97 pages, Drama in two acts
5 M, 2 W – 2009 (revised 2012)
Their parents fight over teaching them evolution or “creation science,” but Phoebe, Paul and Victor struggle to realize dreams of strength through romance. Jealous violence shakes the teens and parents into new understandings of life’s essential building block: love.
Phoebe’s pressured beyond normal teen anxiety. Her mother, a biology teacher in remission from cancer, will testify in court against “creation science,” which her boyfriend, Paul, and his father, an evangelical pastor, support. Worse, she fears that her separated parents will divorce, and she leans on Paul’s faith to fix her family, but, college plans consume his attention. She finds unexpected comfort from Victor, an African-American classmate, basketball player, and her mother’s science monitor. As Phoebe and Paul’s relationship buckles, Phoebe and Victor grow closer, making all parents apprehensive. Frustrated by fighting among the adults, Phoebe fails to see tension growing between Paul and Victor, which erupts in violence. Finally, Phoebe and her parents recognize that a spirit transfused with love is the key to survival.
