The document provides stage directions and scenes for a play about four Chinese sisters - Lily, Sherry, Annie, and Jessica - who have recently moved to Chicago from China. In the first scene, Annie recalls waking up in the hospital after a car accident and realizing something was wrong. The second scene shows the sisters in their new apartment, where Sherry discovers how to turn on the kitchen fan. In the third scene, Lily returns home stressed after her boyfriend broke up with her over the phone. Annie and Sherry offer to make dinner to give Lily time alone.

1. 1
Sisters
Written by Cornelia Yu
Notes to the directors
In an ideal world, this play would be done in a realistic kitchen setting with real food and running
water. Additionally there would be an attached living area with four doors. All four girls are Asian,
the eldest, Lily, being 22 years old, followed by Sherry who is 18 years old, Annie 14 years old, and
the youngest, Jessica, at 10 years old. However depending upon the cast available, this can be
changed/transformed at the director’s discretion.
As an additional note, all of these girls are from China. So normally they are speaking Chinese but
we are hearing English (since I wrote this in English assuming the actors and audiences do not
understand Chinese), and when they are actually speaking English, it will be labeled and the English
will be intentionally broken i.e. “Chinglish”.
Furthermore, the director can decide whether the “monologues in the darkness” at the beginning
of Act I Scene I, Act II Scene III and by the end of Act II Scene V are presented by the actor in
darkness, recorded and played, or they could choose to have the actor come off the stage in a
separate light and talk directly to the audience. Moreover, the monologues are also there for the
actor to understand the character more in depth as well as give a feeling of storytelling, so if the
directors are not found of the monologues, then he/she can make the decision whether to keep or
delete them.
On a side note, in the scene where Jessica is packing, when it comes to her packing the “stupid
stuffs”, what she packs could be changed or removed based on the theatre’s condition and the
director’s decision.
Hope you enjoy reading this play. ^_^
Cornelia Yu
April.10, 2016

2. 2
Act I
Scene I
(Blackout. Annie’s voice sounds in the darkness.)
Annie When I woke up in the hospital and saw all my sisters at my bedside, I knew something was
wrong—something was different. It was hard to describe that type of feeling—no one was crying
or anything—but you just know. You just know something bad happened. Something terrible, or
even horrible happened. At first I thought I ruined my face or…or even, you know, that I had lost
some body parts in that stupid car accident. I thought I lost something that would change my
future—and right at that moment, everything I thought about “my future” was that I want to
become an actor. What else would you think? When your sisters were creating such a depressing
atmosphere right beside you, and the last thing you remember was that the back of a truck hit
the side of the car you were in? But no. They were not crying, because this feels so unreal
and…confusing. The truth is that I lost something that was way more important.
(Lights up. Morning. It is the living room of a small apartment in Chicago, with a small kitchen
attached to it. There’s a microwave above the stove in the kitchen as well as a fridge set beside
the stove. You could easily figure that it might be a college student’s apartment, with a laptop and
all the Political textbooks, papers and other books on the couch and dinner table. There are four
doors into this area; one leading towards the outside, one linked to the bathroom, and 2 bedrooms
next to each other. Annie, a Chinese girl around 14 years old in her house dress, stands by the
stove in the kitchen making bacon and eggs. Sherry, Annie’s sister, a Chinese girl around 18 years
old, wearing pajamas, enters from one of the bedrooms. It is almost the end of the summer, so
both of the girls are in light clothing.)
Sherry (Coughing.)What the hell are you making?
Annie Bacon and eggs.
Sherry Why didn’t you turn on the fan? It’s really smoky. I woke up and thought there was a fire!
Annie There’s no fan.
Sherry Hell it’s a kitchen! How could it be possible there’s no fan?
Annie There is no fan—or I couldn’t find the switch. It looks like there is a fan beneath the
microwave, but I don’t know how to turn it on.
Sherry Let me see. (She moves over.) Yeah I guess you’re right. (Coughing.) Hell it’s terribly smoky!

3. 3
How was it possible for Lily to live here for 4 years without a fan?
Annie Right? And the room was not smoky at all when we moved in yesterday!
Sherry No, this can’t be possible. Lily cooks a lot. We don’t smell smoke in here, so there must be a
fan.
Annie Do you want me to call her and ask?
Sherry What time is it now? Nah, she’s probably at work. Gosh this smells terrible!
Annie Do you want something for breakfast?
Sherry Nah I don’t want the room to be even more smoky. And I don’t want to eat those burnt
things you cook.
Annie Hey it’s my first time cooking in my whole life! I’m still learning! You can’t do it better than me
and you know it! Besides, you can always have milk and bread.
Sherry Yeah that’ll do. Why the hell isn’t there a fan?
Annie (She takes out the milk box and the bread from the fridge.) Do you want to heat the milk up in
the microwave?
Sherry Sure. (She grabs the milk carton and pours out some milk into a bowl, then puts it into the
microwave.) Wait a second! Do you know what the word “Exhaust” means in Chinese?
Annie Tired, I suppose.
Sherry So why would the microwave feel “tired”—or why would we “tired” a microwave?
Annie Wait, what?
Sherry There is a button says “exhaust” here on the microwave. What does that do?
Annie I don’t know, try it.
Sherry Hell no! I’m afraid it would explode or something—Lily will kill us!
Annie I don’t think there’s a button on a microwave—or on any household appliances, you know—that
would make it explode.
Sherry Yeah I know that! I’m just saying!
Annie Try it then!
Sherry (She wants to press the button, but doesn’t really.) Gosh this is hard.
Annie You’re going to become a scientist, and you got to try things, you know, like…do experiments
and test them out!
Sherry Okay, fine! (She presses the button, and the fan, of course, is finally on.)

4. 4
Annie Hey it’s the fan!
Sherry Wow that helps a lot.
Annie Yep, I suppose. So do you want bacon and eggs for breakfast instead? Since we figured out
how to turn on the fan, you know.
Sherry Nah, I’ll just do with the milk and bread. (She turns on the microwave to heat up the milk.)
Did Jessica wake up yet? It’s already 9:30.
Annie You don’t remember? She left with Lily this morning, since…
Sherry Oh, yeah, Lily said she has to find a private primary school for her. Yeah I do remember now.
So anyway, what’s your plan for today?
Annie Well, you know, just walk around the neighborhood and check things out. I want to get used to
everything as soon as possible.
Sherry Do you want to check for schools as well though? (The milk is ready. She takes it out of the
microwave, grabs a piece of bread and joins Annie at the table.)
Annie (Talking while eating.)Yep, maybe tomorrow. After all it’s my first day here today, and I don’t
want to get it too busy or serious. What about you?
Sherry (Talking while eating.)I won’t leave my sister by herself on an exploring mission, will I?
Annie Ha that’s my big sister! So you’re coming with me?
Sherry Of course I am! I want to check out where the nearest library is, since I’d like to get some
stuff done before the semester starts.
Annie Hey you really sound like a scientist now, huh?
Sherry Wow I’m not there yet! But probably will be soon.
Annie You know, sometimes I really wish I could do schoolwork as well as you and Lily.
Sherry You will. Schoolwork here is easier than it was back in China, so you’ll be fine.
Annie Well I hope so. (She’s now done with breakfast, stands up and put the dishes into the sink.)
I’m going to change now, hurry up with your food!
Sherry Yeah just one second, you can go ahead and change. I’ll be right there.
(She hurries up to eat up her food while Annie exits to the same bedroom door where Sherry came
out. After finishing the food, she puts the bowl into the sink and exits to the bedroom as well.)
Annie (Off stage) Hey you should knock! I’m still naked!
(Blackout.)

5. 5
Scene II
(Lights up. It is already dusk; we hear the noise of the key, and then Lily, a 22-year-old Chinese girl
in working clothes, enters with plastic bags filled with groceries in it, with Jessica, a 10-year-old
Chinese girl, Sherry and Annie following her.)
Lily I can’t believe it! You forgot the key? How could you forget the key! And there were two of you!
How could you both forget the key! Thank God I don’t have to work overtime today, or otherwise
you’d have to wait till 10 for me to come back and let you in!
Sherry Okay, fine, I’m sorry! What else do you want?
Lily I want you to learn a lesson and never forget your key again! Even Jessica wouldn’t forget her
key.
Jessica Oh I might. I don’t really go out by myself though.
Lily What’s that sound? God why is the fan on? What did you do?
Annie Oh I forgot to turn it off before we left!
Lily Hey girls, you know that electricity costs money, don’t you?
Annie Sorry, I didn’t find the fan at the beginning, and actually Sherry turned it on so…
Sherry Wow you were the one who needed to use it!
Annie I said I’m sorry!
Lily God why are there dishes in the sink?
Sherry Oh we forgot to…
Lily No, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know that. Just come and do your dishes. Jessica, would you be
willing to help me prepare dinner?
Jessica Yes, madam!
Lily See, even Jessica is more helpful than you two. You should know that life is usually kind of
miserable, so ladies, please, don’t make it worse.
Sherry Sorry.
Annie Sorry.
(They both go over to wash the dishes while Lily and Jessica are preparing dinner, taking groceries
out, washing vegetables and cutting them. Beat.)
Annie So, uh…Jessica, how was the first day of school?
Jessica It was okay…I had some language problems, but I’ll deal with it.

6. 6
Sherry You didn’t beat up anyone?
Jessica No! I never beat people on the first day of school!
Lily Honey, you shouldn’t beat people under any circumstance.
Annie Huh, you know she’ll never remember that.
Jessica Yes I will! I will remember!
(Sherry’s done with her dishes first. She goes over to the couch and sits there, and then picks out
her phone and starts to check emails.)
Sherry Hell no! No way!
Annie What?
Lily Watch your language, sweetheart.
Sherry They kicked me out! They kicked me off the list!
Annie What are you talking about?
Sherry They kicked me off the financial aid list!
Annie You mean the college?
Sherry Yeah, what else do you think I’m talking about?
Annie But I thought you applied, and got accepted, by the scholarship program when you were
applying for the school…
Sherry Yeah but this is not the scholarship. It’s financial aid for your daily expenses, including meal
plan and residence fee and things like that. The scholarship is something that you don’t have to
pay back and this is like…a loan thing that you could get and will have to pay back later after you
graduate.
Annie Why on earth would you need that? You don’t want to owe money to the bank, do you? I mean,
the interest thing could always be a pain in the ass.
Sherry That’s why I wanted to get onto this list! This school I’m going to has a special list that if
you are on the list it would be easier for you to get more student loan, and this loan is not from a
bank but from the government. In other words, there will be no interest! It’s like, real financial
aid! If I’m not on the list, it would be really meaningless for me to get a loan, since it will take a
really long time for me to pay it back after I graduate. But if I don’t apply for a loan, I’ll need
probably an extra thousand dollars every month. Where on earth do you think I could get that
money?

