ACT ONE
FADE IN:
INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER
Sugar Daddy and Ellie are standing toe-to-toe, while the rest
of the gang form a loose semi-circle around them.
SUGAR
Okay, okay—so you're home for a
week. But what are you doing
HERE?
ELLIE
What, I can't visit the place my
baby brother goes to school?
Where he spends his formative
hours?
SUGAR
No, you can't!
ELLIE
(laughing)
Aw, you're just playing around.
SUGAR
I'm not, really.
She just laughs him off, turning an eye to Josh, who, along
with Harrison, seems to have been stunned into immobility.
ELLIE
Hey—you're Josh, aren't you?
Wow, you grew some!
JOSH
Wh-wh-wha... I-I-I—I mean, I-I
I did, uh—
Lily interposes herself between them.
ELLIE
(neutrally)
And who are you?
LILY
(gritting her teeth)
I'm Lily. His wife. We have to
go now.
With that, she pushes and shoves Josh off down the hallway.
The flurry of motion jerks Harrison back to reality.
HARRISON
Oh—
(sticking his hand out awkwardly)
Harrison. Harrison John.
ELLIE
(frowning)
Harrison? Or John?
HARRISON
First name Harrison, last name
John.
Ellie shakes his hand.
ELLIE
Ah—got it. Sorry.
HARRISON
(grinning stupidly)
No, no—I mean, I get that all the
time—
Brooke steps into Ellie's line of sight, extending her own
hand.
BROOKE
(trying to be gracious)
Brooke McQueen.
Ellie shakes her hand in turn, and then gasps.
ELLIE
Wait—I've heard about you!
Brooke does a double-take.
BROOKE
What?
ELLIE
Oh, you know—I never hear
anything from Mikey, because he's
too busy being the superjock to
call me. But he talks to our mom,
and she talks to me.
BROOKE
(nervously)
What did you hear?
Ellie suddenly checks her watch.
ELLIE
Hey—never mind. It's not
important. Anyway, I gotta run.
SUGAR
(anxious)
So, you're leaving now, right?
ELLIE
What? No, I've got to get to your
principal's office. He's going to
give me a tour of the school.
(laughs)
Relax, Mikey-you'll hardly notice
that I'm here.
She takes off, leaving Sugar Daddy groaning in her wake.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE QUAD - LATE MORNING
Sam is walking by herself when the honking of a car horn
attracts her attention. Looking out to the street, she sees a
convertible parked at the curb—with Jaycee leaning on the
horn and waving wildly. Mouth agape, Sam jogs over.
SAM
Jaycee, what are you doing here?
JAYCEE
Hey, you've got lunch, right?
Come on—my treat.
SAM
(hemming and hawing)
Um...I'm not really supposed
to...
JAYCEE
(cajoling)
Aww, come ON, Sammy! You don't
really want to eat cafeteria food,
do you?
SAM
Really, I've got this thing—
But as she looks around anxiously, she catches sight of
Harrison and Brooke, walking arm-in-arm.
SAM (CONT'D)
(glowering)
You know what—screw it.
She throws her things in the back, and hops into the passenger
seat.
SAM (CONT'D)
Let's jet.
As the convertible roars off:
SAM (CONT'D)
Jaycee?
JAYCEE
Yeah?
SAM
Do me a favor—don't call me
Sammy.
JAYCEE
Not a problem.
Meanwhile, back on the quad, Lily, who has witnessed the whole
scene, just sighs and shakes her head.
CUT TO:
INT. CAFETERIA - NOON
Josh, Lily, Brooke, Harrison and Sugar Daddy are eating lunch
together.
SUGAR
Man, you have no idea what it's
like. It's always, Ellie this,
and Ellie that, and isn't Ellie
wonderful, and why can't you be
more like Ellie?
BROOKE
Come on, your parents don't really
say that, do they?
SUGAR
(wagging his finger adamantly)
I can hear them thinking it.
BROOKE
I think you're exaggerating. I
mean, sure she's done more, but
that's just because she's older.
It's not like she's Wonder Woman,
or—
Brooke's argument happens to be disrupted by the sound of
Ellie and Natalie entering the cafeteria, while carrying on an
animated conversation—in Swedish. Upon seeing the gang, they
have a brief exchange; as Ellie heads over to the lunch line,
Natalie climbs into an empty spot and begins unpacking her
brown paper bag.
NATALIE
(gushing)
Hey, Sugar Daddy, you didn't tell
me you had a genius sister! I
haven't had a chance to practice
my Swedish in a long time.
(to everyone)
Did you guys know she interned
with a U.N. ambassador? And that
she studied at Oxford? And
bicycled around France? She even
rode some of the same route they
use for the Tour de France! Isn't
that cool?
