336. Another Night in Paradise - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• INT. #2 BUS SUNSET BLVD - NIGHT


• The bus pulls alongside the curb and its doors hiss open.


• WILL steps onto the bus, shrugging his sagging backpack into a more comfortable position on his back.


• He plays around with his left earphone, trying to get it to sit more comfortably while he counts out five quarters from his pocket and slides them into the electronic cash box.


• The box beeps and the box takes off with a lurch as Will walks carefully to an empty seat and collapses with a sigh into the seat.


• The bus is half-empty, a COUPLE in quiet conversation at the front, and a few denizens of the homeless community scattered around the seats.


• LUCKY sits in the back, her yellow hair spilling around her face.


• MRS. MILLICENT PETTIGREW watches Will skeptically from behind her massive purple sunglasses, the rims of which are two large, perfect circles which dwarf her already diminutive face.


• Will glances at her quickly out out of the side of his eye and tries not to smile.


• She is dressed head to toe in purple, from her glasses, to her velvety coat, to her lavender sneakers; her purse is a large affair, made of clear, purple plastic.


• The bus slides into the next stop.


• The doors hiss open and ANGIE D'AMATO steps onboard.


• She is dressed in a loose t-shirt under a half-open zip-up sweatshirt, pajama bottoms, and house slippers.


• She scans the bus seats, then picks a seat in the middle.


• Turning around she waves at the people beyond her.


• ANGIE
• Hey rock stars! It's another night in paradise. What's good? Nothing better to do than ride the buses.


• LUCKY
• It's a tough town.


• ANGIE
• Tell me about it, sister. Where you coming from?


• LUCKY
• House of Blues.


• ANGIE
• Nice. You know Arnold Schwarzenegger?


• LUCKY
• He's the governor now.


• ANGIE
• Yeah, I met him a few years ago there. He was nice enough, kept hitting on the bartenders though.


• Will surreptitiously slips an earphone out in order to listen closer.


• LUCKY
• Hey, you seem nice enough...could I get your number? I could use a girlfriend.


• ANGIE
• Sure, friends are hard to come by.


• LUCKY
• Yeah, I just don't really have any, so, you know, it'd be nice to have someone to call up.


• She slips out of her seat.


• She wears a cheap, clingy black dress with a sequined belt pushed low on her hip, and walks skillfully to Angie's seat in her black stilettos.


• ANGIE
• 323-555-6745. Just give me a call whenever, you know. What's your name?


• LUCKY
• Lucky.


• ANGIE
• Oh! I like that. I'm Angie.


• LUCKY
• Yeah, it's hard meeting good people.


• ANGIE
• Yeah! But I know why.


• LUCKY
• Why?


• ANGIE
• It's Hollywood!


• The two break out in loud laughter.


• LUCKY
• You meet some crazy people out here.


• ANGIE
• Tell me about it. I was at a girlfriend's place and some dude offered $1,000 to the girl who would shave his beard and pubic hair?


• LUCKY
• God...


• ANGIE
• Yeah, I'd do that. No sex though.


• The TIRED MAN sitting in front of them jerks his head up.


• LUCKY
• Man, I'd step all over him and whip him if some guy would pay.


• He giggles in disbelief - the women ignore him.


• ANGIE
• Nah, you gotta draw a line. Shaving, yeah...the rest of that stuff, just gets too messy.


• LUCKY
• I got offered a ton of money to beat the crap out of a guy and leave him in the desert.


• ANGIE
• Seriously?


• LUCKY
• Yeah, but that brings up bad stuff. I left my husband because he was beating on me. I didn't go down easy though, not like a lot of women. I fought back.


• ANGIE
• Me too! I met my husband after a car accident.


• LUCKY
• How's that?


• ANGIE
• I came here to act, used to get in accidents with fancy cars in West Hollywood. You get out and act all sorry, but maybe you meet a producer or something, you never know.


• LUCKY
• So did it ever work for you?


• ANGIE
• Nah, just got me a husband.


• LUCKY
• And he beat you.


• ANGIE
• Yeah, but I didn't go down easy either. I got sick of my head getting bashed into a wall and fought back. Served time for that.


• LUCKY
• But why? That's self defense.


• The bus begins to slow.


• ANGIE
• Yeah, but when it's on an airplane and the stewardesses have to restrain you and you get kicked off...


• LUCKY
• Ohhhh.


• The bus stops and the doors squeal open.


• Will glances back at the women, at his watch, back at the women, then sighs, pops his headphones back in, and stands.


• He nods to the driver and gets off the bus.


• FADE TO BLACK.