ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. A HOSPITAL ROOM - EVENING

Jaycee is lying in a bed, heavily bandaged adn hooked up to an
IV line and lots of monitors. Meanwhile, Sam is sitting in a
nearby chair, laptop perched on her lap, tapping away quietly.

A faint noise from the bed makes Sam look up. She closes the
laptop, gets up, sets the computer on the seat and steps over
to the side of the bed, leaning over to study Jaycee's face.

Jaycee moans again, and her eyes flutter open.

JAYCEE
(very weak)
Sam?

Sam reaches out and gently strokes Jaycee's cheek.

SAM
Hey, you. Welcome back.

Jaycee, with difficulty, focuses her eyes on Sam.

JAYCEE
Back?

SAM
It's not like you were in a coma or
anything. But this is the first
time you've known who I was.

JAYCEE
I don't remember.

SAM
Shhh...it's okay. You got messed
up pretty bad.

Apparently remember something of the attack, Jaycee squeezes
her eyes shut, groaning.

SAM (CONT'D)
When you're up to it, the police
want to talk to you.

This time Jaycee's eyes snap wide open.

JAYCEE
Why?

SAM
Jaycee...you were attacked in your
own apartment. Why do you think?

JAYCEE
Did they search the place?

SAM
What?

JAYCEE
(insistent)
Did they?

SAM
No, Jaycee. They do that to
criminals' places, not victims'.

JAYCEE
You called them, didn't you?

Despite the situation, Sam is starting to get indignant.

SAM
I called 9-1-1. What did you want
me to do, let you die on the floor?

Jaycee closes her eys again, strength going.

JAYCEE
No...sorry...

SAM
You just worry about getting
better.

JAYCEE
No...Sam...I have to...

But then a nurse appears in the open doorway.

NURSE
I'm sorry, Miss. Visiting hours
are over.

SAM
Sleep. I'll be back tomorrow.

Sam gather her laptop and walks out of the room, looking back
at Jaycee all the while.

CUT TO:

INT. MCQUEEN DINING ROOM - EVENING

Mike, Jane and Brooke are having what might look like a normal
family dinner—except for the palpable tension filling the
room. And the silence. Mike and Jane keep looking at each
other, and at Brooke, who steadfastly concentrates on her
plate, not acknowledging their presence at all.

JANE
So, Brooke, how was school today?

BROOKE
(not looking up)
Fine.

Mike shakes his head discouragingly; apparently they've been
through this before. But Jane soldiers on.

JANE
Anything interesting happen?

BROOKE
No.

JANE
(laughing awkwardly)
Nothing at all?

BROOKE
No.

JANE
(persisting)
Brooke, look at me.

Brooke turns her eyes to Jane—but there's nothing there. No
warmth, no anger, no resentment—nothing at all. That alone
makes Jane swallow hard.

JANE (CONT'D)
Did you see Sam today?

BROOKE
In class.

JANE
Did she say anything?

BROOKE
Not to me.

Frustrated, Jane relents, averting her eys. Brooke picks up
her plate and starts to stand up.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
Excuse me.

But Mike reaches out and grabs her arm roughly. She drops
back down into her chair.

MIKE
No, you're not excused.

JANE
Mike...

MIKE
No! I've had it with this. Now,
you can sit there all night, but
you're not leaving this table until
you tell us something that happened
at school today.

Brooke turns that emotionless expression on her father.
Long seconds of silence stretch out between them.

BROOKE
We're reading "The Stepford Wives"
in English class.

Mike seems surprised at getting an actual response.

MIKE
Oh! Well...that's nice, honey.

BROOKE
It was my idea.

Something flickers in Mike's eyes, as though he knows that
Brooke suddenly volunteering information is a danger sign.
But he presses forward anyway.

MIKE
It's good that you're that involved
in your classes.

BROOKE
I said my parents would be happier
with a couple of Stepford
daughters.

Mike's expression turns hard.

MIKE
You really think that, Brooke?

BROOKE
Yes.

