MONA (from the sofa)

Who is it?

 

HENRY hesitates, says nothing.

 

HENRY SENIOR

(calling)

It’s me, Mona.

 

MONA

What do you want?  The kids don’t

want to see you.

 

HENRY SENIOR

I’m here on police business.

 

MONA staggers to the front door, looks him up and down, smiles a little.

 

MONA (nicely)

Hey, Big Henry.  Since you’re here,

I wanta ask if you could give me an

extra three hundred dollars this

month.

 

HENRY SENIOR

I’m here about Henry.  Official police business.

 

BRANDY comes to the door.  HENRY SENIOR has not been invited in and continues to stand on the stoop. 

 

BRANDY (to her father)

Henry, Mom really needs that three

hundred dollars.  Help her out for

once.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Brandy, honey, I pay child support

every month.  I’m here about Henry. 

Can I come in?

 

MONA

No.  If you don’t got a warrant or

Three hundred dollars, then stay out

there.  In fact, get lost.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Listen.  A Rupert Krebs has filed a

complaint against Henry.  He says Henry attacked him in the woods of the public

park.

 

HENRY

That asshole!

 

BRANDY

This little twerp deserves whatever

he gets.  Lost me fifty bucks. 

 

HENRY

Brandy was whorin’ herself out to

the guy.

 

HENRY SENIOR

What?

 

BRANDY

I work for him at Taco Yummy. 

He asked me do play a paintball

game with him in the woods.

 

MONA

Maybe I’ll play with him.  Get my

three hundred dollars.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Wouldn’t be the first time, would it

Mona?

 

MONA

Drop dead.  Why hasn’t some criminal

shot you yet?

 

HENRY SENIOR (to

HENRY)

I’m sorry your mother talks this way

in front of you.

 

HENRY

Well, what do you expect?  You

basically just called her a whore.

 

BRANDY

You tell him, kid.

 

HENRY SENIOR

(sighing)

Henry, I’m sorry.  All right?

 

HENRY glares at him.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Listen, Henry.  You’ve been banned

from the park.

 

HENRY (furious)

What?  Why?

 

HENRY SENIOR

Mr. Krebs wanted to file charges. 

The desk sergeant called me in as

a favor to you and me, and I

convinced this Kerbs guy to simply

allow the city to use its authority

to ban you from the park.

 

HENRY

But where the hell am going to play paintball?

 

HENRY SENIOR

You’re lucky you’re not down at

Juvenile Court.  I did you a favor.

 

HENRY

Oh, thanks a lot, Henry.  I

’m royally screwed.  Thanks

for the favor.  Thanks for

not giving Mom the money

she needs, too.

 

Henry runs to his room.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Henry!

 

MONA

You still know how to bring the shit

in on your shoes, Henry.

 

HENRY SENIOR

Brandy, talk some sense to your

mother, will you?

 

BRANDY

Okay.  Sure.  Hey, Mona, you know what

you oughta do?  Go back to court and

get more child support.

 

MONA

Yeah.  I oughta get extra since you

and Henry never goes over to your

father’s on the weekends.

 

HENRY SENIOR

They can come over whenever they want.

 

MONA

Fact is, they never want to come over.

 

BRANDY

Yeah. 

 

She slams the door in her father’s face.

 

EXT. SUBURBAN NEIGHBORHOOD   NIGHT

 

HENRY and JOSH are riding their bikes along the      streets of a lower-middle-class neighborhood, their paintball guns hanging from their belts.  HENRY rides   ahead, looking grim. JOSH peddles hard to keep up.

 

JOSH

So what are you going say to him?

 

HENRY

I’m not going to talk him.  He’s

not going to see us. 

 

JOSH

We’re going across town to see him,

but you’re not going to talk to him?

 

HENRY

Yeah.  I’ve done it before.

 

JOSH

Why?

 

HENRY

Hold on. 

 

HENRY motions for JOSH to stop.  They walk their bikes over to some bushes and leave them.  They stealthily approach a tidy, small ranch-style house.  They get close enough to the house to see through a living-room picture window.

JOSH

Do you see him?

 

HENRY

Yeah.

 

JOSH

Well, what’s he doing?

 

HENRY

Just sitting there.  Watching the

TV. 

 

JOSH

Is he watching Cinemax?  My dad loves those soft-core porns on Cinemax.

 

HENRY

No.  It’s a show about birds.  That’s all he ever does.  Just watches  shows about animals.

 

Through the window they can see HENRY SENIOR.  He has civilian clothes on.  He’s watching a show about birds caring for their chicks.

 

JOSH

Brandon’s got a DVD about animals

eating each other and their babies.

Does your dad watch cop shows?

 

HENRY

He hates cop shows.  If you ask me,

he’s not much of a cop.  He’s

never even shot anybody.

 

JOSH

He looks tired.

 

HENRY

You think so?  You think he looks

tired?

 

JOSH

Yeah. 

 

HENRY

Does he look sad?