"Room 315 West" Act 1 Scene 1.

The curtain rises on a barren looking classroom in a large public highschool in South St. Louis. The room is flooded with the sickly glow of cheap flourescent lighting. One wall of the classroom is lined with open windows. Outside it is wet and overcast. The rain has just stopped. There is a blackboard at the front of the room. Written on the blackboard in large block letters is:

"NO LAME EXCUSES!"

Written below, in different handwriting is:

"Only good ones!
For example
I don't have a math teacher!"

In a back corner of the room behind an L-shaped desk sits MR. AWESOME. He is a young man with a patchy, ridiculous looking beard. He sits with his feet up on the desk reading a small old looking paper back novel.
A bell rings in the classroom and students begin to trickle in two and three at a time. Within minutes there are 28 students in the classroom. MR. AWESOME, seems to hardly notice as the sudents fill the room and it gets louder and louder. The students are talking about cellular phone plans and the television show Flavor Of Love 2.

Above the loud hum of conversation STUDENT #1 attempts to get MR. AWESOME's attention from across the classroom.

STUDENT #1: Where were you last time?
MR. AWESOME: I went to a wedding.
STUDENT #1: How come you didn't take me?
MR. AWESOME: I didn't think you were invited.

(ROSHEETA balls up a piece of paper and throws it out the window. MR. AWESOME sees it happen.)

MR. AWESOME (unconvincingly dissapointed): Come on now Rosheeta, Is that really necessary?

(All the students laugh and then continue talking. MR. AWESOME goes back to reading his book. 47 minutes pass. The bell rings for a second time and the students file out in groups of two and three.)