Rosa and Stella go on a date

//The scene is the interior of a cafe in the evening, just after school. The light is dark outside, but inside, the cafe is warm and cosy, with steaming mugs of coffee and tea in the background and the soft background noise of people talking and gentle piano music. It's raining softly outside, and the windows are steamed up.// ROSA Oh. She's not here yet. //A friendly voice startled me.// BARISTA Hi there! What can I get you? [[A coffee. With almond milk, if you have it, please! | Drink choice]] [[An Earl Grey tea with sweetener, please. | Drink choice]] [[Hot chocolate with ginger syrup, please! | Drink choice]] (the drink choices don't do anything here, but imagine that they come up in conversation later, and maybe some reference to caffeine/sugar depending on what you ordered.)

BARISTA Great, what's your name? ROSA [[Rosa.]] (imagine here that you can choose a stupid name as well, which Stella will comment on later) BARISTA We'll call out your name when it's ready.

//I picked a table near the window. It was a little cold, but the rain on the road outside helped me calm down a little. // BARISTA Rosa? ROSA That's the name who is me! I mean, uh, that's me. BARISTA Here you go! ROSA Thanks. //The door swung open with a rush of cold air and a tinkling of a bell.// STELLA Rosa! Sorry I'm late! //Stella came over, hair slightly wet from the rain. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. She slid into the seat opposite me, dropping her bag on the floor.// ROSA It's okay, I only just got here! STELLA And somehow you missed the rain. I'm soaked! ROSA [[I think you look nice.]] [[I think I have a towel in my bag!]]

//Stella smiled and looked at me, slightly surprised, but flattered.// ROSA I mean, uh, you look nice all the time. Uh. //Stella giggled.// [[Change the subject]]

//I reached into my bag, looking for my towel like it was the most important thing on earth, hoping to rescue my soggy damsel in distress from her fate of having Quite Wet Socks.// STELLA No, no, it's ok. I ran here from class, so I'm not //that// bad. I do appreciate the chivalry, though. //Oh my god Rosa you're so embarrassing just chill out// [[Change the subject]]

ROSA How about that weather huh STELLA You don't need to be so nervous, you know. It's just me. //Yeah, but that's why I'm nervous. It's not JUST you. It's... you. I think maybe it's always been you.// STELLA So. ROSA ...so. STELLA Is everything ok? ROSA Uh, yeah! STELLA Okay, good. Because you seemed kinda... weird today. Not in a bad way, just... weird. ROSA [[Say something not weird]] [[Say something extra weird to kill the tension]]

ROSA My abuela asked me if I'd heard back from Devonian University yet. STELLA Oh no. Did you tell her that you didn't apply? ROSA //Yet.// I haven't applied //yet//. I still don't know. STELLA Do you feel like not knowing is kinda maybe the answer you're looking for? ROSA [[I don't know.]] [[Maybe.]]

ROSA I think I ate a bee. //Stella laughed.// STELLA What do you mean you ate a bee? ROSA I ATE A BEE STELLA WHY DID YOU EAT A BEE ROSA IT LANDED ON MY SANDWICH AND I WASN'T PAYING ATTENTION STELLA OH MY GOD YOU ATE A BEE. ROSA I ATE. A BEE. STELLA ...How was it? ROSA [[Bee-licious. | Pun]] [[Buzzitively terrible. | Pun]]

STELLA Where do you want to go, anyway? I've only ever heard you talk about where your abuela and your mom want you to go. ROSA It's not like that, I mean, they didn't, like, //tell// me where to apply or anything. It just has to be somewhere good, you know? The best. Or there's no point. //Stella tilted her head.// STELLA I mean... it doesn't have to be the //best//. One of the ones I picked, I chose it because it has a park on the campus, and because the city itself is beautiful - it's got loads of bike lanes, and an arboretum - that's like a sort of, uh, aquarium for trees - and I don't know, as long as it does the course I want to do, does it really matter where? ROSA But... don't you want the best professors? STELLA The best professors have the biggest classes! ROSA The best facilities? STELLA Extra expensive! Extra pressure! Extra stress! //Stella was smiling. She didn't mean this in a bad way, she was trying to be supportive, but... I don't think she understood.// ROSA They're all extra expensive, though. And since they're all extra expensive, I have to make it //count//. I can't just go and have fun for a few years. It's like... an investment, you know? STELLA Why can't it be an investment in your happiness? ROSA Who says it isn't? //Stella looked thoughtful for a moment. She could tell I was getting stressed out by this conversation. She was only trying to help. You sigh.// ROSA [[Can we talk about something else? |Ask her to drop it.]] [[Go on, then. What do you think would make me happy? |Indulge her.]]

