LAWN DOGS script

SCENE ONE
opens on a field of grass with DEVON in the background.

DEVON (voice-over): Once upon a time in a far off land lived a girl and her mother and father. Their village was surrounded by a high wall. Outside the wall was the forest, home of Babi Yaga, the witch. Babi Yaga had iron teeth to cut through trees. His legs were chicken legs and he ate little girls for dinner. But inside the wall, the girl was safe.

SCENE TWO
TRENT is mowing the lawn and stops for a breath. BILLY aims a gun his face.

BILLY: Stick 'em up.

SCENE THREE
DEVON is placing raisons in unbaked cookies. Her parents, MORTON and CLARE are at the kitchen counter making a list.

MORTON: Try the Madison house first. Then the Engers. Scratch the Crutchners, they're in Rhode Island for the weekend.

CLARE: Humm, that's the Loflins. The Crutchner's are in town.

MORTON: Don't forget to ring the bell three or four times at the Neill's at the Birch Grove Court. His wife's almost deaf.

CLARE: And on the school board.

MORTON: Everyone will get a taste of the Stockards, yum, yum.

DEVON: (a fly lands on one of the cookies. She smashes the fly into the center and turns to her parents) These are ready.

SCENE FOUR
BILLY is still banging away at Trent. From offscreen we here his mother say "Billy, Snacktime!" He runs off, allowing his hat to fly off his head. Trent swings his mower around and runs over it, creating a burst of confetti.

SCENE FIVE
In front of the Stockard's home.
CLARE: Don't lose the money you get.

MORTON:Everyone knows how to smile, remember.

CLARE: Your photo will be in the paper.

MORTON: If she sells the most bags.

CLARE: Oh, she will. She's a perfect little saleswoman.

MORTON: Make a good impression, honey. We're still the new kids on the block. Off to work we go.

CLARE: Don't fiddle with your socks; they're just new.

MORTON: Be careful on the roads.

CLARE: Watch for cars. sweetie; look left and right.

MORTON: Now get going.

CLARE: Whatever you do, don't go outside the gate, sweetheart.

MORTON: Daddy loves you.

(DEVON starts to walk off and passes the neighborhood cop, NASH)

NASH: Devon Stockard. Now there's a girl who's out to conquer the world. You want me to buy a bag of those cookies from you?

DEVON: You're not on my list.

SCENE SIX
TRENT approches a customer's door and knocks.

MAN (from inside): Can I help you?

TRENT: Uh, yeah, I finished your lawn, sir.

MAN: Already?

TRENT: I did a good job. Short back and sides, got all the weeds, sir. (door opens, man pays him) Thank-you. (door closes) Sir, do you think I could use your bathroom facilities?...Guess not.

TRENT goes to his truck and once inside relieves himself in a Big Gulp cup. He cranks the engine and nothing happens. He pops the hood to check the engine and NASH steps up.

NASH: Can I help you son?

TRENT: No, I can get it, thanks.

NASH: Just tell me when.

TRENT: Just a minute. Okay.

NASH: Nothing.

TRENT: Alright, try it again. (the truck starts and NASH refuses to get out)

NASH: Get in, not for long. Business must be good.

TRENT: I'm making plenty.

NASH: You live close by here?

TRENT: Not that close by.

NASH: Me either. Whatcha got in the cooler.

TRENT: Soda pop?

NASH: Shit. I was hoping it was ice cold beer. It's hotter than a cat's crotch today, isn't it?

TRENT: Yeah, and I stink. I need a shower.

NASH: I used to mow lawns when I was a kid. After a while, it gets to be nothing in the world but lawns. Green lawns. And the best damn thing about lawns is they always grow back. Let's not be in here past five unless you clear it by me first.

NASH gets out, TRENT slides over and drives off. He takes his shirt off, reaches into the cooler to find an ice cold beer, and then stops his truck on a one lane bridge. He gets out, ignores the traffic, and takes his pants off. He stands on teh edge, buck-naked, and tehn dives into the river below. He returns to the truck and drives off.

WATCHER: I want to know if hes gonna be here next Friday.

SCENE SEVEN
DEVON approaches a driveway leading into a thick woods.

