Episode 1: All Fallin’ Down
ENTRY 1
CLICK on a play button. Opening and shutting of lockers, chatter, footsteps in the background. The recordings overlap with each other.
Girl 1: …I can’t believe Sophie did something like that. You know, to be sports rivals is one thing. But to nearly paralyse her (under below) is just. Horrifying. It’s always the quiet ones.
Girl 2: Apparently Jayne can’t compete again. Ever. (sighs) Poor thing. Gosh, who knew Sophie was such a—
Long BEEP. A short pause. TATTLER clears her throat.
Tattler (V.O.): Frankly—this school’s becoming a madhouse. Every week there are new rumours spreading, new incidents surfacing. Order (bangs surface) needs to be reinstated. I present to you…The Tattle Tales. Narrated by yours truly. We’ll be following a select few of our schoolmates at one time. Questioning, investigating. Digging. And don’t you worry—we’re all fair here. You’ll get your turn eventually. In no time…(pause) we’ll have all your grimy laundry hanging out in the open.
Beat.
So let’s get right to it. As you probably would’ve already guessed, our very first candidate is Jayne Song. And with her comes our latest hot topic—the ‘Happily Ever After’ junior cohort night, which let’s just say, didn’t end quite so happily for Jayne. By the end of the night, she was found lying in the rooftop stairwell, barely conscious. Two weeks later, she’s finally back at school, and with quite a vengeance, it seems! She’s accused fellow track-and-field teammate Sophie Hartwell of pushing her down the stairs. Well, (pause) it’s a prospect. Everyone’s flocking to it. So quick to follow, and hate, and blame, aren’t we? But there’s fact, and there’s fiction. We all know Jayne’s an angel. But who really knows if she’s actually as wronged as she’s making herself out to be? What if whatever she’s claiming is—
MIA’s voice is slightly muffled over the phone.
Mia: Complete rubbish. I mean, yeah, she and Sophie, they’re far from being fans of each other. But the actual aggression’s always been from Jayne.
Tattler (V.O.): Here’s Mia Johnson, who’s on the school track-and-field team alongside Sophie and Jayne.
Tattler: So you think Sophie’s innocent? Do you think Jayne could’ve fallen on purpose?
Mia: On purpose? No, no way. (scoffs) If there’s one thing Jayne loves more than anything else in the world, it’s gotta be herself. I don’t know what happened. What I do know though, is that Sophie was there at the wrong place, wrong time.
Tattler: Going by your logic then, you’d be implying that Jayne’s framing her?
Mia: Well, she already hates Sophie’s guts. Whatever happened that night, if it gave her a chance to bring her down, she probably took it. And now with Sage in the middle, you can imagine the drama. Everything just gets ten times uglier.
Tattler (V.O.): Sage Hartwell is Sophie’s twin sister. Just up till last year, both of them were practically glued to the hip. But then their parents divorced, one parent, one sister. And suddenly, they stopped talking completely. Sage quickly got adopted into Jayne’s circle.
Mia: Sophie never really found any other friends. I guess that’s when she got so much quieter.
Tattler (V.O.): Here’s Leanne Choi on the other line, who’s been Jayne’s classmate for three years.
Leanne: Do yourself a favour and- never trust her. She’s just full of these little twisted games, like—
Mia: The inter-school track meet. In the middle of the race Soph’s entire shoe came apart. Guess what we found when we examined the shoe after? A knife mark. Someone had sliced into part of it, just before the race. (pause) The same race Jayne ended up winning.
Leanne: It’s not just Sophie. Jayne targets people one at a time. The moment she senses you’re liking her a little less she’ll turn a switch. Make you feel all loved again. (murmurs) Like you’re the center of her world. So you never really realise that she’s stabbed you in the back, until…
Beat. LEANNE lets out a short, humourless laugh.
Leanne: My point is, it’s just a facade. (swallows) I hope she recovers fully, though.
Mia: Well. Karma always finds a way.
CLICK. Entry ends. Silence.
ENTRY 2
A louder CLICK as Tattler resumes the podcast.
Tattler (V.O.): Entry number two. Looking back, this isn’t the first time Jayne’s accused someone. Remember what happened back in May? With Eli Rodriguez, the new student.
Chatter in the background. Recordings are muffled slightly.
Girl 4: Did you see what Jayne posted last night? About Eli. He tried to force-kiss her.