Sugar Daddy looks pointedly at Brooke, who just shrugs
sympathetically. Natalie finally breaks to take a bite out of
her apple.
NATALIE (CONT'D)
Hey—anyone know where Sam is?
We're supposed to hook up.
There is a moment of slightly awkward silence.
LILY
(reluctantly)
She went off-campus for lunch.
NATALIE
Are you sure? She was going to
help me with this thing for
English.
LILY
I saw her take off with that girl
that lives in her building.
NATALIE
(subdued)
I guess I'll catch up with her
later.
SUGAR
Hey, speaking of missing persons,
where's Carmen got to?
All eyes turn to Lily; after a moment she looks up, annoyed.
LILY
How come I'm everyone's baby
sitter all of a sudden?
SUGAR
(holding his hands up)
I just thought you might know.
LILY
(grousing)
I'm sorry, I don't.
Before anyone can say anything else, Ellie sits down with her
tray.
ELLIE
You know, this food looks good.
Like what we had at Yale.
HARRISON
Really?
ELLIE
(considering)
Well, no...but close, and
definitely better than what I had
to eat in high school.
BROOKE
So, Ellie...you said your
parents...talked about me...?
NATALIE
(interrupting)
Hey, tell everyone that story
about how you were in Africa, and
you saved that whole village from
getting flooded.
ELLIE
(modestly)
It really wasn't that big a
deal...
(pause)
Okay, see, I was on this mini
safari—I just had to get out of
New York, because Elite and Ford
were all over me about signing
some stupid modeling contract...
Sugar Daddy just puts his hands over his face and groans.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER
Josh and Sugar Daddy are walking.
JOSH
You know, Ellie doesn't seem that
bad. Though she did turn into a
major hottie. No offense.
SUGAR
Man, you don't have to live with
her. I'm telling ya, I'd rather
listen to John Tesh CDs 24-7 than
hear my parents go on and on.
JOSH
That's harsh, Shug.
As they pass by the open doorway of an empty classroom, Josh
spies Lily sitting on a desk, all by herself.
JOSH (CONT'D)
Hey, I'll catch you later.
CUT TO:
INT. CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS
Josh pokes his head through the doorway, and raps on the door
to get Lily's attention before coming in.
JOSH
Babe, are you okay?
LILY
I'm sorry I snapped at Sugar
Daddy.
JOSH
Aw, he knows it's nothing. I just
thought you'd be worried about
Carmen.
LILY
I AM worried about Carmen. I'm
worried about Carmen, I'm worried
about Sam...it's like there's this
endless reservoir of worry
building up in my head. Plus, I
have to go to that therapist
tonight.
JOSH
Are you sure you don't want me to
come? I feel really weird about
you being there by yourself.
LILY
(patting his hand)
No, Josh...it's my stress, I have
to deal with it. It'll be okay.
Josh puts his arms around her and lets her snuggle next to
him.
DISSOLVE TO:
EST. MCQUEEN HOUSE - EVENING
CUT TO:
INT. MCQUEEN DINING ROOM
Mike, Jane and Brooke are sitting around the table, supposedly
having dinner, and the mood is—to say the least—somber. And
silent. Brooke picks at her food, and Jane doesn't look very
happy, either. Mike looks back and forth between them, and
finally tries to strike up a conversation.
MIKE
So, Jane...how was your day? Did
you get an offer on that house you
were showing?
JANE
(shrugs)
Maybe. They'll let me know next
week.
MIKE
Well...great.
The exchange peters out into another long, oppressive silence.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Brooke—
At the mention of her name, Brooke turns a pair of brooding
eyes on her father that makes him abandon whatever ice-breaker
he was going to use. Instead, he lets out an exaggerated sigh
of annoyance.
MIKE (CONT'D)
See, what I don't understand is
how you can be mad at Sam, and mad
at us, too.
BROOKE
I'm not mad at Sam. She's mad at
me.
MIKE
You know what I mean.
BROOKE
Look—I know I hurt Sam. It was a
horrible, heinous thing to do.
But, at least I had a reason. I
love Harrison. Now, maybe that's
a lousy reason, but...I mean, what
YOU guys did...
MIKE
We had reasons, too.
JANE
We just wanted to keep her from
running away again.
BROOKE
(biting)
Yeah, how'd that work out?
MIKE
Brooke!
BROOKE
Did you really think you could get
her to stay by making it
impossible for her to leave?
MIKE
(muttering)
It seemed like a good idea at the
time.
CUT TO:
INT. MCQUEEN KITCHEN - LATER
Mike and Jane are side by side, putting dishes in the sink.
JANE
Mike, what are we going to do
about this?
