SUBURBIA Screenplay by Eric Bogosian Produced by Anne Walker-McBay Directed by Richard Linklater Cast List: Giovanni Ribisi Jeff Steve Zahn Buff Amie Carey Sooze John Cherico Channel Presenter Samia Shoaib Pakeesa Ajay Naidu Nazeer Nicky Katt Tim Jayce Bartok Pony Parker Posey Erica Dina Spybey Bee-Bee EXT. ESTABLISHING - BURNFIELD - DAY Over the various images of Burnfield's strip malls and fast food joints we hear GENE PITNEY singing. GENE PITNEY (V.O.) (singing) "When your young and so in love as we and bewildered by the world we see why do people hurt us so Only those in love know What a town without pity can do If we stop to gave upon a star people talk about how bad we are ours is not an easy age we're like tigers in a cage What a town without pity can do" INT. JEFF'S ROOM - GARAGE - DAY JEFF is talking on the telephone inside of his tent which is has set up in his parents garage. JEFF (into telephone) Buff? Yeah, I'll see you down there later. I just gotta finish some stuff I'm writing. Okay. 'Bye. Jeff clicks over to the other line. JEFF (into telephone) SOOZE? Yeah, so did you tell him that we couldn't afford twenty bucks a ticket and why didn't he put us on the comp list? No, no, there's always a comp list. Alright. Well, so then, just get your mother's car and maybe we'll all go do something. Yeah. I gotta get off. Okay. 'Bye. CUT TO: INT. PIZZA JOINT - DAY BUFF is the one of the only people working. Pies are over cooking in the oven and Buff is trying to punch out of work as soon as he can. BUFF (into telephone) Hey, Frankie! Hey, what are you doing? Sleeping? What, at six o'clock? Sleep when you are dead. Hey, man, I just got off work. Why don't you meet me down at the corner. So? Put on some clothes and come down, man, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I wanna see you, man. Alright. Yeah. Hey, why don't you bring that pot you just bought? What?! Yeah, fuck you man! (to employee) Later. CUT TO: INT. SOOZE'S HOUSE. BEDROOM - DAY Sooze's room is covered with a wide variety of artwork, most of which she as done. She hangs up the phone and walks down the hallway towards her MOTHERS room. She stops in her mother's doorway, SOOZE I'm going out later. SOOZE'S MOM No car. SOOZE The fuck not? SOOZE'S MOM You know the fuck not. SOOZE Fuck. SOOZE'S MOM Don't swear it's impolite. Sooze storms out of the room and back down the hall to her own room. Sooze's mom is watching a shopping channel on the television. We dolly into the television. SHOPPING CHANNEL HOST ... suggest that you call immediately. We are truly thrilled to bring you this next item and it's a Host Value Special. It's the spiral relaxation lamp. I personally bought one of these for a very good friend of mine and ended up falling in love with it, I found myself mesmerized by watching the balls. That's why I suggest that if you're going to buy one, that you buy maybe two or three... CUT TO: INT. CIRCLE A CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT Two POLICE OFFICERS (CHIP and GARY) are at the counter buying cigarettes. Jeff is also inside shopping. The convenience store worker, NAZEER, is watching a cops-like TV show. TV REPORTER (V.O.) It started with a traffic argument, escalated to the firing of a legally carried handgun, ending with the death of the man it was aimed at. GORDON RIEDHALE claimed he couldn't escape an attacker who was punching him in the head. Concealed carry instructors say, "It's that fear..." CHIP Just depends on the filter capacity. What size is that pool? GARY Fifty-five thousand. (to Nazeer) Marlboros, chief. Hard pack. CHIP In that case you need a heavy-duty filter. NAZEER Two-fifty. GARY Two-fifty? They go up? NAZEER Always two-fifty, my friend. TV REPORTER (V.O.) What that means is that every armed licensee faced with danger must make a split second judgment call. Gary places two-fifty on the counter and him and Chip walk back to their patrol car. As they leave the parking lot they see TIM sitting on the side of the building. CHIP (to Tim) Timmy-boy! Tim makes a "smooth sailing" gesture with his hand. Buff roles over to Tim on his roller blades. He sweeps off a piece of concrete and places down a slice of pizza. Buff begins to play hockey with two empty beer cans on the ground. He shoots one at the dumpster and the other at Tim. BUFF Peace! Ah, time's running out, three, two, one! He shoots the beer can at Tim, barely missing him. Jeff walks up from around the corner holding a package of cookies he just bought. Nazeer is right behind him eating something. BUFF (CONT'D) Score! Yeah! NAZEER Hey, hey, seven-twenty. Seven-twenty. Jeff turns around. JEFF What? NAZEER Seven-twenty. JEFF I gave it to you. BUFF He paid you man. NAZEER You owe me twenty cents. Come on, seven-twenty. Seven-twenty. BUFF Yo! Your spitting rice all over us! God. Jeff digs into his pockets. JEFF Here's twenty-five cents. Nazeer takes the money and walks away. JEFF (CONT'D) Guy should cut down on his caffeine intake. BUFF Needs some pizza in his diet. Buff is eating his slice of pizza and skating around the group. TIM I don't think I like that guy's attitude at all. Hey, you know what? Take off the blades. I mean it. I'm gonna break your fucking legs. Take 'em off. BUFF You're fascist, man. Neofascist. He sits down and begins to take of his blades. TIM Buff, sit. You know what I mean though? Somebody ought to crack that guy with a baseball bat. JEFF Yeah, well, he's from a Third World country. He doesn't have it easy. TIM What? What the fuck do you know about the third world? You been there? No? No, well, I have. Fuckers live like sardines in a can over there, you know. Everything stinks. It's true, there's no, you know, law, no order. No nothing. The assholes come over here, they think it's gonna be the same. JEFF Hey, he's a human being you can give him that much. TIM Actually, the only thing I gotta give that guy is a one-way ticket back to Greaseball-land. JEFF Yeah, well, that pizza could feed a family of four in Turkey or India or wherever the fuck he comes from. BUFF Oh yeah? Oh, how'd you ship it over there, man? Federal Express? Hm? By the time it got there it'd be way cold and coagulated. Total waste. Cheese be stuck to the cardboard. JEFF Buff, that slice is the difference between life and death for some half-dead Bangladeshi. BUFF Yo, your gettin' me all upset here. JEFF You should get upset. Everyone should get upset. When, when Hitler was greasing the Jews, people were saying, "Don't get me upset. Your bumming me out." My duty as a human being is to be pissed off. Jesus Christ, not that it makes a difference on the first fucking place. Nothing ever changes, man. Fifty years from now we're all gonna be dead and there'll be new people standing here drinking beer, eating pizza, bitching and moaning about the price of Oreos, and they won't even know we were ever here. And then fifty years after that those suckers will be dust and bones and there'll be all these generations of suckers trying to figure out what they're doing on this fucking planet and they'll all be full of shit. It's all so fucking futile. TIM If it's all so fucking futile, what the fuck are you so fucking upset about, fuckhead? JEFF Because I'm alienated. BUFF Hey! Hey, you like orgasms? Oh, yeah! (yells) Oh, Hey, hey, I'm at work yesterday, bitch comes in, orders a twelve-inch pie with extra cheese. So I ask her if she wanted me, like, to carry that out to her car for her. Bitch is obviously in heat. "Yes, right away." So I carry the pie out to her car. We smoke a J. She blows me. We eat the pizza, I chase her with the beer. Smoke, babe, slice, brew. All four bases, fuckin' home run man! Jeff walks over towards the payphone, Buff follows. He dials a number. JEFF Your ability to fantasize is only exceeded by your ability to lie. BUFF Oh, untrue, Jeffster. I think, uh, two weeks ago we attended a concert where I had fucked two girls. JEFF (into telephone) Hey, it's me. No, that's, that's the ultimate liar of liars. BUFF And your mom. JEFF (into telephone) No, I'm here. Where are you? BUFF Where are you-hoo? JEFF (into telephone) No, no, no, no, I don't wanna be stuck with the guy. I want the tickets. BUFF Stuck, who? What guy? Huh? JEFF Shut up! Aw... Nazeer opens the front doors of the Circle A and shouts at Buff and Jeff. NAZEER Look, you can't be out here all night tonight, okay? Tim comes out from around the corner. Jeff continues talking on the phone ignoring the argument. BUFF Hey, we're just having a conversation. NAZEER This is private property, my friend. TIM Come on man. BUFF Hey, don't tell us about private property. This is America, my friend. NAZEER Look, look, look. You gotta go now, okay? The customers complain. BUFF We're your customers. We're not complaining. NAZEER Please! Nazeer walks back into the store. Buff and Tim walk back around the corner towards the dumpster. Jeff is sitting by himself. Buff goes to sit down next to him. JEFF You don't need to sit next to me right now. TIM Who were you talking to? JEFF Nobody. Sooze. BUFF Stuck with what guy? JEFF What? BUFF You said you didn't want to get stuck with some guy. What guy? JEFF No, uh, nobody. It's, uh, it's my birthday this week and Sooze's brother might come by to wish me a happy birthday. BUFF It's your birthday? JEFF Yeah. BUFF Well, shit! Happy fucking birthday! Tim and Buff grab Jeff and form a line, simulating sex. BEE-BEE approaches. BUFF AND TIM Happy birthday! Happy fuckin' birthday! BEE-BEE Um, is Sooze around? JEFF Uh, yeah, she should be coming by. BEE-BEE Uh, well, what'd she say? Is Pony coming? JEFF I don't know. BUFF Want a beer? (to Jeff) Is Pony coming? BEE-BEE No, thanks. I don't drink. Um, well, what'd she say? I mean, did she talk to him? TIM Pony? What's a "pony"? You mean that geek who played the folk music at the senior prom? What's that guy's name? Neil Moynihan? BUFF Oh, Pony's band "Dream Girls"? Been on the road opening for "Midnight Hore". Stadiums, man. (to Jeff) Wait, so Pony's coming by here? BEE-BEE (to Tim) Didn't you see their video on MTV? TIM No, I shot my TV. BUFF But, so, Pony's comin' by here to the corner? JEFF He's around and, you know, maybe he's coming by. Sooze told him to come by and hang out, whatever. It's no big deal. Me, him, and Sooze are gonna... TIM Oh, no, you wanted to get together with your close friend, Pony, the rockstar. I understand. So you, do you, want us to, leave? JEFF No. We were just gonna go someplace or something to... BEE-BEE We are? JEFF Alright. She told him to meet us here. Fuck. BUFF (excited) Pony's coming here to the corner?! JEFF Yeah, no, it wasn't even my idea. TIM Jeff, Jeff, if you want to be alone with Pony, you know, that's, that's fine with us. JEFF Sooze wants to see him. TIM Well, you know, I wanna fucking see him. I gotta know what it's like to be on MTV. BUFF Yeah, we all want to see him. So when's he coming? BEE-BEE Yeah, when's he coming? JEFF I don't know. Later. I don't know. BUFF (yells) Yes! FADE OUT FADE IN: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - LATER - NIGHT Jeff and Sooze are kissing. JEFF God, I haven't seen you all day. SOOZE You could've come over. JEFF I know, I know, I know. Jeff pulls out the front of Sooze's pants and looks inside them. JEFF (CONT'D) Oh! Trim it! SOOZE I hate that. JEFF Sorry. Let's go back to the van right now. SOOZE No. I'm not going to the van, it's so gross. Come on. I'm doing my performance right now. JEFF Okay, so maybe later. