AMY´S CREEK - S01E21 - WHY WON´T ANYONE GIVE ME A CHANCE?
1. Int. Office. Day.
Damon is packing up his office with the help of Kathy and Melina.
Damon (voice over):
I bet you all hate me and you don´t even know me. I´ve been getting that for I don´t know, forever? It doesn´t matter what I do. No one likes me anyway. At least that´s what the world had made me believe, until I met Kathy.
Melina:
Our contracts wouldn´t be somewhere in this mess, would they?
Damon:
Wouldn´t you like to know?
Melina:
Don´t you ever get sick of being a jerk all the time?
Kathy:
Lay off him, Mel.
Damon:
Look, if this leads to something, then maybe we can look at renegotiating them.
Melina:
Can´t we tear them up in stead?
Damon:
Giving me lip isn´t furthering your case, if that´s what you think!
Melina:
I think, that you can clean the rest of this place up alone! I have better things to do on my day off!
She storms out in dramatic fashion.
Kathy:
I can stay and help, if you want me to. It´s not like I have anything else to do.
Damon:
Thanks. This would have taken me forever, if I had to do it on my own. How about if I take you out to dinner tonight, as a token of appreciation?
Kathy:
I don´t think, we should. Sorry.
Damon:
it´s okay. Let´s get back to work.
He hands her an empty box and she starts filling it up.
Damon (voice over):
I handled that the right and modern way, didn´t I? Why won´t anyone ever give me a chance, then?
He ponders it, as he helps her.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Ext. Street. Day.
Damon is loading the boxes into the back of his car. He has Kathy there with him.
Damon (voice over):
Why start a talent agency? It was a dream, my college room mate had, but he never had the courage to follow through with it. I had no idea, what I was doing when I started the agency. It was more so I could tell my sibilings, that I own my own business. I figured, that I could figure the rest out on the job.
Damon:
Again, thanks. Can I give you a ride home?
Kathy:
It´s a little out of your way, isn´t it?
Damon:
I think, I can spare the gas money.
Kathy:
Okay, I guess. As long as you don´t think, it will lead to anything else.
Damon:
Why do you all think that´s we want all the time? Can´t a guy offer to do a favor for a girl, without it meaning more than that?
Kathy smiles shyly at him.
Kathy:
I suppose, it can. I didn´t mean to judge you, if that´s how it felt. It´s just that since you´re my agent, it would be all kinds of wrong. You get that, don´t you?
Damon:
What I don´t get is why we´re still talking about this! Can we leave it at that?
Kathy:
Sure, if that´s what you want.
She looks a little disappointed, which annoys him. They get in the car and drive off.
Damon (voice over):
You all saw that! I´ve been a perfect gentleman to her all day and she stills thinks, I´m a would be rapist! I´ve never hurt a girl in my life and I don´t intend to start now! I´ve been a jerk towards a few, I will admit that, but I would never dream of doing anything to hurt them. My dad has been a jerk to them all his life and I bet, he never had to feel, like I do right now. Sometimes I wish, I could be like him and not have a conscience.
3. Int. Car. Evening.
A well dressed Damon is on his way out on the town and is rocking out to "Still Waiting" by Sum 41, playing from his radio.
Damon (voice over):
The Minutemen had a line in their song "History Lesson Part II", that simply says "Punk Rock saved my life". It couldn´t save the guy who sang it from getting killed in a car crash the year after they recorded it, but when I heard those words for the first time, it felt like he was talking straight to me. If I hadn´t had music, I could get out my rage to, it´s not unlikely that I would have ended up killing someone. I´d be the first to admit that I was an angry kid, but when I tell you why, then you´ll understand better.
4. Int. Bar. Evening.
Damon is sitting a bar with a drink in front of him. A very good looking girl in her early 20´s comes over to him.
Girl:
Are you looking to party?
Damon:
I can´t afford the way your kind like to party.
Girl:
Too bad.
She leaves him and goes on to the next one.
