Life as a House Page #5

GEORGE:

You need every brain cell you've got.

A KNOCK on the door stirs Sam more than his father's voice.

SAM:

(half-asleep)

Leave me alone!

Sam's eyes are still closed as he shifts onto his side.

George opens the door; Robin is weak and weepy.

ROBIN:

I don't know what to do, anymore. Take

him. You take him.

(hostile)

You're such a good father.

George walks out of the room, around Robin and down the

stairs without a word. Sam stirs at the sound and sits up to

confront his mother.

SAM:

What are you doing in my room?

ROBIN:

I didn't go in your room.

SAM:

I locked the door! Get out! I locked

the door! Get out!

EXT. WEBBER'S UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - AFTERNOON

Robin grabs the door and closes it quickly, but doesn't move.

SAM (O.S.)

Stupid b*tch! Liar! I locked the door!

I don't sneak around your room! Liar!

INT. SAM'S ROOM - AFTERNOON

Sam rushes over to the window and stares down at the screen

and ladder. Ryan, Adam and their friends are still in the

pool, holding onto the coping, staring up at Sam. Sam slams

the window shut and searches for the can of whipping cream.

He gets down on his knees to search under the bed. Standing

and making one more pass of the room, he notices the can in

the trash. He instantly focuses all his rage at the closed

door.

SAM:

This is my room! You have no right in

here! This is mine!

INT. WEBBER'S UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - AFTERNOON

Robin is sitting on the floor at the top of the stairs,

staring blankly down at the foyer of this modernist mansion.

SAM (O.S.)

Why can't you all just die and leave me

alone!

EXT. DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - MORNING

The traffic is thick and loud and the sky is a blanket of

brown as George makes his way down a sidewalk mixed with

professionals and panhandlers. Suddenly sick, George rushes

to the side of a building and vomits.

INT. BENSON, KIDDLER, FEINSILBER AND ASSOICATES - MORNING

George wipes a clump of wet paper towel against the vomit

stain on his cuff as he walks through the pockets of cubicles

to a large enclosed office. A SECRETARY smiles as she stands

up from her desk and opens the door.

SECRETARY:

Good morning.

GEORGE:

Is there a...

He holds out the wad of wet paper towels, but before he can

say trashcan, BRYAN BURKE stands up from behind his desk.

BRYAN:

George, have a seat! I've got juice.

INT. BRYAN BURKE'S OFFICE - MORNING

George steps in and the secretary closes the door to the

office. Bryan approaches with his arm outstretched, but

George can only raise the paper towels.

GEORGE:

A bird caught me.

Bryan grabs a trashcan and holds it up; George tosses the

ball into the trash and sits down.

BRYAN:

Orange juice...croissant?

Bryan motions with his hand as he sits.

GEORGE:

I'm good, thanks.

BRYAN:

What are you on?

GEORGE:

Pardon me?

BRYAN:

how much weight have you lost?

GEORGE:

Oh...nothing. Thirty pounds. I just

haven't been very hungry.

BRYAN:

How's your wife?

GEORGE:

When we divorce a decade ago, she was

very, very angry.

(beat)

Now she's just hostile.

Bryan nods and laughs as he takes a chunk of croissant and

chews as he talks.

BRYAN:

Right...she married...what was he?

GEORGE:

He buys and sells the world.

BRYAN:

Peter Webber! Right. Quite the

spotlight on that guy.

GEORGE:

I did tell you, didn't I? That I'd be

ready to start the Berlin model today?

BRYAN:

Well, that's sort of...you're sure you're

not hungry?

Bryan is anxious as he holds up the rest of the croissant.

George shakes his head "no". Bryan tosses his croissant into

the trash can and leans forward.

BRYAN (CONT'D)

This isn't me.

(beat)

We can show clients endless options,

change anything in a matter of hours on

the computer. But you won't change.

GEORGE:

Typing and clicking myself to renderings

isn't why I started building models.

BRYAN:

All of us are typing and clicking,

George. Whether we want to, or not.

GEORGE:

I'm not.

BRYAN:

Which is why we bid out a quarter of our

projects. It doesn't make a lot of sense

anymore to want what we don't have and

don't want what we do.

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