Venal Scene

Thursday, May 22, 2003

Sales Meeting: 7:15

(A street corner in a low-rent neighborhood in Brooklyn. Early morning. It�s cold. BRIAN is warm, though, in his beat-up black leather motorcycle jacket. He�s thirty-five but looks in his fifties. His teeth are especially bad, stained, yellow. During the scene, he is checking the street, looking for someone to arrive.

NYLON enters, carrying a small brown paper bag with something in it. She�s not dressed for the weather, in a worn suburban-housewife dress. Her studs and tattoos contrast the dress. She�s thirty-five, but in better condition than Brian.

NYLON pulls a bodega hot-drink cup from the bag, offers it to BRIAN. BRIAN lifts the lid to drink while NYLON digs for her cup. BRIAN reacts to the flavor of his drink.)

BRIAN
What is this shit?

NYLON
Tea.

BRIAN
Tea?

NYLON
Yeah. What?
(BRIAN drinks from his cup. Silence as NYLON sits on the ground, opens the lid of her cup. She adds way too much sugar from sugar-packets.)

BRIAN
�Tea.� [scoffs]

NYLON
What was I sayin� before?

BRIAN
He came at you with his brother�s knife.

NYLON
Right yeah. Fuckin� loser couldn�t even afford his own knife.
(Beat.)

BRIAN
I�m sleepin� on my feet, I need some caffeine.

NYLON
It�s got caffeine.

BRIAN
Need a little bump.

NYLON
You want to mess the shit up? You think she�s gonna wanna talk to you if you flyin�?

BRIAN
This�s like water.

NYLON
Coffee stinks.

BRIAN
So?

NYLON
So you�ll be stinkin�.

BRIAN
Everybody drinks coffee in the morning.

NYLON
She smells coffee on you, she�s gonna think, he was fuckin� his shit up last night. (Beat.) It�s a subconscious thing.

MORE...

Scientific American, May 21st, 2003; Tea Aids Oral Health

posted by Dan 12:48 PM
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