THE FAMILIAR, EPISODE 6 “Tally Thrasher”

Written By

Maggie Sulc

[email protected] Intro music. LEO Hi. It’s me, Leo. Back again to tell you yet another story. Hopefully. There’s a discussion right now on The Edge server about banning me. Again. On top of everything else going on... They should have just done it after the first message. Not waiting eight fucking weeks. So maybe they won’t. Maybe. Uhhhh! It’s not fair. I did the right thing by saying something. By responding to beenthere’s message. And then getting over my own fear about speaking up, recording my voice--which I do not enjoy, by the way. I am not one of those people who likes to hear themselves think. If it were up to me, I would not be spouting these stories every week. I’d have someone else do it. But there is no one else. Just me. And I care too damn much to stop, apparently. I’m just saying: I shouldn’t be punished for doing this by people who have no fucking clue. Are you listening, Discord haters? You don’t know me. I’ve never said my real name. I’ve never shared my email address or phone number or anything. Just what I think about Iceland ads and ecotourism in third world countries. And these stories. So you don’t know me and you don’t know what I deserve. Just like we don’t know beenthere. We don’t know what happened and we still don’t know if this is helping. Just- let’s not assume we know the other side of the story. Which is what we’re going to hear today in our journey into The Familiar. Though I hope this place isn’t somewhere super familiar for most of you. That being said, it’s a part of life that we will all confront at some point. It starts with this music-- Funeral march begins.

EXT. URBAN. CITY SOUNDS, FADE INTO SIRENS. HUSHED TONES AND CONVERSATION. DOORS SHUTTING. Popping sound as TALLY, the ghost, appears. TALLY Whoa... So this is what it feels like. After death. Kind of abrupt though. Door shuts. 2.

TALLY Wait, this can’t be my funeral... no, no, no, this is not how it’s supposed to happen. I don’t want to be buried in the city! I told her time and time again that I hate the city. Mom, why would you bury me here? Tries to open the doors. Grunting, but no change. TALLY Maybe if I-- Sounds of steps as she walks back, brief pause, then running steps as she charges at the doors. Thump as she runs into them. TALLY Owwww! (catching her breath) Come on! Aren’t I supposed to walk through walls? Appear wherever I want to be? Where are my ghost powers?!? Grunt as she tries the door again. They don’t budge. TALLY Maybe I can leave if I just concentrate... Deep breathes as she concentrates really hard. No change. Big grunt of air as she lets go. TALLY Fuck! I don’t want to be here. I don’t deserve to be here. I’m supposed to be at peace. Isn’t that what I get? I’m not a bad guy, I’m just a kid, I’m supposed to go straight to heaven, right? ...I mean, I don’t really know. I never went to church or anything. So I dunno what’s supposed to happen. But still-- it’s supposed to be better than this. It’s supposed to be better than sitting outside your own crappy funeral, all alone, next to the stupid, smelly liquor store with cars streaking past. Sound of car horn as it drives past really fast. 3.

TALLY No even raining, just a regular sunny day. The perfect day for softball, actually. Sounds of cheers, umpire calling, “Let’s play ball!” Softball game starting. TALLY That’s where I would have picked. If I had to choose, I would have picked the softball field. I guess it’s technically still in the city... but it doesn’t feel like it is. Softball sounds fade back into funeral march. TALLY If you’d seen it, Mom, if you’d have seen me... then you would know what I want. Where I feel happy. Felt happy. Does it still count as feeling if I’m still here, not passed on or gone into the light or whatever? Is that why I’m still here? Or is there something else? Something else I can’t remember... Funeral march fades back into softball sounds, players calling back and forth. TALLY I do remember the first practice. It wasn’t that long ago, only the beginning of this season. All the other girls had been playing for years. 16 years old and I’d never played on a team before. Softball sounds fade back into funeral march. TALLY That was for girls whose parents lived together. For the girls whose dads didn’t have a second family or a little half brother to play catch with... but none of that mattered after that first practice. From the first time I stepped onto the field, with the fresh grass that was mowed just so, I was home. 4.

Sound of lawn mower. Foot scuffs ground--kicking up the “clean” dirt. Fades back into funeral march. TALLY There was dirt yeah, but clean dirt. No cigarette butts or trash blowing in the wind. A clear space not completely hemmed in by concrete. And so much room to stretch. To stand up straight and tall and feel good about being big. Sound of bat being tossed and caught between two hands. Kicked against a shoe, to test it. Fades back into funeral march. TALLY The first time they put a bat in my hands, it felt so right. For once, I didn’t feel like a giant. Not like in those tiny desks at school. Nu uh--it was like it was built for me. Finally. The other girls had these smaller starter bats, but I went straight for the real deal. Sound of softball bat tapping against home plate. TALLY When I went up to the plate, it took only one strike and one foul to figure out when I needed to swing. That third pitch... I whipped the bat around me, heard the whoosh of air and I swear-- CRACK!

