Life as a House Page #11

GEORGE:

You have everything?

Robin is in an uncomfortable position as she glances at Sam

before focusing on George.

ROBIN:

I did say he could go.

GEORGE:

Let's go.

SAM:

I'm not going!

GEORGE:

You don't have a choice.

SAM:

Mom...please.

Sam's eyes well with tears as his voice cracks. Robin is

ready to concede.

ROBIN:

George --

GEORGE:

(adamant)

He's not spending the entire summer with

another kid in Tahoe. If he leaves, I

will follow him up there and I will drag

him home by his nose ring. He can hate

me. You can hate me. He can try to kill

me while I sleep. You can call the

police. You can call your husband or

your attorney, but Sam is spending the

summer with me. He's my son. He's

sixteen. That's it.

Sam is crying now -- snot's running down his nose. Robin is

shocked by George's forcefulness.

ADAM:

Can we hate you?

GEORGE:

You can do anything you want.

George walks to Sam and touches his arm.

GEORGE (CONT'D)

Go get in the truck, Sam.

Sam jerks away from his dad as dramatically as he can manage.

SAM:

Go f*** yourself!

George drops the suitcase and grabs Sam by the arms. As much

as Sam tries to resist, he's clearly no match for his father.

GEORGE:

Your nose ring comes out of your nose.

If you've got them in your nipples, they

come out, too. And there's no make-up at

my house. No glue sniffing. Huffing.

No pills, no grass.

SAM:

If you hit me, I'll call the police.

GEORGE:

You've worn out your welcome at this

house, Sam. I won't ever hit you.

(beat)

This may well be the worst three months

of your life, but you've earned it. So,

pick up your suitcase and go get in the

truck. Now.

SAM:

I'll hate you forever.

GEORGE:

You can't even begins to know how much I

hate my father.

(upbeat)

Think of it as a family tradition.

Sam glares at his mother before grabbing his soggy suitcase

and stomping out of the backyard. Robin is stunned silent by

George's decisiveness.

INT. GEORGE'S TRUCK - LATE MORNING

Sam is pressed against the passenger side door. George walks

from the backyard and opens the truck door to climb in but is

stopped by Sam's suitcase. He lifts it out and sets it in

the bed, then slides into the cab, sitting on the soaked

seat. George rises up and turns to Sam, who is sullen and

silent.

EXT. GEORGE'S SHACK - AFTERNOON

Sam is shirtless on his back on the roof of the shack,

sunning himself as George struggles to extricate a sofa from

a doorjamb. Guster is asleep on the grass, under a tree.

GEORGE:

Sam? I'm...for like three minutes?

After another bout of trying, George drops the sofa and steps

back to glance up at Sam.

GEORGE (CONT'D)

That's okay. If I break my back, daddy's

gonna buy you a naval ring.

No reaction from Sam.

GEORGE (CONT'D)

And if that naval ring don't fit, daddy's

gonna rub you down with the sun screen.

Sam glances down at his father, puzzled by the verse.

GEORGE (O.S.) (CONT'D)

I want you wearing sun block. And I want

you down here to help me. Now.

Sam dismisses his father without a word - he simply adjusts

his face back to the sun. George walks away. A sudden spray

of water drenches Sam, forcing him to his feet in a cold

panic. George stops the hose water pelting.

GEORGE (CONT'D)

It works on Guster.

MOMENTS LATER:

George is still struggling with the sofa stuck in the door.

Frustrated, he steps away from the sofa.

GEORGE (CONT'D)

You're in there not helping at all,

aren't you?

INT. BEACH SHACK ENTRY - CONTINUOUS

Sam is leaning against a wall with his arms folded across his

chest.

GEORGE (O.S.)

You know what else helped Guster?

Neutering.

The slightest alarm crosses Sam's face.

INT. GEORGE'S GARAGE - EVENING

George is shirtless in shorts, boiling pasta on a portable

stove as he heats a sauce in the microwave. A dresser topped

with plyboard serves as a countertop; other than a sink being

across the garage near the toilet, this is a fairly well

equipped makeshift kitchen.

GEORGE:

Do you want garlic bread?!

George waits a bit to make sure no response is no response.

Then stuffs a hunk of garlic bread into the toaster oven.

EXT. GEORGE'S GARAGE - EVENING

Sam is sitting on the edge of a cliff that drops twenty feet

to the ocean; Guster is whining for attention behind Sam.

SAM:

Well, get over here, then, stupid.

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