Ep 28 – Get Rich Brushing Your Teeth

SCENE STARTS: (Daichi and Mirai walk to her hotel.)

DAICHI: This is where you’re staying?

MIRAI: Yeah, why? It’s a great place! And also… the only place to stay around here. 

DAICHI: Um… Oh! That’s great to hear. Well then, I’ll um come get you tomorrow, bright and early. (mutters) Don’t um, trust the hotel too much. Bye!

MIRAI: Wait, what did you just say? (pause) Weird, I thought this place was pretty nice…

Okay, suffice it to say it’s been a long day. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to go to the park since I still wasn’t sure if I could actually trust that Kitsune or not. But looks like she saved my life today and regardless, it’s looking more and more likely that Jun-nii is there instead. 

I’m going to listen to one more file, then take a bath and go to bed! Can’t believe I have to pack again when I just got here!

FADE OUT.

NEXT SCENE: (Alina’s playing around with her mic in her room. “Proserpina Bops” plays in the background.)

ALINA: Okay, testing, testing… Hmm. I really wanna see how well this mic works deeper in the park just in case, but how do I convince Sam or Dog to let us go?

SFX: (Jun’s ringtone dings.) 

ALINA: Oh, That’s Jun… (Answers the phone) Jun, we promised we would do alien chats only once a week—

JUN (on the phone): Alina! You gotta help me!

ALINA: (sigh) How come you never call Drew first?

JUN (on the phone): You know they’re working right now and they can’t get into any more trouble!

ALINA: Okay, what’s the problem?

JUN (on the phone): Okay so you know how Dog wasn’t “feeling well”? well, my mom said that I should take Dog to the vet even though she is clearly not a dog, but I can’t tell my mom that because she’ll probably freak out—

ALINA: Jun, what is the problem?

JUN: Okay, umm. I’m at the vet and Sam is here, he’s her vet tech! 

SFX: (Dog in the background saying, “It’s really not a big deal!”) 

ALINA: WHat?!

JUN (on the phone): Alina, it’s so awkward, I’m still just in the waiting room, but you have to come here, please. 

SFX: (Dog in the background saying, “You’re an adult, Jun”)

ALINA: But Dog’s with you, it should be fine!

JUN (on the phone): Hello?! Remember, Sam can’t hear Dog. It’d still just be mostly a conversation between me and him!

ALINA: Okay, okay, send me the address, I’ll be right there.

JUN (on the phone): Thank you!!

FADE OUT.

NEXT SCENE: (Alina, Dog, and Jun wait impatiently at the vet’s office. Sam opens the door.)

SAM: Okay, so we’re here to see D-og?! Alina. Jun.

ALINA: Hey Sam! Surprise! Turns out you’ve been in our lives this entire time huh…

JUN: Sorry, my mom demanded I take Dog to the doctor. She um… has been down lately, you know, because of the whole Jessica situation… 

SAM: Well, I’m happy to talk about it, if it helps Dog.

ALINA: Yeah, we’re here for you.

DOG: Thanks, everyone. I just… feel so helpless. A lot of the things I thought I knew turned out to be wrong. 

JUN: Dog thought she could make everything right again. You know, with Jessica.

SAM: What? Oh… Dog. That’s been on your mind this whole time? It’s okay. There wasn’t anything that we could have done differently.

DOG: I just… I hate that nothing can be done. Especially with how far Jessica’s gone because of it.

ALINA: Sam… I know you literally can’t communicate with Jessica, but can’t you… do something? Force her to, I don’t know, calm down?

SAM: Terry and I are actually hoping to resolve the issue soon. Uh, that should put your mind at ease at least, right? I’ll let Alina know when that happens and we can all talk. How does that sound?

DOG: Just be careful, Sam.

ALINA: Dog says be careful, and I agree. Even Terry seems concerned.

JUN: I’ll feel better when Dog feels better as well. But there is one more problem at hand. Um, what exactly do I tell my mom about Dog?

SAM: Um oh, oh right. Uh, I’ll just write something up. It’s almost summer, maybe it’s too hot and she got overheated?

DOG: Thanks, Sam!

JUN: Yeah, we appreciate this Sam. 

SAM: Uh now, if there’s anything else you need from me today— 

SFX: (Something squeaks in the distance.) 

ALINA: What was that? 

JUN: Did somebody step on a squeaky toy? 

DOG: I don’t think it was a toy, it actually sounded like…

SFX: (More squeaking.)

