Scene II: Suzy Moves into the Apartment. Ê We begin looking at the apartment, except the left most room, which will be SUZY`s room, and the right most room, which is WESLEY`s room, are darkened out. Ê Lighting is normal on the living room. Ê The living room is nice and organized, As the scene opens, WESLEY is back stage center, speaking with STEVEN and BRENT, who are both carrying luggage. Ê WESLEY is dressed lazily in a pair of shorts and an oversized T-shirts, whereas STEVEN and BRENT are dressed normally.. pants, shirts, what have you.

WESLEY: (To STEVEN) You sure you aren`t going to go out of you mind back in B-Town?

STEVEN: I`ll manage somehow.

WESLEY: (To BRENT) And you.. well, I know you`ll be fine.

(BRENT once again smiles coyly and gives a "you know it" motion)

WESLEY: I guess that does it then. Ê I`ll see you guys after the summer.. you can expect to come back to a divinely messed up apartment.

BRENT: Looking forward to it.

STEVEN merely sighs. Ê Both of them file out of the room slowly, and as soon as they leave, WESLEY walks into his bedroom. Ê As he enters, the lights in the living room dim and the lights in Wesley`s room come up, revealing the disaster that is Wesley`s room: Clothes and books are strewn all about the room. Ê WESLEY, pantomiming absolute exhaustion, falls into his bed and seemingly falls asleep. Ê As he does, the lights in his bedroom grow dim. Ê After about 30 seconds, we hear the sound of a telephone ringing. Ê Slowly, the lights in the living room come up, revealing a room much different than how we left it: The entertainment center and DVD racks still sit idly at one side of the room, as neat as they were left, but books are now scattered throughout the room, some laying on the floor, and discarded socks (but, thank Gods, nary a pair of underwear) lay scattered all about the living room. Ê Time has passed, and WESLEY has spread his Ê unorganized style of living to other parts of the apartment in his roomates` absence.

As the phone continues to ring, WESLEY stumbles out of his bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. Ê He picks up the phone indifferently, and hits the a button on it, and then raises it to his ear.)

WESLEY: (complete with scratchy voice) Hello?

CHRISTINA: (from off screen) Hello, butt-muncher.

WESLEY: (smiling slightly) Hey sis.

CHRISTINA: You got a new job yet?

WESLEY: Hell no. Ê I am destined to work forever opening mail.

CHRISTINA: Yeah, whatever, you haven`t even been out of college a year yet. Ê The economy is slow.. or something. Ê So cheer up.

WESLEY: Whatever. Ê What did you want?

CHRISTINA: To check up on you.

WESLEY: Nice.

CHRISTINA: So what`s going on?

WESLEY: Not much. Ê Waiting for my dream job to fall in my lap, I guess, and in the meantime working my dead end and entertaining myself with great literature and less-than-great booze.

CHRISTINA: It`s no wonder you can`t afford to go out, if you`re spending that much money on booze.

WESLEY: It`s cheap booze, though.

CHRISTINA: It`s not cheap if you`re buying by the gallon.

WESLEY: Whatever.

CHRISTINA: So mom tells me you`ve got a new roommate, and that she`s a cute girl too!

WESLEY: (Wesley, suddenly weary of the conversation, collapses on the couch) Ê I know, a fucking miracle isn`t it? Ê Well, it`s not what you think. Ê I`m pretty sure this is Dick`s latest pursuit, and I`m just a convenient stop on the way.

CHRISTINA: Ê Well, there`s no reason you can`t show up Dick, right?

WESLEY: Yeah, whatever. Ê Might as well ask a street bum to show up a movie star.

CHRISTINA: Once again, you`re being too hard on yourself. Ê Give yourself some credit, bro, or no one else will.

(The lights in the Living Room start dimming)

WESLEY: Yeah, well, I think the shoe fits in this case. Ê I mean, even though she lives with me, I hardly ever see the girl.

(The lights in SUZY`s room slowly start light up, revealing SUZY in her bedroom. Ê She`s leaning over her dresser, staring into the mirror mounted on top, carefully applying eye shadow. Ê She`s dressed in a leather skirt and a white tank top. Ê Once she looks satisfied, she stands back up, grabs her leather jacket from her bed and throws it over her shoulder. Ê She begins putting her boots on...)

CHRISTINA: Shy girl?

WESLEY (Now speaking from off stage as well): No, not really. Ê Quite the opposite in fact. Ê She just likes being somewhere else is all. Ê She`s usually gone every night and she`s still gone when I get up in the morning.. I don`t know if she has a job or not, but she`s not around much. Ê And when she is around, she keeps herself tightly locked in her bedroom, doing Gods knows what.. I think she`s brought some guys overnight a time or two, actually.

CHRISTINA: Guys? Ê Plural?

WESLEY: Well, not more than one at a time.. but they`re different guys. Ê I think. Ê I dunno, I don`t really get a good glimpse at them, I`m usually in my room myself.

CHRISTINA: Interesting. Ê

WESLEY: A bit off-putting, if you ask me. Ê But other than that, she`s quiet as a mouse. Ê I don`t even think she turns on her TVWow. .

CHRISTINA: How would you know? Ê Have you tried eavesdropping?

WESLEY: Whatever.

CHRISTINA: She any good to look at?

WESLEY: ... yes. Ê I`d be lying if I said otherwise. Ê

CHRISTINA: Ê Really now?

WESLEY: Yeah, well.. Steve made it sound like this girl was the hottest thing on the planet since Princess Nina. Ê And, I dunno.. she`s not like, magazine cover hot, not make-you-stop-mid-conversation hot.. but... she`s got this unique, exotic appeal. Ê She`s this petite, fragile looking thing, but she`s got something about her, some... I dunno how to describe it.. inner fire. Ê She`s not about to take over the runways, but there`s something about her that you`ll just never forget. Ê Like her smile. Ê Wow, does she have a smile. Ê

(By now, SUZY has finished putting her boots on and is taking her final touches in the mirror)

CHRISTINA: Sounds almost like you do have a thing for this girl.

WESLEY: Whatever. Ê Can`t a guy admire beauty without "falling in love"?

CHRISTINA: You`re not seeing anyone, are you?

WESLEY: For the last time, no. Ê I thought the girls would get the air out of their heads after college, but they`re just as bad, if not worse.

CHRISTINA: Well, what about this Suzy then?

(SUZY is now walking out the bedroom door, into the darkened Living Room.)

WESLEY: You just don`t give up do you?

CHRISTINA: What? Ê You always told Mom that you would provide the grand kids.

(SUZY is now out of her bedroom and the lights go down, painting the stage once again entirely in black)

WESLEY: Yeah, great, I`ll just go nail some random bargirl so Mom can have her grandkids after all the shit she`s put this family through.

(An "uncomfortable" pause of a few seconds)

CHRISTINA: So do you two talk at all?

WESLEY: Not much.

(Lights come back up in the Living Room. Ê WESLEY is sprawled on the couch, paging through one of his books, a glass filled with ember liquid resting on the floor beside him. Ê SUZY enters from her still darkened bedroom, wearing a much more reserved outfit of jeans and a long sleeved shirt at this time. Ê SUZY walks towards the phone, which is now hanging on its receiver)

SUZY: (Looking casually towards WESLEY) What`re you reading?

WESLEY: (Completely ignoring SUZY) Ê A book.

SUZY: Ah. Ê (SUZY picks up the phone and walks back into her darkened bedroom with it.)

CHRISTINA: Doesn`t sound like much to me.

WESLEY: (An off stage voice) We don`t have much in common, all right?

CHRISTINA: All right, all right... Ê (The lights in the living room go back down, leaving the stage in darkness again) Ê Well, once again your life sounds like a regular fairy tale book.

WESLEY: What can I say? Ê I lead an enchanted life.

CHRISTINA: Indeed. Ê Well.. considering your so full of charm and wit right now, I think I`ll let you go. Ê It`s a Saturday, but I`ve got stuff to do too.

WESLEY: Uh-huh. Ê Going out to see Renton again?

CHRISTINA: Maybe. Ê What`s it to you?

WESLEY: What, you can inquire into my personal life, but yours is off-limits?

CHRISTINA: You get what you take: You don`t have anything interesting to tell me, so I`m definitely not going to bother telling anything interesting to you.

WESLEY: You should lose that chump, Christy.

CHRISTINA: Who are you to judge? You`ve only met him once.

WESLEY: Once is enough.

CHRISTINA: You hardly know him.

WESLEY: Would it fucking kill you to find a man worth being with for once?

(Another awkward pause. Ê The lights in the Living room slowly light back up, revealing WESLEY, still clad in his underwear, speaking with his sister)

WESLEY: Whatever. Ê If you gotta go, then go. Ê I think I`m gonna get back to bed.

CHRISTINA: But it`s only 9:00 at night.

WESLEY: Yeah, well, it`s my day off. Ê Ê And I`m a little drunk. Ê Gimmie a break. Ê I`ve got nothing better to do right now, so I`ll just curl up with a book and pass out.

CHRISTINA: Well.. okay Ê Try and lay off the booze some, okay?

WESLEY: Sure, mom.

CHRISTINA: Yeah, well, speaking of mom, try and give her and dad a call sometime, okay?

WESLEY: Whatever.

CHRISTINA: Love you.

WESLEY: Love you too.

(WESLEY turns off the phone and hangs it up. Ê Barely a moment later, it starts ringing again. Ê WESLEY, confused picks it up.)

WESLEY: (Into phone, wondering) Ê Hello?

SUZY: (Off stage) Wesley, is that you? Ê

WESLEY: Who else would it be?

SUZY: It`s Suzy.. look, if you`re not busy Wesley...

WESLEY: It`s only Saturday night.. but yeah, I`m not busy.

SUZY: Could you come get me? Ê My car broke down.

WESLEY: Your car? Ê Where are you at?

SUZY: By the old windmill.

WESLEY: The old windmill? Ê Where the hell is that? Ê I wasn`t aware we even had a windmill in Nikeah.

SUZY: Just.. it`s kind of out of the way. Ê 17th and 128th.

WESLEY: Yeah, that is a little out of the way.

SUZY: ..please, Wesley? Ê I`ve got someone who can fix it for me, but they won`t be open for another couple of nights. Ê Please?

WESLEY: All right all right, calm down. Ê I`ll go get my car. Ê Just be aware it won`t be a very pleasant ride, my car is a mess.

SUZY: Oh, thank you! Ê Thank you so much!

WESLEY: Sure. Ê (WESLEY hangs up. Ê After doing so, he looks at the phone, as if he`s unsure of what just transpired. Ê Finally, with a heavy sigh, he walks into his bedroom (which is still dark). Ê After a few moments he reemerges in his trademark shorts and shirt and leaves through the apartment door without a word.