Mike starts to open his mouth, but ends up just shrugging.
JANE (CONT'D)
It's been two weeks! What if it
were Brooke out there?
MIKE
Honey, you know I want Sam to come
home just as much as you do,
but...I don't know what I can do
about it.
JANE
I can't have my daughter out
living—god knows where. Or how.
I have to do SOMETHING.
Brooke appears, dropping her plate on the counter with a
clatter.
BROOKE
You can't do anything! God, don't
you get that? You couldn't make
her stay, and you can't make her
come back. Anything you do is
just—
FLIP CUT TO:
INT. JOSH AND LILY'S LIVING ROOM - LATER
Lily, sitting on the sofa, picks up the end of the same
sentence:
LILY
—going to drive her further away.
I'm sorry, Mrs. McPherson, but...I
don't know what I can do, either.
Jane, sitting alone across from Lily, holds out her hands.
JANE
I just thought...you're one of the
few people she'll listen to
anymore...
LILY
(shrugging)
I really haven't seen much of her
lately.
JANE
Look, I really don't want to put
you in the middle between Sam and
I, but...I don't even know where
she is.
Lily considers for a moment, then reaches for a pad and
scribbles on it. She tears off the top sheet and hands it
over.
JANE (CONT'D)
Thank you.
LILY
I really think you shouldn't go
over there, Mrs. McPherson. At
least, not for a while yet.
Josh pads out from the kitchen.
JOSH
Lil? Oh...hey, Mrs. McPherson.
JANE
Hi, Josh.
JOSH
Babe? You wanted me to remind you
about the thing.
LILY
(checking her watch)
Oh, thanks, honey.
(to Jane)
I'm sorry. I have an appointment
with a stress management
therapist.
JANE
(getting up)
No, it's all right.
Lily walks Jane to the door.
LILY
I'll try to talk to her, Mrs.
McPherson. But I really don't
know how much good I can do.
JANE
Thank you, Lily. For whatever you
can do.
After Jane leaves, Lily leans against the door and sighs.
JOSH
Hun?
LILY
(holding up a hand)
Yeah, yeah, I'm going.
As Lily walks out of the room, the phone rings. Josh goes
over to the end table and picks it up.
JOSH
(into the phone)
Hello?
INTERCUT WITH:
INT. AUSTIN LIVING ROOM
where George is.
GEORGE
Hey, Josh.
JOSH
Yo, George, what's shakin'?
GEORGE
Did you see Sugar this afternoon?
JOSH
(frowning)
Not since school. Why?
GEORGE
Ah, he was supposed to come over.
You know, he's helping me rehab my
ankle. But he never showed.
JOSH
Sorry, man, can't help you.
GEORGE
(sighs)
Okay. Thanks.
As Josh hangs up the phone, Lily re-emerges from the back.
LILY
How do I look?
JOSH
(cuddling)
Sexy, as usual.
LILY
(laughing)
I mean, do I look all right for my
therapy session?
JOSH
You look fine, Lily.
LILY
I guess I'm just a little nervous.
JOSH
Hey, I can still come with you,
you know.
LILY
(pushing him away firmly)
No, no—I'm fine. Really.
She pulls on her coat, and pecks him on the cheek.
LILY (CONT'D)
I'll be back.
And with that, she's out the door.
CUT TO:
EST. A CITY STREET - NIGHT
A moderately busy urban street, as Jaycee's convertible goes
roaring past.
CUT TO:
INT. JAYCEE'S CAR - MOVING
Sam is lounging in the passenger seat.
SAM
Okay, where are we going again?
JAYCEE
Trust me, you're gonna love this.
Eddie's raves, they just rock.
SAM
I'm really not into this scene.
JAYCEE
Yeah, I can see that.
She reaches over and flips open the top button of Sam's
blouse.
JAYCEE (CONT'D)
You gotta lighten up, though.
SAM
Jaycee...
JAYCEE
You know, advertise.
SAM
(re-buttoning her blouse)
I'm not interested, thank you.
JAYCEE
C'mon, what about those urges?
SAM
I'll have you know I have plenty
of urges. I'm just...not ready to
jump into another relationship.
JAYCEE
So who's talkin' relationship?
You meet someone cute, you take
'em home... And, you don't have
to worry about your mom walking in
on you.
Sam just shakes her head and laughs.
CUT TO:
EST. CITY STREET - CONTINUOUS
Another shot of Jaycee's speeding convertible; after which the
focus segues to a Mr. Cluck restaurant on the corner.
CUT TO:
INT. MR. CLUCK - CONTINUOUS
Sugar Daddy steps up to the counter.
COUNTER BOY
Can I help you, sir?
SUGAR
Yeah...gimme two—no, three Mr.
