Listen Up Philip Page #10
which read...'
"I find myself alone again and again,
"and I've abandoned hope that this is
something that can or will change.
for neglecting to phone,
"were I not certain
that they would be rejected.
invented-sounding explanation
"that hearing your voice
or anything about your current life
"would compound my already
overwhelming sense of isolation and regret
"in a way I would consider crippling.
"My return date is set
for December the 15th.
"I look forward to seeing what type
of person I feel like by then."
'The letter was signed simply, "P".
'She threw it away
without ever opening the envelope.
'Just under four weeks had passed
'since Philip had last attempted
to contact Ashley,
'and his letters
'The period following his collection
of midterm assignments
'and leading up to Thanksgiving,
'found Philip at long last adjusting
to his temporary life at the college.
'No longer fighting against his situation
'he had noticed himself making friends
where there before had been none,
'and experiencing feelings and emotions
'he had studiously blocked out
from August through late October.
'The result of which was his transformation
into a tolerable person
'for whom the faculty began to care,
'to say nothing of the added benefit
of winning Yvette's affections,
'a goal of his since he first convinced himself
of the extent to which she disliked him.'
I don't know
what you want me to tell you.
You know what I want you to tell me.
Oh, the situation is
becoming really irritating.
I have a life somewhere. Or had one.
I'm not sure which.
It's probably not even there anymore.
Then forget it. And come back home
with me for the holiday break.
I've nothing to do when I get back.
Also, I've nowhere to live.
I don't work here permanently.
Only you do.
I'm sure you can get
one more semester of work.
Hang on while I put
my head in this sweater.
Keep going.
It is possible.
A lot that would need to change
for that to happen.
Are we still going to Ike's for Thanksgiving?
What are we bringing?
- Really?
- Yeah.
You know what? Why don't you stay
at your own apartment tonight?
My apartment is sad
and has improper heating,
which you know
because we're standing in it right now.
Oh!
So, you don't want to be
trapped by academia.
There are some people over there
who I wish I could still call my colleagues.
They didn't want this life
for themselves.
I told this to our boy here.
You know, you have to be very careful.
Don't believe too strongly
the structures they put in front of you.
This is good advice.
For you more so than him, though.
Excuse me.
You seem ill-equipped
to deal with someone like that.
We began by hating one another.
down the other side now.
That's a very potent image.
You should write it down and use it.
I came up with it on the silent,
excruciating drive over here.
- I'm glad you approve.
- Oh, I do, indeed.
Excuse me.
I think you're being rude to Ike.
I'm glad his feelings are so important.
I think I need to leave.
You said you wanted to meet him.
Besides we just got here.
Why don't you leave me alone?
My uncle, who you saw in passing,
raised me
because both of my parents
were killed in a car accident.
Why are you telling me this?
Because I want you to
contextualise my sadness.
Put whatever you're going through
into perspective.
My mom was pregnant at the time.
Seven months.
I was on the news.
I'm telling you this
to hurt you right now,
because you're trying
to make me feel bad,
horrible even,
which I don't appreciate.
But I never will...
Because nothing ever feels bad
once you learn
what that emotion is capable of.
Now let's not make a big deal about it.
I usually don't.
But you really forced my hand on this.
Do you know that expression?
"Forced my hand"?
It's one of my favourites.
- She seems difficult.
- She is. Very.
Well, you're putting her
in an ugly situation.
What with you trying
to have two girlfriends.
That's a tawdry way to phrase it.
You... You have one living in a house
that you share with her in the city
and another one up here
that you're living with.
Yeah, I can see the appeal.
I practically invented it.
But I did it better than you.
Nobody hated me then.
I could enjoy it. Until later, of course,
when it all came crashing down.
But by then, I had
my escape all planned.
You see, you haven't put enough thought
into something as delicate as this.
Ever since I was a teenager,
I wanted to fall in love with a French girl.
I'm proud of you, boy.
You'll find yourself
referring to this experience often
when you opt to pull your head
out of your own ass and get back to work.
Can you offer any suggestions
about what I should do until then?
Well, I could.
But this really belongs to you.
You'll find a solution.
I gave you the '25, by the way.
Oh, thank you.
The way I see it,
you have two possible scenarios.
Either you abscond to France
with a girl you just met three months ago,
thus becoming a clich,
leaving the city in disgrace
and your former life in shambles,
or you'll return to your kind,
successful, tolerant,
and probably very attractive
girlfriend in the city.
Immerse yourself in work,
and become miserable for eternity.
Two fine options,
as far as you're concerned.
You're lucky to have them already,
at your age.
You're a good friend, Ike.
It's an honour to say that I know you.
Don't make yourself any more miserable
than you need to be.
Leave that to the women you love.
That's what they're
pretty much there for.
In my experience.
I believe that I'll need to return home
to the city at some point.
It's highly likely that I'll realise
I made a huge error,
to return to this place
to see if you'd ever
still care about me.
I'm fairly certain that what I just said
is exactly what's gonna happen.
I can't believe you still think
that's your decision to make.
what the right thing to do is.
Thank you.
'Philip left the college
much as he arrived,
'alone and devoid of meaningful
connections with anybody else.
'His time spent there would come to be
regarded as adequate by the administration,
'who subsequently invited him back,
'an offer which he would
repeatedly decline,
'until he heard several years later
'that Yvette had gotten a tenure job
at another school further north.
'He eventually returned to teach
several more semesters
'at increasingly-irregular intervals
as the publication of his work allowed.'
My key is broken.
'He returned home to the city
and was refused decency by Ashley,
'who had made the decision
that Philip would not be allowed
'to re-enter either her home
or her life,
'having come to the realisation
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"Listen Up Philip" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 20 Jan. 2025. <https://www.scripts.com/script/listen_up_philip_12633>.
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