Scene III: Picking up Suzy.   Car Backdrop.   As the scene opens, WESLEY is sitting in the driver seat of the car, looking around impatiently.   Once or twice, he peers out the passenger`s side window, obviously searching for SUZY.   After his last search, impatience gets the best of him and he makes a quick blast on the horn.   Seconds later, SUZY walks into the light from stage left, dressed to kill, and opens the passenger side door.   She climbs into WESLEY`s jalopy.)

WESLEY: Hey.

SUZY: (closing the door) Thanks.   Thanks so much.

(WESLEY regards SUZY with an unreadable expression.   SUZY, in the meantime, starts sniffing the air, innocently at first, but then with increasing indignation.)

WESLEY: I`ve been drinking, all right?

SUZY: Not in the car, I hope?   (WESLEY snorts)   You sure you good to drive?

WESLEY: Would you rather walk home?

(This apparently satisfies SUZY, who turns her gaze to the windshield blankly.   WESLEY pantomimes driving the car onto the road)   The two sit in uncomfortable silence for about half a minute.   WESLEY, seemingly against his will, speaks first.

WESLEY: Have... fun?

SUZY: ( SUZY had obviously not been paying much attention, and turns to WESLEY curiously) What`s that?

WESLEY: Did you have fun?

SUZY: Err.. yeah.

WESLEY: What exactly were you doing out here, if you don`t mind me asking?

SUZY: Umm.. well.. nothing.   (SUZY begins staring at her lap)

WESLEY: Whatever.   I mean, if you don`t want to talk about it, that`s fine, I don`t like people butting into my business either.   It`s just odd having a roommate who`s doesn`t even sleep in her bed most of the time.   (a short pause)   But it`s cool, I mean, I don`t mind or anything.. as long as you pay the rent.

SUZY: I was just going out.   With friends.   (SUZY begins digging through her purse)

WESLEY: (Suddenly indifferent) Ah.

SUZY: (Pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She has already begun pulling a cigarette from the pack and is raising it to her lips.)   Do you mind if I smoke in here?

WESLEY: Yes, actually.

SUZY: (Suddenly stops, and then slowly starts putting her smokes away)   Sorry.

WESLEY: No problem.   I mean, it`s just.. smokes.   I hate the damn things.   They seem like such a waste?

SUZY: A waste?

WESLEY: Well, sure.   I mean, all the health risks   for nothing more than a little bump?   If you`re gonna risk your health for pleasure, I say don`t screw with the small fries.   There`s plenty more exotic drugs out there to trade the tail end of your life span for that offer a much more thorough experience.

SUZY: (Suddenly sighing coyly) So you`re trying to tell me you keep a secret stock of Snow sitting around for special occasions?

WESLEY: (snorts)   No, not me.   I never really understood people`s need for altered states of mind.   The clarity I have normally suits me just fine, thank you very much.

SUZY: I guess your rules don`t apply to alcohol then?

WESLEY: Hmph.   Alcohol helps me sleep.   It also keeps my mind from drifting off.

SUZY: (obviously doubtful) Uh huh.  

(WESLEY pretends not to notice the obvious skepticism in SUZY`s voice.   The drive continues on in complete silence for another agonizingly slow 30 seconds.   This time it is SUZY who breaks first, and she leans forward to turn the radio on.)

SUZY: We could use some tunes, right?   (Slowly, music fades in.   Its an eclectic, folksy song sung by a woman with a raspy voice.   After only a few moments, SUZY starts singing along quietly with the radio.   WESLEY, half in astonishment, looks over to SUZY)

WESLEY: Do you know what song that is?

SUZY: "Single Barrel" by Evelyn Williams, right?

WESLEY: ..and you know this song?

SUZY: Hell yeah.   Evelyn Williams is amazing.

WESLEY:   Indeed she is but.. I thought I was the only person in all of Nikeah who had even heard of her.

SUZY: You kidding?   I saw her perform once.

WESLEY:   You`re shitting me?

SUZY: (suddenly all smiles) I kid you not.   In a run down coffee shop before she had even laid a track to record.   The real deal, just her and a guitar.

WESLEY: Unreal.

SUZY: I know.   I saw her back then, and I knew it: She`d be big.

WESLEY: Well, I wouldn`t call her "big" yet.   People don`t seem to have any interest in someone who writes their own music when they still have sparkly, new,   gift-wrapped Bertha Javelins tracks to stuff in their ears.

SUZY: People come around.   They always do.

WESLEY: What`s that supposed to mean?

SUZY: What makes classic music classic?   It`s not manufactured sound, I`ll tell you that much.   Because classics deserve to be classics.

WESLEY: Yeah.. maybe.   But then again, maybe today`s people are just exquisitely stupid.

SUZY: Nah.. it`s just that idiots always talk the loudest.

WESLEY: Ain`t that the truth.   (Another silence, but this time shorter and more comfortable)   Oh.. good, we`re almost home.

SUZY:   (kidding)   What, you`re that anxious to be rid of me?

WESLEY: Rid of you?   We sleep in the same apartment, in case you forgot.

SUZY: Oh yeah, silly me.

WESLEY: But.. hey, if you`ve got such great tastes in music, maybe you should come out of your room more often.   I`ve always got stuff like this playing in the living room.

SUZY: Usually when I come out of my room your so engrossed in one of your books that you don`t even notice me.

WESLEY: Well.. (smiling) then say something.   "Hi", or something witty like that.   I get absorbed, but that doesn`t mean I wouldn`t welcome a little distraction from time to time.  

SUZY: (laughing lightly) Okay then, will do.

WESLEY: Cool.   (Puts the car in park and turns the radio off.)   Well, we`re here.

SUZY: Nifty-neato.

WESLEY:   (Getting out of car)   Hey, this wasn`t so bad.   Maybe we can do it again sometime.

SUZY: (Also getting out of the car and walking to the right side where WESLEY stands)   Maybe.   I`ll be sure to break my car down again in the very near future.

WESLEY:   Nice.   (Both WESLEY and SUZY walk off stage right.   Dim lights, end ACT I)

ACT II: Getting to Know Suzy

Scene II: Back to the Apartment. Ê All is black, but the lights slowly start to fade back in at the sound of a phone ringing, lighting only the living room. Ê The apartment is pretty much in the same condition it was left in before: Scattered books and socks, an empty glass or two setting on an end table.

After a few rings, WESLEY emerges from his bedroom, wearing a pair of jeans and hastily throwing a t-shirt over his upper half. Ê Once his shirt is situated, he picks up the phone.

WESLEY: Talk to me.

DICK: (Off stage, jokingly) What`s up, fucker?

WESLEY: Hey Martin.

DICK: Ê What`s happening?

WESLEY: Not much.

DICK: How`s life with Suzy?

WESLEY: Unremarkable, more or less. Ê Don`t see too much of her.

DICK: Yeah, she`s like that. Ê But if you ever go out on the town with her, look out!

WESLEY: Ê Yeah, I get that feeling. Ê Not to worry though, I think she and I share very few interests.

(WESLEY, phone still in hand, walks to the couch and collapses on to it. Ê As WESLEY and DICK continue their conversation, the lights in SUZY`s room slowly fade in, revealing SUZY painting at her aisle. Ê She has a pair of headphones over her head and is subtly bobbing her head to some song only she can hear)

DICK: Nah, you got to get to know her, Mcmillan! Ê It`s not often you can depend on a beautiful woman living in your own home. Ê Especially in your case.

WESLEY: Har-dee-har. Ê Seriously though, I wonder if you could answer a few questions for me.

DICK: Questions? Ê About what?

WESLEY: Suzy.

DICK: Really now? Ê You`ve never been the nosey type.

WESLEY: Well, this is a little different, Dicky-boy. Ê I`m living with this girl, after all. Ê She doesn`t tell me much, but as far as I can tell she pretty much fell from the sky and into my apartment.

DICK: Well, what do you need to know?

WESLEY: Like, why she should need an apartment but just for the summer

DICK: Ê Eh, she`s just having some complications in life. Ê I think she`s looking for something a better place to live right now or something.

(At this point, SUZY, looking dissatisfied, removes her canvas from her aisle, sets a new one up and begins working on it)

WESLEY: Or something? Ê You don`t sound too informed either.

DICK: Well, it`s like you said, she doesn`t like to talk about herself much. Ê All I`ve been able to discern is that she`s been at ends with her mother for a while now. Ê They don`t talk much, or something, so she can`t really turn to her parents. Ê I guess her mom is some hardcore Narcolic, and when Suzy got out of high school she kind of.. well, went wild.

WESLEY: Ah. Ê The angst riddled story of a repressed youth, huh?

DICK: Sure, something like that. Ê But beyond all that, I know nothing but rumors.

WESLEY: Like what rumors?

DICK: (reluctant) Ê I`d rather not say, really. Ê I don`t know how much truth there is to them.

WESLEY: Really, now, Martin.... you`ve never been one to hold back on juicy rumors. Ê You gossiped more than any girl back in high school. Ê Why the sudden one-eighty?

DICK: I could ask you the same thing. Ê You`ve never showing the slightest interest in gossip before. Ê In fact, I believe you usually followed any "juicy rumors" I tried to tell you before with a quick quip of "Shut the hell up, Martin."

WESLEY: TouchŽ.

DICK: But speaking of little Suzy Wonder, is she around right now? I`d like to talk to her.

WESLEY: Umm.. well, if she`s here she hasn`t made an appearance yet today, but then I`ve barely been out of my room myself. Ê (WESLEY gets up from the couch) Let me go check.

(WESLEY walks up to SUZY`s bedroom door and knocks timidly on the door. Ê SUZY, still dancing-in-her-seat to the music, doesn`t hear it. Ê After a few moments, WESLEY knocks again, louder this time, but SUZY still does not notice.)

WESLEY: I don`t think she`s in..

(Slowly and cautiously, WESLEY opens the door. Ê As he takes in SUZY`s room, apparently for the first time, he is almost instantly dumb-struck. Ê His main points of focus are SUZY`s bookcase and aisle, both of which he obviously did not expect to see. Ê SUZY finally takes notice of WESLEY`s entrance, and looks surprised and even alarmed.)

SUZY: What do you want!?

WESLEY: (Stumbling for words) Err.. uhh... (Finally, WESLEY holds the phone forward.) Ê Phone.

SUZY: (SUZY looks a little relieved, but still seems nervous as she takes the phone from WESLEY.) Ê Hello?

DICK: Suzy! Ê It`s Dick, what`s happening?

SUZY: Oh.. you know...

(SUZY spares an unreadable glance for WESLEY before she walks towards the furthermost corner of her room. Ê She huddles into the corner, facing the wall, apparently insecure about having WESLEY overhear the conversation: SUZY continues speaking into the phone, but it is mostly inaudible, with only short affirmatives uttered by SUZY being heard from time to time. Ê WESLEY, instead of leaving, simply stands, staring with a touch of disbelief at the art aisle and the bookcase. Ê He nonchalantly inches closer to the bookcase, trying to get a better look at the volumes stored within. Ê During her conversation, SUZY looks back from time to time to glance uncomfortably at WESLEY, who is oblivious to this. Ê This continues for about a minute.)