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Everyone is sitting around watching Sooze do her performance art piece. She dances and jigs along with the words to her piece. SOOZE Ow. Jesus. Fuck Oliver Stone. Fuck Bill Clinton. Fuck Howard Stern. Fuck Michael Bolton. Fuck O.J. Simpson. Fuck Pope John Paul. Fuck my dad. Fuck all the men. Fuck all the men. Fuck all the men! She begins to dance a jig. SOOZE (CONT'D) Bang your head, blow your nose. Run down the street, suck a hose. Chew my lips, eat some shit. Eat a stick of dynamite and blow yourself to bits. Shut your mouth, go away. Drink my piss, have a nice day! I hope you cry and never doubt. I hope you die with blood in your mouth. I hope your lies will no more shout What's in my eyes, what's in your snout. Your a pig! I know that's true! I dance a jig! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you! Sooze ends her piece and looks at everyone. SOOZE So? Everyone slowly starts to applaud. BEE-BEE That was really great. SOOZE Was it okay? BEE-BEE Yeah! SOOZE What did you guys think? BEE-BEE Slides go with it. SOOZE Behind me. I'm making these slides out of these old pictures and paintings and stuff. JEFF Was that supposed to be me? SOOZE No. JEFF Yes. BEE-BEE It's called "Burger Manifesto, Part One The Dialectical Expression of Testosterone." Isn't that a great title? SOOZE Why is everything about you, Jeff? JEFF No, not, not everything. This. I am the man in your life. SOOZE Man? JEFF Yeah, man, male, significant other, whatever the fuck I am. SOOZE It's a piece. JEFF Your sure as hell right about that. SOOZE I'm not doing it anywhere, Jeff. It's just part of my application to the School of Visual Arts in New York. BUFF Ah, you know people there? SOOZE I'm just gonna go. I figure the worst I can do is starve to death. JEFF "The worst I can do is starve to death." Listen to you. SOOZE I don't want to hear it anymore. JEFF No, no, no. Y-you know what? Y-your packing your bags, you're jumping into the unknown because some conceptual artist who teaches at a community college is having a mid-life crisis and he wants to sleep with some girl half his age, so he tells you you have talent. SOOZE Mister Brooks has had shows in New York, Jeff. He's been reviewed in Art Forum. I think he knows. JEFF (in mock British accent) Oh, well, then you better listen to him. SOOZE Well, fuck! Might as well not do anything! Let's just stick out thumbs up our asses and twirl. TIM Yes, that's right. You know what, honey? You should go to New York. You should go. Go show 'em. They need your unique point of view. SOOZE At least I have a point of view, you know? BEE-BEE Uh-huh. SOOZE I stand for something. And I'm trying to communicate something. JEFF What are you trying to communicate? Tell us. SOOZE So you can give me more shit? JEFF No, no. It's an honest question. What are you trying to communicate? SOOZE I'm trying to communicate how I feel, Jeff. You know raise consciousness. Make people think for a change. BEE-BEE Mn-hm. JEFF "Burger Manifesto, Part One" is gonna make people think? SOOZE Yes, you asshole. JEFF About what? SOOZE About things that are important to me. JEFF Like what? SOOZE Sexual politics, racism, the environment, the military industrial... BEE-BEE Um-hm. JEFF Wait. Racism? You don't know anybody who's black! SOOZE Of course I do! JEFF Name one. SOOZE God, KAREN JOHNSON. JEFF One! SOOZE Your completely missing the point. JEFF Hey! SOOZE I'm talking about idealism. BEE-BEE Responsibility, progress. SOOZE Yes. JEFF No, idealism is guilty, middle class bullshit. SOOZE No, sweetie. Cynicism is bullshit. JEFF No, no, no. I'm not being cynical, I'm being honest. SOOZE But do you stand for anything? JEFF Yes, I stand for - SOOZE What? What do you stand for? JEFF I stand for honesty! I stand for some level of truth! SOOZE Oh, yeah, right. Yeah, right. Fuck you. JEFF Can I talk here? Let me talk. SOOZE You know, all you know is what's good for you. JEFF Can I talk? SOOZE Typical male. BEE-BEE Typical male. SOOZE Typical male. BEE-BEE Typical male. SOOZE Tim, he listens to you. Do you think it's a good idea? Seriously? TIM Seriously? It's a great idea. SOOZE Ha! Thank you! See? He did it. He left. TIM I did. I split, man. I expanded my horizons, you know. Served my country. Saw the world, you know? I've gained wisdom and now I'm back, baby, back from the road. Me and Jack Kerouac. The group starts to head back up to the Circle A. SOOZE I can't wait till Pony gets here, you know? Have a conversation with a human being? JEFF Well, if you love him so much, why didn't you go see him play? SOOZE Um, because you didn't want to go. JEFF Like I'm going to pay twenty bucks to see Neil Moynihan in some band that I helped start. SOOZE Okay. Well, you know, he's always been a nice guy and I like him. TIM, BUFF, & JEFF (in unison) He's a geek. BUFF Hey, I've been, uh, making these tapes, videotapes. I ripped off a camcorder up at the mall. I thought, you know, it could be something that I do, be a video artist, you know. TIM Ladies and gentlemen, Buff, the postmodern idiot savant. He will outdo us all. As the group walks up the front walk of the Circle A, Buff spots Nazzer sweeping up the walk. Buff harges at him, twisting and turning his hockey stick in mock kung-fu fashion. He stops right in front of Nazeer. BUFF (in mock kung-fu scream) It's safe, come on. NAZEER That's it. That's it! I'm calling the police. JEFF Why we're just standing here. NAZEER Look, your trespassing. BUFF Hey, call the cops! Call 'em, call 'em right now, man. Maybe my cousin Jerry will show up. He'll definitely take your word over mine. You can tell him about the trespassing. I'll tell him about how you sell beer to minors. NAZEER Look, look, I'm not joking around now, okay? Come on, let's go, let's go! SOOZE We're just standing here! NAZEER Just go and stand someplace else, okay? BUFF You stand someplace else, man. You stand someplace else. This is our corner. You don't fucking own it! NAZEER Yes I do. My family owns it. It's ours. You don't belong here. BUFF No, you don't belong here. We were here before you. TIM Why don't you go back to where you came from? SOOZE Hey, Tim. TIM No, see, sweetheart, you don't want to stand up for parasite 'cause I can fuckin' smell him from here. You know what? Tow words, man: roll on. NAZEER Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, what are you, huh? You fucking drunk bum. Yeah, you good-for-nothing. You just, uh, hang around. On my property. TIME The Hare Krishna's calling me a drunk. Hey, listen, pal, you want us to go? NAZEER Yeah, please, go. Come on. TIM Make a move. Greasecake. Towel-head. SOOZE Hey, Tim, you know what? You win. TIM Fucking drunk, huh? SOOZE You have the largest penis. Can we go please? JEFF Don't let 'em fight. BUFF The dude wants it. SOOZE This is ridiculous! JEFF Tim! PAKEESA, Nazeer's wife comes out of the store brandishing a gun. NAZEER Pakeesa? It's okay. Come on. It's okay. Come on, they're just joking around. BUFF Yeah, we're just screwing around. Like Mohammed said. Can't take a joke, man? Hey, I hope you got a permit for that, mama! SOOZE We're sorry, okay? We're gonna go. The group begins to walk away. TIM Hey, your gonna regret this. SOOZE Come on, Jeff. BUFF Fuck her! Come on, let's go. SOOZE (from across the parking lot) Jeff! Let's go! Jeff is looking at Nazeer. JEFF Hey, I'm sorry about that. It was just a misunderstanding. He was upset about something and he took it out on you and I'm sorry. 