INT. KENNEDY HIGH - HALLWAY - DAY
Some HANDS tape up an announcement flyer for the Junior Academic Awards Banquet.
CARMEN FERRARA and BROOKE walk down the hall.
CARMEN
No, no way, I'm not doing it --
BROOKE
I don't think you have a choice,
Carm. Krupps has already decided.
They happen upon Lily and Josh at Lily's locker.
LILY
Decided what?
CARMEN
Brooke --
BROOKE
Well, since Carmen here is our Homecoming
Queen this year, Vice Principal Krupps is making
her give an introductory speech at the awards
banquet.
LILY
Carmen, that's great!
JOSH
Yeah, you GO, Carm.
CARMEN
Um, no, it's really NOT that great --
BROOKE
The down side for Carmen is that she has
to introduce Nicole.
Lily's expression drops.
LILY
Nicole?
CARMEN
Yeah...she's kind of who they're honoring
for this thing.
LILY
(scoffs)
Well -- I don't think it's FAIR for you to
have to say such nice things about a
person who made your life a living *hell*
last year.
JOSH
Hey, lighten up, Lil. I mean, she *was*
the one who saved Harrison's life, y'know.
LILY
True, but still --
CARMEN
That's not the worst of it, you guys -- I'm
like, TERRIFIED of speaking in public. No,
correction -- MORTIFIED. Like, freeze-in-
place-wet-your-pants-then-crawl-back-home
MORTIFIED.
LILY
That's like -- totally not true! You've sung in
front of crowds before. *And* you're a
Glamazon.
CARMEN
Lily...that's singing and dancing. That's something
that I can do and literally forget why I'm putting
myself out there.
(huffs)
This is something that I can't do...without
remembering that people are zeroing in on
me...and not necessarily my voice or my
cheering.
Sam comes upon them.
SAM
Hey guys -- what's up?
BROOKE
Carmen's got a case of butterflies.
CARMEN
Ha, I feel like there're pterodactyls
running around in there, *screeching*,
trying to claw their way out.
Sam looks at them in confusion.
BROOKE
She's afraid to go up there to intro
Nicole for this thing.
SAM
Oh -- come on. You'll do just fine.
Carmen winces. Brooke turns to Sam.
BROOKE
Sam -- how's the search for Harrison?
SAM
No luck. You find Nicole?
BROOKE
Negative. God, you'd think that with
all these flyers up she'd be itching for
the chance step back into the limelight.
CUT TO
INT. KENNEDY HIGH - THE NOVAK - SAME
MARY CHERRY
I am just ITCHIN' to grab me some of
that limelight!
MARY CHERRY paces as NICOLE stands at the mirror, touching up her lip gloss.
NICOLE
Didn't you get an award notice in your locker?
MARY CHERRY
Of course I didn't! That's why you need to
help me!
NICOLE
I don't understand this, Mary Cherry -- why
the heck would you even *want* to get gussied
up to go to some second-tier hotel to receive
some cheesy laminated Kinko's certficate
...matted in *vinyl*?
MARY CHERRY
Oh Nic -- ever since I was a wee one I've brought
nothin' but disappontment to the distinguished Cherry
name.
Her eyes squint, she becomes reminiscent. ZOOM on her expression.
MARY CHERRY
It all started when I was SEVEN...
DISSOLVE INTO FLASHBACK
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
...Mama Cherry had entered me in the Lil' Miss
Texas Tap n' Spin, one of the many rungs in the
ladder of the horrifying phenomena of tortuous
kiddie pageants...
SHOT: A "younger" CHERRY CHERRY yanks a "young" Mary Cherry by her blond ponytails to the entry table and plops down a giant wad of money in front of the judges.
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
...I'd practiced for WEEKS on my routine with
the best baton and tap trainer that money could buy...
SHOT: An expert baton twirler twirls a baton while tapping, throws, catches, and poses. CUT TO Mary Cherry, sniffing the end of the baton and trying to chew on it.
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
...and even longer on shedding the extra pounds to fit
into a glamourous, custom-made, one-of-a-kind leotard...
SHOT: Cherry Cherry, in sunglasses and sun hat, sits in a lounge chair sipping a cocktail while watching Mary Cherry run a treadmill; the shimmering glam leotard sparkles on a mannequin next to her. Cherry Cherry presses a remote and the treadmill speeds up -- and Mary Cherry goes flying off of the treadmill.
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
...when the time came to impress the judges with
my fabulously stunning tribute to Bob Fosse, I blew
them all away!