DEVON: At the edge of a big dark forest lived a girl an her mother and father. One day her mother said 'Girl, I shall make you a batch of cookies and you must go and sell them in the forest.' Now the girl was not stupid. SHe knew they were trying to get rid of her, but the father said, 'Don't worry, dear.' So she went. The girl walked on. (she finds a clearing with a fire pit, a dog house--empty--and a trailor) She came to a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing, there was a hut and a very skinny dog. The dog was starving. The girl said to the dog 'You look hungry.' So she fed him. Babi Yaga's house...(she knocks, nothing. She opens the door and walks in. A truck door slams outside and she tries to run, but trips and lands face first on the floor. The door opens and TRENT looks in) Hello. I'm Devon Thompkins Stockard Girl Ranger. I'm selling thumbprint cookies. All proceeds go to the Pine Cone Charity House of Mackay County. (TRENT closes the door. DEVON gets up and goes to meet him) That a '65 Ford? 65 of 100 is the best motor Ford ever made. Is it 300 Trig?

TRENT: Yeah.

DEVON: My uncle had a truck like that. He was russian, from Indiana, born on the wrong side of the train.

TRENT: Wrong side of the tracks.

DEVON: Right. He said the mounts were going bad on the truck. So one night, he drove it into Spoon River. Never drove back out.

TRENT: What a shame.

DEVON: That's what my aunt said.

TRENT: You can rebuild mounts. That's what I did.

DEVON: Can you take me for a ride in it?

TRENT: I don't wanna buy any cookies. This is private property. Go home.

SCENE EIGHT
(dinner time, Stockard's home)

CLARE: Four bags? Does that include the two we bought?

MORTON: You'll have to do better than that.

CLARE: How far did you get down the list?

MORTON: It all depends on your face, sweetheart. It is not what you got in the bag they wanna buy. It's your happy face. For those who weren't home today, try tomorrow.

CLARE: Don't forget to say it's for the charity house.

MORTON: It be a shame if some other little girl got her picture in the paper.

CLARE: You'll do better tomorrow, sweetheart.

MORTON: Give me a kiss. Goodnight, sweetheart.

CLARE: I'll be up in a little while. I changed your doctor's appointment for the day after tomorrow, 9:30AM. (Devon exits)

MORTON: Oh, I like to see her happy for a change.

CLARE: Well, she's going through a stage; it's her age.

MORTON: Yeah, all we get is mope and complain. Imagine what she'll be like in a few years.

CLARE: She hardly complains.

MORTON: She could at least pretend to be happy. I mean when I was a kid, that's what you did for your parents.

CLARE: We've only been setled for a couple of months. Give it time. She's met that one girl...Donna.

MORTON: Oh, I feel sorry for that Donna-kid's father. Imagine, having a daughter with a face like a possum.

CLARE: She's got a lovely voice.

MORTON: Well, if I'm gonna have a voice at all we gotta start pushing. Elections for the county board are this fall.

CLARE: That will be four boards you're going after. You'll have to be careful yu don't lose your own voice.

MORTON: Not if you want a real say in this county, in this suburb, right here where we live, then I've gotta become the board man, the model of citizen involvement. Isn't that why we moved back here?

SCENE NINE
DEVON gets out of bed and opens her window. She climbs out on the roof and then raises her nightgown up and over her head. She lets the wind grab it and then crouches in nothing but her panties. Then she turns to the moon and howls.

DEVON: Owwwwwwww! Arwwwww!

SCENE TEN
DEVON is sets off again to sell cookies and grabs a few encouraging words from her father.

MORTON: I want us all to make a home here, Dev. Want you to find lots of new friends. Popular girls are never bored or boring. Look honey, this is the new Dev, right here. You don't have to tell your new friends anything about the old Dev if you don't want to. And the new Dev's, she's raring to go, isn't she?

DEVON: Thanks, dad. (walks away, only to confront Billy.)

BILLY: Hey! Halt, squawl!(He jabs a gun in her face and she grabs it, swings it around and puts it in his mouth)

DEVON: You'd be doing the community a favor. (she walks away)

BILLY: Bang!

SCENE ELEVEN
CLARE is in her garder, weeding, when two young boys about 24 years old each step up

BRETT: Hello, Mrs. Stockard.

