ACT TWO
FADE IN:
INT. L.A. CHRONICLE NEWSROOM - AFTERNOON
Sam walks though the busy room slowly, clearly nervous. As
she approaches Fleischer's office, his assistant, Vicki, looks
up from her desk and smiles.
VICKI
Hi, Sam. I heard you got snatched.
SAM
(groaning)
Does Art know?
VICKI
(nods)
He's waiting for you. Go on in.
Sam swallows hard, and steps into the office.
CUT TO:
INT. FLEISCHER'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Sam walks into the office looking very much like a condemned
prisoner headed for the gallows. Fleischer, who is at his
desk, gets up and comes out to meet her.
FLEISCHER
Sam! I heard about your little
holiday adventure.
Sam looks as though she might start to cry.
SAM
Mr. Fleischer, I swear, I never
said anything to Mr. Doyle, not one
word, I never wanted to work for
someone else, you have to believe
me...
Fleischer stops her by grabbing her shoulders.
FLEISCHER
Whoa, whoa, "Mr. Fleischer"? Sam,
do you think I'm mad at you?
SAM
(sniffling)
...aren't you?
In fact, Fleischer seems to be anything but.
FLEISCHER
I knew this would happen, Sam.
SAM
(completely lost)
You...what?
FLEISCHER
(patiently)
I knew that if I kept you around
here long enough, you'd do
something to impress one of the
editors. I was sort of hoping it
would be Allen in Politics, but...
(shakes his head)
Metro. I should've known you'd
find the fast track and hop right
on.
SAM
(slowly catching up)
I don't understand... You planned
this?
FLEISCHER
All I did was put you where your
talent could flourish and be
noticed. You did the rest
yourself.
SAM
And...you're not mad?
FLEISCHER
(laughs)
Have you not been listening, girl?
He wraps her in an unexpected bear hug.
FLEISCHER (CONT'D)
I'm THRILLED for you! Now, you
better get going.
He releases her and, looking much better, she turns to go.
Fleischer walks her to the door.
FLEISCHER (CONT'D)
About Rick—don't let him scare you.
I'm sure you've seen his gruff
exterior.
SAM
You mean underneath he's sweet and
cuddly?
FLEISCHER
(considers)
Not that I've noticed. But he's a
good guy. And a great editor.
At the door, she turns and hugs him again.
SAM
(in his ear)
Thanks. For everything.
FLEISCHER
Knock 'em dead, Sam.
He watches her head off, with a considerably lighter gait.
CUT TO:
INT. PRINCIPAL KRUPPS' OFFICE - AFTERNOON
Krupps is packing files into his briefcase when his intercom
buzzes.
SHIRLEY (V.O.)
(over the intercom)
Mr. Krupps, Mr. Osbourne is here?
Krupps hits the intercom button.
KRUPPS
Yes, send him in, please.
He stands up and waits for Osbourne to come through the door.
OSBOURNE
Shirley told me you were leaving?
KRUPPS
(picking up his briefcase)
I'm sorry, Erick, I know I promised
time for you. But I've been
summoned to District Headquarters.
The Board is still jittery over
this Lindsey Robey situation.
OSBOURNE
I understand, of course. My
concern DID bear tangentially upon
that matter...
But Krupps is already walking him to the door.
KRUPPS
(not really paying
attention)
Yes, yes, I'll make sure to have
Shirley set some time aside as soon
as possible.
Without further ado, Krupps ushers Osbourne out, closing the
door behind them.
CUT TO:
EST. KENNEDY HIGH - MORNING
SUPER: Wednesday
A stock shot of the quad.
CUT TO:
INT. CHEMISTRY CLASS
On Miss Glass' table is a cardboard tray with a sign marked
"Permission Slips". Harrison runs into the room just as the
bell rings, digs out his slip, unfolds it and lays it in the
tray. As he takes his seat, Miss Glass steps up to the head
of the class and takes the stack of slips out of the tray.
GLASS
All right! Last chance—no slip,
no ski!
She sneers at Josh and Lily, sitting close together.
GLASS (CONT'D)
Except of course for the
sickeningly married couple in aisle
four.
She flips through the slips.
GLASS (CONT'D)
So, who's not going?
A moment of silence; then one voice cuts across the room.
SAM
(flatly)
I'm not.
Miss Glass looks up, surprised. So does the rest of the
class. In contrast, Sam seems so utterly indifferent that she
hasn't even lifted her eyes from the paper she's making notes
on.
GLASS
(sincerely)
Really, Miss McPherson? I'm
surprised.
Finally Sam graces her with a glance. But emotions are still
MIA.
SAM
I'm swamped.
For a moment teacher and student regard each other. Then
Miss Glass smoothly slips back into her usual persona.
GLASS
(shrugs)
Your loss. Anyone else?
Apparently everyone else is going.
GLASS (CONT'D)
Well, now that THAT'S done, let me
tell you about the fun I had
grading your quizzes.
With a nasty smile, she reaches under the table and brings up
a stack of papers, liberally marked in red.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER
Lily and Natalie are by a water fountain.
LILY
So, you're going this weekend?
NATALIE
You think I'm going to miss my only
chance to see snow in this God-
forsaken place? Please. I'm
having my skis Fedexed from home.
