Minisode: Thad's Deal

JAIDEN:
Ben-ji-mi-ah.

BENI:
My name is Benito.

THAD:
Weirdito?

THAD and JAIDEN laugh.

NARRATION:
And it’s kinda surprising when Thad shows up at Taíno’s Comic and Games with a request...

DATU:
What can I help you with?

THAD:
Uh, I'm looking for a Star Wars mask...for my little brother. He wants to be Kylo Ren for, like, Halloween.

JANELLY:
Your brother wants a Kylo Ren mask, Thad?

THAD:
There's, like, this one that changes your voice.

DATU:
Is this what your brother's looking for? It's eighty dollars a pop.

THAD:
Uh...guess I should ask my parents if they want to buy it for him.

DATU:
I can set it aside until Friday for you.

NARRATION:
But even though Thad’s been saving up his money...

STUDENT:
Yo, Thad! What's in there?

A STUDENT yanks down THAD'S backpack.

THAD:
Hey! Hands off my stuff!

THAD trips.

SFX: CHANGE FLIES IN EVERY DIRECTION.

KIDS in the hallway laugh.

THAD:
Shut up!

JAIDEN:
What's with the change, Thad?

THAD:
Never mind, okay?

JANELLY:
Um, Thad, you probably don't want to lose these bills.

NARRATION:
Thad doesn’t have the money that Friday, or the one after. When he returns to the comic book store to talk to Datu, Thad ends up having a conversation with someone unexpected...

BENI:
Isn't Janelly with you?

SONIA:
Uh, she's just in the front talking to Thad.

BENI:
Janelly's talking to Thad?

ALEXA:
That's weird.

SONIA:
Right? And what was his deal the other day? 

NARRATION:
Now, some of the following might sound familiar. But you never got to hear what Janelly and Thad talked about, or what Thad said to Datu. So, here it is: Thad’s Deal.

2017. NEWARK. TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES.

MUSIC: TRANSITION MUSIC - TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES.

A door opens, triggering a laser bell. A city street is heard. The door closes.

CLARA:
Hola, Sonia. Janelly.

SONIA | JANELLY:
Hey, Mrs. V. | Hi, Mrs. V.

CLARA:
Here to help?

JANELLY:
Yep.

SONIA:
We heard you needed it this weekend.

CLARA:
Do we ever! The twins are bringing this stack of items to the back. If you want to—

A door opens, triggering a laser bell. A city street is heard. The door closes.

CLARA:
Hello! Here to help?

THAD:
Uh...actually, I'm looking for...uh…a guy…

JANELLY:
Datu?

THAD:
Uh...yeah.

CLARA:
I let him know. Grab whatever you can carry and follow me, girls. 

SONIA:
On it!

SONIA and CLARA pick up the boxes.

JANELLY:
I'll meet back there in a sec.

SONIA and CLARA head to the back of the store.

THAD:
Where's Weirdito?

JANELLY:
That's not his name.

THAD:
Uh...what's going on? Some kind of party?

JANELLY:
We're collecting donations to send to Puerto Rico.

THAD:
Oh. That hurricane.

JANELLY:
Yeah, that hurricane. Hey, you’re here to pick up your Kylo Ren mask, right? 

THAD:
Yeah. I mean, no. It's not for me.

JANELLY:
Here’s the thing. There's nothing wrong with being a superfan of Star Wars, Thad.

THAD:
Superfan?

JANELLY:
The mask - it’s not for your brother, is it?

THAD:
Don't tell Jaiden. Or anyone on the basketball team.

JANELLY:
Like they'd believe me. Hey, Thad. When all that money fell out of your bag the other day...

THAD:
Yeah? What about it?

JANELLY:
Nothing. I...well, my mom was out of work for a while. Things got tight with money and I felt bad asking her for stuff.

THAD:
Uh…Okay.

JANELLY:
Not that you...I thought I'd tell you...in case you can relate.  

THAD:
My dad works so hard, but it's just him taking care of me and my brother, you know? I can't be asking him for, like, a toy. A really expensive toy. That I’ll never, ever, save up for — especially when I drop all my money in the hallway, and then some people grab whatever they can get their hands on. 

JANELLY:
That was a pretty rough morning.

THAD:
Hey…uh…I never got to say thank you for handing me back those bills that day. You could have, you know, swiped them and I wouldn’t have known.

JANELLY:
Of course. Datu's really understanding. He’s given me so many display copies and samples. Maybe he'll do like a payment plan, or something.

THAD:
Maybe. 

BENI, SONIA, and ALEXA approach.

JANELLY:
I should get to the back. See ya, Thad. Hi, Beni. Alexa.

THAD:
Uh...hey.

ALEXA | BENI:
Hi. | Hey.

SONIA:
We're taking this stuff here. I think we can get it all between the four of us.

JANELLY, BENI, SONIA, and ALEXA walk to the back of the store. DATU approaches.

DATU:
Thad! How's it going?

THAD:
Uh...fine.

DATU:
Ready to pick up the mask for your brother?

THAD:
Uh...well...I heard you might consider a payment plan.

DATU:
You know, I have a display mask that I could part with for a third of the price. How’s that sound?

THAD:
That’d be good.

DATU walks away. THAD picks up a flyer.

THAD:
Volunteers needed. Huh.

MUSIC: TRANSITION MUSIC - TAÍNO COMICS AND GAMES INTO “YO SOY AMERICA”

Volunteers chatter. SONIA, ALEXA, and BENI use Sharpie markers to write on the packaging of donation items.

THAD:
Uh...can I, like, help?

ALEXA:
You want to help, Thad?

THAD:
Uh... so, our mosque was vandalized last year, everyone from the neighborhood came to clean up and fix the damage. Maybe I could…uh…return the favor?

SONIA:
Here. Take my back up Sharpie.

MUSIC: "IN THE TIMESTORM" (INSTRUMENTAL).

NARRATION:
This minisode was written by Dania Ramos with audio engineering, sound design, and original music by Michael Aquino. “Yo Soy America” was written by Deivis Garcia, performed by the United States of Boogaloo, and recorded and mixed by Johnny Kray at Kray Studios. The role of Clara Ventura was played by Jennica Carmona. Janelly was played by Frances Ramos. Sonia was played by Jessica Bracken. Thad was played by Philippe AbiYouness. Alexa Ventura was played by Leilany Figueroa. Beni Ventura was played by Claudio Venancio. Datu Ancheta was played by Joel Arandia.

We want share a review we got on Apple Podcasts. Fashoneasta1898 wrote: I absolutely love this podcast. We’re so glad to hear that and thanks for taking the time to leave that review.

Timestorm is produced by Cocotazo Media and is a proud member of TRAX from PRX. Support for TRAX comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To learn more about TRAX, visit TRAX dot fm: that’s t-r-a-x-dot fm. Additional support comes from the PRX Google Podcasts creator program.

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As always, thanks for listening.

ATABEY:
Witness. Find. Remember.