Lone Star Page #14

PILAR crosses past the principal's secretary, MARISOL--

MARISOL:

Steve called for you.

PILAR:

Steve?

MARISOL:

Steve. Board of Education Steve

who likes you? He goes for us

hot-blooded Mexican girls, I can

tell.

PILAR:

Spanish, please. My mother would

have a heart attack.

MARISOL:

Your mother's family is Spanish?

PILAR:

Sure, they go back to Cortez.

When he rode by, they were

squatting in a hut cooking hamsters

for dinner.

MARISOL:

You got to be interested in

somebody. All you do is work.

PILAR:

All my mother does is work. That's

how you get to be Spanish.

MARISOL:

How 'bout the Sheriff?

PILAR:

The Sheriff.

MARISOL:

The old-high-school-heartthrob

Sheriff. I thought you were crazy

about each other. He's available,

you're available--

PILAR:

I'm unmarried. I'm not available.

MARISOL:

You told me one time it was true

love.

PILAR takes the pile of mimeos and mail from her slot and

turns to go--

PILAR:

(Mutters)

Nobody stays in love for twenty-

three years.

EXT. DRIVE-IN MOVIE -- NIGHT

It is 1972. An early-'70s cheezy action picture (Filipino

women-in-chains or biker flick) is playing.

We TILT DOWN to a man's BOOTS crunching across the gravel of

the parking area. Now and then, the man turns a FLASHLIGHT

BEAM on a license plate. The cars are all pre-'72, lots of

pickups, and the patrons are almost all TEENAGERS. Some

have turned their pickups around to sit on the tailgate and

watch, while others have set lawn furniture out to sit on.

We TILT UP slightly to see the glint of a Rio County Sheriff's

badge pinned on the man's shirt. He meets a DEPUTY coming

in the other direction. Both train their FLASHLIGHTS on the

license of the car we see in the b.g. between them. We TILT

and RACK to see that nobody is visible through the window--

BUDDY (O.S.)

Let's go.

We FOLLOW Buddy up to the driver's side of the car as the

Deputy goes to the passenger side.

We PAN with Buddy's hand down to the door handle -- he grabs

it, flings it open -- the overhead LIGHT flicks ON and there

lie YOUNG SAM and PILAR, teenagers, half their clothes off

and just about to close the deal. PILAR SCREAMS and the

Deputy throws the door open by their heads --

BUDDY:

Goddammit!

Buddy grabs Sam's ankles and yanks him out of the car onto

the ground as the Deputy awkwardly pulls PILAR, out the other

side--

YOUNG SAM:

What the hell are you doing? You

f***ing a**hole!

BUDDY:

How old is that girl? Goddammit,

where's your goddam sense?

YOUNG PILAR, (O.S.)

Let me go! Pendejo!

YOUNG HOLLIS (O.S.)

Come on now, Missy, get your

clothes in order--

Sam is trying to kick and punch at his father, pausing in

between to pull his pants up. People are BOOING and HONKING

their HORNS all around--

YOUNG SAM:

You got no f***in' right! You

stay out of my f***in' life!

BUDDY:

Gimme the keys--gimme the goddam

car keys, son--

YOUNG HOLLIS (O.S.)

What am I s'posed to do with her,

Buddy?

BUDDY:

You drive her home and tell her

mother where we found her--

YOUNG PILAR, (O.S.)

Sam!

The kids are dragged forward into the HEADLIGHTS that are

being turned on to see what the ruckus is. Both are crying,

struggling--

YOUNG SAM:

You leave her the f*** alone!

BUDDY:

You just shut that filthy mouth,

son. I'll deal with you when we

get home--

YOUNG PILAR:

Please, don't tell my mother!

She's gonna kill me!

They step closer into the glaring HEADLIGHTS which WHITE OUT

the scene, then FADE.

EXT. RUINED DRIVE-IN -- DUSK

It is DUSK, PRESENT DAY. Our eyes readjust to see Sam,

standing by his car in the lot of the long-abandoned drive-

in. The ruined screen rises in the b.g.