Throughout her entire time at the dinner table, she might as
well have been a computer, dispensing toneless responses.
It's clear that Mike is trying to work up a good argument, but
Brooke's total detachment is blunting the effect.

MIKE
Well, you're wrong, Brooke. We
don't want that at all! We just
want—I just want to be able to
talk to you. Like before. is that
really too much to ask?

Another long, uncomfortable silence.

BROOKE
(dead flat)
Yes.

Again she starts to get up.

MIKE
Brooke—

She freezes halfway out of her seat, gazing at him implacably.

MIKE
(sighing)
Nevermind. Go on.

Without a word, Brooke picks up her plate and walks into the
kitchen. Mike takes his napkin and uses it to mop his face.

JANE
You see what I mean. Talking to
her is more exhausting than not
talking to her.

MIKE
She won't even fight back. Since
when does Brooke not fight back?

JANE
I think she's being passive-
aggressive.

MIKE
Whatever she's being, she's too
good at it. How'd she get to be
so good at it?

JANE
I'd settle for figuring out how to
get her to stop it.

Mike nods glumly, as tey sit there and commiserate.

CUT TO:

INT. BROOKE'S BEDROOM

Brooke steps into the room, her face as expressionless as
ever, and closes the door behind her. Once the door is
securely locked, she lets out a puff of air, as if she'd
actually been holding her breath. She falls on her bed with
abandon; then she reaches underneath the bed, and hauls up a
large, thick book.

INSERT: THE BOOK

A scholarly tome entitled "Dysfunctional Families: Signs,
Strategies and Interpretations".

Brooke opens the book to a bookmarked place in the middle, and
begins to read lightly, grinning.

CUT TO:

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - MORNING

Lily walks through the halls, waving and saying hello to
various people she passes. She and Carmen spot each other at
the same time—but Carmen ducks her head, trying to avoid
notice. Frowning, Lily marches right over to her.

LILY
Okay, Carm, what's going on?

CARMEN
Uhhh...huh?

LILY
Don't "huh" me! You're avoiding
me! You're avoiding everyone!

CARMEN
Am not. I'm, uh...shy! I'm Shy
Girl!

LILY
You are not! And you're not
talking to anyone, even in class.
That's not shy, that's inanimate!

CARMEN
Okay, look, we don't know what to
do.

LILY
"We"?

CARMEN
Me and Sugar Daddy. I mean, we
don't know who's safe to talk to.

LILY
Safe? What's that supposed to
mean?

CARMEN
It used to be really simple—it
was Us versus Them. Popular versus
Not Popular. Dweebs versus
Glamazons. Now...everybody talks
to everybody else, except that lots
of people are mad at other people,
and so they AREN'T talking to each
other, and then they get mad if YOU
talk to them, and— It's like,
there used to be two sides, and now
there's, like, six, and everybody
switches every day. And I don't
want anybody to be mad at me for
talking to someone else, and for
all I know there are people getting
mad at me right now for talking to
YOU, and...

Carmen more-or-less runs out of breath.

LILY
(laughing)
Carmen, calm down. Nobody's going
to get mad at you for talking to
me—

She pauses, glancing upward while performing a quick mental
check to make sure that's actually true.

LILY
No, noboy's going to get made at
you for talking to me, or anyone
else.

CARMEN
Oh, really? What about Brooke and
Natalie going after each other?

LILY
Well..I'm sure they don't really
expect everyone to choose sides.

Unbeknownst to Lily, however, Brooke has come upon them, and
is standing right behind her, arms crossed.

BROOKE
Yeah? Says who?

Lily spins around, startled.

CUT TO:

INT. SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS - LATER

The gang is settling into Mr. Osbourne's classroom; Lily and
Brooke happen to be sitting side-by-side. There are a half-
dozen hushed conversations going on; Brooke starts another one.

BROOKE
(leaning over)
I'm sorry.

Lily shoots her a look.

BROOKE (CONT'D)
It was a joke!

