEANETTE It made it much better.
SARAH And I read your essay and gave you feedback.
JEANETTE Yeah, but I didn’t take it because they weren’t good ideas. And, yeah, it’s super weird that you’re going when I’m not going and we had a plan. That’s not the act, you know, of a friend of ten years. Which, you know, I always thought we were.
SARAH But you didn’t get in. And if it was so important for you to go with him you should have worked harder on the application.
JEANETTE I worked on the application.
SARAH You started working on it two days before it was due. I know you’re used to pulling things out of your ass at the last minute, but this isn’t high school. And after next year, nothing is going to be high school. So maybe you should get used to working harder.
JEANETTE You started working on it the same night I did.
SARAH Yes, but this is the kind of thing I can pull out of my ass at the last minute. Apparently you can’t.
JEANETTE Yeah, so if I had worked harder, I would have gotten in and you wouldn’t have and then how would you feel? You need to think about other people sometimes.
SARAH Why are you having this conversation with me and not with Tim?
JEANETTE Because Tim is my boyfriend and you are my friend. And that’s different.
SARAH Because you’re afraid he’ll break up with you. And you’re not afraid I will.
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