CLARE: Hello, Brett.

BRETT: You should call Spray Green Lawn Service. It'll wipe those weeds out in a couple of hours.

CLARE: I like to work up a little sweat.

BRETT: You know, if you leave the root in, it'll grow back.

CLARE: Just ripping their heads off is more fun. Would you like to lend a hand?

BRETT: And do something useful this summer?

SEAN: Sounds criminal to me.

CLARE: You should both have summer jobs; keep your minds sharp.

BRETT: If we had jobs, who'd help you weed? (BRETT kneels down and begins pulling up the grass around the hem of CLARE's dress. Slowly, his hands move underneath the dress)

SEAN: I'll just let you two finish up here.

SCENE TWELVE
DEVON approaches TRENT's trailor. She peeps in the window to find TRENT and some other woman having sex. She laughs, says "Stop it." and DEVON falls from her perch. Seconds later, TRENT and the girl exit the trailor)

TRENT: Hey, isn't that my belt?

PAM: Found it on the dresser.

TRENT: But how am I supposed to keep my pants up?

PAM: You'll think of something (she jumps on her bike)

TRENT: Hey, uh, Pammie, you sure you don't want a ride. Country Club, Stables, Tennis Courts?

PAM: No thanks. I can make it. And it's Pam, Pam Gregory. C-ya, trailor man.

TRENT: Hey, I'm not always gonna live in a soup can. Next year I'm gonna be at the white house. (he goes back inside)

DEVON: Babi Yaga went inside and put a huge kettle on to boil. The dog told the girl to run cause Babi Yaga was going to cook her, but she knew she could never outrun Babi Yaga. When they sent the girl into the forest, she was kind to the thing she found. She found a tree and dressed it up in ribbons.

TRENT: Trees don't give a shit about people. (TRENT exits his trailor)

DEVON: Was that your girlfriend?

TRENT: Look, I've got some lawns to take care of, so...

DEVON: Can you climb a tree? I'd clilmb it myself, but I'm not supposed to strain.

TRENT: I'm telling you to leave.

DEVON: Okay, I'll leave. But only if you help me hang the rest of these ribbons.

TRENT: I don't like ribbons, and I got me a hangover. (he stares at her and then gives in. He begins to climb, tying the red ribbons on the limbs)

DEVON: You know I almost died...twice.

TRENT: Climbing a tree?

DEVON: No.

TRENT: I almost died, too.

DEVON: How?

TRENT: Shotgun. You?

DEVON: It's a lemon, my heart. You know how your's goes de-dum de-dum de-dum?

TRENT: Yeah.

DEVON: Well mine goes de-de-dum de-de-dum de-de-dum.

TRENT: So are you dying or what?

DEVON: Not any more. They put in an extra pumping station.

TRENT: Nice.

DEVON: Can I see your scar?

TRENT: It's ugly.

DEVON: Cool.

TRENT: Don't you have any friends your age? Kids you can hang out with and stuff?

DEVON: I don't like kids. They smell like TV. And they talk too fast. Higher, go higher. (Trent goes higher as next step breaks a branch causing him to fall)

TRENT: Shit! (he hits the ground as DEVON escapes into the doghouse) Hooooooo!Ooooohhh! Hey, I could be dying over here. (she runs out to see if he's alive)

DEVON: Is your heart going de-de-dum de-de-dum de-de-dum?

TRENT: Something like that. Hey, come here. Get me a beer out of my truck. It's in the cooler and the cigerettes are on the dash. (DEVON runs to his truck and jumps in the driver seat. She grabs the steering wheel, pretending to be dragging when TRENT moans a second time) OOHHHHHH! (she grabs the beer and pack of cigerettes and runs back to his rescue)

DEVON: Where did you get shot?

TRENT: In the gut.

DEVON: By a robber?

TRENT: Look, I have to do three maybe four lawns. You're from Camelot, right?

DEVON: Camelot Gardens, yup. Over the hills and far away. (they drive to Camelot Gardens. TRENT stops at the gate to let her off)

TRENT: It's better if I let you off here.

DEVON: Yeah, I know.

