The Monster Squad Page #6

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DEACON:

Hey-hey, there he is. Just in time,

auction's about to begin.

Liam notices Deacon, with the toy. He walks over, snatching

at it. Deacon jerks it away from his grasp.

LIAM:

Give it. I'm not screwing around.

DEACON:

Easy. No need to draw down,

gangster. I was just messing with

the kung-fu grip.

Liam grabs the figure, replacing it carefully on his shelf.

LIAM:

It doesn't HAVE a goddamned kung-fu

grip. D'Juan, Deacon was just

getting the hell out of here…

Lizey's head pops out from under the blanket.

LIZEY:

(to D'Juan)

Hi! I'm Lizey.

36.

CHUD:

(to Deacon)

They're for appreciating.

D'JUAN

(to Lizey)

'sup, Lizey?

LIAM:

Chud.

D'JUAN

(to Deacon)

We doing this thing, or what?

LIAM:

D'Juan.

DEACON:

(to Chud)

I appreciate the sh*t out of them,

thank you. I'm not an expert, I'm

not culty about it, but I've seen

the Maniac Cop series enough times

to be considered for club

membership.

LIAM:

(to Deacon)

There's no CLUB.

CHUD:

(to Liam)

There's a club?

LIAM:

(to Chud)

There's NO club!

37.

DEACON:

Fine. All I'm saying is, I

appreciate. I appreciate like a son

of a b*tch.

CHUD:

You don't appreciate on the same

level as WE do.

D'JUAN

You're saying that like it's a BAD

thing? Like he should be doing what

you do after school, trying to come

up with a scientific explanation

why the Wolfman's pants never get

tore up, even though the rest of

his clothes are like… off?

CHUD:

That's not SCIENCE, you dumb sh*t.

It's tradition. So you don't see

his nards.

D'Juan's face is blank. A pause. Then… laughter.

DEACON:

"Nards?"

D'JUAN

Yeah, he said "nards."

CHUD:

What's wrong with nards!

DEACON:

What isn't wrong with it?

LIAM:

Okay, f*** it. Out. LEAVE.

Everybody…

38.

Liam seizes the bag under Deacon's arm and gives it a sharp

jerk. It promptly RIPS OPEN, resulting in a shower of ultra-

glossy smut rags flying all over the room. Nobody moves, as

Deacon stares at the torn bag in his hand, all other eyes on

the floor.

.

LIZE:

(Giggling) GROSS!

A flurry of movement commences, as both Chud and D'Juan hit

the floor on their hands and knees and Deacon and Liam both

attempt to start collecting the scattered porno.

CHUD:

Oh my God, look at this.

"Spanker"...

LIAM:

Put it in the…

D'JUAN

...let me see that sh*t...

DEACON:

... you TORE the bag, man...

CHUD:

...get your f***ing hands off my

porn!

There's a brief knock at the door, and it swings inward.

Standing over the chaotic pitch of the scene is LEN, Mrs.

Cross' boyfriend; built sturdy and grey-haired, he seems to

be in his late forties, with dark eyes and a solid line of a

mouth. He's dressed in the dark navy and crisp white of a

paramedic. He's also got two plates of food in his hands.

LEN:

Liam, your mom got a plate for your

friend, and…

39.

Silence. Len stops dead in his shoes, and looks to the

magazines. Liam looks to Len. Lize hides herself behind the

couch, about ten seconds too late.

LIAM:

Len. Uh, these are my…

CHUD:

Hi, Len. I'm Chud.

Chud stands and offers his hand jauntily, but Len looks right

past him. The silence continues, until the older man takes a

long breath and sets the plates down.

LEN:

Okay, I don't want to know… or

care… whose this is, but get it off

the floor and get it out of here.

DEACON:

Sir, it's mine. These guys didn't

even want to look at it, but I…

LEN:

I said I don't want to hear it. Up.

Off. Out. Everybody. Lize, get out

from behind there and go inside.

D'Juan and Deacon both grab armloads of magazines, as does

Chud. Lize silently and petulantly heads for the

Slaughterhouse's door.

LIZE:

It wasn't Liam's fault.

LEN:

Go help your mom.

CHUD:

Dude, do you want me to…

40.

LIAM:

No. Go home. We'll do it another

time.

D'Juan tips a stoic nod to Liam, and is out the door. Deacon

follows.

DEACON:

Sorry, Liam.

Chud is the last one out, dragging his backpack behind him.

CHUD:

Nice meeting you, sir.

Len ignores him entirely, and closes the door tensely behind

him.

LEN:

We need to talk.

LIAM:

I don't have anything to say.

LEN:

Fine. Then I'll talk. It's nice to

see you having friends over here,

but… not when it's compounding

certain things.

LIAM:

Such as?

LEN:

Same things we're always going

around about, Liam. Problems at

school, staying locked down in here

with your horror movies, avoiding

reality.

41.

LIAM:

(Laughing)

Avoiding reality? Why don't you

strap my shoes on for a day, Len?

See how it feels to have everyone

hating you, just so they can feel

better about their stupid-ass

selves?

LEN:

Liam, it's high school. It's four

years of ducking your head and

trying to find reasons to get up in

the morning. Everybody has to get

through it, you just do your best

and say "screw it" to whatever

anybody else thinks. That's life.

LIAM:

Thanks for the tip, but I got my

dose of "look outside to the

beautiful world beyond your door"

today. I don't need another

spoonful.

LEN:

Then we'll get right to the point.

Your mom respects your right to

figure yourself out, and I respect

her. So what you do in here? That's

your business. The problem is the

effect it has on Lize.

LIAM:

What 'effect'?

LEN:

Things like threatening to stuff

another kid in a sleeping bag and

slam it against a tree until it…

and this was a direct quote… "stops

twitching".

42.

Lize's eight years old, Liam.

You've got her keyed up on this

horror movie crap and acting like

she's eighteen. It's costing her

with her friends, her schoolwork,

and everything else.

LEN(cont'd)

LIAM:

And you propose… what, then? I stay

away from my own sister?

LEN:

I propose that you stop blaming the

world and everybody else for your

problems, suck it up and try to

give a damn about someone other

than yourself, Liam. She looks up

to you, and you're rewarding it by

being a piss-poor influence.

.

LIAM:

Let me ask you something, Len. Just

one question. Why do you even give

a sh*t what we do? It's not like

you're our dad, coming in here…

LEN:

That's right. I'm not your dad. He

didn't care enough about your

family to keep him from taking a

coward's way out of his own

problems. I do.

Liam is DUMBFOUNDED. He swipes his hand angrily at the

plates, sending food splattering all over the place.

LIAM:

F*** YOU.

Liam grabs his jacket and shoves past Len, to the door.

43.

LEN:

Real level of you, Liam. Way to

show maturity. Where you going?

LIAM:

Walk.

LEN:

Fine. Get some air. Be back home by

eleven. (Beat) You hear me?

No response. Liam storms out as Len leans against the door

frame of the bunker, releasing a frustrated breath.

EXT. SUNNY SIGN COURT - NIGHT

Liam plods angrily down the dark street, moving past the glow

of windows. As he passes the row of homes across the street,

we can see Angeline-the Cafeteria Lady-sitting on her front

porch with a cigar clenched between her teeth. She watches as

Liam storms past, eyes sharp.

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