7. 7
Annie Well, has Lily sold mom’s business already? We should have more than enough money from that,
shouldn’t we?
Lily Hello, what were you thinking honey? Use your brain! Sherry has got a student visa and I got an
OPT right now, but you and Jess don’t have proper identification to stay in the US and go to
school. We need that money for you two to go to a private school here and later on for your
college expenses, okay? Besides, don’t forget the exchange rate! We really don’t have a lot of
money there!
(Annie’s done with her dishes. She goes over and sits with Sherry.)
Annie Please stop making fun of my brain. It’s not big enough for you to do that.
Jessica Annie, I don’t think Lily’s making fun of your brain.
Annie Right I know that! I was just kidding! Why do you always take everything so seriously?
Jessica Okay, sorry.
Sherry How on earth am I going to…
(Lily’s phone rings. Sherry gets up and picks it out from Lily’s purse.)
Sherry It’s your boyfriend; I don’t want to answer that.
Lily My hands are wet, could you please…
Sherry Yeah, sure.
(She hits the answer button and holds it up to Lily’s ears.)
Lily Yes honey, what’s up? …uh, not right now, I’m kind of busy…could you just say it on the
phone?...what? (She cuts her finger.) Ouch! Sorry I…Chris, was it because of the past two months?
But you should know what just happened to me! I just didn’t have as much time for you and I’m
sorry! But that was something I couldn’t really help! ...Okay, fine, what do you want me to say? …I
am calm. I’m calm enough to tell you right now that you are an asshole and I’m really glad that you
won’t have a chance to do this to me anymore!
(She throws the knife on the counter. Jessica has already got a band-aid for her and now wraps it
around her finger. Sherry crosses away and puts the phone onto the dinner table.)
Annie What was it? What’s going on?
Lily Not a big deal. All very silly stuff. It’ll be fine.
Annie No, I don’t think it will. There’s got to be something going wrong. You are not that type of
person who would say things like “it will be fine”. That sounds more like a Sherry thing. You usually

8. 8
don’t say that.
Lily (gives a little smile) What would I say then?
Annie I don’t know. Something like, “I’m not sure if everything is going to be alright, but I’ll try my
best to make it that way.” You know, you are just not that type of person who would let things go,
and believe that it will turn out to be fine. You are...more like the type of person who would get
active and make things work.
Lily Sure thing.
Annie So… I don’t know, Lily, do you think you’ll need some time alone? Sherry and I could be in
charge of dinner.
Lily No I’m fine. You two have never really cooked a real meal before, and I don’t want you to blow up
my apartment.
Jessica I can help!
Lily (smiles) Sure thing, I know you can.
Annie Lily, really, I mean it. You don’t look like you are okay at all; you just cut your finger! I don’t
really know what’s going on with you and your boyfriend, but take some time, no one would blame
you.
Lily It’s okay. I’m okay.
Sherry Hell Lily, you’re just…I don’t know.
Annie Sherry? What did you mean by that?
Sherry Can’t you understand that? Her boyfriend just called and broke up with her!
Annie …Lily, is that real?
Lily Don’t worry about me! I’m fine! I just…I just wasn’t expecting to be upset.
Jessica What? Who made you upset? I’m going to beat the shit out of him!
Sherry No you are not!
Annie Listen to me, Lily, we can handle this. I’m 14 and Sherry is 18. We can sure make a simple
dinner. Maybe just ten or fifteen minutes, but you really need some time to yourself.
Lily Okay, fine, I’ll take that.
(She goes into the other bedroom. Sherry was trying to say something but stops.)
Annie Jessica, could you please do me a favor?
Jessica Yes, what is it?

9. 9
Annie Could you take the keys and go downstairs and check the mailbox for me please?
Jessica Yes, madam!
(She takes the key and exits.)
Sherry Why?
Annie What?
Sherry Why did you send Jessica away?
Annie What were you trying to say?
Sherry What?
Annie I asked what were you trying to say. You were definitely trying to say something just now.
Sherry I didn’t…
Annie Oh you did. I know you did. Lily usually wouldn’t mind if you just say it. Why didn’t you say it?
Sherry …you know, Annie, sometimes you should pretend that you don’t know some things.
Annie I’m just curious. What were you trying to say?
Sherry Well, something like, you know…
Annie No I don’t know. I wouldn’t know what you were thinking if you don’t tell me.
Sherry Alright, alright, it’s just, something like…I told you so.
Annie You told her so?!!! You told her that she’s going to break up with Chris? How would you know?
Oh my god Sherry you are amazing! But if you could tell the future, why didn’t you…
Sherry Wow stop that! I know exactly what you are going to say and I don’t want to talk about it!
And I’m not a “future teller”! I just told her that she’d be really upset when the relationship
comes to an end.
Annie Of course she’d be upset! Who wouldn’t be upset when she breaks up with someone?
Sherry Well Lily said she wouldn’t last year. Or in other words, she “shouldn’t”.
Annie Wait, what? What do you mean by this “shouldn’t” thing? How can upset be something that you
could ever control?
Sherry She’s always like that.
Annie …right, I suppose I knew that. But have you ever wondered…
Sherry (Stands up.) Let’s start working.
Annie Wait, what?
Sherry Hell you just promised Lily that we’ll make dinner!

10. 10
Annie But I just sent Jessica away and hoped we could have some girl time!
Sherry Yeah, we can have “girl talk” while cooking. Let’s at least finish all the cutting. Do we have a
recipe book or does she just cook by memory?
Annie (She crosses to the kitchen with Sherry.)You know, Sherry, I just never thought you would be
this, uh, you know, responsible. Or maybe it’s just you don’t…
Sherry (interrupting) Yeah? Thank you.
(Beat. They cook for a while.)
Annie …you know, Sherry, I don’t feel like…the problem…will be solved.
Sherry This meat is really gross to cut.
Annie I mean…right I told Lily to spend some time by herself, but will that do anything?
Sherry Hell it’s slippery!
Annie I mean, they’ve been dating for almost a year already, and it’s not that easy for you to heal
after a relationship like that breaks up. It shouldn’t be.
Sherry Wow, you sound just like Lily! With that “should” thing.
Annie (Gives a little smile.) Yep, I suppose. We are sisters.
Sherry We are sisters. Everything is going to be fine. Lily is kind of cold, you know. If that was my
boyfriend, I’d probably burst into tears already.
Annie Do you really believe that?
Sherry What?
Annie That “everything is going to be fine” phrase you always say.
Sherry Yeah, I guess.
Annie But sometimes it’s just, you know, hard to believe it.
Sherry But there’s always hope.
Annie Yep, I suppose.
Sherry No, I mean it. Do you remember what happened when we were kids?
Annie Actually not quite, but I know what you are talking about.
Sherry Yeah? If we can go through that, we are going to make it this time. I mean, it just takes
time.
Annie Alright then. Let’s not talk about this anymore. I don’t want to think about it anymore. (Beat.)
By the way, Sherry, I think they are holding a party tomorrow night in the courtyard. That will be

11. 11
a really good way to release stress, won’t it?
Sherry Nah, I’m not a party animal. You take care of yourself and have fun.
Annie Oh I will. I really need a party right at this moment.
(Jessica comes back.)
Jessica Reporting! Got a post card from mom! It is the one she sent to Lily and Sherry when we were
at the Twin Peaks!
(Silence. Blackout.)
Scene III
(Lights up. It’s the next night. Sherry is playing with her cell phone when Jessica comes out from her
room, carrying some homework and sits at the dinner table.)
Jessica Where is Lily?
Sherry (Buries into the cell phone.)I don’t know. (Beat. Head up.) Wait, did you ask about Lily?
(Jessica nods.) I think she said she found a new part-time job today as a bartender or something,
and went off to work. She’ll be back before midnight.
Jessica Then could you help me with my homework?
Sherry Yeah, sure. What is it?
Jessica What does the word “hummed” mean?
Sherry ...Wait a second, what homework is that?
Jessica English reading. I have a lot of words that I don’t know in this article.
Sherry Then use a translator! I’m only going to help you with those problems that you couldn’t solve
by yourself.
Jessica Okay, sorry.
(Sherry goes back into her phone. She bursts out in a laugh after a few seconds.)
Jessica Sherry, what are you doing?
Sherry Texting my boyfriend. Just do your homework.
(Sherry gives another laugh while texting. Beat.)
Jessica Sherry, where is Annie?
Sherry (Without looking at her.)She’s downstairs at the party.
Jessica Can we go find her?
Sherry Are you done with your homework?

12. 12
Jessica …no, sorry.
(Beat. Sherry laughs.)
Jessica Sherry, can you bring me a cup of water?
Sherry You are closer to the kitchen.
(Beat. Jessica gets up to get water and comes back and sits. Beat.)
Jessica Sherry, are you done texting?
Sherry No.
(Beat.)
Jessica Sherry, when will Annie be back?
Sherry It’s almost 10 now. So probably soon.
(Beat.)
Jessica Sherry…
Sherry (Throws her cell phone on the couch.) Dammit what do you want?! You are really annoying!
Jessica …sorry. I just want to say that … never mind.
Sherry Say it!
Jessica No, don’t mind me.
Sherry Hell Jessica, say it!
Jessica (Whispering.) I miss mom.
Sherry (Didn’t hear her.) What? Gosh just say it!
Jessica I miss mom!
(Long beat. Sherry suddenly stands up, goes back into her room and slams the door. Jessica is
freaked, doesn’t know what to do. The apartment door opens and Annie, in a dark colored short
party dress and high heel shoes, comes in.)
Annie (Throws off her shoes.) Jess? It’s already 10 pm, why haven’t you gone to sleep?
Jessica I’m doing my homework.
Annie How can a primary school student have so much homework? (She goes over to the fridge and
takes out a beer.) I mean, we are not in China anymore.
Jessica I’m done with most of it, and only have this one page of English reading left. There are so
many words that I don’t know. I’m trying to look them up in the translator.
Annie Fair enough. English language is hard.

13. 13
Jessica Can I also have one, please?
Annie What do you mean?
Jessica Can I also have a beer with you?
Annie Yep, why not? (She grabs another beer and gives it to Jessica.) There you go.
Jessica Thank you. (She tries to open it.) Uh, Annie, can you open it for me please?
Annie (Takes the beer, opens it, and gives it back to Jessica.) Here you go.
Jessica Thank you.
Annie No big deal. I’m actually kind of glad that there’s someone drinking with me.
Jessica (Takes a sip.)How was the party?
Annie …It was nice. People are friendly.
Jessica I wish I could go.
Annie I never knew that you liked parties.
Jessica I’ve never been to a real party before!
Annie (She gives a light laugh.)Yep, I suppose that’s true. (She takes a sip.) Where is Sherry?
Jessica She went back into her room.
Annie Is she asleep?
Jessica I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. She just went in there like two minutes ago, right
before you came back.
Annie Oh. (She takes another sip.) Do you have class tomorrow?
Jessica Yes, madam. It’s Friday tomorrow.
Annie Yep, right. (Beat.) Sometimes I just don’t know what I’m saying, you know.
Jessica (Takes a sip from the bottle) …well…
Annie (Interrupts her.) Sorry, I shouldn’t say that to you. Sorry that I confused you. I’m going to
take a shower now, (she finishes her beer) and you can have yours after me.
Jessica Yes, madam. Thank you, madam.
(Annie nods, leaves her bottle on the counter, and exits through the bathroom door.)
Jessica Confused…yes, I am sort of confused right now. (She takes a sip from her bottle.) But I
think I could understand that. I wish she’d tell me something I could do. I wish there is
something I could do to change all this.
(Jessica continues on her homework. Then she suddenly begins to weep. She wipes her tears with the