SUZY: Ê (Finishing the conversation) Ê Okay, see you later then Dick. Ê Bye. Ê (SUZY presses a button on the phone to hang it up. Ê She then turns to WESLEY.) Ê Something I can do for you?

WESLEY: I just.. didn`t know.. or even suspect..

SUZY: What? Ê That I paint?

WESLEY: And read.

SUZY: Yeah? Ê Well, it`s how I grew up.

WESLEY: Mom didn`t let you watch much TV, huh?

SUZY: Ê (suspicious) Ê What would make you say that?

WESLEY: Well, she was a hard-nosed Narcolic, wasn`t she?

SUZY: (anger tinting her voice) Ê And how exactly would you know that?

WESLEY: (suddenly flustered) Well.. that is.. Dick told me.

SUZY: Ah. Ê (calming some) Ê Yeah. Ê Mom didn`t let us watch much TV. Ê Said it rotted the brain. Ê Not that she let us read particularly exciting books, either, but it was easier to sneak a horror novel into your bedroom than to sneak into the living room after midnight to catch the same book`s movie adaptation in the late night movie reruns.

WESLEY: Well, for what it`s worth, I`d have to agree with your mother. Ê My family hardly did anything but watch TV. Ê If I had never gone to college, I`d probably be a boob-tube zombie by now.

SUZY: Ah.

WESLEY: But why didn`t you tell me you had so many books? Ê (WESLEY starts bending over the bookcase, running over the book spines with his finger) Ê I figured you would have gathered by now that I`m something of a book nut.

SUZY: Yeah, well I really haven`t been reading much lately. Ê And there`s no way of knowing if we really like the same kinds of books, is there?

WESLEY: What`s that supposed to mean? Ê You`ve obviously got good taste. Ê I mean, look here, you`ve got a copy of Lucent Atwood`s "The Forever Land" .. and it looks old, too! Ê (WESLEY slowly starts pulling a book out from the bookcase)

SUZY: (Suddenly panicking) Oh! God! Be careful with that! Ê It`s a signed first edition!

(By now WESLEY has pulled the book out entirely from the case, and after hearing SUZY, he freezes entirely, awestruck. Ê He looks at the book in his hands in amazement, and then his hands start shaking slightly. Ê For a moment it looks like he might just drop it; SUZY tenses up visibly. Ê WESLEY opts instead to simply set the book down on top of the bookshelf)

WESLEY: A signed first edition? Ê Are you mad? Ê Why isn`t that in a glass case or something?

SUZY: (walking hastily up to bookshelf, she picks up the book and sets it carefully back into its spot in her bookcase) Ê In a bookcase? Ê It`s a book, not a jewel. Ê It feels so.. unnatural, to just have a book sitting around for display. Ê Books are meant to be read. Ê (Satisfied with the replacement of her book, SUZY stands back up. Ê Her journey has brought her very close to where WESLEY is standing, and she steps back in slight surprise.)

WESLEY: How many other prizes like that do you have sitting in that bookshelf?

SUZY: Ê Not many. Ê I mean, I just got lucky with that one. Ê I was in the area when Lucent was doing a book signing, right after the book`s initial release.. back when a lot of people didn`t know about the book.. and I thought, "What the hell, why not?"

WESLEY: Ê Ê Wow.

SUZY: Save your amazement. Ê I got lucky. Ê (SUZY walks back over to her seat in front of the aisle and sits down on it.) Ê Now, if you don`t mind, I was just getting into the zone before that call came in..

WESLEY: (Suddenly curious of the painting, which is turned away from the audience) Ê Can I see?

(SUZY, suddenly panicking, turns the aisle to an angle away from WESLEY, to keep him from looking.)

SUZY: No.. err.. no, please. Ê It`s not done yet. Ê I don`t like people looking at unfinished works.

WESLEY: (backing away) Oh.. well, that`s fine. Ê I understand. Ê

SUZY: But like I was saying, I was just in the zone a few moments ago, and I`d really like to see about getting back there, so if you would..

WESLEY: Oh.. sure. Ê (WESLEY turns to leave and SUZY, satisfied, starts to turn her attention back to the painting. Ê WESLEY suddenly doubles back.) Ê Hey, Suze?

SUZY: (Looking up, slightly annoyed) Ê Yeah?

WESLEY: You hungry at all?

SUZY: (Slightly confused) A little. Ê Why?

WESLEY: Well, I was just gonna cook something up, but I don`t feel like going through all the trouble. Ê So I was just gonna order some pizza, but there`s no way I could eat a whole pizza by myself. Ê You in?

SUZY: Well.. okay.

WESLEY: Does half an hour sound okay to you? Ê Or will you still be busy?

SUZY: Give me about an hour.

WESLEY: Sounds good. Ê

(WESLEY finally leaves and shuts the door behind himself. Ê SUZY starts painting again, and the lights in the living room dim, and then, slowly, the lights in SUZY`s room dim. Ê All`s back in black. Ê End Scene I)

Scene II: Supper in the Apartment.   The living room slowly fades in.   SUZY is sitting cross-legged on the couch, devouring a slice of pizza with one hand, dangling a beer with the other.   WESLEY is sitting on the floor, back against the couch, picking at his pizza and stopping from time to time to take a sip of his glass of amber and ice.   He seems preoccupied.   For a wonder, the TV is on, droning small, mostly inaudible noises.   Neither SUZY nor WESLEY seem to pay it much heed.

SUZY: I can`t believe you didn`t get pepproni.

WESLEY: I hate pepperoni.

SUZY: I love pepperoni.

WESLEY: (shrugs) So does everyone else, it seems.   I guess I`m weird like that.

SUZY: Yup.

WESLEY: (after a pause) So, you`re an artist huh?

SUZY: Yeah, I wish.   It`s just something to pass the time.

WESLEY: Neat hobby, anyways.   I always wish I had more of an artistic touch.

SUZY: Oh yeah?

WESLEY:   Yeah.   Draw.   Write a book.   Something like that.

SUZY: (Looks around) Well, by the looks of it, you should certainly be qualified to write the Great Esper Novel.

WESLEY: Yeah, well, a great reader does not a great writer make.

SUZY: Natch.   But have you ever really tried?

WESLEY: Well.. no.

SUZY: Then how can you know?

(WESLEY grins admonishingly towards SUZY, but she returns with her brightest, toothiest grin.   WESLEY laughs)

WESLEY: Whatever.   I don`t think I`m built for it.

SUZY: Won`t know unless you try.   I mean, I know I`m not an artist.   Because I`ve tried.

(WESLEY laughs again.   SUZY polishes off her piece of pizza and then grabs another.   Another few moments pass between the two.)

WESLEY: So, got any big plans for tonight?

SUZY: Yeah.   Going out.

WESLEY: Where to?

SUZY: (Looking down at WESLEY with an arched eyebrow) When did you get so curious?

WESLEY:   And why are you so damn mysterious?

SUZY: TouchŽ.

WESLEY: Seriously, though, I was just wondering because.. well, I haven`t gone out in a while, and if you were going someplace innocent enough, like a bar or something, I was thinking.. if it wouldn`t be any trouble.. I could tag along.

SUZY: Well, that`s the problem, Wess.. I really don`t go out to anyplace "innocent enough."   I`m not exactly hanging out at the bars.

WESLEY: Well, that`s fine then, I hate bars.   Too crowded, too loud.

SUZY: Heh.   But, really Wess...

WESLEY: No, no, it`s cool.   I mean, I just sit in here all the time, quietly reading my books, and I thought maybe it was time for me to make my grand reintroduction into the outside world.   But if you`re going someplace.. well, special I guess, that`s cool.   I mean, I don`t mind another night with my books.   I actually kind of like it.   (WESLEY looks up at SUZY, who is looking down at him with an unreadable expression.   Concerned SUZY will think he is either whining or being sarcastic, WESLEY adds convincingly:) Seriously.

SUZY:   Ooookay, then.   Why not just call up some friends and pester them?

WESLEY: Friends?   C`mon, they all either took off for the summer or got jobs in other places as soon as they got out of college.   In the meantime I`m stuck processing mail for the man until someone decides to see my for how brilliant I really am and hire me for.. something.

SUZY: Something?

WESLEY: (After taking a long drink from his glass)   I`ll tell you this much: If anyone ever tells you there`s always a great job waiting for you as soon as you graduate with a major in Common Language, they are fucking LYING to you.

SUZY: (Laughs)   I`ll remember that.

WESLEY: But, yeah, this summer is a slow one.   But it`s nice, in a way.   Just me and my books.   I`ve gotten to reread a couple of choice selections, and discovered a few authors I didn`t know about before.

SUZY: Well.. that`s nice, I guess.

WESLEY: Eh, it`s life.

SUZY: (neither WESLEY or SUZY say anything while SUZY finishes her piece of pizza.   WESLEY just continues picking at his slice absently, staring detachedly at the TV)   Well, speaking of going out, I really need to start getting ready.   (SUZY starts getting up from the couch)   This was nice.   We`ll have to do it again some time.

WESLEY: Absolutely.

SUZY: Well.. all right.   See ya.

(SUZY walks into her room: Wesley watches her leave.   After SUZY shuts her bedroom door behind herself, WESLEY stares after her a few more moments, and then, slowly, picks up one of the books scattered around the floor.   He then lays down on the couch, drink and book in hand, and opens the novel to some arbitrary page and begins reading.

After about half a minute, SUZY reemerges from the bedroom and looks quietly around the corner towards WESLEY, who doesn`t notice her presence.   SUZY watches WESLEY silently for a handful of moments before speaking up.)

SUZY: Hey, Wesley?

WESLEY: (looking up from his book) Huh? Yeah?

SUZY:   Well.. I know what I said earlier, but if you really want to come out with me, I guess you can.   I mean, at the very least I can tell you where I`m going, I guess I owe you that much.

WESLEY: (Setting his book down) Well, let`s hear it.

SUZY: You ever hear of Underground?

WESLEY: Underground?   What`s that, like a dance club?

SUZY: No.. it`s an JetBike street racing league.

WESLEY: JetBike.. street racing?  

SUZY: Yeah.

WESLEY: Oh, that`s got to be illegal as all hell.

SUZY: (laughs uncomfortably) Well, yeah.. that`s why I don`t talk about it much.   But.. like I said, I figured I at least owed you an explanation.   But I doubt you`d really be interested in coming...

WESLEY: Why is that?

SUZY: Well.. (pauses to think)   These guys aren`t exactly the book reading type, you know.   Pretty rowdy boys.

WESLEY: What, are you a racer or something?