SCENE THIRTEEN
Barbecue at the Stockards. DEVON is playing with TRACKER, a dog, while MORTON attends the grill. The whole neighborhood is here, socializing with each other.

DEVON: Tracker!

SEAN: Tracker!

MORTON: Leave the dog be, honey. (DEVON wlaks away while MORTON turns to BRETT) Would you go tell her we're about ready for the salad.

BRETT: Alright. (he enters the kitchen) They need the salad to start.

CLARE: Yes, well, I think we should have that ready in about four minutes. What do you say? (DEVON approaches the kitchen to find her mother holding the salad in the air. Sticking out from her dress are two legs, BRETT's. DEVON walks away, laughs, and the scene cuts to CLARE bringing the salad out) The salad has arrive! (TRENT approaches MORTON, passes Pam on the way)

TRENT: Hey.

PAM: Hi.

MORTON: Oh, hello. Can I help you?

TRENT: I finished your lawn sir. I did the trimming as well and I blew the drive, short back and sides.

MORTON: Oh yes, we heard you loud and clear. Worked up an appetite,son. Devon, throw a couple of hotdogs on the grille for this young man.

TRENT: Oh, no thank-you sir, but I better...I better get back to work.

MORTON: Nonsense, go take a seat over there. (TRENT sits and BRETT sits next to him)

BRETT: Hey, I heard a rumor that Pamela Gregory screwed you last night. Now tell me that isn't true. What would you and her possibly have in common? (SEAN joins in)

SEAN: Ah, Brett. Putting your social skills to work again.

BRETT: Yes, I am. So whatcha gonna be when you grow up, huh? Landscape designer? Conservationist? Hey, what colleges have you applied to, boy?

SEAN: Real charmer, isn't he?

BRETT: What about computer design? That's a solid choice. Everybody's going in for that these days. Let's talk about exotic careers; high-diving for instance, say from bridges. Say single-lane bridges.

MORTON: Hotdogs coming up. Onions and ketchup for you, right?

TRENT: Oh, thank-you sir. (NASH takes his turn)

NASH: You wouldn't happen to know anything about all those lampshades that keep disappearing around here, would you?

TRENT: I can't help you, sir.

NASH: It's the funniest thing. I mean what could a person do with so many lampshades?

BRETT: Sell 'em. (after the laught dies out, TRENT returns to MORTON)

TRENT: Sir, for your lawn?

MORTON: Oh yeah. Here you go, a 20, there.

TRENT: You're just ten dollars shy here, Mr. Stockard.

MORTON: Just what are you saying.

TRENT: I'm saying just...you're ten dollars shy of what we agreed on.

MORTON: I just gave you a couple of hotdogs, didn't I. (more laughter) Just pulling your leg there, son. Here you go. Alright, meat's on. Bring me a beer, man! (MORTON throws the steaks on the grille while TRENT walks away. SEAN runs to catch up)

SEAN: Hey, McKay County School. Sean Torrels. Third grade, remember?

TRENT: No.

SEAN: I was only there a few months. My parents pulled me out and put me in private.

TRENT: Oh yeah yeah, your dad drove that...that blue BMW.

SEAN: Did he? I don't remember.

TRENT: I remember. It was the only new car in the school parking lot that winter.

SEAN: We were friends, right?

TRENT: Nah, just in the same class. (TRENT reaches out and pokes his finger in a hole in SEAN's shirt) Should know better to come to a party dressed like shit. In third grade you had better taste. (SEAN takes TRENT's hand and holds it)

SEAN: My bet was that you could of made a good surgeon.

TRENT: Like your daddy?

SEAN: You got the hands for it.

SCENE FOURTEEN
DEVON has just witnessed this entire scene, the laughing, the ridicule, the embarassment, and decides to get revenge. She dumps TRENT's hotdogs in her father's toolbox first. Then she sits on top of her father's truck near the edge. She slides her panties down and begins to urinate down the windshield. Then she climbs inside the truck and turns the wipers on, smearing her revenge. She opens the glove box and pulls out a gun, points it at the windshield and says

DEVON: Go ahead, make my day. (BRETT scares her)

BRETT: BANG! Oh, daddy's gun, huh? (he takes the gun) That's pretty dangerous. (he takes one bullet out and touches it to DEVON's lips) You ever wonder what one of these might feel like going in. (Slowly, he moves the bullet down her chin and to her chest) You smell like your mom. (he inches her button-up shirt open)

DEVON: Get out! (DEVON slides to the other side to get out of the truck)

BRETT: Hey! Sshhhh!

