It's a Daisy

It’s a Daisy

CHARACTERS

 Elli- Cast as an actor of any gender. Wears a tank top the same color as their skin and white leggings. 16 or younger. Curious and bright, always moving and wanting to explore new things. 

 Nox- Cast as a woman actress in her mid twenties. Dressed in a white button up shirt, a white sleeveless vest, a white bowtie and white dress pants. She’s quick to temper, but most of the time she tries to just not show emotion.

 

Act 1 Setting

Set in a cube shaped white room. The room is a bright white, including the ceiling, floor, and all four walls. There are three cubes the same color as the rest of the room, set on the floor set a few feet apart from each other or spread out amid the room randomly.

Scene 1

(opens to Elli sitting on a white box, holding a white Daisy)

Elli: (twisting the stem of the Daisy in their hand) This is… new. We haven’t found anything new in a very long time.

(Nox enters the room from stage left, sitting on the floor with their back against one of the boxes. Elli looks up at Nox, the their hand that was holding the Daisy falling to their side, forgotten)

Elli: (looks up and watches as Nox enters) Hello, Nox. You look… (searches for a word) Fancy! Yes, you look fancy today.

Nox: (Nox glances down at her clothes, a smile tugging at her lips.) I suppose I do. (After a beat, she looks back up, her eyes catching on the Daisy in Elli’s hand. She tilts her head, blinking a few times.)

Elli: One of these days you should give me some clothes! Well, I mean, different clothes from these ones. (Huffs) I always look so boring…

Nox: Elli. Where did you find that?

Elli: (looks down in their hand) Oh. It was… it was sticking out of one of the boxes! It was this one (pats the top of the box right next to where they’re sitting) , I think. 

(Elli smiles, starting to twirl it again, eyes glued to the yellow center of the flower) 

Elli (Cont’d): I was confused when I first saw it-

Nox: It was growing? Here? 

Elli: (snaps their fingers and points to Nox.) Growing! That’s the perfect word. It was growing, somehow, out of the floor.

Nox: (stands, taking a step closer to Elli) That’s not right. Things don’t grow here. They’re not allowed to.

Elli: (shrugs, looking back to the Daisy) Well… that’s strange.

(Nox lifts her hand, pinching one of the petals between her pointer finger and her thumb. Then she lets go, yanking her hand back like she’s been shocked.)

Nox: Elli, I can feel it. 

Elli: Oh, I know! It’s not flat, or smooth, or cold like the floor. It’s… well, what’s the word, Nox?

Nox: Soft.

(Elli snaps their fingers again, beaming.)

Elli: That! That’s it… Gee, Nox, you just know so much! I think it would be so cool if-

Nox: (ignoring the question and cutting them off, sounding very serious and almost cold) Where did you find it, Elli? I haven’t ever seen it growing before.

Elli: (Slightly surprised with how harshly Nox is speaking to them) Well I don't know? It was just there. (They lift the Daisy again, smiling for half a second before dropping it again and looking at Nox.) I thought… I thought you would be happy.

(Nox glances at the box where Elli had pointed, kneeling next to it and running her hands over the box, trying to find some source of where the Daisy could have come from.)

Nox: How did it grow here? There certainly isn’t any dirt. And there aren’t any roots, o-or worms, or grass! Nothing should be allowed to grow here!

Elli: (Elli inches closer to Nox, looking hesitant and a bit worried about how agitated she is.) Hey, Nox, maybe you should calm down a bit? I don’t want you to get, you know, a-angry again-

(Nox looks up, from the block, and Elli freezes, silently pulling Daisy closer to their body as they wait for Nox to say something.)

Nox: (looks away from Elli, staring at the box.) Sorry. Sorry, Elli, I’m not mad. (turns their attention back to the box, staring blankly.) I’m not mad.

(Elli stares at Nox for a beat, then looks down at the flower in their hands. It’s starting to wilt.)

Elli: (Lifting the flower, twisting it in their fingers unsurely) Nox. Nox, I don't think it's happy. 

(Nox looks up, scrunching her face up in confusion. She stands and gently takes the Daisy out of Elli’s hand and inspecting it.)

Nox: (smiles, amused by their naivety) Oh, it’s not sad. Flowers don't get sad. It probably just needs some water… (She trails off, her smile fading as she stares at the Daisy, her fingers tracing the stem carefully.)

