ACT THREE

FADE IN:

INT. CAFETERIA - NOON

Brooke, Natalie, Lily and Josh are sitting together at one of
the tables.

JOSH
Man, I still can't get over it.
It's like seeing a ghost.
(to Lily)
Why didn't you warn me?

LILY
Well, honey, I was a little busy
keeping Natalie from getting her
ass handed to her.

NATALIE
I really can't thank you enough,
Lily.
(to the others)
You know, Lily was the first
person to see me and not try to
kill me.
(considers)
Well, the second, actually.

LILY
Really? Who—?

At that moment Natalie spots Harrison carrying his lunch
across the room, and half-rises out of her seat, waving.

NATALIE
Harrison!

Harrison comes over.

HARRISON
Natalie, right?

NATALIE
(grinning)
You remembered.

HARRISON
Uh, trust me, you're kinda hard to
forget.

BROOKE
Wait, when did you meet Harrison?

NATALIE
Oh, before school. He told me
where Principal Krupps' office
was.

BROOKE
(to Harrison)
You think you could've said
something?

HARRISON
Well—I didn't see you until chem
class, and you walked in with her.

Harrison slides in next to Brooke, who wraps an arm around his
neck and snuggles.

NATALIE
(eyeing them)
So, you two...?

HARRISON
Ah, yeah.

BROOKE
But it's a long story.

HARRISON
(expectantly)
Brooke?

Brooke sighs and takes her arm away, pouting.

BROOKE
I thought we'd been through this.

HARRISON
That doesn't mean you have to
climb all over me every time Sam's
in the room.

BROOKE
I like climbing all over you,
whether Sam's around or not.

Josh and Lily whistle appreciatively; Brooke blushes and
discreetly pulls back a bit. Natalie looks around and spots
Sam, eating by herself across the room and not paying too much
attention to them.

NATALIE
What about Sam?

BROOKE
Like I said, it's a long story.

NATALIE
(rolling her eyes)
I'm sure I'll learn everything
soon enough. Like, about Miss
Glass.

BROOKE
(laughing)
Oh, that look on her face was
worth whatever we get.
(to Lily)
Come on, admit it—you enjoyed it
too.

HARRISON
Yeah, a little payback for all the
times she's humiliated us?

A grin tugs at the corners of Lily's mouth.

LILY
Well...it WAS curiously
satisfying.

Everyone erupts in laughter. On the other side of the
lunchroom, Sam gets up, dumps the rest of her lunch and walks
off. Lily spots her leaving, and gets up herself.

LILY (CONT'D)
I'll be right back.
(severely)
Nobody touch my organic brussel
sprout yogurt.

As she rushes off, the others look at each other.

JOSH
I wasn't even thinking about it.

HARRISON
So, Natalie, that was sure a
surprise you pulled on Mr.
Osbourne in social studies.

JOSH
What surprise?

BROOKE
(to Josh)
She speaks German.

NATALIE
I can get by in Swedish, too-the
Grout side of my family is
Swedish—but German's easier.

HARRISON
(awed)
I don't think I've ever met anyone
who was trilingual before.

JOSH
Yeah, around here most people take
Spanish.

NATALIE
Oh, as far as Spanish goes, I know
"quiero Taco Bell", and that's it.
And I don't even know what that
means.
(pause)
I guess I'll fit right in, huh?

There is more general laughter.

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER

Sam is at her locker when Lily catches up to her.

LILY
Hey, Sam!

SAM
(turning)
Oh—hey, Lily.

LILY
So...I saw you having lunch...

Sam rolls her eyes.

SAM
(sighs)
I can't, Lily. I just—can't,
okay?

Lily closes her mouth and gazes at Sam speculatively. Sam
laughs humorlessly.

SAM (CONT'D)
I know what you're thinking.

LILY
What?

SAM
You're thinking, when I was dating
George, Harrison didn't run away
and hide.

LILY
(nonplussed)
I—

SAM
I don't know how he did it. Maybe
I oughta ask him. Oh, wait, I'm
not talking to him.

Sam lets her forehead bang against the locker, and Lily
reaches out sympathetically.

LILY
I wish there was something I could
do.

SAM
There is—loan me your car.

LILY
Huh?

SAM
Oh, I just need to run down to the
paper.

LILY
(checking her watch)
But lunch is already half over.

SAM
I have study hall—I can be a
little late. Please? I promise I
won't speed.

Lily fishes out her keys and dangles them.

LILY
(teasing)
Are you sure you remember how?

SAM
(snatching the keys)
Just because I don't have my own
car doesn't mean I'm going to
forget how to drive.

She hugs Lily lightly, and then runs off.

CUT TO:

EST. THE L.A. CHRONICLE - LATER

An imposing pan of the building's exterior.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. THE FILE ROOM

In a room filled, top to bottom, with old-fashioned file
cabinets, Sam is bent over, searching through the drawers.
After a moment she surfaces with a couple of file folders.
She flips through them briefly; then, satisfied, she makes her
way towards the door. She is almost to the doorway when she
hears familiar voices in the corridor outside, and freezes.

