Written by Joe Janes
12/22/09
338 of 365
Cast:
Dean, 12
Bruce, 50s
Kelly, 30s
(Lights up on Kelly sitting at a dinner table paying the bills. Dean enters. He is an awkward little boy with a “Hello Kitty” book bag. He gives his mom a kiss on the cheek.)
DEAN
Hi, Mom.
KELLY
Hey, Dean. How was school, today?
DEAN
It was all right.
KELLY
Getting better?
DEAN
Yeah, I guess.
KELLY
Enough with these bills. I’ll go get dinner started for us.
(She starts to exits.)
DEAN
Hey, Mom. You know you said I could invite a friend over after school some time?
KELLY (excited)
Yes. Did you make a friend?
DEAN
Yeah. Can I invite him in to play Guitar Hero?
KELLY
Sure! Sure, bring him in. I’ll get you some snacks and juice boxes. I knew things would work out.
(She exits. Dean opens the front door.)
DEAN
Hey, Bruce. I told you she would say okay.
(Bruce enters. He is a homeless vet in his 50s with a makeshift cardboard sign that says “Help A Homeless Vet.” He walks with a noticeable limp.)
BRUCE
Okay, kid. As long as it’s cool. I don’t want to cause any trouble. Got any food?
DEAN
Mom’s getting us some snacks.
BRUCE
Good. Good. Snacks are good. Nice place you got here.
DEAN (setting up Guitar Hero)
Thanks. Mom doesn’t like it. It’s smaller than our old place. Do you like Guitar Hero? You wanna play? I only have one guitar, but you can play it.
(Dean hands Bruce the guitar.)
BRUCE
An axe. Get ready for some thunder. Uh, there’s something wrong with your guitar here.
DEAN
No, no. It’s right. You hit the right colored button when you see it on the screen.
(A Fleetwood Mac song starts to play, something like “Go Your Own Way.” Bruce tries and messes it up. He hands it back to the kid.)
BRUCE
I don’t think I like this game.
DEAN
You just need more practice. I’ve played it a lot.
(Dean shows him and does really well.)
BRUCE
You’ve played that thing a lot.
DEAN
Yeah. I don’t have any friends.
BRUCE
You know, for all the time you put in to learnt to play that thing, you could have learnt to play a guitar. A real one.
(Kelly enters.)
KELLY
Dean, I have grape juice box and an apple. Which one does your friend- Who the fuck are you?
DEAN
Mom! Language!
BRUCE
Ma’am, it’s cool.
KELLY
It is not cool. Get the hell out of my house.
DEAN
Mom!
BRUCE
The boy invited me in. I don’t mean any harm. He said it was okay.
DEAN
He’s my friend.
KELLY
No, he’s not. When you said you brought home a friend, I thought you meant a classmate. Someone your age. He’s some homeless man. He doesn’t belong here.
BRUCE
I’ll be on my way-
DEAN
Can’t he stay, Mom? Please. We were playing.
KELLY
Playing what?
DEAN
Guitar Hero.
BRUCE
I was losing.
KELLY
You need to leave before I call the police.
BRUCE
No need. No need. Like I said, the kid invited me. I thought it was cool.
KELLY (seeing the sign)
Are you really a vet?
BRUCE
Yes, ma’am. Served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Back when it in vogue.
KELLY
Oh.
DEAN
My dad was in Iraq. He’s a hero.
BRUCE
Oh. That’s great. Where is he now?
KELLY
He’s not coming home.
BRUCE
I see. (Pause) Hey, look. I’ll get out of your hair, here. But, since you were willing to part with one of those juice boxes any way, do you mind?
KELLY
Oh, sure. Uh, grape or apple?
BRUCE
Grape sounds just about right.
(She hands it to him.)
KELLY
How on earth did you meet my son?
BRUCE
Oh, some kids were bugging him. I told them to skedaddle.
KELLY
Oh, Dean. You were being picked on, again.
DEAN
Yeah. They were playing keep away with my book bag.
KELLY
I’m going to call that principal, again.
DEAN
No, Mom. Please don’t do that.
BRUCE
If I may, Ma’am. I think you’ll greatly reduce little Dean’s potential of getting picked upon if you just get him a different bag.
KELLY
But he loves kitty cats.
BRUCE
Sure. Who don’t? But a boy at his age at school, that makes him a big target for bullies. I’d get him something a little more manly.
DEAN
Puppy dogs?
BRUCE
Don’t you like G.I. Joe or something like that?
DEAN
My mom and I don’t like violence.
BRUCE
Hey, what do I know? (He opens the door and gets ready to leave.) Tell you what, though. I’m always at the corner near the McDonald’s where all the kids walk by afterschool. I’ll keep an eye out for Dean. Make sure he gets home, okay.
KELLY
Thanks, Bruce.
BRUCE
Be a good soldier, like your dad, Dean. (He salutes Dean who salutes him back in a very effeminate way. Bruce shakes his head.) The next time someone plays keep away with that book bag, let ‘em keep it. That’ll show ‘em. (He exits.)
DEAN
Don’t you think he’d make a good friend, Mom?
KELLY
He makes a good person to know. How about that? Now, let’s see if we can get that smell out of the living room.
DEAN
Yay, Febreez!
(Dean runs off. Kelly looks concerned. Blackout.)