EVERYONE BUT SAM: A mouse!

SAM: A mouse? Where?

ALINA: Oh boy, well if Sam can’t hear it…

JUN: There’s another creature here? 

SAM: But why would there be a creature in a veterinary office?

ALINA: Well if Sam doesn’t know, this must really be something obscure…

DOG: Look! There, on the counter!

SFX: (On the counter, there is a little mouse wearing a little bag.) 

SAM: A mouse with a bag and glasses… it can’t be!

DOG/SAM: Ratoncito Perez!

ALINA: We have mythological mice?!

JUN: What’s the bag for?

SAM: Dog, would you like to do the explanation? I’m gonna go get the thing that I think Señor Perez is looking for.

MUSIC: (“Chicken Wiggle” plays.)

SFX: Sam steps out to another room to grab something.

DOG: Certainly! So Ratoncito Perez is, as you can see, a mouse! Known in a lot of Spanish-speaking countries by different names, he is essentially a tooth fairy from Madrid. 

ALINA: A tooth fairy? 

JUN: Why is a mouse a tooth fairy?

RATONCITO PEREZ: Excuse you! Why not a mouse? We are more realistic than a fairy!  

ALINA: Oooh my god. We are talking to a mouse.

RATONCITO PEREZ: Not only that, we are the perfect size to go in and out of rooms without being noticed.

SFX: (A writer coming up with a story with pen and paper. A mouse scurries by.)

DOG: Yes Jun, where’s your imagination? Ratoncito Perez is actually a well-known character. When a little prince of Spain needed a story to help him understand the loss of his teeth, a famous writer, Luis Coloma, was commissioned to create a new fairy tale, and thus Ratoncito Perez was reborn as the tooth fairy. 

It’s actually a very cute story. The fictional prince character loses his teeth and becomes friends with Ratoncito Perez, and they go on little adventures together. The story was so good, there’s actually a plaque in Madrid where it’s said Ratoncito Perez lived!

SFX: (The show returns to the vet atmosphere.)

RATONCITO PEREZ: See? What did I say? Our size is perfect to go on an adventure!

JUN: What about the prince?

RATONCITO PEREZ: He also turned into a mouse, duh! 

ALINA: And he was okay with that?!

RATONCITO PEREZ: What kid wouldn’t be?

JUN: He’s got a point.

ALINA: But what are you doing all the way here? 

DOG: He is a working man. Gotta find teeth somehow. It’s actually pretty genius to look in a vet’s office. No one’s going to notice an animal’s unused teeth going missing.

RATONCITO PEREZ: Exactly! I’m beating the system. I tried to do it at a dentist’s office, but uh they were a bit more wary of mice, unfortunately. Anyways, you wouldn’t happen to be here today to lose a tooth, would you? I have my bag ready to make any transactions!

SFX: (Ratoncito swings their bag over, and accidentally hit Sam’s phone as a message buzzes at the same time.) 

ALINA: Oh hey, little guy, careful with other people’s phones. It would suck if we broke Sam’s… (gasps, then whispers) Jun, come take a look at this. 

JUN: What did you want me to see? 

DOG: Alina, don’t look into other people’s stuff!

ALINA: (sarcastic) Oh yes, Mother.

DOG: You should be so lucky. 

ALINA: Ha!

SFX: (The door opens and Sam returns.) 

ALINA (Whispers to Jun): We’ll talk later.

JUN: Gotcha

SAM: Okay, here we go. We actually had to extract this poor cat’s teeth a few hours ago. That reminds me, Dog, as your vet, please don’t forget to brush your teeth at least two or three times a week.

DOG: Hmph, as if I would be so barbaric as to not brush my teeth.

JUN: I’ll be sure to make sure she does!

SAM: Now, Señor Perez, next time you’re here, you can always wave me down. That way, you don’t have to sneak around the office.

RATONCITO PEREZ: Perfect! This is great, that makes my life so much easier. Here! Your payment.

SAM: Oh, thank you for the money, but it isn’t necessary. These teeth were going to get trashed anyway.

RATONCITO PEREZ: Young man! You will take my money or I will no longer do any business with you. I will not take any freebies!

SAM: Okay, okay. Thank you very much. It’s always a pleasure doing business with you. 

RATONCITO PEREZ: Same to you, goodbye children! 

SFX: (Ratoncito Perez scurries off as everyone says goodbye.)

SAM: Never a dull moment huh? Now then, I-I have the note for your mom, and uh, that should be it, right? 

