Here was the assignment: Go to a coffee house or other public place where you can
(discreetly!) listen in on a conversation. As closely as possible,
transcribe the conversation for five or ten minutes. Then go back
and edit the conversation, taking out the dull parts and embellishing to make
it more interesting.
Here
was my preface: I thought I would veer away
from how I typically write dialogue, which includes a lot of narration and back
story with a focus on who I think they are rather than what they say, so this is a more
naked version of what I’ve done before. Turned out to be a lot of fun to simply
listen and transcribe! I should probably mention the conversation I listened to
had a lot of profanities, so if that is personally offensive to read, I’d steer
clear of this piece.
Nebraska
Union, March 5th 2013 around 10:14pm
“I
know! I know he has a drinking problem—”
“Yeah
but—”
An interruption ignored.
“I
know he has a gambling problem—”
A sip of iced tea.
“I
mean, this is why we’ve been off and on for six years, I don’t even know why
I’m with him.”
“Then
why are you with him?”
“This
isn’t, like, the real reason, but he is
financially stable, which is nice.”
A raise of the eyebrows, judgment gazing
back at her.
“It
just shows potential, ya know? Like he’s growing. We’ve been growing together.
I know he can provide for me and so there’s a back up.”
Silence
and a lack of compassion.
“Yeah.
yeah I get it. He’s just figuring life out because life is fucking confusing.
Like I have so much to do. My professors don’t realize this shit and just pile
on all of these things at once and I just wanna shout at them that I can’t
deal!”
No time for interruption
“And
on top of that, my roommates are all “together” and it’s so fucking irritating.
I combined their names when they aren’t around because they’re like, some
celebrity couple. They are even celebrating their birthdays on the exact same
fucking day. The same day. Twenty-first
too, so that will be a mess in my own freakin’ bathroom.”
Frustration and selfishness met downcast
eyes and uncertainty across the table
“That
sucks. Did your roommates know each other before? Did you even know them?”
“Yeah,”
A
smack of pink gum and clicking of an impatient pen.
“One
of them was my roommate freshman year, and we stayed roommates, but this rando
girl is now hardcore involved. I mean, I don’t care. Dan has kept me sane.”
“How
long have you guys been together now?”
“It’s
been almost a full year to the day next month”
“A
full year to what day?”
“Oh shit. I meant tomorrow it will be a month until our one year.”
“So, 11 months?”
Embarrassment
masked as indifference passed between the chairs.
“Some
shit like that, yeah.”
Facebook
status updates and unread texts make an appearance.
“So
I texted Dan and he said he’s all done with his ROTC meeting. He’s on his way.”
“That’s fine, I need to call my sister anyway.”
“Cool”
Large
footsteps and beefed up masculinity approach the table
“Dude,
so, I’m in class today, right? And I listened to a girl have her fucking
revelation on how leap years work. In college! I can’t believe this shit.”
“Are
you serious?”
“Yeah,
I just can’t believe people sometimes.”