Damon (voice over):
How desperate do you have to be, to still go out and hook in bars these days, even if this is a one of the nicer ones? I´ve never claimed to the smartest, but I wouldn´t hit that, if it was free. Girls have never given me anything but problems, anyway. They started out by stomping on my heart, then they stole my dignity and where are those girls now? Probably out there terrorizing their next victims. Don´t get me wrong, it´s not that there aren´t good ones here and there, but none of them have given me the time of day. Not until recently, anyway. Even she´s only hanging around, because I have a contract that tells her to.
5. Int. Study. Day.
It´s 2003 and an 11 year old Damon is standing in front of his father Damon Clarke the second. His old man is a towering and stern looking man in his early 50´s, who looks mad at him.
Damon (voice over):
My old man, who they named me after, had one way of parenting. Strict disciple, where no one was allowed to argue. My older brothers, I have three of them on top of my two sisters, tell me that my mom could get him to change his mind, sometimes when no one else could. They at least got to experience what it was like, when things were moderately happy in our house. That time had long passed, when I came into the world, as a late runt of the litter. By the time they had me, their marriage was on it´s dying legs. My mom moved out when I was two and I´ve never gotten to know her like my siblings do. I think it´s because she´s ashamed, since she knows what kind of a life she left me to. I wasn´t wanted by either of them. If anything I was a reminder of why their marriage had failed. I´ve never liked them any more, than they liked me, so at least the feeling was mutual.
Damon Senior:
Do you think our family fortune was built on laziness? You job is school! I expect you to take it seriously!
Young Damon:
Yes, sir. But ...
Damon Senior:
I don´t want excuses! I want results! What do you intend to do about it?
Young Damon:
Study harder, Sir.
Damon Senior:
None of your siblings brought home a C! Are you too stupid to get it, is that it?
Young Damon:
No, Sir.
Damon Senior:
I don´t know what to do with you anymore! You´d better not make me ashamed again or so help me, I will send you off to the strictest boarding school, I can find! Is that clear?
Young Damon:
Crystal clear, Sir.
Damon Senior:
Don´t play smart! You´re in enough trouble, as it is!
Young Damon:
Can I go now?
Damon Senior nods and Damon hurries out of there.
6. Int. Damon´s Room. Day.
Young Damon lies down on his bed and puts his headphones on, while attempting to contain his rage. "Killing in the name of" by Rage Against the Machine can faintly be heard, as it starts playing from his head phones.
Damon (voice over):
If you think that growing up with money makes you happy, then I present myself as evidence to the opposite. I can´t remember a single time, where he told me that he was proud of me or gave me any kind of encouragement. It was my nannies, who raised me and they´re the closest I had to a family. Whenever one would move on or be fired, I would go into a depression and I often wouldn´t talk for weeks to new one, until I warmed up to her. You would think that he would care enough to ask, what was wrong. He never did. To him, I was a nuisance that he couldn´t wait to get rid of. He never told me in so many words, but he didn´t have to.
7. Int. High School Classroom. Day.
It´s 2006 and Damon, who´s now 14 is attending High School. He sits next to a very cute girl, Leslie, who seems to be into him. They flirtingly smile at each other.
Damon (voice over):
I started liking girls around age 12, but none of the girls I went to Junior High with liked me. The first one I asked out told me, that she wouldn´t date me, if I was the last boy on earth. I never went to any of the dances there. What was the point, if it was only to get rejected? I thought that High School would be different, now that the girls were a little older and more mature. I guess, I was wrong.
8. Int. Hallway. Day.
Leslie is talking to her friends, when a shy looking Damon comes over to her.
Young Damon:
Hi, Leslie. Can we talk alone?
Leslie:
I think you have me mistaken for someone else!
He looks dejected and Leslie´s friends laugh at him, as he walks off.
9. Ext. School. Day.
Damon is walking away from the school, when Leslie walks up besde him.
Young Damon:
Leave me alone.
Leslie:
I´m sorry about that. I couldn´t let them know, that I like you.
Young Damon:
You do? Why?
Leslie:
Because you´re kind of brooding and mysterious. I wish that things were different and we could date, but everyone would tease me, if we did. I´m sorry.
Young Damon:
Whatever.
He purposely starts to walk slower, so she can walk away from him. She does and he watches her walk away.