Elli: (Their face lights up, and they lean in close, wrapping their arm around Nox’s, the same one that’s holding the flower, smiling intently at the Daisy in her hand.) It’s a flower! What’s a flower? And water, you’ve talked about water before, right? Oh, goodness, how come it needs water-

(Nox jumps, stumbles away and rips her arm out of Elli’s grasp, tripping over one of the boxes and almost falling onto the ground. The lights in the room flicker as Nox trips over the box and she gasps, finally finding her footing. )

(The lights return to normal, leaving Elli glancing around in confusion and Nox panting, her hand that is holding the Daisy trembling and turning white from how firm her grasp is.)

Nox: (Shouting) Elli, I told you not to touch me!

(The moment she starts yelling, the lights in the room change color to an angry red.)

Elli: (looks upwards, swallowing and looking back Nox) Nox, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn't have. Please… turn the lights back.

(Nox stares, but then the lights flicker back to normal. She holds out the Daisy to Elli.)

Nox: You can have this. I don’t want it.

Elli: (confused) What?

Nox: (without emotion) I don’t want this. It’s not supposed to be here, Elli. It’s from the world where I’m from, not this one. You like it, right? You can have it. I don’t… I don’t want it.

(Elli hesitantly reaches out and plucks the Daisy out of Nox’s hand. Nox sighs, silently walking over to sit on the floor, leaned up against the same box as she was sitting at the beginning of the play, in the exact same way as just minutes before.)

(Elli watches as she sits, then slowly moves back to where they started as well. They sit, looking up at the ceiling/lights)

Elli: Nox… do you ever think you could make the lights less bright?

Nox: No.

Elli: (groaning, hunching their shoulders.) How come you’re the only one who’s allowed to change ‘em? I wish that I could change them. I'd make them… not red! Or not white? Hey, Nox, what other colors are there?

Nox: (Sighs, running her hands over her face) Elli, I think I just want it to be quiet. I don’t want to talk about daisies, or the lights, or anything, okay? No. More. Talking.

Elli: (groans even louder.) No, Nox! You  can't just shut me up, it’s mean. (They pull their legs up so that they’re sitting with their legs crossed.) I don’t wanna stop talking-

(The lights turn red again, and Elli stops talking. Nox stands up, grabbing the Daisy from Elli’s hand and throwing it to the ground. Elli leaps to try and pick it up, but then the lights start to flicker from red, to a dark blue.)

(Elli stops, looking around. Their eyes eventually land on Nox again. Nox is breathing heavily, staring blankly at the wall. Both of them are silent for a few beats.)

Nox: (When she finally talks, her voice is shaky and full of anger. She sounds angry, but also like she’s about to cry.) Elli. Elli, I'm sorry. I’m sorry you’re bored. I’m sorry you’re stuck here with me, the most boring person in the world. I’m sorry that I can’t keep you entertained, I'm sorry that I need a moment to just not have to feel anything. 

Elli: (they stand straight up, reaching to hold Nox’s hand but stopping as the lights flicker an even darker blue the closer their hands get. They flinch, and pull their hand back.) No, Nox, that’s not what I meant. You know that’s what I meant, Nox. it’s not your fault-

(the lights flicker back into an angry red, and Nox starts yelling again.)

Nox: Elli, you always need my attention! You always need me to be here, right next to you, listening to you ramble on and on about things you don’t even know! 

(Elli flinches at her angry words, starting to cry, taking a step back, but Nox continues without hesitation. She starts to pace, growing more and more upset and angry.)

Nox: You are a child! You know nothing- nothing -about the real world. And yet you go on and on and on about how you miss it. About how we should go there some time, about how much you think you’d love it. It’s so unbelievably pathetic-

(Nox finally turns back to Elli, freezing when she sees what she’s crying. The lights flicker for a moment, flashing between red and blue and white before it finally settles on white again.)

(Nox stands there, frozen, as Elli quietly sinks to the floor, curling up and crying on the floor.)

Nox: Sorry. Sorry, I'm not angry. 

(Elli looks up, shaking their head and still crying. Nox starts to tremble slightly, then turns and walks off stage, stumbling a few times.)

(The curtains close, but the lights never turn off.)

END

Author's Note

Idk if the formatting will come through on this website, but I hope it still makes sense!
This takes place in the same universe as my story, Solom, and I hope that this helps to build out the world a little bit more. If you want more, go check out my story and some of my poems (not all of my poems take place in this universe, if they do I mention it in the notes), they take place int eh same universe and they are the same characters.
I wrote this play over a year ago, and I entered it into a competition. It made finals which was really cool! But I think it's important to the context that I not everything in this play is "cannon" in the Solom universe.
Thank you so much for reading!