ROSA Yeah, maybe. But that doesn't change anything. STELLA It doesn't? ROSA Nah. I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing it for them, too. STELLA I mean, that's really nice of you, Ro, but... ROSA Yeah, I know, they'd want me to be happy. STELLA Yeah, and your family made sacrifices so you don't have to! ROSA Exactly. I don't //have// to. I //want// to. STELLA You want to give up on your dreams? ROSA There's no dream to give up on! STELLA There might be. ROSA [[Ask her to drop it.]] [[Indulge her.]]

ROSA What do you think I want? What's my dream? Come on, psychoanalyse me, I'm your willing subject. //Uhhh was that too flirty? Maybe I should tone it down.// STELLA Ahhh, velcome, Patient X. I am calling you zis becauz of ze patient-doctor confidentiality clauzzze, you see. ROSA Please help me, Doctor Stella. I'm all muddled up in my mind. STELLA Zis is ffery normal, my dear. Pleazze take a seat and let's dive deep, deep into your psyche. ROSA (giggling) Doctor, your accent is so... //exotic//. STELLA I spent many many yearzzz in the Siberian... psychology mines. ROSA Of course. STELLA Now, tell me, Patient, what izz your favourite thing to do, except for homeverk, being a total nerd, and the occazzzional terrible pun? ROSA Does it say that on my chart? STELLA Please focus, Patient. ROSA Oh, yes, sorry. Er... I guess I like... [[Writing stories.]] [[Playing Tarot with you.]]

STELLA Wowwwww. ROSA Sorry, //honey//. STELLA WOWWWWWWW ROSA Yeah, that one //stung// a bit. STELLA NO MORE ROSA Fine. STELLA Thank you. ROSA I'll //bee-hive//. STELLA WE ARE NOT FRIENDS ANY MORE I AM TERMINATING THIS FRIENDSHIP ROSA :( //Stella reached across the table and grabbed my hand, suddenly, looking into my eyes as if she was about to make an important declaration.// STELLA I am sorry. I would never, ever abandon you. //There was a pause, while I tried to think of something to say. My face was going red, I could feel it. My cheeks were burning. Oh no oh no say something quickly// STELLA ...bae-eeee. //Stella looked serious for a second, then burst out laughing and let go of my hand.// STELLA LIKE BAE! AND ALSO BEE! BAE-EE HEE HEE HEE ROSA Haha, yeah. //Good thing I didn't say anything.// STELLA Ahhhhh anyway. So you ate a bee. And you're bad at puns. Anything else new? ROSA [[Tell her about university choices. |Say something not weird]] [[Tell her about your mom's new job.]]

ROSA My mom started a new job yesterday. STELLA That's awesome! Where is it? ROSA It's at a local law office, which is great for me, and she's doing the catering for them so she gets to make cookies and order sandwiches all day, so she's having a great time. STELLA Oh my god can I hire your mom to make me cookies. ROSA You can just... come to my house. It's like a cookie paradise right now. YOU HAVE TO HELP ME. I think she's fattening me up to eat me. STELLA I'd love to! //This turned into sort of a regular thing - Stella would come over, my mom would miraculously have "leftover cookies", and we'd play video games together, sitting almost on top of each other on the couch.// ROSA Also, I got that new Hello Smilodon game. We could play it. STELLA YOU DIDN'T ROSA I did. STELLA I LOVE HELLO SMILODON ROSA I know! STELLA DID YOU SEE MY PENCIL CASE ROSA Yes, Stella, I have seen your pencil case. STELLA IT'S A HELLO SMILODON PENCIL CASE ROSA You're saying this like I don't know all this. STELLA I'M EXCITED SORRY //She's so cute when she's excited. It makes it worth picking up all those exhausting extra hours at work to buy that game. Not that I'd tell her that. She might think I was trying too hard.// STELLA But don't you have, like, a bunch of work to do for the ten thousand subjects you're taking next year? ROSA [[I can take one day off.]] [[Maybe I should relax more.]]