LILY
You scared poor Carmen half to
death.

BROOKE
No, I didn't. And I apologized,
didn't I?

LILY
I'm not sure she believed you.

Osbourne walks in exactly as the bell is ringing; all the
half-whispered exchanges die away. He closes the door behind
him, steps to his usual position at the head of his desk and
faces the class.

OSBOURNE
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Today we'll continue our discussion
on the relevance of—

He is cut off by the door opening. A student carrying a
thick, rubber-banded bundle comes in, hands the package to
Osbourne, and walks back out without a word. Osbourne
puzzles over the bundle for a moment, then removes a Post-It
note stuck to the top of the papers and scans it. A vaguely
distasteful expression passes across his face; then he walks
the bundle over to the desk where Sam is sitting, and
perfuctorily sets it down in front of her, and hands her the
note. Sam reads it, and flushes slightly.

SAM
Sorry.

She gathers her things, along with the bundle of papers, and
makes a hasty exit from the room.

CUT TO:

INT. KRUPPS' BACK OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER

Sam drops everything on the desk before sitting behind it.
She pulls the bundle to her, but before she can do anything
with it, the telephone on her desk—a new addition—buzzes.
She picks up the handset.

SAM
(into the phone)
Hello?

KRUPPS (V.O.)
(over the phone)
Sam? Is this thing working? Can
you hear me?

SAM
I can hear you. Can you hear me?

KRUPPS (V.O.)
Loud and clear.

SAM
I guess it works, then.

KRUPPS (V.O.)
Good. You have no idea how much
trouble I had to give Maintenance
over it. Took them forever to get
it wired right.

SAM
You didn't have to go to all that
trouble.

KRUPPS (V.O.)
Nonsense. It'll come in handy—
I'll prove it. Would you come in
here a second?

CUT TO:

INT. KRUPPS' OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

The door to the back office opens, and Sam pokes her head in.
Krupps, still holding the phone in his hand, motions her in.
As Sam walks in, he pushes a button on the phone, switching to
another line.

KRUPPS
(into the phone)
Shirley, make sure I'm not disturbed.

Sam takes a seat in front of Krupps' desk. He gets up, comes
around the desk, and perches himself on its corner.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Sam...we have to have a talk.

Sam sighs and her head drops to her chest.

SAM
Mr. Krupps, I am...SO sorry. I
know I embarrassed you, I
embarrassed myself, I embarrassed
the school—

KRUPPS
(holding up a hand)
Wait, wait. Are you talking about
the meeting with your mother and
stepfather last week?

SAM
Aren't you?

He reaches out and touches her gently.

KRUPPS
No. Sam, you certainly didn't
embarrass me. Or the school. And
I hope you don't feel embarrassed,
either.

Sam looks up at him.

SAM
But, the way I acted...

KRUPPS
You WERE coming to my defense, I
think.

SAM
I was rude beyond belief.

KRUPPS
Only to your mother and stepfather.
Mostly your stepfather. And it
would be highly inappropriate of me
to comment on whether or not he
deserved it.

Sam's mood lightens a bit at that.

SAM
So, you're not...firing me? I
figured it took you a week to
figure out how to chew me out
right.

Krupps laughs out loud.

KRUPPS
No, Sam. I'm not firing you. Or
chewing you out.

He sits in the chair next to Sam, positioning himself so they
can be face-to-face.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
There IS something we have to talk
about... But it has nothing to do
with what happened last week.

SAM
(hollow)
Oh.

Sam abruptly gets up and starts to pace.

KRUPPS
Sam, this is very difficult for
me... It's something I'm not very
proud of keeping from you...

She stops at his side, kneels down and looks up at him
earnestly.

SAM
Mr. Krupps... I know.

KRUPPS
No, Sam, I don't think—

SAM
Yes. I do.

KRUPPS
Sam, this is something very
personal—

SAM
Amanda.

Krupps bolts from the chair.

KRUPPS
How—?