LILY
You know, Natalie, sometimes I
forget.
NATALIE
Forget what?
LILY
How rich you are.
NATALIE
(blushing)
Oh, stop.
LILY
No, really. You don't flaunt it,
like Mary Cherry, or Nicole.
At that moment, Brooke comes down the hallway. She slows up
just long enough to give Natalie a looke that could freeze
molten lava.
NATALIE
(downcast)
I'm glad someone still thinks I'm
not like Nicole.
LILY
Okay, Natalie, what was that about?
Why is Brooke mad at you?
NATALIE
It's...Harrison.
LILY
Huh? I don't get it.
NATALIE
It's...me and Harrison.
After a moment, Lily's eyes widen, and she begins to drag
Natalie towards the door to the Novak.
CUT TO:
INT. GIRLS' RESTROOM - MOMENTS LATER
The Novak door opens, and Lily pushes Natalie through. Lily
follows her inside and slams the door shut behind her,
barricading it with her body.
LILY
Okay, Natalie—WHAT "you and
Harrison"?
Natalie is pacing around the tuffet, more or less.
NATALIE
Nothing! Nothing happened!
(waffling)
Really. Much.
LILY
Natalie!
Natalie collapses on the tuffet.
NATALIE
Brooke saw us...almost kissing.
LILY
(incredulous)
Almost?
NATALIE
We were...in a pre-kiss position.
LILY
Excuse me?
NATALIE
Our mouths were...kind of aligned.
Okay?
LILY
No! Not okay! Natalie, how could
you?
Natalie covers her face.
NATALIE
(anguished)
I can't help it! He's smart, he's
funny...he's so damn CUTE!
Lily hangs her head, laughing in spite of herself.
NATALIE (CONT'D)
(annoyed)
What?
LILY
I'm sorry. It's just..."Harrison
John, Chick Magnet". My brain is
having trouble processing this
concept.
Lily starts laughing again.
NATALIE
(plaintively)
Stop it! It's not funny! I didn't
want to be attracted to Harrison.
I hate it that Brooke's mad at me.
Lily immediately sobers, and sits on the tuffet.
LILY
Aw, I'm sorry, Natalie. You're
right. It's not funny. It seems
like nobody's talking to each other
anymore. All this negative
energy...
She shudders.
NATALIE
I'm sorry. I tried to talk to
Brooke, but...
Lily pats her hand reassuringly.
LILY
Don't worry. I'm sure Brooke'll
come around.
Natalie sits up, clutching at Lily's arm.
NATALIE
You'll help? With Brooke?
Lily pales as she realies what she's gotten herself into.
LILY
I, uh, well...
Natalie hugs her like a life preserver.
NATALIE
Thank you! Thank you, thank you,
thank you!
Lily just looks skyward and rubs her forehead, in anticipation
of headaches to come.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER
Sam is walking down the corridor when a young girl—a freshman—
runs up, hands her a note, and, without a word spoken, takes
off. Puzzled, Sam unfolds the nots and reads it. Her face
shows no enlightenment, but she reverses course.
CUT TO:
INT. CHEMISTRY CLASS - MOMENTS LATER
Sam looks through the open doorway, then takes a couple of
steps into the classroom.
SAM
(looking around)
Miss Glass?
Silence. The room is deserted. Sam ventures further inside.
SAM (CONT'D)
Miss Glass? Are you here?
The sound of the door closing makes her jump and spin around.
Miss Glass is standing there.
GLASS
You got my note.
SAM
Um, yes, but...I don't understand.
Miss Glass walks over to her chair and lounges.
GLASS
It's pretty simple. We have some
common enemies, and I think we can
help each other.
SAM
I still don't get it. What "common
enemies"?
GLASS
You don't really think everyone
appreciates your sudden admission
into Principal Krupps' Inner
Circle, do you?
SAM
(sullenly)
It's not like that. And I don't
care what the rest of the class
thinks.
GLASS
Oh, it's exactly like that, dearie.
And I'm not talking about other
students. I'm talking about staff.
Sam's eyes widen slightly: apparently she hadn't considered
that before.
GLASS (CONT'D)
In particular, a certain Social
Studies teacher who's gotten WAY
too big for his britches.
SAM
(unbelieving)
Mr. Osbourne?
GLASS
You sound surprised. You used to
be one of his favorites, but lately
he's been coming down on you hard,
right?
SAM
(reluctantly)
Well...yeah...
GLASS
And now he's running to Mr. Krupps
with tales of your...
extracurricular activities.
SAM
(alarmed)
No! I mean, they're lies—
GLASS
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a
damn if they're true or not. I
don't even know exactly what he's
got on you. But I DO know that a
certain busy bee's been buzzing in
his ear.
(significantly)
A busy BLONDE bee.
Storm clouds roll across Sam's face as she realies what Miss
Glass is saying.
SAM
(growling)
Brooke.
GLASS
Like I said, it's pretty simple. I
want to bring down Osbourne. You
want to bring down McQueen. Since
they're already working together,
why shouldn't we?
In response, Sam pulls up a chair and sits down, an
unpleasantly cold grin spreading across her face.
SAM
Tell me more.
BLACK OUT.
END OF ACT TWO