14. 14
sleeve as she takes more sips from her bottle.)
Jessica Mom…I miss you.
(Blackout.)
Scene IV
(Lights up. Morning. Sherry, Annie and Jessica all in their house dresses sit by the table while Lily is
preparing breakfast for everyone—she’s already in her working cloth. She puts down dishes with
food in front of each girl while yelling at them. Sherry keeps texting the whole time.)
Lily …I just can’t believe it! It was just six hours! Like literally six… (She wants to swear but finally
doesn’t)…hours! Do I have to keep my eyes on you like…24/7? How could you possibly get your
little sister drunk when I was not here for only six hours?
Jessica Sorry madam. I shouldn’t…
Lily No you be quiet sweetheart. You didn’t do anything wrong. Sherry and Annie were supposed to
keep an eye on you and make sure you were fine.
Sherry So what’s the big deal? It’s just a beer! Jessica drinks beer all the time! Besides, she was
just a little bit excited, and that’s nowhere near “drunk”.
Lily “A little bit excited”? Sure, she goes to the balcony naked and yells that she’s going to punch
everyone at midnight, and that was just a little bit excited, wasn’t it? So what do you define as
drunk?
Jessica I didn’t go naked, I was just pulling my shirt up because it was hot.
Lily Jessica!
Annie Okay, fine! I said I’m sorry! What else do you want?
Lily It’s illegal to drink any alcohol here in the US if you are under 21! You could cause me to go to
jail by drinking in my house, do you understand me?
Sherry It’s not a house, it’s just an apartment.
Lily Thank you honey, that’s very smart.
Annie How are we supposed to know that we were not supposed to drink it when there’s beer in the
fridge?
Lily (Beat. Sigh.) …alright, I guess that’s my fault. Sorry about that. I won’t buy beer anymore in the
future. (Beat.) Hurry up, I got to get Jessica to school and go to work. Do you two want a lift
somewhere?

15. 15
Annie I think Sherry is going again to the library. I can go with her.
Sherry Yes I am.
Lily Oh, okay.
Annie What? You seem surprised.
Lily Yes, a little bit. I thought you might want to go to the community center.
Annie Why?
Lily They have these acting and dancing courses and summer camps there. I thought you might want
to check that out.
Annie Really? I never knew that!
Lily …you should read those free magazines we get every month in the mail box. It has everything
going on around the community.
Annie Then could you please drop me at the community center today?
Lily Sure thing. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast. We really have to go within 10 minutes or both
Jessica and I are going to be late.
Jessica Sorry I got drunk last night.
Lily No you are fine. Just…try to use your brain and think about it before you decide to do
something next time. I mean all three of you.
Jessica Yes, madam.
Annie Sorry about last night.
(Sherry is still texting on her cell phone. Beat.)
Sherry What? Why are you all looking at me? I didn’t do anything wrong last night.
(Jessica looks down. However, no one notices that.)
Lily Could you please put down your cell phone for a while and eat your breakfast? Sherry, you are
an adult so please act like one.
Sherry I’m texting! (Lily stares at her without saying anything.) Okay, fine.
(She puts down her cell phone and focuses on the food. Lily sits. Beat. The cell phone rings a text
noise; Sherry hurries to smash the bread into her mouth and picks up the cell phone. Lily puts
down her fork and stares at Sherry.)
Annie (Coughs. Whispers.) Sherry!
Sherry What? I finished my food!

16. 16
Lily Do not play with your cell phone during a meal!
Sherry I already finished the meal!
Lily But you are still at the table!
Sherry (Throws her cell phone on the table.) Lily, like really, what is your problem? Why do you care
if I’m texting or not? What’s the big deal? I can text whenever I want to.
Lily You do not text while eating! Show some respect to the people at this table, please!
Sherry That’s nonsense! I do respect you. But I can still multitask!
Lily Sure, you can multitask. I would expect that, smarty pants. But we are a family here. Could you
please give your full attention to your family, to your sisters, instead of that stupid little machine?
Sherry Yes, sister. (She sneers.) You know, you sound just like her. “Don’t play with your cell phone
while you are eating.” But you’ll never replace her, never, big sister.
(Lily turns ashen faced.)
Annie Sherry!
Lily Take that back.
Sherry No I won’t. Wake up, Lily, you are not going to become her. She’s gone.
Annie Sherry!
Sherry Mom is gone. Take it. Accept it. We are orphans now.
(She stands up, grabs her phone, goes back to her room and slams the door. Lily shakes and buries
her head into her arms. Annie stands and comes over.)
Annie Lily…
Lily (Still has her head down.) I’m okay.
Annie Lily, I…
Lily I said I’m okay.
Jessica (Stands up, runs around the table and comes to Lily.) Was it because of me?
Annie No! Jess, listen to me, just be quiet and eat your breakfast now.
Jessica It was because of me… Sherry was mad at me last night when I mentioned mom.
Lily No…I guess she was right. I’m not your mother. I’m just your big sister, and there are a lot of
things I can’t do. She was right. I can never replace her.
Annie You don’t have to! Were you trying to replace her?
Lily No! I just want you three to be fine…to be taken good care of, you know.

17. 17
Annie Yes, exactly! And I can see that you are trying!
Lily I don’t know…I really don’t know. (Beat. She pulls her head up. She was not crying.) Alright, you
two hurry up to change. I got to get Jessica to school and get to work as soon as possible. You
lost your mom, and I know it’s hard, but life still has to continue. I’ll talk to Sherry later.
(Annie hesitates to speak, but finally gives up and exits with Jessica. Lily cleans up the table and
starts to wash the dishes very quickly. She keeps washing and then she chokes a sob.)
Lily It’s not only you. I lost my mom, too. (Beat. Wipes off her tears with sleeves and stops the sob
immediately.) I lost my mom too.
(Blackout.)
Scene V
(Lights up. Nighttime. Jessica sits at the dinner table, doing her homework. Sherry enters from her
room with a towel, texting on the phone.)
Sherry Lily said she won’t be back tonight and we should not wait for her and should go to sleep.
Jessica (puts down her pencil immediately.) But she promised that she’d read me the story book
tonight!
Sherry You can ask Annie to do that for you. I’m going to take a shower now, and you get ready to go
next. It’s already 9 o’clock, and I believe that you have class tomorrow morning.
Jessica I don’t want Annie to read me the book! Can you read me the book?
Sherry What? No! I have to get up early and go to the library tomorrow.
Jessica (she stands up and goes to Sherry) It’s not a very long book, please!
Sherry No! I don’t like…I mean, I don’t like to read things out aloud.
(She exits to the bathroom. Jessica follows, grabs a stool and sits right at the bathroom door,
staring inside, not letting Sherry close it.)
Sherry (off stage from now on) What the hell are you doing here!
Jessica Nothing. Just go ahead and take your shower.
Sherry Then let me close the door!
Jessica You don’t have to close the door to take a shower. The shower house has its own door.
Water won’t come out.
Sherry But the shower house door is made out of glass! I don’t want you to stare me the whole time
while I’m taking a shower!

18. 18
Jessica Then promise me you’ll read me the story book.
Sherry No! Are you threatening me?
Jessica No, I just want you to read me the book.
Sherry But I don’t want to read you the book!
Jessica Then I want to watch you taking a shower.
Sherry Hell what are you talking about! You can’t watch somebody taking a shower!
Jessica Yes I can. I’m doing it right now.
Sherry But I don’t want you to do it!
Jessica You can’t stop me.
Sherry Yes I can, get out of here!
Jessica No I won’t.
Sherry Annie! What are you doing! Take your sister away!
Annie (Offstage) Just leave her there, she won’t do any harm. I’m busy right now.
Sherry Ahhhh! Jessica! Literally what’s your problem? You’re really driving me crazy!
Jessica Nothing. I just want to talk to you.
Sherry Then could you please wait until I’m done with my shower?
Jessica You won’t talk to me by then. You’ll try to put me to bed.
Sherry No I won’t! Just leave me alone for now!
Jessica Yes you will. I know you will.
Sherry No you don’t know anything! Go away! (She comes out, tries to push Jessica out of her way.)
Jessica I’m going to tell Lily! I’m going to tell Lily that you are not being friendly and trying to make
trouble! I’m going to do it!
Sherry Who the hell is really trying to make trouble here? It’s you Jessica, it’s you! Your existence
is the trouble!
(Beat. Jessica stops pushing and looks at her, can’t believe what she said. Sherry noticed it, but she
was embarrassed to take it back.)
Sherry What? Why are you looking at me like that? I’m…I’m just telling… telling the truth. You
are…you are the only member of this family that needs to be taken care of, and… and Lily wouldn’t
be feeling sorry for not being home tonight if we didn’t have you to worry about. You can read the
story yourself, so why would you try to bother me by asking me to do it for you? And this whole

19. 19
stunt of not letting me take a shower is really annoying too!
Jessica I’m not “not letting you take a shower”! I just want to be with you while you are taking the
shower!
Sherry Well, I’m not used to having someone watching me taking a shower, you trouble maker!
Jessica No I’m not!
Sherry And also, if you didn’t say that you missed Lily so much and wanted to see the place she
spent the past 4 years at, Lily wouldn’t have planned this trip for us and then mom wouldn’t…
(She doesn’t finish her sentence, but Jessica knows exactly what she was going to say.)
Jessica I hate you Sherry! I hate you!
(She runs into her room and slams the door. Sherry freezes; doesn’t know what to do. Annie comes
out from her room.)
Annie What was that horrible slam?
Sherry I think I said something wrong.
Annie What did you say?
Sherry I don’t want to talk about it.
Annie Wow that doesn’t sound good.
Sherry You shut up. I’m going to take a shower.
(She exits through the bathroom door. Annie hesitates, and then knocks on Jessica’s door.)
Jessica (Offstage.) Leave me alone!
Annie It’s Annie.
Jessica (Offstage.) Leave me alone!
Annie Jess, you can’t lock yourself away from the world.
Jessica Yes I can. I know I can.
Annie Jess, you and Sherry need to talk.
Jessica (Opens the door.) She’s the one who won’t talk to me! She won’t talk to anyone, don’t you see
it?
Annie She told me that she said something wrong. What if it’s just she’s too embarrassed to talk to
you?
Jessica …you think so?
Annie I don’t know. That’s something we should find out together, don’t you think?

20. 20
Jessica I don’t know either. Annie, do you think mom’s death…no, I mean, do you think mom is really
dead? Like, she’ll never come home?
Annie …that’s not a easy question to answer…
(Annie is hesitating to say something while Jessica takes over.)
Jessica Sometimes I just really hope we had a father.
Annie (Turns very seriously) No you don’t.
Jessica I mean, it’s not that mom or Lily is not good enough to take care of us. It’s just weird, when
kids at school ask me about my father.
Annie I don’t really know how to explain this to you…
Jessica Yes, we shouldn’t talk about this. Annie, would you read me the story book?
Annie …hey girl, I heard that part.
Jessica What part?
Annie You don’t want me to read you the story book; you want Sherry to read you the book, huh?
Jessica Uh, that’s…
Annie Are you done with your homework?
Jessica Yes, why?
Annie I’m not going to read you the story book. I don’t think that’s what we need, you know.
Jessica What do you mean by…
Annie I think what we need before you take a shower and go to sleep is… (she walks over to the
couch and grabs a pillow and throws it right into Jessica’s face) …a pillow fight!
(Jessica giggles and runs into her bedroom. Annie lightly closes her lips, and then picks up the pillow
on the floor, follows her into her room and closes the door. The girls giggle and laugh and scream
offstage. Sherry comes out from the shower with her cell phone, hears the laughter, sighs, and
then goes back to her room. Blackout.)
Scene VI
(Lights up. It’s another night, after midnight actually. Sherry sits on the couch playing with her cell-
phone. Lily comes in from outside. We can see that she has just got off work.)
Lily Sherry? Why are you still awake?
Sherry I was waiting for you. (She puts down her cell phone.) I think I should talk to you.

