Lexie
There’s a crack in my bedroom ceiling.
Lexie
And I think it’s getting bigger.
Mom
Did you let the landlord know?
Lexie
I did, but he’s not answering me.
Mom
Try him in the morning.
Mom
I’m sure it’ll be okay until then.
Lexie
There are bugs coming out of the crack!!
Lexie
They’re crawling all over the ceiling!
Lexie
What should I do???
Lexie
Now there’s some kind of liquid coming out of the crack!
Lexie
It’s dripping onto my bed.
Lexie
And there’s this horrible smell…
Mom
I don’t like the sound of this.
Mom
Who lives right above you, Lexie?
Mom
Is it that old woman you told me about?
Mom
Lexie, are you there?
Lexie
Oh my god, it’s her hand.
Lexie
Coming through the ceiling.
Lexie
I need to call the police.
Lexie
I’ll get back to you soon.
Lexie
The police are here now, Mom.
Lexie
And the landlord is here too.
Lexie
It’s Opal, my upstairs neighbor.
Lexie
They say she was dead for about a month.
Lexie
Mom, I feel like this is my fault.
Mom
Why would it be your fault?
Lexie
Well, I used to visit her.
Lexie
She used to be a famous actress on Broadway.
Lexie
Yes. She showed me the newspaper clippings of her reviews from 60 years ago.
Lexie
She was married to a director, but he died a long time ago.
Lexie
They never had children.
Lexie
And then all her friends died.
Mom
Well that’s very sad, but it’s not your fault.
Lexie
You don’t understand Mom.
Lexie
She used to tell me I was the only friend she had left.
Lexie
But I got tired of hearing the same stories from the past, over and over again.
Lexie
And I stopped going to see her.
Lexie
And then she died, and nobody knew.
Lexie
Her body started decomposing.
Lexie
And then the bugs got to it.
Mom
Oh, stop! Please spare me the details.
Lexie
They’re bringing in a hazmat team to clean out her apartment and mine.
Lexie
The smell in here, Mom!
Lexie
I think I’m going to be sick.
Mom
Do you need to come here now?
Mom
I don’t have much room.
Lexie
No. The landlord says I can stay in one of his empty apartments.
Lexie
It’s in a different building.
Mom
Well, that’s a relief.
Lexie
I’ll let you know when I get there.
Lexie
I’m at the new apartment now.
Lexie
It’s a lot bigger than my old one.
Lexie
And the landlord said I could stay here for the same rent.
Lexie
He’s feels bad about what happened.
Lexie
But I feel so guilty.
Mom
Now you need to stop that.
Mom
Young people get busy.
Mom
Your neighbor was responsible for her situation.
Mom
She should have made new friends.
Lexie
You don’t understand, Mom.
Lexie
It’s worse than I told you.
Lexie
I did something terrible.
Lexie
And now I don’t know if I can live with myself.
Mom
What on earth did you do?
Lexie
I stole Opal’s ring.
Lexie
I stole it right off her hand.
Lexie
When it came through the ceiling…
Lexie
I took it off her finger before I called the police.
Lexie
It’s an opal ring, just like her name.
Lexie
She was so proud of it. She never took it off.
Lexie
She told me it was worth thousands of dollars.
Lexie
And now I have it here.
Lexie
And that smell, Mom…
Lexie
It’s stronger than ever.
Mom
I think you’re letting your imagination get away from you.
Mom
And don’t worry about the ring.
Mom
Nobody needs to know where it came from.
Mom
Nobody cares that it was stolen.
Mom
Listen, I’ve stolen a few things here and there.
Mom
Only when times have been tough.
Mom
And only when the person wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t care.
Mom
As long as no one is hurt, what’s the big deal?
Lexie
I knew you’d say that, Mom.
Lexie
That’s why I told you.
Mom
You know I’m here for you, honey.
Lexie
I know. Goodnight, Mom.