Sounds follow what happens in the sentence above: bat whipping around, whoosh of air, then CRACK! TALLY It slammed into the ball. Automatic home run. Would have gone out of the park, too, if our field didn’t have a big protective net around it. They needed it. For me, the power hitter. Cheering and clapping from a big crowd. TALLY The rest of the team clapped and whooped when it happened. (MORE) 5.

TALLY (CONT’D) Without thinking, they just had to applaud me. Me. I looked around and saw them all smiling at me. All these girls, the same ones that avoided me in the hallways at school. Teenage girls whispering. One says, “What a loser.” TALLY The ones who averted their eyes, who pushed away to make room but never once looked at me. Teenage girl says, “Gross.” TALLY But I hit one home run and they cheered. I was... good. And they couldn’t deny it. Just give me a bat and it doesn’t matter what I look like. Looked like... Car horn. TALLY I wish I had one now. Then I’d shatter that window, crush that stupid organ. Tell them this sob fest is over. Let’s go to the field. Whoosh and pop again as TALLY is transported to the funeral home sign. It’s closer to the street, so we can hear more traffic beside TALLY. TALLY Hey! Where are you taking me? Why do you want me over--no way. (reading) Tally Thrasher Memorial. Saturday May 5th. Thump as TALLY kicks the sign. TALLY My funeral’s the same day as the home run derby!?! What kind of justice is that? I was supposed to be playing today. The perfect day for softball. I was supposed to be out there hitting home runs, grand slams, representing our team. Coach Brents picked me-- Wait. (MORE) 6.

TALLY (CONT’D) Is she here? Whoosh and pop as TALLY is taken to the windows of the funeral home. Funeral march is heard louder, as TALLY is right beside the window. Some small murmurs and muted sobs can be heard from inside as well. TALLY I can’t see her. Come on Granny Thrasher, move your head. She’s pretty tall, reddish brown hair, unlike-- (Deep breath, gulp of air.) --unlike her daughter. But... but she wouldn’t be here. They’d be at the field, the derby-- There you are. Right at the back. Mother and daughter. I can’t believe you’re here. At my funeral. Like you belong, like--like it wasn’t all your fault! You’re the reason I’m still here. You--you are my unfinished business-- TALLY pounds on the glass. TALLY Get out! Get out of my funeral! You murderer! Murderer! Murderer! Thumps die down as TALLY’s sobs take over. TALLY You killed me. You killed me, Rachel Brents. You killed me and you get to be at my funeral and I can’t. I can’t... it’s not fair.

TALLY cries. A beat, then she sniffles and begins to collect herself. TALLY I remember now. That first time they all cheered for me, except for you, Rachel. You were the only one who didn’t. They all cheered for me, but you never did. Never will. All it took was that one home run, you freakin’ bitch. One easy swing, and suddenly I was on your radar. I was on everyone’s radar. They couldn’t look at me the same way and you knew it. (MORE) 7.

TALLY (CONT’D) It got under your skin how they pretended not to watch every time I went up to bat. For one second, you weren’t the center of attention. After me, no one cared what happened when you went up to bat. It’s because you had the fear. I saw it, when I started watching the rest of the team. To figure out what it was that made it so easy for me and so hard for everyone else. They were scared. Yeah sure, they could all fake a swagger as they walked out of the dugout. But as soon as they stepped up to the plate, it melted away. The shoulders hunched up to protect the neck, the hands sweatily moving up and down the grip. Sure, they heard Coach’s advice about how to square up to the plate, to take the warrior’s stance. But nothing about them said confidence. No, it all said, “Don’t hit me.” Please, please pretty please ball don’t hit me. And you were no different. Not the center of attention, “golden- armed” pitcher, Coach’s daughter trained for this from birth. That meant diddly squat at bat. TALLY chuckles to herself. TALLY You had everything. You were thin, athletic, popular. Had a team of girls that followed you around like puppies and a mom who not only showed up at every game but was there to coach and encourage you all the time. (Crying as she speaks) Did you notice that my mom never showed up? That my dad was never cheering from the stands? That no one ever invited me to hang out after practice? I had nothing and you had everything. You have everything, you little brat. Frustrated scream. 8.

