Character 1: Wang, a male van driver of FlexMove (a fictional moving company), middle-aged, thinnish, small-eyed, undereducated.
Character 2: Lin, a young woman, short and pretty.
 
 
(On the left of the stage there is a five-step staircase connecting the apartment where Lin is moving out. In the center of the stage there is a van model facing the audience.)
 
LIN
（Walking while talking on the cellphone over her headset, she comes down from the stair with a cat in a cage in her left hand and a bag of cat food in her right hand[User1] . When she reaches the last stair, she drops the cat food on the stair, takes her cellphone out of the pocket, and ends the call.）
 
WANG
(He is facing the audience, squatting by the van, smoking and swiping his cellphone. He stands up when he hears Lin’s voice.)
Miss Lin, I’ve been waiting for more than twenty minutes. Can you hurry up?
 
LIN
(She avoids seeing Wang’s face and answers softly.)
Sorry. I have lots of stuff. Please wait a bit longer.
 
WANG
Do you need a hand? I’ll load and unload all your stuff for 80 bucks.
 
LIN
(She steps back and gets a bit nervous when he gets close. She shakes her head.)
No, no. Thank you. I can do it myself. No need to bother you.
 
(She grabs her cat cage and walks to the back of the van in a rush, forgetting the cat food on the stairs. After settling down the cat cage, she starts calling her friend again. She stares at her phone while walking back to the apartment.)
Jessica, I’m back. My dad just called me.[User2]  It’s OK now.
 
Yes, you did a right thing. Never trust a man’s words. Don’t hurry back if you stay too late. What? Call a taxi? Don’t you remember what happened last year? A girl was raped then killed, exactly by a taxi driver?[User3]  The police? No, when they get there, your body will have already become as cold as a stone![User4]  I can tell you, the prettier a girl is, the more dangers she faces.
 
(She leaves the stage, talking and walking up the stair.)
 
WANG
(He sees several street cats by the van. He takes his leftovers out of the driver’s seat to feed them.)
Meow~ meow~ Come here. Help yourselves. Sweet babies, you must be hungry, huh?
 
(He unwittingly catches sight of the bag of cat food on the stairs. He walks over to pick it up.)
Whose cat food is this? Who left it here? Anybody?
 
(He looks around but finds no one at all. He opens the bag and gets a handful out to feed the cats.)
 
LIN
(Still on the phone, walking down the stair, she holds a vase in her left hand and a painting under her right arm. )
Don’t worry about me. I can handle it. It is not my first time to move anyway. I am a tough girl, you know. I ordered a van from FlexMove. The driver keeps rushing me. But what can I do with so many things?
 
Yes, they do offer handling services[User5] , but it makes me terribly uncomfortable to let a strange MAN[User6]  touch my stuff. No, I don’t want it.
 
WANG
（He continues feeding the cats, facing away from Lin, thus not knowing she is approaching.）
 
LIN
（She lowers her voice when she sees WANG feeding the cats. ）
Well, guess what I see? That driver is feeding the homeless cats. He is even talking to them.
 
(She speaks to WANG, with a more gentle tone.)
Hey, sir. Don’t touch them. They are all street cats, not yet vaccinated. Be careful. They may bite you.[User7] 
 
WANG
(He looks back, stands up, turns around, and frowns.)
Are you done or not, Miss Lin? Can we go now?
 
LIN
(She notices the cat food in Wang’s hand, and she becomes upset.)
Why did you steal my cat food?[User8] 
 
WANG
What are you talking about? I stole what? I stole nothing!
 
LIN
(She points at the cat food in his hand.)
This bag! It is mine! How can you steal my cat food?
 
WANG
I found it on[User9]  the stairs!
(But he then realizes that it could be Lin’s. So he softens his voice.)
Er... I asked. I did ask who left it here[User10] , but nobody answered. I don’t know it is yours.
 
LIN
I forget that I left it there, but you shouldn’t open it anyway. Well, forget it. Since you’ve already touched it, and those poor cats are hungry, you can keep it and go ahead, feed them.
 
WANG
(He smiles, and gets close to Lin.)
You waste too much time here, Miss Lin. It also takes time to unload them. You won’t make it[User11]  within the allowed waiting time, and you gotta pay the over-time fee, you know?
 
LIN
(She steps back, kind of nervous.)
I know. If I have to pay, I pay.
 
WANG
Listen to me. I know it is not easy for a young girl like you to move alone at night. I’ll do you a favor. With only 50 bucks, I will help you to settle all of this. What do you think?
 
LIN
No, no. I can do it by myself. Thank you.
 
WANG
50 bucks is a reasonable price, Miss.
 
LIN
I am sorry for the trouble. I’d rather do it myself. If it goes overtime, I will pay for it[User12] .
 
Do not touch my things here.
 
(She puts down her stuff[User13]  into the trunk and heads back to the stairs.)
 