Girl 5: (gasps) I mean, I always guessed he liked her, but…
Tattler (V.O.): Rumour had it, it was a rejection that didn’t go quite as planned. Eli didn’t take it very well, got a little too desperate…
Girl 4: I’m getting goosebumps. He only transferred- wait. What if that’s the reason? Maybe he got expelled from his old school because—
Girl 5: What a creep. (sniffs) See. This always happens. Just when I started realising how cute he is…
Tattler (V.O.): And so the rumour stuck. Eli Rodriguez became an outcast pretty much overnight. The school never publicly addressed it, but they didn’t need to. Everyone knew why Eli disappeared for the two weeks that followed—suspension. When he returned, everyone officially started avoiding him. It’s pretty much been that way ever since.
Beat.
But there’s also something that never sat quite right with me. Before the whole ordeal, Eli was well-liked. Genuine, considerate, reserved, if anything. But one accusation from Jayne, and everyone’s perception of him just changes entirely? (pause) It’s off. I think we need some evidence. After all, if it turns out that Jayne’s been lying about him all this while…there’s a good chance she’s lying about Sophie now, as well.
JOEL’s voice is slightly muffled over the phone.
Joel: The whole thing was always kinda suspicious to me. Yeah, we haven’t been friends that long, but… Eli’s just not like that.
Tattler (V.O.): Joel Jameson, a friend of Eli’s.
Joel: The guy literally wouldn’t hurt an ant. So it just- it’s really hard to believe he’d do that to anyone. Much less her.
Tattler: Much less her?
Joel: Eli liked Jayne. A lot. It was just so painfully obvious, he used to talk about her all the time. They were pretty close.
Tattler: Did you ever ask him about what happened with Jayne?
Joel: Well, yeah. That’s the weirdest part, actually. He wouldn’t tell me a thing, just pretended it never happened. But I know it weighs down on him. I mean, come on. Every day you’re coming to school, and everyone’s avoiding you like the plague… (sighs) I know he didn’t do it. You know, I don’t even think he tried to defend himself at all. Just accepted the suspension, the accusations. As if- as if he’s loyal to her. For whatever reason, I don’t know…
Tattler: (murmurs) Loyal. Huh…
CLICK. Entry ends.
ENTRY 3
A louder CLICK.
Tattler (V.O.): Entry number three. The person we’re speaking with today couldn’t be more appropriate. Not only the main witness to the incident, but also the middleman between Jayne and her own sister… (voice raises) Welcoming Sage Hartwell!
SAGE’s voice is muted slightly over the phone.
Sage: (apprehensive) Um. It all happened towards the end of the night. Jayne told me she had to do something for a while first, before we left.
Tattler (V.O.): Jayne claims this was when Sophie approached her to talk, in the stairwell.
Sage: I didn’t really see if she’d been with anyone. I just waited by the benches for a bit. But she was taking really long, half an hour, almost. I… (sighs) I should’ve known something was off. (pause) Most people had left by then. It was just me and a couple others on the roof.
Tattler: A couple others?
Sage: Just some girls from track. And…another bunch from dance.
Tattler: And when you finally went to look for Jayne?
Sage: I went to the stairwell to go look downstairs. And when I entered… (swallows) Jayne was on the floor. Soph…
Tattler: (edge to her voice) Yeah?
Sage: I mean, I saw Sophie. She was…she looked terrified.
Tattler: Right. She was there. So could it- do you think it was her?
A long pause as SAGE hesitates.
Sage: I- I wouldn’t know. I didn’t see anything happen.
Tattler: Okay. Well, you of all people would know Sophie. Do you think she’d do something like that?
Sage: I…really don’t wanna speculate. Anything. Why haven’t you asked her?
Tattler (V.O.): I did, actually. Sophie declined a recorded interview, but here’s what she told me. She didn’t exchange a single word with Jayne the entire night. She’d only gone into the stairwell because she heard a scream. Jayne’s scream, presumably.
Tattler: And there was someone below, one or two flights down. She said she didn’t see who. But the footsteps sounded rushed, like the person was running. Then a door slam. (pause) And then you came in shortly after.
Sage: …What? Then- then why isn’t she defending herself?
Tattler: Because it’s still Jayne’s word against Sophie’s. Nobody’s gonna believe her, they’ll just think she’s making it up. There’s not even proof. (voice quietens) That’s why I asked you. If she’s guilty, maybe you could- Given the history you share…
Beat.