TALLY Would you have left me alone if your mom hadn’t picked me for the derby? It’s not like I didn’t notice the fat girl jokes or the stink eye you gave me. Yeah, everyone stopped laughing when I entered the locker room but I’m not deaf. “Her ass is so fat that...” That it what? That it barely fits into the dugout? Very original. You even put me on equipment duty, because I’ve got bigger arms and “could use the exercise anyway”. (Chuckle) Whatever. Didn’t matter. I was on the team and there was nothing you could do about it. I was happy and I was good. I was the best, and only one person could go from each team to the derby. Your mom had to pick me. I should be there right now. And you-- The funeral home doors burst open. Footsteps. MRS. BRENTS Rachel! Where are you going? RACHEL I can’t do this. MRS. BRENTS She was your teammate. RACHEL I can’t, Mom.

TALLY No way... TALLY tries to move toward them, but is unable to. She grunts and puffs as she tries to fight against an unseen force. TALLY (Struggling against unseen force.) I. Just. Want. To get... closer! Urgh! MRS. BRENTS We are here to support our teammate. 9.

RACHEL Tally’s not my teammate. MRS. BRENTS Yes, she is. RACHEL Not anymore. MRS. BRENTS Rachel! RACHEL Sorry. I just meant--it’s too weird. And awful. I can’t stand it. MRS. BRENTS If you feel uncomfortable, that’s normal and perfectly okay. But storming out like that is not. RACHEL Fine. Can we go to the derby now? MRS. BRENTS No. We’re sitting the derby out this year, due to a team emergency. RACHEL It’s so unfair, Mom-- MRS. BRENTS We need to pay our respects to our teammate and her family. We need to say goodbye.

TALLY Bye! Now go away! RACHEL I said goodbye last time I saw her. MRS. BRENTS At practice? RACHEL Sure, let’s go to the derby. It’s not too late. Maybe they’ll still let me play-- 10.

MRS. BRENTS Wait right there. There’s something you’re not telling me. Did you know something was wrong with Tally? TALLY Yes, yes. Tell her Rachel. Come on Coach. Make her tell you about the last time she saw me. RACHEL I dunno. TALLY Liar! MRS. BRENTS And what’s that supposed to mean? RACHEL I wasn’t friends with Tally. I barely knew her. She was only on the team for like half a season. MRS. BRENTS She’s still part of the team. She was supposed to represent us at the home run derby today. RACHEL I know! MRS. BRENTS Did she say anything that made you think she was going to hurt herself?

TALLY I did not kill myself. RACHEL I thought it was an accident. You know, she was trying to get healthy and just... you know. Ambulance siren in the background. MRS. BRENTS Rachel, she did a lot of damage to her body very quickly. Those diet pills on top of already starving herself? She must have known on some level what would happen. 11.

TALLY No. I did not. (Pointed.) But maybe Rachel has some guesses? RACHEL I dunno. MRS. BRENTS You don’t? RACHEL No--let’s just go. MRS. BRENTS I need to know exactly what happened, everything Tally told you. RACHEL Nothing! TALLY No! Make her tell you the truth, Coach. Please. MRS. BRENTS Rachel, this is a safety issue. I have to look out for every other girls on the team, too. RACHEL No you don’t! I didn’t do anything. I just helped her with extra batting practice. TALLY That’s right... you did. You offered to pitch for me. Seemed so nice at the time. MRS. BRENTS You did? When? RACHEL Friday. MRS. BRENTS Friday? Right before she-- RACHEL Yeah, okay? So I don’t want to go back in there. I don’t need to say goodbye because I was the last person to see her alive. 12.

MRS. BRENTS Oh Rachel. TALLY Now we’re getting somewhere. Ask her what happened, Coach. Come on. Let’s hear her side of the story. After all, no one can hear me! RACHEL I can’t tell you what happened, Mom. You’ll hate me. MRS. BRENTS I could never hate you, honey. TALLY Wanna bet? Come on, say it. Tell her what you did to me. RACHEL You’ll wish it was me in that casket instead of her. MRS. BRENTS Never. I would never think that, Rachel. You are my daughter. I love you, no matter what. RACHEL sobs. TALLY No, no, no, don’t say that. Just wait. Wait until you hear, Coach. Tell her, Rachel. Tell her what you did, you murderer. MRS. BRENTS What happened? RACHEL I-I never liked her, okay? But I didn’t mean for this to happen. I never thought she’d--die. MRS. BRENTS What happened at that practice? RACHEL It just wasn’t fair. She had no training, no practice, no technique. But you picked her for the derby. 13.