WANG
(Phone rings. He takes it out and answers.)
Not yet. I am still here. Damn it. I meet a weirdo gal. So stingy! Doesn’t even want to pay 50 bucks for my moving service.[User14]  She insists doing it on[User15]  her own. She has been running up and down for seven or eight rounds already, carrying two or three items at a time. I doubt that I’ll have time to take another order tonight.
 
LIN
(While Wang is on the phone, Lin walks and moves back and forth between the stairs and the van as quickly as she can.)
 
WANG
（Finally, Lin finishes moving all of her stuff[User16] .）
 
You done? Can we go now?
 
LIN
(She nods her head.)
(Wang gets into the driver’s side, and Lin gets into the passenger’s side.)
 
WANG
What? You are going with me?
 
LIN
I have to stay with my belongings.
 
WANG
All right. Sit tight. What I drive is a van, not a taxi.
 
(Then the engine roars. The stage lights become dim, leaving the main light on the van’s cab. The staircase on the left is removed. Movie screens hang down on both sides of the stage, showing the night street moving backwards as the van is driving. Another screen at the background shows the van’s route.)
(Both of them do not utter a word. Such silence lasts for a while.)
 
LIN
(She turns her head to check the trunk at the back.)
Please drive steadily. I hear my cat meowing. She gets car-sick.
 
WANG
A cat gets car-sick? Are you kidding me?
 
LIN
No, I am serious. It threw up like hell last time when it travelled with me in the car.
 
WANG
(He shrugs his shoulder. His face is a bit relaxed.)
Now I learn something new. All right. I’ll try my best. But who knows, on this road, anything may happen.
 
(He takes out a cigarette and puts it in his mouth.)
May I smoke?
 
LIN
(She glances with a frown, but shows no objection.)
Up to you.
 
WANG
(He lights the cigarette, takes a long deep breath, and then sighs comfortably. He talks with a slightly envious tone.)
You are not a local, right? You know, the neighborhood you are moving to is a nice place? It is by the river. There was a sugar factory. I used to go there to play when I was a kid. I can recall the sweet smell in the air.
 
LIN
(She glimpses at Wang vigilantly, without saying anything.)
 
WANG
(He speaks in an envious way.)
The houses in that neighborhood are pretty expensive. Are you renting there? It must cost you a good fortune, right?
(He smiles.)
I heard that [User17] many mistresses of the rich people live there…
 
LIN
(She frowns.)
What do you mean?
 
WANG
(He is confused.)
Nothing. What do you mean?
 
LIN
You know what you mean.
 
WANG
(He realizes something wrong with what he just said.)
Hey, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean that. I am just trying to make conversation. You know, I always say something stupid.
 
LIN
(She turns her head to the other side for her phone, whispering.)
Men are nothing but a**holes.
 
WANG
What did you say?
 
LIN
Nothing.
 
WANG
(He casts an[User18]  annoyed look at Lin, but speaks nothing.)
 
LIN
(She looks at her phone and doesn’t speak either.)
 
WANG
(After a while…)
Listen, there is something I need to make clear with you. Did you make an application to the community office?[User19]  If not, I can’t park there for too long. If it takes more than 10 minutes, someone will ask me to leave.
 
LIN
You don’t have to worry about it. I can deal with it.
 
WANG
In ten minutes, you can unload everything all by yourself? Or you may need my help? If you can’t finish unloading and someone from the community office comes, you know, I have no choice but to leave.
 
LIN
Why do you keep offering your moving service? No, thank you! I don’t need it. I can handle it.[User20]  Why? Because I can’t afford 50 bucks.
 
WANG
You think I need that 50 bucks? I just want to warn you. Don’t blame me if I drive away.
 
LIN
How can you do that to me? Fine, try me. See what is going to happen!
 
WANG
Damn it! What a f**king nut!
 
LIN
How dare you? I’ll complain to your company!
 
WANG
(He doesn’t argue but inhales his cigarette deeply and then throws it out of the window.)
 
LIN
(She is typing a message on her phone. Here goes the voice-over of the typing sound. )
The driver is a jerk. He made all sorts of excuses to make me pay him moving my stuff[User21] . Does he think I am a single girl and easy to bully?
 
No. You have no idea[User22]  how nasty he looks! His eyes were squinting while he tried to pry into where I live.[User23]  I feel creepy at the thought of his dirty hands touching my things.
 
(The screen at the stage background shows the driving route of the van which is deviating the regular route but still heading towards the destination. There are bold red lines on the regular route to display serious traffic jams ahead.)
 
(Lin raises her head. She becomes confused when looking out the window.)
Excuse me, sir. It looks like we are on the wrong way?[User24] 
 
WANG
 (The stage lights are off, except for a spotlight[User25]  focusing on Wang. Here comes his inner monologue )
What a f**king night! I spend three hours on this order, make less than 60 bucks, and get a stupid b**ch nagging on and on and on. You think you are rich because you live where the rich live? No. You are just a stingy b**ch that doesn’t wanna pay even 50 bucks! Look at me like a f**king rapist and you think I can’t read your face? Pose like a virgin? Save it, you b**ch!
 