Damon (voice over):
It´s hard to pin-point, when the exact moment is that makes you give up and become bitter. For me, that could very well have been it. It wasn´t that I hadn´t been turned down before and she was nicer about it, than most other girls had been. It was the fact that she couldn´t imagine me ever being on her level, that really stung deep. I didn´t ask anyone out for more than a year and after she also turned me down, I stopped altogether. There´s only so much rejection, you can take without losing it. One girl felt sorry for me and asked me to the homecoming dance, my senior year. I said yes, mainly because it would get me out of the house for an evening. She ended up getting back together with her ex-boyfriend and after I saw them sucking faces, I left without saying goodbye to anyone. She apologized, but I told her to save it for someone, who cared. We never spoke again, and I spent prom night at home with a bottle of rum and my own misery as company. I made a promise to myself that evening, that I wouldn´t ever let anyone step on me again. If the world is full of users and the used, then I was sure as hell going to find myself on the right side of the equation!
10. Int. Damon´s House. Morning.
Damon does the sign of the cross, before opening three letters that are in front of him. He opens the first one and rolls his eyes, when he sees what it is.
Damon:
Six hundred! Where am I going to get that kind of money?
He throws the letter away and picks up the next one.
Damon:
Don´t be another bill!
He opens it and takes the letter out. The dejection on his face says it all.
Damon:
Dammit! At least the last one can´t be worse!
He picks up the last letter and looks surprised, when he sees who it´s from. He opens it and looks at the letter:
Damon (voice over):
"Dearest Damon. It´s been a very long time, since we´ve talked and it pains me deeply. I hope, you´re doing well, yet I can´t deny that I worry a lot about you these days. Your siblings tell me, that you´re short on words, when they call you and if life has taught me anything, it´s when someone doesn´t want to talk, then there´s usually a reason for it. I feel like I´m to blame for it and If you feel that way too, then I completely understand why. It´s easy to say what you should have done afterwards, but I think we can both agree that I didn´t handle being your mother, the way I should have. I can give you a hundred reasons why, but I don´t think it will help you, unless I tell you what they are in person. All I can say here is that I´m sorry for leaving you without a mother. I can only imagine that knowing your brothers and sisters got to have one, only served to make it worse. It was them, who convinced me that it perhaps isn´t too late for us. If you´re willing to give me one last chance, then my door will always be open for you, my son. While I´m not sure if I deserve it, it could give both of us some much-needed peace of mind. I love you, Mom."
He puts the letter gently on the table and leans back in his couch.
Damon (voice over):
Do I go? I know where she lives, it´s not that. If she thinks that she can apologize and all will be forgotten, then she has another thing coming! You can´t make up for twenty years of neglect with a nice letter and an apology. On the other hand, what´s the harm in hearing her out? I´ll have to figure it out later. I have work to do.
11. Int. Bank Managers Office.
Damon is meeting with his bank manager, who´s checking something on their computer.
Damon (voice over):
My dad´s rules were simple. He paid for you through college and after that, he expected you to take care of yourself. I don´t even know, if he would give me anything. All I know is that I´d prefer it, if I didn´t have to ask him.
Damon:
Can I have the loan or not?
The bank manager starts laughing, but quickly stops himself.
Manager:
You didn´t actually think, that´s why you´re here, do you?
Damon:
I kind of did.
Manager:
Don´t you think, you should start paying back your other loans, before you take out a new one?
Damon:
That money´s been spent.
Manager:
Big surprise there!
Damon:
I didn´t come here to be insulted!
Manager:
What´s the situation, as far as money coming in to your account?
Damon:
I hope to have some coming in later this month.
Manager:
Can´t you hear, how that sounds in my ears?
Damon:
I thought the talent agency would have taken off by now! What can I say?
Manager:
Have you made a single cent on this so-called agency?
Damon:
No, but ...
Manager:
Then I wouldn´t call it an talent agency. I´d call it a waste of time! If you don´t find a steady source of income, then you´re heading for the streets, it´s that simple. Can´t you ask your parents for money, so you can get by?
Damon:
I´d rather not.
Manager:
Mr. Clarke, you´re not in a position, where what you would rather do should be an issue.
Damon tries to take it in.
12. Int. Car. Day.
Damon gets behind the wheel and slams the door shut.
