ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. MCQUEEN DINING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Jane and Brooke are seated at two sides of the dining room
table. If Jane looks nervous, Brooke looks as if she's about
to be grounded for life.

JANE
(wringing her hands)
Brooke...I want to apologize.

BROOKE
(blankly)
Why?

JANE
Well, for...lying, basically.
Your father and I, we know we
should have told you about us
getting married right away, and we
completely understand why you're
upset. I just hope, someday...you
can forgive me.

Brooke, meanwhile, has gotten wide-eyed.

BROOKE
Oh—no! Jane, I...

JANE
(patiently)
It's been pretty obvious. You've
been tip-toeing around here for a
week, you've barely said two
words, and you've definitely been
avoiding me in particular.

BROOKE
Jane—

JANE
Please, hear me out. I know that
your father and I getting together
was very sudden, and that at first
you were very much against our
relationship, but...over the last
two years, I've felt—I'd hoped—
I've come to think of you like my
own daughter, and...I would never
want to replace your mother,
but...I've felt that you've come
to accept me in your life...

Brooke is reduced to nodding along dumbly.

JANE (CONT'D)
I can't tell you how sorry I am
that I've jeopardized that
acceptance by not being honest
with you. We really weren't
trying to exclude you—it was a
complete spur-of-the-moment thing,
we just wanted to find the right
time to tell you...

Meanwhile, Brooke is gesturing emphatically, and finally finds
her voice.

BROOKE
Jane, please, stop. I don't feel
that way at all, I swear!

Now it's Jane's turn to be confused.

JANE
You don't?

BROOKE
(earnestly)
I think that you're the most
wonderful stepmom I could ever
hope for. And, except for my mom,
I could never imagine my dad with
anyone else.

JANE
(cautiously)
And...you don't resent that we got
married, just like that?

BROOKE
God, no! Okay, I was a little
shocked at first, but—I am SO
happy for you two!

JANE
Well...if it's not the marriage...
then what's been bothering you?

Brooke's mouth drops open again.

SLIDE CUT TO:

INT. A CLASSROOM - DAY

ANGLE: BROOKE

BROOKE
...I couldn't tell her. What was
I supposed to say? "Sorry, Jane,
the reason I've been avoiding you
is that Sam is doing drugs."
Yeah, that would gone over real
well.
(pause)
I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm
dumping all of this on you. I
just don't know who to talk to.

The angle widens, and it turns out that person Brooke is
talking to is...Mr. Osbourne, looking unperturbed as always.

OSBOURNE
Have you considered confronting
Miss McPherson yourself?

BROOKE
(wide-eyed)
No! Oh my God, she'd kill me!
She already hates my guts anyway.

OSBOURNE
Surely she has friends. I know
this because I've seen her be
friendly to other students.

BROOKE
Lily, it's like she's burned out
taking care of everyone, and
Carmen, I don't know what's up
with her lately...Natalie saw
something wrong before anyone else
did, but I don't know what she can
do.

OSBOURNE
(nods absently)
Miss James seems to have a level
head on her shoulders. Even if
her taste in philosophy is...a bit
odd.

BROOKE
Everyone just seems so wrapped up
in their own problems.

OSBOURNE
Including you?

BROOKE
(grimacing)
Me? Let's see...I've got a
boyfriend who I basically stole
from my step-sister, which is why
she hates me...I've been sulking
around my dad and stepmom so much
that they think I'm mad at THEM...
plus I'm supposed to start
applying to colleges, which is
great except that I have NO idea
what I'm supposed to be doing with
my life. Me? I'm just fine.

Mr. Osbourne takes stock of all of this.

OSBOURNE
Let's stay with the immediate
issue for the moment. Miss
McQueen, if you wish to solve this
problem yourself, you must
endeavour to do so. I believe
that the first step to this must
involve your sharing the burden
with others. I advise you to tell
someone what you know.

BROOKE
(at a loss)
Well...I'm telling YOU.

OSBOURNE
Yes, and in doing so, you've
placed me in a rather interesting
position.

Brooke's hand flies to her mouth; apparently she hadn't
thought about that before.

BROOKE
Oh my God, you have to tell
Principal Krupps, don't you? Of
course you do! God, I've screwed
up everything!

