Confidence Page #9

DR. EMLEE

The question, Letty, is how are you

feeling?

LETTY:

I miss Beast a lot, too.

INT. MICHAEL'S ROOM - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Darkness. Michael sleeps. A Christmas Carol BLASTS through

the intercom system.

INTERCOM:

Hark the Herald Angels sing...

Michael bolts awake. He stumbles out of bed, in wildly

striped boxers, and races toward the hall.

55.

INT. HALLWAY - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - SAME

Doors open like kernels of popcorn exploding. Michael,

Marie, Thomas, John, then Letty.

The music BLARES on. Nurse Gates runs down the hall and

shouts to Michael.

NURSE GATES:

What are you doing?

MICHAEL:

(yelling)

Not me.

The music lowers. Mrs. Hallstrom, in a Santa cap, appears.

She distributes erasers as she threads through the patients.

MRS. HALLSTROM

Sorry, sorry. Candy canes are out

of season.

NURSE GATES:

Mrs. Hallstrom?

Mrs. Hallstrom gives an eraser to the nurse.

NURSE GATES:

Come on. Come with me, Mrs.

Hallstrom.

Nurse Gates leads Mrs. Hallstrom away as the older woman

continues tossing erasers down the hall.

Marie stares at Michael's shorts.

MARIE:

Hot boxers.

Michael smiles awkwardly at Letty. She returns to her room.

INT. LETTY'S ROOM - SAME

Letty climbs into bed. She opens the bedside drawer, and

pulls out a Tiffany's ring box. There, cradled in the satin

lining, is the diamond from Paul. Right beside it is

Michael's Cracker Jack special.

.

Letty puts on Paul's ring. She studies her hand. With an air

of secrecy, she slips on Michael's ring. She quickly takes

it off. Wearing Paul's ring, she turns off the light and

snuggles into bed.

56.

EXT. GARDEN, HILLV IEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - DAY

Afternoon light casts long shadows in the garden of pruned

hedges and tea roses. Letty and Ruth power-walk down a

cobblestone path, heading away from the English Tudor

hospital that looms large in the background.

Letty wears a sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo for the

University of South Carolina C*cks.

LETTY:

I can't believe you finally gave me

the shirt.

RUTH:

Loaned you. And it's only 'til you

get out of here.

LETTY:

That settles it. I'm never leaving.

RUTH:

I can hardly wait 'til you're free.

Planning the wedding without you

has been a disaster.

LETTY:

You're slowing.

RUTH:

(picking up the pace)

Mom and I fought for 20 minutes

over whether we should go with ecru

invitations or brilliant white.

Letty checks her stop watch.

RUTH:

What do you think?

LETTY:

Ecru.

RUTH:

And then the gold scroll or the

black Romanesque print?

Letty completely stops and faces Ruth.

LETTY:

Do we have to talk wedding details?

57.

RUTH:

Oh, no, of course not.

LETTY:

I mean, you can always send me

fabric samples to look at or

pictures of dresses. But, it's

been so long since we've seen each

other.

RUTH:

Of course. You're right. Besides,

we should be talking about your

engagement.

They start walking again.

LETTY:

Tell me more about Beast beating up

that other cat.

RUTH:

Bloody furry mess, like I said.

(beat)

Aren't you so excited about Paul?

.

(beat)

Letty?

Ruth stops this time.

RUTH:

What's going on with you, Letty?

LETTY:

Ruthie, do you ever wonder if

you'll meet someone else...someone

besides Jake?

Power walking's forgotten. Ruth and Letty start to amble.

RUTH:

What's his name, Letty?

LETTY:

I didn't say...

RUTH:

Don't even try. What's his name?

INT. LETTY'S ROOM - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Nurse Gates passes by the open door, and pokes her head in.

58.

NURSE GATES:

Lights out, Letty.

Letty closes the door. She pulls a nightshirt from a drawer,

disrupting a perfectly-folded T-shirt. Letty bends down to

straighten it, but changes her mind. She shuts the drawer.

Letty puts on the nightshirt, crawls into bed and snaps off

the light. She fluffs her pillow, and turns over. She rolls

back.

Letty turns on the light. She goes to the drawer, opens it,

pulls out the T-shirt and refolds it. She shuts the drawer.

Letty yanks open the drawer again and looks at her handiwork.

It's a fight with the drawer. Opened and closed. Until Letty

takes a deep breath, pulls it open a final time, hesitantly

ruffles the T-shirt and slams the drawer shut.

She runs to bed and hops in, turning off the light and

burying her head under the pillow.

A few moments pass.

A KNOCK on the door. Letty opens it to find Michael.

LETTY:

We're supposed to be asleep.

MICHAEL:

Exactly.

Michael takes Letty's hand and pulls her toward the door.

LETTY:

We'll get caught.

MICHAEL:

No rounds for another three hours.

Michael checks the hallway and pulls Letty into it.

MICHAEL:

Nervous? Scared? Worried you're

not fit for a caper of epic

proportions?

.

LETTY:

Don't be ridiculous.

MICHAEL:

Rendezvous at the closet in 30.

59.

Letty forges ahead to the nurses' station, while Michael

turns a corner in the hall, peeking out so he can watch Letty

approach Nurse Gates.

NURSES' STATION - SAME

NURSE GATES:

Letty, you should be in bed.

LETTY:

There's a spider in my room.

NURSE GATES:

Yeah?

LETTY:

It's got a green dot on its back.

I can't go to sleep with it

watching me.

NURSE GATES:

Sounds awful. I guess we better

check it out.

Letty and Nurse Gates walk down the hall to Letty's room,

passing the alcove where Michael lurks in the shadows. He

sneaks into the main hall and pads up to the nurses' station.

NURSES' STATION - SAME

Michael wanders around the desk, crouches on the floor so he

can't be seen from the hallway and pulls the phone down to

his level. He dials.

MICHAEL:

Extra large pepperoni and

mushrooms.

(beat)

And two cokes.

(beat)

Hillview Psychiatric Hospital on

Glenfield. Off the Fourth Street

exit.

Michael reaches up to a hook and grabs a white lab coat. He

puts on the coat, which identifies him as "Val Williams."

CUT TO:

INT. LETTY'S ROOM - SAME

Letty and Nurse Gates, sprawled on their stomachs, peer under

the bed.

60.

LETTY:

It had this red spot on its back.

NURSE GATES:

Green spot.

LETTY:

Mottled really. Green and red.

Nurse Gates looks Letty squarely in the eye.

NURSE GATES:

I don't know why you feel you have

to lie, Letty.

LETTY:

Lie?

NURSE GATES:

If you feel lonely, or need to

talk, all you have to do is say so.

LETTY:

To talk?

(beat)

Well, OK, that might be good.

.

NURSE GATES:

I understand you just got engaged.

Maybe that's where we should start.

Off Letty's look of dismay, we

CUT TO:

EXT. GUARD STATION - HILLVIEW PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL - SAME

Michael pays the DOMINO'S PIZZA MAN and tries to walk past

the guard, JIM, who blocks his path.

JIM:

I'm afraid I can't let you take

that in without the proper invoice.

MICHAEL:

It's a pizza.

JIM:

All the same, rules are rules.

61.

MICHAEL:

You don't understand. This is a

very important, very special,

morale-boosting pizza.

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