Stepmom Page #5

Eyes down. Choosing her words.

RACHEL:

She's really a difficult person...

Looks up.

RACHEL:

Best thing ever happened to you was

her throwing you out on your butt.

An afterthought...

RACHEL:

Not that I have a personal stake

in it.

He comes and kisses her.

LUKE:

Get ready. To get really mad.

RACHEL:

Uh. Annabelle's video report has been

switched again.

LUKE:

Not yet.

RACHEL:

Hey, I sold my body to Satan to clear

Friday at two o'clo...

LUKE:

We have the kids. Next weekend.

WHAT???

LUKE:

And it's my call. I promised them

water-skiing, instead o...

RACHEL:

(quiet pain)

Our weekend. At that sweet little

B & B.

He puts his arms around her.

LUKE:

And the evil part is. I am so stoked

about the water-skiing. I can't wait.

He tastes her mouth. And again. A sweet, hot moment. Her fingers

trace up his neck. To his hair.

RACHEL:

No, this is good. Celibacy is

healthy. For a guy your age. You'll

get used to it.

From the kiss that follows. He won't have to.

INT. JACKIE'S KITCHEN - DAY

CLOSE ON an ANSWERING MACHINE. IT CLICKS, WHIRLS, and...

RACHEL (O.S.)

Hi, it's the trophy bimbo. Annabelle's

teacher called, and her video report

is being moved up to 8:30 tomorrow.

Sorry to deprive your step aerobics

class of their role model.

Pause. PULL BACK to see...

RACHEL (O.S.)

Anyway. I'm sorry I lost my temper

the other day. And I'm sure you are,

too, so...

...BEN, looming over the hardware. Fingers poised above the

buttons, and he...

RACHEL (O.S.)

...no, apology necessa...

...strikes! Playing all the keys at once. Like chords on a baby

grand.

INT. CLASSROOM - MORNING

CLOSE on a small TV MONITOR, the angelic face of 10-year-old TAMARA,

practicing for the Miss America Diplomatic Interview, circa 2009...

TAMARA:

Well, I I had a million dollars...

I would use it to...feed all the

precious hungry children of the world.

And bring about total world peace.

PULL BACK to see the class and teacher watching raptly. Filmmaker

Annabelle in the seat of honor next to her proud father. Rachel in

the back of the room, anxiously looking at the back door. While on

screen...

...another face. JARED, bad as he wanna be...

JARED:

A million big ones. Oh. I'd buy

about a thousand babes. Not to do

anything bad, I mean. Just to hang

with.

Near the monitor, Annabelle's eyes are also furtively cutting to

the classroom's back door. On screen now...

...the handsomest 10-year-old since DiCaprio. BRAD the Dreamboat.

Stares soulfully at the camera. Murmurs...

BRAD:

Well, first off, Annabelle. I'd

give half of it. To you.

The class OOOOOS, WHISTLES. Annabelle flushes, but she clearly

likes it. Brad grins a Redford grin her way. And through the back

door BURSTS...

...a harried, disheveled JACKIE. Still in workout clothes. As on

screen...

ANNABELLE:

There you have it. Now ask yourself

...what would YOU do?

The screen goes BLACK. The class, teacher and especially Luke

ERUPT with APPLAUSE. So does Jackie, who has locked eyes across

the room with her mortally-wounded abandoned daughter. Then

Jackie's eyes CUT TO...

...Rachel, a deer in headlights. Death by Army ants would be too

kind.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY

Annabelle, Luke and Jackie GLARING at Rachel, who looks awkwardly at

her feet. KIDS stream past, unaware of the gravity of the moment.

JACKIE:

Machines do not EAT message.

RACHEL:

Look, I...

JACKIE:

Of all the cheap excuses. To break a

child's heart.

The jury is in. There is no appeal. Jackie takes her daughter's

hand.

JACKIE:

Don't worry, sweetie, there's still

the Harvest Pageant. And you are

the lead vegetable...

Said with bottomless pride.