'Bye. Jeff walks away quickly to catch up with the group. EXT. SIDE OF ROAD - NIGHT The group is walking down the street. Sooze and Bee-Bee are in front, a few feet away is Tim who walks by himself, and holding up the rear are Jeff and Buff. JEFF No, I seriously doubt that Pony's gonna be in a limo. BUFF That's the rock star thing. JEFF No, no. BUFF Oh, I'll bet you he has a babe with him right out of a triple-x video. Oh, oh, Pony, come on, give it to me! Stud! Oh! JEFF Buff, Buff, Buff, Buff, Buff. BUFF Sorry. JEFF Jesus Christ. BUFF You wanna bet he's with a girl? JEFF No, he's not with a girl. BUFF Oh, right. Oh, oh my God! Pony, it's so huge! JEFF You know what? He probably gets bored with all that shit. BUFF Oh, yeah, yeah. Wait, um, how do you figure that? JEFF I'd get bored. BUFF I wouldn't. If I were in his shoes, every morning I'd get up singing, man. Do my work-out, take a shower, followed by a hearty breakfast, steak and eggs, washed down with a pot of hot coffee, six pack of Coors Lite. Then I'd order my bodyguard to go find my babe, who would appear decked out in her all-black leather Victoria Secret custom-made bodysuit. So I'd, like, have to chew off all her clothes until she was completely nude. Except she'd have these amazing dragon tattoos all over her body and pierced nipples with little gold peace signs hanging from 'em. And then she'd take out this half-ounce of blow, we'd snap out a few mondo lines, vaporize a few million brain cells, screw for about an hour, then spend the rest of the morning trashed watching Gilligan. JEFF That sounds so great, man. Yes. Yes. Hey, what would you do in the afternoon? BUFF Same, more of the same. Yep, just keep doing the same thing all the time, around and around the clock. With an occasional burger or slice of thrown in for our vitamins and energy. Then, instead of watching Gilligan, we'd watch Captain Kirk. JEFF That sounds so depressing. BUFF Oh, come on, man. Tell me you wouldn't love it! JEFF No, I'm not saying that I wouldn't love it. BUFF Ah! JEFF I'm saying no, I'm saying after a while it'd wear thin. BUFF Yeah, a long while. A long, long while. JEFF Watch out for that tree. Buff misses the tree. BUFF A long, long, long, long, while. JEFF Okay, okay. BUFF A long, long, long... JEFF Okay. Up ahead the group is taking two different paths. Sooze and Bee- Bee are headed towards a burger joint, while Tim is headed the opposite way towards the liquor store. BUFF Hey, Tim! Hold up. Buff takes off after Tim. CUT TO: INT. BURGER JOINT - BOOTH - NIGHT Jeff, Sooze, and Bee-Bee are all sitting at a booth with plates of food in front of them. They are in mid-conversation when we join them. SOOZE It was a racial incident. JEFF It was just something that got out of hand. Did anyone get hurt? SOOZE It got that close. JEFF Okay, but nothing happened. Believe me, if I thought something really bad was going to happen, I would've done something. SOOZE Oh, yeah? JEFF Yeah. SOOZE Okay, what would you have done. JEFF I would've stopped it. SOOZE How? JEFF I don't know. I would've done something. This is kind of hypothetical, isn't it? This place is so stupid. I can't believe we're sitting here in this mosh-pit of consumerism. With all these people eating their chunks of dead flesh... SOOZE Jeff. Jeff. JEFF ... like fucking robots. Look at those kids there. SOOZE Jeff. You know, I was talking to Mister Brooks yesterday. He has this friend in New York who wants to sublet his apartment for six-fifty a month. I could swing that. Six-fifty. JEFF Sooze. Bee-Bee walks away from the conversation, getting her own booth. SOOZE What? JEFF Did it ever occur to you that I might have some feelings about you moving to New York? SOOZE What feelings? JEFF Us. SOOZE Of course. JEFF And? SOOZE Come with me. JEFF No, no, see, that's not what I'm saying. I could go to New York if I wanted to, but what's the point? So I can learn how to order a cappuccino? So I can get mugged by some crackhead? So I can see, see homeless people up close and personal? SOOZE So what do you wanna do? JEFF Nothing. SOOZE No one does nothing, Jeff. JEFF Okay, well, then, I'm gonna break new ground. SOOZE New ground? JEFF Mm-hm. SOOZE Taking one community college course on the history of Nicaragua, while barely holding a job packing boxes? JEFF Okay, look. My job is not who I am. I don't need that. Why? What's your goal? Status? Money? Getting your picture on the cover of some glossy magazine? SOOZE My goal is to make art. JEFF So, what, why can't you do that here? What's wrong with here? Why is somewhere else better? SOOZE Why should I stay here, Jeff? So we can sit on the corner and watch the lights change, while you bitch about Burnfield? JEFF Mm-mm. SOOZE So I can spend the rest of my life guessing what it would be like to be a real artist? JEFF No, no. SOOZE So you and I can fuck while your parents are out having dinner at the Sizzler? What are we doing, Jeff? You and me? JEFF I don't know. CUT TO: INT. TOP WINE & LIQUOR - NIGHT Buff and Tim are buying alcohol. SCUFF Hey, great game Friday. Kicked Holbrook's ass, huh? TIM Missed it. Can I get a fifth of Old Crow? SCUFF Just one? TIM Yeah. BUFF Hey. SCUFF You seen the new guy we got? Beavers? The guy can pass. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you. Do you remember that game against North Reading? When you passed to Pierce and he dropped the ball? What do you think happened? Do you think, like, he wasn't there or were you short? TIM I don't, I don't remember. What do I owe you? SCUFF Uh, eleven twenty-five. BUFF Hey! Yeah! SINGER "In my head I'm tall My arms are big" CUT TO: EXT. STRIP MALL - PARKING LOT - DAY Bee-Bee is sitting on the side of the wall listening to the radio. BUFF Hey! BEE-BEE Hey. Do you have a cigarette? BUFF No I quit. BEE-BEE Hey, you said you did a video? BUFF Yup. BEE-BEE What's it about? BUFF It's really not about anything. BEE-BEE Oh. Well, what's it on? BUFF A cloud. BEE-BEE A cloud? BUFF Yeah. There was this cloud and I video taped it. BEE-BEE Oh. BUFF I was doing schrooms and I saw this cloud. It looks excellent on tape. The video is like my head and, and everything, you know, is, like, is like in there that I see. You know? Plus, I'm gonna come down here one night and walk around inside the Circle A with the camera and tape shit. BEE-BEE Oh, that's so amazing. I wish I could see it. BUFF You can see it. Whenever you want. Don't you, um, work at a hospital or something? BEE-BEE Yeah, I'm a nurse's aide at Mercy. BUFF Your a nurse? BEE-BEE No, I, you know, I help 'em out. I empty bedpans and bring 'em lunch. That kind of thing. BUFF Any gunshot victims? BEE-BEE Oh, some of 'em. But it's mostly just strokes and shit. I mean, most of 'em just sleep all the time and get kind of yellow. Usually they die id they're, you know, really yellow. BUFF Sounds like a bummer. BEE-BEE Oh, no, it's not. I mean, they're not all totally in a coma. I mean, they know when I'm helping them. BUFF Mm. Hey, what are you doing now? BEE-BEE Right now? BUFF Yeah. BEE-BEE I don't know. Waiting, I guess. You know? BUFF Do you wanna go to the van? BEE-BEE Now? BUFF Yeah, we could hang out and smoke a dube, you know? BEE-BEE I don't smoke dubes and I don't really hang out. But I'll go back. Okay. BUFF Okay, whatever you want. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Jeff is standing on the side of the building alone. He sticks his head out to see of anyone else is around and is spotted by Nazeer. He quickly ducks back around the corner, laughing. JEFF Shit. A long, black, stretched, limo pulls up. Pony gets out. JEFF Hey, Pony. PONY Hey, man. Jeff. How're you doin? JEFF Good, man. PONY Wow, man. The corner. I mean, nothing's changed. JEFF Well, shit, man, you've only been gone for a year, man, Is that your limo? PONY Yeah, yeah. Yeah, the record company, they make me use it, you know. I mean, it's dumb, I know, it's just... JEFF No, it's not... PONY Hey, the driver knows Billy Idol. Wow, huh? JEFF Yeah, hey I saw your album at Musicland up at the mall. PONY Oh yeah, yeah, we're starting to get good placement and shit like that, you know. JEFF Yeah. PONY We sold, uh, over ninety thousand units and uh... and Danny says that we're gonna get a gold record. Yeah. JEFF Wow. A gold record, man, that's great. So you're, you're like living the wild life now, huh? PONY Nah, nah, nah, nah. JEFF Aw, come on. Rock star. Fame. Fortune. Sex. PONY Yeah, shit. Naw, man, you know. It's hard work, you know? JEFF Yeah. PONY The road's hell, you know? I mean airport, hotel, show. And airport, hotel, show. Airport, hotel, show. I mean, fuck, man, you know? You still living at your mom's? JEFF Yeah, I crash there. PONY Yeah, good. ERICA, Pony's P.A. person steps out of the limo talking on a cellular phone. JEFF Yeah, most nights I'm just sleeping on the couch. ERICA (into phone) Yeah, that sounds cool. Great. She hangs up the phone. ERICA (to Pony) He says we got to be at the radio station at seven a.m. Can you handle that? PONY Oh, sure. ERICA Great. (to Jeff) Hi. I'm Erica. PONY Oh, Erica, this is my friend Jeff. ERICA Hi, Jeff. Nice to meet you. PONY Jeff, Erica. God, it's so amazing to be back home. ERICA Oh, wow. PONY I mean, we've been playing big places everywhere, but when we did that sound check at The Orpheum, it suddenly hit me. I'm playing The Orpheum, you know? I mean, the last time I played here was, uh, the prom. JEFF The prom. That's funny. PONY Hey, I though you guys were coming to the show, man? JEFF Oh, uh, yeah, we were, but, uh, Sooze, screwed up the tickets. PONY Oh, man, we were pretty on tonight. ERICA Oh, you were excellent tonight, Pony. PONY We were? ERICA Oh, yeah, it was a great show. (to Jeff) You guys missed it. JEFF Sorry. PONY So how's college? JEFF I dropped out. I mean, uh, you know, this semester I'm taking a, a class, you know, three nights a week. But I'm just try-trying to think and work on stuff., you know? I've been doing some writing, though. Short pieces, you know. ERICA I love writing. A-Anne Rice? I love Anne Rice. PONY Short pieces, huh? You should try to write songs. JEFF You know, I've thought about that, actually. PONY No, man, I mean it. You're a good writer. I remember those things you'd write during honors English. Funny shit. ERICA Mm. PONY He wrote this thing about his dick once and he read it in front of the whole class. ERICA I'd love to read that. PONY Funny shit, man. JEFF So you think I should? PONY What? JEFF Write. 'Cause I, I have written some things. PONY Like songs? JEFF Yeah, they could be songs. PONY Yeah. You should show 'em to me. JEFF Really? PONY Yeah, really. JEFF Now? PONY Yeah. A red Jeep Cherokee pulls into the parking lot. Sooze jumps out from behind the wheel and begins to run towards Jeff and Pony. JEFF Great. PONY Yeah, maybe later. (to Sooze) Hey! Hey! SOOZE Pony, oh my god! PONY Hey! SOOZE You showed up. Oh, my god! Holy shit! Look at this car, man! PONY Oh, it's stupid, isn't it. SOOZE Is that your driver? PONY It's stupid. SOOZE No, no, it isn't. It's cool. PONY Look at you! SOOZE Oh! PONY Wow. Hey, you look good. Like you, you know, head's in a good place, you know? You, are still doing your painting? SOOZE Sometimes, yeah. You know, I started to do performances. PONY Oh, yeah? SOOZE So? What's L.A. like? PONY It's pretty exciting. SOOZE Yeah? PONY Yeah. SOOZE Like? PONY Oh, uh... uh, the other night our manager Danny took us to this restaurant and there was Sandra Bernhard. SOOZE No, she was just sitting there?! PONY Oh, yeah, just sitting there eatin' a salad, you know. That kind of thing happens all the time in L.A. It's, you know... I met Johnny Depp. SOOZE You did? I love him. Yeah, you know, I'm thinking of moving to New York. PONY New York, huh? SOOZE Yeah. To go to school and, you know, paint, performances, paint. PONY You have to go. You always did such, uh, you know, great work. I still have some of those drawings that you'd do in study hall. SOOZE You do not! PONY I do. Jeff, don't you think Sooze should go to New York and, uh, you know. JEFF Yeah, uh, that would depend, but yeah. She should. SOOZE Mm. Buff and Bee-Bee walk up, after they're excursion to the van. BUFF Hey, yes! Hey, Pony, man! Great concert tonight! PONY Oh, you were there? BUFF No, but I heard it was great. PONY Oh, thanks. Thanks. SOOZE Hey, Pony, this is my friend Bee-Bee. PONY Hey. BEE-BEE Hi. PONY How're you doing? Nice to meet you. BUFF So tell us, man. Party time, trashin' hotel rooms, babes around the clock? PONY Naw, naw, we don't have time for all that. BUFF Oh, So what about her? ERICA Hi. PONY Oh, uh, Erica? Erica is the publicist for the band. ERICA Hi, I'm Erica. SOOZE Hey, I'm Sooze. BUFF Yeah, right, publicist. ERICA Nice to meet you Sooze. (to Bee-Bee) Hi, I'm Erica. PONY Yeah, she, uh, works for the record company and takes care of interviews and, you know, shit like that, Uh, we were actually just doin' an interview and Erica said she's like to see Burnfield, so... JEFF So, do you guys want to do something, go someplace or something like that? BUFF So, we're all old friends of Pony's. We go way back to our childhood. ERICA Yeah, he's told me. Burnfield. We all hear about Burnfield. BUFF Mm. You know, does he tell you about how, uh, Jeff, Pony, started the band...? ERICA Oh, you were in the band? BUFF Yeah. JEFF Well, I helped start it, but, you know, uh... PONY Well, not exactly. JEFF For a while. PONY Well, I mean, we jammed a couple of times. You know, I mean, you play harmonica, but that was before we were really a band, you know, before Danny signed us. ERICA Right. JEFF Yeah, well, I, I came by more than a couple times. Tim walks over to the group. TIM So you came by to see how the other half lives, huh? Well, here we are, What do you think? Pretty fucking pathetic huh? Kind of like one of those documentaries on educational TV? ERICA It's nice here. It's different. TIM Yeah, totally. (to Pony) So, uh, what do they interview you about? PONY Well, uh, there's this benefit for Rwanda we're gonna do. And, uh, you know, my songs, uh, where I get the ideas for them, uh, you know, stuff like that. TIM Where do you get your ideas? SOOZE Leave him alone, Tim. TIM Uh, excuse me, I'd like to know where he gets his ideas. SOOZE Tim's jealous, you know? He wants to have ideas too. TIM Yeah. Yeah, I'm jealous of MTV faggots who are named after animals. SOOZE Jeff! BUFF Your his publicist? ERICA Sure I am. It's fun. BUFF Mm. And your like, what else? Bee-Bee watches Buff flirt with Erica. He face grows a long scorn. ERICA What do you mean? His girlfriend? BUFF Well, that's one way of putting it. ERICA Am I fucking him? BUFF Shit. ERICA Pony, what would you say our relationship is? PONY Um, mother-daughter. ERICA Pony and I are friends. BUFF So, then, you're, like, available? ERICA In what way? BUFF Mm, in a horizontal and wet way! Buff shakes a can of beer at crotch level, sending foam and beer spray everywhere. SOOZE Ew! Oh, Buff! Relax! TIM Why don't you fucking relax? He's having verbal intercourse, Sooze. ERICA Oh, god! SOOZE No, he's not. He's objectifying her and he's entertaining us at her expense. ERICA Oh, it's okay. What's your name? BUFF Buff. ERICA Buff is funny. God. TIM Buff is funny, okay? She likes Buff, so why don't you whip shut the feminist hole. SOOZE Hey, why don't you swallow your cock and choke on it? Oh, I forgot, it's not big enough. JEFF So, um, Pony, where are you staying? Are you staying at your mother's house? PONY No, no, they, uh, you know, that can be kind of a hassle, so , uh, you know, I just stay at the Four Seasons. It's easier. TIM Yeah, yeah, I stay at the Four Seas, it's ease. JEFF Wow, that must be pretty nice there. PONY Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's, you know, it's a bed and hot water. ERICA It does look good. SOOZE Yeah, so what do you guys do next? I mean, what's your band do now? PONY Oh, uh, we're gonna go in the studio and we're, we're doin' a new album. SOOZE Yeah? PONY Yeah, and I was thinking, Sooze, you could do the cover. SOOZE You do not want me to do your cover. PONY I don't want you to do the cover, I, I need you to do the cover. SOOZE You're not serious. PONY I'm always serious. SOOZE Oh they'd never let me do what I want. PONY I get final approval. It's in my contract. SOOZE Would I get paid? PONY Yeah, we'd have to fly you out for meetings, you know. SOOZE Yeah? PONY Yeah. SOOZE Oh, God, that would be something I really want to do. CUT TO: INT. TOP WINE & LIQUOR - NIGHT Tim is back again, to buy more alcohol. TIM Hey, can you cash this? Tim hands Scuff a treasury bill. SCUFF Yeah. Yeah. How's the air force, Tim? TIM It's not the air force anymore, Scuff SCUFF So where are you? TIM I'm here. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT -NIGHT The group is still hanging out at the Circle A. PONY Okay, now, you guys all take care, okay? Oh, man, I feel so good. I feel good 'cause I'm hanging out with you guys, man. You know? I mean, I forgot what it was like to just hang out. SOOZE Yeah. PONY And you know why it's so good? See, because, see, you guys are real. No, man, I mean it. You guys have a sense of humor. You live your lives, you know. It's simple, you know. The guys on the road, I mean, the band, all they talk about is scoring chicks... and Danny, all Danny talks about is money. BUFF Yeah, we're all above that. PONY See, I wrote something about all this. Uh, it, it's a song about... BUFF Well, play it, man. SOOZE Yeah, come on, play it. PONY Oh, no, man. I can't. BUFF Yeah. SOOZE Come on. BUFF Play it! Come on! PONY No, no, no, no, no, it's new. BUFF Please. PONY I just started it. Buff walks over to the limo and picks up Pony's guitar and harmonica from off the trunk of the car. BUFF I don't care. I'm gonna drop it. I'm gonna drop it. I'm... PONY Don't drop the guitar, man. Buff pretends to almost drop the guitar. BUFF Whoa! PONY No, no, whoa! Pony grabs the guitar away from Buff and begins to put it on. Everyone gathers around Pony, except Jeff. BUFF Yes! Free concert! ERICA Alright, Pony! PONY Alright, alright already. SOOZE Alright! BUFF Yes! Hey, unplugged Pony! Pony begins to play and sing. PONY (singing) "Drove down the highway there was a big jam The family had died There inside their minivan There was a backup It went on for miles But as bad as it was It was gone after a while" (to group) Chorus here. (singing again) "You may think there's nothing to it and the truth is hard to see To be an invisible man is a remarkable thing to be thing to be thing to be" SOOZE That was so great! ERICA It's coming along. PONY Thank you. BUFF Hey, I'm glad you put truth in your song, man. That's important. PONY Hey, thanks, man. JEFF So who are you? PONY What do you mean? JEFF Well, if we're, like, the man invisible, what are you? PONY I don't know. Uh, I'm an artist, I guess. You know, there's life and then there's the people watching the life, commenting on it. JEFF Yeah, well, that's what I do too. PONY What? JEFF Comment, say things, think. Whatever. Why are you so special? PONY Well, I, I didn't say I was special, but it's one thing, you know, and it's another thing to actually communicate it to people. You know what I mean? If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does that make a sound? JEFF Of course it does. SOOZE You know, that is my worst fear. Making a sound and no one hears it. PONY Mine too. JEFF W-wait a minute, wait a minute. PONY You know what I'm saying? SOOZE Sure. You make art and you want people to see it. BUFF Wait, what happened to the tree? JEFF Yeah, but that doesn't mean that your tree is not artistic if no one cuts it down. SOOZE Jeff likes to argue for the sake of arguing. JEFF No, I don't. SOOZE Yes, you do. JEFF No, I don't. SOOZE You do. JEFF No, I don't. Tim walks up to the group from behind Erica. He stops and talks to her. TIM Hi. ERICA Hi. TIM So you, like, come from a town like this or...? ERICA No, not really. I come from an "area". Bel Air. TIM You rich? ERICA No, not really. Middle-class. TIM Oh, me too. Middle-class. ERICA Maybe upper-middle-class. Pony is singing another song. Buff, Bee-Bee, and Sooze are all sitting on the asphalt in front of Pony, wide eyes. Tim is talking to Erica on the car and Jeff is pacing back and forth. PONY "See what's around you listen to their lies" TIM So, like, your dad's a big deal, right? ERICA Thinks he is. Well, he is. TIM He is? ERICA Yes. TIM He is. ERICA He is. TIM And you love him a lot. He bought you a BMW for your birthday, but you finally had to move out and get your own place. I mean, I know, it's time to leave the nest. Parents hate your smoking. You didn't tell them about the abortion. All your friends got boob jobs, you got the tattoo instead. Subscribe to Vaniety Fair. Tim feels Erica's arms. TIM (CONT'D) Ooh, wow, nice. Personal trainer? Very nice. PONY "I sound like an idiot watching the parade I know there's no tomorrow only the charade I am dead Deep inside my head All the lies There's no then Only now I will love show me how" Bee-Bee stands up and walks away. Jeff watches her leave and begins to pace faster. PONY (CONT'D) "I buried my hand in a fire I haven't slept for a week I cut my feet on the glass Never finding what I seek I need salvation I need" Suddenly Jeff stops pacing and jumps up