Apt Pupil Page #25

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INT. DUSSANDER'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Todd goes straight for the mantle. He moves the clock and finds

the key.

INT. DUSSANDER'S KITCHEN - NIGHT

Todd holds a blank piece of paper in front of Dussander and

hands him a pen.

TODD:

Sign this.

DUSSANDER:

What for?

TODD:

Sign it.

Dussander starts to scrawl his name across the paper.

TODD:

No! At the bottom... neatly.

With great difficulty, Dussander does as he is told. Todd folds

the paper and stuffs it into his pocket with the pen. He picks

up the phone and dials.

DISPATCHER (V.O.)

911 emergency. Do you need an ambulance?

TODD:

Yes. It's my friend, Mr. Du--

Todd nearly bites his lip in half. Dussander notices the slip

and cringes.

TODD (CONT'D)

Denker. He had a heart attack.

DISPATCHER (V.O.)

Is he conscious?

TODD:

Yeah, he's awake. I'm really scared. The

address is 9 --

DISPATCHER (V.O.)

We have the address here. The ambulance is

on the way. It should take about ten

minutes. I'll stay on the line with you --

TODD:

No. I have to call my parents. Just send

the ambulance --

He hangs up.

TODD (CONT'D)

It smells too clean in here.

Todd sees a pack of cigarettes on the table.

TODD (CONT'D)

(offering)

Cigarette?

Dussander is not amused. Todd lights two cigarettes and lets

them burn down in the ashtray. He picks up the phone again and

dials.

TODD (CONT'D)

Mommy, it's me. Let me talk to Dad.

MONICA (V.O.)

What is it?

TODD:

Just let me talk to him.

MONICA (V.O.)

Hold on --

DICK (V.O.)

Todd, what's wrong.

TODD:

Mr. Denker had a heart attack.

DICK (V.O.)

Jesus. Is he conscious?

TODD:

Yeah, he's awake.

DICK (V.O.)

Thank God. Todd, call an ambulance.

TODD:

I did. They're on the way.

DICK (V.O.)

All right, son. Don't touch him. I'll be

there in five minutes.

TODD:

Okay.

He hangs up. He sits down across from Dussander. The old man

is near death, but through the slit of an eye he watches Todd.

The stare between them is lethal. For a long moment this

continues until...

TODD (CONT'D)

F***!

DUSSANDER:

What? What is it?

TODD:

The letter. Where is the goddamn letter? I

told my parents I came over to read you a

letter from Germany.

DUSSANDER:

A letter. Yes, we'll say it's from Willi

Frankel --

TODD:

We need a letter. I told them it was your

nephew, I think.

DUSSANDER:

My bedroom. Look in the dresser. Second, no

third, drawer... from the top. There is a

small wooden box. You will have to break it

open. I lost the key. There are letters,

very old ones. From a friend. All in

German. None of them are signed or dated. A

page or two will be fine.

Todd turns to go and stops.

TODD:

Are you crazy? I don't read German, you numb

f***.

DUSSANDER:

Why would Willi write me in English? If you

were to read me the letter in German, I would

understand even though you would not. Your

pronunciation would be terrible, but I could

manage --

TODD:

All right. All right.

Todd dashes out of the room.

EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS - NIGHT

Dick's Porsche speeds along the same streets that Todd took two

hours earlier.

INT. DUSSANDER'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Todd bursts through the door and drops to his knees in front of

the dresser. He yanks on the drawer. It comes half way out and

stops.

TODD:

Goddamn you, come out.

The drawer flies out, knocking Todd back. He digs through it,

the contents of Dussander's fake lives spilling about the room.

He finds the box at the bottom. As he expected, it is locked.

Without a moment's hesitation, he slams the box down on the post

of the bed frame. It doesn't open, but bits of the frame fly

across the room.

On the third attempt the tiny box shatters. Todd freezes, c*cks

his head. Outside he hears the distinct ROAR and sputter of the

Porsche engine. He grabs two pages of a letter. There is

nothing he can do about the mess in the room. He closes the

door on his way back to the kitchen.

INT. DUSSANDER'S KITCHEN - NIGHT - LATER

Todd enters the kitchen and places the pages on the table just

in time to look up and see Dick standing in the kitchen doorway.

TODD:

Dad.

We hold on Dick for a moment as he takes it all in: Dussander,

Todd, and the room. A hint of uncertainty crosses his face.

INT. DUSSANDER'S KITCHEN - NIGHT - LATER

A PARAMEDIC straps Dussander onto a stretcher. Todd is talking

to the other one.

TODD:

He started laughing at something in the

letter. I don't know what it was, it's in

German.

Dick sees the letter on the table and picks it up. Todd watches

him. Without much of a thought, Dick puts the letter back on

the table.

PARAMEDIC:

Well, we'll take care of him now. We're

going to take him to St. Luke's. It's a good

thing you called when you did. You saved his

life.

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