Sage: (tightly) You said it yourself. It’s history. Sophie and I aren’t talking anymore, I’m sure you know that. So I’d appreciate it if you respect that. I’m…I’m only interviewing as a witness.
Tattler (V.O.): I guess someone’s still sitting on the fence. But there’s no such thing as neutrality, Sage. (voice hardens) Sticking up for Jayne is number one on Sage’s priority list. Not her morals, not defending her own sister. Not in the slightest.
CLICK. Entry ends.
SCENE
Background noise – road noise, honks, chatter. TATTLER’s own footsteps shuffling against concrete. Her voice is different here, higher-pitched.
Tattler: (mumbling) Why isn’t it— Hello? Test. Test…
Sounds of her fumbling with a device and wire. What she just said is replayed, but now in the same tone as the previous recordings.
Hello? Test. Test.
(clears throat) We’re recording live today. So I’ve been keeping tabs on Eli Rodriguez for about a week now. Playing stalker isn’t very easy at all, but it’s all gonna be worth it. Because I’m pretty sure today…we’re getting something new.
Footsteps pick up.
School ended about half an hour ago. And it seems like Eli’s got somewhere urgent to go today. He’s headed towards the stretch of shops on Jensen Avenue…and very quickly at that.
Footsteps come to a halt.
Oh. He just entered a cafe. (pause) I guess I’ll update in a bit.
TATTLER exhales. Sounds of her fumbling again, then the zipping of her bag. Her voice goes back to how it was at the beginning.
(under her breath) Eavesdropping it is.
Creaking of a door, followed by the tinkling of a bell. Road noises quieten, replaced with the humming of coffee machines, hushed chatter, occasional footsteps against laminated flooring. ELI’s louder footsteps, followed by the screech of his chair.
Pause. Then, a softer, fainter screech of a chair at another table, further away. The voices of ELI and JAYNE slowly become clearer.
Eli: You couldn’t have chosen somewhere closer?
Jayne: You know I can’t risk anyone seeing us.
Beat.
Eli: How’re you doing? You’re recovering pretty well-
Jayne: (flatly) Let’s just skip the small talk. Have you heard of it? The podcast? I- I don’t know what the heck this person wants. But she’s looking into this case again, Eli. Our case. And…I can’t let her find out.
Eli: (sighs) What d’you want from me?
Jayne: Just- please. Don’t say anything about…what happened.
Eli: What happened? (scoffs) Plenty of things happened, Jayne. You’ve created so many versions of it, I can’t even tell what you’re referring to anymore. (voice rises) What, about you straight-up lying and accusing me? About how you led me on for two whole months after I told you how I felt? Or…the whole reason behind it all? Why you even lied in the first place?
Jayne: (voice hardens) Shut up, Eli. (sighs frustratedly) Shit. I told you, I didn’t want to accuse you. But she saw us. And what could I do? It wasn’t…she wasn’t gonna believe some stupid excuse! And I can’t- I couldn’t afford losing our relationship-
Eli: (quietly) What about our relationship? Even if you didn’t feel that way…we were still friends. And you just let that go.
JAYNE sighs. Beat.
Eli: So what about your latest accusation? Your fall? Was it really Sophie Hartwell, or are you just-
Jayne: Hey. I don’t just go around pointing fingers, okay? Only when there’s an actual need to-
ELI scoffs.
I wasn’t gonna let anyone find out about me and her. I can’t. (pause) Let’s just leave it at that.
Silence. TATTLER’s voice fades in, becoming clearer.
Tattler: (under her breath) My gosh.
Silence.
ENTRY 4
A CLICK.
Tattler (V.O.): Entry number four. Returning where we left off on Eli Rodriguez… so I went on a mini expedition last week. Last Friday, he met up with a very special someone.
JAYNE and ELI’s conversation is replayed, their voices slightly by the background cafe noises—but JAYNE’s voice is unmistakeable.
Jayne: Shit. I told you, I didn’t want to accuse you. But she saw us. And what could I do? It wasn’t…she wasn’t gonna believe some stupid excuse! And I can’t- I couldn’t afford losing our relationship-
Eli: What about our relationship? Even if you didn’t feel that way…we were still friends. And you just let that go.
Recording stops.