CU SAM:

Remembering. MUSIC BEGINS as he gets back into the car,

pulls away.

MARQUEE -- DUSK

MUSIC CONTINUES as the car cruises out past the old marquee,

a few letters still jumbled on it, several bullet holes around

them.

INT. CAR

MUSIC CONTINUES as Sam drives, thinking--

EXT. ROADS -- VARIOUS SHOTS -- DUSK/NIGHT

MUSIC CONTINUES as the car crosses the scrubland back toward

town. DUSK turns to NIGHT--

EXT. PILAR'S HOUSE -- NIGHT

MUSIC CONTINUES as Sam cruises past Pilar's house. The car

is not in the driveway: Paloma hangs out with a couple FRIENDS

under the porch light, laughing--

EXT. HIGH SCHOOL -- NIGHT

MUSIC CONTINUES as Sam's car pulls into the high school lot.

He looks up toward the school--

EXT. WINDOW, PILAR, -- SAM'S POV

MUSIC CONTINUES. We can see PILAR, through the lighted window

of her classroom, preparing something on the blackboard--

INT. CAR

MUSIC ENDS as Sam leans back to wait--

EXT. PARKING LOT

PILAR digs in her bag for her car keys as she makes her way

across the lot. She sees something, slows, reacting, then

brings us to Sam in his car. He has parked head-to-foot

next to hers. They look at each other for a long moment

PILAR:

(Softly)

Follow me.

EXT. MAIN STREET -- NIGHT

Nothing stirring. Pilar's car appears, closely followed by

Sam's. The cafe has closed for the night

INT. CAFE -- NIGHT

Sam and Pilar sit on chairs next to each other, facing the

window, talking softly. The STREETLIGHT shining through the

letters in the front window makes patterns on their faces

PILAR:

We thought we were something,

didn't we?

SAM:

Yeah.

PILAR:

I look at my kids in school--tenth,

eleventh graders. That's who we

were. Children.

SAM:

Yeah.

PILAR:

I mean what did we know about

anything?

SAM:

Nothing.

Pilar looks at him--

PILAR:

When Nando died--it was so sudden--

I was kind of in shock for awhile.

Then I woke up and there was the

whole rest of my life and I didn't

have any idea what to do with it.

SAM:

You know the other day, you asked

why I came back?

PILAR:

Yeah?

SAM:

I came back 'cause you were here.

PILAR nods. She gets up and we FOLLOW her across the dark

room to the jukebox. She looks at the selections--

PILAR:

My mother hasn't changed the songs

since I was 10.

She puts in a quarter, punches some numbers. A Mexican BALLAD

comes on. She crosses back to Sam, holds her hand out. He

stands to greet her.

They slow-dance in the empty cafe--

INT. SAM'S APARTMENT -- BEDROOM

Sam and Pilar finish making love. They lie beside each other,

shaking a little--

PILAR:

Wow.

SAM:

Yeah.

PILAR:

How come it feels the same?

SAM:

I don't know. it just feels good.

Always did.

PILAR:

So what are we gonna do about

this?

SAM:

More, I hope,

PILAR smiles, looks around the room--

PILAR:

How long have you lived here?

SAM:

Two years.

PILAR:

There's nothing on the walls. No

pictures--

SAM:

Don't have kids. Other pictures--

I don't know--it's nothing I want

to look back on.

PILAR:

Like your story is over.

SAM:

I've felt that way, yeah.

Sbe puts her bead on his cbest--

PILAR:

It isn't. Not by a long shot.

He holds her and they lie silently for a moment--

SAM:

Pilar--

PILAR:

Yeah?

SAM:

What was your father's name?

PILAR:

Eladio. Eladio. Cruz,

FADE OUT:

EXT. PILAR'S HOUSE -- MORNING

Paloma sits on the top step of the porch, reading teen

magazines. PILAR steps out behind her, dressed casually,

and squints at the day--

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