21. 21
Lily Sure, we can talk. (She takes off her shoes and puts down her purse, then moves to the kitchen.)
What would you like to talk about?
Sherry What do you think about my boyfriend?
Lily What do you mean? (She starts to make some easy food as she talks.)
Sherry I’m kind of arguing with him right now. I told him that I won’t be able to go back to China
for a really long time, and he somehow believes that I’m going to date some other guy.
Lily Sherry, what do you think a relationship should be like?
Sherry Well, to have someone I can talk to all the time?
Lily You are not sure about that.
Sherry This is my first boyfriend. I’m still learning, as what Annie would say. What do you think?
Lily Well, if you ask me, I believe that a boyfriend is a friend that’s closer than a best friend. It
should be somebody you trust the most besides your family, and feel really comfortable to talk to.
So if you feel something’s going wrong or you don’t feel comfortable to talk with him, then you
should probably end the relationship.
(Beat. Lily keeps making food while Sherry goes back to her cell-phone.)
Sherry But you didn’t break up with your boyfriend. Your boyfriend broke up with you. I mean, if you
were really good friends, it shouldn’t end up that way, should it?
Lily …I believe that was because he felt I was not a person he could talk comfortably with, so I
accepted it.
Sherry So how would I know he’ll accept it or not?
Lily If you just stop talking to him, he’ll understand it eventually.
(Beat. Lily keeps making food while Sherry goes back to her cell-phone.)
Sherry He said he’ll commit suicide if I stop talking to him.
Lily …what?!
Sherry I told him that my sister said I should stop talking to him, and he said he’ll commit suicide if
I really do it, and he said you know nothing about our relationship…
Lily (Turns around and looks at Sherry) You told your boyfriend I said that?
Sherry It was you who said that.
Lily But it’s your relationship and I was trying to help you! I’m talking to you, to my sister Sherry,
not to some strange unknown guy! It’s information for you, not for him! How can you just tell him

22. 22
everything?
Sherry What are you mad about? You shouldn’t hide anything if you are in a relationship.
Lily Don’t you have any secrets?
Sherry Not with my boyfriend.
Lily Hello Sherry, I’m your sister and he’s just a random guy!
Sherry So what? Are you going to help me or not?
Lily I thought you really had a problem and needed my help! But you were just trying to find
someone to help you argue with your boyfriend?
Sherry What’s the big difference?
Lily I can’t believe it! Sherry, are you crazy?
Sherry What do you mean? Why are you getting so serious about this?
Lily I’m your sister and I’m thinking for your benefit! How can you just tell everything to that stupid
boyfriend?
Sherry My boyfriend would do anything for me as well!
(Lily laughs. She stops cooking and walks over to Sherry.)
Lily Listen, I’m taking this stupid job as a bartender just to get more money for this family, and I
have to run home between the two jobs to take care of Jessica. It’s true that Jessica and Annie
need more money to go to private schools, but it’s also because you’re not on the financial aid list
so I need to get money for you as daily expense in college. I’m coming home after midnight every
day because I want to do something for this family, and I know that I’m taking actions doing it. I
know I’m doing something for you. What did that boy friend do? He didn’t do anything.
Sherry What do you mean he didn’t do anything? He’s at least with me all the time! And I can work
myself. You don’t have to worry about me at all. Jessica is the one who makes trouble. You
wouldn’t have to come home if we didn’t have her. So why are you blaming me for all this?
Lily This is ridiculous. I’m not going to let this continue.
(Lily turns away and tries to go back to the kitchen. Sherry stands up and grabs her arm.)
Sherry What do you mean by “this is ridiculous”? Do you think I’m ridiculous?
Lily Let go! (She tries to dump Sherry but fails. She calms down a little bit, and then speak gently.)
Sherry, let go. I’ve got to cook dinner for myself.
(Sherry lets her go, then slowly sits back into the couch.)

23. 23
Sherry Why did you say that?
Lily Because this is ridiculous. I don’t know why you are doing this to me, just like…huh, just like you
don’t know why I think it is ridiculous.
Sherry This family is ridiculous anyway. (Beat.) We are living in the same apartment, I mean, the
four of us.
Lily (Answers as she cooks.) Yes, we are.
Sherry As we dreamed of when we were little.
Lily Well, that part I don’t remember.
Sherry But this whole…thing…is really not what I would expected.
Lily What do you mean?
Sherry I don’t know. (She goes back to her cell phone. Beat.)
Lily Sherry, I think that boyfriend thing is really a problem for you. You really should break up with
him.
Sherry Lily, I think you’ve got a problem. Why do you keep picking at me? It was Annie who forgot
to turn off the fan on the first day, but you were yelling at both of us—and I had nothing to do
with that, I was not cooking! Yes I didn’t get on the financial aid list, but I’m not asking for your
help! Why do you claim that you’re doing something for me? I didn’t ask for your money! It was
your boyfriend who broke up with you and made you upset, not me! And it was Annie who got
Jessica drunk, but you were yelling at me again! For texting my boyfriend which doesn’t really
matter! I mean, Jessica is annoying all the time, with her homework, and story book, and…things
like that, and I have nothing to bother you at all! Like really, why do you keep picking on me?
(Beat. Lily keeps cooking. Suddenly, she begins to laugh again.)
Lily (Sarcastically) Yes, right, Jessica becomes the problem. But I am doing something for you! Could
you please just show some appreciation? I cook food for you, and I’m taking that job as a
bartender, giving up the opportunity…
Sherry But I’m not asking for it! I’m not asking for it from you! I’m nothing like Jessica, I’m not
asking for anything! Can’t you just…leave me alone?
Lily What do you mean by leave you alone? Young lady, if I left you alone from the beginning of the
story, you’d probably be dead right now!
Sherry Oh come on Lily, who are you trying to pretend? Some sort of Savior? Right, is that why you

24. 24
think I owe you? Is that why you are picking at me instead of Jessica?
Lily Why do you keep mentioning Jessica here? She’s not the problem! She doesn’t know anything!
She’s only 10 years old!
Sherry Right, she’s 10 so she’s forgivable for whatever trouble she makes, and I’m 18 so I’m not
even allowed to text my boyfriend to express how depressed I am about losing my mom? That’s so
unfair!
Lily It’s not the same! Can’t you see that I’m just trying to help you girls?
Sherry No I can’t! I wouldn’t need your help if I had a choice!
Lily If it happens again, I’m still going to help you. I was never going to leave you alone with that man.
Never.
Sherry Who do you think you are? You really think you could save the world, don’t you?
Lily I’m your sister! I have the responsibility to…
Sherry Yeah, right, but you’re not my mother! And you were right that this house is ridiculous! My
mom died and nobody is allowed to talk about it? What are we trying to pretend—what are you
trying to make us pretend? That she’s not dead? That she’ll be back next week as usual? No, Lily,
mom’s never coming home again!
(She stands up and goes into her bedroom, slams the door. Unclear sleepy voice of Annie saying “what
happened” and Sherry saying “nothing!” offstage. Lily takes a deep breath, stops cooking, grabs
her keys from her purse and goes out. Lily and Jessica’s bedroom door opens and Jessica enters
in her pajamas. She crosses to the couch and climbs onto it.)
Jessica Mom’s never coming home again…Is that…because of me? Am I the trouble? (She curls up
tightly. Beat.) Yes, I am the trouble.
(Blackout. End of Act I)
Act II
Scene I
(Lights up. It is the next morning. Jessica is still on the couch, but this time with a blanket on her—it
is obvious that Lily did that when she came back last night. Lily is sitting in the couch right next
to Jessica, still in her working clothes from last night, burying her head in her arms. The door of
Annie and Sherry’s bedroom opens and Annie moves out in a sleepy way.)

25. 25
Annie Lily? …did you go to sleep last night?
(Lily doesn’t answer. She quickly rubs her face and stands up.)
Lily I’m fine. I’ll make you breakfast. What would you like to eat?
Annie …Lily, were you…smoking last night? I smell cigarettes…
Lily Annie, please.
Annie …alright, I won’t ask. But you should at least take a shower and change before you go to work,
alright? I’ll prepare some bread.
Lily …fine, thank you.
(She exits through the bathroom door, and the sound of water starts. Annie shakes her head and
cross over to Jessica.)
Annie Hey my lazy cat, wake up!
(She puts her hand on Jessica’s face and gently wakes her up.)
Jessica Ann? Why are…oh, right, I fell asleep last night.
Annie Wow, that’s like my first time in the past 2 years to hear you call me Ann again.
Jessica Sorry.
Annie No, I actually like that. Why are you sleeping out here? What happened between you and Lily
last night?
Jessica Lily and I? I don’t know…I heard her and Sherry talking about… no, I mean, I heard her go
out last night, so I was thinking that I could wait for her to come back, and accidentally fell
asleep. Did Lily come back yet?
Annie Yes, she’s taking a shower right now. I think you have class today, right? So hurry up and
change so that you can wash your face and brush your teeth when Lily’s done with the bathroom.
Jessica Yes, madam!
(She jumps up and hurry to her room.)
Annie This doesn’t feel right. (Talks to herself while walking into the kitchen.) This doesn’t feel
right.
(She takes out some slices of bread from the fridge and starts to put them into the toaster and
gathers them onto a plate after they are toasted. Sherry enters from her room.)
Sherry Morning, Annie.
Annie Morning, Sherry.

