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Katherine Meyer

Mrs. Pigoni

Advanced Freshmen English-8

24 February 2011

Oral Interp- The Lucky One

Teaser

Beth:(softly, sorrowful) I had stopped suddenly and faced my ex husband. All at once, he noticed my anger had been replaced by something close to terror, the noise of the storm seemed to be suddenly very far away.

Clayton:(In a stupid manner) “What is it?”

Beth: “The tree house…”

It took only a moment for Clayton to process my words and a moment later, we were both charging for the woods.

Introduction

The story of The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks, is about a young woman falling in love once again. 10 years ago, Beth was divorced from Clayton, and she and their son began living with Beth’s mother again. When Logan Thibault comes to town, he brightens Beth’s life again. Clayton does not approve of Beth’s choice, and therefore constantly argues with her. Ben, their son, deals with the arguing by running to his old, unstable tree house. During a flood, Beth and Clayton begin arguing once again, and Ben runs off to his tree house for the last time.

Body

Beth: My boyfriend, Thibault, finally arrived at my driveway, his boots waterlogged and heavy. As he approached, he made out the lights on top of an SUV and knew that Clayton was at the house. The harder Thibault ran, the farther the distance seemed but he finally reached the house. He noticed my mother, Nana, standing on the porch, panicked.

Thibault: (Heroicly)“Nana!”

Nana: (cracked and breathy voice. Squinted eyes)“Thibault?”

Thibault: “What happened?”

Nana: “Ben’s gone!”

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Thibault: (Confused) “What do you mean, gone? What happened?”

Nana: (Speaking very fast)“Clayton was here and Beth came out looking for Ben... and then the two of them took off toward the creek. I heard something about the tree house.”

Beth: (Sweetly)“ A moment later, Thibault was sprinting toward the woods, Zeus at his side. As Keith and I were running we notice the path had been blocked by dozens of fallen limbs. The tree house. The bridge. The flood. Only adrenaline and fear kept me from throwing up. In my mind’s eye, I could see my son on the bridge as it suddenly gave away. I quickly shook my head, it wouldn’t happen. Then I stumbled again and felt a searing pain in my foot. Keith pulled me up without a word and dragged me forward, we both knew that Ben was in danger. As we drew near the tree house, I could feel the bones in my foot grinding against one another every step, sending flashes of fire throughout my lower body. As if I'm in a waking nightmare, I suddenly spot Ben in the rushing creek, clinging to the rope bridge below the tree house platform.

“BEN!”

Clayton: “Stay there!”

Beth: Clayton scaled the tree ladder and set off on the bridge at a run, desperate to reach Ben. On his third step, the dry-rotted planks broke and Clayton smashed through the platform and into the water, breaking his ribs. I screamed.

(Cupping hands around mouth)“Move along the rope, Ben! Move away from the platform! You can do it!”

He finally heard and started inching towards his father and the rope, but wasn’t doing very well. When all hope seemed to be lost, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Logan Thibault dive into the water, Zeus right behind him. I watched Ben inch even closer. As Thibault was swimming, he collided with the fallen bridge that had created a central landing, and then smashed into Clayton. Clayton grabbed for Thibault’s arm with his free hand, dragging Thibault under. Thibault struggled underwater, holding the rope with one hand, unable to free himself from Clayton. At that very moment, the pilings of the fallen bridge lurched again, the downstream weight of Clayton and Thibault too much to hold, and with a tearing sound, the landing gave way completely. I heard Ben’s high-pitched cries, and saw him fighting to keep his head above water. And then, like a dream come to life, I saw a dark, sleek head moving purposefully toward my son. Zeus. I heard Ben calling for the dog, and my heart suddenly filled. All at once, their two figures merged, and Zeus suddenly turned, heading for the side of the creak.

(Cupping hands around mouth)“Kick, baby! Kick!”

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(Breathy)Almost there… allowing the relief to seep in… only a little bit farther... Then they were there. I lunged towards them as both Zeus and Ben staggered from the water. By the time I reached them, Zeus was on his feet, his legs trembling from exhaustion, drenched and coughing. I went to the ground beside my son and sat him up as he began coughing in time with Zeus.

“Are you okay?”

Ben: (Friendly, squeaky)“I’m okay.”

Beth: He coughed again and wiped the water from his face.

Ben: (relieved)“I was scared, but I had known I would be okay.”

Beth: It became silent. The same idea entered our minds.

Ben: “Where’s Dad? And Thibault?”

Beth: At his words, we both began to cry.