Sh*t! It sucks! I tried so hard to get another order and now you tell me there is a traffic jam ahead? If I can’t make it on time, this order will be screwed up. Two negative ratings in one night, f**k! My rating is doomed. Screw you! Stupid b**ch!  
 
Oh, thank god! Fortunately I know there is a bypass. It is kinda out of the way, but it’ll save me plenty of time. Hey, the route navigation designers of the company are all idiots. Why do they always ask us to take the route with traffic jams?
 
They are all idiots! And I am an idiot too! Damn it! Why do I ramble with this stupid b**ch?
 
LIN
(The stage lights are back.)
This isn’t right route. We should not turn left until the next crossing!
 
WANG
Don’t teach me how to drive. This is a van. If you wanna give commands, go find a taxi[User26] ! I didn’t ask you to take my van.
 
LIN
(She checks her phone again, and then she raises it up to him, pointing at the screen.)
The navigation route on FlexMove also shows to turn left at the next crossing!
 
WANG
That isn’t accurate. Either way works. I know what I am doing.
 
LIN
But...
 
WANG
Don’t make trouble with me. If you are not happy, get out and take a taxi.
 
LIN
(Lin shuts up. She constantly looks out of the window. She seems puzzled, and a bit nervous as well.)
(None of them speak for a while.)
No, sir, no. This way heads to the suburbs. You must have taken the wrong way!
 
WANG
Why don’t you shut up? Listen, I said the way I am driving is correct! Get off my van if you don’t want to stay!
 
LIN
It is so dark outside. You are going to dump me here?
 
WANG
(No reply.)
 
LIN
(She begs him.)
This is not the right route, sir. Please use another one. Please...
 
WANG
(No reply.)
 
LIN
(The stage lights and the screens are off, and only Lin can be seen in the spotlight. Here comes her inner monologue. )
The road is getting darker and darker. Fewer cars and fewer people!
 
What should I do? Where is he going to take me?
 
He is going to rape me! He is going to kill me! Just like the taxi driver in the news report. He will strangle me and cut my tummy open! And he will leave my naked body on the outskirts! Oh no! I don’t wanna die! Help!
 
But what can I do now? I must get off! No matter how dark it is here, I must get off! I must leave!
 
(The stage lights are back, showing Wang in horror.)
Sir, sir! I don’t wanna go with you. Let me get off. I MUST get off!
 
WANG
（The stage lights turn down. Wang is in the spotlight. Meanwhile the screen on the background shows the van is approaching the destination, only 8 minutes away. And here comes his inner monologue.）
Damn it, you idiot! Don’t you know how to read the navigation? We are only 8 minutes away, 8 minutes! And you wanna get off now? Who to blame if something goes wrong after you get off?
(The lights are back. Wang doesn’t speak. He casts Lin a cold glance. )
 
LIN
(Terrified at Wang’s glance, she huddles up against the door.)
Please, sir! I am begging you! Please! Let me get off the van! Let me get off!
 
WANG
(He ignores her.)
 
LIN
(Petrified, she hammers on the door, but it is locked. She unfastens her seat-belt and winds down the window.)
Stop! Stop the van! Help! Stop! Stop, or I’ll jump!
 
WANG
Hey, 40 miles per hour, you’ll jump? You wanna kill yourself? You are bluffing me? You think I am an idiot? Sit tight and fasten your seat-belt! You’ll get me a ticket!
 
LIN
(Suffering from a nervous breakdown, she wriggles her way out of the window.)
Stop the van! Stop! Let me go!
 
WANG
(He shouts hastily.)
Sh*t! Are you crazy?
(He turns on the emergency flashers. The van lights show the vehicle is braking intermittently and slowing down.)
 
LIN
Help! Help! Stop~
(With more than half of her body already out of the car, she is using one of her hands to strike the van roof. Suddenly, she falls out of the window.)
 
WANG
(He finally pulls over. The screen on the background shows it is only FIVE MINUTES away from the destination. He gets off the van immediately and dashes to Lin. He tries to reach out to check on her, but he doesn’t dare to. He scratches his head, looking shocked and puzzled.)
F**k, f**k, f**k... What a f**king mad woman[User27] ! How can you just jump like this? We are getting there in no time. Why did you do this to me? What did I do wrong?[User28] 
You b**ch, don’t die!
Oh, help! F**k!
(He crouches and takes his phone out to call the police. His voice is getting hoarse. He can’t help sobbing.)
Hello, 110?
 
(The stage lights turn dim, leaving a ray of light on Wang. The screen on the background captures the final moment of the driving route, highlighting the FIVE-MINUTE driving range in red.)
(The voice-over is a cat’s timid meow, meow, meow...)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
-END-