Cluck dinner specials. And
supersize everything.
CUT TO:
INT. AN OFFICE BUILDING - NIGHT
Lily and her therapist—a solidly-built forty-ish man—are
chatting while strolling along the edge of a large atrium.
LILY
You know, Dr. Morgan...this isn't
exactly what I pictured.
DR. MORGAN
Oh? What did you picture?
LILY
(shrugs)
Ummm...luxurious office...lots of
bookshelves...leather couch...
DR. MORGAN
Well, we can go back to that
office if you prefer. But some
people find this more comfortable.
LILY
No, it's fine. This is...
relaxing.
DR. MORGAN
(leading)
And you don't relax easily.
LILY
I don't know...I guess maybe
sometimes people think I'm too
serious.
DR. MORGAN
There's nothing wrong with being
serious. Do YOU think you're too
serious?
She stops walking and chuckles at him.
LILY
Sometimes I forget that you're a
psychologist.
DR. MORGAN
Don't worry, I won't let you
forget. So...?
LILY
I really don't know. I mean, if I
see something wrong, then I have
to do something about it. I can't
just do nothing. Is that bad?
DR. MORGAN
(considering)
Do YOU think it's a bad thing?
LILY
No...!
DR. MORGAN
Then I don't either.
They walk on for a moment.
LILY
Just out of curiosity...if I did
think it was a bad thing—I don't,
but if I did...?
DR. MORGAN
Well, if you're doing something
you're not happy with, then that's
something that might need to be
addressed.
LILY
(sourly)
What I'm doing that I'm not happy
about is turning into a basket
case whenever my husband raises
his voice.
DR. MORGAN
And you don't feel threatened by
him? Not at all?
LILY
No! Doctor, he's the sweetest,
gentlest man ever. This is just
tearing him up. I could never,
ever feel threatened.
DR. MORGAN
Consciously.
LILY
Dr. Morgan...you think my
subconscious is afraid of Josh?
DR. MORGAN
It might be a little more
complicated than that, but...your
subconscious reacts on a different
level than your conscious mind.
It interacts differently with
people. There's a possibility—
based on what I've heard—that
subconsciously you're equating
Josh with your father. That's
only a preliminary opinion, of
course.
LILY
Well, how do I UNequate them?
DR. MORGAN
That's what therapy's for.
LILY
If you really think it'll help...
DR. MORGAN
I'm a psychologist. It's my job
to think it'll help.
(chuckles)
Really, Lily, I don't see any
reason why you shouldn't be able
to make significant progress in
dealing with this trauma from your
childhood. I don't mean to say
it'll be easy—but it IS a fairly
straightforward process.
LILY
What about my stress, Dr. Morgan?
DR. MORGAN
Hmmm...I COULD say that your need
to be actively involved is a by
product of your childhood trauma.
To put it rather tritely, that you
feel you need to change the world
because you couldn't change your
situation at home.
(pause)
But, then I'd be talking like a
psychologist—and we wouldn't want
that, would we?
They walk along for a moment more.
DR. MORGAN (CONT'D)
You know, there are a couple of
exercises you can try to lower
your immediate stress levels...and
it might make you a bit less prone
to panic attacks.
FLIP CUT TO:
INT. DR. MORGAN'S OFFICE - LATER
Lily has a doubtful expression on her face.
LILY
I don't know about this, Dr.
Morgan.
She holds up her hands, which are encased in—what else?—
boxing gloves.
LILY (CONT'D)
I've never believed in any kind of
violence. And besides, I already
tried something like this with
Josh, and it didn't work.
DR. MORGAN
(shaking his head)
This isn't about working things
out with Josh. This is all about
you. Consciously, you might shun
violence, but your subconscious is
still angry about all the things
your father did. Bottling up that
anger is part of what creates your
stress.
He holds up a sparring pad.
DR. MORGAN (CONT'D)
Go ahead—it's perfectly all
right.
LILY
(shrugs)
But I don't FEEL like hitting
anything.
DR. MORGAN
Sometimes, even most of the time,
you're not aware of what your
subconscious is doing. But it's
fairly easy to channel those
feelings.
LILY
(pliantly)
Tell me how.
DR. MORGAN
Well...since you're an
environmentalist, it might help to
think of causes you've rallied
against. Things that really make
your blood boil. Say, for
instance...oil slicks. Or, clear
cutting. Or baby seals being
clubbed to death for their furs—
In the midst of Dr. Morgan's helpful commentary, Lily lashes
out—except that instead of hitting the pad, she catches the
psychologist square on the chin with a right hook, dropping
him to the floor. An instant later she gasps and claps her
gloved hands over her mouth, mortified by what she's done.
BLACK OUT.
END OF ACT ONE