INT. KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN KITCHEN - EVENING (continued)
He seems genuinely hurt by the remark and returns to his
breading duties. Dex bends down, picks up the slimy piece of
fat and tosses it to land perfectly against his neck.
DEX (CONT'D)
See? If you laid off the weed you
could have cat-like reflexes and
pinpoint accuracy, too.
She continues to gingerly traverse the floor. His laugh is
slow and late.
DEX
Look at me...I’m like a walking
advertisement for a drug-free
America.
Dex places her timecard into the slot.
Big Cathy counts the contents of frozen chicken crates
outside the walk-in cooler and records her findings onto a
clipboard.
BIG CATHY
Your Mom called during the rush,
said bring chicken.
Dex rounds the corner and disappears into the employee
bathroom without acknowledgment of the information.
INT. MURPHY APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - EVENING
The television blares in the tiny room. Knickknacks and tacky
trinkets of varying colors and sizes litter all available
surface space.
DARREN, 5, a small, anemic-looking kid with some serious
hair, is crashed on the couch. Dex sets down her back pack
and shuts the television off.
MARGARET (O.S.)
(Yelling)
Christine, is that you?
Dex picks Darren up from the couch without protest and
carries him into
DARREN’S BEDROOM
The room is cave-like without windows. A day bed and small
dresser fill the room to capacity.
She places him in the bed and yanks off his filthy socks. She
places the covers over his otherwise fully clothed body.
MARGARET (O.S.)
(Louder)
Christine?!
Darren stirs. Dex shuts her eyes and lets out a breath. Once
he is settled, she exits the room and closes the door.
INT. MARGARET’S BEDROOM
A hideous shade adorns the bedside lamp and cast the room in
green. Her patch of gray hair runs from the front of
MARGARET MURPHY, 38, fuzzy hairline toward the back, skunklike.
It is an unfortunate feature but certainly not the only
unattractive thing about her.
Dex leans against the door frame to contemplate the figure in
bed. Margaret is half-buried in a dizzying array of blankets
and throws. A cigarette dangles from her lips.
She reads The Examiner as Dex tries to decipher if her Mother
has just awoken from a nap or hasn’t yet gone to sleep.
DEX
You know he can’t keep falling
asleep in front of the TV; that’s
why he can’t get up for school in
the morning.
MARGARET
Did you bring home some chicken?
She enters the room and picks up various newspapers and sale
circulars from the floor. Margaret crams the cigarette into
the crowded beanbag ashtray on the night stand.
DEX
No. Did he even go to school today?
She stuffs the papers into a full waste basket.
Margaret sits up and pouts.
MARGARET
Didn’t they tell you I called?
Dex stomps down on the garbage in the basket.
DEX
Mom, I can’t bring home leftover
chicken unless I’m closing.
Otherwise I have to pay for it.
Margaret makes a face and grabs for her Good & Plenty box of
candy from the night stand.
MARGARET
Well, I’m not a mind-reader,
Christine. I thought you were
closing.
She opens the box with care not to rip the tabs to prevent
resealing.
MARGARET
Darren had the sniffles and stayed
home with me today.
Dex sighs and resumes straightening.
DEX
Did he eat?
MARGARET
We had toast.
She glares at her Mother and walks out of the room.
Margaret, oblivious, meticulously separates the white Good &
Plenty from the pink.
INT. MURPHY KITCHEN - LATER
Out of her uniform and hunched over a bowl of cereal, she
fingers the dozens of burn marks from unattended cigarettes
on the table top.
The SOUND of tick-tick-tick invades the noise of her Snap-
Crackle-Pop. Dex glares at the sunshine-faced clock on the
wall as if to challenge it to a staring contest.
She places her bowl in the sink. Her body is thin with bra
and underwear simply moving with her form. She is efficient
and strong.
INT. MARGARET’S BEDROOM
Dex is at the door again with a pillow case in hand.
DEX
I’m doing laundry tomorrow.
Margaret looks up from her MovieLine Magazine and quickly
uses it to cover her eyes.
MARGARET
Good, Lord, Christine! Put some
clothes on.
DEX
You might wanna get those peepers
checked.
She looks behind the door, removes a bra from the doorknob
and drops it into the sack.
MARGARET
What if Darren sees you? Go put on
some shorts and a tee-shirt.
She drops to her knees and gathers various loose socks from
around the floor of the bed.
Dex reaches under the bed and pulls out a stray yellowed page
from The Star and an envelope.
MARGARET
(whispering loudly now)
Christine...
The envelope is from St. Mary’s College addressed to
Christine Murphy.
MARGARET
...you know he sometimes wakes up
to use the bathroom...
Dex rests back on her heels to inspect the envelope. She
then sprawls flat and sweeps an arm long beneath the bed.
Several more letters addressed to her along with a
substantial amount of dust gather in the crook of her arm.
In an instant, she is on her feet and flings the letters at
her Mother.
DEX
What are you doing with these?
Margaret swiftly slides out of bed and away from Dex.
DEX
I told you before not to touch my
mail.
MARGARET
Take it easy, Christine...let me
explain.
Dex snatches the letters off the bed. Margaret motions to
help but Dex cuts her a look to keep her distance.
DEX
I am going to college. Do you got
that? You can’t keep me here!
Dex strides to the door.
MARGARET
Well, what are we supposed to do?
Dex holds up the fistful of letters.
DEX
Keep this up and I won’t even stay
through summer.
Margaret slumps back down into the bed.
EXT. WESTINGHOUSE HIGH SCHOOL - MORNING
Dex sprints from the city bus. A few STUDENTS mingle about
outside on the steps. Dex cuts across the grass and squeezes
behind the bushes. She hustles past the windows of two
classrooms in session before she arrives at her own.
Dex motions to a GUY inside. He watches the teacher until
she turns her back. He raises the window and helps Dex
inside.
INT. WESTINGHOUSE HIGH SCHOOL
Dex gets to her seat, sits down and lets out a breath,
winded. MS. RYDER, 29, retro beehive, makes note of her and
continues the lesson.
INT. STICK’S BASEMENT - NIGHT
From the look of the place, someone misses their Motherland.
Irish proverbs line the wall of the wood paneling in the dank
room. Glowing shamrocks hang from the ceiling near the makeshift
dance area. A few brave souls attempt to move to the
guitar-heavy music. The success rate is dismal.
The plastic leprechauns strung above the bar illuminate it
beautifully; bright enough that one can find their drink but
dim enough to mask the condition of their surroundings.
Sticks pours three healthy shots from behind the bar into
plastic cups. Dex, Tuna, and Sticks “clink” then slam their
drinks.
Tuna fake spits after she swallows.
TUNA
I had prepared myself for Irish
Whiskey.
Dex gives Tuna a high-five.
STICKS
Poag Mahone, bitch.
Puzzled, she leans in for another listen.
STICKS
If you don’t like the free booze
you can get out, bitch.
The back door opens and Twitch and her fiance, MICHAEL, 26,
dockers and a collared shirt, enter the party. Twitch waves
in the direction of the three at the bar. Dex gestures and
Tuna manages a nod.
TUNA
He seems kinda creepy to me.
Dex takes a pull off of her Old Style can.
DEX
You hate everyone.
Sticks sets up another round of shots.
TUNA
I’d say a large majority...
Dex rests her head on the end of the bar. Tuna lights a
joint, takes a hit and hands it to Sticks.
TUNA
(holding her breath)
Are we boring you?
Dex speaks into the bar, her head still down.