SUZY: Oh, no, not really.. I`m more like.. their mascot, I guess.

WESLEY: Mascot?

SUZY: Well.. yeah.

WESLEY: Oh.

SUZY: So.. yeah.. I doubt you`d want to go..

WESLEY: What, are you kidding?   (WESLEY gets up from the couch)   This I gotta see.   That is, if you`re sure you don`t mind if I come?

SUZY: Well.. (wondering) yeah, yeah, I`m sure.   You can come.   But I`d recommend you bring your own car.   But are you sure though?

WESLEY: Yeah, I`m sure.   It`ll be nice to just get out of the apartment.

SUZY: Okay then.   Well.. I wanna leave in like an hour.   Can you be ready by then?

WESLEY: Count on it.

SUZY: All right.

(The two characters stare at each other from across the room quasi-awkwardly for a few moments, and then SUZY makes a small wave and retreats back to her room.   WESLEY, following suit, goes back to his room as soon as SUZY closers her door behind herself.   After WESLEY closes his door, the lights dim.   End Scene II),

Scene III: The Underground.   As the lights fade in we see the Underground in all its glory.   Extras, dressed in their stereotypical "I`m so tough" clothes, are scattered in clusters across the stage, partaking in their acts of debauchary.   Drinking,   Smoking stuff.   Sucking face.   The bit-part GRAMPS, an old man in a ratty suit, nursing a bottle of scotch all his own, is teetering on his own near back stage left.   WRECKER, meanwhile, is perched upon the Jetbike, one hand cradling a bottle of whiskey, the other tucked neatly into the seam of his jeans.   He looks around proudly, king of all he surveys.   PILLBOX, ever the hanger-oner, is behind WRECKER, to the JetBike`s side, staring at everyone around him with his shifty stare, except for WRECKER< who he takes in with absolute reverance.   Lastly, SPLITS is talking nonchalantly with one of the clusters of folks, downing his own beer with great resolve.

After taking ample time for the audience to absorb the scene, SUZY and WESLEY enter quietly from stage left.   SUZY is dressed to kill in a leather short skirt, knee high leather boots, a white t-shirt and a leather jacket.   WESLEY, on the other hand, seems to have tried to dig out the toughest clothes from his limited wardrobe and came up short: He is wearing a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt.   WESLEY and SUZY stand close together shortly after their entrance: SUZY regard everything with familiarity but not much warmth, WESLEY, on the other hand, looks as though he`s finally realized what he`s gotten himself into. He stares at the new world around him as though he is having an out of body experience,

After SUZY and WESLEY seem settled, GRAMPS sneaks up on SUZY, tottering with every step.   Suddenly, without warning, as he draws close to SUZY, he gives her a playful slap on the rear.   SUZY jumps in surprise, and then turns to GRAMPS, rubbing her bottom and feigning shock with a smile spread on her face.

SUZY: GRAMPS!

(GRAMPS laughs his old-man style laughs and shuffles off stage left.   SUZY`s exclamation almost immediately hushes the crowd, though, most of all enrapturing the attention of WRECKER, high upon his throne.   He stands up and raises his bottle in SUZY`s direction.)

WRECKER: Well, howdy-fucking-ho, Li`l Suzy, we wuz starting to wonder if you were ever gonna show.   No way to start a race without our star flag girl.

(SUZY and WRECKER walk towards each other like old friends: WESLEY stays where he was standing as though his shoes were glued to the floor.   SUZY and WRECKER briefly embrace and give each other a friendly kiss on the lips.   PILLBOX follows WRECKER, almost like he were on an invisible leash.   PILLBOX`s attention is more focused on WESLEY, who he is staring at with daggers for eyes.   WESLEY seems oblivious to this, and to everything in fact.)

WRECKER: What took ya?

SUZY: Oh, you know, lady things.   Had to look just perfect today, for the new circuit.

WRECKER: (Laughs and takes a long drought from his bottle.) Fucking right, li`l missy.   Oh-so-smart NPD thinks it can outsmart the Underground, well we showed them.   Wholly remapped course, beginning to end.   Me`n Pillbox routed the entire thing out by foot.   It`s loud.   Goes right through a nursing home parking lot, if you`ll believe that.

SUZY: (laughs) Waking the living dead, huh?

WRECKER:   You better believe it.   After slapping in that corkscrew engine -- complete with mana boosters -- oh, might as well not even have a muffler on the thing, she screams so loud.   And faster than light, I swears it.   Why, Splits is gonna cry after he sees it...

(SPLITS, overhearing his name, tears himself away from the small collection of JetBike fans he had been conversing with and starts approaching SUZY and WRECKER)

SUZY: I dunno, Wreck, is it really fair if you`re the only one who`s seen the whole circuit?

WRECKER:   Please.   Walking it is one thing, Little Suzy, racing it is another thing all together.   First time on a track, it`s all skill.   Splits won`t stand a chance...

SPLITS: (Gently interrupting the conversation) You talkin` `bout me behind my back, Wrecker?   Mebbe you should fuckin` tell the li`l Suzy about when you almost got the fuckin` shit beat out of you by a girl.

WRECKER: (Looking towards SPLITS angrily)   Shut the `ell up, Splits.

SPLITS: (To SUZY) So fuckin` listen to this.   Wrecker gets back from plotting the course...

WRECKER: Shut the `ell, UP, SPLITS!

SPLITS: And gets followed by this NPD chick, mad as hell, practically shoots him down on the spot, spouting this and that about how we were fuckin` tearing up the city.   Wrecker here almost pissed his pants.

(SUZY starts giggling, WRECKER just scowls. This is enough to finally tear PILLBOX"s attention away from WESLEY, as he stares at SPLITS menacingly)

SPLITS: Anyways, Wrecker is practically begging for mercy, but turns out the cop bitch couldn`t do anything because she`s OFF DUTY!   Can you believe it?

WRECKER: God`dammit, Splits, that`s not how it happened at all.

PILLBOX: Yeah, Split, shut the hell up n` quit making up stores, trying to make your sorry ass look better.

SPLITS: Shut up, fuckin` smallfry.

PILLBOX: Eat me.

WRECKER: (To SPLITS) He`s right though, Splits. We`ll just see where all this big talk gets you when the race starts tonight.

SPLITS: (Bowing) Then fuckin` bring it on.   (SPLITS then turns to SUZY.   PILLBOX returns his attentions to WESLEY) What do you say, Suz`?   How about a little good luck wishing when you wave that fuckin` flag tonight?

WRECKER: You`re gonna need more than luck tonight, Splits.   (WRECKER turns to SUZY) Ain`t that right, li`l Suzy?

SUZY: (Warding off the two men by waving her hands in front of her)   Now now, boys.   No favorites here.   You want my attention, you win the race.

WESLEY: (Grins and gives SUZY a thumbs up) You`re damn right.   And we know who that will be, same as always.

PILLBOX: (Finally speaking up)   Hey, who`s the kid with Suze?

(Seemingly for the first time, WRECKER and SPLITS both notice WESLEY. Still a goodly number of paces behind SUZY, WESLEY seems to shrink in his shoes, wishing he was anywhere but here.   SUZY, however, walks back to where WESLEY is standing and puts an arm around him confidently)

SUZY: Guys, I`d like you to meet my roommate for the summer, Wesley Mcmillan.

WRECKER: (Looks at WESLEY critically for a few moments, and then suddenly gives him a hard slap on the shoulder) You dog, getting to be around Li`l Suze every night.

WESLEY: (Seeming absolutely unsure of how to answer) Well.. only when she`s actually around at night, I guess.

(WRECKER barks out laughing.   SPLITS steps forward, looking WESLEY up and down critically)

SPLITS: What are you, some sort of school boy?

WESLEY: Ex schoolboy, actually... graduate, last semester...

(At this, WRECKER, PILLBOX and SPLITS start laughing loudly.   SUZY turns to WESLEY in half concern, but she too is smiling)

WRECKER: Oh, Suze, you never cease to amaze me.   A college graduate?   How in the hell did he convince you to bring him here?

SUZY: I invited him, if you must know.

(WRECKER, PILLBOX and SPLITS laugh again.   This time some of the extras join in.   WRECKER gives WESLEY another hard slap on the shoulder, almost knocking him over.)

WRECKER: (To WESLEY) Son, I reckon you have no idea what you`ve just stepped into, do you?

WESLEY: Actually, I`m starting to get an impression.

(More laughs.   Wrecker separates himself from WESLEY and walks over to the JetBike, which he stands on top of like a soap box.   He whistles loudly and raises his arms above his head, and all the other people collected on the scene immediately hush, their eyes upon the JetBike champ.

WRECKER: Ladies, gents, and other assorted riff raff.   We will begin the JetBike race shortly, on the all new Nikeah circuit.   As usual, the losers get seriously banged up rides, and, if they`re unlucky, a few nights of jail time.   The winner, though, is pride of the urban jungle, deserving of the attentions of the herd`s greatest treasures.   (At this WRECKER winks towards SUZY, who blows a kiss to WRECKER in return.)   And speaking of treasure`s, the Underground`s own darling, Li`l Miss Suzy Banks, is here to start off the races.   So without further delay, I think we should all gather to the starting line.. and may the best Biker win.

(There is a chorus of cheers from the gathered assembly as, one by one, the crowd starts to take off stage left.   While WRECKER is getting down from the JetBike, SPLITS casually puts an arm around SUZY.   SUZY smiles a timid smile back to SPLITS, and the two walk off together stage left, completely ignoring WESLEY.   PILLBOX glares defiantly at SPLITS, and follows behind.   Everyone else finishing shuffling off stage, tailing with WRECKER, leaving only WESLEY behind, still looking around himself with the same stunned expression he has worn from the start.   After everyone else is gone, WESLEY seems to at least notice his isolation and turns to follow the others.   It is then that WRECKER appears back on stage from stage left and approaches WESLEY slowly.)

WRECKER: (To WESLEY) Hey kid.

WESLEY: (Distantly) Hey.

WRECKER: My heart goes out to you, it really does, but you should really head home now.

WESLEY: (Confused, but still distant)   What do you mean?

WRECKER: I`ve seen this before.   Our Li`l Suz, she has a bleeding heart, see, likes to bring strays in from time to time.   But once they get a look at the real Suze, their boyhood dreams kind of melt away, see.   I know she looks perfect to you, kid.   Easy on the eyes, for sure.   But look elsewhere, man, there`s nothing here for you but a broken heart.   She`ll be going home with me tonight, or if the gods are dead, she`ll be going home with Splits.   Next week, it will be the same damn thing, and you`ll just be left looking moony-eyed on the side lines.   So spare yourself the hurt.   (WRECKER puts a hand on WESLEY`s shoulder, gently this time)   Go home kid.

WESLEY: (WESLEY stare back at WRECKER for a few moments, then nods his head, and then stares at the floor.)   Yeah, yeah I think you`re right.   She tried to warn me, actually.