screaming. JEFF FUCK! Pony, if we wanted to hear you sing, we would've gone to your concert! SOOZE Jeff! JEFF So you sold ninety thousand units. So what? Does that mean you're a genius? You're a great artist? You're higher up the ladder? You got an extra gold star on your fuckin' forehead? TIM Wow, you're cute when you're angry. JEFF Why don't you write a song about Sandra Berhard's salad, asshole? SOOZE Jesus, Jeff. PONY Hey, man, uh, look, if you don't like my stuff, uh, I won't sing it, okay? I'm sorry, you know? JEFF No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I don't need a limousine to know who I am, alright? TIM Right on. You know what? He doesn't need the limo, man. JEFF I mean, you know, at least I admit that I don't know. I know that things are fucked up beyond belief and I know that I have nothing original to say about any of it, alright? I don't have an answer. I don't have a fucking message. TIM Okay, great. Well, now he's crying. Are you guys happy? JEFF Oh, shut up, Tim. This isn't funny, man. SOOZE (sighs) I'm sorry. I'm sorry. PONY No, no, no, no, no. Uh, hey, man. You know I'm really sorry if I, if I said something wrong. I, I... JEFF No, man. Hey. No, you know what? Hey, it's you, man. It's, you know what, you know what it is? It's this tarpit of stupidity that we're all stuck in. It's this cell. It's this void, you know. PONY Oh, no, man, look. Look, you know, it's me, okay? I come out here and I'm, so used to everyone, you know, kissing my ass and I think I'm a fucking star, man, and I'm really sorry if I'm full of attitude. I, I really... JEFF No, you know what? It's not you, man. It's not anybody. It's me. Whoo! Hey. PONY Look, man, it... Shit. Why don't we get something to eat? I mean food? ERICA We'd have to hurry. SOOZE China Gate's open till midnight. PONY George can drive us. There's plenty of room in the car. Jeff? JEFF No. You know what? You guys go ahead and bring back something here. Yeah. PONY Why don't you come with us, man? I mean, I want to hear about those songs you've been working on. You too, Buff. BUFF Limo ride! Buff runs and jumps into the limo. PONY Tim? TIM Uh, I didn't write any songs. You guys go ahead. I gotta stay here and guard the parking lot. Sooze walks over to Jeff. SOOZE Come on. JEFF No. No, no, no. SOOZE Come on. I'm not gonna go if you don't come. JEFF No, I just don't feel like it. That's all. SOOZE Why don't you just try? Please. For me. Come on. Buff sticks his upper body out of the limo's sunroof. BUFF Hey, come on, man! Limo! SOOZE Hey, wait, where's Bee-Bee? Bee-Bee! Bee-Bee, where'd you go? Did you guys see where she went? PONY Erica, you coming? ERICA Mm-mm. BUFF Are you sure? Okay. The limo pulls out of the parking lot and onto the road. Erica walks over to Tim, who is lying on the hood of a car. ERICA You got everything right but the car. My dad didn't get me a BMW. TIM What'd he get you? ERICA A Porsche. TIM Mm. ERICA Yeah. So, what about you? TIM What about me? I don't have a car. ERICA You just seem to know all these things about me and I don't know anything about you, you know. What kind of music do you like? TIM Military marching bands. ERICA You think I'm rich and you hate me. TIM Now, how the hell would you know what I think? Hm? You don't know me. ERICA I'd like to. TIM Oh, yeah? ERICA Mm-mm. CUT TO: INT. BEE-BEE'S HOUSE -NIGHT Bee-Bee slowly creeps up the stairs and into the bathroom, the entire house is dark. She opens the medicine cabinet and pockets a bottle of sedatives. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT -NIGHT Erica and Tim are still talking. TIM You know, it was the biggest mistake of my life. ERICA Really? TIM Well, I mean, you have to understand I was just this dopey kid mopping floors and kissing officer ass. I mean, well, I enlisted right out of high school. So I just wanted something different in my life. ERICA Mm. TIM "It's not a job, it's an adventure." Right? I hated it. I had to get out. So I was working in the kitchen, chopping lettuce, you know, real heroic stuff, and I, uh, I had this big fucking knife and I chopped off the tip of my little finger and three days later I was a free man. ERICA You cut off your little finger? TIM Well, they, uh they were nice enough to sew it back on. ERICA Let's see. Tim shows her his scar. Erica gently rubs her fingers over it. TIM Honorable discharge. Disabled while serving. I get a check every month. INT. CHINA GATE RESTAURANT - LOBBY -NIGHT The group is standing in the lobby, no one is around. It appears as if their closed. BUFF (yells) Um, four for smoking, please. The RESTAURANT HOSTESS walks up to them, she is Chinese. RESTAURANT HOSTESS Closed, closed. BUFF (mocking her) Oh, man, no closed, we just got here! SOOZE No. RESTAURANT HOSTESS Midnight closed. SOOZE Oh, come on! We're hungry. Please? Buff decides to take control and walks over to the hostess. BUFF Yo, do you know who this guy is right here? That's Pony Moynihan from MTV. Yeah look at his limo out there. RESTAURANT HOSTESS TV? BUFF TV. MTV, what your going to turn him away? PONY (to Buff) Come on, man. Sh, sh, sh. BUFF No man. (to hostess) He's probably the most famous guy that'd ever come in this place. You're lucky he's here. RESTAURANT HOSTESS Take-out only. Wait, I get picture. PONY Yeah, yeah, yeah. BUFF Thanks. See man? PONY You know? I remember coming here with my parents. SOOZE Really? BUFF You know, I should, um, make a video of this place. You know, bring the camera in. PONY You make videos? BUFF Oh, yeah, all the time. That's what I do now. PONY You know what would be cool is, like, to do a music video, you know? But, like, you know, have it set in here. You know, like, like, like, with her and shit. You know, like, you know, like, "Closed, closed, closed, closed, closed, closed." BUFF "Closed, closed, closed." But with your music. PONY You could do it. BUFF I could. PONY Yeah! BUFF Yeah. PONY I mean, do you have something I could show my manager? I mean, do you have a reel? BUFF Yes! PONY Yeah! BUFF A reel? CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Tim and Erica are still chatting away in the parking lot. ERICA I mean, what is there to be happy about really? I mean, going to the gym, climbing the StairMaster, eating the yogurt, checking the voice mail. Smoking the low-tar cigarettes, shaving the bikini line. Sometimes I just want something different, you know? TIM What was your name again? ERICA Erica. TIM Erica. So do you think you and I are alike, Erica? ERICA Deep down. Way down. TIM It's a mistake to think that. ERICA We could still talk, you know? It's nice to talk. TIM It's nice to do a lot of things. ERICA That's what I mean. TIM I'm not a nice guy. ERICA I know. It's okay. TIM Yeah? ERICA Mm-hm. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. If I didn't want to be here, I'd be in a limo right now with a bunch of kids looking for Chinese food. TIM No, no, see, you, you don't understand. ERICA Hay? Yeah? So teach me a lesson. They kiss. CUT TO: INT. PONY'S LIMOUSINE - NIGHT Buff, Sooze, Jeff, and Pony are all in the back of the limo coming back from China Gate. Pony's demo tape is playing in the background as Buff stuffs his face with noodles. BUFF Mm-mm. Hey, when I get shitfaced I can get this huge appetite. God. I don't know why. Most people don't, but I do. Whoo! Suddenly Buff stops eating, his face drawing a blank. He starts to look sick. PONY You okay, man? You okay? BUFF I didn't want to eat this much, man. PONY Wait, I'll get you some air. Pony starts to open the sunroof when Buff jumps up and starts heading towards the window. BUFF Wait, do the windows, okay? Just do 'em. Pony opens the window and Buff sticks his head out, throwing up alcohol and Chinese noodles all over the side of the limo. SOOZE Oh, yuck! Oh, gross! PONY You done? BUFF Yeah. Buff sticks his head back out of the limo and throws up again before finally settling back inside the limo. LIMO DRIVER Oh, crap! The limo pulls over. The driver gets out and begins to wipe the throw up off of the side of the limo. Buff is wandering around, Jeff is sitting on the curb looking irritated, Pony and Sooze are still inside the limo. Sooze is on the car phone. SOOZE (into telephone) Oh, oh, hi. Oh, Missus Douglas, I hope I'm not calling too late. No, have you seen Bee-Bee? Well, no, yeah, she was, I was just wondering if you'd seen her. She did? Okay. Yeah. No, I'm sorry to bother you, Missus Douglas. Okay, 'bye. (to Jeff) Shit. She always answers. Buff is up in someone's front lawn. BUFF Hey! Hey, you guys! Buff comes running from the front yard, holding in both his hands a lawn leprechaun. LIMO DRIVER No. No. Put back the leprechaun. JEFF Yeah, put it back. Oh, fuck. What are you doing, you... Lights come on inside the house. BUFF Go! JEFF ... idiot! Open the damn door! Go, go, go, come on! CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - VAN - NIGHT Tim and Erica are on the side of the van, making out. ERICA Oh, man, don't be gettin' soft on me. I mean, sorry, it's okay. It's okay, just don't think, okay? Just don't think. CUT TO: INT. PONY'S LIMOUSINE - NIGHT Sooze, Buff and Pony are singing an old high school cheer while Jeff looks very un-amused. SOOZE, BUFF, & PONY "Black and orange Black and orange Hear that hearty yell Rah rah rah" SOOZE "G, O, F, O, R, I, T. Go for it!" BUFF Hey, play that demo again, man. Alright. PONY Oh, man. Wow. I was never into football, you know? JEFF I gotta take a piss. Do you mind if we pull over really quickly? PONY Oh, yeah. JEFF I'm sorry. I, I gotta... PONY Oh, no, no. Uh, uh, George, pull over. George pulls the limo over to the side of the street. Jeff walks down a small ravine, looks back over his shoulder, keeps walking. JEFF Fuck 'em. Fucking assholes. PONY Burnfield. No place like it. SOOZE Yeah. Burnfield, Pizza and Puke capital of the world. PONY I can't believe you're still here. SOOZE I'm moving. PONY If... SOOZE No, I'm going. PONY Mm-hm. Sooze and Pony pick at each other with their fingers, playfully flirting. SOOZE Soon. PONY Yep. SOOZE What's that supposed to mean? PONY I don't know. I say what I mean. SOOZE Oh, yeah, you're just so smart. PONY That's because I am. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - VAN - NIGHT Erica and Tim are still leaning up against the old van. ERICA It's okay. This kind of thing happens. It's just never happened to me. I'm sorry. It's true though. Mm. So, um, what's your TCB tattoo stand for? What's that about? TIM Taking care of business. ERICA I'm sorry. CUT TO: EXT. PONY'S LIMO - ROOF - NIGHT Sooze and Pony are sitting on top of the limo looking out over Burnfield. SOOZE I hate it here. It's so ugly, it's like being dead. You got out of here, you know? I'm ready to go. PONY Yeah, but sometimes I try to figure out why I left in the first place, you know? I think about people and I wonder what they're doing. SOOZE Yeah. PONY I think about you. I mean, a lot. SOOZE Me? PONY Yeah, I have, I have, yeah. SOOZE Yeah, you know, when you called I thought, there's a name from the past. PONY Or the future, oh, no, no, I mean... I mean, we'll be working on that album cover, right? SOOZE Yeah, I know what you're saying. PONY You do? SOOZE Yeah. God, you showed up at such a weird time in my life. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Jeff walks into the parking lot to find Bee-Bee sitting on the side of the building by herself, bottle by her side and listening to the radio. Jeff walks up to her. JEFF I just walked all the way from Westside to here. I haven't walked that far since junior high. I thought you didn't drink. BEE-BEE I don't anymore. JEFF Can I have some? BEE-BEE Knock yourself out. Jeff takes a hard swing off the bottle. JEFF You know, one moment things are so fucked up than you look at it from a totally different angle and it makes sense. BEE-BEE Yeah. JEFF Did you ever hear that saying, "This too shall pass"? BEE-BEE Sure, all the time, in Group. JEFF In Group? BEE-BEE Rehab. Outpatient. I have to go once a week. It's kind of like AA. JEFF Oh, yeah, you had to go to Highgate. That must've been intense. BEE-BEE Intense. JEFF How long were you in there? BEE-BEE Uh, ninety days. And now I just have to go once a week. See, I'm rehabilitated. JEFF Well, you shouldn't drink. Are you gonna drink? BEE-BEE No. Oh, maybe. Fuck. JEFF I mean, that would suck if you had to go back to rehab. BEE-BEE Yeah, it would suck big time. I'd kill myself first. JEFF It was pretty bad, huh? BEE-BEE It was like hell with windows. You know, there's shit on the walls. Kids my age sucking their thumbs. I mean, every day I would, I'd wake up in my cell and I'd think, my parents put me here. Why? Why? Because I stayed out all night one time. Uh, because I broke the VCR when I was drunk. Because I was out of control. I thought my parents loved me. CUT TO: INT. PONY'S LIMO - NIGHT Buff is holding onto the lawn leprechaun as if it was his girlfriend. He comes in and out of sleep. BUFF Hey, do you got any water? And some B-One? Hey, where did everybody go? LIMO DRIVER Hey, hey. Okay? BUFF Sor-sorry, Bruce. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT JEFF We were all riding around and it suddenly hit me what we were doing. We were getting off on the fact that we're in a car teen feet longer than all the rest. And I got out and I just started walking. BEE-BEE Yeah. JEFF Well, what it was... I, I don't want to admit it, but, you know, I was jealous of Pony. BEE-BEE Well, sure, he's rich and he's famous. He's got everything and you've got nothing. JEFF Yeah, but, when I was walking, I realized that he's stuck in that limo all the time. He's stuck with his interviews, he's stuck with his autograph, he has to do whatever his manager tells him to do, you know? He's not free. He's just part of the machine, and if you think about it, freedom's all that there really is. BEE-BEE Yeah, I guess. JEFF You know? And it used to scare me so much that I didn't know what was coming in my life. BEE-BEE Mm-hm. JEFF You know, like, like, I would always think, uh, you know, what if I make the wrong move? But maybe there isn't any right move. You know? I mean, look at us. You know, we all dress the same, we all talk the same, we all fuck the same, we all watch the same TV. Nobody's really different, even if they think they're different. "Oh, boy, look at my tattoo, you know?" And see, that's what makes me freak. Because I can do anything I want, as long as I don't care about the result. Jeff begins to remove articles of his clothing. JEFF (CONT'D) Anything is possible. It is night on planet earth and I'm alive. And someday I'll be dead. Someday I'll just be bones in a box, but right now, I', not. And anything is possible. And that's why I can go to New York with Sooze because each moment can just be what it is. There's no failure, there's no mistake. I just, I just go there and live there and what happens, happens. And so, right now I'm getting naked and I'm not afraid. You know? I don't, I don't need money, man. I don't, I don't even need, I don't even need a future. I, I could knock out all of my teeth with a hammer. So what?! You know, I could poke my eyes out. I'd still be alive, you know? At least I'd know that I was doing something real for two or three seconds, you know? It's all about feat and I'm not afraid anymore, man. Fuck it! Fuck fear! Jeff is standing in the middle of the parking lot, completely nude. Tim appears from on top of the roof. TIM Bravo, you son-of-a-bitch! CUT TO: INT. PONY'S LIMO - NIGHT The limo is pulling into the Circle A. Everyone is looking out the window at Jeff. PONY Is that Jeff? SOOZE Oh, my god! CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Jeff is putting his clothes back on. He sits down next to Bee-Bee and takes another swing off the bottle. BEE-BEE Jeff? Do you, do you ever wake up in the morning and think, "Well, here's another day"? You know? It's just like the last one. I mean what difference does it make, you know. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - LIMO - NIGHT Tim is on the roof of the Circle A watching Pony and Sooze get out of the Limo. They kiss. Tim keeps watching. SOOZE You know, my mom has this saying. PONY Yeah? SOOZE "Don't write any checks you can't cash." PONY Really? What else does your mother say? JEFF Oh, hi. I thought you guys got lost. SOOZE (to Bee-Bee) Hey, where did you go? We were worried about you. BEE-BEE Uh, home, you know. SOOZE Yeah, I talked to your mom. I think I woke her up. I hope I didn't get you in trouble. BEE-BEE You didn't get me in trouble. PONY Hey, where's Erica? JEFF I don't know. SOOZE Gee, Jeff, I thought you were gonna go take a piss, not join some alcoholic nudist colony. JEFF No, no. I just got sick and tired of listening to that demo tape over and over again, you know? I mean, I felt like a fucking groupie, you know. SOOZE Mm. I enjoyed the ride. Sorry you didn't. JEFF But wait! Sooze, I don't wanna fight. I'm so sorry. SOOZE What? JEFF No, I mean it. No, look, when, when I got out of the car I walked all the way here. SOOZE Mm-hm. JEFF And I fig- and I figured something out. SOOZE Oh, yeah? JEFF I, yeah. SOOZE Mm. Buff comes running from around the corner holding the lawn leprechaun. Tim walks from around the corner and opens a box of the take out Chinese. BUFF Hey! On behalf of Burnfield, I present to you the keys to the city. TIM So, how was the ride, kids? BUFF Great. TIM Really? SOOZE It was the nicest thin I've done in a long time. TIM Oh that's nice for you. PONY Where's Erica? You seen her? TIM Erica? She said she was tired. She went back to the hotel. PONY Oh, How'd she get back? TIM I called Bucky's. I got her a cab. Is there any hot mustard? JEFF I don't know. PONY I'm gonna go to the car for a 'sec. I'll be right back. Pony walks away, around the corner. BUFF They are old, we are young, they are fast, we are fun. TIM Buff, please, would you jus fuck off, okay? Fuck off! JEFF Wait, Sooze, I, I have to talk to you, 'cause I, there's something I figured out. SOOZE God, you smell like whiskey. JEFF No, no, I have to talk to you. SOOZE Is that a threat? TIM I ate a dog when I was in Thailand. Tasted exactly like this sparerib. JEFF No, wait, no, I thought about New York. SOOZE Forget about New York, Jeff. I don't want to talk about New York anymore. TIM There was this other place where they served live monkey brains. Sweat to God. You walk in, they bring the little monkey out, shave his head, crack it open, and you eat it's brains while it's still alive. I didn't go in, though, 'cause I didn't have any money and my mom has a saying: "Don't write any checks you can't cash". Sooze's face drops a little in surprise. JEFF Tim, what are you talking about? TIM Ask your girlfriend. Pony walks back to the group. PONY Well, I called Erica's beeper. There's just no answer. TIM What are you? Her pimp? She said she might go get a drink first. PONY Well, I mean, she always answers her beeper. TIM Pal, she's a big girl, you know? I'm sure she's alright. PONY Yeah? Well, what'd she say? TIM About what? PONY About where she went. I mean, what bar? TIM She didn't say. Maybe she's at the bar at the hotel. PONY The bar at the hotel? She told you that? What did she say exactly? TIM Well, Dad, she said she wanted to suck my cock. SOOZE Tim, why don't you shut the fuck up? PONY I think I gotta go. JEFF See ya later. TIM What? Oh, come on. You're not gonna suck my cock? PONY Fuck you, man. I never did anything to you! Tim gets up gets into Pony's face. TIM Okay. You know what? Watch your fucking language, alright? Or I might have to. PONY Whatever. TIM Oh, come on, Pony. I'm just kidding. Wow, you rock stars are really sensitive, huh? You know, there's a life on the road? PONY Don't do that, man, okay? SOOZE Could you give me a ride? TIM Oh yes! Yeah, man, give her the ride, the ol' Pony ride back to the hotel. SOOZE Tim, go throw up somewhere. PONY You know, man, it's none of your business what I do, okay? TIM It's none of my business? PONY Yeah. TIM Oh, okay, it's none of my business. Yeah, so, you-you're trying to fuck my best friend's girlfriend and it's none of