SAM
Mr. Krupps, please—

KRUPPS
Osbourne told you, didn't he? He
promised me—!

Sam grabs his hands.

SAM
No, it was me! I...heard you and
Mr. Osbourne talking. About...her.

Krupps focuses on her face.

KRUPPS
Then...you knew...

Sam turns away again.

SAM
At first, I...I was just kind of
numb. I thought...I thought maybe
you didn't like me after all...
Like I was just a...a substitute.

KRUPPS
Sam, believe me, that was never my
intention—

SAM
But I thought of all the things
you've done—I mean, all the way
back to getting me my job at the
paper—

Krupps actually gets an "aw, shucks" look on his face.

SAM
—and I thought, is it really that
important? Being a substitute?

He grabs her by the arms and looks hard into her eyes.

KRUPPS
Sam! Listen to me. You are NOT a
substitute. I swear to God, you're
not.

SAM
Really, it's okay—

KRUPPS
No! It's not! Please, believe
me—Amanda has nothing to do with
you!

A sad little smile crosses Sam's face.

SAM
Nothing?

KRUPPS
Absolutely not!

SAM
I can't believe that. You know I
can't.

KRUPPS
Sam—

SAM
Look, I hate this so much I feel
like I'm going to throw up. But a
lot of what he said kind of made
sense.

Krupps lets go of her, running a hand through his hair. But
Sam is holding his eyes with hers, and she refuses to look
away.

SAM (CONT'D)
Please, you have to be honest with
me.
(long pause)
Please?

He takes her arm and guides her back into her chair. In a
moment they are sitting face-to-face again.

KRUPPS
I'm not sure what to say.

SAM
Tell me everything. Tell me about
Amanda.

KRUPPS
All right. Yes, I had a daughter.
Her name was Amanda. She died—she
and her mother died—almost ten
years ago.

Sam's face tightens and she reaches out for his hand.

SAM
I'm... Was it...?

KRUPPS
There was an accident. It was
late, it was on a mountain road...
A tanker truck jacknifed in front
of them. They were...the car was
incinerated.

He reaches up to wipe away his tears; Sam blinks away hers.

SAM
Oh, my...

KRUPPS
It was... They said it was... It
happened instantly. They didn't
feel anything... Probably... They
probably didn't even know it was
happening.

He takes a tissue from his desktop, and wipes Sam's eyes.

SAM
I'm sorry... You don't have to...

KRUPPS
Sam—this is very important. Yes,
I miss Amanda. And her mother.
Very much. And yes, sometimes I
wonder what she would be like.
What she would be doing. But YOU
are not HER. I swear it, Sam, I
absolutely promise you. I don't
see Amanda. I see YOU. I don't
want you to be Amanda.

Sam considers him gravely; her eyes flick momentarily to his
hand, which, despite his protestations, is holding her in a
distinctly fatherly way.

SAM
You mean you don't wish you could
do all those father-daughter
things?

KRUPPS
Of course I—!

He catches himself, realizing the point she's trying to make.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Of course I do.

Krupps gets up, and distances himself from Sam by a few steps,
turning his back to her.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
I apologize, Sam. It seems I've
drawn you into my personal
problems. It won't happen again.

But Sam is shaking her head, growing more alarmed by the
moment, and finally she jumps up and runs to him.

SAM
(urgently)
No. No! That's not what I—
Don't say that!

KRUPPS
Sam, it's clear that we can't
continue like this. Erick is
right—I can't have you acting as
my surrogate daughter.

SAM
Why not?

Krupps steps back, seemingly surprised by the question. Sam
presses close to him.

SAM (CONT'D)
We haven't done anything wrong!
It doesn't matter why you did
anything—it's still not wrong!

KRUPPS
It's a little more complicated than
that.

SAM
No! Just, foget Mr. Osbourne said
anything, okay? Forget I said
anything!

The resigned look on Krupps' face tells her that's not going
to happen.

SAM (CONT'D)
(desperately)
Please! Mr. Krupps—Calvin—you
can't just...abandon me, not now.
I don't know what I'd do...