SCENE FIFTEEN
DEVON packs her suitcase and rushes downstairs to see mom and dad cleaning up the dishes.

DEVON: Mom, Tracy asked me if I could spend the night.

MORTON: Tracy who?

DEVON: Tracy Keller, you know. I met her at the picnic last week. You liked her parents. Her dad's with the fedearl security bank.

MORTON: Is he?

CLARE: Alright, but later on. First, you need to get the dolls out of the bath and their arms out of the sink.

DEVON: Okay. (she drops the suitcase and rushes upstairs to clean up)

CLARE: See, what did I tell you. She's made a friend already. Just a matter of time.

SCENE SIXTEEN
CLARE drives up to Tracy's house and lets DEVON off. CLARE begins to get out as DEVON stops her and rushes up to the house.

DEVON: Don't wait!

CLARE: Can't I come in with you?

DEVON: No, I'll look like a kid, okay.

CLARE: Alright.

DEVON: Call you in a few hours.

CLARE: Try to have fun, sweetheart.

DEVON: Have a nice evening. (DEVON approaches the door, stops, turn to watch her mother disappear into the distance, and then takes off running. She returns to TRENT's trailor just as TRENT and PAM step outside after another session of wild lovemaking)

TRENT:...but, my tank's on empty.

PAM: I'm not surprised. I'd rather bike; it's just up the road.

TRENT: Hey Pam, when you gonna give me your number?

PAM: What do you need my number for; you haven't got a phone.

TRENT: So, I got a quarter.

PAM: Oh, lucky man. So I'll see you around.

TRENT: Yeah sure, same time next week.

PAM: Um, maybe. My schedule's kinda wacky, but I'll drop by when I can.

TRENT: Hey, I want to be introduced to your mother, and your father, any dogs, cats, or canaries you live with.

PAM: Right. I'll see you around.

TRENT: I'm sure they'll love to meet me. (Pam exits. TRENT goes back inside and sits at a table to clean his chainsaw. DEVON enters and approaches him)

DEVON: Hi. (she sits in front of him) What did it feel like when you got shot?

TRENT: It feels like getting shot.

DEVON: Could you feel the bullet go in?

TRENT: Don't remember.

DEVON: I would of remembered if it happened to me.

TRENT: (cuts finger on chain) Shit!

DEVON: Got any whiskey? It stings, but it kills the germs.

TRENT: No. (DEVON examines the wound and then sucks on the end of his finger. He jerks his hand back, stunned)

DEVON: You supposed to suck the poison out or you die.

TRENT: What poison?

DEVON: I read it in a book on snakes.

TRENT: Snake didn't bite me.

DEVON: And then the next time one does, you'll know what to do. I'm not afraid of blood. Every time they open me up I lost a bathtub full. How much blood did you lose when you got shot?

TRENT: I don't know.

DEVON: Did you nearly die.

TRENT: Yeah, I guess I did. (he gets up to find a bandage) Blue was drinking with me and Jeff and we run out of beer. Pulled over at the Five-Star and there was these three J-Town cops slurping down donuts and coffee. I know them and they sure know me. So, I'm paying for my twelve of Bud and I turn to the three of them and I let out this killer burp. I mean this son of a bitch was as loud as a shotgun. Kinda ruined their snack, I guess. So, five minutes later they pull us over. Jeff gets scared. He makes a run for it, so now they think we got something to hide. And they're whacking me with their sticks 'til finally I was able to punch one of 'em and busted his nose and his buddy aims a shotgun at me. Bang, bang, you're dead. Only I weren't.

DEVON: Wow. What happened to Jeff?

TRENT: Jeff was okay. He got three months and I got six. Boy I tell ya.

DEVON: People say you're trash.

TRENT: Yeah, I guess they do.

DEVON: I wouldn't like that.

TRENT: You get used to it.

DEVON: My father says, if everyone worked hard, there wouldn't be any poor people. You're a poor person, aren't you? He says that anyone who works hard can be rich just like him.