WRECKER: (Laughs quietly) She always done.   She`s an angel, bud.   But she`s a wild angel.   So head back home to your sitcoms and TV dinners,.   Li`l Suzy belongs with us.

WESLEY: (After another few moments, he steps away from WRECKER.)   You`re right.   And for what it`s worth.. thanks.

WRECKER: Don`t mention it.   I think that little tiger may have broken my heart a time or two already.   Doubt she even realizes it.  

WESLEY: Yeah.

(WRECKER gives WESLEY some kind of casual salute then turns away, walking back off stage left.   WESLEY stares after the JetBike racer for a few moments and then turns around, heading off stage right.   Fade the lights, end Scene III.)

Scene IV: Passed out in the apartment.   Slowly the living room lights fade in, though the lighting is kept low. Wesley lays on the couch passed out, arm draped over his forehead, an open book lying cover up across his chest.   On the end table behind him lies one of his drinking glasses, half full, with the ice almost melted.   After the lights come on, Wesley snorts in his sleep and turns to one side.   The book on his chest slides lifelessly to the floor, but it does not disturb his sleep.   He lies this way a few moments more until the phone rings, jarring him abruptly from his sleep.   He sits straight up immediately, looking for a moment lost, until the phone rings again.   Groaning, he stands up from the couch and saunters towards the phone.   He picks it up clumsily, and as he speaks, his voice carries a slurred quality, betraying his inebriated state of mind.

WESLEY: Hello?

CHRISTINA: (Off stage, over the phone) Wess?   Where have you been?

WESLEY: Hey, sis.   What`s happening?

CHRISTINA:   Not much.   Where were you?   I`ve been trying to get a hold of you for like an hour.

WESLEY: What, do I have to notify you every time I go out now?

CHRISTINA: Oh.. sorry.   But if you went out, why are you back so soon?

WESLEY: Bad night, all right?   (WESLEY pins the phone between his shoulder and head and retrieves his drink from the end table.)

CHRISTINA: What happened?

WESLEY: Nothing, nothing.   What were you calling about?

CHRISTINA: Just to check up on you.

WESLEY: How quaint.   You sure you didn`t need anything?

CHRISTINA: Yeah, just calling.

WESLEY: Well, you, unlike me, are not the one to be sitting at home on a Friday night.   What gives?   Where`s good `ol Renton?

CHRISTINA: We`re not together right now.

WESLEY: RIght now?

CHRISTINA: (sighs)   Fine, we broke up, all right.

WESLEY: Oh yeah.   What happened?

CHRISTINA: If you must know, fucker cheated on me, all right?

WESLEY: I`m not one to say "I told you so", but...

CHRISTINA: Then don`t, okay?

WESLEY: Fine.   Sorry, okay?.   (pause) I`m just not in a good mood.

CHRISTINA:   Why?   Did something happen during your excursion?

WESLEY: Why is it whenever I leave the apartment it becomes an "adventure" o an "excursion?"

CHRISTINA: Sorry, sorry.

WESLEY: And no, I was just reminded why I don`t like going out.

CHRISTINA: Well, where did you go to?

WESLEY: No where.

CHRISTINA: Who did you go with?

WESLEY: No one.

CHRISTINA: Come on, Wess.

WESLEY:   If you must know, I went out to see a bunch of idiot street racers with my new roommate.

CHRISTINA: Street races?

WESLEY: Yeah, can you believe it?   How "extreme" am I?

CHRISTINA:   I didn`t figure for the type.

WESLEY: I`m not.   But apparently Suzy is.

CHRISTINA: Wow.   She a racer?

WESLEY: No, she`s their "mascot."

CHRISTINA: What`s that mean?

WESLEY: I dunno.   Don`t think I want to, either.

CHRISTINA: Why in the hell did you ever go out to that place in the first place?

WESLEY: Eh, it`s my own dumb fault.   I think Suzy did it out of misplaced sympathy or something.   She didn`t think it was a good idea either, but...

CHRISTINA: (after a pause) But?

WESLEY: Eh, who the hell am I kidding, I started getting a crush on her, so I was insistent on going along.

CHRISTINA: Really now?   Just couldn`t stand being that close to a cute girl that long, could you?

WESLEY: Please, there was more to it than that.   This girl has a whole secret life hiding behind her bedroom door.   She reads great books.   She paints.   Incredible taste in music and she`s fun to talk to and.. always smiling.

CHRISTINA: Please.   You practically sound smitten.

WESLEY: I guess so, huh?   I thought it was too good to be true, and I suppose I found out it was.   At the end of the day, she`s just like any other air-headed freshman college girl, chasing after frat boys and booze, except this time the frat boys are promiscuous bikers and the booze is some much nastier shit.

CHRISTINA: That`s a little critical, don`t you think?

WESLEY: Maybe.   I dunno. I`m just a little disappointed, I guess.

CHRISTINA: You know, if you just wait and wait for this "perfect, only-in-your-mind" girl to come along, you`re probably going to end up very very old and very very lonely.

WESLEY: I don`t think my demands are that astronomical.   Some sensible girl with a level head.   I don`t care what she looks like, and she can read nothing but comic books for all I care.

CHRISTINA: If you say so, but I think there`s more to it than that.   Do you consider me level-headed?

WESLEY: Well, sure.

CHRISTINA: See, I think there`s plenty of girls like me out there.

WESLEY: Yeah, except for one thing.

CHRISTINA: What`s that?

WESLEY: Girls like you insist on dating fuckwads like Renton.

(A long, uncomfortable silence follows.)

WESLEY: Sorry.

CHRISTINA: (takes a deep breath) You`re a real shit, you know that Wess?

WESLEY:   Well.. dammit, Christina, I think I`m right.   I think I`m fucking right.  

CHRISTINA: So is all your "I don`t believe in love" talk just some thinly veiled disguise for your frustrations?

WESLEY: No, you`re misquoting me.   You`re misquoting me, I said "love" is nothing but an emotional reaction, a plebeian state of mind we use to convince ourselves there`s something deeper to our deep seeded desire to fuck.   Love is real: Mom loved Dad, I`m sure, at one point.   You probably loved Tyson the greatest fuckwad of all.   Love is real, it`s just the biggest misconception of our time.   It`s a pile of crap.

CHRISTINA: Then why do you seem so frustrated at your inability to attain it?

WESLEY: Because, (WESLEY`s dialogue is broken up by a loud beep)

CHRISTINA: What was that?

WESLEY: (The beep repeats itself)   Call waiting.   Can I put you on hold a sec, Chris?

CHRISTINA: Sure.

WESLEY: (After punching a few buttons on the phone)   Hello?

SUZY: (Off stage, over the phone, panic in her voice)   Wess, is that you?

WESLEY: Yeah, who else would it be?   Suze?

SUZY: Hey.. Wess..   I`m.. could I ask you for a really big favor?

WESLEY: That depends.   What do you want?

SUZY:   I... could you come get me?   I`m still at the windmill.

WESLEY: Come get you?   Don`t you have your own car?

SUZY: Yeah, but.. I`m really wasted right now, and I don`t think I should be driving.

WESLEY: Well, what about your friends?   Can`t one of them give you a ride home?

SUZY:   Wess, there was a bust, a police bust, they all got in trouble.   They`re all going to jail, Wess.

WESLEY: Well.. you`re fine, right? You were just a bystander.   Get a cop to bring you home.

SUZY: Wess, please.

WESLEY: Look, I`m kind of busy here.

SUZY: (on the verge of tears)   Please, Wess, I`m not clean.   Please come get me.

(WESLEY stands on the stage, looking lost and confused, while SUZY half-sobs over the receiver.   WESLEY is lost in thought, trying to reach his decision, and after some deliberation, his mind is made.)

WESLEY: Okay.   I`m on my way.

SUZY: (Sounding genuinely grateful) Thank you!   Thank you so much!

WESLEY: Don`t mention it.   (WESLEY hits another few buttons on the phone)   Chris?

CHRISTINA: Yeah?

WESLEY: I`ve gotta go.

CHRISTINA: Well.. okay.   Pressing matters?

WESLEY: Suzy needs me to pick her up.

CHRISTINA: Really?

WESLEY: Yeah, I think she might have gotten herself into a little bit of trouble.

CHRISTINA: All right.   (pause, WESLEY is about to hang up the phone) Wess?

WESLEY: Yeah?

CHRISTINA: Be nice to her, okay?   Seriously, you don`t know her well enough to pass judgment.

WESLEY: Yeah.   Later.

CHRISTINA: Later.

(WESLEY hangs up the phone and, without delay, heads out the apartment door.   Fade out lights, end Scene IV)

Scene V: Back in Wess`s car.   As the spotlight around the car fades in, we see WESLEY in the driver seat, "driving" the car, and SUZY, seated in the passenger seat, looking guiltily at the floor, like a child who had been caught stealing from the cookie jar.   Rain can be heard slapping against the car, and every once in a while there is a flash of lightning complimented by a thunderclap.   WESLEY drives on in tense silence, and the tension between the two seems almost visible.   Finally, SUZY cannot take it anymore and speaks.

SUZY: I`m sorry.

WESLEY: You.. (This first word is almost a shout.   WESLEY catches himself and, after taking a breath, continues speaking with a much more level tone.) You have nothing to apologize for.   I mean, if you`re in trouble, I`m just glad I could help you out.   Really, Suzy, you don`t have anything to feel sorry for.

SUZY: Yes I do.   (SUZY almost starts crying)   I`m sorry I drug you out there, Wess, I should have known you wouldn`t like it.   I didn`t want you to see me out there...

WESLEY: Hey... hey, Suzy.   (SUZY seems on the verge of losing it in her tears)   Suzy.   (SUZY starts to quiet.)   I`m the one who insisted on coming.   Anyways, it`s not like it was any big deal.   I just decided I didn`t like the place and left.   You don`t have anything to get upset about.

SUZY: But.. but...

WESLEY:   (manages a forced laugh)   Suze, I don`t know what it is that you`re on right now, but it`s got you much too moody, I`m fine.   Now just try and relax and enjoy the ride.

(SUZY takes a deep breath and seems to finally get a hold of herself)

WESLEY:   If you don`t mind me poking around, Suze.. Underground.. I mean, it isn`t really something I expected you to be into.   (SUZY looks at WESLEY in confusion)   I mean.. it`s not like I`m an expert in all things Suzy, but.. well, it was a surprise is all.   What about it do you love so much?   You a JetBike freak or something.

SUZY: No.

WESLEY:   The drugs then?

SUZY: (shakes head) No.

WESLEY:   Well.. I don`t get it, then.   I mean, it`s like you go there all the time.

SUZY:   ..Dick told me you wouldn`t be so nosy.

WESLEY: Sorry, I`m sorry... I know, it`s not fair.   But.. Suzy, I hardly know you, I know, but it`s just a little worrisome is all.   Those guys look hardcore.