MRS. BRENTS She was our best hitter. TALLY Damn straight. Still am, too, if I could just get a bat-- RACHEL No she wasn’t! MRS. BRENTS Rachel! RACHEL I deserved it. I worked harder, I trained harder--she couldn’t represent us at the derby. The way she looked? I just couldn’t let that happen. So I offered to help her practice. To pitch for her. And... MRS. BRENTS And what? RACHEL And... and I’m the reason she’s dead, okay? TALLY Oh my God. I can’t believe she said it. RACHEL So I can’t go back in there. TALLY Take her in. Report her. She said it. She said it! MRS. BRENTS Rachel, you need to tell me exactly what you said to her. RACHEL I told her it was a pity offer. The derby. That you felt bad for her so you offered it to her, but that you were having second thoughts. Because... because you didn’t like the way she represented our team. 14.

MRS. BRENTS Represented? RACHEL That she um, you know? That she was biggest girl on the team. MRS. BRENTS You told Tally I thought she was too fat? RACHEL I told you you would hate me. MRS. BRENTS I don’t hate you. I’m disappointed, but-- TALLY (simultaneously) She killed me! RACHEL (simultaneously) I killed her! RACHEL breaks down into tears. MRS. BRENTS Rachel. Did you tell Tally to stop eating? RACHEL No. MRS. BRENTS Did you give her those diet pills?

RACHEL No. MRS. BRENTS Did you tell her to take them? RACHEL No, I didn’t, but I-- TALLY It’s her fault. It’s still her fault. MRS. BRENTS Then you did not kill her. Horrible scream from TALLY. As with everything else she does/ says, no one else hears it. 15.

MRS. BRENTS What you said was wrong and we’ll talk about that later, but it was Tally’s choice to harm herself. I’m just sorry that no one was there to see her pain and help her through it. TALLY That was you! You were supposed to help me. (Struggling to keep talking through tears) You’re supposed to be helping me right now. She just fucking told you the whole thing! You were the only one who cared, the only one who picked me and gave me a shot. Come on, Coach. Don’t let these crocodile tears fool you. You know who was the best player on the team. Don’t let that die with me. RACHEL I’m so sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to... I didn’t know she was going to do that. I don’t know what to do. I feel so bad that I made her feel that way. MRS. BRENTS I know, sweetie. It’s going to be okay. I’m here. TALLY Coach! Listen to me-- MRS. BRENTS Alright, let’s go clean ourselves up and head over to the reception. Okay? Footsteps. RACHEL We’re still going? MRS. BRENTS We are going to pay our respects and honor our teammate. It’s the right thing to do. RACHEL Yeah, okay. 16.

MRS. BRENTS And not a word of this to Mrs. Thrasher when we get there. RACHEL You’re not going to tell her? TALLY Tell her, Coach. Tell her what happened. Help her see. Don’t let them bury me in the city. Don’t let her think I was weak. MRS. BRENTS I see no reason to add to her pain. TALLY shrieks in pain and exasperation. RACHEL Thanks Mom. MRS. BRENTS I love you, honey. Let’s go. Footsteps as they walk away. TALLY tries to go after them, but is stopped by an invisible source. TALLY No! Hey, let me go! Let. Me. Go! Frustrated grunt as she gives up. TALLY Why did you make me see that, God or whoever you are trapping me here?!? What was the point? To make me feel even worse about what I’m leaving behind? This means they’ll never know. My mom, my dad, the rest of our team... they’ll all think I was weak. That I just decided to kill myself-- no, I had that body for years before she came along. No problem. It wasn’t an issue until she made it one, until she bullied and teased and suggested I do everything in my power to lose weight. Because this was my one shot! Today, today was supposed to be my chance to prove myself. To hit a homer and make the all-star team. To be accepted there at the derby... 17.

Sound of a softball rolling across the pavement. TALLY Hey. TALLY steps forward and picks up the ball. TALLY Hah! I can touch it. Tosses it up in the air and catches it a few times. Then the sound of a bat rolling on the pavement. TALLY picks it up. TALLY It’s my bat. The one I used to hit that first home run. She drops the ball and grips the bat. Gives it a test swing. TALLY Same grip and everything. The real deal, not a starter bat. Ready for the grand slam... TALLY swings the bat a few more times, more power behind it each time. TALLY I wonder... She takes a step forward. TALLY I’m not stuck anymore... (Beat.) I could go back to the field. Take my bat, go back and play there forever. Where I belong--

Footsteps as RACHEL runs back toward TALLY. Then MRS. BRENTS’s car pulls up. MRS. BRENTS (Yelling from the car) Rachel, where does it say the reception is? RACHEL Down the street! MRS. BRENTS Where? 18.

