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interlude ii - original cast of aristos: the musical lyrics

as the ensemble is exiting, young achilles and young patroclus go across the stage; they are still laughing, but this time, they are slower, stumbling, out of breath

achilles is alone onstage. it is late afternoon. he returns to his tent, carrying the urn, which he sets down by his bed. he folds patroclus’ clothes and their blankets. he remembers something–he puts out bowls for the dogs–and then returns to his task

[achilles]
i held your funeral ritеs

hector still lies in our tent. all of troy can comе beg at my feet. he won’t have his peace

adolescent patroclus enters, carrying a wineskin, occupying his own pocket of light
[adolescent patroclus]
you talk to me when i’m not around?

adolescent achilles enters, too. he steps easily into adolescent patroclus’ pocket of light as he folds their blankets

[achilles]
i’m used to you being around

[adolescent achilles]
so i talk and assume you’re there

[achilles]
because that’s just how things are

adolescent patroclus reaches for a blanket

[adolescent patroclus]
the ocean was cold today

[adolescent achilles]
that’s your reward for going swimming without me. you look like a drowned weasel

[adolescent patroclus]
no, i don’t

[adolescent achilles]
yes, you do
rather than simply handing the blanket over, adolescent achilles goes to wrap adolescent patroclus in it. there is a momentary awkward exchange as adolescent patroclus reaches for the blanket and then realizes what his friend is trying to do

[adolescent patroclus]
you were dead asleep, endymion. i didn’t want to wake you. you know what odysseus said. up before dawn tomorrow–

[adolescent achilles]
–or the song is sung without us

[adolescent patroclus]
he knows that no song will be sung without you, achilles. we all do

by now, lights have partially faded on achilles, such that only his silhouette is present in the scene. adolescent patroclus sets down the wineskin

[adolescent achilles]
wine before breakfast?

[adolescent patroclus]
no. i took this to bring some berries back from the shore

[adolescent achilles]
ah. i didn’t think drinking this early was like you

adolescent patroclus wears a secret smile

you seem happy this morning
[adolescent patroclus]
well

his smile grows wider, and adolescent achilles is perplexed and delighted—and a little apprehensive

[adolescent achilles]
you’re smiling

[adolescent patroclus]
no, i’m not

[adolescent achilles]
can i guess what you’re thinking?

[adolescent patroclus]
no, you can’t

he puts their meal on the table and sits down

[adolescent achilles] joking
what kind of berries were those?

adolescent patroclus kicks adolescent achilles under the table, earning a yelp of surprise

my mother sent a few parting gifts for the king, to thank him for his hospitality. i have to present them, of course. then, we’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever you’d like. you’ll wait for me?

[adolescent patroclus]
may i come along to say goodbye to your wife?

[adolescent achilles]
of course. she’s far sorrier to lose you than to lose me. now who will play board games with the princess and—

[adolescent patroclus] dismissing
men are falling over themselves to–

[adolescent achilles]
–and, let her lose?

[adolescent patroclus] conceding the point
mm

[adolescent achilles]
i remember when you bested her so soundly that you actually worried she’d have your head

[adolescent patroclus]
i remember when we actually worried she’d fall in love with you

[adolescent achilles]
you were worried. i wasn’t. why would a princess of skyros fall in love with me?

[adolescent patroclus]
it’s not so impossible to me

[adolescent achilles]
i still don’t know how we couldn’t tell about her and her lady*in*waiting. that first banquet, flushed with wine

[adolescent patroclus]
talking about how romantic

[adolescent achilles & adolescent patroclus]
well*made vases are

this old joke is still the funniest thing in the world

[adolescent patroclus]
beautiful wine jug handles

they have played this skit many times

[adolescent achilles]
curved like apollo’s ankles

[adolescent patroclus]
and we still didn’t suspect a thing

[adolescent achilles]
i suppose some things aren’t obvious in the moment

adolescent patroclus subtly moves the wineskin

[adolescent patroclus] gleefully concealing his secret
well, there are things you only find out in time

[adolescent achilles]
you’re still smiling. what are you so happy about?

