Open 24 Hours
(A corner shop on Bell Street, nine o’clock at night. The door is locked. The sign in the window says OPEN 24 HOURS.)
Fatima: Hello? The door is locked!
Douglas: Yes. We’re closed.
Fatima: But your sign says open twenty-four hours.
Douglas: That’s right. It does.
Fatima: So you’re open.
Douglas: No. The twenty-four hours are finished.
Fatima: Finished?
Douglas: We were open for twenty-four hours. From Monday morning to Tuesday morning. Last week.
Fatima: Last week!
Douglas: Yes. It was a very long day. Now I go to bed at nine.
(Douglas turns off the light.)
Douglas: Good night!