26. 26
(Beat. Sherry walks over to the kitchen and helps Annie to make sweet sandwiches with the toasted
bread by putting butter and jam on them.)
Annie Sherry.
Sherry Yes?
Annie What did you say to Lily last night?
Sherry What do you mean?
Annie Don’t you feel the room smells weird? I think she was smoking cigarettes last night.
(Beat.)
Sherry …and you think it’s my fault?
Annie I didn’t say that, it’s just…you were the only one who talked with her last night.
Sherry …hell, I don’t know. I mean, I was arguing with my boyfriend yesterday and asked for her
suggestions. Then she just got mad at me for…I don’t even know why. It was weird. She was like
“I’m doing this fucking second job because you didn’t get onto the fucking financial aid list” and I
was like “I’m not asking for your fucking help”…things like that.
Annie Hey, I don’t think Lily would swear.
Sherry Yeah, I guess. But I mean, really, how could she feel good about herself for doing something
for me that I wasn’t expecting her to do? (Annie was trying to say something but Sherry
interrupts her.) Okay, fine, she’s the perfect sister, I get that. But really, Annie, sometimes I
just feel like…uncomfortable talking with her.
Annie …I don’t know what to say, Sherry. I mean, she is doing something for us, you know. That part
is for sure. Maybe you hurt her feelings by saying that…I mean, we are sisters, and she’s not
asking for us to pay her back or anything by doing all of this, but I think she’ll be glad if we could
show some appreciation. I mean, you know Lily, if she argues with someone, the first thing she’ll
think about is if she did something wrong. She’s taking a lot of responsibilities on herself, and I
bet she’s tired to some extent.
Sherry Not with me.
Annie Excuse me?
Sherry Not with me. If she argues with me, she’ll probably think that I’m the one who did something
wrong. When I was your age—maybe a little bit younger than you—mom started to say things like
“you are no good compared with Lily” or “pay more attention like Lily does” all the time, and it

27. 27
seems that Lily’s always right while I’m always wrong. I get that, and I bet Lily still thinks that
way. I think Jessica causes more trouble than I do, but she still keeps picking at me.
Annie Well…
(Lily and Jessica’s bedroom door opens and Jessica enters in her school clothing. She crosses over to
the kitchen.)
Jessica I can help.
(Annie smiles and pats her head.)
Annie It’s okay Jess, breakfast is ready. (Annie gives Jessica a sandwich that has been ready.) Go
grab yourself some orange juice.
Jessica Yes, madam!
(She goes over to the fridge and takes out a small bottle of orange juice and crosses over to the
dinner table, sits and starts to eat. Lily enters from the bathroom in a towel.)
Jessica Oh I need to wash my face!
(She drops her sandwich on the table and rushes into the bathroom.)
Annie Me too!
(She runs over into the bathroom as well. The girls giggle and scream in the bathroom.)
Sherry …alright, I guess I’ll just go later.
(She finishes making all the sandwiches and brings them all to the dinner table.)
Lily (smiles) Don’t get too excited! Jessica you still have to go to school today!
Jessica (offstage)Yes, madam!
Lily (talks as she walks into her room) Good morning, Sherry.
Sherry …morning, Lily.
(Sherry puts the sandwiches on the table and crosses back to the kitchen, grabs an orange juice from
the fridge, goes back and sits at the table and starts to eat. Jessica enters from the bathroom,
stops when she sees Sherry and turns back to wait for Annie. Blackout.)
Scene II
(Lights up. Annie is doing acting exercises in the living room, with an opened laptop on the couch. She
stops after a while and types something in, then goes back to the exercises again. Lily and Jessica
enter after a while from outside with some groceries.)

28. 28
Jessica (takes off her shoes and runs into the room) Good evening Annie!
Annie Good evening, well is not quite evening now, you know, it’s like…5:30.
Jessica Well that’s kind of evening. It’s not really afternoon either.
Annie (gives a little smile) Yep, I guess that’s true.
(Jessica puts the groceries on the counter in the kitchen and goes into her room. Lily has just taken
off her shoes as well and brings groceries into the kitchen. She washes her hands and starts to
take things out from the bags.)
Lily Where is Sherry?
Annie Probably still at the library. She told me she’ll be back before six.
Lily Oh, okay.
Annie What happened?
Lily What do you mean?
Annie Well both you and Jessica seem pretty…happy.
Lily Oh, Jess got selected for the boxing team at school.
Annie …and what happened to you?
Lily Annie, what makes you think that something happened to me?
Annie Those…groceries, looks like a big meal. Don’t you have work at 8? I don’t think you can cook all
that and have dinner before you leave.
Lily Annie, you are getting smarter these days.
Annie That doesn’t really sound like a compliment, you know.
Lily I quit that job, and I think I will quit the job in the café soon as well if I get accepted by the
internship I’m interviewing for.
Annie You got an internship? From who?
Lily I just got a chance for the job interview tomorrow. It’s from a media planning company; they do
consult for the government.
Annie Wow!
Lily Wow what?
Annie Wow, that…sounds like something related to politics.
Lily (smiles) That is something related to politics.
Annie So you are finally doing something related to your dreams! Good for you!

29. 29
Lily Well thank you.
(Beat. Lily keeps working in the kitchen while Annie goes back to her laptop and puts more notes in
there. Beat.)
Lily Annie, do you think that…I’m a little bit selfish?
Annie Wait, what?
Lily I asked that…
Annie No, I mean I heard you. It’s just…why are you saying that? What makes you think that way?
Lily This internship is not…very well paid, you know.
Annie I mean, neither did your part time jobs.
Lily Yes, right. But taking those two part time jobs could provide us a stable income of more than
2,800 dollars per month, and this internship…only has a monthly wage of 1,000 dollars.
Annie Mom bought this apartment so we don’t have to pay rent, and a thousand dollars is good
enough for all four of us if we don’t eat out or anything.
Lily Yes, but I can’t buy you anything extra, or pay for your text books, or for Sherry’s daily
expenses after school starts, or for you to…
Annie Hey, Lily, that doesn’t sound like you.
Lily What do you mean?
Annie In my memory, you are the one who will never regret making a decision. Besides, you don’t
have to do all those things for us.
Lily What made you think that I don’t have regrets?
(After a sound of the keys, the door opens and Sherry comes in.)
Sherry (Taking off her shoes) I think I could get things done by tomorrow.
Annie I don’t know Lily, you are just…that type of person, you know. Hi Sherry, what are you saying
that you’re going to get done?
Sherry (Crosses to the couch and sits.) An application to take “Introduction to Astronomy”.
Freshmen are not allowed to take that course in our college without taking a fundamental physics
class, but I contacted both professors and convinced them that if I could take a test about those
materials and get a 90% or better before the semester starts, they’ll let me take the course—I’ll
still have to take “The Fundamental Physics” though, but I don’t want to waste all my time on
something I already know and not really interested in.

30. 30
Lily (Keeps cooking) Congratulations.
Sherry (Beat.) Well, thanks.
Annie I thought you like physics.
Sherry Not really, I like astronomy and physics is necessary for it. But that class is necessary for
graduation in the major, anyway. By the way, what were you saying when I came in? What type of
person is Lily?
Annie Somebody who will never regret making a decision. Somebody who knows clearly what she
wants and why she wants it.
Sherry Oh no, she’s not that type of person. Actually she’s the one who told me that I should make
decisions bravely so that I won’t waste my time and life hesitating and can always change my
decisions if they don’t really work. Why? What decisions did she make?
Annie She quit her part time job at night and is going to an interview for a job related to politics
tomorrow.
Sherry Good for you, Lily. (Lily looks up, smiles, nods, and then goes back to cooking. Beat.) Jessica
just called me right before I came back home saying that she got accepted by the boxing team at
school.
(Jessica enters without her school bag and with homework in her hands.)
Jessica Yes I did! Isn’t that exciting?
Sherry I mean, how are we going to pay for those expenses? Equipment costs money.
(Long beat. Jessica gets kind of upset and crosses to the dinner table to start her homework without
saying a word.)
Annie I’m trying to get a job.
Sherry Me too, it’s just…it’s not that easy. (She walks towards her bedroom.) I’m going to take a nap;
I woke up too early this morning.
Jessica Will it be easier for you if … I’m not there? I mean, it’ll reduce the cost.
Sherry Oh yes, it will be much easier. (She smiles.) But you are part of the family, so you have to be
here. (She exits into her bedroom.)
Lily Sherry!
Annie Now I feel it. Sherry is really up to something. She’s usually not that mean. (She turns to
Jessica, but Jessica keeps doing her homework, doesn’t say a word. Beat.)

31. 31
Lily Annie, actually could you do me a favor?
Annie Yes, sure! What do you need me to do?
Lily I’ve got a job interview tomorrow, and it’s at 4 pm.
Annie Oh, you need me to pick up Jessica? Sure I’ll do it. Hey Jess, you got to deal with me
tomorrow.
Jessica I can get home by myself.
Annie Yep I know that, you are a big girl now, huh? But since I don’t have anything to do anyway…
Jessica So what were you doing when we got home? I saw you typing.
Annie Oh, that’s for the job application—you remember last time when Lily told me to check out the
acting classes in the community center?
Jessica Yes, madam!
Annie Those classes were more basic material than I would have expected, and they were mostly for
kids. Meanwhile, I found this poster there that they are looking for acting teachers for kids—and
as you would expect, I met most of those requirements. All what I need to do is to design a 24-
class course in general and submit it with my application—and I’ll be done within half an hour.
Jessica Oh Annie, you are just…talented.
Annie Thank you, I know I am. (She says this in a very official way.) So Princess Jessica, would you
please give your talented sister the honor to pick you up from school tomorrow?
Jessica (Giggles) No I’m not a princess, and you know it! I never want to be a princess.
Annie Sorry, I truly apologize. Prince Jessica, may I have the honor to pick you up tomorrow, your
highness?
Jessica (Giggles harder and louder)Yes, oh yes!
(Blackout.)
Scene III
(Lights up. It is dusk. Annie and Jessica enter after a sound of the key. They take off their shoes at
the door, then Jessica goes into her room with her school bag to change and take out her
homework while Annie goes to the fridge and grabs out a…soda. She crosses to the couch with
the soda, opens the can, sits, and lets out a sound of depression.)
Jessica (Offstage) I heard that!

32. 32
Annie Heard what?
Jessica The sound of a beer!
Annie Gosh Jessica, it’s a coke! Lily doesn’t buy beers anymore because you got drunk last time,
remember?
Jessica (Offstage) But I heard you sigh! That’s a sound of relaxing!
Annie Or, a sound of depression, and being tired. (Sip.) Now I understand why Lily needs a car, you
know. Jessica, I mean, really, no one can catch up with you without putting you into a car. You
should be a … I don’t know, a track man, an athlete, you know.
(Jessica enters with her homework and in her house dress.)
Jessica Oh, I want to become a boxer, and you know that.
Annie I mean, really, you are 10, not 5 or 6 or anything, what is the point of running all around on the
road for you? It’s dangerous!
Jessica I’m strong, I can protect myself.
Annie Yes, right, but I don’t have a strong heart and you scared the shit out of me!
Jessica Language, young lady!
Annie (Burst of laughter.) Don’t mimic Lily, that’s hilarious.
(Annie’s cell phone rings. She pulls it out from her pocket and picks it up.)
Annie (To Jessica) Start your homework. (To the cell phone.) Hi…yeah, this is Annie Hua. Who’s
calling? … Yes, right, I did…Oh! Really? Thank you very much! When will the interview take
place? …Wait, it’s 5:30 already… Yes I do live in the neighborhood… Yeah I’m at home, but…no, I
mean…oh…oh, okay, I’ll try to get there… thank you very much… bye.
(She bites her lips hard and hangs up the phone.)
Jessica Who’s calling?
Annie The community center. They are holding a group interview for the applicants at 6.
Jessica Really? You got the interview opportunity?
Annie Yeah…but Lily won’t be back until 7 so I guess I just…won’t go.
Jessica Oh, is it because of me?
Annie Yes, I can’t leave you at home by yourself. It’s not safe.
Jessica Am I annoying?
Annie Hey I didn’t say that!

