Technical Difficulties (A Splatoon Script)

Part 3 - The Truth, Crushes, and Other Things that are Scary

V: Brooke, do you mind if I ask you a... personal question?

Brooke: I guess not. Go right ahead.

V: So, before... why have you always- [whispered] how do I put this- [spoken] hated me? (They glance at each other.)

Brooke: Well, I've just, uh, never really been able to trust people very well. Especially not guys. Then when Coral introduced you to me, I knew that she was going to end up falling for you. I could see it in her eyes. And... that scared me. (Brooke looks down.)

Brooke: I didn't want Coral to leave me yet. I thought she couldn't handle it. I thought for sure that something would happen to her, and I was sure that you would be the cause of it. I just wanted my little beanie to stay away from you so things would stay the way they were. Just the two of us, going through life together, facing the unknown side by side. Things were finally going the way I wanted to. I wasn't ready to let go of all that. (She speaks softly.)

Brooke: I guess I've always acted like I've hated you because of that. I just didn't think I could trust you with my little sister. Or... her with you.

Pearl: You can trust him! It's not like guys are monsters or anything! (Pearl pipes in.)

Brooke: I know, but... sometimes that's really hard to remember. After all, Coral and I, well- (Her smile starts wavering.)

(She pauses.)

Brooke: We've had some bad history with guys. (V and Pearl are a little surprised.)

Brooke: We... don't really like to talk about it, and we always try to cover it up with a happier, more clueless personality, but Coral and I had a rough start. When we were little, we didn't grow up in the city. I don't even remember the name of the town we lived in, but it was an ugly place. And our... our father, who's not even worthy of being called "Dad", was a part of all that. (Brooke looks upwards.)

Brooke: We were terrified of him. We didn't know what to expect if he had outbursts, a bad day, or anything like that. He- he hurt us... a lot. We were never happy. But, we never left him because we didn't know any better. Where we lived, this kind of treatment to kids wasn't uncommon. This was all we ever knew. But one day, things went real far. (She's solemn.)

Brooke: I still have the nick in my ear from that day, and Coral still has that scar on her hand from what he did to us. I don't try to cover my nick up since it would be really hard to, but Coral always puts some makeup over her scar to disguise it as a heart-shaped birthmark since she's a little embarrassed to show it, but that's what it really is. (She motions to her ear that has the nick in it.)

Brooke: That night, I decided that we weren't going to live there anymore. Not because I knew what my father was doing was wrong, but because it seemed like the only choice for us. So, Coral and I ran away. For good. We were young then, so we didn't know what we were doing, but we made it out of my father's house, I hotwired his car, we drove off, and that was the last time either of us ever saw him. (She kicks at the ground as she recounts her youth.)

Brooke: Hm, we really thought that would've been the end of our problems. No, that was only the beginning for us. (She gives a sad smile. V and Pearl listen intently to her story with concerned expressions.)

Brooke: We didn't have anywhere to go. We had no money, no food, no way to help ourselves. And I might've... accidentally wrecked my dad's car since I was only about eleven and had no idea what I was doing. All we had was literally the clothes we had on our backs and shoes that were way too small for both of us. We were desperate for help, and we knew we needed to get food, shelter, and better clothes. Maybe even a little money, if possible. (V listens closely.)