Tattler (V.O.): Unfortunately I’m unable to play everything. ‘Cause…audio quality and all. But this proves enough. My hunch was right. Jayne Song’s accusations towards Eli six months ago…all one big, fat lie. He’s always been innocent. Guess we’ve all got some apologising to do.
Beat.
But that’s not all, obviously. In any case, that’s not even why they met up. So the next question – why did Jayne accuse him? What was actually happening? As you probably would have already inferred, there’s a third party involved. This unidentified ‘her’. And Jayne- she seems to care a lot about this ‘her’… (pause) Well. We’ve just found something else to dig into.
CLICK.
SCENE
The sound of a phone line ringing, before it stops.
Sage: Hello? Um- is this…The Tattle Tales?
Sound of TATTLER fumbling with a device. A faint beep.
Tattler: Yes. Request- (pause) Sage?
Sage: Um. (takes a deep breath) I wanna report something. Relating to Sophie.
Beat.
Tattler: What is it?
Sage: I…overheard a few of the dancers yesterday. The ones who were on the rooftop, on cohort night. They’d been waiting for one other member, this girl. They didn’t say who. Apparently she told them she’d gone to the bathroom, but she was away for a pretty long time.
Tattler: You mean… So this happened the same time as—
Sage: Jayne’s accident. And then the girl, whoever she was, she disappeared for the rest of the night.
TATTLER inhales sharply.
Maybe- maybe this person was in the stairwell too. It makes sense, something isn’t right.
Tattler: So…you think she was the one?
Sage: (blurts) Look. You were right. That day, when you asked if I thought Soph did it…I was too scared to give an answer. (pause) I know she’s innocent. It’s not Soph, Jayne’s lying. (sighs) I really don’t know what happened. But…I can’t just sit by the side and watch this happen to her.
Beat.
Tattler: (softly) I- (swallows) Yeah. Okay. Who were the dancers?
Sound of keys typing, which slowly fades into silence.
SCENE
Fading in: sound of TATTLER fumbling with a device. A faint beep.
Tattler: Leanne Choi?
Leanne: …Hello?
Tattler: You interviewed a couple weeks back, regarding Jayne. Are you free right now?
Leanne: Oh. Um…(hesitates) I guess.
Tattler: So, you’ve known Jayne for a pretty long time, being classmates for so long.
Leanne: Yeah. But that really doesn’t mean anything.
Tattler: So what did she do? What happened between you guys?
Leanne: …Nothing. We just- (grits teeth) we were never that close.
Tattler: Huh. (pause) You seemed pretty strung up in the last interview, though. Like you were holding yourself back.
Leanne: (tightly) What’re you getting at?
Tattler: You and Jayne. What exactly was your relationship?
Beat.
Leanne: I don’t know what you’re talking about. We weren’t- we weren’t even friends.
Tattler: Because you were more than friends?
Leanne: (whispering) How d’you know that?
Tattler: What was Jayne talking about? Why’d she accuse Eli of something like that?
Leanne: Why would I tell you? You think I don’t know? You’re gonna expose everyone. Expose me.
Beat. TATTLER’s tone softens—almost a bit too suddenly.
Tattler: No, that’s not what I want. I just- I wanna know about Jayne. I know something happened between you guys. She did something to you, didn’t she? (pause) She did something to me too. And I’m just- all I wanna do is prove myself. That’s all.
A long silence.
Leanne: (swallows) We were…in a relationship. Since last year. Jayne didn’t want anyone to know.
Tattler: Why?
Leanne: Well. She just- always brushed it off. Said she didn’t want the attention…
Beat. LEANNE starts talking faster, emotionally.
But…honestly? I knew it was ‘cause she was ashamed. We just never talked about that. I couldn’t bring myself to ask. And I knew she’d never admit it. (pause) We started to grow apart.
Tattler: When she met Eli?
Leanne: (voice hardens) Yeah. They were…close. So close I honestly started suspecting something. But- we trusted each other. We were supposed to. How could I be thinking that, seriously? (dry laugh) Then one day after school I…I walked in on them. Together. Like that.
Beat.
She insisted it wasn’t what it seemed. She said it was the first time he ever did something like that, that she didn’t know… And she was crying so hard, and begging, and everything. And I believed her. (scoffs) I actually believed her. (pause) She’s such a darn good actress.
Tattler: When did all this happen? When did you find out?
Leanne: Back in May. (scoffs) She lied to me for two whole months. I found out, what, less than a month ago.
