Starring:
Mo McKynzie as Marisol Montgomery
Yodeet Nymberg as Nina Greene
Chinna Palmer as The Stranger
Lolita Marie as Summer
Akanimo Effang as The Host
Director & Sound Designer: Nathan Gabriel
Writer, Creator, & Producer: Jade Madison Scott
Supervising Producer: Virginia Wilson
Producer: Will Stokes
Beyond Underscore & Dialogue Editor: Michael Ronstadt
Theme Composer: Sterlyn Termine
Show Art: Julia Patrick
Introduction
HOST
Before we begin I want you to know that you can listen to the entire series along with bloopers and bonus content on Apollo+. Apollo+ is a new platform where your subscription gets you early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, behind the scenes content, supercuts and more. 70% of the revenue goes directly to creators. Join Apollo+ through the Apollo Podcasts app OR by going to apollopods.com/plus. Now, on to the show. WGC Productions presents-
(Marisol yawns.)
HOST (CONT'D)
Really?
MARISOL
Sorry. I haven’t been sleeping.
HOST
Still? Not sleeping isn’t good for you, Marisol-
MARISOL
What are you, my mother?
HOST
Maybe you should skip volunteering with Summer and take a nap instead.
MARISOL
Don’t be a hater, man. Uh, strong language. Frank talk of death and drug abuse. And play the music. It’ll wake me up some.
(Small Victories Theme.)
INT. NINA'S KITCHEN
Marisol and Nina are eating their bowls of cereal. Marisol yawns.
NINA
When’s the last time you slept through the night?
MARISOL
I don’t know. A coupla weeks ago, maybe?
NINA
Is something wrong?
MARISOL
Climate change.
NINA
I’m serious. Is it the stab wound? Is it the oxy?
(SFX: Coke Heartbeat)
NINA (CONT'D)
I read it makes you tired. Maybe you should stop-
MARISOL
(sharp panic)
No.
NINA
Just for a-
MARISOL
No, the oxy is fine. It’s a good dose. I used to do way more than 10mg. It’s so mild, you don’t need to worry about that. Don’t worry about that.
NINA
You are gonna have to stop sometime-
MARISOL
And when I do I will, but this isn’t that. This isn’t that. So, leave it alone. I just need to sleep more. I just need to sleep more. I get hot at night. I’ll be fine. I’m good.
(SFX: Coke Heartbeat Stops.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
I’m good.
NINA
Mhmm. Will you promise me that after you finish volunteering you’ll come back and take a nap?
MARISOL
I don’t know about a nap but we can definitely do some other things-
NINA
Actually, I was gonna go to the studio today-
MARISOL
Oh.
NINA
I’ve been tossing this concept for a new collection around in my head and I’ve finally got it worked out. I’ve been collecting materials the past week and I think I’m actually ready to-
MARISOL
How long are you gonna be there?
NINA
I don’t know. All day, maybe.
MARISOL
That’s a long time.
NINA
You should come down to the studio. You can watch me. We can talk.
MARISOL
You don’t like to talk when you paint.
NINA
I know, but if you can compromise for me I can compromise for you.
MARISOL
I-
(Marisol’s phone alarm goes off.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Shit. I gotta leave now if I’m gonna catch the orange line.
NINA
An alarm? Since when do you set alarms?
MARISOL
Hey, new day new me, right? Bye.
EXT. FOOD BANK- LATER
Marisol and Summer are stacking cans and boxes in the pantry. It’s a singular room, not much bigger than a classroom.
MARISOL
(internal)
When I was a kid, before mom died, well, she used to take us to a soup kitchen to volunteer. Used to do it every Sunday after church, which was really shitty the weekends we went to First Baptist cause church could go on for hours so we’d have to leave early to make it to the soup kitchen so we always missed the food they served after service, and at the end of the day I’d feel like my legs would fall off. I kinda liked it though. Talking to people. Getting ‘em food. Being in the kitchen.
A lot of the cooks back there weren’t, like, you’re typical straight-laced people either. They were like me. Course I was a kid so I wasn’t even like me yet. I don’t know. Maybe I already was? Anyways, they didn’t make being like me look so bad. They didn’t have to be special to do something important….it was nice.
I mean here we’re just sorting cans and stacking boxes which isn’t, I mean I guess you don’t have to be too special to stack boxes either, but….I don’t know. This is nice too. Some little girl is gonna come in here with her mom and her brother and her dad and she might not have gotten a nice meal in a while and it’ll be like they’re shopping at the store except everything is free. That’ll be nice. I’ll have helped with that.
SUMMER
What are you grinning about?
MARISOL
Oh, I, uh, guess I hadn’t really noticed.
