STAY Page #12

WAITRESS 3

She doesn't work here anymore. But

she's in my acting class.

SAM:

She is? Could you-

WAITRESS 3

What are you, a stalker?

SAM:

No, honestly, look...

He pulls out his wallet, removes a photo I.D., and shows it

to her.

SAM (CONT'D)

See, I'm a psychiatrist.

WAITRESS 3

(examining I.D.)

You're a psychiatrist, huh? So you

can give Valium prescriptions?

71.

SAM:

I could give them to a patient of

mine who needed them, yes.

WAITRESS 3

Okay. Good luck finding Athena.

She walks away. Sam stares at her back and then up at the

clock on the wall, which reads 7:30. Sam looks at Waitress 3

and takes a deep breath.

INT. ACTOR'S STUDIO -- NIGHT

A cramped stage in front of several rows of seats. ATHENA

(the green-eyed woman from the DRIVER'S POV sequences and the

LIFE MONTAGE) and DEVON, a young man with bleached hair,

stand on stage, rehearsing.

Sam enters through a door in back.

ATHENA:

What have you, my good friends,

deserved at the hands of Fortune

that she sends you to prison

hither?

DEVON:

Prison, my lord?

Sam sits in the back row and watches. His hair is wet from

the rain.

ATHENA:

Denmark's a prison.

DEVON:

Then is the world one.

ATHENA:

A goodly one; in which there are

many confines, wards, and dungeons,

Denmark being one o'th'worst.

DEVON:

We think not so, my lord.

ATHENA:

Why, then 'tis none to you. For

there is nothing either good or bad

but thinking makes it so. To me it

is a prison.

.

72.

DEVON:

Prison, my lord?

Athena grins and shakes her head.

ATHENA:

Denmark's a prison. We already had

this conversation.

DEVON:

Oh, crap. Um...

ATHENA:

(prompting)

Why, then your ambition-

DEVON:

Why, then your ambition makes it

one. 'Tis too narrow for your mind.

ATHENA:

O God, I could be bounded in a

nutshell and count myself a king of

infinite space, were it not that I

have bad dreams.

(normal speaking voice)

That's my favorite line in the

whole play.

DEVON:

Good line. I better get home and

rest the pipes. I've got a solo in

choir tomorrow morning.

ATHENA:

Thanks for reading with me. You're

a good Rosencrantz.

DEVON:

You're a good Hamlet.

Devon grabs his satchel from the side of the stage and walks

out. Sam stands and walks down to the stage, where Athena is

packing up her things.

SAM:

I always pictured Hamlet as a man.

ATHENA:

That's a bit narrow-minded of you,

isn't it? This is the lesbian

Hamlet. All the parts are played by

women.

73.

SAM:

Oh. That's... new.

ATHENA:

I'm joking. I'm Ophelia. I just get

so sick of playing her. Lovely,

lost Ophelia. Things get tough and

she jumps in the drink. Hamlet hogs

all the good lines.

SAM:

Yeah, he's notorious for that.

ATHENA:

We've met before, haven't we?

SAM:

I don't think so.

He offers his hand and they shake.

SAM (CONT'D)

Sam Foster.

ATHENA:

Athena. Are you joining the class?

It's good. Kenny's a bit of a

dictator, but you get used to him.

Athena pulls on her sweater.

SAM:

No. I've been looking for you,

actually.

ATHENA:

That's flattering. Please tell me

you're a casting director.

.

SAM:

A psychiatrist, unfortunately. I...

I have a patient who likes you very

much.

Athena smiles, but clearly she's not thrilled by this

conversation.

ATHENA:

This is an unusual way of getting a

date. What's his name?

SAM:

Henry Letham.

74.

ATHENA:

(shaking her head)

Never heard of him.

SAM:

I was hoping you might know where

to find him. He mentioned you once.

He has a crush on you. You served

him coffee in a diner, you were

nice to him. The way he tells it,

you were the one good thing that

ever happened to him.

ATHENA:

Henry. Is he very pale? Very thin

and very pale? His arms are

scarred?

SAM:

You remember him?

ATHENA:

He always ate pecan pie with his

coffee. I remember that. But we

never spoke outside the diner.

Except...

SAM:

What? Tell me.

ATHENA:

I feel stupid saying this stuff to

a psychiatrist. You'll think I'm

insane. But I had the strangest

feeling about him. I mean, he's

this ragged-looking guy, probably

hasn't bathed in months, but

something about him... I'd seen him

before, somewhere. I'd known him.

What's wrong with him?

Sam hesitates for a moment. This is privileged information,

after all, which he is loathe to disclose. But there's no

time left for playing by the rules.

SAM:

He's going to kill himself at

midnight.

Athena opens her mouth to speak, closes it, then opens it

again.

75.

ATHENA:

Why?

SAM:

He seems to believe he did

something terrible. And he thinks

this is the only way he can make up

for it. That's my guess, anyway.

ATHENA:

I wish there was something I could

do. Actually... this probably won't

help, but I did run into him one

night at A. Smith's.

.

SAM:

A. Smith's?

ATHENA:

The art bookstore. He was sitting

in the back, reading. I don't know,

maybe he hangs out there. It's

nearby. Come on, I'll show you.

She leads Sam out the side door.

EXT. BACK ALLEY -- CONTINUOUS

A very dark, narrow alley piled with trash. Somewhere nearby

a BABY is howling.

The storm has died down but a drizzle continues, and

rainwater drips from the overhanging fire escapes.

ATHENA:

I know, it's gross.

Sam steps in a puddle and looks down.

SAM:

Christ.

He steps out of the puddle and looks up. Athena is nowhere in

sight.

SAM (CONT'D)

Athena?

The alley seems to be darker and narrower than before; the

streetlights shining from the head, of the alley seem farther

away.

76.

SAM (CONT'D)

Athena?

He begins jogging forward. After a few steps he slips on a

wet wrapper and falls backwards onto the trash-strewn

pavement, banging his head.

For a moment everything is dark.

SAM'S SECOND DREAM

Sam's face suddenly fills the screen. He is staring directly

into the camera.

SAM:

Come on, kid, you need to stay

conscious. Come on, come on, stay

with me.

END OF SAM'S SECOND DREAM

Sam opens his eyes. He's lying on his back in the alleyway.

He stands, unsteadily, and brushes the dirt from his clothes.

He pats his blazer pocket and realizes it's empty.

Panicked, he looks through all his pockets. The RING is gone.

He bends down and tries to find the ring, but there is no

light to see anything.

He looks up. The only light comes from beneath the side door

into the actor's studio.

Sam opens the door and lets the light from the studio shine

into the alleyway.

.

ATHENA (O.S.)

Why, then 'tis none to you.

INT. ACTOR'S STUDIO -- CONTINUOUS

Sam frowns and leans into the studio. He cannot believe what

he sees.

On stage, Athena and Devon are performing the same duologue

as last time.

ATHENA:

For there is nothing either good or

bad but thinking makes it so. To me

it is a prison.

77.

DEVON:

Prison, my lord?

Athena grins and shakes her head.

ATHENA:

Denmark's a prison. We already had

this conversation.

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