[adolescent patroclus]
does prince achilles forbid me to smile?

[adolescent achilles]
no, no. i only…

[adolescent patroclus] concerned
what?

adolescent achilles is reluctant to spoil the mood, but ultimately broaches the subject

[adolescent achilles]
i was afraid it would be a difficult day

adolescent patroclus understands his meaning

[adolescent patroclus]
we left your father’s house and went to mount pelion. we left mount pelion and sailed to skyros. now we’re leaving skyros and sailing for troy. but we’re still…

[adolescent achilles]
of course we are

[adolescent patroclus]
so, there we go

[adolescent achilles] with difficulty
it’s different this time, patroclus

[adolescent patroclus]
i know

[adolescent achilles]
i had prepared myself. i thought you might be angry with me. you haven’t said a word

[adolescent patroclus] genuine
should i have?

[adolescent achilles]
if there was anything you wanted to say. but i can’t tell what you’re thinking, and that frightens me

[adolescent patroclus]
if i said i didn’t want you to fight, would it change your mind?

silence

so, there we go

again, silence. there is much more that needs to be said, but neither can figure out what. for a moment, they have become their adult selves. they don’t know where they go from here

you know, there was a time i overheard phoenix talking with your mother. back when we were boys, in your father’s house. we were asleep, or pretending to be. they were in the room with us. i don’t remember the words she said, but i remember there was grief in her voice, and i sensed that somehow, we were the ones who put it there. there was something phoenix said to comfort her

lights fade back in on achilles, watching the scene

[adolescent achilles]
which is?

[adolescent patroclus]
things won’t be different

[achilles & adolescent patroclus]
until they are

adolescent achilles thinks deeply

[adolescent achilles]
and are they, patroclus?

[adolescent patroclus]
what?

[adolescent achilles]
this, now. is this…?

tentatively, adolescent achilles voices the unspoken for the first time

you know**i love you**i always have**and i think sometimes you love me. is that**do i understand that correctly?

[adolescent patroclus & achilles]
you know i love you

[achilles]
i always wanted it, patroclus. everything we had. but you were always so good at knowing what you wanted. i was only good at wanting. i woke up one day and there were all these things i didn’t know. and i started wanting them, too, because i wouldn’t have known what to do with myself if i didn’t. but i always wanted you. that never changed

patroclus enters. he isn’t wearing the bloodied shirt that he wore in “visitations.” he looks very much like the patroclus we knew from act i

[patroclus]
did you save any dinner for me?

[achilles]
stop it

patroclus settles by his side

[patroclus]
i was just asking

we had ten more years, you know? that’s not nothing

[achilles]
how did it turn out like this?

[patroclus]
remember what you once said about growing up? how it’s like running after someone, but always falling behind?

[achilles]
yes

[patroclus]
i felt like that when i was falling for you. you were king peleus’ golden son; i was a disgraced prince in exile

i felt like that again when you refused to fight. you were always running just ahead of me, and there i was, afraid to touch you, like you’d slip away the moment i did

[achilles]
we were never going to be without each other

[patroclus]
not if i had any say in it

[achilles]
you did. isn’t that the reason we’re…

the two laugh, quiet and helpless

[patroclus]
unfair

[achilles]
unwise

[achilles]
unwise and unnecessary

[patroclus]
unsound and unnecessary

[achilles]
unsound. unsound and unnecessary

i left your cut on the table

[patroclus]
what?

[achilles]
the pork. the last of mine

[patroclus]
oh

they are sitting side by side; they are children reckoning with a world they can’t understand

[achilles]
look, patroclus. centaurus is rising

[patroclus]
i see him

[achilles]
maybe**maybe someone will tell our story in another time, just as they told cleopatra and meleager’s. and maybe when they tell it, everything will make sense again. they’ll watch us burn and save the myth from the ashes. look at our stars and see constellations

patroclus is beginning to break

[patroclus]
maybe they will

[achilles]
do you think so, patroclus?

