Chapter Text
Begin Scene
We see a horse playing the bass. It is 1967. His bandmates are tuning their instruments. They are preparing for their first concert in America. Pink Floyd is a band originating from England. They are very excited to visit America.
SYD
Ready mates?
We close in on each of the mates. One of the bandmates walks up to him to pat him on the back. Syd smiles as if returning the favor. He continues to play his instrument. There is a general chatter. The manager pops his head into the theatre.
Manager
Five minutes!
Syd begins to relax finally. He has been experiencing brief moments of dissociation for a few days now. His band is finally going on tour in America. If he manages to stay in the present, then he might treat himself to visiting Dearborn Michigan. His thoughts begin to buzz in his head. He couldn’t wait to leave this area. One by one the band picks up their instruments.
SYD is left behind. He picks up the bass and runs down the hallway. Was it just him or did the hallway seem much larger than normal? No. Not now. He keeps running to the hallway. He has to stay in the present. He has to stay in the moment.
SYD
Come on now!
He briefly congratulates himself for not smoking pot. Or taking LSD. He is proud of that one. The exit seems to sway as if he is in a funhouse. It takes all of his might to push through the entrance of the stage. He emerges through the door, sweating manically, finding himself in the backstage. He is seemingly lost in the roar of the crowd. The roar becomes even louder. Offscreen, someone calls his name.
Clyde
SYD!
`
Syd looks up. Clyde drags him off to the stage area, cursing at him that he is late. Syd shakes his head and closes his eyes almost as if to pass out.
Interior
A modern-day condo. Syd is passed out on the floor of the basement. He is surrounded by boxes marked with tape. There are old pictures everywhere.
The year is 2009.
Upon opening his eyes, Syd finds that he is in an unfinished basement. There is a commotion upstairs. Before inspecting the basement, he stands up, in clear pain. As he does so, he decides to inspect some of the photographs.
Syd looks at some of the pictures.
SYD
Hmm.
There is a black and white picture of an infant. He finds some more photographs in the basement. He finds an atari and some old hard drives. He picks up the bass.
Syd
Well, there’s something you don’t see every day.
He continues to look around some more. He slings the bass around his back. The commotion upstairs grows louder and louder. He decides that he should keep quiet, and listen to through the thin walls. We hear a woman yell very loudly.
Woman
Don’t touch me!
There are two more men with her.
Man one.
Mam, we think you should calm down.
Woman
Calm down?
She repeats herself.
Woman
Calm down???
Woman
Don’t tell me to calm down!
Man 1
Just put down the revolver….
Woman
No!
Man 2 interrupts.
Man 2
We don’t mean any harm.
Woman
I’m gonna do it!
There is a small click. Syd does not react to this. He slumps quietly in the basement corner, waiting for it to end. He is about to fall asleep when he hears the soft call of the police siren. He does not know how to react. He is becoming very sleepy.
There is a small shuffle.
Woman
Give me that!!
Man 1
Just calm down.
Woman
Just shoot me already! I want to die!
Man 1
Hank brings out the stretcher.
There is a larger struggle outside of the basement. The shouting grows even louder as it is made to appear that the woman is struggling against law enforcement. She curses very loudly at the two men who do nothing but try to evade shooting her. Syd could only listen to the cry of the woman who gives out a loud screech as she is tied down on a stretcher.
The men do nothing but look on in terror.
The woman
Just kill me! Shoot me already!
The cops do nothing. Syd does not move a single muscle. He crouches in the basement, waiting for a single movement. He dares not utter a single noise as he watches the glare of the ambulance make its way to the front porch. The screaming of the woman grows fainter and fainter. There is a brief moment of utter silence. Syd does not move at all, in fear of being caught. He knows that something is wrong. He keeps his breath still. His heart is racing very rapidly. He knows not to make a large scene. He remains quiet, as the woman's screams are becoming silent.
There is a beat.
SYD searches through several of the boxes. Using a knife cutter he breaks open the tape. There are several certificates in the box. He rummages through them with his hooves. He abandons that box and proceeds to dive into another one. Inside is a bright neon blue t-shirt with the insignia of the University of Florida, class of 2007. Among those is a notice of academic probation, along with a rejection letter from a sorority. Among these are marks of poor grades.
SYD
Brillant.
He briefly removes his bass guitar from his back. He yanks the t-shirt on. Within seconds, he finds himself in a snazzy t-shirt. He looks at his bass. He looks through several more boxes.
He finds another shirt labeled as Saint mother of mary catholic high 1998. He finds a couple of them labeled as the late nineties. He finds a rejection letter from the varsity team among that pile. He discards that one of course. He finds a backpack with pins and labels. No. he needed something more conspicuous.
He notes that the rejection letter seems interesting. The text reads, Dear Daemen, we regret to inform you that you were cut from the team…
SYD
Come on.
He ruffles through the boxes.
SYD
ARGH!
The rejection letter lays on the floor.
SYD
Come on now!
He produces some dressy pants. Finally, some clothes for now...