SUMMER
Don’t be embarrassed. You’re very pretty when you smile.
MARISOL
I-
(Marisol laughs.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Uh, how many more cans you got left in that box?
SUMMER
Fifteen or so.
MARISOL
I got one, two, three, four, eleven in mine. And these are the last ones?
SUMMER
Far as I can tell.
MARISOL
Man, I feel like it just flew by.
SUMMER
I find it does that. Having something physically repetitive to do is like meditation to me. It allows me to release myself.
MARISOL
Mhmmm.
(Pause)
MARISOL
I bet I can finish unloading faster than you.
SUMMER
You have fewer cans than me.
MARISOL
Excuses. Excuses.
SUMMER
Well, now I have to beat you.
MARISOL
Okay then. On three. One, two-
(Marisol cheats and starts stacking!)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Ooo!
(Summer laughs)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Can you hang can you hang?
SUMMER
Oh, stop!
MARISOL
Oh, you're cheating. Stop. Stop, it's mince.
SUMMER
No, you're cheating
MARISOL
Back up, back up.
SUMMER
You are a cheater.
MARISOL
I'mma tell on you. What I say? F.
(Transition Music)
EXT. CITY STREETS
Marisol and Summer are walking down the busy city streets
SUMMER
So, you’ve just finished your first volunteering session at a food bank. Tell me, Marisol, does your soul feel any lighter?
MARISOL
Well, it-
(Marisol yawns.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Sorry.
SUMMER
Used to sleeping in on weekends, are we?
MARISOL
No. I’ve just been having some weird dreams for the past couple of months. Guess it’s catching up to me.
SUMMER
Maybe you need a change of scene.
MARISOL
A vacation?
SUMMER
Not a vacation, just a new bed.
MARISOL
Mattresses are expensive.
SUMMER
No one said anything about buying a mattress. Why don’t you come over to my place?
(SFX: Coke Heartbeat)
MARISOL
Oh.
SUMMER
To sleep. Of course.
MARISOL
Of course. Yeah. Yeah. That’s super nice of you.
SUMMER
Hey, what are friends for?
(Transition music.)
AD BREAK
The Host is listening to one of the other Apollo+ show’s in his headphones as he sits in the void.
HOST
(to himself)
Oh, Rion, you can’t bring Princess Clara to the castle if she doesn’t want-
(He sees the audience)
HOST (CONT'D)
Ohhhhh, heeeeeeeeey! Hi, I’m just, um, you just caught me off guard. Let me turn this-
(He pauses his show.)
HOST (CONT'D)
Sorry, I was just listening to Sidequesting on this new podcasting platform, Apollo+, which you….may not know anything about. Okay, so Apollo+ is a creator-owned platform where people like you and me subscribe and then 70% of the revenue goes directly to the audio drama creators. And they can use that revenue to pay their cast or help make another season of their show or make more episodes or anything! It’s a sweet set-up, especially since Small Victories is one of the shows you can listen to over there. And on Apollo+ the episodes don’t have ads and you can listen to Small Victories bonus content and you can listen to the entire season at once instead of waiting each week. And it’s super easy to join. All you have to do is join Apollo+ through the Apollo Podcasts app OR go to apollopods.com/plus. It’s so easy even a fictional character in an incorporeal space can do it. But I really do want to know what’s going to happen to Rion so I’m gonna go back to Apollo+ and you can go listen to whatever Marisol is getting up to right now.
THE BEYOND
STRANGER
Marisol! I am announcing my presence so as to not sneak up on you, as previously requested!
(Horns sound and the Stranger appears in a pillar of fire.)
STRANGER (CONT'D)
Hello.
MARISOL
You don’t have to do your little speech every time.
STRANGER
Noted.
(Marisol sighs.)
MARISOL
So, I guess a change of scenery wasn’t the issue?
STRANGER
You knew this wouldn’t work.
MARISOL
I know.
STRANGER
About the last time we spoke-
MARISOL
We don’t need to talk-
STRANGER
You asked me to let you see them-
MARISOL
We really do not need to talk about this.
STRANGER
But don’t you think-
MARISOL
No. In fact, I try really really hard to not think.
(Marisol winces.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
I’m….I’m bleeding.
STRANGER
How many times will you make yourself do this, Marisol?
MARISOL
He….He’s killed me. I’m already dead.
STRANGER
One more time then, hmm?
MARISOL
Where are they? Do they miss me too?
STRANGER
Wake up, Marisol. Go home.
MARISOL
Wait-
(Marisol is sucked out of the Beyond.)
INT. SUMMER'S BEDROOM
Marisol wakes up screaming. She cries. Summer bursts into the room.
