SOMA | The Meme Dump
Sorry. Am I bothering you?
Levon turns around. He avoids eye contact. He holds the bar of soap in front of his penis. He rubs lather onto his hand and reaches around to wash his backside. June turns to leave.
JUNE
There’s a towel and a change of clothes by the door. Don’t wander off. Yeah?
LEVON
Yeah.
See exits. Then briefly reenters the room.
JUNE
Levon... It’s nice to see you.
Levon exits the bathroom, clean and dressed in an outfit June has saved since their relationship ended. His mushroomfilled backpack is on his shoulder and his championship belt is around his waist.
Levon sees June and her employees sitting on blankets under a tree. Levon approaches the women cautiously. June is holding a tablet computer and telling a story.
JUNE
I was vacationing in Cairo. It happened to be during the revolution.
Total coincidence. I was wandering around trying to find tourist spots amid the protesters and I found a local man who said he'd lead me to an authentic archeological dig for twenty dollars. He 109
SOMA | The Meme Dump
escorted me to a trash heap with a hole dug into the side. An old tire kept the mouth of the hole open. I put my head in the tire and realized the tunnel opened into a wide burial chamber crammed with artifacts and mummies. It was amazing. It’s so easy to forget the world we live in is built on the ruins of another.
June's employees smile as they consider the thought. June sees Levon.
JUNE
Levon Monk. So clean. Much more befitting a celebrity.
SARAH
Yeah, yeah.
LEVON
Sorry I saw your friend naked...
JUNE
Shame shame, Levon. Sit down and get some greens in ya. You’re looking very grey.
June’s employees give Levon a wide berth as he joins the picnic.
SARAH
No part of you can touch me.
JUNE
Levon, we’ve been reading all about your adventures. You’re notorious. Infamous. Wicked. Scandalous. What did I miss, Dixie?
DIXIE
Opprobrious, illfamed, glaring.
LEVON
Pssh. Ultimate heel champion...