SUZY: (Laughs, then sniffs in some of her tears)   Hardcore?   Wess, those guys may play the part, but they`re not exactly a bunch of street racers.   Did you think those JetBikes they`re racing were built out of mud and tree branches?   You won`t find machines like that anywhere else in Nikeah.   Half of those kids are rich kids spending their daddy`s money.       Others are bored businessmen.   Wrecker, he owns like half the service stations in the north Nikeah area.

WESLEY: But.. why then?   I mean, when you put it like that, they seem so false.

SUZY: They`re my friends, okay?

WESLEY:   (almost under his breath) Well, I think you can do better.

SUZY: (A slight tint of insult in her voice)   Excuse me.

WESLEY: I said, I think you can do better.

SUZY: (Heating up, but still not completely offended) And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?

WESLEY: I don`t know, Suzy.   Maybe I`m biased and unfair.   But you seem perfectly satisfied   being an observer for this little club.   You seemed almost like an ornament.   I don`t know.. maybe it`s a lot of fun for you, but regardless of what it is you`re doing that I don`t know about, and whatever it is you refuse to tell yourself, you seem just as guarded, if not more so, of this other side of you that paints to relax, who listens to Evelyn Williams and reads Lucent Atwood.   This other side of you that you keep locked behind a bedroom door.

SUZY:   (angrily) What, so you want me to be more like you?   Some hermit, bitching about the world and how its taken a big shit all over me?

WESLEY: No.. no.. you`re too good for that, too, just like you`re too good for this Underground.   You`re something else entirely.   There`s some capacity to you, some great potential that amazes me.   All your wit, and smarts, and great taste and creativity and a smile that could.. light up a room.   You`re a remarkable person.   And you`re capable of so much more.

SUZY: (Some of her anger seems to dissolve into sulkiness) You sound just like my mother.

WESLEY: Do I?

SUZY: Yes.

WESLEY: Well.. sorry about that.   I just had to get that off my chest.   And.. I mean, if all these trips to Underground makes you happy.. then I guess that`s important...

SUZY: Now you just sound wishy-washy.

WESLEY: Fine, fine.   I`ll shut up.   I just felt I needed to get that off my chest.   And I know what it`s like to get harped on so.. I won`t mention it again.   Just...

SUZY: (WESLEY falls into silence, until SUZY looks at him curiously) Just what?

WESLEY: It`s nothing.

SUZY:   Ah.

(WESLEY and SUZY sink back into their respective silences.   As the car drives on, the spotlight surrounding the vehicle fades out.   End Scene V)

Scene VI: Back at the Apartment.   All three rooms light up, and we see WESLEY entering, carrying SUZY, passed out and limp as a rag doll, in his arms.   Both SUZY and WESLEY are soaked from their trek from the car to the apartment,.   WESLEY carries SUZY, as cautious as though he were carrying a stack of fine china plates, towards her room.   Once he gets her there, he lays her gently down upon the bed.   She does not stir, and WESLEY steps back to look at her.   Dissatisfied, he scoops her back up and pulls the covers partially off the bed, then he sets her back into the bed, and then places the covers back over her.   He does his best to tuck her in, and then steps back once more.   He stands motionlessly over SUZY as she slowly breaths in and out, almost unwilling to move.   Finally, he tears himself away from the sight of her, shuts the lights off in her room (which are merely dimmed, and not shut off all the way), and walks into the living room.   He marches then into his room, shutting the lights off in the living room (likewise, they are only dimmed, so we can see the audience can still see into the living room).

Now, the only part of the scene remaining lit is WESLEY`s room, and he turns the lights off here too Once again they merely dim, so that the audience can still clearly see him and his room.   Not even bothering to undress, WESLEY closes his door and falls backwards into his bed, tucks his arms behind his head, and stares at the ceiling, deep in thought.   At one moment he sits up in his bed, almost getting up, but he thinks better of it and falls back into bed, staring at the ceiling.

After about a minute of this, SUZY wakes up from her bed, sits up, and slowly looks around herself.   She seems to be taking in her surroundings and slowly realizing where she is.   She stares blankly ahead for a few moments, and then gets out of the bed and strolls out of her room, closing the door behind herself.   There is a soft thump as she closes the door.   WESLEY looks without concern towards the living room (or the wall separating his room and the living room, as it would be). SUZY then slowly and awkwardly walks across the living room and makes another sound as she almost loses her balance half way through. After this second sound is heard, WESLEY becomes concerned.   He sits up in his bed and hears another thump.

WESLEY:   Suzy?   Is that you?  

(Wesley`s door opens and SUZY, hid mostly in the shadows, steps into his room.)

WESLEY:   (Starting to get up, relieved) Suzy, you scared me half to death.   But you should really stay in bed, you seemed pretty out of it when you passed out in the car...

(SUZY, suddenly and without warning, pushes WESLEY down on the bed.   She then quickly straddles him and kisses him aggressively.)

WESLEY: (As SUZY separates)   Suzy, what`s going on...

SUZY: Do you like me, Wesley?

(SUZY starts planting kisses up and down WESLEY`s neck.   WESLEY looks absolutely terrified.)

WESLEY: Yes.. Suzy.. but..

SUZY: (Between kisses) Did you mean what you said, Wess?   Back in the car?   Did you mean it?

WESLEY: I did.. Suzy...

SUZY: That I`m remarkable?

WESLEY: Yes.

SUZY: Thank you.

WESLEY:   Suzy.. Suzy, you should stop.   You`re drunk.. or high.. or both.   Please, Suze...

SUZY: No.

(SUZY grabs for WESLEY`s crotch, which springs WESLEY at last up from bed.   He gently but firmly grabs SUZY by the arms.)

WESLEY:   Suzy.. please don`t do this.   I think you`re beautiful.. but this is not right.   This is not right.  

(SUZY is immediately upset by this and starts to thrash against WESLEY`s hold on her.   She breaks free and then forces herself on him again.   WESLEY struggles to get her off of him, each time becoming more stern as he commands "No!" or "Suzy, No!".   Every time he manages to peel her off of himself, she attacks again with increased intensity.   However, SUZY`s diminutive size is her downfall, and eventually   WESLEY picks her off of him by her arms, pinning them to her sides, and pushes her out his bedroom door.   SUZY loses her balance and collapses on to her backside on the living room floor.

WESLEY: (Standing in his door frame, screaming) What are you doing?

(SUZY does not reply: She merely hugs her knees to her chest, a look of confusion mixed with malice swimming on her face)

WESLEY: (absolutely pissed) If you think I`m like one of those cock heads, one of those fuckwads down in Underground that you can trail along behind you by shaking your tits in their face?   I wasn`t born yesterday!   I`m not gonna be   your newest goddamn fuck toy!   (WESLEY looks down on SUZY, fuming, apparently waiting for some kind of response.   He gets none, and so presses on)   If you want to get yourself off, go back to your friends in jail, or go fuck a stranger for all I care, but don`t fucking try and use me!

(WESLEY looks down on SUZY some more, still expecting a response, but SUZY just stands there, staring back at him with that expression of mixed emotions.   WESLEY exclaims one more curse and then goes back into his room, slamming the door shut behind himself.   He then falls into his bed.   SUZY stares after him for a few moments, and then leaps to her feet.)

SUZY: (Screaming at the top of her lungs) FUCK YOU!

(SUZY storms over to the end table and picks up one of WESLEY`s drinking glasses.   She then angrily whips it at the wall between the living room and WESLEY`s room.   It shatters loudly.)

SUZY: (Again, screaming) FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!

WESLEY: (Sits up from his bed and screams at the wall) SHUT THE HELL UP, GODDAMMIT!

(SUZY looks around, hunting for something else to throw.   She picks up one of the books, grabs some of the pages in the middle of the volume, and motions as though she is going to tear them out.   She stays her hand, though, and instead of destroying the book, throws it as hard as she can at the same wall.   No shouts this time:   Frustrated and confused, SUZY runs back into her room, slams her door as hard as she can, and throws herself on to the bed.   Neither SUZY nor WESLEY look like they are going to fall asleep any time soon -- they stare intently at their walls, away from each other.   The lights fade out, completely now, and so ends Act II)

ACT III: Suzy Moves Out

Scene I: The Bar.   It`s a weekday night, and the bar is sparsely populated.   The barkeep keeps his constant vigil upon his domain, but only a couple of other, scattered extras populate the scene. WESLEY and DICK are seated at the small table on the left side of the screen, both of them nursing their drinks.

DICK: I don`t know, man.   Suzy was pissed.

WESLEY: Yeah.   I`ll bet.

DICK:   What`d you do?   Cause she was riled.

WESLEY: I don`t know.   (Then, after a pause:) Ask her yourself.

DICK: I did, Mcmillan, and she ain`t talking.

WESLEY: Yeah, that`s a habit of hers.

DICK: What?

WESLEY: (takes a drink of beer) Nothing.   (Looks at his beer glass in disgust)   Gods, this shit is nasty.   How can you actually PREFER drinking it?

DICK: Don`t change the subject, Mcmillan.   What the hell happened?   And why did you insist on dragging me out here?   If Suzy is really moving out, I`m sure she`ll need some help.

WESLEY: Look.. she just... we had an unfortunate moment.

DICK: "Unfortunate moment"?   What kind of bullshit talk is that.   Quit skirting the issue and come clean, Wesley.

WESLEY: Well.. she came on to me.

DICK: (blinks in surprise) And that`s a problem?   Goddamn, this isn`t Leah all over again?   Can`t you tell a hotchick when she`s sitting under your nose, or are you still waiting for the perfect 10 and only the perfect 10?

WESLEY: No, it`s not that.. it`s just... Dick, she was wasted to the edge of oblivion.   I don`t know what she was on, but.. it wasn`t right.   And she was so aggressive.. there was practically murder in her eyes...

DICK: Kinky.

WESLEY: No, not kinky.   It was scary.   And worse yet, I think she had been with another guy earlier that same night.   Maybe two.   Maybe more.   She`s got one fucked up lifestyle outside of the apartment, I`m sure of it.

DICK: Oh really, you saw this threesome with your own eyes?

WESLEY: No, but... fuck you, Martin.   I`m serious.

DICK: So am I.

WESLEY: Maybe I overreacted.   I don`t know.   I don`t even remember what I said.

DICK: Well.. it sounds about right, at any rate.

WESLEY: (Looks up from his glass to DICK) What do you mean?

DICK: You know those rumors I was talking about before?

WESLEY: What, the ones you wouldn`t tell me?

DICK: Yeah.

WESLEY: Yeah, I think I found out what those rumors were all about the hard way.

DICK: Not exactly.   (WESLEY looks at DICK questioningly)   Well.. these aren`t rumors about Suzy`s night life, Mcmillan.   They`re about her childhood.