Tattler: …That’s around the time of Jayne’s accident, isn’t it?
Leanne: (sharp inhale) What are you saying?
Tattler: That night. You were still in school, weren’t you? You’re in dance. Your friends were waiting for you at the rooftop.
Leanne: I- yeah. I was- I was in the toilet.
Tattler: But you’d been gone for half an hour. Which just happens to be how long Jayne was gone for. (pause) You were in the stairwell with her, weren’t you?
Beat.
Leanne: I didn’t push her down. I- I asked if we could talk. I was gonna (voice quivers) end things with her that night. I couldn’t take it anymore, the betrayal, and all the pretending… But it turned into one of her massive blowouts, and we ended up arguing, and- and then she took a step back. (voice breaks) She fell. I ran down to her, obviously. Then I heard someone coming…
Tattler: (quietly) And then you ran away. You’re the person…Sophie heard.
Leanne: (sighs) Whatever Jayne’s said…it’s a load of crap. Accusing Sophie, saying she got pushed… I meant what I said before, about Jayne’s manipulation. Sophie’s just a convenient target, ‘cause Jayne already hates her so much. (pause) Honestly, part of me felt jealous of Sophie. Crazy, I know. But Jayne’s never gonna let anyone find out about us. It’s ridiculous. She puts so much effort into maintaining this stupid image of herself, that…she’ll sacrifice anything. Anyone.
Beat. LEANNE suddenly inhales sharply—finally realising she’s let out way too much.
And- and here I am. Ranting to you like a complete idiot. After she’s tried so hard to… (soft gasp) Wait. Please- don’t spread this. I didn’t mean to, it just…all came out. Shit! You- you said you wouldn’t, right?
Tattler: …Well. I’m just Jayne’s convenient target, after all. I’m just trying to prove myself.
BEEP as TATTLER hangs up. Silence.
SCENE
Fading in: the buzzing of a phone.
Tattler: Is this an interview request?
Eli: It’s Eli. Rodriguez.
Beat.
Tattler: (wary) Oh.
Eli: Um…(sighs) well, first- I wanted to thank you.
Tattler: Thank me?
Eli: For trying to absolve me. Proving I didn’t do it to Jayne.
Tattler: Oh.
Eli: This whole thing’s about Jayne, isn’t it? You’ve been personally affected by her. That’s why you started this.
Silence. ELI sighs.
I know it’s you, Sophie. I saw you that day, at the cafe.
Tattler: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Eli: Sitting behind Jayne. By the door.
TATTLER scoffs, a shocked laugh.
The voice modulator does a pretty good job-
BEEP. TATTLER switches the voice modulator off. Her voice changes to her—SOPHIE’s—real one.
Sophie: Shit—
THUD as SOPHIE forcefully shoves the modulator onto the table.
(blurts out) She pushed all the blame onto me. Blame that never existed to begin with, just because she chose to be petty. And now? The- the glares, the whispering, the… (exhales sharply) it’s just constant. It was driving me crazy. But now with this gossip thing, I’ll finally show what she’s really like. And shift the attention away from myself, while I’m at it. It’s (voice quivers) basically perfect.
Beat. ELI remains silent.
Don’t you understand, of all people? When everyone started talking behind your back…
Eli: I was.
Sophie: But you’re different. You could’ve proved yourself. You chose to go along with Jayne. (pause) Why? I know you liked her, but…she’s a manipulator. And a cheater–
Eli: I know. Of course I know. But she was also confused. I think the moment we tried becoming more than friends, she realised it was Leanne she wanted. It’s always been Leanne. I accepted that.
Sophie: (quietly) That’s why you didn’t deny her accusation. To protect their relationship.
Eli: (sighs) Don’t go any further, Sophie. You’ve already proved Jayne lied before. That’s enough to prove yourself.
Sophie: I know, but-
Eli: I get that you’re hurt. But exposing her and Leanne…you’re gonna crush her. Don’t do it please. Don’t sink to the same level as her.
SOPHIE exhales softly. It fades into a long silence.
ENTRY 5
CLICK on a button.
Tattler (V.O.): Entry number five. So…what really happened at the stairwell that night?
Cut to silence.
Avril Sng (class of 2027) occasionally tries venturing out into other writing genres, but always finds herself returning to realism. (She derives her severely limited inspiration mainly from long evening runs accompanied by nothing but her own wandering thoughts.)