ROSA Stella, I didn't ask you here to talk about my horribly stressful and massively important life decisions. STELLA Yeah, you're right. Sorry. ROSA It's ok, it's just... I get this enough at home, you know? STELLA You don't want it from me too. ROSA Yup. STELLA Because you're friends with me for a different reason. ROSA Haha, yeah! STELLA Is it my sexy body? It's my seeeexy body, isn't it. //Oh my god.// ROSA Uh STELLA Or, oh, is it my incredible wit? ROSA Um STELLA Or my juuuicy lips. I mean, ok, they're not that juicy, they're sort of, like, cracked and dry right now. Let's pretend they're juicy. Like a watermelon. ROSA [[It's definitely your sexy bod.]] [[It's your eyes.]]

STELLA Ahhhhh, a romantik. Ya, of courze. Many people like you, zey look for ezzzcapizzm. Fictional adventurezz, becauzze their lives are already decided for zem. ROSA That doesn't sound like me. I make my own decisions. STELLA But, dear patient, are your decizzions not for the benefit of someone else? ROSA Well, yeah, I want to make my family proud. STELLA Zzzen do you not think that you dezzzerve to forge your own path? Follow your own dreammzzzz? ROSA Well, writing is just a hobby. STELLA Hobbiezzz can become fulfilling careerzz. ROSA You don't know that, you're still in school just like me! STELLA No I am a doctor of psychology and... botany. I specializze in how plants feel about thingzz. ROSA That's not a thing. STELLA But it could be! ROSA I just don't want to gamble on something that might not work out, Stell-Doctor Stella. STELLA But you will gamble your own happinezz on something that vill make your family happy? ROSA It's less of a gamble that way. At least they'll be happy. STELLA And vhat if they're not? ROSA [[Why wouldn't they be?]] [[I'll try again.]]

//Stella smiled.// STELLA Dear patient, I have never met you before this appointment, but as it so happenzzz, I have Tarot cards in my bag this very minute! How fortunate. [[Do a reading with Stella.]]

ROSA It's your eyes, actually. STELLA My... eyes? //OH SHIT. I didn't mean to say that out loud aaaaaaaaaaaah fuuuuuuck......... what do I do??? Can I turn this into a joke? Do I just shrug it off? Or do I just... confess? Oh my god why am I such a flaming ball of garbage// [[Turn it into a joke]] [[Roll with it]]

ROSA It's just so... bodacious. STELLA Ohhhh my god I hate that word! I have never heard that word before and I hate it so much! It makes you sound like the sleaziest surfer ever. ROSA Heyyy duuuuude, what's kickin', broooo? STELLA STOOOOP ROSA Hang... ten, homie? //I reached out a hand and ran it through Stella's hair in an approximation of a creepy surfer bro. I realised what I was doing halfway through, and froze.// ROSA Uh, sorry. //Stella was looking at me really intently. I drew my hand back like something just bit it.// STELLA Wait, no. ROSA What? STELLA I, uh, I don't mind. ROSA You don't? STELLA No. //She brought her hand over to mine and drew it slowly back over to her, placing it gently on her cheek. Her face was soft and warm. She closed her eyes and smiled.// ROSA [[I REALLY LIKE YOU]] [[I REALLY LIKE FACE]]