Damon (voice over):
There you have it, for all you who thought I was stealing money from the girls! I´ve spend a lot of my own money, money I didn´t have, to try to get those two girls a break and I haven´t made as much as a cent back. When they both got roles in that other movie, the money from that would have helped fill a very deep hole, but now I´m completely screwed! I might as well let them know right away, that I´m going out of business. I´m sure that Melina will be thrilled to be rid of me. Who knows, if I´ll ever see either of those girls again? That´s the least of my problems now. It´s better get it over with.
13. Int. C&L Offices. Day.
Damon comes in to find Melina working behind the desk. Todd and Dawson can be heard arguing in Todd´s office through the half open door.
Todd (off screen):
Have you heard of an investor tree? If so, I´d like to know where it is!
Melina looks up at him.
Melina:
Oh, hi, scumbag!
Damon:
That´s mister scumbag to you! Is this a bad time?
Melina:
Kind of. We just found out that we need to raise another twenty thousand.
Damon:
That´s a lot of money! I have to talk to you ...
Todd comes out from the office.
Todd:
Do you mind? We´re trying to have an argument!
Damon:
Sorry, I didn´t mean to ...
Todd:
Well, you did, so unless you can come up with a quick twenty grand, I suggest that you zip it!
Damon:
I guess, I could.
Dawson comes out from the office and they look at him.
Todd:
Explain.
Damon:
There´s my mom. She would have that kind of money to burn. It´s weird, because I haven´t been in contact with her in years, until I got a letter from her this morning.
Dawson:
Does everyone else have parent issues, except for me?
Melina:
Like you´re not trying to make your dead dad proud!
Todd:
She´s got you there! I´ll tell you what, Damon. Come up with the money by tomorrow and we´ll make you one fourth owner. Is that fine with you two?
Dawson:
One more thing. You tear Melina and Kathy´s contracts up.
Melina:
Say yes to that and you´ll get my vote too.
Damon:
Done.
Melina looks thrilled.
Melina:
For real?
Damon:
You have my word. Now I just have to face my mom.
Damon, Melina and Todd all shudder.
Melina:
Ooh! I´m glad, it´s not me!
Todd:
My dad sent me off with a pack of smokes and a six pack for the train ride. At least he didn´t bother me about it!
Melina:
Do you want someone to come along for emotional support?
Damon:
Actually, that would be nice. Thanks, Mel.
Melina:
I didn´t say, it had to be me!
Dawson:
Please. It´s about all of our jobs here.
Todd:
You can take one for the team, can´t you?
Melina clearly regrets mentioning it but goes along with it.
14. Int. Car. Evening.
Damon is driving, with Melina in the passenger seat.
Melina:
Why haven´t you seen her in years?
Damon:
Because you can´t say, that she was really my mother.
Melina:
I know, what you mean. Lord knows that mine isn´t anything to write home about.
Damon:
I have to apologize, for sending you to that porn shoot. I was desperate, but it´s no excuse.
Melina looks like, she accepts his apology.
Melina:
Did you think, I´d actually do it?
Damon:
Not really. It was a bad attempt at trying to keep the agency open. It´s officially shut down, as of today.
Melina:
Are you okay?
Damon:
It´s my own fault. I had no idea what I was doing! I´ve never been good at anything.
Melina:
I´ve felt that way too. It sucks to feel that way, doesn´t it?
Damon nods at her.
Damon:
Are we becoming friends?
Melina:
If this is how you´re going to be from now on, we can.
They smile at each other.
Damon:
I´ve never been friends with a girl before.
Melina:
There´s a first time for everything, isn´t there?
Damon smiles to himself.
15. Int. Living Room. Evening.
Damon is waiting for his mother in her luxurious apartment. He looks out of place in the surroundings, as his mother Lara comes in the room. She looks as nervous, as he is.
Damon:
How are you doing, Lara?
Lara:
Alright. I don´t suppose, you will call me mom?
She sits down across from him.
Damon:
"Mom" is a title you have to earn. You haven´t earned it.
Lara:
I deserve that. I´m glad you came, though.
They smile at each other.
