Painful Date by Gary O. Bennett
INT. BATHROOM
The frame of the picture is in a split screen. On the left
is exactly the same viewpoint as on the right. The viewpoint
is that of a mirror. On the left, in a medium shot, stands
DANA CARR, looking directly into the CAMERA, which for her is
the mirror. Dana seems fresh and clean, her hair is down.
She is dressed in casual smart clothes. On the right is also
Dana Carr. Her head hangs low, her hair obscuring her face.
Her clothing is somewhat disheveled, and her hair is matted.
Her shoulder seems to have a bruise on it. Dana on the left
will be referred to as Dana-L, and Dana on the right will be
referred to as Dana-R.
It is possible that we will go into split screen at some
point in the middle of the opening cell phone conversation of
Dana-L. The split screen will emerge by sliding from frame
right to frame middle.
We hear a the SOUND of a cell phone. Dana-L picks up her
phone to see who it is, puts the ear piece in her left ear
and presses the receive button.
DANA-L
What is it Kim? Yep. Tonight.
Yep. Stop with the advice Kim, OK.
McSorley’s, can you get anymore
public than that. Of course not.
No way. Dinner, a few drinks, and
then I will report back to you.
Yes. He’s probably a total bore.
I mean christ, you listened to his
rap the other night. On and on as
if he were interested in me.
Asking me all sorts of questions.
Knows the names of my brothers and
sister, knows where I go to school,
knows my major, knows where I grew
up, knows that my father died when
I was twelve. Jeez, what the hell
do I know about him? But tonight
is my night to interrogate.
Listen, can you call me back in
about five, I have to get ready.
OK. OK. OK.
Dana-L removes the ear piece from her ear, pulls her hair
back and starts to apply make-up. Dana-R raises her head and
looks at herself in the mirror. We see bruises all over her
face; she has been crying, her eyes are read. She rises a
bit, exposing that her blouse is ripped and dirty.
DANA-R
(to herself - no apparent
anger - matter of fact)
Hello David. Hello Dana. Nice to
see you again Dana. Yes, well, can
we take a seat, I’m starved. Well,
Dana, I was just informed that it
is a two hour wait. Then David,
why don’t we just have a few drinks
and talk. OK, Dana. A few drinks.
A few drinks. No, let’s have more
than a few drinks. Let’s have
seven glasses of wine. Let’s then
walk to your place for a quick bite
to eat because every place is
booked. Let’s help me down the
street, real nice, like a nice boy,
holding me up because I couldn’t
walk straight. Such a nice boy.
And I was laughing the whole way to
your place. Laughing. The whole
way. Not a long walk. Just a few
blocks to your one-bedroom on the
top floor. I tripped on those
stairs and you caught me. You
caught me. Nice apartment. Money.
David, you have a job. David, you
are not a loser.
Dana-R drops her head. Dana-L seems to be very satisfied
with her facial endeavors. The cell phone rings. This seems
to irritate Dana-L.
DANA-L
Kim, you know I must have come from
a very good gene pool. Can there
really be perfection in a woman’s
face? Excuse me, but I think
that’s crap…beauty in the eye of
the beholder…that is a cliche
created to sooth the souls of the
less fortunate. It’s entirely
possible that I am making a
mistake. Maybe I should not offer
to my evening’s lucky meal-mate the
best of me. Maybe I should show up
without make-up, with dirty hair;
I’ll paint circles under my eyes.
I mean, does he deserve this? Does
he deserve the best of me? I don’t
think so. But then, to hide
perfection would take too much
time. It just takes time.
And at this moment, time is
something I do not have. I really
must go, Kim. Call me later, like,
I don’t know, later. Yeah. OK.
OK. Love you too.
Dana-L hangs up. As Dana-L was on the phone with Kim, Dana-R
was collecting herself, attempting to assess the physical
damage. She tries to drag a brush through her hair, without
much success. She touches one of the bruises on her cheek.
DANA-R
(to herself)
Now David, this was unnecessary. I
mean I can understand maybe a
little slap. But a fist. And then
I can understand one hit,
particularly after I called you a
sick fuck. Actually, that was not
what caused you to hit me, was it.
It was when I called you a moron.
Sick fuck you could deal with, but
a slight against your intelligence
was just too much. That’s when you
hit me twice in a row. Same spot.
With your fist. Like that, you
said. Want more, you said.
Dana-L finishes up and departs the frame left. We might
slide the frame right portion to the left, filling the entire
screen. Dana-R’s cell phone rings. She checks, hesitates,
then places the phone to her ear.
DANA-R (cont’d)
Hi Kim. No, just tired. It went
great. I squeezed a whole meal out
of David, he paid for everything.
No, I still did not find out much
about him. I’m fine. But I did get
his business card. (she holds up
the business card and examines it)
Yeah, he works at Merrill Lynch.
It says he’s a Vice President.
Yep, it says Vice. The boy has a
lot going on. Yeah, I might see
him again. It will be under
different circumstances, I suspect.
OK. I’ll call you tomorrow. I’m
hitting the sack. OK. Yeah,
later.
Dana-R hangs up and places the cell phone down. She then
looks at the business card and then at the mirror.
DANA-R (cont’d)
David, David, David…so agreeable.
So compliant. Why is it so easy to
get a boy to hit a girl? Girl
tells boy she likes pain, boy
protests a little, girl insists,
demands, boy relents and hits away.
David, you put up a little bit of a
struggle, but you finally did it,
didn’t you. (touching her bruises)
God, these feel so good. You
should be happy, David. So why
were you crying? Why did you cry
David after almost making love to
me? I know why. Because you came
from having hit me. It made you
excited, didn’t it? You felt
shame. And you are worried that
you will be in trouble. I can
always spot a man like you David.
It is the way you look at women. I
can see what is going on inside
your brain. That is why we will
get together again…and
again…and again…until…until
it becomes to painful.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.