ROSA Uh, yeah. I only like people who can appreciate how fabulous I look. //Stella looked... a little disappointed?// STELLA So you only like people with functioning eyes. Low bar, Ro. Low bar. ROSA Well, I have a limited number of friend spaces, so it's far more exclusive than that. STELLA Wow, I should tell Sage. We're so //lucky// to have been picked out! ROSA Yeah, you are. STELLA Yeah :) ROSA Annnnyyywaaayyyy. Are you gonna get a drink? STELLA Nah, but I'll get you another one if you like. ROSA That's really sweet of you. STELLA (and then here, Stella would remember your exact order from before)? ROSA You know it :) //Stella blew me a kiss as she walked to the counter. My stomach did a backflip, my heart skipped a beat, and my face turned BRIGHT red. This was it. This was the moment.// [[Confess]] [[Don't confess]]

ROSA ahhhh fuck STELLA Are you okay? ROSA Stella, I wasn't going to tell you this now, but I've had one whole thing of caffeine and that's the closest I'm going to get to getting drunk enough to tell you this STELLA Oh no, what is it? Are you dying? Am I dying. Is someone dying??? //Only my dignity.// ROSA Uh, so, you know how we've been friends forever? STELLA Are you breaking up with me? ROSA The opposite, really... STELLA You're... fixing... down... with me? ROSA What? STELLA Never mind, carry on. ROSA And, uh, you know how I, um, like girls? STELLA Ever since you first saw Gillian Andersaurus in a tux, yeah. ROSA And you know how I've been sort of talking about how I really like this one girl in particular? STELLA Yeah, the one you said we didn't know? STELLA .... STELLA Oh. STELLA //OH.// STELLA //I'm// a girl. Am I... am I //the// girl???? ROSA [[You're the girl. |I REALLY LIKE YOU]]

//Stella stared at me, her mouth open.// ROSA I mean... //Stella broke into a huge grin.// ROSA I mean, I, uh... //Stella was looking at me, her cheeks rosy and warm.// STELLA I really like you too. //We were both just beaming at each other now. It was kinda cute, but also incredibly cheesy, but I didn't care. It was like Stella was a tiny sun and I was basking in her rays.// ROSA .......like not just as a friend. STELLA Yeah, I got that. ROSA I've liked you for a while. STELLA Same. ROSA Cool. STELLA Wow, that's a relief. ROSA Tell me about it. STELLA I think I'd rather just kiss you. ROSA That, uh, that works. [[SMOOCH TIME]]

ROSA I REALLY LIKE FACE STELLA ...whose face? ROSA YOUR FACE? STELLA You like my face? ROSA I LIKE YOUR WHOLE. UH. YOUR EVERYTHING. //Stella smiled.// STELLA ...you do? ROSA I GUESS I'M TRYING TO SAY, UH, [[I... REALLY LIKE YOU. |I REALLY LIKE YOU]]

STELLA Sometimezzz, other people's happinezzz iz not something you have any control over. One day, you can make them happy. Ze next... not so much. ROSA But they'd be sad if I didn't succeed. STELLA Succezz is not just becoming a lawyer, you know. ROSA Yeah, I could be a doctor. Or an engineer. I'm just not as good at science. STELLA Zat iz not vhat I meant. ROSA Oh, right. Like, if I became a famous author, they'd be happy? STELLA Money and fame are not ze only markers of succezz! ROSA No, but they're pretty reliable ones. STELLA Perhapz. But if you are not happy, what is the money and fame for? ROSA To make them happy. STELLA I believe ve are going around in circlezz. ROSA Welcome to my mind. STELLA Maybe if I were a real psychoanalyst I'd be able to solve this. ROSA There's still time! STELLA Hahaha noooooooo, I do not have the grades for that. ROSA Or the accent. STELLA I can put on ze accent. ROSA Zat's fraud. Probably. STELLA All of the best things in life start with fraud! ROSA Speaking of pretending to know things... STELLA I get the feeling this is going to be a bad segue. ROSA ...How do you feel about [[reading Tarot with me? |Do a reading with Stella.]]

STELLA And vhat vill you do? ROSA I don't know. Lecturer, maybe. Newspaper editor. STELLA Vhat about writer? ROSA Too risky. STELLA Life iz risky! ROSA //You're// risky. STELLA I do not accept such slander in my office. ROSA Sorry, doctor. STELLA Can you just promise me something? ROSA Depends. Are you Doctor Stella, strangely-accented and slightly scary psychologist, or Regular Stella, best friend and plant-lover extraordinaire? STELLA I contain multitudes. ROSA What do you want me to promise? STELLA That you'll at least //try//. ROSA Try what? STELLA Write something. Make something. What if you love it? ROSA [[I mean... I guess I can try.]] [[I can't.]]

