Oh Johnny

Characters:
MRS. SUMMER: A concerned, hyper-vigilant lunch monitor.
JOHNNY: A dramatic 10-year-old gamer.
RON: Johnny’s naive friend.
COP: A serious, straight-laced police officer.
DAD (GEORGE): Johnny’s father, a very competitive gamer.
MOM: Johnny’s mother, caught in the middle.

SCENE 1: SCHOOL CAFETERIA – DAY
(JOHNNY and RON are sitting at a lunch table. MRS. SUMMER stands nearby, holding a clipboard, listening intently.)

JOHNNY: I am so tired of my father beating me every night. He tears me a new one and then sends me straight to bed!
RON: (Gasps) Your dad beats you? My dad never beats me.
JOHNNY: Yes! EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I have to put a stop to it.
RON: How are you going to do that? He’s your dad. He’s bigger, stronger, and smarter than you are.
JOHNNY: I don’t know. But I have to figure something out. I cannot endure another one of his beatings. (A single tear slips down Johnny’s cheek. He wipes it away aggressively.)
MRS. SUMMER: (To herself, panicked) Alert! Alert! Red flag!
(Mrs. Summer scurries offstage pulling out her phone.)

SCENE 2: JOHNNY’S LIVING ROOM – EVENING
(A knock at the door. DAD opens it to find a COP standing there.)
DAD: Good evening, officer. How can I help you?
COP: There was a complaint filed that prompted a child welfare check. May I come in to talk, please?
DAD: (Confused) A complaint? Child welfare? I don’t understand.
COP: If we could just step inside…
(Dad steps aside. MOM enters from the kitchen.)
MOM: What’s going on?
DAD: Someone filed a complaint against us.
MOM: (Gasping) A complaint! On who?
COP: Where is Johnny?
MOM: Upstairs doing his homework. (Calling out) Johnny! Can you come down here right now, please?
JOHNNY (O.S.): Yes, Mom! Coming!
(JOHNNY bounces down the stairs. He stops midway, eyes wide.)
JOHNNY: Woooooow! Why are you here?
COP: Someone overheard your conversation today with your friend, Ron. They wanted me to come check on you. Is it true that your father physically abuses you?
JOHNNY & DAD: (In unison) WHAT?!
DAD: I have NEVER hit you!
JOHNNY: I never said that! (He looks at his father with pleading eyes; Dad’s face is turning bright red with anger.)
COP: The report says an individual heard you say—twice—that your father “beats you every night” before sending you to bed.
(A moment of silence. Johnny suddenly cracks a wide smile.)
JOHNNY: Oh, that! Yeah, I said that because it’s true. He beats me at Mario Kart. He beats me at It Takes Two. He beats me at Gorilla Tag. He NEVER lets me win! It’s infuriating!
MOM: (Relieved, turning to Dad) George! Would it kill you to let him win just once?
DAD: (Still red) Not in my house! Winners stay winning, Johnny!
(The Cop sighs, closes his notebook, and rubs his temples.)
FADE OUT.