The Diary of a Teenage Girl Page #10

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Goldenrod (02/02/2014) 5656.

Charlotte pulls Minnie down to the ground, snuggling with *

her. Andrea starts dancing to the disco song. *

CHARLOTTE (CONT’D)

My little girl, girl, girl! Isn’t

Minnie so pretty, Andrea?

ANDREA:

Yes! She looks like a little doll. *

Charlotte holds Minnie’s face, looking closely at it, and *

kisses her on the lips. Andrea dances, pulling Charlotte up *

off the ground and away from Minnie. Minnie watches as *

Charlotte and Andrea dance together. *

ANDREA (CONT’D) *

Come here, Minnie! I wanna dance *

with you! *

She pulls Minnie up from the floor. Charlotte and Andrea, *

flanking Minnie on either side, start “bumping” Minnie’s hips *

back and forth. Minnie looks between the two of them, *

laughing and loving being bounced back and forth. *

MINNIE (V.O.)

My mother doesn’t touch me much if

she can avoid it. She used to touch

me a lot, in a motherly way, when I

was little. But then:

FLASHBACK TO:

Many years earlier

Charlotte sits at Pascal’s feet while he reads the paper,

eerily similar to the photo of them.

PASCAL:

There’s something sexual about

Minnie’s need for physical

affection from you. It’s not

natural.

CUT BACK TO:

The ladies are laughing, still dancing around. Minnie is *

loving this. *

ANDREA *

Let’s send Minnie out to get us *

more wine. *

CHARLOTTE *

We finished it already? *

Goldenrod (02/02/2014) 56A56A.

MINNIE:

(laughing) *

How long have you been home? *

Andrea looks nervous. Charlotte stops dancing, but the music *

continues. *

MINNIE (CONT’D) *

I thought you were working late. *

The spell is broken. *

CHARLOTTE:

Well I got fired from the library *

today, so I’m not working late. *

Okay? Does that make you happy? *

Charlotte exits, muttering under her breath. Minnie feels *

awful. *

ANDREA *

(on her way out, after *

Charlotte) *

Don’t worry about it, sweetie. It’s *

not you. *

Minnie is crushed. The disco record plays on but nobody is *

dancing. *

Blue (12/17/2013) 5757.

74 INT. BEATNIK COFFEE HOUSE - DAY 74

Minnie and Gretel walk into the snobby coffee shop, filled

with college students and professors. They look around.

Pascal waves them over to his tiny table. Minnie and Gretel

approach. He’s not french, but he wishes he were.

PASCAL:

Bonjour.

MINNIE:

Bonjour, Pascal.

GRETEL:

Hi.

Pascal puts out his hand for a shake. Minnie and Pascal have

an awkward greeting: a sort-of hand shake with a hug tacked

on.

PASCAL:

No. Don’t you remember how I taught

you to shake hands? You do it

firmly. Look directly into the

other man’s eyes, thinking to

yourself ‘I’m better than you, you

son-of-a-b*tch’.

Minnie lets this sink in. She says with her eyes: I’m better

than you, you son-of-a-b*tch.

GRETEL:

Lemme’ try!

She takes Pascal’s hand opening her eyes wide, almost crazy.

PASCAL:

Bravo.

He pats Gretel on the back. The three sit. Pascal has three

coffees ready. He sips his.

PASCAL (CONT’D)

I don’t see you two enough. That

much is evident by your handshakes.

GRETEL:

I’m supposed to be at my friend’s

house by 3. Just so you know,

Pascal.

PASCAL:

Gretel, call me dad. Please.

58.

GRETEL:

Jeez. Okay.

PASCAL:

I’m glad you finally reached out.

It lined up nicely with a trip to

my publishers.

Pascal looks around the coffee shop.

PASCAL (CONT’D)

I forgot how many eccentrics there

were in San Francisco.

MINNIE:

You’ve only been gone for a year.

PASCAL:

Feels like a lot longer. Look at

you young ladies. You look older.

How’s school?

MINNIE/GRETEL

Fine.

PASCAL:

(to Minnie)

How’s your pal, Kimmie?

MINNIE:

You always ask about her. Is she my

only friend whose name you can

remember?

PASCAL:

What? No. I just know her parents.

They’re good people-

MINNIE:

She’s visiting colleges. She’s in

Boston then I think she’s going to

New York next week.

PASCAL:

That’s good. You should be thinking

about the same things. You’ve got a

good head on your shoulders Minnie.

I imagine you may be a writer one

day. A penniless, but certainly

absorbing occupation. And how is

your mother?

MINNIE:

Um, she’s doing really well-

59.

GRETEL:

She got fired.

MINNIE:

GRETEL!

GRETEL:

What?

PASCAL:

She WHAT?!

MINNIE:

She got laid off. It wasn’t her

fault.

PASCAL:

Girls, what you may not understand

about your mother, is she is and

has always been incapable of taking

responsibility for her own life.

MINNIE:

Don’t talk about our mom like that,

please.

GRETEL:

Yeah, Pascal. Don’t talk about our

mom, please!

PASCAL:

Dad! And- okay, can we stop the

inquisition?

GRETEL:

I’m gonna see if they have iced

tea. I hate coffee.

PASCAL:

You know, I’m not the bad the guy

here. Just because your mother and

I no longer share a marital bed-

MINNIE:

Oh my god, gross.

Pascal leans in to talk seriously to Minnie.

PASCAL:

You have to understand - it’s

difficult to go from raising you

and your sister to barely having a

say in your decisions.

60.

MINNIE:

Whose choice was that?

PASCAL:

Well, if you must know, it was your

mother’s.

This is news to Minnie. There’s a long pause.

PASCAL (CONT’D)

Not to say I was without fault.

Your mother became increasingly

frightening to me in some sense.

She did not live life according to

rules I understood.

MINNIE:

Pascal - do you really want to

help?

PASCAL:

I do. I really do.

MINNIE:

Because, mom doesn’t have a job

anymore, and she’s looking for

another one but... we kinda don’t

have any money.

Pascal lets out a big sigh.

PASCAL:

Ah.

MINNIE:

She doesn’t know I’m asking you.

PASCAL:

I get it. You’re trying to help.

But neither of us can help her,

Minnie. Not really.

MINNIE:

Well, five hundred dollars

PASCAL:

I mean, really help.

MINNIE:

That’s bullshit. You could help if

you cared about us.

Yellow (01/16/2014) 6161.

PASCAL:

Hey. I care about you, Minnie. I

care about your well-being. That is

why I’m paying for that rich hippie

school of yours.

MINNIE:

No, you just want to be able to

tell everyone that your step-kid is

good at science or something. You

don’t care about me.

She starts to tear up.

PASCAL:

This conversation is closed. You’re

getting emotional.

MINNIE:

Fine.

They sit in silence for a moment. Gretel returns to the

table, unaware.

PASCAL:

If your mom wants something from

me, she needs to ask me herself.

GRETEL:

Ask you what, Pascal?

PASCAL:

DAD! For f***’s sake.

He quiets down when he realizes everyone is looking at him.

75 INT. MINNIE’S HOUSE - THE LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT DAY 75

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