COLD OPEN – PENNBROOK QUAD – SATURDAY MORNING
Riley and Maya sip cocoa on a bench. A wheeled suitcase barrels in—Cory pops up wearing a “PENNSYLVANIA: WE DID OUR BEST” hoodie, itinerary in hand.
Cory: Weekend schedule! Breakfast tour, lecture crash, campus scavenger hunt, father-daughter handshake—
Riley: We have a handshake?
Cory: We do now. Section 4, subsection A.
Maya: He’s cute when he’s a backpack with legs.
Riley (smiling, uneasy): Hi, Dad.
Smash to sting.
ACT ONE
SCENE A – STUDENT CENTER – LATE MORNING
Cory’s itinerary sprawls. Riley tries to read; Cory narrates every bullet.
Cory: Then we audit “Sociology of Community,” sit front row, ask three tasteful questions—
Riley: Or I sit with you at the back and we just… be.
Cory: Being is on Sunday at 11:40.
Maya (aside): I’ll be over there not third-wheeling. (whispers) Ring power if you need me.
Riley ring-taps; Maya fades.
SCENE B – PLANETARIUM LOBBY – AFTERNOON
Farkle stands under a massive orrery, eyes saucer-wide. Zay holds two pretzels and a leash for a man.
Farkle: They have a full-dome show about gravitational lensing every hour on the :13. It’s destiny.
Zay: We agreed: one show. Then dorm. Laundry. Sunlight.
Farkle: I reject laundry and the sun.
Zay: You are not a bat.
Farkle: I am a bat of knowledge.
Show doors open. Farkle glides in. Zay sighs and follows.
SCENE C – ERIC’S APARTMENT – SAME TIME
Lucas opens the fridge. A landslide of labeled containers—ERIC’s—threatens to avalanche.
Lucas: Why is the top shelf all “Eric’s Emergency Soup – Do Not Touch (Legally Binding)”?
Eric (appearing with a sash: FORMER SENATOR / CURRENT FRIDGE CZAR): Good! Boundaries maintain domestic tranquility.
Lucas: Boundaries are not twelve yogurts with your face on them.
Eric: That’s branding.
Lucas: I need protein space.
Eric: Then win it. Trial by Tetris.
They square off with produce like it’s chess.
SCENE D – SOCIOLOGY LECTURE HALL – AFTERNOON
Riley and Cory slide into seats. Professor greets class. Cory’s hand rockets up at the first question.
Professor: Yes… visiting parent?
Cory: Longtime listener, first-time caller. Quick thought on Durkheim—
Riley sinks a bit. Students glance. Her phone buzzes—Maya: “Breathe?”
Riley types back: “Trying.” She squeezes her ring and watches her dad glow while she… shrinks.
ACT TWO
SCENE E – PLANETARIUM, DARK DOME – MID-AFTERNOON
Stars wheel. Farkle whispers facts at the ceiling like a prayer.
Narrator (overhead): …and the universe expands—
Farkle (awed): Same.
Show ends. Lights up.
Zay: Okay! Milkshakes and—where’d you go?
Farkle has flattened himself between two exhibit panels.
Zay: Sir.
Farkle (from the shadows): I live here now. I will become a docent boy.
Zay: I will physically drag you like gravity. Let go of the Big Dipper.
Farkle: You cannot make me leave infinity.
Zay (deadpan): Watch me.
He scoops Farkle by the armpits. It’s undignified. It works.
SCENE F – ERIC’S KITCHEN – LATE AFTERNOON
Lucas sticker-labels one shelf: “COMMUNITY ZONE.” Eric counters with magnetic dividers labeled “ERICOPOLIS.”
Lucas: You can’t annex the crisper.
Eric: I can and I shall. The spinach voted.
Lucas: The spinach is soggy.
Eric: Their democracy is young.
Rachel pokes in, sees the fridge Cold War.
Rachel: Solution: chore chart + one shared shelf. If I find a yogurt coup, I draft sanctions.
Eric: Good! Diplomacy.
Lucas: I accept terms on behalf of protein.
They shake on it. The spinach is pardoned.
SCENE G – QUAD / WINDOW TABLE – SUNSET
Riley and Cory pass the Window Collective donation bin. Cory pitches a new idea for Saturday cleanups; Riley’s quiet.
Cory: Are we having so much fun?
Riley: I love you.
Cory: …But?
Riley: You came to see me. Not the version of me who’s a field trip.
Beat. Cory winces—truth landing.
Cory: I only get two days. I filled them with… everything.
Riley: I wanted to fill them with… us.
Cory: (soft) Teach me your schedule.
Riley: It starts with just… sitting.
They sit on the bench. No agenda. Birds do bird things. It’s kind of perfect.
ACT THREE
SCENE H – PLANETARIUM EXIT / BUS STOP – EVENING
Zay plops a star-drunk Farkle on a bench with water.
Zay: Space is big. Your body is small. It needs Doritos and a nap.
Farkle (sheepish): I made the sky your problem.
Zay: I like being your gravity. But you gotta ping me when you spiral. Deal?
Farkle: Deal. (beat) The dome made me feel tiny and huge. I wanted to stay that feeling.
Zay: You can. It’s called “screensaver.” We’ll come back. On purpose. With snacks.
They bump shoulders; bus hisses; life resumes.
SCENE I – ERIC’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Cory and Riley enter to find the Community Shelf sparkling. Eric has framed a Post-it: “This shelf is for ALL OF US (even Lucas). –E”
Lucas: Behold: detente and deli meat.
Eric: I ceded one yogurt. It hurt. I grew.
Riley (to Cory): That’s the vibe. Make room, don’t vanish.
Cory: Copy. Today I was a lot. Tomorrow I’ll be… less. And closer.
Riley: Less schedule. More you.
They hug. Maya pokes in, clocking the calm.
Maya: You two found the oxygen.
Riley: We’re learning space.
Maya: Proud of my planets.
SCENE J – CAMPUS GREEN – LATE NIGHT
The crew sprawls on blankets: Riley, Maya, Zay, Farkle (sleepy), Lucas, Eric. A student astronomy club sets up a small telescope.
Riley: Dad, pick one star.
Cory: That one.
Riley: It’s far away. It’s still ours.
Farkle (drowsy): Technically—
Everyone: Shhh.
Cory (whisper): People change people. Space keeps them kind.
Eric: Also, the Community Shelf keeps them fed.
They laugh. Quiet. Stars do star things. Nobody narrates them. It’s enough.
TAG – PLANETARIUM GIFT SHOP
Zay buys Farkle a tiny projector night light that throws constellations on the ceiling.
Zay: For dorm-space sky. Controlled doses.
Farkle: Boundaries with nebulae. I can learn that.
Cashier: Want the “4:13 auto-off” setting?
Zay: Obviously.
They grin and head back to a dorm that has room for both sleeping and stars.
END.
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