I'd love to have a mini-game about Tarot here. We can pick a handful of cards that apply to Rosa and have those appear, so it's sort-of-random but not quite? It's not much of a game because I guess you don't really interact, but there can be some nice interaction like maybe when you touch the cards, they fill in with colour. And then at the end, Stella says: STELLA I think you need a creative outlet. Something to take your mind off stress and work. ROSA Yeah, maybe you're right. STELLA You work so hard! You're going to burn out if you're not careful. If you burn out, you can't do //any// work. ROSA But I'd smell delicious. STELLA Hmm, have you ever smelled burning hair? It's not good. ROSA Point taken. So what do you suggest? STELLA Why don't you join a club? ROSA Hmm, yeah. I could try Newspaper Club. I've always wanted to write more. STELLA Oh, oh! Join gardening club. ROSA Yeah? STELLA Yeah! I help run it, and it's really relaxing. ROSA What if I kill all the plants? STELLA I won't let you. I'll help. You might really like it! Plus, it would be nice to see you more now we don't have classes together. ROSA I guess I'm not sick of you //yet//. STELLA Which one do you think you'll join? [[Newspaper Club. If you're serious about me exploring my hobbies, then I need to give it a try! |Newspaper Club]] [[I'll join Gardening Club. Maybe I just need to find something I can do outside of work. Plus, it would be nice to spend more time hanging out! |Gardening Club]]

and then SMOOCHING HAPPENS YAY mweh mweh mweh

ROSA It's not about loving something, it's a career! It's a practical choice! STELLA Ah, yez. You know, a long time ago, marriage vas not about love, it vas also about practicality. ROSA That's different. STELLA Mmhmm. ROSA I mean, I appreciate the insight, Doctor, but I'm happy //enough//. Financial security would make me happy. And I can do //hobbies// on the weekend. STELLA Very vell, patient. It seems you are set in your vays. ROSA My vase? STELLA Your //vays.// ROSA I don't own a vase. STELLA Okay, I'm back to being Regular-Stella, best friend and plant lover extraordinaire. ROSA Oh my god, Stella! I didn't know you were here. You just missed my psychiatrist. Lovely woman. A little strange. STELLA Ah, psychiatry. That's for quacks. Tarot, on the other hand... ROSA Excellent segue. STELLA Shall we? ROSA Go on then. //Stella brandished the Tarot cards in her hand like a magician about to do a trick.// STELLA [[Let's play cards! |Do a reading with Stella.]]

ROSA Yeah, but it's fine just for one day, isn't it? The world's not going to explode if I take a Saturday off. //hahahahaha// STELLA If the world's structural integrity relies on you doing your homework, I have a few questions for the architect. ROSA Same. Like, "what is the point of the sea being all salty?" STELLA "Why did you put buttholes next to genitals?" ROSA "Why didn't you make healthy food taste delicious, asshole?" //Stella giggled.// STELLA I quite like spinach. ROSA Yeah, you would, plant-mama. STELLA Mamas don't eat their babies! ROSA I never said you were a //good// mama. STELLA I never ate one of //my// babies, though. Only other people's. ROSA I think that's allowed. STELLA Delicious babies. ROSA It's all they're good for, really. STELLA So how's the university application stuff going? ROSA [[It's going fine. |Say something not weird]]

ROSA Yeah, I've been thinking... Maybe I'm too hard on myself. They want well-rounded students, right? I can't be well-rounded if I'm a shut-in. //I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. I've never used an excuse to get away from work. I've always been focused on the goal. Eyes on the prize and all that. Who was this girl, and what had she done with Rosa?// STELLA The hermit crab emerges from her shell, pale and pasty from years of seclusion, only to go right back inside again and play video games. ROSA I'll uninvite you if you make fun of me. STELLA Fair enough. Deal. ROSA I don't know why I'm so //stressed// recently. //Well, I can think of a few reasons. Having a crush on your best friend. Applying to university. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Generally just being a teenager.// STELLA OOH, OOH!!! I have Tarot cards in my bag. Can we do a reading? ROSA [[Sure. |Do a reading with Stella.]]