OSBOURNE
(raising an eyebrow)
Is that what you want? For me to
pass the word to higher
authorities?

BROOKE
No! No! It's absolutely the last
thing I want!

OSBOURNE
Then...I think I can refrain from
repeating this conversation to
anyone.

Brooke peers at him, confused.

BROOKE
I thought reporting things like
this was mandatory.

OSBOURNE
(reasonably)
Well, let's review: all that
you've told me of substance is
that you've seen Miss McPherson in
the company of an individual who
has a certain reputation. Absent
any supporting evidence, I believe
I can keep this within my
discretion.

Brooke looks extremely relieved—for a moment.

OSBOURNE (CONT'D)
BUT—that doesn't mean that I'm
willing to turn a blind eye.
Substance abuse is not an issue to
be taken lightly. I require your
assurance that you will take
positive action to remedy this
situation.

BROOKE
(nodding solemnly)
I promise, I'll sit down with Lily
and Carmen, and we'll figure out
what to do.

Mr. Osbourne stands and ushers Brooke to the door.

OSBOURNE
I also want your word that you
will call on me or another
responsible adult, if you're
unable to change Miss McPherson's
behavior yourselves.

BROOKE
(putting her hand over her heart)
I swear. Thank you, Mr. Osbourne.
For understanding.

He opens the door.

OSBOURNE
Nonsense. A good teacher must
always be prepared to counsel his
students.

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

Mr. Osbourne and Brooke walk out of the classroom and down the
quiet corridor.

BROOKE
You're so different than other
teachers. God, I can't imagine
what Miss Glass would do if she
knew.

Mr. Osbourne considers that.

OSBOURNE
As we're exchanging confidences, I
must admit that at times I share
your opinion of Miss Glass.

BROOKE
(stifling a grin)
I won't tell anyone.

OSBOURNE
Your secret is safe with me, as
well. I shall be keeping an eye
on Miss McPherson. And I wish you
success.

Brooke smiles and nods, and they go their separate ways. A
moment later, from the same direction, Miss Glass appears,
twirling a pen.

GLASS
(to herself)
Now, what are you hiding, Mr. High
and-Mighty Attitude?

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER

Off to the side of a much more crowded hallway, Natalie and
Harrison are huddling.

NATALIE
(holding out a paper)
Read this for me.

Harrison takes the paper and squints at it.

HARRISON
(haltingly)
The...supplies...knocked over...
the rooster...quickly...
yesterday...in a paint can?

Natalie hangs her head.

NATALIE
I suck at Spanish.

HARRISON
Uh...yeah.

NATALIE
(snatching the paper away)
Thanks a lot!

HARRISON
(laughing)
Sorry, but it's true.

They start to walk.

HARRISON (CONT'D)
I don't understand why you have to
take Spanish anyway. You speak
like three languages already.

NATALIE
(sourly)
The school doesn't teach German.
Or Swedish. Since they don't
teach them, I can't use them for
my foreign language requirement.

HARRISON
That sucks.

NATALIE
Totally. So I'm stuck sucking at
Spanish.

HARRISON
Looks like.

She turns and grabs him.

NATALIE
Harrison! Help!

HARRISON
(holding up his hands)
Okay, okay...I'll see what I can
do...

He takes the paper back and looks over it again, shaking his
head.

PAN TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

In another part of the hall, Lily and Carmen are walking.

LILY
So, how's it going?

CARMEN
(groaning)
I swear, this is worse than food.
Right now, I'm just trying to find
a spot that's equal distance from
the refrigerator and the computer,
you know, so maybe they'll cancel
out.

Lily laughs and puts her arm around Carmen's shoulder as they
walk on. At a corner, though, they stop short when Brooke
runs up to them.

BROOKE
Guys, I need to talk to you. It's
really important.

The bell rings, making them all look up.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
Before lunch, okay?

Lily and Carmen exchange a look.

LILY
Okay.

CARMEN
Sure.

BROOKE
(relieved)
Okay. Good.

She runs off, and the hallway begins to clear out.

PAN TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

Through the double doors at the end of the hall walks Sam,
looking fairly normal. She stops at the water fountain, pops
a couple of pills into her mouth and washes them down. Then
she jogs to a class, catching the door just before it closes,
the last person out of the hall.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE