Pariah Page #9

ALIKE (CONT’D)

I was gonna see if you wanna do

something different?

Alike strips off the baseball cap and hangs it back on the

rack.

LAURA:

Different like what?

Alike peels out of the polo shirt.

ALIKE:

I don’t know--maybe like a open mic

or something.

52.

LAURA:

Open mic? Nah, man. It’s plenty

chicks at the piers, you just gotta

be more confident.

Laura crosses to her closet and scans its inventory. The

jeans are arranged crisply on hangers from light to dark and

some still have store tags. Most of the shirts are still

enclosed in protective plastic covers from the dry cleaners.

Laura passes Alike a perfectly folded button down shirt.

LAURA (CONT’D)

You can rock this. I haven’t even

worn it yet. But I understand if

you got better things to do.

Alike holds the shirt against her torso and stares at her

reflection. She catches Laura’s eager look in the mirror and

wilts.

ALIKE:

Nah, I’m down.

LAURA:

You sure? I don’t want you getting

hemmed up.

ALIKE:

Nah seriously, I’m down for

whatever.

LAURA:

Real?

ALIKE:

Promise.

LAURA:

That’s what’s up! I’ma take the

whole day off. It’s gonna be tight

watch... we gon’ do it up!

Laura holds a new pair of jeans against her body and does a

little dance. Alike laughs wanly.

42 INT. ALIKE’S PARENT’S BEDROOM - EVENING 42

Audrey sits between Alike’s knees as Alike oils her scalp.

Alike takes her time, massaging each braid between her hands

before moving to the next. Audrey reads an Essence magazine,

the cover of which reads “101 Ways to Please Your Man.”

53.

ALIKE:

You should wear your hair down

sometimes.

AUDREY:

Your father likes it up.

ALIKE:

It looks nice down.

Alike catches her mother’s eye in the mirror’s reflection,

they share a sad moment. Audrey closes the magazine and

tosses it back onto the bed.

AUDREY:

Maybe. Anyway give this back to

Bina’s mom when you go over

tomorrow night.

ALIKE:

Saturday night?!

AUDREY:

We talked about this.

ALIKE:

No we didn’t.

AUDREY:

Lee-

ALIKE:

I had plans for this weekend.

AUDREY:

Well, you don’t have to go to

Bina’s on Saturday night, you can

always stay home with me.

ALIKE:

Oh my God!

43 INT. BINA’S BEDROOM - EVENING 43

Bina sits on the floor, flipping through CD’s. Alike sits in

a chair, head in hand, completely disinterested.

BINA:

You like Destiny’s Child?

ALIKE:

Uhh-uhh.

54.

BINA:

Jay-Z?

ALIKE:

Nope.

BINA:

Fifty?

ALIKE:

No, I don’t really like any of that

commercial bullshit.

Bina looks up, off balanced.

BINA:

Oh. Who do you like?

Alike checks the time on her phone.

ALIKE:

Sh*t!

Alike starts packing her backpack.

ALIKE (CONT'D)

Just more underground stuff. None

of that crap they play on the

radio.

BINA:

Like who?

ALIKE:

People you probably haven’t heard

of. Conscious stuff.

BINA:

Like who?

ALIKE:

Roots. Black Star. Asheru and Blue

Black. Pharcyde.

BINA:

Pharcyde? I heard of Pharcyde.

ALIKE:

Ah--for real?

BINA:

Yep. Tribe? J-Rawls? Bahamadia?

55.

Alike perks up, looking genuinely interested for the first

time.

ALIKE:

Uh-oh, whatchu know about

Bahamadia? Let me find out....

BINA:

I’m not as generic as you think.

The phone rings. Mrs. Singletary answers from another room.

Alike and Bina freeze, listening.

MRS. SINGLETARY (O.S.)

Hello? Hi Audrey. Yes. Yeah she’s

here. I understand--

Alike sulks. Bina flips to the back of the CD book.

BINA:

Alright, how about Rock?