WESLEY: I don`t get it.

DICK:   Apparently she`s adopted.   Her mother, the hardcore Narcolic, and her dad, they took pity on her, see, because apparently she lived one fucked up childhood.

WESLEY: How so?

DICK: Get this: apparently she was the daughter of a prostitute.   It`s all rumor, of course but.. her real mother`s clients, they`d use her for a pinch hitter, if you catch my meaning.   And one day she goes nuts, goes wandering away from home after her real mother dies, looking for her "father".   Her adopted parents run into her at some point, feel sorry for her, and boom!   She`s got a family, a home to call her own, and about ten years of therapy to look forward to.

WESLEY: (The blood seems to have drained from his face)   Is this for real?

DICK: I dunno.   Might explain a few things.   She`s a wonderful girl, really... but it`s understandable if she still has a few screws lose, maybe an insecurity or two.   Crazy shit like that, it doesn`t leave you, I`m betting, no matter how long you live.

WESLEY: (Whispering)   Fuck... (Then, screaming) FUCK!

(WESLEY slams his hand into the table loudly, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone present.   WESLEY ignores them and simply runs his fingers through his hair, as though he`s tempted to pull it all out.   DICK looks at WESLEY with rising concern)

WESLEY:   I`m a fuckhead, Dick.   I`m a fucking fuckhead.

DICK:   Calm down, Mcmillan..

WESLEY:   No.   What I said to her is fucking unforgivable.   (WESLEY slams his fist into the table again.)   FUCK!

DICK: (Reaches over the table and pats WESLEY consolingly on the shoulder) Mcmillan, do you want me to talk with her?   Smooth things over.   I don`t know where she intends to go, but I don`t think moving out is the smartest thing for her to do right now.

WESLEY: Well... (sighs)   Yeah.   You better talk to her.   I`m worried about her, but she won`t come out of her room and... well.. I`m afraid.   To approach her.   Especially not after this.   Martin.. I gotta make this up to her.  

DICK: Right.   I understand, man.   I understand.

(The lights fade out as DICK continues to comfort his friend.   End Scene I)

Scene II: The apartment.   All lights in all rooms fade in.   SUZY`s room is now almost completely bare except for a canvas left leaning on the wall and the bed, which is now without sheets.   WESLEY, drink in hand, sits before the typewriter in his room, deep in thought, perched like a writer waiting for his block to wear off (if you can imagine such a thing).   Once or twice, he reaches towards the keyboard, on the verge of beginning, but then he retreats his hands twice as fast.   He resorts to pacing around his small bedroom a couple of times, then sits back on the chair in front of his typewriter, trying once again to will the words to his fingertips.

WESLEY: (typing) Dear.. Suzy.   I`m so.. sorry.

(WESLEY looks at the words on the paper in front of him, and after a few seconds nonchalantly reaches forward, grabs the paper from the typewriter, crumples it up and tosses it behind himself.

WESLEY: Well, shit.   Come on, Wesley, it`s like Suzy said, someone who spends that much time with his nose in a book should be able to smith a few words himself.   Come on.   (WESLEY sets another piece of paper in the typewriter and slowly begins typing again)   Dear.. Suzy... I`m a shit head.   I never realized before that you were the daughter of a hooker and... (without taking a pause, WESLEY grabs the paper again and likewise crumples it up)   You`re a real poet, Mcmillan.   Christ, quit being a pansy and just talk to her.

(WESLEY thinks about this for a moment, decides it`s good advice for himself.   He stands up and leaves his room, walks half way into the living room, and looks towards SUZY`s room forlornly.)

WESLEY: Where the hell did she go off to?   I wonder if Dick got a hold of her.. god, I hope so.   (WESLEY then looks at the phone, approaches it, almost picks it up, and then backs away from it.) No, no, just relax Wess, just relax... (Suddenly the phone starts ringing.   WESLEY looks at the phone in amazement, and then picks it up.) Hello?

SUPERVISOR: Is Wesley Mcmillan there?

WESLEY: Speaking.

SUPERVISOR:   Wesley, were you aware that you were scheduled to work today?

WESLEY: Oh.   Crap.   I... completely forgot.

SUPERVISOR: Well, I`d recommend getting in right away then.   We`re short staffed lately, it`s almost time for school to start again, you know.. and that means lots of sales.   We`re way behind.

WESLEY: I.. know.   Actually, I forgot because I`m not feeling well.   Really not well.   I mean, I had to go to the doctor this morning and everything.

SUPERVISOR: Really now?   Well, you did get a doctor`s note, didn`t you?

WESLEY: (small pause) Of course.

SUPERVISOR: Well, be sure to bring it in tomorrow to get credit for your sick day.   And in the meantime, get to bed, Wesley.   We`re going to really need you in tomorrow.

WESLEY: I`m scheduled for tomorrow too!??

SUPERVISOR: 6 AM, bright and early.   Pre school season, you know...

WESLEY: Yeah.. I know, I know.   I`ll be there, I.. honest, I`ll be there.   Okay?

SUPERVISOR: Okay, Wesley.

WESLEY: Okay.   Bye.

(WESLEY hangs up and   starts pacing around the living room.   After about two laps, he retreats back into his bedroom, and falls back into his chair.)

WESLEY: Get a grip... (WESLEY takes a deep breath and then sets his fingers on the typewriter keys again)   Dear... Suzy.   This letter is both an apology.. and an explanation.   (to himself) Yeah.. that`s okay. (continues)     Last night, when I spoke to you in the car, I was being absolutely honest.   I have never met a girl like you, and believe me, I`ve tried.   Then, when you came on to me.. (to himself) Oh, get out of your Tower, Wess.   (slams the delete key a few times, and then continues)   Then, when you awoke later that night, I seemingly forgot everything I said... (WESLEY sighs and then, frustrated, he slams his typewriter)   Goddammit.   This is dumb.   This is stupid.   This is accomplishing nothing.   I`ll just wait for her...

(A loud bang sounds from the hallway.   WESLEY pauses his monologue to look in detached concern, and then continues his rant)

WESLEY: It`s best if I just talk to her.   Just be a man, and talk to her.   And be honest, for fuck`s sake.   Don`t be an arrogant prick, Wesley.   Just don`t.  

(WESLEY takes another deep breath, and then there`s a loud thump in the hallways.   WESLEY ignores this one.   He gets up from his chair and walks back into the living room as he continues talking)

WESLEY: I`m just gonna sit here.. (WESLEY collapses on to his couch) ...and read... (WESLEY grabs a random book) and wait... for Suzy to come home.   And clear up everything.

(One more loud bang, and suddenly the apartment door bursts open.   Practically falling through the door is DICK and SUZY: DICK is carrying SUZY, who has her legs wrapped around DICK`s midsection.   The two are lip-locked, and seem absolutely oblivious to WESLEY.   WESLEY watches in absolute shock as the two of them stumble through the living room and towards the door to SUZY`s room, DICK still carrying SUZY, their lips never separating for more than a moment.   When they reach the door, DICK leans against the wall and starts searching for the doorknob.   He finds it, opens the door, and both practically fall through and land on SUZY`s bed.   SUZY reached for the door with her foot and closes it.   The two continue their carnal making-out.

WESLEY, still absorbing what he`s seen, stands up in stunned silence and walks slowly towards his bedroom, the book he was reading still dangling from two of his fingers.   He enters his own room, closes his door, and then shuts his lights off.   When his lights go out, the entire scene goes black with it.

End Scene II.)

Scene III: The next morning in the apartment.   All the lights in the apartment fade in.   SUZY is sound asleep on her bed, wearing nothing but her undergarments.   There`s a robe on the floor next to her bed, as well as SUZY`s discarded leather jacket.   DICK, wearing a robe, is sitting on the couch, watching the TV, and eating some pancakes.   WESLEY, dressed in the same clothes he was wearing last night, is laying on his bed, a pillow over his head.   He is awake: he turns around in his bed a couple of times, annoyed by the sound of the television.   After a few losing rounds, he gives up, tossing the pillow to the ground in surrender.   He stands up from his bed, and he looks ten years older: he looks like hell.   He walks slowly to his door, opens it, and steps into the living room.   When he sees DICK, WESLEY freezes in his tracks like a statue.

DICK: (Looking up from the TV, waving to WESLEY, grinning) Heya.   (WESLEY continues to stare at DICK with a dead expression.   DICK shifts in his seat uncomfortably)   What is it, Mcmillan?

WESLEY: (after a pause) What are you doing here, Martin?

DICK: Just making good on my word.   I came last night to talk to Suzy.

WESLEY:   I saw you come in.   I think you were doing a lot more than talking.

DICK: (smiles his shit eating smile.   When he sees it doesn`t have much of an effect on WESLEY, it turns lopsided.)   What`s your problem, Mcmillan?

WESLEY: How could you do it?

DICK: Do what?   Yeah, I spent the night, Wesley, excuse the hell out of me.   I think I managed to convince her you`re still an all right guy, though, and she`s willing to keep living here for the time being.

WESLEY: That`s not what I mean.

DICK: Then WHAT do you mean, Mcmillan?

WESLEY:   After everything you told me, and everything I told you, you just took her back to bed, you just played that same old tune again, just one more prick convincing her that everything is right in the world, that this is her place, that this is what she`s good for.

DICK: Fucking-a, Mcmillan, it`s a one night stand.   Consensual, no strings attached sex.   This isn`t a new concept, Mcmillan, and you should probably look into it; you really need to get laid yourself.

(WESLEY`s quiet anger dissolves into outright fury, and he lunges for DICK.   DICK is up and off the couch in an instant, his forgotten plate of pancakes thrown on to the floor.   As WESLEY collides into the now empty couch, it bangs against the wall behind it.   This loud thump awakens SUZY, who immediately sits straight up in her bed.   She listens, in tired confusion, to the events transpiring in the living room.)

DICK: What in the hell are you doing, Mcmillan?

(WESLEY`s reply is another attack: he grabs for DICK.   DICK almost gets away, but WESLEY grabs him by the back of his robe and pulls DICK towards him.   WESLEY violently tries to wrap his arms around DICK, but DICK manages to peel WESLEY`s arms off him and steps away, then turns around to face him.   WESLEY makes one more lunge, though, this time with his fist.   Its a solid punch that connects with DICK, and he immediately crashes to the ground from the collision.   DICK sits up on the ground, rubbing at his cheek.   WESLEY winces in surprise and cradles his hitting hand to his chest.)

DICK: (almost screaming) What the fuck are you doing Mcmillan?

(SUZY is now alert and concerned.   She pulls the discarded robe around herself and steps out her bedroom door.   She is unnoticed by WESLEY or DICK)

WESLEY: I can`t believe you, Martin.   This really was just another one of your bedroom targets.   I thought she was your friend!

DICK: Don`t be dense, Mcmillan, she is my friend!