JANE (O.S.)
...I just don't feel good about
this.

MIKE (O.S.)
I'm not happy about it. But we
have to do something...

Sam ducks behind a file cabinet as Mike and Jane pass by the
doorway. Then, with a mix of confusion and suspicion on her
face, she peeks around the corner of the doorway, and follows
them.

CUT TO:

INT. ART FLEISCHER'S OFFICE - LATER

Mike and Jane are seated before Fleischer's desk; Fleischer is
pacing the small space behind it. He goes to the window and
idly peeks out through the blinds, before shaking his head.

FLEISCHER
I can't do it.

MIKE
Look—

FLEISCHER
(cutting him off)
First of all, you don't want me to
do it. Sam has a promising career
in front of her—you don't want to
go nipping that in the bud.

CUT TO:

INT. THE NEWSROOM - CONTINUOUS

Sam is pressed against the wall next to the door, listening,
storm clouds darkening her face. She moves around the edge of
the room, staying out of the line of sight of the inner
office, and corrals another intern.

SAM
Gina, would you make sure Art gets
these?

GINA
Sure thing.

SAM
Thanks.

Sam starts to turn away; then, struck by a thought, she faces
the intern again.

SAM (CONT'D)
Hey, did you get your check?

GINA
A couple days ago.

SAM
Okay.

GINA
(thinking)
You know, you're new...they
might've screwed up the address.

SAM
(dully)
Yeah. Thanks.

She takes off at a run.

CUT TO:

INT. ART FLEISCHER'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

MIKE
I realize this is a radical
request. We're just a little
desperate here.

JANE
We're a lot desperate. Do you
know what it's like, every time I
come home, every time I wake up in
the morning, wondering if she's
run off again?

FLEISCHER
Has she talked about running away?
Have there been any warning signs?

JANE
You have to understand, Sam
doesn't talk about things—she
just goes and does them. There
are never any warning signs.

FLEISCHER
Hey, I really do understand your
concerns. But I still can't just
fire her, even if I wanted to.

JANE
Can't you at least limit the time
she spends here? She's almost
never home anymore, except to
sleep.

FLEISCHER
I can't order her to work less; my
editor would have my ass.

MIKE
Doesn't she need parental
permission to work?

FLEISCHER
(shaking his head)
Not at her age.
In face, I'll tell you what our
legal department would probably
tell me: that she could,
conceivably, find a lawyer and sue
us for wrongful termination.

JANE
I can't believe we're talking
about this.

MIKE
It's not that we WANT to force her
out of this job. We just...want
to control the situation.

FLEISCHER
(sitting)
Well, I'm sorry to tell you that
might not be possible. And that
it's a good thing you don't want
to force her out of her job,
because I don't think you can do
THAT, either.

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER

Harrison is getting a book out of his locker when Brooke comes
up from behind and wraps him up in her arms.

HARRISON
(reproachfully)
Brooke—

BROOKE
What?
(looking around)
I don't see Sam. Do you see Sam?
No Sam. What's the problem?

He takes her by the arm and leads her into a nearby empty
classroom.

CUT TO:

INT. A CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS

Harrison closes the door and turns to find Brooke glaring at
him, hands on hips.

HARRISON
Brooke, I'm sorry.

BROOKE
God, Harrison! What is it?

HARRISON
Don't you...don't you feel the
least bit guilty? About us?
About Sam?

Brooke turns away, burying her face in her hands for a moment
before facing him again.

BROOKE
Okay—I wish...you and Sam hadn't
been involved. I wish she
hadn't...discovered us together.
I wish she weren't mad at us.
But, Harrison...

She goes over to him and cups his face in her hands.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
I think we might have something
really special going. And, if the
price for that is a little
disharmony at home, I will gladly
pay it.
(pause)
Besides...Sam can't stay mad
forever. Right?

CUT TO:

EXT. MCQUEEN HOUSE - LATER

Lily's car screeches to a stop at the curb, and Sam leaps out,
running up to the house.

CUT TO:

INT. MCQUEEN STUDY - MOMENTS LATER

Sam bursts into the study and heads for Mike's desk. Without
any concern for stealth, she yanks open the drawers and goes
through them quickly. Finding one drawer locked, she grabs a
letter opener and, although she doesn't seem to know exactly
what she's doing, she manages to jimmy the drawer open. In
just a moment she pulls out an envelope.

INSERT: THE ENVELOPE

Business-sized, with Sam's name in the plastic window and the
newspaper's logo imprinted in the corner.

Sam slits the envelope open and pulls out her paycheck. Then
she reaches further back in the drawer, and comes up with the
wad of cash Jane took from her. Holding both up, she shakes
her head bitterly, almost crying.

SAM
To hell with you. Both of you.

She bolts from the room.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT THREE