JUN: Um, I actually have a question for you, if that’s okay?

SAM: Oh? Aha. A-and, what is that?

JUN: Okay well, no one’s really said anything about it yet, but my brother. Uh, he knew about this park and went there with you and Jessica, right?

SAM: Yeah… t-that’s right.

JUN: Does that mean he… has the same condition as you two then?

SAM: Yes…

MUSIC: (“Park in Twilight” Piano theme plays.)

ALINA: Oh shit… I didn’t even think– Is that why–

JUN: W-what did he lose? It had to have happened three years ago right? It was the year we graduated. I was on track to go on to my master’s but Junichi… got sick. Like emotionally. It was weird. 

He had memory loss, and sometimes he’d just like zone out completely. I came back home after I heard that, but there really wasn’t anything that any of us could do… And that just seems really different than losing a sense.

SAM: H-he… got the worst of the conditions… He lost the sense to speak and um… And when that happened, he lost his memories of the creatures, of the park, and of um… everything.

ALINA: That seems like overkill…

SAM: Yeah, well… at least he no longer has to deal with the park drama anymore…

JUN: But he’s been doing a lot better. He finally got out of the house. Went to Japan recently to do some traveling and see our grandparents. Maybe when he’s back, we… can figure something out. A way for the two of you to meet again. 

SAM: Jun, thank you really. Despite my original… reaction, I’m glad I got a chance to meet you. It’s more than enough to know that he’s doing just fine now.

FADE OUT.

NEXT SCENE: (Mirai finally relaxes in her hotel room.)

MIRAI: Poor Dog, I can’t believe she felt so down, Mom sent her to the vet! And that vet was Sam! What a small world. Imagine if they just did that instead of waiting around in the park all this time… 

Anyways, those years when Jun-nii was down were terrible. The doctors assumed it was depression. But nothing they did helped… We were all so scared that he’d never get better. 

To think this was all caused by something that happened in the park… What could have possibly happened? Also… were Sam and Jun-nii toge–

SFX: (A phone rings.)

MIRAI: Oh my god, phew, that scared me. It’s just the phone. Who would be calling me at this time? Probably the front desk? (Picks up phone) Hello?

SFX: (Mirai picks up the phone only to hear heavy breathing from the receiver.)

MIRAI: OKAY NOPE! Hanging up now!

FADE OUT.

CREDITS: Residents of Proserpina Park is a production written and produced by Angela Yeh. Directed by Angela Yeh. The voice of Daichi is Zerreth. The voice of Mirai is Vida Shi. The voice of Alina is Angela Yeh. The voice of Jun is Ben Pollizi. The voice of Dog is Sara Roncero-Menendez. The voice of Sam is G3. The voice of Ratoncito Perez is Sara Roncero-Menendez. And the voice of Drew is Ashley Dawson.

Dialogue editing by Angela Yeh. Sound design by Rebecca Liu. Mixed and mastered by Angela Yeh. Script edited by Sara Roncero-Menendez. Original music by Hoa Pham. Season 3 cover art by Molly James. Series Logo by Macy Tang. For more information about the show, please go to our website residentsofproserpinapark.com 

AFTER CREDIT SCENE: (The gang meets at the cafe to discuss what Alina saw.) 

ALINA: Okay, I just saw something super important on Sam’s phone today. It’s a text from Terry.

JUN: And what did it say?

ALINA: “Woods. This Friday at five. I’ll bring Cerberus.” 

DREW: Wow even when they text Sam, they’re blunt… 

ALINA: Right? Anyways, the woods! This is it. This is the major event.

JUN: But didn’t we agree with Sam that we weren’t going to look into the woods?

ALINA: Yes, but that was because I didn’t know when they were going. Now, we do. So we’ll be safe! Strength in numbers and all that They… just won’t know that we’re also there. As well.

DREW: Alina, are you really sure that we want to break Sam’s trust like this, again?

ALINA: Don’t you think we have the right to know what’s going on? I mean, Dog, Jessica, and clearly Sam are all traumatized by this. We can help them.

DREW: All right… But we’re just going there to observe. And if I say it gets too dangerous, then we leave. Immediately. Understood? We know nothing about this creature. 

JUN: Well yeah, since no one will tell us anything about it…

ALINA: Actually… I think there is one person who would tell us more information about the creature. 

DREW: Oh Alina, don’t tell me you’re talking about–

ALINA: Jessica.

FADE OUT.