Sobbing, she sags into him, clutching at his jacket.

SAM (CONT'D)
I'll do anything you want, just
don't do this!

He pulls her up and holds her tight, allowing her to bury her
face in his shoulder.

KRUPPS
Shhh... I'm not abandoning you...
I'm very sorry, Sam. I never meant
to hurt you.

SAM
(muffled)
If you don't want to hurt me, then
don't...don't leave me all alone.

KRUPPS
I'm not, Sam. You're not alone.

SAM
I will be!

Krupps pulls her away enough to be able to look her in the
eye.

KRUPPS
Your mother will always be there
for you no matter what.

SAM
(scornfully)
She doesn't care. She's got Brooke
now. And Mike.

KRUPPS
You're mad at her, but you know
that's not true.

SAM
I'll never go back and live with
Mike. Never.

A concerned expression grows on his face.

KRUPPS
Sam, has Mike ever...hurt you?

Her eyes widen as she comprehends his meaning.

SAM
Oh! No! He never laid a hand on
me. He's not like that. Just all
tight-lipped and bubbling-under-
the-surfacey. Except when he's
yelling.

KRUPPS
You're sure? You could tell me
if—

SAM
(dismissive)
No, no. He's not abusive. Just
totally clueless. And completely
unfair. And impossible to live
with.

KRUPPS
Sounds like a lot of fathers, or at
least their teenage children's
opinions of them.

SAM
(defiant)
Not like MY dad.

KRUPPS
I'm sure your stepfather has no
illusions of replacing your father.
Expecially after last week.

SAM
Mr. Krupps...when I came in here
last week and, uh...made a total
fool of myself—

KRUPPS
There's no need to explain. I
realize now—you'd just found out
about Amanda, so naturally you'd
say what you did, to hurt your
stepfather. I know you didn't
really mean it.

SAM
(heart-felt)
I meant it. I meant every word.

KRUPPS
You don't have to—

SAM
No! Stop. You've NEVER dismissed
me. Please don't start now.

He shakes his head as if trying to clear his mind, dropping
into one of the chairs.

KRUPPS
No. I can see you mean it. I just
don't know how to react to how you
feel. I guess...subconsciously, I
must have known there was a some
kind of connection. I MUST have...
On some level, I must have known
what I was doing.

Sam drops to one knee, putting herself at his eye level again.

SAM
(encouraging)
On some level, so did I. Just not
the same level.

Krupps makes a visible effort to marshall his thoughts.

KRUPPS
Be that as it may, the fact remains
that I can't possibly ask you to—

SAM
No—I'M asking YOU. Please.
Don't...change, don't let this...
let us...

She breaks off, regroups.

SAM (CONT'D)
You don't understand—I want to do
all those father-daughter things,
too. When we went up to the
mountains, I felt...I felt... I
haven't felt like that in almost
five years.

She takes his hands in her again, squeezing them tight, her
eyes boring into his, seemingly trying to project her soul
with every word.

SAM (CONT'D)
I'm asking you. I'm begging you.
PLEASE. Don't take that away from
me. You'll kill me if you do.

KRUPPS
Sam, I—

SAM
I promise I'll make you proud. As
proud as SHE would have.

For a moment Krupps' eyes cloud over, and Sam, reading it as a
painful memory, really loses it.

SAM (CONT'D)
Oh God, I shouldn't have said that,
I didn't mean— I'll never
mention her again, I swear! I'd
never compare myself... I'm sorry,
I'm really sorry!

He brings their hands up to face level, giving Sam something
immediate to focus on.

KRUPPS
Sam. Sam! Listen to me. Are you
listening?

Gradually Sam's panicky eyes settle on him, and she nods
compliantly.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Good. Now. Breathe.

Krupps begins an exaggerated breathing exercise, in and out.
With an effort, she matches his rhythm. When he's convinced
that she's calmed down, he breaks off the breathing and leans
in.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Okay. Now, I want you to listen to
me. Okay?