my business?! SOOZE What the fuck are you talking about?! PONY Nobody's fucking anybody! TIM No, see, Neil, if you're fucking with one of my friends, then you're fucking with me. PONY Don't do that. TIM What are you going to do? Hm? PONY If you hit me... TIM Yeah? PONY ... my manager will slap an assault charge on your ass faster than you can say AA, okay? TIM Your manager? PONY Yeah, man, my manager and my lawyer. TIM Well, just, you know, have 'em call me. Y-you know where to find me, right? PONY Oh, yeah, drunk on the corner, man. Hey, why don't you buy another beer. It's on me, okay? BUFF Thanks, man! PONY (to Sooze) I'll be in the car, okay? JEFF Wait, wait, wait a minute, Sooze. What are you doing? SOOZE I'm leaving. Is that alright with you? Do I have your permission? Maybe you want to think about it. JEFF Where are you going? SOOZE For a ride. JEFF Wait, away? SOOZE Yes, Jeff, away. Away, away, away. JEFF To his hotel? SOOZE Shit, Jeff! BUFF You know what we should do? Go to the... JEFF So you can do an album cover? SOOZE I've run out of words. JEFF Wait. What, what are you saying? SOOZE I don't know. And I don't care that I don't know. JEFF Well, what about us? SOOZE What about us? I'm moving away your staying here. JEFF No, maybe not though. That, that's what I'm trying to say. SOOZE Maybe not? You think that I'm with somebody else and now it's maybe not? JEFF Oh, no, no, no. SOOZE You're unbelievable. JEFF Wait, no, I... Look, Sooze, I figured something out. SOOZE You did, huh? Good for you. JEFF Oh, fuck it, man! BUFF Fuck it! JEFF You know what? Go with him. Just go with him. BUFF In the limo!!! Buff runs off to the limo. JEFF Do your covers and all that shit. SOOZE 'Bye, Jeff. JEFF Go. SOOZE What? JEFF Just go. Sooze walks up to him and gets in his face. SOOZE You really suck, you know that? JEFF Just go. Sooze walks away and into the limo. Tim walks over to Jeff. TIM To women. They're all whores. Let us not forget what Chenowsky said. "The greatest men are the most alone." And without suffering, Jeffery, you will never gain wisdom. JEFF I'm not suffering, you know. I don't give a shit. TIM Good. That's good. Tim and Jeff walk towards the front of the store. Jeff stops at the corner and looks at Bee-Bee for a long moment, then disappears behind the corner. Bee-Bee downs the entire bottle of whisky that was at her side. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - NIGHT Jeff and Tim walk by the small glass window that Nazeer sits behind. Jeff raps it with his comb before walking up to catch up with Jeff. Nazeer picks up the phone. Jeff and Tim stop in the middle of the parking lot by the pumps. TIM Yeah. Yeah, no, you're right. It's no big deal, you know. Guy probably has his arm around her right now, holding her close, nudging her titty with his elbow, talking about the deep significance of his music, while she looks up at him with her big brown eyes. In a few minutes they'll be back at the Four Seasons. You ever, you ever stayed in one of those places? JEFF No. TIM Well, it ain't no pup tent in the garage, you know what I mean? Fuck. So they'll talk and talk. They'll probably talk all night. And, oh, they'll decide that they're gonna spend the night together, right? But, you know, they're gonna keep their underwear on and they're not gonna do anything. By six a.m. he's parking the pink Cadillac. Fuck. There's really only one answer. JEFF What? TIM Anarchy, my friend. Fuck 'em. You know what I mean? JEFF Yeah, fuck 'em. TIM No, no, say it like this. Fuck 'em! JEFF Fuck 'em! Fuck 'em all, man! Jeff throws his box of rice, hitting the big window on the Circle A food shop. TIM Yes! Your learning, kid. That's right! You're learning. Oh, it's the man. Chip and Gary pull into the Circle A with their cruiser. They get out and walk over to the boys. CHIP What's up guys? TIM Uh, you know, just admiring the scenery, you know? Nazeer comes running out of the store. NAZEER This one. (points at Tim) He causes all the trouble. CHIP Been drinking again, Timmy-boy? TIM You were a shitty lineman and now your a shitty cop. Yeah, blow me, I'm drunk. CHIP Okay, come on. Time to slow down. TIM Who's going to slow me down? You, you fat pig. CHIP Alright, get in the car before I have to embarrass you in front of your friend. TIM Hey, Gary, how's the divorce comin'? GARY Asshole. Cuff him and stuff him. They start to put Tim in the car, he resists. CHIP Will you stand up for me? TIM Okay. CHIP Come on. Inside. TIM Okay. We'll go for a ride. They put Tim in the cruiser and walk over to question Nazeer. GARY Can you tell me what happened? NAZEER He's drunk. GARY Uh-huh. NAZEER He causes problems. He was here earlier. Tim screams to Jeff from inside the car. TIM Hey, Jeff! Jeff walks over the police cruiser and squats down next to the window. JEF Yeah. TIM You gotta help me out, man. I'm in trouble. JEFF Oh, no, no, no. This is no big deal, you know? I can come down and, and get you out. TIM No, no. I'm not, I'm not talking about this. I did a bad thing, Jeff. JEFF What? What'd you do? TIM That chick, Erica? JEFF Well, w-what happened? TIM Well, I, you know, I took her to the van, you know. It was goin' all hot and heavy and she started hanging on me, you know? And she started crying, "Tim, Tim, what's the matter? I love you. Don't go!" And I was just looking at her stupid face and her stupid eyes, stupid mouth and I was filled with disgust, man. And I fuckin'... Oh, man, I really... JEFF What'd you do? TIM I hit her. JEFF You hit her? Oh, wait, wait a minute. Why'd you hit her? TIM Because I was fucked up, man. I just kept hittin' her till she didn't move anymore. JEFF Wait a minute, wait a minute. She's unconscious? TIM Go look, man. Go look. Go see for yourself, if you got the guts. JEFF Oh fuck. The cops get in the car and pull away. Nazeer walks over to Jeff. NAZEER You know, this, what you're doing with your life... JEFF I don't know. NAZEER You know, it's not you. You know? You seem like a smart guy. JEFF Yeah, well, thank you for the advice, but you wouldn't understand what is going on with me. NAZEER Oh, it's very complicated, huh? JEFF That's right. NAZEER Complicated or not, life moves on. Hm? Jeff walks away from Nazeer. CUT TO: EXT. CIRCLE A - VAN - NIGHT Jeff approaches the van, slowly, nervously. He spots something on the ground and picks it up. It's Erica's pager. SLOW FADE OUT SLOW FADE UP: EXT. CIRCLE A - PARKING LOT - EARLY MORNING Jeff is sitting on the side of the Circle A by himself. He looks very confused. Buff comes walking across the parking lot looking clean and very awake. BUFF Hey! Whoa, you look like shit. You been home yet? JEFF No, no. BUFF Huh? No, alright. Well, you know what we need? A hot cop of coffee. Hand on. Ohh, hey, I was up all night too, man. A long, long, long night. Buff walks into the Circle A to get the coffee. Jeff makes his way over to the pay phone and dials a number. Nazeer, who is sweeping the parking lot stares at him. JEFF (into telephone) Hi, uh, yeah, I'd, like to report a... What? No, yeah, no, I'd like to report a, report a crime. No, I can't hold, I don't... alright. Buff walks up with the coffee. BUFF Hey. Hey. Are you trying to get a hold of Sooze? JEFF No. Buff walks out into the parking lot, next to Nazeer. BUFF It's gonna be a beautiful fucking day, man. Buff throws the wrapper of the donut stick he's eating on the ground. Nazeer stares at him. Quickly Buff picks up the wrapper and runs towards the dumpster. BUFF Oh, God! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two! Buff slams the wrapper into the dumpster. NAZEER Yeah. Yeah, it's okay for you. It's okay. Enjoy yourself. BUFF Are you talking to me? NAZEER It's okay. BUFF Glad it's okay. NAZEER I'll tell you what. When I get my engineering degree and I'm swimming in my swimming pool, it will be very fucking okay. BUFF Um, if you're talking to me, could you make some sense? 'Cause I don't speak Swahili. NAZEER In two more years I'll have an engineering degree. We'll sell the store, we'll move away from Burnfield and the store and you standing here. BUFF Good. See you later. NAZEER You're a drunk and an idiot. BUFF You're wife sucks my cock every night, swallows my cum and loves it. That's okay. NAZEER Yeah it's okay. You know, we have a saying back home: "Either the salt is rotten or the meat." Nazeer starts to go back into the store. BUFF Yeah, well, uh, you're not so smart, chief, 'cause I'm moving out to L.A. NAZEER Ah, that's nice. They have many convenience stores there for you to stand in front of. Nazeer walks back into the store. Buff goes back around to the side of the building where Jeff is sitting against the wall. BUFF Yeah. Get ahold of Sooze? JEFF No, no, I wasn't trying. BUFF She was at the Four Seasons last night, man. But you shouldn't worry about that. JEFF No, I'm not, I'm not worried. I'm not worried. BUFF No. Life is too short. JEFF No, I'm not worried. BUFF Good. JEFF Uh, Buff, I'm, I'm, gonna tell you something and, uh, you got, you got, you gotta promise not to tell anyone, alright? BUFF Sure. JEFF No, I mean, no one. BUFF Hey, you know me. JEFF Buff, look at me for a second. No, this is serious. BUFF Yeah. JEFF Uh, last night... BUFF Yeah, I should've stuck up for you, man, I know. You're my friend, she's your old lady. JEFF No, no. BUFF I feel really bad about that, but I was busy, you know, I mean... JEFF No, look, this is not about Sooze, alright. Wait, wait, wait, wait. She stayed at the Four Seasons last night with Pony? BUFF Yeah, we all stayed at the Four Seasons, man. It was party time. Hey, I hung out with Danny, Pony's manager. Really nice guy. We talked about the video. They want a raw look. Something fresh. Danny said if I can capture the reality of Burnfield, it'd make a great tape. JEFF Okay, Buff, listen to me for a second alright? BUFF No, I know what you're going to say. I don't know anything about making a video. But that's a plus. JEFF No. BUFF Because since I'm just starting out, I've got a fresh point of view, and that's good for, you know, marketing, demographics... JEFF