33. 33
Jessica I am annoying. I am the trouble. I knew it.
Annie Gosh Jess, I never mean it that way! You are not annoying! Or trouble! You are the sweetest
sister in the world!
Jessica Really? You think that way?
Annie For God’s sake I do!
Jessica Then why wouldn’t you go to the interview? I’ll be nice and not make any trouble.
Annie It’s not anything like that…remember what Lily said? We can’t leave you home by yourself in
the US even though you are nice. It’s illegal.
Jessica Can you call Sherry to ask her come back early then? You should go to the interview.
Annie You know what? That’s a good idea. Hang on a second. (She pulls out her phone and calls
Sherry) Hey Sherry, it’s me…when will you be back home? …I got this chance of a job interview at
6, and I don’t want to leave Jessica all by herself… seven o’clock, she’ll be back then…Yes, thank
you! I really appreciate it!
Jessica What did she say?
Annie She’ll be back at 6. I assume you’ll be fine by yourself for half an hour?
Jessica Yes, madam!
Annie (Stands up) Alright then, I got to go. (She gives her coke to Jessica.) Here, you can have the
coke.
Jessica Thank you! By the way, the teacher wants to see my parents tomorrow. I punched a boy in
his face and knocked off one of his teeth today.
Annie Wait what?
Jessica It was a baby tooth, and it was loose already, he didn’t even bleed. Sherry told me the tooth
will grow back later.
Annie Jessica, this is not about the tooth…I believe that we had an agreement that you won’t punch
anyone at school.
Jessica But he was saying bad things about mom!
Annie Oh, that’s unforgivable.
Jessica Right? I’ll talk to you later. You really need to hurry up.
Annie Alright then, I’ll see you tonight! Don’t tell anyone about that punch yet if you don’t want them
to yell at you—we can work something out later to make them not as mad.

34. 34
(She takes her purse and keys, puts on her shoes and exits. Jessica goes back to her homework. Beat.
The home phone rings. Jessica goes over and presses the hands free button.)
Jessica This is Jessica speaking.
Sherry Hi Jess, this is Sherry. I forget that there’s actually a telescopic event tonight on campus
for newly arriving freshmen in physics majors and I have to go there. Would you be able to hold
on to yourself a little bit?
Jessica But Annie said I can’t be by myself…
Sherry Hell you are annoying. Fine, I guess I just can’t go to the event. I’ll be home within 15
minutes.
Jessica No, wait! Sherry, you should go to the event! I’ll be okay by myself, I’ll be nice. I don’t want
to be annoying.
Sherry …you sure?
Jessica Yes I’m sure. Have fun.
Sherry Alright, thanks. (She hangs off. Busy tone for a while before Jessica hangs off.)
(Jessica goes back to her homework. Beat. She throws the pencil on the table and stands up, crosses
to the couch and curls up on it. Beat.)
Jessica I don’t want to be annoying. Or trouble making.
(Beat. She curls up even tighter. Beat.)
Jessica I know I am annoying. I know it. (Beat.) But I didn’t mean to be. I didn’t mean to be annoying.
(Beat.) I was trying to be nice, and strong, and helpful. (Beat.) Look at me! I’m really trying! I’m
really trying… (Beat.) All I want was to be helpful.
(She bites her lips tight. Long beat.)
Jessica And I am going to be nice. I’m going to finish my homework.
(She stands up and crosses back to the dinner table. She is almost crying, but she won’t let herself.
She takes a deep breath, sits down, and starts her homework. Then she begins to sob, very lightly
at the beginning and she is trying to hold it back; after a few seconds she just can’t hold it
anymore and bursts into crying.)
Jessica (Talking while crying) Mom, where are you? I miss you…I miss you so much! Who can tell me
what to do? I don’t…I don’t want to be annoying! I don’t want to be the trouble! How can I do it?
What can I do? What should I do?

35. 35
(She buries her head into her arms and cries even harder.)
Jessica I don’t know what I can do…mom, I miss you.
(She stands up again and crosses over to the phone, picks it up and dials a number. We can somehow
hear a voice from the phone saying “the number you have dialed is no longer in service”, she gets
kind of mad and throws the phone onto the table, then picks it up again and starts to dial another
number, but stops immediately.)
Jessica No, I’m not going to call Lily. She’s at a job interview. I don’t want to be annoying to her as
well.
(Beat. She puts the phone down, but this time gently.)
Jessica There has to be something I can do. To be less annoying. I can help. I should be able to help
this family. I am part of it and I should be able to help.
(Beat. Jessica is trying to think, but she is so upset, and is still sobbing, so it doesn’t seem like she’s
thinking very properly.)
Jessica I was annoying to Sherry. Because I want to talk to her. Because I want her to come back to
be with me. Because…I want her to be with me. Was I annoying to Annie as well? She didn’t say so;
but she’ll be able to go to her job interview without worrying about me if I’m not there. If…I’m
not there.
(She gradually starts to realize it.)
Jessica If I’m not there. And Lily…she won’t need to run all around the city just to send me to
school and pick me up! It will be…it will be a lot easier for her to live without me.
(Long beat.)
Jessica (Gently) It will be a lot easier…for all of them…to live without me.
(She tries to smile, but tears keep falling down.)
Jessica This…this is weird. This is weird. I figured it out. I figured my way to be helpful. I can
finally be helpful. I should be happy.
(But she isn’t. She isn’t happy at all, and she knows it.)
Jessica Maybe it’s because I’m not doing it. Yes, it is because I’m not doing it. I’ll be happy after I
start to do it.
(She stands up and rushes into her room. After a second she comes out with her outside clothes and
school bag, and rushes to the table and puts all her homework into her school bag. Beat. She’s

36. 36
finally hesitating, kind of afraid to do this.)
Jessica It’s almost dark out there…maybe I should do it tomorrow. (Beat.) But at least I can start
to pack up today. (She starts to get things from all over the apartment. A little pocket knife and
some cookies from the kitchen.) Lily will notice I took the knife. She’ll know that I have the knife
so that I’m strong enough to protect myself, and she won’t be worrying about me and will think
that I’m really smart and helpful. Yes she will. (Then she goes back to her room, comes back with
a jacket, a small Disney watch, a map (but obviously not Chicago or any big city) and a compass.)
And this outdoor zone map will help me to deal with even lions, so I’ll be safe—and Sherry will
know it. (Then she takes a couple coins from her piggy bank—not very much since she has only
been here for a couple weeks and she’s not taking all of it.) Now I have money. I can buy stuff. I’ll
leave them some. Both Sherry and Lily will need this money.
(Then she grabs two boxing DVDs, a water bottle, a Teddy bear, a couple crayons and a coloring book,
a plastic golden Prince Crown, a plastic magic wand, and then finally a box of doctor toys, and
squeezes everything except the doctor toy box all into her school bag. During this whole process
of packing up, Jessica gradually stops crying, and we can see that she becomes more and more
strong, positive, and determined about her decision.)
Jessica Oh…how smart I am! I even remembered to bring my doctor equipment!
(She grabs the note pad from the phone and saying it out aloud while writing.)
Jessica Dear Sherry, Lily, and Annie: don’t worry about me. I’m going to become a boxer and earn a
lot of money, so all of you can do whatever you want to do! All of you, and mom, will be so proud of
me! And life will be a lot easier without me for you right now. (She considers it carefully if
there’s anything else important.) Oh, and I took my med kit with me, so don’t worry about me!
(She puts down the note pad and puts her bag on her back. Beat.)
Jessica I should get going today…(Tears come down again. She becomes very confused as soon as
she notices it.) I’m ready now, why am I still crying? (Beat. She tries to wipe her tears off, but
they just keep coming down.) I should be happy now…maybe it’s because I should get going. Yes, I
should get going.
(She crosses over to the door. Then she suddenly thinks of something, and runs back to the window,
takes the garden trowel and puts it in her doctor toy box, then exits to the front door. Lights
fade out.)

37. 37
Scene IV
(Lights coming up. It’s already at night, around 8ish. Lily enters after a sound of the key.)
Lily Girls, guess what? I got accepted! I still can’t believe it… (Beat.) Annie? Jess? Anybody home?
Sherry? Where are you?
(She moves into the space trying to find everyone and fails. Then she picks out her cell phone trying
to make a phone call, but Annie then enters after a sound of the key.)
Annie Thank God Sherry I have you! This is definitely worth going! I got accepted! Can you imagine
that? I’m only 14 years old and I got a job! Well it’s more like a paid volunteer thing but…
Lily Annie? Sherry’s not at home…have you seen Jess?
Annie Lily? (She crosses over as she talks.) I called Sherry before I left and she said she’ll be home
to take care of Jess soon…Neither of them are home?
Lily I’m going to call Sherry. It’s already eight, too late for young girls to be outside in Chicago.
(She crosses over to the phone and hit the hand free button so both of them can hear, and then dials
Sherry’s number. Sherry picks up the phone after a few beeps.)
Sherry (From the phone, whispering) What’s it again, Jess? I’m still at the event and the professor
is talking! Lily and Annie should be back within a couple minutes. Just be patient and do your
homework!
Annie Sher? You are not with Jess?
Sherry …Ann? I’m not with her; I told her that I had to come to this telescope event. She didn’t tell
you that?
Annie No, she’s not home! I just got home and Lily was trying to find all of us… (She sees the note
pad.) Holy shit!
Sherry Wait, what?
Lily Watch your language, young lady.
(Annie picks up the note pad and gives it to Lily.)
Lily (Whispering, but a loud one.)Holy shit!
Sherry Wow Lily, watch your language!
Lily Jessica is running away from home!
Sherry Holy shit! (She said this pretty loud so the audience could hear that the professor who was

38. 38
talking in the background in the phone suddenly silenced.)…err… (Whispering) …sorry professor…
(To the phone) I’m coming home. (She hangs up.)
(Lily falls into the couch and buries her face into her hands.)
Lily It’s all my fault. I should’ve asked to rearrange the interview and picked up and taken care of
her…
Annie (sits beside her.) If that’s the case, I am the one who should be blamed. I was in charge of
her today, and I left her alone…
Lily Annie, you are only fourteen, and it is acceptable for you to…
Annie No it is not! It is not! God we lost her…This is all my fault and it’s not acceptable at all! This
could’ve killed her! Oh my God…I didn’t mean to…I wasn’t…
Lily Calm down Annie, we are going to find her.
Annie I know…it’s just, I’m freaking out, you know.
Lily Yes I’m freaking out too, I understand. But…
Annie Are you? Are you freaking out too?
Lily Of course I am! I mean…
Annie Oh my God this makes me feel so much better.
Lily … she’s only 10…where could she go to? …What did you mean by that?
Annie Nothing important. Where could she go…right, the tooth…
Lily Tooth? What tooth?
Annie Err…that’s not important. She asked me if she was annoying, and I said no… (Beat.) Could that
be why she’s running away?
Lily That she thinks she’s annoying to us? But she’s not…
Annie I know, I know…so where could she go? …She has to spend the night…I’ll check the community
center and the ball room down stairs. (She rushes to the door as she says this.)
Lily Also ask the security if they saw her!
Annie I know! Call the police!
Lily I can’t…if it’s less than 24 hours, it’s not an officially missing case.
Annie God damn it, she’s a ten-year-old girl without proper English skills! It’s dangerous for her to
be out there even just for an hour! (She exits.)
Lily I know! But… (She hears the door slam and stops for a while, then quietly) I know.

39. 39
(Lily sits down for a while, then picks up her phone and starts to dial a number.)
Lily Hi, this is Alice’s house? …oh, hi Mrs. Brown, I’m Lily Hua, Alice’s friend Jessica’s sister. We
couldn’t find her for a couple hours, has she contacted Alice or…no? Thank you…oh, thanks for
asking, could you please call me ASAP if you hear from her?...Thank you very much! Good night.
(She hangs off the phone and dials another number.) Hi, Mrs. Jones? …hi, I’m Lily, Jessica Hua’s
sister. She’s gone missing for some time, has she called you? No? Okay, thank you…could you be
sure to call me ASAP if you hear from her?...Thank you very much!
(She hangs up again and buries her face into her hands again for a while. Then she comes up again and
starts to dial another number when Annie enters. She looks up to Annie and Annie shakes her
head.)
Lily I called her class teacher and Alice…that girl she always talks about.
Annie Yes, I know who that is. And Kitty?
Lily Not yet, you call Kitty and I’ll call my friends from the neighborhood.
(Annie nods and picks out her phone while Lily makes her phone call as well.)
Lily Hi, is this James? Yes, this is Lily. My sister is missing…
Annie (Not very correct English) Hello, Kitty is home? Oh, good, hi Kitty, my name is Annie…
Lily …no, of course not the bigger ones, the ten year old one…
Annie …I am the sister of the Jessica…
Lily …have you seen her anywhere around in the neighborhood?
Annie …yes, you friend Jessica at school…
Lily …I know! I know it’s awfully late for a 10-year-old to be//out there, so could you please//call me
whenever if you see her? Thank you so much!
Annie …We can’t find her. She leave a note//a couple hours ago and run away//have she called you
or no?
Lily …bye. Good night.
(Sherry enters after a sound of the keys.)
Annie …okay, can you call me if she call you? Thank you very much…
Sherry (Rushes in without taking off her shoes) Alright, please tell me you found her.
(Lily shakes her head and sighs. Annie hangs off her phone.)
Annie So we know that she hasn’t contacted with any of her friends from school…who else would you

40. 40
think of?
Sherry (puts down her backpack, crosses over and takes the note Jessica wrote from the table)
She has friends from school? I thought she’d punch everyone right in their faces.
Annie Yes she has two friends. (Whispering) And she did punch people today.
Lily Wait, what did you just say?
Sherry Yeah, that sounds more like her. I called back right after you left to tell her I can’t come
back home that early, and she didn’t call any of you to tell you that I suppose?
Lily Annie, did you just say that she punched people today?
Annie I would’ve come back home and not went to the interview if I knew you couldn’t come home!
Sherry Are you blaming me? I would’ve come back home if I knew she was planning on running away!
Lily Annie, I’m asking you a question here!
Annie I’m not blaming anyone! And yes Lily, she punched a tooth off some kid who said bad things
about mom, but that’s not the point!
Sherry Wow, that’s// pretty cool, I have to say.
Lily What?! That is so much//the point! God, do you think she ran away because she knew that I’ll
yell at her?
Annie Mom and Sherry yell at her all the time! And I told her that I’ll try to find a way to help her
around that!
Sherry Hey why do you keep blaming me?! I never yelled at her because she punched someone’s
tooth off! In fact I like it when we have these stories about her punching people to tell. I would
punch people when I was at her age if I could, but it was just that I was not as strong as she is. I
only yell at her when I’m trying to focus on something and she is annoying!
(Long beat.)
Annie (turns to Lily) Could that be it? Could it be because Jessica thinks she’s annoying to us so she
ran away just to give us some peace?
(Long beat.)
Sherry (takes out her phone and sits on the couch)At least I don’t see any peace here right now. All
three of us are worried to death. I don’t think that’s the case.
Lily Sherry, would you please take some responsibility? We are trying to find your sister right now!
Sherry (Throws her phone onto the couch) Hey she’s your sister as well! Why do you keep blaming

41. 41
me? Both of you! I didn’t do anything wrong! And I am trying to find her!
Lily …you are right. It’s all my fault—if I didn’t go to that stupid interview…
Annie God Lily, stop it! We know that it’s not your fault; Sherry and I probably have more
responsibilities since we were supposed to take care of her…
Sherry I called back and told her I had the event! And she said she’ll be okay!
Annie But the fact is that she ran away! Sherry, really, would you please try take some responsibility?
Sherry How the hell would I know that she’d run away? Annie, I thought we were best sisters
and…best friends.
Annie God this had nothing to do with…
Lily Just shut up! Is it important now whose responsibility it is? Jessica is missing! Just think of it
as all my fault and let’s work on about how to find her!
(Long beat.)
Annie …God do you think she might commit suicide?
Sherry I don’t think so; she said on this note that we shouldn’t worry about her and she’s going to…
“Become a boxer and earn a lot of money”? Who told her that? That boxers can earn a lot of
money?
Annie …could it be…some television shows?
Lily But in those shows it’s basically boxing gambling…and a bar won’t let her in, she’s just ten years
old.
Annie She hasn’t eaten dinner yet, did she take any money with her? (She spots the piggy bank,
walks over and picks it up) No, there’s still money left in here.
(Sherry walks over and takes the piggy bank from her.)
Sherry No, it’s actually lighter. She took some quarters, not much, but at least three or four dollars.
Annie What is she going to do with 4 bucks? That’s like, a cup of coffee!
(Lily looks at Sherry.)
Lily How did you know that? How did you know how much money was originally in there?
Sherry She’s yelling about everything all the time. I didn’t want to know that, she made me know it.
Lily I thought you never paid attention.
Sherry I tried not to! Gosh Lily, all of us were trying to not pay any attention so that we wouldn’t
remember mom is dead, including you! What else can we do? That’s the only way you could feel

42. 42
less of the sadness!
(Lily is trying to say something but finally doesn’t. Beat.)
Lily I’m going out to check the bars around. You two check the yellow pages and try to call some
boxing clubs as well.
Annie Alright, we will.
Sherry Go check her school as well. Four dollars can’t get her very far from here even with the
buses. We will find her.
(Lily exits. Beat.)
Annie You sound just like Lily, you know, with that “we will find her”.
Sherry Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment. (She goes back to Jessica’s note.) “Life will be
easier for us without her”… (She sighs.) It is not.
Annie True. Life is harder without her.
Sherry I never thought that way.
Annie I know…I know. (Beat.) Honestly, Sher, where do you think she might go? Do you think Lily will
find her in a bar or somewhere?
Sherry Bars won’t take her in…she’s too young. She’s smart; I think she’ll figure that out pretty
soon.
Annie But that’s the last possibility I could…God she’s only 10.
Sherry I know…I know. (Beat.) Hell Annie, I never knew Jessica was that important to me.
Annie What do you mean? Of course she’s important, she’s our sister!
Sherry Yes, I know that. But I never thought I liked her. I mean, she’s annoying all the time, running
around and making me talk with her when I didn’t really want to talk. It’s like…she’s living in a
different world, or something. She’s smart, and very aggressive, and has such a strong presence.
I mean, I feel like the house is empty, and cold, without her in here. I don’t know.
Annie (Gently) It’s not a house, it’s an apartment.
Sherry (Smiles a little) Yes, I know. Smarty pants.
(Long beat. Sherry rubs her face and stands up.)
Sherry Let’s start to call people.
Annie Right…
(She takes the yellow book from beneath the small table in front of the couch. The phone rings.

43. 43
Sherry goes over and hits the hand free button.)
Lily Hey girls, I’m at the Nightmare Bar right now, and…
Sherry Please tell me you found her…
Lily …nope, but the guard here said that he has met Jess trying to find a job here a couple hours
earlier and drove her away thinking she’s crazy…
Annie God it’s almost midnight. It’s dangerous out there!
Lily I know, I’ll keep looking on the same direction, got to go! (She hangs off.)
Sherry I mean, I guess Jess is at least trying to be less annoying.
Annie I’ve never felt that way—that I’m annoying to anyone or anything.
Sherry Oh you are so annoying when we walk together and everyone we meet always says that you
are such a beautiful girl and I’m…well, smart.
Annie Well, this is different.
Sherry Yeah, I know. I’m just jealous. Sometimes I feel that I’m annoying—especially when mom
said that I’m worthless compared to Lily. I still love mom but…it was hard.
(Beat.)
Annie I mean, what would you do, if you think you were annoying at some point?
Sherry I don’t know…probably go for help I’d say?
Annie So…if that’s the case, why didn’t Jess call any of us? Or even call her friends?
Sherry Well I just said she was annoying so I think I’m probably not a good choice for her…but let’s
check the phone, maybe she called somebody.
(Annie checks the phone while Sherry walks over. Beat.)
Annie Who is this +86 number? It looks familiar. But I can’t think of anyone back home…
Sherry Holy shit! What was Jessica thinking? That’s mom’s number!
Annie She called mom? But mom passed away! Why would she want to call…Oh, my, God.
Sherry What? What are you thinking of?
Annie She asked me a couple days ago whether mom’s really dead…do you think a ten year old would
know what death meant?
Sherry Yes, we explained it to her, remember? We…
Annie (eagerly) Yes I remember! We bury the body in the soil so the soul can go to the underworld
and live an afterlife there, and will come back to us in our dreams and it can use what we burned

44. 44
and poured onto the altar. But we didn’t burn anything for mom! Well, we buried her, but…
Sherry Yes, because it’s not proper in the US to burn things in public areas, and you can’t leave food
at the grave yard.
Annie Right, but do you think that may lead Jessica to think that mom’s not dead yet?
(Long beat. Sherry didn’t say anything, but we could see that she’s really considering the possibility.)
Annie Four dollars can get her a bus ticket to the grave yard.
Sherry Call Lily, and let’s go check it out.
(Annie picks out her phone and Sherry grabs the coats for both of them as they walk to the door way
and exit. Blackout.)
Scene V
(Lights up. It is dawn. After a sound of the key, Lily enters with a sleeping Jessica in her arms,
followed by Annie and Sherry with Jessica’s doctor box and school bag. Lily crosses over to the
couch and put Jessica on there gently.)
Sherry Thank God we found her.
Lily Shhhhhh!
Annie Calm down, Lily. We won’t wake her up. She’s over exhausted.
Lily I’ll call her teacher so that she can stay at home today. You two take a shower and go to bed,
it’s almost seven.
Annie Wait a second, “we two” take a shower and go to bed? Don’t tell me you are going to work.
Lily I am going to work. It’s almost seven and I have to go now.
Sherry Hell Lily, you got your internship, just quit that stupid part time job! You don’t like it anyway.
Lily The internship won’t start until September, and I got mouths to feed.
Sherry I got a physics tutoring job…pays daily and starts tomorrow. We’ll figure it out.
Annie Wait you did?
Sherry It’s not that hard. Are you going to take a shower or what?
Lily Sherry…
Sherry What now? You are still not satisfied with me? Fine, I know you hate me, but I got the job,
so anyway.
(Lily sighs, goes back to Jessica, starts to take off her shoes, socks, and coat. Annie comes over to

45. 45
help, but accidently wakes Jessica up. Jessica suddenly sits up and looks around, then jumps up
and runs directly towards the doorway.)
Sherry Hey you, where the hell are you going!
(She catches Jessica right on her way.)
Jessica Let go! Sherry, let me go! I can’t be here! I shouldn’t be here!
Sherry Hell you are not going anywhere! What the hell is your problem?
Annie Jessica, we were worried to death about you!
Jessica But I have to go! I…I…
Sherry Hell you stupid ten-year-old! (She picks Jessica up and throws her back into the couch.)
What are you thinking?! Where the hell are you going? What do you have out there? All you have
is here, in this apartment! Your whole family is here! Everyone who loves you is here! You are not
going anywhere, you got me?
Jessica But you said I’m the trouble! You said I’m annoying! I could finally do something good if I
leave! I could save you money, and not be annoying, and even find a job to earn you some money! I
want to be helpful! I have to leave!
Lily (Tries to calm herself down) Jessica, it’s not like that.
Sherry Hell Jess, what the heck is in your brain? Actually do you have one or is it just water in
there? Have you ever thought about us? We were all so worried about you! What if you got hurt
or kidnapped?
Jessica I took the knife! And all my jungle stuff and even my little doctor kit! I could take care of
myself!
Sherry Hell Jessica, you can’t even stop me from throwing you back onto the couch! How are we
supposed to believe that you can protect yourself? There’s no way for us to not worry about you
because we love you, you got me? Now stop being nuts and let Lily put you back to sleep!
Annie (Surprisingly) Sherry!
Jessica …you said you love me?
(Sherry’s face turns completely red. She tries to say something but holds it back a couple times.)
Lily Of course she loves you, we all love you, Jess.
Sherry No I don’t! I…I don’t love you! I mean, I…who the hell will love you?! You were annoying! I…I
don’t love you at all!