Sam looks a bit unhinged still, but she nods.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
And you'll hear me out? You won't
say anything until I'm done?

Tentative, but a definite nod.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Promise?

Nod.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Okay.

He pauses for a deep breath himself.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
First of all... There is nothing,
not anything, that you can't talk
to me about. Not ever. Not
Amanda. Not anything. Got it?

Sam appears to think it over before relaxing just a bit, and
nodding her assent.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Good. Next—you have no idea how
proud you do make me, Sam. You're
already doing things that other
girls won't do until they're out of
college, and some won't do at all.
When I see the life you're starting
to make for yourself... Sam,
making me proud is something else
you don't ever have to worry about.
Okay?

Sam is blushing now, but she nods shyly.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Okay.
(deep breath)
Now. No matter how much we want
to, we can't just make Mr. Osbourne
or your mother and stepfather or
the rest of the world go away.

And just like that his tentative hold on her shatters; she
starts to make little noises in the back of her throat, and
looks like she's about to bolt the office. Krupps responds by
holding her hands tightly, almost as if he's trying to rein in
a skittish mare rather than a teenage girl.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
Whoa, whoa! You said you'd hear me
out, remember? You promised.
Right?

It seems touch-and-go for a moment, but Sam finally settles
down a little. Krupps keeps hold of her, though, just in case.

KRUPPS
Some of those people are genuinely
concerned for you, and we have to
respect that. BUT—that doesn't
mean we have to let them dictate
what goes on. I'm sorry I said
what I did before. I was obviously
overreacting to a very sudden
shock.

For the first time in over a minute, something that's not
abject fear shows in Sam's eyes.

SAM
(barely a whisper)
Really?

KRUPPS
Obviously, you are still Treasurer
of the Student Body General Fund.
And that's still your own office
back there. And you can still talk
to me about absolutely anything.

He loosens his grip enough to hold up one finger.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
But—as for us, there are going to
have to be new rules.

SAM
(warily)
What?

KRUPPS
For one thing, absolutely no more
playing around. We're going to
have to be strictly on-the-level
and above-board from now on.

Sam's mouth twitches upwards fractionally.

SAM
No more hot tub?

Krupps drops his head and laughs, relieved that the worst
appears to be past.

KRUPPS
No, Sam, no more hot tub. That's
not the image we need to put out
there now. Satisfying as it was to
imagine the looks on certain
people's faces.

SAM
(unwinding)
I always thought you wanted to
goose someone, but you never told
me who it was. Not that you have
to now or anything.

KRUPPS
Let's just say there's a certain
Board member who's been gnashing
her teeth into powder over not
being able to fire my butt all the
way to Timbuktu. I'll tell you all
about it sometime.

He stands up and, still holding Sam's hands, helps her to her
feet.

KRUPPS (CONT'D)
That brings me to the other very
important thing. You said I had
to be honest with you. About
Amanda. And you were right. That
works both ways. We have to be
able to be totally, completely
honest with each other. About
everything.

Sam looks vaguely anxious for a moment: she realizes that not
telling him about her drug use is a pretty big lie, at least
one of omission. But then she puts a calm face on her semi-
guilty conscience.

SAM
(nodding)
Absolutely.

KRUPPS
I'm not just saying that, Sam. I
mean it—can tell me absolutely
anything. Okay?

SAM
Okay. I totally understand.

KRUPPS
Good. Feel better?

Sam thinks that one over.

SAM
I'm...not sure.

KRUPPS
Mmm-hmm. I think I know what you
mean. But you're okay, right?

SAM
Uhh...yeah.

KRUPPS
Good.

SAM
Right. Good.

And with that, neither one of them seems to have much idea
what to say next.

KRUPPS
So...did you see the budget
projections?

SAM
Just got them. Haven't had a
chance to look at them yet.

KRUPPS
Okay.

SAM
Yeah.

Another awkward silence ensues as the conversation sputters to
a halt again.

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE