326. The Hollow Girl - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• INT. THE MEDIOCRE - NIGHT


• The Mediocre is a club that is anything but. Flat couches hang above the heads of the guests sitting on low chairs and couches, and are accessible by rope ladders.


• ALAN watches in amusement as a girl in a tight skirt attempts to climb the rope ladder while maintaining some dignity.


• THEO returns with their drinks and sits down next to him.


• THEO
• Your cranberry juice, good sir?


• ALAN
• Why thanks. Oh, look, they even stuck a lime in for me. I can be a real boy too!


• Theo snorts and leans back into the couch, nodding to the beat and sipping from his glass.


• Alan taps his finger along with music and watches the DJ, who is dancing in her perch across the room.


• A girl with short, curly hair passes and something about her attracts Alan's attention.


• She turns, revealing that some of the hair on the other side of her head is cropped shorter.


• A small tattoo rests behind her ear, and rings cover her ear, in contrast to the other side of her head which is free of any type of modification.


• The effect is attractive and disconcerting.


• ALAN
• You should go talk to her?


• THEO
• Nah, she's just a hollow girl.


• ALAN
• Excuse me?


• THEO
• Not her really, I guess, but my expectations for her, she simply becomes a shell for the person I want to her be. I'll get to know her, and sure, I'll appreciate who she really is, but I'll be more disappointed by who she isn't?


• ALAN
• Good night, you've kind of set yourself up for failure.


• THEO
• Well, when you approach someone at a club, it's understood that you're looking for a certain, ehm, level of relationship. I don't want to just pick up random people, no matter how cool. I want to get to know someone, and then hey, I know what I'm getting into, and no disappointment.


• ALAN
• You're a sad, sad man. I mean, you told me you used to daydream about how cool it would be to meet someone spontaneously.


• THEO
• And that's why it's a daydream; stuff like that doesn't happen.


• ALAN
• It can, darn it! But you won't know if you don't stop hiding behind excuses and actually meet her.


• Theo glances over his shoulder, scanning the room for her.


• ALAN
• Look at you, you need to just talk to her - even if that's the only thing that happens. You're so idealistic you've become paralyzed. Go.


• THEO
• You have to help me find an entry point.


• ALAN
• What?


• THEO
• If I'm going to go talk to her, I need to find a way to start a good conversation.


• ALAN
• Oh, for the love of Buddha!


• THEO
• Hey, you're the one who wants me to talk to her.


• ALAN
• You know you do too. Ok, ok, fine. Her piercings?


• THEO
• Nah.


• ALAN
• Hairstyle, clothes?


• THEO
• Too much potential for disaster.


• ALAN
• You're just trying to be difficult.


• THEO
• Yes.


• ALAN
• Ah, screw it.


• THEO
• Thanks for playing.


• ALAN
• Yeah, yeah. So, when I have kids, I'm limiting the time they have with you. I would very much like them to end up as balanced adults.


• Theo laughs, but his eyes are distant, still following the girl across the room.


• FADE TO BLACK.