SHOT: Mary Cherry tapping, spinning, throwing, and catching -- perfection, as the judges clap.
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
But little did I know the hand that fate would smack
my rosey little cherry cheeks was waitin' to strike!
SHOT: Cherry Cherry beats Mary Cherry on the head with the end of the baton -- WHAP WHAP WHAP -- as Mary Cherry pouts.
DISSOLVE BACK TO PRESENT
MARY CHERRY (V.O.)
It was because of what happened that sent me tailspinnin'
into my Susan Lucci-like streak of underachievement.
NICOLE
Well...what happened?
MARY CHERRY
I lost to Kristi Corpus! Yeah! Turns out that
her
daddy dug a little deeper into his pockets to get
his lil' girl the gold!
(pauses)
To this day, I can't somuch as look at a SLIM JIM, lest
I be reminded of the terror of losing to that Mackie-clad
HAGGIE!
NICOLE
Yeah, newsflash Sit n' Spin -- twirling a sparky baton
around
ain't gonna gitcha into Stanford -- or Bob Jones for that
matter. Even if you had won and set yourself
up for a lifetime
of dizziness and annoying tap sequences, you have to have
done
something worthy of academic integrity to get an award
at this
thing.
MARY CHERRY
Well, Nic, since when has givin' up yer bone cells
have anythin' to do with yer brain cells?
NICOLE
Point taken. But we still need to get you something
to puff up your resume in order to get you anyway near
that podium of perfection.
MARY CHERRY
Oh Nic...I'll do anything to get my name up on that
bullentin board of academic achievement...ANYTHING.
EXT. KENNEDY HIGH - LAWN - DAY
HARRISON JOHN lies on the lawn, staring into the clouds, his head resting on his backpack. He momentarily lifts his head to the sound of muted laughter, as he looks to see the happy couples around him. He sighs and lies back again, placing his hands over his face.
LILY
Hey Harrison -- practicing to become
one with mother earth just like I
taught you?
Harrison looks up to see Lily smiling down at him.
HARRISON
(mutters through his hands)
More like practicing to become the
invisible dog crap that no ones sees
when they step in the grass.
Lily sits down next to him.
LILY
What's wrong?
Harrison sits up -- he looks like he hasn't had any sleep and his hair's a bit messed.
LILY
Wow. You may not have to practice
all that much. What's going on?
HARRISON
Why bother asking...hey, shouldn't you be
playing share the Tic Tac with ol' Josh, Lil?
You guys are never apart for this long.
Lily's expression sours.
LILY
Okay, *I'm* going to ignore what you just
said and chalk it up to your lack of sleep.
HARRISON
I...I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't mean to be an ass.
LILY
You're forgiven. So tell me...what's going on?
Brooke and Sam have been looking for you all
over school.
HARRISON
Well...Brooke and...Sam are the least of my
problems. I dunno...I'm just not in a very good
mood these days.
(pauses)
You know, I look around and I see all these shiny
happy people...and me, well...I should be happy.
I should be thankful that I'm still alive...but
sometimes -- sometimes I just wish I'd never
recovered, you know?
LILY
(aghast)
DON'T say that!
HARRISON
It's true, Lil.
Lily stares at him for a moment, trying to read his feelings.
LILY
This is about Sam, isn't it.
HARRISON
Surprisingly, it isn't.
(pauses)
Lily -- do you think it's possible...even remotely
possible...to be in love with two people at the
same time?
Lily is a little shocked by his question.
LILY
I don't know. It's never happened to me before,
so I can't say.
Harrison bites his lower lip.
LILY
Well, I believe that you can love two people
equally with the same amount of emotional
investment --
HARRISON
It doesn't matter anyway, it was just a
question --
LILY
Harrison. Whatever is going on with you
is obviously eating you up inside and that
isn't good for your spiritual well-being.
Maybe you just need some time to think
and sort things out --
HARRISON
Doubt it. I...I swear, I...I was *this* close...
so close I could literally feel it running through
me -- so close I could feel her feeling it, too.
(pauses)
I can't get into it. All I can say is that...I
never felt so alive with anyone until I was
with this person, and then all of a sudden, just
like everything else in my life, it exploded in
my face. And I don't know how or why it
happened -- it just did.
(starts to tear up)
And now I'm angry...and I'm hurt...and I don't know
what to do about it because I've never been to
this place before...it just hurts so bad, Lily...it --
Harrison breaks down. He leans into Lily, and she comforts him. Josh happens upon them, and crouches down, concerned, his hand on Harrison's shoulder.