Damon (voice over):
She didn´t tell me anything, I wasn´t expecting to hear. She got married too young, had wanted out of the marriage for years and only stayed with my dad for my brothers and sisters´ sake. One day, she realized that she couldn´t live the rest of her life that way and left me behind. I was the only one still living there, anyway. It was a mixture of guilt and not wanting to see my dad, that kept her from being a part of my life. I knew, she wanted to hear me say, that I forgive her, but I can´t. Not this quickly. She still owes me for all the years, I had to live alone with that man. It didn´t take long to convince her to invest in me, so to speak. She even threw in an extra five thousand, so I can pay my bills and I won´t have to go to bed hungry. It would be tempting to take the money and run, but then where would I be in a few months? This way, I have a purpose going forward. After a few hours, I hugged her goodbye and she looked happy, that we´re talking again. Whether I can fully forgive he or not, is still way too early to say, although I won´t deny that this was a huge step in the right direction, in more ways than one.
16. Int. Warehouse. Evening.
The same warehouse that they used to shoot the old movie, has been converted into a set for our movie, with a classroom, a living room and a what looks like a teenage girl´s room. Damon is helping Melina set up the food for catering, while there´s a break in shooting. Kathy comes over to them.
Kathy:
Can you use a hand?
Melina:
Always. Just make sure, you don´t get any on your clothes. I´ll get the rest.
She leaves them and they continue setting up.
Damon:
I´m glad, you finally got your chance, even if I didn´t have anything to do with it.
Kathy:
That´s not what I hear. Melina told me, what you did for us.
Damon:
It was nothing, anyone wouldn´t have done.
Kathy:
I don´t think so. In fact, I think it´s pretty awesome of you.
He looks pleased to be getting praise for once.
Damon:
Oh, well ...
Kathy:
Now that you´re not my agent anymore, there´s no rule that says we can´t date.
Damon:
Are you asking me out?
Kathy:
A date doesn´t have to be anything more, than what we want it to be.
Damon:
Good, because I´m still deep in the woodworks!
Kathy:
Did you lose a lot of money on the agency?
Damon:
I´ll be paying off on it, until I´m at least thirty, barring some miracle!
Kathy:
Then how about you come over to my place tonight? Nothing special, just dinner and hanging out, maybe watch a movie or something.
Damon:
I´d like that.
Melina comes back with the rest of the food.
Melina:
Out of my way!
They move, so she can have room. Damon looks a lot happier, than we´ve seen him so far.
17. Int. Kathy´s Room. Evening.
Kathy only has one small room to live in, but it´s as cozy, as it is small. She´s snuggled up in Damon´s arms and both of them look like they´re enjoying it.
Damon:
What was your first date like?
Kathy:
It was terrible! I was so nervous, that everything I said came out as word jumbles! I spilled food all over myself and it was just a disaster all way round!
Damon:
I think, I have you beat.
Kathy:
How can you top that?
Damon:
It was a school dance and she ended up going home with her ex.
Kathy:
That´s mean! I couldn´t do that to anyone!
Damon:
You can´t, can you?
Kathy:
You never had much luck either, huh?
Damon:
Let´s see ... no, that would be a correct assumption!
Kathy:
I´ve never had an actual boyfriend. You´re the first guy, I´ve had in here.
She looks embarrassed, that she overspoke.
Kathy:
I shouldn´t have said that! You probably think. I´m such a loser now!
Damon:
It´s okay. I´ve never had an actual girlfriend either.
Kathy:
Why not? You´re a catch in my eyes.
Damon:
You´re the first girl, who´s thought so.
Kathy:
Girls can be so dumb sometimes!
They make eye contact and slowly move in to kiss. They smile at each other, after they end it.
Damon:
Will you be my girlfriend, Kathy?
Kathy:
If you promise never to send me to a gang bang, like you did with Melina!
They laugh.
Damon:
I promise.
Kathy:
Then it´s a big yes! Can we try that kissing thing again?
They go back to kissing.
Damon (voice over):
It isn´t like it will fix everything, but I for one, can´t wait to see, where this will take me. Now I have a girlfriend and a job I like. Today I was at a movie shoot for the first time and things aren´t terrible between me and my mother. All of those are firsts for me. I wonder what other first I´m in for, these coming weeks.
CLOSING CREDITS