TRENT: Sounds like you gotta smart daddy.

DEVON: Trash is something you put a lid on because it stinks. You don't smell that bad.

TRENT: (laughs wildly) That makes my day. The way I see it is you got people who own lawns and you got people who mow 'em and they're never the same people. (TRENT wlaks to the front door and walks out. DEVON follows) Okay, it's time for you to get on home.

DEVON: I told my mom I'd spend the night at Tracy Keller's. Do you know Tracy Keller?

TRENT: No.

DEVON: Neither do I.

TRENT: Wait a minute...

DEVON: SO where do I sleep?

TRENT: Go home.

DEVON: No.

TRENT: Get outta here. Just go. What the hell you want from me? What? What, huh? What! (He picks up his cooler) Is that what you want. You can have it. anything you want here it's yours, take it. Okay? What's with you? Curious? Just curious? When you got all that out there, everything out there's yours. There's nothing here for you, you understand? Go home. Go home. (TRENT goes back inside. He reaches under the sink and pulls out a mason jar. He returns to the table and opens it, taking out a wad of bills. He reaches into his pocket to produce today's earnings and adds it to the pile. He flips through the stack (about two grand easy) and returns the money to the jar. At that point, DEVON swings down from a hole in his roof, hangs upside down and asks)

DEVON: You know where we can find two live chickens?

SCENE SEVENTEEN
DEVON and TRENT are riding in the truck.

TRENT: Why don't we just drive to the supermarket?

DEVON: They have to be fresh. The one's at the supermarket have been frozen for years. Maybe longer.

TRENT: You know stealing livestock is a criminal offense. We could go to jail.

DEVON: We won't be stealing them. We'll just be borrowing them and then we'll change our minds and eat them. Trust me. (The scene changes to the outside of a chicken coop) Look, a chicken walk. (DEVON crawls up and in to the coop. TRENT follows) Sshhh, they're trying to sleep. (Just as TRENT stands up and surveys the area, DEVON screams) COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! (The chickens go crazy as TRENT and DEVON scramble to catch one. DEVON grabs one by the neck) I caught one! (Now we're back in the truck) Look's like your lucks changing, buddy. Just a few more minutes 'til the end of your life. (Another scene change. DEVON is standing at a pay phone outside a convience store. A biker waits for the phone as TRENT holds the chickens down) Um, Tracy's fine. We're having chicken for dinner. Well, uh, her om can't come to the phone right now, she's having a bath. (One of the chickens try to escape. TRENT grabs it and the crowing begins as the other one alos tries to make a break for it) Gotta go mom, Tracy's waving at me. (The chickens attack TRENT now) C-ya. Love you. Bye. (Final scene change. The chickens are tied to the railing of the porch while TRENT prepares the fire) Do you think if we met a hundred years ago, we'd still end up as friends?

TRENT: We're not friends. We're hunters. So who's gonna kill the meat?

DEVON: You do yours and then I'll do mine.

TRENT: Do you know how?

DEVON: Not yet. (The scene advances to a plate full of bones. DEVON picks up her chicken feet and start to prounce around the fire ring)

TRENT: If you promise never to pull this one on me again, I'll let you sleep over. Whatcha think your dad would do if he found out?

DEVON: He'd cut off my feet.

TRENT: That's right.

DEVON: And then he'd tie you to a stake and burn you. (the chicken approach TRENT's arm) Babi Yaga bonylegs--his teeth made of steel and he can bite through trees, and his legs are like chicken legs.

TRENT: Who is this Babi Yaga?

DEVON: A witch who lives in the forest.

TRENT: I mean, what's this monster stand for?

DEVON: The moral of the story?

TRENT: Yeah.

DEVON: For whatever's bad, I guess. SOmetimes when it's dark, Babi Yaga goes out into the fields and a wild dog comes to meet him. ANd then a big scary wind starts to blow and blow. Hiiieeeeyyyyyuuuuuu! Hiiiiyyyuuuuuuu! Then Babi Yaga kills the dog with his bare hands and east it. Then Babi Yaga sings and dances with his belly full of dog meat and blood. Aye-aye-e-aye. Aye-aye-e-aye. (Scene changes and DEVON is lying in Trent's bed while TRENT does his best to get comfortable on the couch) Do you know how the girl escapes from Babi Yaga?

