03

							We HEAR CHEERING and APPLAUSE.
INT. high SCHOOL GYMNASIUM - NIGHT
We're at a high-school BASKETBALL GAME. Teenage boys, mostly black, play
a fast and furious game. One team, dressed in light blue and white
uniforms, scores a basket. The CROWD goes wild.
Seated IN the bleachers, next to the high SCHOOL BAND, is agroup of about
twenty teenage girls, dressed in short light blue and white uniforms that
manage to be both revealing and chaste. Among them, Jane sits next to
ANGELA HAYES, whom we recognize from the witness stand at the beginning.
Jane stands and scans the bleachers.
ANGELAWho are you looking for?
JANEMy parents are coming tonight. They're trying to, you know, take an
active interest in me.
ANGELAGross. I hate it when my mom does that.
JANEThey're such assholes. Why can't they just have their own lives?
INT. MERCEDES - BENZ ML320 - CONTINUOUS
Carolyn drives. LESTER is slumped IN the passenger seat.
LESTERWhat makes you so sure she wants us to be there? Did she ask us to
come?
CAROLYNOf course not. She doesn't want us to know how important this is
to her. But she's been practicing her steps for weeks.
LESTERWell, I bet you money she's going to resent this. And I'm missing
the James Bond marathon on TNT.
CAROLYNLester, this is important. I'm sensing a real distance growing
between you and Jane.
LESTERGrowing? She hates me.
CAROLYNShe's just willful.
LESTERShe hates you too.
Carolyn stares at him, unsure OF how to respond.
INT. high SCHOOL GYMNASIUM - LATER
The uniformed girls we saw earlier are Now standing INformation on the
gymnasium floor.
ANNOUNCER(over P.A.)And now, for your half-time entertainment, Rockwell
High's award-winning Dancing Pantherettes!
IN the crowded stands, LESTER and Carolyn search FOR seats.
LESTERWe can leave right after this, right?
The HIGH SCHOOL BAND plays "TOP OF THE WORLD." On the gym floor, the
girls perform synchronized dance steps, smiling energetically. They're
well-rehearsed, but too young to carry off the ambitious Vegas routine
they're attempting.
LESTER, watching from the stands, picks out his daughter.
His POV: JANE performs well, concentrating hard. Dancing nextto her is
Angela; she moves awkwardly, grace obviously not being her strong point.
Suddenly she looks right us and smiles, a lazy, insolent smile.
LESTER leans forward IN his seat.
His POV: We're focused on Angela now. Everything starts to SLOW DOWN,
almost imperceptibly... the MUSIC acquires an eerie ECHO... and she keeps
sneaking knowing looks at us...
We ZOOM slowly toward LESTER as He watches, transfixed.
His POV: The light on Angela is brighter than on the others, somehow, and
her awkwardness gives way to a fluid grace. "TOP OF THE WORLD" FADES into
dreamy, hypnotic TRIPHOP MUSIC. The light on Angela grows even stronger,
and the other girls around her DISAPPEAR entirely...
LESTER is spellbound.
His POV: ANGELA looks directly at us Now, Dancing ONLY FORLester. Her
movements take on a blatantly erotic edge as the MUSIC increases in
intensity. She starts to seductively unzip her uniform, teasing us with
an expression that's both innocent and knowing, then... she pulls her
uniform OPEN and a profusion of RED ROSES spills forth... and we SMASH
CUT TO:
INT. HIGH SCHOOL ~ - CONTINUOUS
ANGELA, fully clothed, is Once again surrounded By the othergirls. The
HIGH SCHOOL BAND plays its last note, the Dancing Pantherettes strike
their final showgirl pose, and the audience bursts into APPLAUSE.
Carolyn claps along with the rest OF the audience. LESTERjust sits there,
unable to take his eyes off Angela.
EXT. high SCHOOL GYMNASIUM - LATER
The game is over. LESTER and Carolyn stand near the maindoor, as people
trickle out of the gym.
CAROLYN(after a beat)Okay, I can't wait any longer. I've got a killer day
tomorrow -
LESTER(emphatic)We don't leave without seeing her.
Carolyn gives him an odd look.
LESTER (cont'd)Hey, this was your idea. (then calls out)Janie!
JANE and ANGELA, IN street clothes, have just come out OF thegym. Jane
rolls her eyes and crosses reluctantly toward her parents, followed by
Angela.
LESTER (cont'd)You were really great, honey. Congratulations.
JANEI didn't win anything
LESTER(to Angela)Hi, I'm Lester. Jane's dad.
ANGELAOh. Hi.
An awkward beat.
JANEThis is my friend Angela Hayes.
LESTEROkay, good to meet you. You were also good, tonight. Very...
precise.
ANGELA(warming)Thanks.


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? Alan Ball




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