Storytelling

Hey, you want to hear my short story now?

Huh?

I could read it to you.

You mean, again?

I changed the ending a little.

Oh. What happens now?

Well, actually, it's the same

but longer.

I think it's better. More... raw.

Then maybe you should just read the ending.

But it won't make sense

if you hear it out of context.

I think you should leave it the way it was.

It was good.

o you don't want to hear my new ending?

You'll read it in class tomorrow.

Surprise me.

Anyway, I have to go.

I promised Melinda I'd help her with her oral.

You're tired of me, I can tell.

Marcus, I'm tired, that's all.

You've lost interest.

You hardly even sweat anymore when we have sex.

I was never much of a sweater, you know that.

Look, Vi,

I don't blame you. You feel pity now.

Pleasure isn't there anymore.

The kinkiness is gone.

You've become kind.

"When he saw her,

it was as if he could walk like a normal person.

His legs didn't swing,

his arms didn't spaz away.

He wasn't a freak anymore,

for she made him forget his affliction.

No more cerebral palsy.

From now on, CP stood for...

'Cerebral Person. '

He was a cerebral person. "

I thought that was really good, Marcus.

Really...

moving and emotional.

I thought it was really emotional, too.

Student #1: And, I mean,

really good word choices.

It kind of reminded me a little of Faulkner,

but East Coast and disabled.

Or Flannery O'Connor. She had multiple sclerosis.

And Borges- he was blind.

Updike has psoriasis.

Maybe I'm wrong,

but...

I'm afraid I found the whole thing

to be a little trite.

Its earnestness is...

well... it's a little embarrassing.

Those adjectives are flatfooted and redundant.

I'm sorry, I mean...

anyway, don't- what do I know?

Don't even listen to what I say.

I mean...

Anyone else?

Catherine is right.

Your story is a piece of shit.

You express nothing but banalities,

and, formally speaking, are unable to construct

a single compelling sentence.

You ride on a wave of clichés so worn, in fact,

it actually approaches a level of grotesquerie.

And your subtitle- "The Rawness ofTruth"-

is that supposed to be a joke of some sort?

Or are you just being pretentious?

Okay.

Who's next?

Vi: Marcus, wait up!

What do you want?

Don't be so upset, it's okay.

What the fuck are you talking about?! What's okay?

- He hated my story also. - You story was terrible.

Marcus, you'll write something better next time.

Patronizing fuck! If you had been honest with me in the first place,

I wouldn't have read it. I knew it was shit,

but like an idiot, I believed you.

That's not fair, I was honest.

Just because I wasn't sucking up like that bitch, Catherine-

I sure didn't hear you voice your opinion when it mattered.

I admit it, I was scared.

I was shocked, in fact, by what he said.

And he's so convincing.

I'm sorry if I let you down, but really...

I still say he's just one opinion.

I don't even like his books that much. They're all so...

aggressively confrontational.

I don't care if he's won the Pulitzer Prize.

You just want to fuck him, like Catherine

and every other white cunt on campus.

Marcus, you can'tjust unilaterally decide to end things.

This is a relationship we're talking about, a friendship.

You don'tjust-

Fuck you!

Fuck him! Fuck him! Fuck him!

Vi, are you okay?

Yes, I'm okay. I'm totally okay.

You did the right thing.

I know that.

Fucking cripple.

Why do I waste my time with undergrads?

They're all so...

juvenile!

I just thought Marcus would be different.

I mean, he's got CP.

What are you going to do now?

I don't know. Go to a bar,

get laid, whatever.

Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine.

Bartender: What can I get you?

I'll just have a beer.

Here you go.

Hi.

Hello, Vi.

What are you doing here?

What are you doing here?

I'm sorry, I didn't mean...

I just didn't expect to run into you here, that's all.

Well...

now you have.

Yeah.

Then, are you alone?

Um-hmm.

Can I join you?

Thanks.

Well...

I just wanted to say that I'm really happy with the class.

I know you must hear this all the time,

but I'm also a great admirer of your work.

"A Sunday Lynching" especially...

really...

spoke to me.

God, I hope I'm not embarrassing you.

You're not.

Good.

Because...

I really agreed with everything you had to say last week

about how bad my story was.

That's good.

I also agreed with what you said today

about Marcus' story.

It is a piece of shit.

You have beautiful skin.

Thank you.

Catherine seems like she might become a really good writer.

Maybe.

She's okay.

Aren't you going out with Catherine?

I'm sorry, it's none of my business.

I didn't mean...

I'm not going out with Catherine.

Oh.

Do you think I have potential as a writer?

No.

Thank you for being honest.

I have so much respect for you.

Can I just freshen up for a second?

It's over there.

Thanks.

Don't be a racist.

Don't be a racist. Don't be a racist...

Freak.

Can I come in?

You're all...

sweaty.

Vi: "So John flipped her around,

and slammed her against the wall.

Jane braced herself.

She thought about her mother.

She thought about Peter.

She thought about God...

and rape.

Say, 'Fuck me, Nigger,

fuck me hard. '

John's flesh abraded her soft skin.

There would be marks.

She acquiesced

and said what he asked her to say,

and did what he asked her to do.

She had entered college with hope,

with dignity,

but she would graduate as a whore. "

Why do people have to be so ugly,

write about such ugly characters? It's perverted.

I know you all think I'm being prissy,

but I don't care. I was brought up in a certain way,

and this is...

mean-spirited.

Yeah. Well...

it did seem a little...

affected.

Like by using taboo language, you were trying

to shock us about the hollowness of your characters.

I think it was a little bit racist.