One month later, Lexie answers a call from a number she doesn’t recognize.
Man
Is this Lexie Graham?
Man
My name is David Brown.
Mr. Brown
I’m a lawyer, and I represent the estate of Opal Wingard.
Mr. Brown
I was wondering if you could stop by my office this week sometime.
Lexie
Is…is there a problem?
Mr. Brown
I think it would be best if we discussed this in person.
Lexie
Okay, how about 9 a.m. tomorrow?
Mr. Brown
That works for me.
Mr. Brown
My assistant will give you directions to my office.
The next day, Lexie arrives at David Brown’s office.
She takes a seat across from him and looks at him anxiously.
Mr. Brown
You seem nervous. Ms. Graham.
Lexie
It’s just that…I’ve never been to a lawyer’s office before.
Mr. Brown
Well there’s no need to be nervous.
Mr. Brown
In fact, I have some very good news for you.
He smiles and pulls out a piece of paper from his desk.
Mr. Brown
I’ll just read you exactly what Mrs. Wingard wrote in her will.
“I leave all my money and possessions to Lexie Graham, my only living friend.”
Mr. Brown looks up and smiles.
Mr. Brown
Mrs. Wingard wasn’t a wealthy woman, but she was certainly comfortable.
Mr. Brown
She didn’t have much in the way of possessions, except for some jewelry.
Mr. Brown
But she did have $500,000 in her retirement account.
Mr. Brown
And that will all go to you.
Mr. Brown
I’ll be in touch in a few days to arrange the transfer.
Lexie gets up suddenly from her chair.
Her nostrils start flaring.
Mr. Brown
What’s wrong, Ms. Graham?
Lexie
Don’t you smell it?
Mr. Brown looks curiously at Lexie.
Mr. Brown
I don’t smell anything.
Lexie
But it’s so strong!
Lexie rushes out of the lawyer’s office and seeks refuge in her car.
Lexie
You remember Opal, my neighbor?
Lexie
She left me all her money.
Lexie
And all her jewelry.
Mom
That’s wonderful news!!
Tears sting Lexie’s eyes.
Before she dissolves into sobs, she sends one more text to her mom.
Lexie
Don’t you see? The opal ring – it would have been mine anyway!
Mom
Why haven’t you been answering my texts?
Lexie
I wasn’t before, but I am now.
Mom
I wanted to ask you something.
Mom
Could you lend me some money?
Mom
Or maybe just give me some?
Mom
Things are a little tight right now.
Mom
Why not? After all I’ve done for you?
Lexie
I can’t because I gave away all the money I got from Opal.
Lexie
I didn’t deserve that money.
Lexie
Opal thought I was her friend.
Lexie
But I abandoned her when she needed me most.
Lexie
I gave her money to a charity that helps senior citizens in need.
Mom
Oh my god. What a waste.
Lexie
And Mom? There’s a woman who lives down the hall from me.
Lexie
Her name is Ada. She’s 90 years old.
Lexie
All her relatives are dead.
Lexie
And all her friends have died too.
Lexie
I visit her every few days.
Lexie
I listen to her stories.
Lexie
She’s had an interesting life.
Lexie
I’ve learned a lot from her.
Lexie
I gave her the opal ring, Mom.
Mom
I thought you sold that ring!
Lexie
No. I kept it – as a reminder.
Lexie
But yesterday I gave it to Ada with my pledge.
Lexie
That I will look out for her.
Lexie
I made her promise to call me every day from now on.
Lexie
If I don’t hear from her I’ll know something is wrong.
Lexie
And I can find help.
Mom
I can’t believe you gave up all that money.
Mom
What a foolish thing to do.
Lexie
Because that smell was with me day and night.
Lexie
The horrible smell from that night when I stole Opal’s ring.
Lexie
It followed me wherever I went.
Lexie
But now that I’ve given the opal ring to Ada, the smell is gone.
Lexie
And I know it’s gone forever.