In the distance, NICOLE struts by and slows when she sees Harrison crying
on Lily's shoulder. Before he can look up, she clears her throat
and keeps walking.
INT. KENNEDY HIGH - ADVANCED JUNIOR ENGLISH CLASS - DAY
MISS ROSS sits on the edge of her desk. NICOLE is in the class along with EMORY, APRIL TUNA, SAM, and BROOKE.
MISS ROSS
Female rebellion has always been a popular
theme for writers of prose and poetry, as the
very concept of an intelligent, self-affirmative
woman has long offended the very values of our
ancient patriarchal societies.
HARRISON finally enters -- there are no other seats except for the one between Sam and Nicole.
MISS ROSS
Glad you could join us in *this* microcosmic
society, Mr. John. You should be glad that
it's a rather forgiving matriarchy, as well.
HARRISON
(quiet, taking his seat between Sam and Nicole)
Sorry.
MISS ROSS
Modern music has Madonna challenging the notion
of male authority dictating the rules of our world,
history has Joan of Arc, a woman so passionate
about her beliefs that she was willing to martyr
herself in defiance of the church -- classic literature
has Sophocles's Antigone -- the true rebel with a
cause.
(pauses)
Can anybody tell me -- who Antigone was?
BROOKE raises her hand and Miss Ross nods.
BROOKE
Wasn't she Oedipus's daughter?
MISS ROSS
Yes Miss McQueen, she sure was the daughter of
Oedipus Rex, the man who unknowingly had
incestuous relations with his mother Jocasta,
but -- as many others before you have, you have
fallen into the trap of defining a woman by the
men in her life and I can assure you, honey -- she
was *the* quintessential self-defining woman. Maybe
I phrased it wrong, so again I ask -- who *was* Antigone?
Nicole raises her hand.
MISS ROSS
Yes, Miss Julian.
NICOLE
Antigone was a woman who understood
the conflict between the need for social
order...and the need to enforce higher law
over man's law.
MISS ROSS
VERY good. Miss Julian has brought to
light the very essence of what our tragic
heroine Antigone was about -- and what
the central issues of the play is about.
(pauses)
Divine law versus human law, conscience
versus law, period. The major conflict
facing both Antigone and Creon -- two
very stubborn people -- centers around
Antigone's sharp 'defiance of the law'...and
her pride.
Brooke glances at Nicole, then at Harrison.
MISS ROSS
Don't get me wrong, children -- pride is a
multi-faceted concept in Greek literature, and
in Antigone's case it serves as a double-edged
sword: It is the fuel for her fire, but also the
fuel
that which burns her in the end.
BROOKE
Didn't she die because of her pride?
MISS ROSS
She died because she gave her brother a proper
burial, Miss McQueen.
Nicole glances at Harrison. Harrison has been in a zone, staring into space, since he entered.
MISS ROSS
Creon's law dictated that no man that rose
against the throne or the city could be
allowed to be buried with respect, and even
though Antigone's brother Polynices was merely
rising against injustice, he was still characterized
as the aggressor and in defiance of the law.
(pauses)
Creon also needed to make sure that Antigone
knew her place in his society, despite everyone
else's support of her moral position and her actions.
(pauses)
This is that destructive part of the pride that I
mentioned. Creon's pride is what causes him to
ignore his son Haemon's pleas for mercy.
Tiresias's prophecy about the anger of the gods
finally makes a crack in Creon's conscience, but
by then it's too late...at the end, he is left completely
alone, after his son and wife committed suicide
over the situation he created over Antigone.
The bell rings and everyone gathers their stuff.
MISS ROSS
Tomorrow I'll probably assign you kids
parts to read aloud, be prepared for some
heavy drama. Mr. John, I'd like a word
with you.
Harrison turns and plops his bag down next to Miss Ross's desk. Sam and Brooke approach him as Nicole and the rest leave.
BROOKE
Hey Harrison.
HARRISON
Hey.
BROOKE
We were wondering when it was a good
time for us to set this interview thing up.
HARRISON
Like...never.
SAM
Look...Harrison. I...I know how it is
to not want to re-live your pain --
HARRISON
I'm sorry...did you hear something, Brooke?
It sounded like Sam's voice.
BROOKE
Harrison --
SAM
No, Brooke, hey -- it's o.k.
(picks up her things)
I'll go work on that article...you guys --
just go ahead and set it up without me.
We've got alot of work ahead of us.
BROOKE
Sam...Sam!
Sam quickly leaves. Brooke looks at Harrison.
HARRISON
I'm not in the mood for this right now.
BROOKE
I can see that.