//Stella came back to the table with a drink and a large muffin. She placed both in front of me.// STELLA The muffin is to share. ROSA Uh. STELLA You're //welcome//. ROSA I mean, thank you. STELLA You're welcome! ROSA Sorry. STELLA You ok? ROSA Uhh. //I was looking down at the muffin like somehow it might hold all the answers. Somehow I doubted that it did. I tried to force my eyes up to Stella's but I could feel my face getting hotter with every single inch it moved, so I just kept staring at the stupid muffin.// ROSA I uh. I wanted to tell you something. STELLA Don't tell me you hate muffins, I don't know if we could be friends if you hate muffins. ROSA No. STELLA I'm all //about// muffins. ROSA Stella. //Stella was looking at me with concern now, as if I was about to tell her I had two weeks to live.// STELLA Is everything ok? ROSA Yeah. Maybe. I don't know. STELLA Rosa, you're making me nervous... //You have no idea.// //Okay, deep breath. It's either now, or never, and you can't keep this inside you any longer. It hurts, like trying to keep in a burp. Oh god I can't even think of romantic things to compare it to, just, ok, one, two, three...// ROSA StellaIreallylikeyouandIdon'tmeaninlikeafriendwayexceptIlikeyouasafriendaswellbutIreallywanttobemorethanfriendsIjustthinkyou'rewonderfulandit'sokifyoudon'tfeelthesame- STELLA Okay, okay, slow down, slow down... //Oh my god I did it.// STELLA ...You...like me? ROSA Mmm. //Stella looked stunned. Like, actually stunned. Like in video games when you shoot someone with electricity and then they freeze. She wasn't moving. She wasn't talking. I almost wanted to check she was breathing.// ROSA It's okay if you don't feel the same, I promise, we can forget about this and I won't make it weird, I just wanted to tell you, because- STELLA I like you too. ROSA -because, well, sometimes it's nice to know things, and, I, uh, what? STELLA I like you too! ROSA Oh. STELLA Oh? ROSA Oh! //Stella looked at me then and it was like she was burning a hole, a big, warm, fiery hole, deep inside my soul. I almost wanted to throw up, there were so many FEELINGS all at once.// ROSA Cool. //Stella laughed.// STELLA So cool. [[SMOOCH TIME]]

//Stella came back to the table with a drink and a large muffin. She placed both in front of me.// STELLA The muffin is to share. ROSA Muffin muffin muffin. //I tore off a chunk and stuffed it in my mouth, partly to stop myself from blurting out something embarrassing.// ROSA mff grmmf trfmmfpph? STELLA I do! //She pulled out the Tarot cards from her bag. I was impressed with the fact she understood my muffin-muffled request.// STELLA You want a reading? //I attempted to say "yes" but instead I just made a little trumpeting noise with my mouth, and crumbs flew everywhere like I loaded them into a confetti cannon.// STELLA I'll take that crumb shower as a "yes". [[Do a reading with Stella.]]

STELLA Zat's ze spirit. ROSA Maybe I can join another club. STELLA Oh, oh! Join gardening club. ROSA I thought we were talking about writing? STELLA Well, you can join the newspaper club instead! I just... think it would be nice to see you a bit more. ROSA Oh. STELLA If you want. ROSA I guess I'm not sick of you //yet//. STELLA Which one do you think you'll join? [[Newspaper Club. If you're serious about me exploring my hobbies, then I need to give it a try! |Newspaper Club]] [[I'll join Gardening Club. Maybe I just need to find something I can do outside of work. Plus, it would be nice to spend more time hanging out! |Gardening Club]]

And then the scenario ends, but when you flash forward to the future... you're about to go to Newspaper Club, where you meet... Reed????? And then you can hang out with Reed. COOL

And then the scenario ends, but when you flash forward to the future... you're about to go to Gardening Club, where you get to hang out with Stella more. Yay!