INT. BASEMENT
Gerry & Joe stand at a bar in the corner of the room –
bottles of cheap liquor stacked. Gerry takes out two shot
glasses and quickly pours large shots of Jack Daniels.
The wall is filled with portraits and visual renderings
of legendary Hollywood figures: FRANK SINATRA, DEAN
MARTIN, AL PACINO, JAMES CAGNEY.
Gerry & Joe raise their glasses, salute each other, and
drain the shots. Joe’s face twists. Gerry looks at all
the photographs on the wall - they look as if they are
inspecting him - and pours another.
Bangs it down.
SINATRA
Bangs it down.
DINO
Bangs it down.
PACINO
Bangs it down.
CAGNEY
Slim walks down the steps, looking around, and spots
Gerry with Joe. Walks over to them.
SLIM
You won’t believe what happened.
GERRY
What?
SLIM
Uncle Benny owes Megan ten bucks for
percs. She’s got Dume the goon up-
stairs threatening me… Benny…
my family, he’s gonna do-this-do
that, the works, if Benny don’t pay
up.
JOE
Fuck him, let’s go beat his ass.
GERRY
You keep your mouth shut and let
the grown-ups handle it.
Joe glares at Gerry.
GERRY (cont’d)
What, you got beer muscles all of
a sudden?
Gerry pours Joe another shot.
GERRY
Stay here. Where’s, umm, Nicky
and Larry at?
SLIM
Larry’s dropping some friends off
at the pool, Nicky’s upstairs some
where.
GERRY
Alright, get Nicky and let’s do
this shit.
HALL
Nicky exits the room he was in, zipping up his pants
and buckling his belt, talking on his cell.
NICKY
(into cell phone)
I’ll be down stairs in a sec.
He walks down the steps, dodging people, and reaches
the floor of the party, looking for Gerry & Slim.
He spots them and they join up.
NICKY
Alright, where’s he at?
SLIM
I dunno.
Lock and BEAUMONT, black, high, walks by them. Gerry
pulls Beaumont aside.
GERRY
Beaumont, do you know where Dume
is?
BEAUMONT
Dume?
SLIM
Black, 25, about 5’9".
LOCK
Uh, yo, I think he left.
NICKY
He left?
LOCK
I sold him a nickel bag and him
and his girl said they was out.
NICKY
You sold him a nickel bag? And
he’s gone now?
LOCK
Yeah, he said they was gonna go
blaze an el.
BEAUMONT
Niggaz, if you got beef with this
Dume nigga, take that shit outside
of my house. Got that?
Gerry, Slim & Nicky are disenchanted.
BEAUMONT (cont’d)
Did you hear me? I said, ya’ll
take problems outside, ight?
NICKY
Shut the fuck up, Beaumont, ain’t
gonna be no problems tonight.
BEAUMONT
Don’t be telling me to shut the
fuck up. I will beat yo ass, I
will break yo heart.
NICKY
(brushing him off)
You ain’t doing shit, homes.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL - S. SIDE BATHROOM - DAY
Gerry strolls in, his high school uniform (grey pants,
white shirt, black sweater & tie) untucked, mumbling “I
Get Around” by The Beach Boys.
GERRY
"Gettin bugged drivin up and down
the same old strip, gotta find a
new place where the kids are hip, I
get around…"
He enters the last
STALL
Locking it behind him. Drops his pants and sits down on
the can, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, sparking
his cig, still singing imperceptibly.
GERRY
"My buddies and me are gettin real
well known. Yeah, the bad guys
know us and they leave us alone.
I get around round round I get
around from town to town. Get
around round round I get around,
I’m a real cool head."
Slow shuffling of feet cut him off.
NICKY & SLIM
stand around the corner wall. They both pull out smokes.
NICKY
I wanna know who the mother fucker
is who thinks it’s cute to tag the
bath room every single day of the
week.
SLIM
I find the piss-ant, I’m telling ya
right now, I’m smacking the marker
out of his hand and I’m telling him,
either ya stop it or you are getting
rocked, plain and fuckin simple,
that is it. I see teachers I ain’t
seen in four years walking in here
just to see what’s new on the walls.
GERRY (OS)
It’s some freshman or a sophomore,
y’know, they come in here, I was in
in here third period, I was taking a
shit, and the little squirt walked
in and did his thing.
NICKY
It’s bringinf unnecessary heat, Gerry.
There’s no need for him to do that
shit, y’know? I see him, he ain’t
getting no warnings, I’m cleaning
his clock. I don’t fuck around with
any of them young bucks. I wanna
enjoy a cigarette in peace, know
what I mean?
SLIM
Things are so fucked up now, you got
G-Man walking in every period with
a set of rags and bottle of fucking
Windex.
NICKY
’Works before you wipe.'
SLIM
I’m about to wipe the floor with
that fucking spook Dume.
The mere mention of Dume’s name sets Nicky off.
NICKY
That stinky - apple-pickin - congo
lip - bush-boogying - babooma - blue-
gummer! That mother fucker. I
don’t even think he’s got a clue
who Benny is, does he?
SLIM
Not a clue.
GERRY (OS)
Well, if we don’t stand up for
each other, we are dead.
NICKY
Fuck that cricket. He wants to
play tough guy, we’ll play, we’ll
fucking play. Have Larry to call
Cornelius and tell him to meet me
at the big steps. This motherfucking
Double A is looking to get sprayed,
laid, played and slayed.
Nicky takes a drag, seething with anger.
NICKY (cont’d)
Tell Benny he don’t gotta worry
about his debt no more.
