Scene 1
EMMA and SIMON are playing a game of chess in their studio apartment to pass the time during a storm. In their apartment, there is a bed, a couch, and a small dining table with two chairs, which they are currently using for their game. The apartment is otherwise dark and bare, and a large window prominently covers most of one wall. There is also a chessboard on the table where they are sitting, with a checkerboard behind.
Sounds of rain and thunder are heard in the background.
EMMA
Counter threat.
SIMON
Dammit.
EMMA
Your move.
SIMON (flustered, after a pause)
I’m stuck.
Thunder crashes.
EMMA
Retreat your king, maybe.
SIMON
Okay.
EMMA (enthusiastically)
CHECKMATE!
SIMON
You tricked me!
EMERGENCY ALERTER
Winds are now expected to surpass the 102 km/h speed that was initially announced. Please ensure garbage bins are stored safely in the garage or secured tightly to the side of the house.
SIMON
Can we start over?
EMMA
Fine. Do you want to set up the board?
SIMON
I don’t know how.
EMMA
Wanna learn? Watch. (She clears all the pieces off the board and then resets them one by one)
SIMON
Rooks first.
EMMA
Rooks first, always. Then knights.
SIMON
Next to the rooks.
EMMA
Right, exactly. What’s next?
SIMON
Pawns.
EMMA
No, bishops. See? Next to the knights.
SIMON
Which are next to the rooks.
EMMA
Exactly. Here, watch. (She completes the setup while EMERGENCY ALERTER speaks)
EMERGENCY ALERTER
A tornado is expected to touch down within the next fifteen minutes. Active funnel clouds are a severe threat to life and property. Stay away from windows and get to the lowest possible level of the building you are in. Basements are highly preferred. Do not go outside, and do not attempt to drive.
SIMON
Away from windows? Maybe we should move.
EMMA
We can’t. We have nowhere to go.
SIMON
Well, we’ve got to do something. It just said within the next fifteen minutes.
EMMA
The best we can do is put a mattress against the window. We’re lucky we’re on the second floor and not the fifth.
SIMON
It said to find a basement.
EMMA
I don’t think our apartment building has a basement.
SIMON
Okay, help me get the mattress off the bed. We’ll put it against the window.
EMMA pretends to ignore him and starts playing a game of chess against herself.
SIMON
Emma, please.
EMMA
We’ve got time for another round.
SIMON
Please help me with the mattress, and then I’ll play another round with you.
EMMA
All right, I’ll give you a hand.
EMMA and SIMON struggle to get the mattress off the bed as EMERGENCY ALERTER speaks.
EMERGENCY ALERTER
Take cover immediately. Do not go outside for any reason. Stay away from windows, and stay low. Possible power outages may occur and persist through the night. Have a generator, a battery-powered radio, or a fully charged smartphone or laptop on hand. In case of flying debris, keep your head and neck protected.
EMMA and SIMON stand the mattress up so it leans on the window.
EMMA
There, that should do it.
SIMON
It’s the bare minimum.
EMMA
Let’s play another round.
SIMON follows EMMA to the table. They sit down.
EMMA
I’ll start.
SIMON
You always start.
EMMA
Okay, you start then. You can be white. I’ll be black.
SIMON ponders carefully before making his first move. EMMA moves immediately after, not thinking about it at all.
EMERGENCY ALERTER
Take cover immediately.
SIMON (nervously and sharply)
Immediately, Emma!
EMMA
We’ve done what we can do.
SIMON
What, the stupid mattress? You think that’ll hold off an entire tornado?
EMMA
Simon, there isn’t much more we can do. Obviously, a tiny apartment suite isn’t the ideal place to hide from a tornado.
SIMON
To put it mildly.
EMMA
You’re freaking out. Chess would probably help take your mind off it.
SIMON
I don’t even know how to play.
EMMA
Yes, you do. You’re still learning. Really, I think it would be a good distraction and help you not to freak out so much. Simon, look, focus on the game. Don’t worry about the storm.
Thunder crashes.
SIMON
I can’t. I can’t focus.
EMMA
Fine, Simon. I was just trying to help.
SIMON
Yes, and I appreciate that, but how about the next time we play chess, we play it on a nice, sunny day, preferably without tornado warnings?
EMMA
Should we play a more leisurely game?
SIMON
Um, like what?
EMMA
Anything. You can choose.
SIMON
Checkers?
EMMA
You know, the tornado will probably pass us. We’ll get wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, but I doubt it will touch down anywhere near us.
SIMON
I wish I had your confidence.
EMMA (fidgeting with the chess pieces)
To be honest, I am a little worried, too, but I’m just trying to think positively. It could be worse.
SIMON
How?
EMMA
We could be stuck outside. Or we could have no mattress to cover the window.
SIMON (replacing the chessboard with the checkerboard)
Right, Emma, whatever. Let’s play checkers.
EMMA
Checkers is fun, but it’s nowhere near as intellectual as chess.
SIMON (setting up the checkers board)
Which is precisely why I like it.
EMERGENCY ALERTER
Ensure that all windows are properly covered. Move away from windows and into the centre of the room you are in. Do not attempt to go outside.
EMMA
I’ll start.
EMMA and SIMON begin to silently play a game of checkers. They play for about one minute in silence before SIMON speaks again.
EMMA captures one of Simon’s pieces and removes it from the board.
SIMON
Dammit.
Gillian Corsiatto hails from Alberta, Canada, right between two major cities: Calgary and Edmonton. She has been a lifelong writer, and her first book Duck Light was published in 2021. Since then, she has been motivated to keep at her writing and further it into an established career, even branching out into writing for the theatre. Currently, a sequel to Duck Light is underway, but she still pumps out scripts and short stories whenever an idea creeps into her mind. You can find her mostly at her writing desk, probably with a cat in her lap, and maybe even spinning a fidget spinner. She thinks those are still cool.
Featured image by Eugene Chystiakov.