JACKIE:

And nothing. And no one. Can

keep me away.

One laser look at Luke. This b*tch is your responsibility. And

she leads her baby off.

EXT. JACKIE'S HOUSE - DAY

A parked VAN, packed with SNOWBOARDS and ski gear. No people. PAN

across the suburban lawn to...

...Luke, dejected, at Jackie's door. Rachel nearby, still peers

into the window of an unlit, empty house. A cellular phone RINGS.

Luke WHIPS it out, like the Governor's pardon hangs in the

balance...

JACKIE (O.S., from carphone)

You paged us?

LUKE:

(distraught)

Where are you?

INTERCUT throughout...Jackie on her cellular, herding the kids

toward a CIRCUS TENT...

JACKIE:

Just outside the big top, we're

almo...

LUKE:

You're WHERE?

JACKIE:

At the Big Apple Circus, it's the

only big top I know. I said I'd

get 'em back tonight...

LUKE:

Jackie, we were taking them water-

skiing for the whole weekend!

JACKIE:

(innocent)

...until the plan changed, when

Jessie's mom gave us these tickets.

What, Rachel. 'forgot' I told her?

Luke's eyes DART to an uncomprehended Rachel. She's never seen

him this angry.

JACKIE:

Don't tell me. Another machine ate

another message? Boy, there's a lot

of that going around! Put her on, huh?

A beat. He hands the phone to Rachel. She brings it to her ear...

RACHEL:

Yeh?

JACKIE:

Think twice. Before you ever pull

that again.

CLICK. The line is dead. And so is Rachel.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK CASTLE - DAY

A glum Annabelle and Ben sitting on a bench watching Rachel at her

photo shoot, George between them.

A beautiful WOMAN appears in the turret -- she lets down her hair --

a modern day RAPUNZEL -- her golden locks fall 17 feet -- now a BURST

of yellow -- as a hundred YELLOW CANARIES fly out from her mane! A

beautiful MAN begins to CLIMB the hair. FLASH! The man DANGLING

in mid air surrounded by canaries.

Rachel works with intense concentration. It's been hours.

Annabelle and Ben are completely bored.

RACHEL:

(to Cooper)

The timing was off -- I need this light.

ANNABELLE:

(to herself)

Just where I wanna be all Saturd...

RACHEL:

(to everyone)

Hold lunch!

ANNABELLE:

But we're hungry -- and I have to pick

up my costume for the pageant! It

starts at seven!

RACHEL:

It's only one o'clock...Why don't you

get another Fudgesicle -- I'll be done

soon -- really soon.

Annabelle and Ben. Rolling their eyes.

LATER...Annabelle asleep on the bench. Rachel stands over her, a

canary on her finger.

RACHEL:

Lunch time Sleeping Beauty. Where's

Ben? Is he in the bathroom?

ANNABELLE:

I don't know...I feel like I'm gonna

throw up.

EXT. PARK MEN'S ROOM

Annabelle stands with Rachel by a line of empty urinals.

ANNABELLE:

What if he's kidnapped?

RACHEL:

He's not kidnapped he's -- he's just

hiding -- he's just -- BENNNN? GODDAMMIT!

Panicked, she grabs Annabelle's hand.

ANNABELLE:

Don't touch me! You bring bad luck!

Rachel. Starting to believe it.

INT. CASTLE TOWER - MOMENTS LATER

Breathless, Annabelle and Rachel CLIMB the castle stairs when they

hear WHIMPERING -- Rachel follows the whimpering -- RUNNING --

RACHEL:

Ben! Ben we're here! BEN!

In the corner of the tower we see GEORGE staring up at her. But

Ben is NOWHERE to be found.

ANNABELLE:

He's gone forever and I'm gonna miss

the pageant.

Rachel once more. Her life flashing before her eyes.

EXT. POLICE STATION, CENTRAL PARK - LATER

Jackie BLASTS up in the Volvo, SLAMS to a stop in a non-spot, RACES

into...

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