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The CHORUS makes its presence felt.
The CHORUS buzzes. It fizzes. It hums. It is here.
*
STUDENT 1. She was quiet.
STUDENT 2. Yeah.
STUDENT 1. Didnât really notice her.
STUDENT 2. Nah.
STUDENT 1. Not shy exactly.
STUDENT 2. No, not shy.
STUDENT 1. But not loud either.
STUDENT 2. No, not loud.
STUDENT 1. The sort of person that if someone at school said âYou know Grace?â, youâd say âWhoâs Grace?â
STUDENT 2. âWhoâs Grace?â
STUDENT 1. And theyâd say Grace Freemantle.
STUDENT 2. Grace Freemantle.
STUDENT 1. And youâd say, âWhoâs Grace Freemantle?â
STUDENT 2. Exactly.
STUDENT 1. And theyâd say, âSheâs the one in 11F.â
STUDENT 2. The one in 11F.
STUDENT 1. And youâd say, âOh, the one with the hair and the glasses.â And theyâd say, âNo, thatâs Miriam.â
STUDENT 2. Thatâs Miriam.
STUDENT 1. And then after a few tries, youâd get it.
STUDENT 2. Yeah.
STUDENT 1. Youâd remember who she was. You know the sort, not that good-looking.
STUDENT 2. Nah.
STUDENT 1. Not bad-looking though.
STUDENT 2. Nah.
STUDENT 1. Not clever. Like clever clever.
STUDENT 2. Nah.
STUDENT 1. You know, not in the top sets or anything like that.
STUDENT 2. Nothing like that.
STUDENT 1. But not the bottom sets either.
STUDENT 2. Nope.
STUDENT 1. Not a joker.
STUDENT 2. Nah.
STUDENT 1. Or a troublemaker.
STUDENT 2. Nah
STUDENT 1. Or a loner.
STUDENT 2. Nope.
STUDENT 1. She had friends.
STUDENT 2. Yeah, she had friends.
STUDENT 1. They werenât popular.
STUDENT 2. Unpopular.
STUDENT 1. No, not unpopular.
STUDENT 2. No, yeah, no, yeah, not unpopular.
STUDENT 1. Grace was just kind ofâŠ
Beat.
STUDENT 1. You know those American kids that go into high schools and shoot everyone dead? And the teachers go, âNo big surprise, he hasnât spoken for two years, heâs been wearing the same black sweatshirt for eleven months and his chemistry book is full of drawings of guns.â
Beat.
Well, Grace wasnât like that.
STUDENT 2. She wasnât like that.
STUDENT 1. She was average.
STUDENT 2. Yeah, average.
STUDENT 1. Grace Freemantle was totally average.
STUDENT 2. Totally average.
GRACE. I am Grace Freemantle. I was totally average.
CHORUS buzzes.
*
STUDENT 3. My dad is mates with Graceâs dad Matt. My dad always says Matt is âa good blokeâ. My dadâs a twitcher, which means heâs a birdwatcher. Yeah, cringe. Totally. I hear you. Matt, Graceâs dad, is also a twitcher. The pair of them go down the marshes every Sunday with their binoculars and then they go for a fry-up at Despinaâs CafĂ© and chat about sparrows and bob-tailed tits. Thatâs a real bird. Thatâs its real name.
Last year, Matt, Graceâs dad, posted this video of Grace having a tantrum when she was little.
CHORUS. Forty-six likes. Fifteen thumbs-up. Twenty-seven tears-of-laughter emojis.
GRACE. I am five years old. I am wearing my âLittle Miss Sunshineâ T-shirt. Dad is playing with his new phone. Weâre supposed to be going to the park. I ask him. He says heâs busy. But he promised. Before, he promised. And that is not fair.
STUDENT 3. It is a funny video. I canât deny that. Sheâs screaming on the floor, little arms and legs all over the place.
GRACE. I am fire and fury inside.
STUDENT 3. Then she gets up and she falls onto her Lego. And if youâve ever fallen on Lego, youâll know that it hurts like hell. And Graceâs dad, Matt, films it all on his new phone, giggling away. Not in a horrible way, just, you know, like a dad way.
GRACE. I am red and blood and pus inside.
STUDENT 3. Graceâs mum, Jen, comes in to see whatâs going on. She tries to reason with Grace, but thereâs no point.
GRACE. I am blast and yellow and clash inside.
STUDENT 3. Jen tries to cuddle her and Grace kicks her.
GRACE. I am rupture and burst and storm inside.
STUDENT 3. And Matt, Graceâs dad, says:
STUDENT 3 and MATT. âYour behaviour is completely inappropriate for a young lady.â
STUDENT 3. And Grace roars in his face. Like actually roars. Like properly roars. And sheâs sent to her bedroom to think about what she has done. And Jen turns to Matt and says, âWhat did we do to deserve her?â and they burst out laughing. And the video stops.
Matt found the video last year and he put it up on Facebook with the title âEPIC Dis-Graceâ. Which is kind of funny and clever because itâs a pun on her name, Grace. Dis-Grace. Epic Dis-Grace. But also a bit, you know, crap of him. All the parents thought it was hilarious, my dad included.
CHORUS. Comments.
Epic. Dis-Grace. Lol. Emoji thumbs-up
Little Miss Sunshine. Lol.
Give me that over a teenager any day.
Preach. Emoji fist-bump.
The roar! Emoji love-heart eyes.
Yes! The roar! The roar! Five emoji love-heart eyes.
FYI. Iâm not saying that Matt, Graceâs dad, posting that video on Facebook has got anything to do with Grace and that day in PE and what happened and everything. I mean it probably didnât. Itâs just, you know, I wouldnât like it if my dad did that. Itâs not a very responsible adult grown-up thing to do.
*
GRACE. Itâs December. Cold. Evening. Seven oâclock. I am at home. My dad is still at work. Mum has just got back from her shift and is eating a sandwich with some chutney she found at the back of the cupboard.
I am in my bedroom, staring at my GCSE revision timetable. My revision timetable is colour-coded and covered in fluorescent Post-its that Dad nicked from work. My parents are big on revision and working hard and me being the âbest possible versionâ of myself. My revision timetable is a work of art.
Mum takes a bite of her sandwich and shouts up the stairs:
MUM. Grace, are you revising?
GRACE. I like the way the pink and the yellow Post-its look ne...
