Grace Ndogo

Grace is one of the many passengers you can pick up in Night Call.

Passidex

 * You have met Grace.
 * This is unmissable. You'll get it upon your first interaction.


 * You helped Grace to hang up the phone.
 * This is the first choice of the conversation. Choose « We're about to enter a tunnel, miss. ».
 * There may be another way if you choose to stay silent - I have yet to check.


 * Grace told you about Delibes' 'Lakmé'.
 * And this is the second choice of the conversation. Choose « I know that tune... ».


 * Grace admitted she wanted to be a dancer.
 * Lastly, this is the third choice of the conversation. Choose « You sing? ».
 * There may be another way if you choose to stay silent or tell her the tune is familiar - I have yet to check.

You can get all three entries within the first three choices of the conversation.



Transcript
« Ivry... Please. »

Your next passenger has been crying. She stares at the floor and gives you an address in the nearby suburbs. You've just started driving when her telephone rings. The ringtone is familiar...

GRACE: "Yes?"

There's a pause. Her tone is sharp and curt.

GRACE: "Yes... I'm on my way home right now."

She pauses. Holds her breath.

GRACE: "Yes..."

Another pause. She sounds annoyed.

GRACE: "No, I took a taxi."

On the other end, a voice gets louder.

GRACE: "Who's paying? Well, I am... I don't want to take a bus home tonight. Come on, lay off.."

A new round of criticism begins.

GRACE: "Look, can you just lay off?... Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about it when I get back..."

She holds the phone away from her ear, ready to hang up... then pulls it back.

GRACE: "Mmm, yes, I'm here..."

She finally glances at you.

GRACE: "There's no need to scream; I can hear you. I told you, we'll talk about it when I get home."

« We're about to enter a tunnel, miss. »   (Say nothing.)

See below...

TBA

She smiles.

GRACE: "No, that was the driver saying we were going to be cut off... No, he seems normal... Mum ... I ... Mu... I said ... It's ... break..."

She hangs up.

GRACE: "Thank you... Thank you!"

You hear a ring. The same tune as before. The young woman hesitates, turns the phone over in her hand and decides not to answer.

GRACE: "Sorry."

« I know that tune... »   « No problem. »   (Say nothing.)

See below...

TBA

TBA

Her face lights up.

GRACE: "It's... Lakmé by Léo Delibes. We gave a performance with this music. After hearing it so much, I just fell totally in love with it. It's such an incredibly soft piece... In the opera it comes from, the priestess Lakmé and one of her companions go to gather jasmine for the temple and you sense love between the characters... And it's mutual. The two women sing and their words are very similar... but not identical."

« You sing? »   « The tune rings a bell... »   (Say nothing.)

See below...

TBA

TBA

GRACE: "No, no. I'm a dancer: classical, jazz and other various combinations. I've danced since I was a little girl... but I've been dancing even more these last few years. I love it... A friend and I did put our own choreography to a few scenes from the Lakmé opera once. We did a show. It was... really exciting."

The smile that appears on her face seems to have erased the tears.

GRACE: "And thanks for earlier, by the way. I missed the metro, and... To be honest, I really didn't want to go home... My mother is waiting to have a long -- very long -- discussion about my future, my career, all the sacrifices she's made for me... She's a cleaning woman in one of the fancy office buildings at La Défense and I failed my bar exam. So she thinks..."

She stops herself. She was going to make a joke, but something keeps her from doing so. Her smile vanishes.

GRACE: "She thinks I'll end up as a cleaning woman at La Défense."

Your passenger sighs.

GRACE: "She thinks I dance too much. She thinks it's Lakmé's fault. But mostly, she thinks it's my fault."

She heaves a huge sigh and stares at nothing outside.

GRACE: "I studied. I worked hard. But I didn't pass. I just don't believe in all that anymore. Now, be warned, what I'm about to say will sound cliché, but... I want to be a dancer, not a lawyer. My mother doesn't understand. You must WORK to earn MONEY in order to SUCCEED."

She takes a breath...

GRACE: "Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you. I must seem like a pretentious little princess..."

« Not at all. »   « A little... »   (Say nothing.)

See below...

TBA

TBA

GRACE: "Thanks... thanks for lying."

She smiles. The address she gave you is not much farther.

GRACE: "I mean, I know I owe my mother a lot. I have to stop being so self-centred, bla bla bla and I have to pass this FUCKING exam."

She clicks her tongue, as if to force herself to stop talking... instead, she keeps going.

GRACE: "Mind you, she came to my Lamké perfomance."

She pauses, tries to find her words.

GRACE: "She saw me dance and when we left... it's kinda dumb but... she didn't say a single word. And... I think that I've never felt prouder. Her silence spoke a thousand words."

You pull up to her house. She takes her time getting out of the car.

GRACE: "I... I don't know why I said all that... but it felt really good. Thank you."

She disappears. Her tears have definitely vanished.