SUMMER
Christ, what? Hey, hey, hey, you’re okay. You’re fine.
MARISOL
Sorry. Sorry.
SUMMER
You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re okay.
MARISOL
Ugh, this is embarrassing.
SUMMER
I’m guessing you didn’t get your good night’s sleep?
(Pause)
SUMMER (CONT'D)
What were you dreaming about?
MARISOL
Nothing. It was stupid.
SUMMER
Try me.
MARISOL
Do you ever….sometimes it feels like, my mother and brother are dead-
SUMMER
Sometimes you feel like they’re-
MARISOL
No, I was telling you. They are dead. They’ve been dead for a while. Honestly, I should be over it, but I’m not-
SUMMER
Over it? What do you mean “over it”?
MARISOL
You know. Over it.
SUMMER
It’s grief. It’s not something you get over. It’s something you go through.
MARISOL
But for how long?
SUMMER
However long it takes.
MARISOL
That’s too long.
(They laugh.)
SUMMER
I won’t lie to you. Grief is hard. Sometimes it feels like no matter how good things are a part of me is always just waiting-
MARISOL
To be with him?
SUMMER
Yeah.
MARISOL
Yeah.
(Pause)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
How long were you two together?
SUMMER
Together for twelve years. Married for ten.
MARISOL
That’s a long time.
SUMMER
No. It’s not.
(Beat. Coke Heartbeat SFX.)
MARISOL
What are you-
(Summer kisses Marisol.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
Um!
SUMMER
Oh, was that not okay?
MARISOL
No! I mean, it was fine. Great. Um, you’re, you’re really pretty. I, um, Nina wouldn’t like it though-
SUMMER
Nina? Who’s Nina?
MARISOL
My fiancee.
SUMMER
You’re engaged?
MARISOL
Yeah, obviously! I talk about her all the time.
SUMMER
No, you don’t.
MARISOL
Yes, I do!
SUMMER
No. You don’t.
MARISOL
I……I didn’t know you didn’t know.
SUMMER
I didn’t mean to overstep.
MARISOL
Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Me either.
SUMMER
I hope we can still have the cooking lessons-
MARISOL
Totally. Totally. Yeah. And volunteer. This was just….you know….
SUMMER
A miscommunication.
MARISOL
Exactly. Exactly that. Miscomuna, yep. Yeah. We can keep it super professional and I won’t tell anyone and you won’t tell anyone and no one will know and that will be good. That’ll be great. We’re great. We’re-
SUMMER
Marisol.
MARISOL
Yeah.
SUMMER
You didn’t do anything wrong.
MARISOL
I didn’t do anything wrong.
SUMMER
I’m attracted to you. I misread the signals. I took a chance. You don’t like me and that’s okay-
MARISOL
I mean, I wouldn’t say I don’t like you.
SUMMER
I….okay. Look, this doesn’t have to change anything if you don’t want it to change anything so what do you want?
MARISOL
I, uh……
CLOSING
HOST
So, we're just gonna end like that? We're not gonna talk about-
MARISOL
Absoutly not. Ahh, nope.
(Marisol laughs. Frankly, it’s unhinged.)
MARISOL (CONT'D)
I’m going. Bye. Bye-bye.
HOST
Wait, but-
(Marisol leaves.)
HOST (CONT'D)
Um, you have just listened to Small Victories. Starring Mo Mckynzie as Marisol.
MO
Can ya hang? Can ya hang? Can ya hang?
HOST
Yodeet Nymberg as Nina
YODEET
You are gonna have to stop sometime, you know?
HOST
Chinna Palmer as the Stranger
CHINNA
One more time then, hmm?
HOST
Lolita Marie as Summer.
LOLITA
You are a cheater!
HOST
And Akanimo Effang as the Host. Theme Composer, Sterlyn Termine. Original Cello Music Composed by Assitant Sound Designer Michael Rondstadt. Script Supervisor, Virginia Wilson. Director and Sound Designer, Nathan Gabriel. Created and Written by Jade Madison Scott. This episode of Small Victories may be over but the fun doesn’t have to end. Listen to the entire season on Apollo+. Not only can you listen to our show but you can also listen to and support other shows like, Primordial Deep, Omen, Afflicted, Sidequesting and more. Not to mention that when you subscribe to Apollo+, 70% of that revenue goes to the creators you love! And they can use that revenue to make new episodes, new seasons, bonus content, and make sure the cast and crews of their shows get paid. It’s a win-win. Or a win-win-win-win? Or a win-win-win? Look, I don’t know what it is, but I do know that Apollo+ is good for me, you, and the crew. What more could you ask for?