There’s only one story, and that is the true story.
In drama scene from one-act eplay Covering Distance, freight hoppers Judy and Jack get acquainted while sharing a sandwich.
Featured Scene – Covering Distance
JUDY: What you runnin’ away from? You know you can’t survive on these trains for long before you get found out, unless you really know what you’re doin’.
JACK: I’m not running.
JUDY: (laughs)
JACK: Taking a break from who I was.
JUDY: And who were you?
JACK: Don’t matter.
JUDY: You do some foul sh’t?
JACK: Maybe.
JUDY: There ain’t no maybes in life. There’s only one story, and that is the true story. Everybody always tries to spin th’ story, but I always follow the facts. What’s your facts?
JACK: I’m not interested in telling you.
JUDY: Suit yourself.
JACK: Where are you going?
JUDY: Back to my hideaway.
JACK: Wait. I don’t mind talking with you.
JUDY: Could have fooled me.
JACK: I’m not good at talkin’ much to anyone. Guess you could say I was involved in finance, worked for a bank, dealt with a lot of money. I was hellbent on being the most successful I could be and I did get up there, I did, rubbed elbows with some key people, made some investments, but I always felt like I was forcing myself into this, this person who felt like a stranger.
JUDY: I got the picture. So you bounced?
JACK: Bounced far and wide. Literally just packed my bags and left. Left my entire life.
JUDY: You think you made the right decision?
JACK: Not sure. It’s been rough, adjusting. There’s a lot of time on my hands now, but my mind’s tryna make sense of it. I’ve never been able to do much, without worrying about consequences.
JUDY: You became a hobo.
JACK: A temporary hobo.
JUDY: Where you headed?
JACK: It’s about covering distance, going as far as I can go without turning back. What about you?
JUDY: Split from home. My parents weren’t good for me. And my brother, no hope for him, he was just too ill.
JACK: Ill?
JUDY: Mental issues.
JACK: That’s rough.
JUDY: Whole bunch of rough.
JACK: What’s your plan?
JUDY: Ain’t got no plan. Taking it a day at a time…just livin’. You like livin’?
JACK: I guess.
JUDY: I ain’t ever had a plan, why start now?
JACK: What do you want out of life?
JUDY: That’s the wrong question.
JACK: Yeah?
JUDY: I want to give, not take.
JACK: What do you want to give?
JUDY: I like people. I like makin’ people feel good about themselves. Not sure what kind of work you call that, maybe a counselor or something.
JACK: That’s sweet.
JUDY: Sweet?
JACK: A good gesture.
JUDY: Don’t talk down to me. I don’t like that word, sweet. What’s sweet ’bout it?
JACK: I didn’t mean to set you off.
JUDY: Sweet! It’s real! That’s what I want to do. You asked me what I wanted to do and I told you, and that’s the best you can come up with is SWEET? Way to go a**hole.
JUDY walks off.
JACK: I didn’t mean to..I wasn’t trying to be insulting or condescending.
JUDY: F’ck you, crud.
JACK: Alright, listen here, I’m sorry!
JUDY: What do you think I am? Some dainty girl who handed you a drawin’? What I say means somethin’…that’s the trouble, everybody criticizes everybody else. Nobody takes other people’s words seriously. An’ you wonder why there’s always war.
JACK: Judy, Judy right?
JUDY: That’s my name.
JACK: I didn’t mean to upset you. Honestly. I genuinely felt good things when you told me what you told me. I told you I sometimes have trouble expressing myself clearly. Please don’t take offense. I truly believe what you told me, and I am fascinated by it.
JUDY: Fascinated?
JACK: Fascinated.
JUDY: You think I’m fascinatin’?
JACK: Why not?
JUDY (friendly again): That’s what I’m sayin’, cause if people care about people, then the world would be a better place.
JACK: It would be.
JUDY: You shared your lunch with me. Not many people would have done that.
JACK: No?
JUDY: I’ve been ’round the block buddy an’ I ain’t seen nobody sharin’ what they ain’t got too much of.
JACK: I was happy to share it with you.
JUDY: That’s you, it’s more rare than you can imagine. Granted, there are some few people who would give you their shirt off their backs without even asking ’em. But most people, they wouldn’t do it. Oh most people wouldn’t do it! They’re all out there busy being a**holes.
JACK: Can I ask you something?
JUDY: Shoot.
JACK: How do you plan on helping people?
JUDY: I already do. I play harmonica and people pay me.
JACK: Really?
JUDY: All the time. I also play spoons. But harmonica is my jam.
- To read the full ePlay Covering Distance, find purchase button below:
Scene Summary
In the one act eplay Covering Distance, Judy and freight train traveler Jack are two strangers who meet in New Mexico by chance, and may have a positive impact on one another’s lives.
- Genre: Drama
- Length: ~5 minute scene
- Characters: 1 woman, 1 man
- Themes: runaway, traveling, strangers
- Best For: drama scenes
FAQ
A: Monologue Blogger has a play titled Covering Distance wherein the character Judy is a runaway and becomes friends with a drifter named Jack.
A: Monologue Blogger has a play title named Covering Distance that takes place on a train location between two characters.
Q: Where can I find scenes that focus only on drama?
A: Visit Monologue Blogger and review a section from one of their hubs called Drama Scenes, where you will find hundreds of free scripts for drama learning.
Related Drama Scenes
Scene Source: Covering Distance
Covering Distance is a drama play script by Joseph Arnone, 2026.
