(A woman stands to stage right, and addresses the audience
Narrator: This is Peter Glass.
[Peter walks on stage, with a minimal amount of props suggesting a Parisian subway stop]
Narrator: He’s twenty-four years old, and this is his seventh day in Paris.
[A woman holding a map approaches Peter, asks him a question in French. He stammers a bit in reply, indicating he doesn’t understand. She walks off, frustrated]
Narrator: Peter doesn’t speak any French. Still, he’d like to think he’s getting the hang of this city. He can buy a subway ticket with relative skill…
[Peter confidently purchases a ticket from a machine]
Narrator: He knows which vendor sells English language newspapers, and he delights in being able to make use of the only French he does know…
[Peter walks over to a vendor, points to a newspaper and hands over some cash. The vendor hands him the paper, and Peter says, as though stating something quite profound: Merci!]
Narrator: Oh, and this is Zoë. She’s reading a French magazine, but don’t let that fool you. She’s American — she just speaks French a bit better than Peter does.
[A pretty young woman is sitting on a bench, reading while she waits for her train]
Narrator: Peter sits near her while he waits for the train.
[He does]
Narrator: He thinks this girl might be the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.
[he definitely does]
Narrator: Peter tries out the only other French word he knows, to mild success.
[Peter says “bonjour!” Zoe giggles a bit, and replies with a much quieter “bonjour”.]
Narrator: Peter asks if she speaks any English, and he is surprised and relieved to find that she does.
[Peter does not. Rather, he continues merely reading his newspaper on the bench].
Narrator (A bit shaken): Uh… Well. The two of them pick up a conversation, and discover that they have the same home town— they even share a few mutual friends.
[This does not happen. The two continue sitting near each other, but do not even make eye contact]
Narrator (with growing confusion): Neither of them consider themselves romantics, but they are surprised to find that they’ve fallen completely in love with each other in just the few moments they’ve spent together. Zoe writes down her number on Peter’s newspaper before she leaves…
[Peter turns a page in the newspaper, and continues reading. Zoe gets up after a moment, and starts collecting her things]
Narrator: Peter promises himself he’ll play it cool, and won’t call for a few days, but he knows deep down that he won’t be able to resist calling her as soon as he gets home. He is happy, ecstatic. Everything in his life has been leading to this moment.
[Zoe finishes packing her things, and leaves the station]
Narrator (looking directly at Peter):… what happened?
