Script: Kaz's Post Festival Meltdown

This is a script from a prewritten scene. There may be some inconsistencies with the podcast. Scripts are not consistently stylized, and are taken directly from our documents. Mileage may vary.

Open on Kaz, returning to their apartment after a day of celebration. They pull off their sunglasses, a quiet smile still on their face as they set aside their motorcycle helmet. They flick the lights on.

There’s no rotting food sitting on their countertop, just a folded up black lycra wingsuit waiting for another day. Their racing magazines and massive piles of cash have been reordered. Still, they sit in stacks against the walls, but you can at least walk across the tiny living room now. The racing manuals have been lined up on the shelf in the tv stand, with a few recently-used ones sitting on top, along with a particular three-ring binder.

As they walk in, a default ringtone blares from their cellphone. When they see the name on the screen, their expression sobers.

"Hey. Valencia." Valencia’s tinny voice comes out of the cell phone, but we can’t make out the words. As she talks to Kaz, their expression grows more clouded.

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Always. I'll be there." Kaz pulls their phone away from their face, tossing it down onto the sofa beside them. Their face falls, expression twisting into a grimace. They look at the helmet Robert gave them, staring into the empty face plate, and run their hand down the side of their face.

“What the fuck am I doing?” Kaz sweeps their hand across the neatly stacked books on the tv stand, sending them scattering across the floor.

"This isn't right. I don't deserve this. What the fuck did I do to deserve all this?" They look at one of the large stacks of money in the corner, and kick it with all the force they can manage. Bills go flying, fluttering in the air, as the pile collapses and spreads itself over the floor.

"I don't get nice things. That's not how this works. I'm just gonna run them into the ground like everything else in my life. What the hell did I do to be here? Why am I still alive? Undead, whatever."

They tear their hand back through their hair, bringing the red strands into their field of view. They pause, and their anger rushes out of them. They stare at the red hair wrapped around their fingers.

“Agave did this for me. Agave put their effort into something, because they wanted me to feel better about my fucked up dead person hair. I should be grateful, not self-pitying about it. If I’m fucked up, they can tell, and then they’ll be upset… Like Condas said. I shouldn't push my... pain onto other people. Get your shit together, Kaz. Don’t drown." *Deep breathing*

They look down at the binder-bound book Robert gave them, and their face twists with regret. They pick it up again, running a hand over the cover, and opening it to their bookmark. Nothing tore. Kaz heaves a heavy sigh as they collapse onto their couch.

“Fuck, fuck!” *Deep breathing*

“I have to do what I need to, what Valencia needs me to do to keep the city safe. I just- I wish that didn’t have to include…” Kaz trails off, looking over at a duffel bag in the corner. It’s zipped up. There’s only cash inside, which Kaz knows, but they still stare at it for several seconds. They sigh again.

“I can do my own stuff, too. Help people out where I can. I don’t just want to just do the… the necessary stuff, anymore. That’s okay, I… I can do that.” Kaz looks down at the open binder in their hands. “I can do that, right?” They ask, but there’s no answer.

“I don’t want to do it.” They know that they still will.

The scene ends here, but everyone gets two texts from Kaz.

“I need help with the guy in my bag. I want it dealt with, and I can’t do it alone.”

“Maybe we could get Yulanda. He deserves a chance. I’m not going to hurt him if I don’t have to.”