ALIKE:

It’s cool.

BINA:

Whatchu know about Santogold? Since

you all underground and stuff.

ALIKE:

She’s tight.

BINA:

Tamar-kali?

ALIKE:

I haven’t heard of her, I heard of

Res.

Alike hoists the backpack onto her shoulder and stands to

leave.

BINA:

Oh no this is way better, you gotta

check her out.

Bina jams her iPod onto the stereo adapter. The thick, fierce

guitar rhythms of Tamar-kali’s “Boot” consume the room. Bina

chants the lyrics along with the music.

BINA (CONT’D)

“Her hair is short. Her legs are

brown. Her lips are full. Her head

hangs down.”

56.

Alike plops back down in her chair.

ALIKE:

Wow.

44 INT. ALIKE’S KITCHEN - SAME TIME INTERCUT 44

Audrey smooths a pink sticky note onto a foil covered plate

and shoves it into the fridge. The doorbell rings and she

rushes across the room and opens the door in her most singsong

voice.

AUDREY:

He-llooo.

LAURA:

Hello Mrs. Freeman. Is Lee home

please?

AUDREY:

She’s out with her friend right

now, Laura. You take care.

Audrey starts to close the door. Laura stops it with her

hand.

LAURA:

Oh. Umm do you know when she’ll be

back?

AUDREY:

No, I believe she’s out for the

evening.

LAURA:

Oh, because we had umm... alright

then... Thank you.

AUDREY:

Goodnight.

Audrey shuts the door harder than necessary. Laura checks her

phone and shakes her head.

45 INT. BINA’S BEDROOM - SAME TIME INTERCUT 45

BINA:

“Twist a virgin ‘round your dirty

little finger!

(MORE)

57.

Blood is gone but the memory

lingers...twist a virgin ‘round

your bloody little finger, love is

gone, but the memory lingers!”

Alike is bobbing her head, backpack forgotten on her

shoulder. Bina cranks the volume down.

ALIKE:

Yo, this sh*t is hot!

BINA:

Told you. Don’t you have to go?

I’ll cover. It’s cool.

ALIKE:

Nah, I wanna stay.

Alike slings her backpack to the floor and pulls the CD book

into her lap. Her cell phone rings and she ignores it.

46 EXT. THE PIERS - LATER 46

The pier is a parade of mohawks, curly weaves, tight jeans,

and rainbow belts as groups of baby dykes, young queens, and

gender queer youth of all shades of brown stroll cavort, and

strut seeing and wanting to be seen. Equally bedecked

observers hoot and yell from bench and rail perches on both

sides. Laura jabs numbers into her cell phone. Competing

threads of house music throb across the boardwalk in muffled

bursts as groups of ballers vogue and prance behind her.

ALIKE (V.O.)

Leave a message and I’ll call you

back. BEEP.

Laura yanks her phone away from her ear and looks at the

screen. She starts to hang up but pulls it back to her ear.

LAURA:

Where you at? Hit me up when you

get here.

47 INT. BINA’S BEDROOM - LATER 47

Alike and Bina are sprawled in the floor. Bina DJ’s from her

laptop.

ALIKE:

Mrs. Alvarado was trying to get me

to check out this one place.

58.

Alike hands her the flyer. Bina laughs and tosses it back.

BINA:

Oh hell, no. That’s for old people-

I’ll write down some places you

should check out. Maybe you could

read some of my stuff, too.

ALIKE:

Definitely.

48 EXT. THE PIERS - SAME TIME INTERCUT 48

Laura scowls at her cell phone screen. She shoves the phone

in her pocket and pulls her hoodie up against the chill of

the evening. Brake lights bathe Laura and her circle of AG’s

in red as late-night predators cruise the strip for fresh

meat. Laura catches sight of shady sexual encounters in an

alley across the street and looks away. One of the entourage

passes Laura a joint and she inhales deeply. A few of the

girls have backpacks and the group is pensive as they break

off and scatter into the night one by one.

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