(pauses)
Look...Sam's right. We do have alot of work
ahead of us. Vice Principal Krupps didn't
give us alot of time for this, so --
MISS ROSS
Speaking of time, Miss McQueen, you are
taking up mine as you stand there.
BROOKE
I'm sorry, Miss Ross --
(to Harrison)
We're not here to torture you...it's just
an assignment.
HARRISON
I'll keep that in mind.
Brooke leaves as Harrison stares into Miss Ross's desk as she writes.
MISS ROSS
(not looking at him)
Is there something you need to talk
about, Mr. John?
HARRISON
I don't think so.
MISS ROSS
Showing up late to class is only one of
the things that makes me ask. Lately your
usually enthusiastic participation seems
to have diminished, if not completely
disappeared. Now -- do I really bore
you that much?
HARRISON
No -- no, not at all, Miss Ro --
MISS ROSS
Then explain to me why I feel like the
light has gone out in one of my best and
brightest?
HARRISON
I don't really have an explanation.
MISS ROSS
Mmhm. Well, whatever it is, I suggest
you deal with it in the best possible manner
for you, immediately. Whether that means
counselling, Prozac, or kick boxing -- doesn't
matter to me.
(pauses)
As chairwoman for the JAAB committee I
want my guests of honor to shine under that
tracklighting on Saturday.
HARRISON
Will do.
He turns to leave.
MISS ROSS
Mr. John --
HARRISON
(turns back)
Huh?
Miss Ross holds up his bag.
MISS ROSS
Please take your baggage out of my
classroom.
Harrison takes his bag out of her hand and enters
THE HALL --
he takes a sharp turn and sees NICOLE walking towards him. They stop, they turn away -- Nicole continues walking, but Harrison rolls his eyes and turns back.
HARRISON
Nicole -- wait.
Nicole sighs and turns around.
NICOLE
What now, Boy Wonder? I
don't have time to play Batman
with you.
HARRISON
I...I think we need to talk.
NICOLE
And *I* think that everything
that has to be said has already
been said, so...why bother?
HARRISON
I think you know why.
(pauses)
You do. What I said to you...I
meant it. And that's why you're
running like you are -- it's 'cuz
you're scared.
NICOLE
Mm. Well, hon, I guess you've
found me out. Nothing scares me
more than bad sex with a momma's
boy in his bedroom.
HARRISON
You don't mean that --
NICOLE
Yes, I do --
HARRISON
No, you don't -- you don't and
you know it.
(pauses, comes closer)
You told me that *I* did something
special for you.
NICOLE
Those were just words, Harrison --
HARRISON
Yes, but actions are actions and you
know the old saying. What you didn't
say...said more to me than anything
else. And...and it wasn't just the act
of sleeping together, either -- it was
more than that. Come on -- I've seen
plenty of simple acts on four hour rentals.
This wasn't it. This was you and me...
connecting even deeper than I think either
of us would have ever imagined we could.
Harrison reaches out to her cheek and brushes it with his fingertips, as she is temporarily stricken by his truth.
HARRISON
And I *know* you know exactly
what I'm talking about.
Nicole listens...but then breaks from his touch.
NICOLE
(getting frustrated)
Look -- Harrison. I suggest that you
pick up the pieces of your broken,
idealistic heart, get some Krazy Glue,
piece it together, and forget that you
ever even thought that you could
care for a big, seething bitch like me.
I'm obviously too much for you to
handle.
HARRISON
But I don't just care for you, Nicole.
(pauses)
I love --
NICOLE
Don't even think about saying it,
Harrison -- especially when I
know it's not true.
She turns and starts to walk away. Harrison grips the strap on his backpack and swallows.
HARRISON
Fine. I'll just tell everyone about
what we did.
Nicole freezes and her gaze dips towards the tiles on the floor -- but she turns back and scoffs..
NICOLE
Please. You don't think people
will actually believe that *I*
would ever sleep with you? I'm
not *that* desperate. And even if
you did tell everyone about our
hideous indiscretion, I'd just deny it --
without any proof, you can't back
up your ridiculous attempt to shame
me.
(pauses)
On the other hand...I *do* have
physical evidence -- plus one very
credible witness -- to your trashy
deathbed email about me.
(pauses)
Hm. Maybe I *will* make a cameo in
Spam's video afterall. And afterwards...I
think I have to go rework my *very* special
tribute to a *very* special cancer survivor.
She turns her heel and quickly proceeds to strut down the hall.
FOCUS on Harrison's face as his teary eyes wander from her shrinking
form into space...he turns away and leans against the locker.
END OF ACT 1