[patroclus]
yes. yes, they will. but i don’t want them to

[achilles]
why?

[patroclus]
they’ll say it was a sad story

the sound of laughter. lights fade back in on the adolescents as patroclus exits

the scene is very much like it was before, only now, their ankles are touching under the table and they can’t quite take their eyes off each other. off the end of achilles’ line, they had begun laughing hard over something, trying not to upset their plates or spit out their breakfast

[adolescent achilles]
odysseus?

[adolescent patroclus]
yes

[adolescent achilles]
odysseus wouldn’t use the word “putrid” to the king’s face

[adolescent patroclus]
phoenix was there. you can ask him

[adolescent achilles]
and he prides himself on his tact. odysseus is the last person**

[adolescent patroclus]
watch it, your plate is tipping

adolescent patroclus stands to help right adolescent achilles’ plate**and nearly upsets his own plate in the process. both break into renewed laughter

[adolescent achilles]
you will destroy this whole island

[adolescent patroclus]
don’t doubt that i have plans to

adolescent patroclus rises. adolescent achilles looks up at him and smiles; when adolescent patroclus glances back, he notices and returns the smile, just as adolescent achilles is about to look away. while they couldn’t take their eyes away earlier, they are suddenly too shy to look right at each other

[adolescent achilles]
odysseus wasn’t mistaken, though. everyone noticed the smell. there wasn’t a single thing anyone could do about it. odysseus’ face looked like**you know the face he does**like he’d just heard the sorriest story in the world, but like he was also trying not to laugh at it. the princess went out later and reported back that the tide had washed in all manner of foul*smelling things. and mixed with the musk of the seawater**

adolescent patroclus has picked up the wineskin and is approaching adolescent achilles from behind

[adolescent patroclus]
funny that you’d mention seawater

[adolescent achilles]
wha—

as adolescent achilles turns back to look at him, adolescent patroclus dumps the entire wineskin full of seawater over adolescent achilles’ head

you**!

[adolescent patroclus] ad lib
you wanted to go for a swim**
you wanted me to take you**
i only brought the ocean to you**

[adolescent achilles] ad lib
i should have known you were up to something**
you won’t get away with this**
you will never forget this day**

adolescent patroclus begins running before adolescent achilles even springs out of his chair. the chase that ensues is short, and it ends with adolescent achilles wrestling the wineskin from adolescent patroclus’ hands and dumping the remaining contents over his head. the two are tumbling to the ground together, soaking wet, laughing and laughing

[adolescent achilles] pulling seaweed out of his hair
there was seaweed in there!

[adolescent patroclus] overlapping
it’s the ocean. what did you expect?

adolescent achilles tries to throw the seaweed at adolescent patroclus. it’s seaweed. it doesn’t go well

[adolescent achilles] overlapping
i hate you

[adolescent patroclus] overlapping
no

[achilles]
let me see. what happened after that?

adolescent patroclus stands and reaches down to help adolescent achilles up, wraps a blanket around his shoulders, and begins to follow him out. lights begin to fade on their pocket of the stage

after your funeral games, odysseus was talking with ajax over the meal, and one of the messengers**i don’t remember what his name was, you would’ve known him if you’d seen him, patroclus**

as achilles is speaking, adolescent patroclus walks by him and puts his blanket around achilles’ shoulders. then, he, too, slips quietly away and exits

it isn’t that funny of a story. i just wanted to tell you. the messenger came through the doorway, and he gave us a single look, but odysseus sprang to his feet. and it also was beginning to smell like smoke…

achilles is alone, continuing to talk to patroclus in the emptiness as lights fade

- original cast of aristos the musical lyrics

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