Night Shift
December 5th, 2020
Starring: Concierge 1 (30-40), Concierge 2 (25-30)
A hotel front desk, between 2-4am. It could be a Best Western or the Ritz. The lobby is empty, quiet. Concierge 2 looks out the window, eyelids heavy, then turns to Concierge 1, typing away on a computer monitor:
CONCIERGE 2
How do you not sleep?
CONCIERGE 1
How do I not sleep?
CONCIERGE 2
Like how do you stay awake every night?
…
CONCIERGE 1
Time.
CONCIERGE 2
Like watching the clock—
CONCIERGE 1
Like continued exposure. The body’s a flexible thing. Present it with a new normal, and it adjusts sooner or later.
CONCIERGE 2
Which one is it?
CONCIERGE 1
Which one what?
CONCIERGE 2
When does it adjust? Is it sooner or is it later?
CONCIERGE 1
Sooner than you’d think, later than you’d like.
...
CONCIERGE 2
I don’t mean to be dismissive
But this isn’t what I want to be doing the rest of my life
And I’m afraid that if I spend too much time trying to get good at this job, it’ll be too late to do what I want to be doing.
So...
Is there a faster way to stay awake? Because I have dreams.
CONCIERGE 1
That’s it.
CONCIERGE 2
What?
CONCIERGE 1
That’s the way. You dream.
CONCIERGE 2
Like REM?
CONCIERGE 1
Like dreams. The real, conscious things that you want to do. The pulse pumping, pupil dilating, synapse fireworks stuff.
You think you’re the only one with higher hopes than the night shift?
CONCIERGE 2
Uh—
CONCIERGE 1
You don’t do this so you have time to dream later. You do this so you have time to dream now, undisturbed.
So I dream all night long. It’s the only thing that keeps me from sleeping.
The telephone rings. Concierge 1 picks up.
CONCIERGE 1
Front desk?
...
Mhm.
Yes.
Yes absolutely ma’am.
Yes I’ll have that right up to you ma’am.
Have a wonderful morning ma’am.
Concierge 1 hangs up.
CONCIERGE 2
What’s that?
CONCIERGE 1
Pillows for 286.
CONCIERGE 2
More?
CONCIERGE 1
Even more.
CONCIERGE 2
I’ll do it.
CONCIERGE 1
No, stay.
CONCIERGE 2
Why?
CONCIERGE 1
So you can dream.
I’ll be back soon.
Concierge 1 grabs five pillows from a storage closet and walks toward the elevators. Concierge 2 watches them go, and stands there, in the silence. They look back out the window, trying to dream.