Title: "George vs. The Exit Riddle"
Scene: Inside the restroom stall, GEORGE COSTANZA stands, wiping his brow after his successful victory over the first riddle. He glances at the new sign, his face filled with dread. The clock on the wall ticks ominously.
GEORGE (desperately muttering):
I can't take this anymore... Just get out of here, George. You’ve answered the riddle, you’ve had your... release. Now you just have to leave. It's that simple. There’s no second riddle. No more games...
He tries the door. It’s locked. He shakes the handle again. It doesn't budge.
GEORGE (panicking):
No! No! You’ve got to be kidding me! What now? What kind of sick joke is this? The consequences, what consequences? Am I supposed to die in here? Is that it? Is this my fate? To be stuck forever, locked in this cubicle, being tormented by... the bathroom gods?!
He looks around frantically, trying to solve the puzzle. His eyes catch sight of the new riddle on the door.
RIDDLE (on the door):
"To exit, you must first acknowledge the truth of your existence. What is it that you truly seek in this moment?"
GEORGE (gritting his teeth):
What is it that I seek? I seek... freedom! I seek... peace! I seek... a life free of riddles! I just want to walk out of here! Is that so hard to understand?
He bangs his fist on the door in frustration, but suddenly, a thought hits him.
GEORGE (realising, with an almost manic gleam in his eye):
Wait... I’ve got it. What I truly seek... is a way out. It’s so simple! All I have to do is admit it! I want to escape!
He takes a deep breath, thinking he’s cracked the code. He speaks to the door with newfound clarity.
GEORGE (calmly):
What I truly seek in this moment is the ability to leave this stall. To exit. That’s the truth of my existence right now. I just want to leave.
There’s a moment of silence. The sound of a clock ticking in the background. Then, suddenly, the door clicks open.
GEORGE (eyes wide in disbelief):
It worked?! It worked? I actually did it! Oh my God, I’m free! Free to go about my day without having to solve any more riddles! I can finally—!
Just as George begins to step out, he freezes mid-step.
RIDDLE (on the door, now flashing with neon lights):
"Congratulations, George. But now you must answer the most difficult question of all: What is the meaning of life?"
GEORGE (his face contorting with terror):
NO! NO, NO, NO! I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE! WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME?!
END SCENE.
