The Other Side of the Table

The Other Side of the Table

1[Scene One. A classroom before a practice debate. Two desks face each other. Veda unfolds an assignment slip while her teammate, Samir, sorts blank cards.] VEDA: Assigned lunch seats for the first month? And I’m defending them? SAMIR: That’s the draw. VEDA: A table isn’t a seating chart. We should choose where we belong.

2SAMIR: Then find the strongest argument against yourself. VEDA: Easy advice from the side you already like. SAMIR: I asked for assigned seats when I transferred here. VEDA: You did? SAMIR: Walking in was easy. Choosing a table felt like interrupting six conversations at once. [He leaves to collect the timer.]

3[Alone, Veda places her assignment slip beneath an empty chair.] VEDA: I could call his problem temporary. I could say he should have asked somebody. That would sound neat in a speech. [She moves the slip onto the desk.] But I didn’t ask him to sit with us. I thought he liked eating quietly. If I say that out loud, I’ll have to hear it.

4[The doorway remains empty. Veda faces the chair as though someone occupies it.] VEDA: I still want to choose my seat. I just assumed everybody started with a choice worth making. Maybe a seating chart could be a beginning, not a sentence. [She writes on a card, crosses out one line, and keeps writing.]

5[Scene Two. Later. The desks now face an audience. Samir sets the timer between them. Veda holds her cards with both hands.] SAMIR: Ready? VEDA: Ready enough. [She turns her first card facedown.] Students should be able to choose their friends. That is why a short period of assigned seating deserves a fair hearing.

6SAMIR: How does removing a choice protect it? VEDA: It might create introductions before the usual groups close around themselves. SAMIR: Or put somebody beside a person who makes lunch miserable. [Veda separates two cards, then lays one aside.] VEDA: Yes. Students would need a private way to request a change. My argument needs that condition.

7SAMIR: So you support assigned seats now? [Veda glances toward the empty chair from Scene One.] VEDA: I support taking your reason seriously. That isn’t the same thing. A table isn’t a seating chart. But a blank chair doesn’t automatically mean a welcome.

8[The timer sounds before Samir can answer. Neither student reaches for the score sheet.] SAMIR: That last part wasn’t on your first card. VEDA: No. [She puts the unused card in her pocket instead of throwing it away. The two desks remain facing the audience as the lights fade.]