WESLEY: Then how could you do this to her?   This is the last thing she needs!   She`s more than this, and I thought you could see that, but you`re just as bad as...

SUZY: (Interrupting, her voice low and dangerous.)   Wesley. (WESLEY and DICK look over at SUZY in surprise)   Who in the hell do you think you are?

(WESLEY is absolutely dumbstruck by SUZY`s entrance into the conversation.   He stands staring at her, mouth agape, until he finally begins to utter the first syllables of an explanation.)

WESLEY: I...

SUZY:   Do you have some plan for a better Suzy?   Some miraculous, twelve step program you cooked up on your typewriter to transform me into a bookworm porcelain doll, the one that you always wanted?  

WESLEY: Suzy, no.   It`s just...

SUZY:   I am who I am, you arrogant prick, and if you think you can change me just to fit into your limited moral scope of the world, you`ve got another thing coming.   (Turns to DICK)   Dick, let`s get out of here.

(SUZY walks towards the apartment door and opens it)

WESLEY: Suzy, wait, please...

SUZY: Go to hell, Wess.  

(SUZY walks out, leaving the apartment door open.   DICK gets up from the ground, walks past WESLEY to the apartment door, and then pauses.   He looks over his shoulder briefly, at WESLEY.)

DICK: (Quietly, sincerly) Sorry.. Mcmillan.

(DICK walks out and shuts the apartment door.   WESLEY watches after the door, almost willing for it to open again.   WESLEY finally turns away from the door and stares dumbly at the living room floor.   Then, slowly, he walks towards SUZY`s room.   The door is still open, and he peers inside, looking at the abandoned canvas leaning against the wall, and at SUZY`s classic leather jacket.   He takes a deep breath, walks out of SUZY`s room, through the living room, and back to his own room.   He sits down at his chair in front of the typewriter.   He stares at the blank page loaded into it.   Then, he places his fingers on the keyboard.   He waits before he begins typing.   When he starts, he starts very slowly.   As the letter continues, however, the words come out with increasingly rapidness.)

(For the following line, WESLEY`s voice comes from off-stage: We hear the words read from the page as he types them.)

WESLEY:

Suzy.

Think of this letter as both an apology and an explanation.   I think I owe you both.

First off, the apology:   I`m sorry.   Over the course of this week, I`ve been a terrible hypocrite.   I`ve jumped to conclusions, one after another, about your life, based on a small, miniscule peek into it.   Every time I opened my mouth, more garbage would spill out: Words I could never take back.   Every time I found out something new about you, I would just draw a new conclusion, put a new face on you, and make the same mistakes again.   I`ve been quick to point fingers, but in the end I treated you just as bad, if not worse, than those other people I singled out.

Why would I do this?   What would cause me to act so oddly, to shove my nose where it so obviously doesn`t belong?   I guess that brings me to the explanation.

It`s true, after I found out about just a few little details of you, starting with that car ride, I found myself developing a childish crush of sorts on you.   I think I was so excited to find someone who I thought might think similar to me, someone who I could actually carry a conversation with, that made me so anxious, that painted a picture in my mind of who exactly I wanted you to be.   You blame me for trying to shape you into something closer to that painting in my mind?   I think you`re right.   Maybe it started that way.

But as I found out more about you, Suzy, the more I regarded you as a person who is truly remarkable and doesn`t even know it.   You have this potential, this capacity, to be and do something truly great, and you`ve sold yourself short.   You seem almost embarrassed by it.   And instead of pursuing it, you`ve chosen instead the life of a drifter, of a member of the audience and not a participant.  

Suzy, you are beautiful in so many ways.   You are so intelligent, so kind, and you have an incredible smile that can make any day better.   You belong to something more.

Does it sound like I`m trying to "shape" you again?   I suppose it does.   But this is not about making you into my porcelain doll.   Even if I should never meet you again, Suzy, I would want you to realize what you`re capable of.   Even if I should never see you again, I would sleep better knowing you`ve become the kind of person who dazzles, and makes others around her dazzle.

But on that same note, I do want to see you again some day.   I would understand if you don`t want to see me ever again.   I`ve hurt you enough for one lifetime, and all I`ve offered in return is preachings from my own, personal tower.   But if you can excuse a couple of incredible fuck ups, I`d like to take a shot at getting to really know you, the real you, freely and honestly.

Some day, maybe, I can give you a call, or stop by your front door.   If you want to hang up, or if you want to close that door, go ahead.   I`d understand.   But if you`re willing to give me a second chance, even if it means you think you have to constantly stay on your guard, I would welcome it and be forever grateful.

So until that time, goodbye.

- Wesley Mcmillan

(As WESLEY hits the last keystroke, he looks at his paper with an unreadable expression.   Then, slowly, he pulls it free from the typewriter, treating it with absolute delicacy.   He fold it: First in half lengthwise, then once again along the width, and carries it, slowly, almost ceremoniously, towards SUZY`s room.   Once he arrives, he carefully picks up SUZY`s leather jacket and quietly slips the letter inside.   WESLEY then walks back into his room, lays down on his bed, and stares at the ceiling, his hands knitted behind his head.

Fade out, End Scene III.)

Scene IV: Outside Suzy`s apartment.   As the lights fade in we are treated to a look of the hallway outside SUZY`s new apartment.   There are a few doors, all of them closed.   After the scene opens, WESLEY walks in from stage left and approaches the door in the middle.   He`s dressed nicely, in a pair of khaki`s and a button up shirt.   He reaches forward as though to knock on the door, but then pulls his hand back.   He paces back and forth past the door then, finally, mustering up a little more courage, he knocks.   There is no reply,   He hesitates, then knocks again.   Still no reply.   WESLEY sighs, and turns to walk away..

SUZY: (Behind the door) Who is it?

WESLEY: (after a pause) Wesley.

(Another pause.   We hear the click of a door unlocking.   The door slowly opens, revealing SUZY, who is dressed in a oversized t shirt and a pair of jeans.   She smiled awkwardly.)

SUZY: Hey.

WESLEY: Hey.   (another pause)   I guess this means you won`t be shutting the door on me, then?

SUZY: (Laughs)   No.   I didn`t know if you`d ever actually show, though.

WESLEY: Really?   In retrospect I thought the "I`m gonna call, I`m gonna stop by" bit might be a bit much.   Like I was a stalker or something.

SUZY: (Laughs again, and this time smiles her winningest smile)   No, no.   I was.. actually expecting you sooner though.

WESLEY: I.. had some courage to muster.   It always felt like it might be too soon.

SUZY: Come on, Wesley.. I just needed to cool down a little.

WESLEY:   You were awfully pissed.

SUZY: Yes.. I guess I was.   (SUZY walks outside her apartment and leans on the wall on the other side of the door, opposite to WESLEY)   But, I dunno, maybe I was being unreasonable too.

WESLEY: I don`t think so.

SUZY: (sighs) Let`s not talk about that.   (Gives WESLEY a quick once over)   You`re dressed awfully spiffily.   Where are you off to?

WESLEY: Actually coming back from.   Work, that is.  

SUZY: A little snazzy for mail processing, don`t you think?

WESLEY:   Nah, I finally got out of that job.

SUZY: Oh yeah?   What now?

WESLEY: Running a book store.   Got started with Dick`s help, we`re kind of like partners on the thing.

SUZY:   Dick?   The aspiring politician now just a businessman?

WESLEY: He says it`s not the best time to be a politician in the Union, but I`m sure he`ll get around to it eventually.

SUZY: Ah.

WESLEY: And what about you?

SUZY: What about me?

WESLEY: Well, what have you been up to?   I almost didn`t expect to find you here at this time of night.

SUZY: Well... I started school.

WESLEY: Good for you!

SUZY: Yeah.   Art student, you know.   They don`t say much about what kind of a future it offers..

WESLEY: Oh, I`ve heard that one before.   Don`t worry about it, though, you`ll do fine.

SUZY: You really think so?

WESLEY: Of course I do.   You think that`d be apparent by now.

SUZY: (Smiles) For all the unwarranted praise you`ve showered me with in the past, sometimes I think you expect me to take flight and read minds.

(A few seconds of silence)

WESLEY:   Well, things seem to be doing fine for you.   Are you seeing anybody right now?

SUZY: (laughs)   Well, you`re about as subtle as a bulldozer.

WESLEY: Hey, come on, I`m just wondering.

SUZY: Yes, actually.

WESLEY: (Sounding slightly disappointed) Oh.   What`s his name?

SUZY: An odd little guy named Bryon.   He`s a little out there, but he`s a Narcolic too.. always hard to find in these parts, so I can bring him home to mom.   And he treats me like royalty.

WESLEY:   Good.   Good for you then.

SUZY: Yeah.

(Another pause)

WESLEY: Well, I`m glad I stopped by.   Maybe I`ll do it again sometime.  

SUZY: Leaving already?

WESLEY: Yeah, well, I have some stuff to do tonight.   Starting up a new book store is rather difficult.

SUZY: (meekly) Well.. okay.

WESLEY: But now that I know where you live, I`ll be sure to stop by when I`m in the neighborhood.   So, see you later okay?

SUZY: (waves) Okay.

(WESLEY turns to leave, and SUZY looks after him for a few moments.   Then, SUZY starts walking back into her apartment.   But just as WESLEY is reaching the exit for stage left, he turns around quickly.)

WESLEY: (With sudden urgency) Wait.

(SUZY stops in the doorway and looks over at WESLEY curiously)

WESLEY: I`m doing the same, muleheaded thing over again, aren`t I?   (WESLEY walks back over to where SUZY is standing) Look, Suze, I know you`re seeing someone right now, and that`s fine.   But I`d still like to go out with you.. nothing special mind you, nothing dreadfully romantic.. just a bite to eat, so we can talk.   I just want to talk with you.. catch up.   Get to know you some more.

SUZY: (Smiles) Okay.   That`d be nice.

WESLEY: I wasn`t lying when I said I was busy tonight, and I don`t think you`d want to jump outside on such short notice but.. the sooner the better.   Are you open tomorrow night?   At about sixish?

SUZY: I have class until seven.

WESLEY: Seven thirty then?

SUZY: Okay.

WESLEY:   There`s a nice little pizza place real close by, "A Slice of Nikeah", you ever been there?

SUZY: No.

WESLEY: Well, meet me there tomorrow, after you get off classes.   I`ll have a pepperoni pizza waiting for you.   My treat.

SUZY: (Smiles her amazing smile) Okay then!

WESLEY: All right.   I`ll see you then, okay?

SUZY: Okay!  

WESLEY: (Starting to walk away again)   Bye!

SUZY: (Waving) Bye, Wess!   Have a good night!

WESLEY: You too!

(SUZY watches WESLEY goes, and then grins.   She stands up to her full height, takes one last deep breath and then slowly closes the door behind herself.   The lights fade out.   End Act III.)