Buff, listen to me. Could you just- BUFF But I'd, I'd do it for free. You know, just for my reel. JEFF Buff, can you listen to me for a second? BUFF Oh, and guess who showed up. JEFF No, shut up! Look, look, alright, Tim is in trouble. BUFF I know, man. JEFF You know? BUFF Yeah, that's what I'm trying to tell you. That chick Erica? JEFF What, they're looking for her? BUFF No man, she showed up last night at the hotel. We has a great time together. I stayed in her room last night, man. What can I say? JEFF Wait a minute, wait a minute. You saw Erica last night? BUFF Yeah, I saw all of Erica last night, man. JEFF Buff, you got to stop making shit up. It didn't happen. BUFF Y- s-sure it did. JEFF No. It didn't, Buff. BUFF Wait. Hey, man. JEFF Erica is in the van back there. BUFF What? JEFF Look. BUFF Hey, man. JEFF She's in the van. BUFF What she doin' in the van, man? JEFF Buff... BUFF What? JEFF She's dead. BUFF She's dead? JEFF Look, Tim confessed to me last night. BUFF Tim... JEFF Tim killed Erica. Tim's a murderer. BUFF Bullshit. JEFF No, no, no. BUFF That's bullshit. That's total utter bullshit. JEFF Oh, really? You wanna go look? BUFF Yeah, man. JEFF Let's go look, then. Let's go look, then! BUFF It's bullshit. Look! Look! Pony's limo pulls into the parking lot, and Erica pops out. ERICA Cock-a-doole-doo! Good morning! Erica throws herself on Buff. BUFF Hey! Hey. ERICA I'm so burnt-out. BUFF Oh, how did you get burnt-out? ERICA Playing with something really hot. Yeah. BUFF Yeah? Erica notices her pager in Jeff's hand. ERICA Oh, my God, you found it. Thank you so much. (to Buff) Did you get your tape? BUFF Yup. Hey, um, so, um, listen, man, I got to go show the tape to Danny at the hotel, and if I get the gig, Erica is gonna teach me how to surf in L.A. ERICA Oh, I'll teach you how to surf even if you don't get the gig. BUFF I can come visit? ERICA You better! Yes! BUFF I will. ERICA It was really nice meeting you, Jeff. If you're ever in L.A., you should come by the offices. I talked to Pony earlier. He said he had a really nice time and he's really looking forward to reading some of your songs. JEFF Yeah, tell Pony to go fuck himself. ERICA Okay, I'll do that. Okay, hurry up. Erica and Buff play fight. It look's like a mix between an old kung-fu movie and a cat fight. Erica gets back into the limo. BUFF Ow! Hey! Get the heck in there! (to Jeff) Hey... Not dead! Definitely not dead! JEFF Guess not. BUFF See, I wasn't making shit up, man. JEFF No. BUFF God, Tim lied to your ass, man. That guy's sad, man. Well, uh, I gotta go, but, uh, listen, if I don't come back, I'll send a video of me surfing. Alright, man? Get some rest. Go with the flow. JEFF Alright. 'Bye, Buff. Buff jumps into the limo. BUFF Hey, George. The limo pulls off and it passes Tim who just entered the parking lot. BUFF (to Tim) Hey, man. TIM Hey. Tim walks over to Jeff and cracks open a new beer. JEFF They let you out? TIM Yeah, of course they let me out. Chickenshits. I gotta pay some class C misdemeanor ticket. So did I call it or did I call it? She spent the night, didn't she? Hm? Oh, that sucks for you, pal. Oh, shit. JEFF You lied to me. TIM You want to know what your problem is, Jeff? You want to believe so bad, you'll buy anything. It's true. Look at you. You're gullible and you're gutless. JEFF No, no. That's not the way it is at all. No, I stayed up all night trying to figure out how to protect my best friend. Wait, yeah, no, I was trying to come up with some lie so that you wouldn't have to go to jail for the rest of your life. TIM Wow. You did that for me? JEFF Yes. TIM Well, you know, all I can say is, you're a fucking fool. JEFF Why? Because I give a shit? TIM Oh, shit. JEFF Because I care, I'm a fucking fool? TIM Oh, Jeff, give me a break. You didn't even have the guts to go look in the van, did you? JEFF Oh no, no. You know what? Fuck that. No, you lied to me. You lied to me because you're gutless. You're a gutless, drunken looser. TIM I'm a loser. And I'm drunk. But I'm not gutless. JEFF You know, and what are you doing here in the first place, man? He's just gonna call the cops again. TIM Good, good. I, I hope he does. JEFF The sun hasn't even come up yet and you're drinking. TIM Hey, you saw that brown bitch point a gun at me last night, man. Did you think she was gonna use it? JEFF I don't know. TIM You don't know? JEFF No. TIM Come on. You don't think that after they called the cops on me, her and Mohammed had a nice laugh? JEFF No. Tim pulls a gun out of his pants and loads it. TIM No? Well, I disagree. I think they did. I think they probably went home last night and, you know, kicked off their sandals and had a nice laugh about the drunk on the corner, you know? Makes me sick. JEFF What are, what are you doing? Look, Tim, just go home. Alright. Go home and sleep it off. TIM Well, what am I supposed to sleep off? My life? You know, I'm supposed to go home and go to sleep and when I wake up, what'll I be, Jeff? A pilot? Maybe a Super Bowl quarterback or, no, maybe a fucking rock star. Right? I don't think so, man. JEFF Just go home, alright? TIM This is my home. JEFF Why, why did you start this in the first place, man? They never hurt you. TIM They never hurt me? They hurt me every day with their attitude. You know, like they even have a right. Who the fuck do they think they are? Let me tell you something, I was born here. Alright? I'm an American. And I'm owed something. Look, they took it from me. JEFF They're just people. Alright? They got feelings, you know? TIM What about my feelings? What about my fucking feelings? These assholes, they come over here, they know all the answers, right? Well, they don't know shit. JEFF Will you just put the gun down? TIM No. JEFF Just put it down. Nazeer walks out of the store. NAZEER What is this... now , huh? Jeff starts to walk towards Nazeer. TIM Jeff, stay there. JEFF He's got a gun. He's got a gun. TIM Well, then, there now, why don't you go inside and call the cops and I'll come in there and blow your fucking brains out. NAZEER Why should I call the police, huh? They don't so any good. TIM Well, you gotta call your wife then, you know, 'cause she kind of handles these heavy matters anyway, right? NAZEER No. No, you see, I don't have to call my wife. TIM Well, what about this? Nazeer pulls out his gun and points it at Tim. NAZEER What about this, huh? Go ahead, big man. TIM Camel jockey. NAZEER You know, why do you call me names? You know, I never hurt you. I'm only working here. TIM Yeah, yeah. That's the fucking problem. JEFF No, wait, wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What is your name? NAZEER Look, why do you care, huh? JEFF Because maybe if we know each other's names, things wouldn't get like this, My name's Jeff. NAZEER Okay. Nazeer, okay? JEFF Nazeer what? NAZEER Nazeer Chaudry! TIM Hey, w-why don't you see if he's hiring, you know? Get an application? JEFF That, that's Indian? NAZEER Pakistani. Okay? We're from Pakistan. TIM Alright, alright, enough with the Boy Scout routine. NAZEER Please. Look... JEFF Please? NAZEER Look, look, just get off my property. TIM What? Tim jumps up on top of the dumpster. NAZEER Look, get down off my property. TIM Why? What are you gonna do? Huh? You're gonna shoot me for standing on your fucking trash can? NAZEER Get off my property! TIM Hey, you know what? Go fuck yourself. NAZEER Fuck you! You know, I'll call the police. TIM Go ahead! They love you just about as much as I do. JEFF Tim, can we go? This is ridiculous. TIM Hey, Ma, look at me! Top of the world, Ma! Tim fires three shots into the air. NAZEER Get off my fucking roof, you fucking drunk! You bum! Pakeesa runs out to them , screaming in Pakistani. NAZEER Look Pakeesa... TIM Oh, there you are, honey. We were waiting for you. What happened? NAZEER Look, get down now, you fucking drunk! You bum! TIM You know what? Go ahead and shoot me. Go ahead! Fucking shoot me! Come on! Come on, man! Come on! Tim walks further onto the roof. We can't see him anymore. NAZEER Get off my roof! TIM Oh, shit. Jeff. Jeff, come up here! NAZEER Look; okay, come on. Look, what are you doing? Look, that's enough. My wife called the police. They're coming. Tim comes back into view holding Bee-Bee, who's unconscious, in his arms. TIM Jeff! Come up here! JEFF Is that Bee-Bee? TIM Come on! Pakeesa is screaming at Nazeer louder now. NAZEER Look, look, you see? They were drinking on the roof and, what, is she drunk? J-just get her off! What are you saying? Tim is handing Bee-Bee's unconscious body down off the dumpster to Jeff. TIM Ready? NAZEER What are you saying? Jeff places Bee-Bee on the ground and starts to check her vital signs. Tim jumps down off the dumpster. TIM You got her? Fuck. Tim walks past Nazeer and over to the pay phone. TIM I hope you're happy! NAZEER This has nothing to do with me, this, uh, drinking, yeah. TIM No, this has everything to do with you. NAZEER No, no, she went up by herself. This was not my responsibility. TIM Hey it's your roof. It's your fucking problem. (into phone) Hi, uh, there's an emergency down at the Circle A on first Street, Yeah, Okay. (to Nazeer) You're fucked now, pal! (into phone) Um, send an ambulance 'cause I, I think it's an overdose or something. Okay. Okay. (to Jeff) Jeff, they're coming. Just wait here. I'm gonna go over to Scuff's and see if he's got his truck. (to Nazeer) Listen, if she dies, you're gonna be so sorry that you ever showed your brown face in this town! Tim runs off. Nazeer is getting screamed at by Pakeesa. NAZEER This has nothing to do with me! She went up by herself. Yeah I tell them don't go on the roof! They can't go on the roof! (to Jeff) How is she? JEFF I don't know. I think she's breathing. NAZEER Okay. Okay, look my wife called the police. They're coming. It's not too late. They'll come, they'll take care of her. I'm going inside. Nazeer starts to walk back inside, but stops. NAZEER (CONT'D) Oh, God. You people are so stupid! What's wrong with you?! Throw it all away, huh?! You throw it all away! SLOW FADE OUT THE END