{"id":2330,"date":"2021-11-12T18:03:37","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T18:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/?page_id=2330"},"modified":"2021-11-12T18:45:13","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T18:45:13","slug":"all-is-fair","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/writers-house-review\/volume-2-fall-2021\/all-is-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"All is Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Grace Sheppard<\/em><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Automated voice<\/strong>: This is a collect call from Hudson Correctional Facility in Hudson, New York. To accept the call, please press 1. *beep* You are now connected. Calls will be monitored and recorded. Thank you for using Connectasure.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Hey, Dad!<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Actually it\u2019s Lizzie.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Oh shit. Hey, Lizzie! It\u2019s been a while. Where\u2019s Dad?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> He had to deal with something quickly, so he asked me to get the phone.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Oh. Cool\u2026 So how\u2019s everything? It\u2019s been forever since we\u2019ve talked.<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Yeah, it really has been.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> You never seem to be around when I call Dad.<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been busy.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Cool\u2026 cool cool cool\u2026 How\u2019s school?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Good.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> You\u2019re gonna be a sophomore, right?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Yep.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> That\u2019s fun\u2026 What\u2019re you studying?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Not sure. Haven\u2019t declared a major yet or anything.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> When do you have to have that figured out by?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> End of sophomore year.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> So not till next year then?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: How\u2019re Mom and Dad?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Don\u2019t you talk to them like all the time?<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Well, yeah. But anytime I ask how they\u2019re doing they just say everything\u2019s fine and change the subject. How\u2019re they really?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Well Dad\u2019s still really shaken up after Nonna died.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Shit.<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Yeah. And it didn\u2019t help that everyone was asking him about you the whole time. The whole damn funeral every single one of our relatives was asking where you were.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Fuck.<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Grampa?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Especially Grampa.<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Dad still hasn\u2019t told him?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> So what\u2019ve you been up to?<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Me?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Yeah, you.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Well I\u2019ve gotten really into chess.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Oh?<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Yeah. And I\u2019ve actually gotten pretty good at it. Maybe when I get out I\u2019ll finally be able to beat you.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Doubtful.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: The guys in here actually take it really seriously. Most of the fights I\u2019ve seen have been over chess and ping pong games, no cap. No shit, I was playing this guy the other day, and after I took his queen he tried to punch me in the face. These guys are fucking intense about their chess.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Do they have other sports in there?<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Sure! Once it\u2019s warmer out, they\u2019ve got flag football, soccer, and softball.<\/p>\n

*garbled noise in the background*<\/em><\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Oh and I guess we also have a competitive bodybuilding team. Didn\u2019t know that till just now.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Cool.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: You still playing sports?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Lacrosse still?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Yep.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Do you have any games coming up?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> Nope.<\/p>\n

Automated Voice:<\/strong> Your time for this call has expired. Thank you for using Connectasure.<\/p>\n

Three beats of silence. Lizzie puts the phone down only for it to start ringing again.<\/em><\/p>\n

Automated voice<\/strong>: This is a collect call from Hudson Correctional Facility in Hudson, New York. To accept the call, please press 1. *beep* You are now connected. Calls will be monitored and recorded. Thank you for using Connectasure.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Hey sorry about that my time ran out.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: No big deal.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: So anything interesting going on in your life at the moment?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Nope.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> Alright, Lizzie cut the crap. What the hell is up with you?<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> What do you mean?<\/p>\n

James:<\/strong> This whole time you\u2019ve been giving me one word answers, not telling me anything about what\u2019s going on with you. Why are you being such a bitch?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: I\u2019m being a bitch?? Fuck you. This is why I didn\u2019t want to talk to you in the first place.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Then why are you?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Cause Dad fucking made me. Said it wasn\u2019t healthy for me to keep ignoring you.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: I knew you were avoiding me! Every time I asked to talk to you Dad always told me you were out. We haven\u2019t talked in over a year! What the hell is your problem with me?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: You can\u2019t be serious. There\u2019s no way in hell you\u2019re that dense.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Why haven\u2019t you answered any of my calls?<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Because I don\u2019t want to talk to you! Isn\u2019t it fucking obvious?? I don\u2019t want to talk to you for the same reason I haven\u2019t told anybody where you\u2019ve been the last three years.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Lizzie.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Don\u2019t you dare fucking start with me. What?? Did you expect me to be proud? (Mocking)<\/em> Oh I\u2019m so proud of my big brother. He\u2019s serving four years for drug possession and assault with a deadly weapon. He\u2019s the shining light of our family.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: You have no right to say that shit about me. You don\u2019t know the half of what I\u2019ve been through! Mom and Dad have kept you sheltered from the real world, their perfect little girl.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve been through? We grew up together, dipshit. You know what, you\u2019re right. I could never understand what\u2019s going on in that stupid head of yours, or how you could just throw away your whole fucking life like that.<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: That\u2019s not fair.<\/p>\n

Lizzie<\/strong>: Oh is it now? You don\u2019t get to tell me what\u2019s fair or not. You know what\u2019s not fair? Being abandoned by your older brother. Attending every event as an only child for three years. Constantly being asked about you and \u201cwhy isn\u2019t he around anymore?\u201d and \u201cwhere could he be?\u201d and \u201cwhat is he up to now?\u201d all the while knowing I have to spout the same bullshit that \u201che\u2019s doing just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: Lizzie\u2026<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> And you know what\u2019s really not fair?! The fact that Grampa thinks you didn\u2019t care enough about him or this family to show up to Nonna\u2019s funeral, and we can\u2019t even tell him the truth that you\u2019re in fucking prison cause it would crush him. That\u2019s not fucking fair.<\/p>\n

*Pause*<\/em><\/p>\n

James<\/strong>: I\u2019m sorry.<\/p>\n

Lizzie:<\/strong> I\u2019m still mad at you.<\/p>\n

Automated Voice<\/strong>: Your time for this call has expired. Thank you for using Connectasure.<\/p>\n

\n

Grace Sheppard<\/strong> is a member of the Rutgers School of Engineering, class of 2023. Sheppard has spent the last fourteen years living in Princeton, New Jersey, and is currently pursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Although the majority of her classes are STEM focused, she still tries to incorporate at least one art or writing class into her schedule each year.<\/p>\n

This piece was written in Caridad Svich\u2019s Creative Playwriting Class. Svich selected the piece for publication in WHR<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grace Sheppard   Automated voice: This is a collect call from Hudson Correctional Facility in Hudson, New York. 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