TRENT: No.

DEVON: The starving dog she finds gives her a magic comb and embroided towel. And the girl runs away through the forest. And when Babi Yaga almost has her, the girl throws down the towel and a great river springs up and Babi Yaga can't cross 'til he drives his cows to drink up all the water.

TRENT: Look, I've got to get up early, okay.

DEVON: When Babi Yaga's at her heels, the girl throws down the comb and a great forest springs up behind her.

TRENT: The end, okay.

SCENE EIGHTEEN
MORTON and NASH inspect the street light beside MORTON's driveway. The lamp is gone and the bulb is shattered.

NASH: That's the third one they got on your street this week.

TRENT: Someone's making fools of us.

NASH: I've been watching the lamps in this neighborhood at all hours. All hours.

MORTON: I don't like it one bit. We're insecure.

(At this point the scene changes to a river bank. A lamp flies into the screen and shatters in the pile of other lampshades.)

BILLY: Let's see some blood on their chins! GO, bring in teh second squad! Go! We gotta fly to Baghdad by dawn! (BILLY throws another lamp, watches is soraing through the air)

SCENE NINETEEN
Outside TRENT's trailor. TRENT loads his truck for his next job.

DEVON: It won't take all day will it?

TRENT: It'll take as long as it takes.

DEVON: Can I come? I can help you.

TRENT: I'll drop you off at the gates.

DEVON: (the truck stops at the gates and DEVON gets out with TRENT. TRENT hauls her suitcase out of the bed and hands it to her) I can pull weeds.

TRENT: Nope, but I'll make you a deal. We can be friends if you can keep it a secret.

DEVON: What's wrong with you and me being friends?

TRENT: Well, for one thing, I'm a country bumpkin, alright. I was born sucking on rat's guts and I'm a piss poor, son of a bitch, do anything for a buck. (He picks her and throws her over his shoulder) I slobber, and I spit, and I fart...

DEVON: Hey! Whatcha doing. Put me down!

TRENT: And I eat little princesses like you for breakfast. (he sits her down on top of the toolbox)

DEVON: I'm not a princess.

TRENT: No, well, I'm still piss poor.

DEVON: Do you want me to feel sorry for you?

TRENT: I don't know.

DEVON: Well, you can forget it. Polish my golden slipper.

TRENT: (licks the hem of his shirt and cleans her shoes) Yes, ma'am,I polish it so shiny I can see my face in it, yeah.

SCENE TWENTY
DEVON and TRENT are riding along in his truck

DEVON: What do you want to be when you grow up?

TRENT: When I grow up? I don't know; I don't think about it.

DEVON: Well, think about it.

TRENT: When I grow up? I don't know. I just want to be gone, you know, away from here. One day I'm gonna save up enough money and do that, too. I'm gonna put on a clean shirt, a new pair of socks, and I'm just gonna walk out of this life.

DEVON: I like how it sounds.

TRENT: How what sounds?

DEVON: Trent and Devon, Devon and Trent. Trent and Devon, Devon and Trent.

TRENT: Bullshit.

DEVON: Trent and Devon, Devon and Trent. Trent and Devon, Devon and Trent. Trent amd Devon, Devon and Trent.

SCENE TWENTY-ONE
TRENT pulls up to the side of a river and kills the engine.

TRENT: When I was a kid, my mom and my old man took me fishing here. In those days you could catch five or six catfish, big as your arm, and one night, well, I just let the two of them fish and then I walk aways down the bank, and I take my shorts off and I plop my self down in the sand in my bare ass and I piss.

DEVON: Yuck.

TRENT: No, no, there's nothing like the day cooling all around you and you're sitting in warm piss with the river floating by.

DEVON: Yuck again.

TRENT: Yuck again? I was a kid, okay. What you piss in, is yours for life. (He hits teh radio and Bruce Springsteen belts out "Dancing in the Dark" He climbs out the window, on top of the truck, and pops his head in DEVON's window) Come up here. (He grabs her arm and pulls her up there. Out in the lake is a boat and TRENT yells)This is my river