RACHEL I’m texting it to you. Footsteps and texting noise as RACHEL jogs back to the car. Car door opens and closes. Car pulls away. TALLY You won’t be taking my place in the home run derby, Rachel Brents. Not now, not ever. I think I will go the field. To wait for you. Just me and my bat. I’ll make sure you do have a reason to fear stepping up to the plate after all. TALLY tosses the softball away. She takes a few steps forward, squares up, and swings the bat--CRACK! Transition back to Leo’s studio. LEO Tally Thrasher. I hate that she was alone. Alone to make that decision between letting go or getting even. Alone and in so much pain... I can’t stop thinking about it. How we could all end up alone like that, stuck in hate and despair. How the spiral can go down and down and never end... No one should feel like that, like no one has heard them or seen them. Or seen only the fake front we put up for the rest of the world. I don’t want you to be alone, beenthere. I hope that you see this--listen to this--one day and know that someone cared so much for you. Was scared for you. Was wrecking everything in their own life to tell you this--

It’s killing me to not know if this is reaching you. I know I keep saying that it’s okay, that I’m glad I helped other people and whatever. But what if it’s not? If I can’t do what I meant to do with this podcast, if I can’t reach you? If it cuts me off from my community and causes all kinds of chaos-- then what’s the point? (Nervous chuckle/vocal realization) I sound just like you did in your message. Like none of this, nothing I’ve said, has made any difference. I don’t know what I’m going to do once I’m banned. It’s gonna happen any minute and without the weekly post to The Edge server, I don’t know if anyone will keep listening... if there’s any chance you’re hearing this beenthere-- 19.

POUNDING on the door. GOOD SAMARITAN Leo! It’s me. POUNDING on the door. GOOD SAMARITAN Come on, open up! I know you’re in there. Silence. GOOD SAMARITAN Your neighbor downstairs says he hasn’t seen you all week. I’ve been by three times and I’m not leaving, okay? LEO (whisper/muttering to herself) Don’t tell them, shhhhh don’t say anything, just go away-- GOOD SAMARITAN You don’t need to go through this alone. You worked there for years and that means something to me, even if it didn’t to that bitch from corporate. LEO (to herself, still whispered but strained) Shut up, shut up, shut up. GOOD SAMARITAN You were the best travel agent they had. Even if your travel background came from... indirect experience. Pounding on the door. GOOD SAMARITAN You hear me? Leo? I’m not just here to drop off your office supplies, I’m not going anywhere until you open this door or... or I have to break it down. I’ve been listening to your show// and I know you’ve been going through something. (MORE) 20.

GOOD SAMARITAN (CONT’D) It’s like you said in your second message about travel and new perspectives-- At // mark, chair pushed back from desk. Footsteps as LEO runs to the door. Unlocks it. LEO You? You’re-- GOOD SAMARITAN Csandiego55, yeah. I am. (Beat) Can I come in? Door shuts. Footsteps running back to the mic. Fumbling with buttons and the broadcast abruptly ends. Outro Music. 21.

PODCAST HOST Episode 6 “Tally Thrasher” written and directed by Maggie Sulc Featuring Blythe Haynes as Tally, Carly MacIsaac as Rachel, and Tiffany Witcher as Mrs. Brents, Raechel E. Kula as Leo, and Alaina Walker as Good Samaritan. The Familiar is a Fox and Wolf production, created by Maggie Sulc and Sadie Johnston. Thank you so much for joining us for Season One of The Familiar. We hope you enjoyed hearing our first season of stories and can’t wait to hear what happens to Leo next. We couldn’t have done this without you and we cannot make season two without your help. We want to bring more writers, talent, and diverse stories into our next season. Check out www.thefamiliarpod.com to learn how you can help us make that happen! Until then, you can join our discord community. Details are located on our website. You can also follow us @thefamiliarpod on Twitter and Instagram. We acknowledge that this podcast is made on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee. This land falls under the Toronto Purchase, Treaty 13, and Williams treaties. We also acknowledge that these peoples still reside in Ontario today and encourage you to learn more about their enduring culture, language, and traditions as well as their current struggles--many caused by settlers and the displacement and abuse of their peoples for centuries. By acknowledging these truths, we hope to take one small step toward reconciliation and creating a stronger future together. OUTRO MUSIC