46. 46
(She runs back to her room and slams her door.)
Annie I don’t know why but I somehow want to laugh at this point…
Lily I never think about Sherry that way.
Jessica Lily, please, let me go. I don’t want to be annoying.
Lily Jess, you are not annoying. Why would you want to leave? You were not happy, and I felt that it
was my entire fault since you just left like that.
Jessica No! No! It’s just…I don’t know…
Lily You need your family to be around you, to look after you, and to rely on. Otherwise, why would
you go to find mom? And it was the same to us. We need you here.
Jessica But I…I…
Annie Really, Jess, you know that there’s no way that we won’t go out and try to find you when you
ran away. You know, exactly deep inside that we would worry about you and try to find you. That
behavior of running away is not telling us “leave me alone”. In fact, I heard “help”. I heard you
screaming “please look at me, I need some attention” as soon as I found that you ran away. Don’t
tell me that was not what you want, since I won’t believe you.
Jessica Annie, I…
Annie Shhhh, just…think about it.
(She exits to her bedroom. Jessica curls up on the couch.)
Jessica Lily…
Lily I’m here, honey.
Jessica What should I do? Am I wrong? I want to be helpful… I don’t understand all these…
Lily Jess, mom is gone. She passed away in that car accident. She’s not…coming back again.
Jessica Yes, I know, but I mean…Why? Mom is like a superhero, she should be able to do anything.
She can’t just…die, I don’t understand it.
Lily I don’t know how to tell you about this, Jessica. I don’t feel right either.
(Beat. Sherry and Annie both enter again.)
Annie Sherry, you got to apologize to Jessica. You shouldn’t say that she’s annoying or anything like
that.
Sherry But she is annoying! Why would anyone run away just because I said that? That’s like,
annoying-er!

47. 47
Lily There’s no such word like that.
Sherry Okay, then more annoying! What’s the big difference?
Jessica If you don’t like me, why don’t you just let me go? If I’m not here, I won’t be annoying to
you anymore!
Sherry Hell cause we will be all worrying about you! And that will be even more annoying! What’s
your problem?
Jessica So what should I do? What can I do? I don’t want to sit there and pretend nothing has ever
happened! I want to do something!
Sherry Hell there’s nothing we can do! Don’t you understand? Like how wrong this whole thing is…I
don’t even know why I am here! Why am I in this place?
Annie Because mom is dead. There’s nowhere we could go to other than here.
Sherry Hell Annie you shut up!
Lily Can we all calm down and sit and talk?
Sherry Lily, what are you trying to pretend?
Lily What do you mean?
Annie Sherry, it’s not like that?
Jessica Annie I don’t…
Sherry Jessica ran away! Annie goes to the parties all the time and now is trying to get a job…
Annie I’m not trying, I already got the job.
Sherry …and you, Lily, you are never home and working all the time and I was trying to find someone
to talk to but there’s no one there other than my boyfriend and my physics books! You call this
home and family, and I tried to convince myself about it, but really, home shouldn’t be somewhere
you want to run away from! It should be somewhere you want to go back to, and somewhere that
always takes you back. It should be somewhere you feel safe in, and somewhere that can protect
you.
Annie It is protecting us. At least we got a shelter, and food. It’s much better than a lot of kids
who lost their mom.
Sherry That’s exactly what I meant! That’s not home! That’s just… I don’t know, like a house, or
something. But home, is built up by family members, by human beings, and what I was talking
about were like…mental protection you could go to.

48. 48
Lily Sherry…I’m sorry that…
Sherry No, it’s not like anyone did something wrong or…I don’t know. I don’t feel I belong here. I
don’t feel it is safe in here.
(She crosses over to the couch and sits. Annie sits right next to her. Beat.)
Jessica I’m sorry I made you worried. I’m sorry I tried to…escape.
Lily It’s okay, honey, Sherry was right. We were all trying to escape somehow.
Annie But we can’t. (Beat.) I mean, can we? We can’t just all run away. It’s not right. It’s…wrong.
Sherry How can we make it right then? There’s no right answer! It’s not like an exam question or
anything…I don’t know what to do. I lost my mom—we all lost our mother, and it’s not like
something that we could just pretend it didn’t happen!
Jessica I miss mom.
Lily It’s all my fault. If I didn’t step on the break…
Sherry Then you would have hit the kid.
Lily But then the truck wouldn’t have hit us…
Sherry Right, but you would have killed the kid.
Lily But then mom would be here alive and telling us what to do instead of me here pretending that I
could handle everything and in fact screwing everything up!
Sherry Ha! Finally you are admitting that you are pretending that you could handle everything.
Lily …fine! If you say so! (She buries her head into her hands.) Who knows what to do? Who knows…
Sherry I don’t think anyone would know. And I don’t want to know.
Annie It’s just…we are too young to have lost our only parent. And, no matter what we do, we got to
stick with each other.
Sherry Stick with each other…that sounds like something, you know.
Lily Like a family.
Annie (Agrees) Like a family.
(Beat.)
Jessica I wish we had a father. So that we will finally have somebody to go to.
Lily No you don’t.
Sherry No you don’t.
Annie (Gives a little smile.) We probably wouldn’t be here alive if we had a father.

49. 49
Jessica What do you mean?
Lily That’s a long story.
Sherry Lily, I’m sorry.
Lily Wait, what?
Sherry I should’ve thought about it. You saved us that time. You should be able to save us again.
Lily I’m not quite sure I know what you are talking about.
Sherry I think… I was jealous. Mom’s always like, look at Lily, she can do all these things so why
couldn’t you? I mean, we are different. You and I are different. But people keep comparing me
with you, and of course I lose every time. But I shouldn’t forget that you saved my life. You saved
our lives.
Lily (Smiles.) More than one time.
Sherry (Agrees.) More than one time.
Jessica What do you mean by I don’t wish we had a father? Tell me, oh, Annie, please tell me.
Sherry I’m the second daughter, and you know that Chinese people, especially those who live in small
towns, don’t really like daughters.
Jessica Why is that?
Lily Because old people without much education tend to think that girls are stupid, weak and useless,
and even if you raise up a girl, she won’t take care of her parents since she belongs to her
husband’s family when she get married.
Jessica That’s not true! You are smart, Sherry is smart, and I’m strong! Annie is…Annie is beautiful,
and that’s kind of useful, right?
Annie Hey!
Sherry (Gives a little smile.)We all know that. But the thing is a lot of people don’t really think that
way. And with Lily already being a daughter, that man—I won’t call him father since he doesn’t
deserve it—wanted to drown me.
Jessica No!
Sherry This is what mom told me. I don’t remember anything from that young. But I believe that it
is true since he wanted to drown you and Annie a couple times later as well. And Lily saved our
lives. She just kept protecting us from that man, until the moment when he was involved in drugs
and gambling and wanted to sell you and Annie. Lily heard him, called mom and the police and saved

50. 50
our lives again. That’s when mom decided that she’ll leave him and raise all four of us all by
herself.
Annie I sort of remember when we all left that village, and that when we were young, he beat us all
the time when he gets high. If mom didn’t leave him, if we still have him now…we’ll probably all be
dead.
Jessica Did mom kill him?
Sherry …what!?
Jessica Well, superheroes usually kill bad people in the stories…
Lily Not in real life. Mom just left him.
(Beat.)
Jessica I still can’t believe that mom’s dead. Can we go back to the graveyard and dig her out please?
Maybe she’s just laying there waiting for us to dig her out. (Takes out the garden trowel.) I was
half way there when you found me! I was just too tired to finish the job.
(Beat. Silence.)
Sherry …hell that’s why your face it covered with dirt! Are you insane?
Annie (Stops her.)Mom went to the underworld. She’s not dead, she just passed away, from our lives,
you know.
Jessica Ann…
Lily We are by ourselves. We got to hang on together and take care of each other. We are the
family, all four of us. And it is not intact without any of us. Jessica, you are not annoying. Please
don’t think that way anymore or running away. Alright, time for bed girls.
Jessica But Sherry said that…
Sherry You are annoying.
Annie Hey Sherry!
Sherry You are annoying, Jessica, but in fact who isn’t? Lily is Annoying when she asks me to put
down my cell phone, and I believe that I’m annoying to her when I play with my cell phone while
eating. Annie is annoying when she grabs the entire blanket when we sleep.
Annie Hey! You are annoying when you grab the entire blanket when we sleep as well!
Sherry See? But we still sleep together. Being annoying is not a problem. You are annoying, but that
doesn’t change the fact that you are important to us. We annoy each other all the time, but we

51. 51
still…need and love each other. Yes, Jessica, you are very annoying. But we all need you to be here
and be annoying, that’s how the family works.
Jessica Did you just said that you love me?
Sherry What? No! I did not! And that’s not the point!
Jessica But you said that we love each other!
Sherry Right, but I don’t love you.
Annie Oh, you do love her.
Sherry No I don’t!
Lily Yes you do.
Sherry No!
Jessica I think I got it…you are saying no but meaning yes?
Sherry No!
Jessica Oh I know you’d love me! I know it! I love you too Sherry!
Sherry Fuck I don’t love you!
(Blackout. Lily’s voice in the darkness.)
Lily Watch your language, young lady!
(Beat.)
Annie So…that was my story. Sherry loves to say that everything is going to be okay while Lily
prefers to say that we shall try our best to make this work. Well, now I agree with both of them.
We are all parts of this world, and by trying our best, the world is finding its way out. I don’t
know what will happen in the future, but at least right now, right at this moment, all four of us
are sticking together. This might be the most difficult time I would ever experience in my whole
life, but I overcame with it—we overcame with it—by supporting each other. No, I was lying.
What we actually did that helped was yelling at each other, telling the truth and then still loving
each other. So Sherry broke up with her boyfriend, Lily stopped being out working all the time,
and I stopped going to parties. Jessica…well, she stopped running away, and that’s kind of helpful,
right? We all stopped avoiding each other. Why would you need to run away anyway, when you
have your sisters?
The End