The Quiet Page #2

So, who do you want to

bang-chung these days, Nina?

No one.

Nina,

you got to get it going.

You are 17

and you're still a virgin.

Don't worry, I'm not

going to tell anybody.

It's just

if you don't pop this thing

before the end of the year,

you're going to end up

being a high-school spinster.

Blatantly.

Now,

I really just don't get it.

You could have

anybody you wanted.

Except Connor.

Dibs on him this semester.

Oh, Look.

Dot's found a companion

she can speak with.

Maybe Myrna

will adopt her, and that way

she can have

two deaf daughters.

DOT:
When Beethoven

was 17 years old,

his mother died.

In 1801, when Beethoven

first discovered

he was losing his hearing,

he got severely depressed.

(CHATTERING)

...he actually

knows who I am.

I gave him two weeks' notice.

Watch,

I'm telling you right now...

What?

Oh, nothing, man.

I want to see.

Don't worry about it.

Hey, what the f***?

You don't want to f***

with the master, baby.

Come on.

Hey, you guys, come on.

Let's go.

DOT:
But he emerged

from this moment of crisis

triumphant.

His middle period

is characterised

by a heroic tone,

as in his opera, Fidelio,

where a wife

saves her imprisoned husband

from murder

at the hands of his enemy.

Come here, Dot.

Don't be scared,

you need some colour.

It's too bad

I stopped seeing you

after your mom died.

I always wanted a sister.

You know,

maybe if you would have had a

female influence in your life,

you wouldn't

Look Like a janitor.

There, Looks perfect.

Now you actually

Look Like a woman.

Later.

I had a pop quiz

in history today. I got a B-.

Oh, that's too bad.

Michelle got a C.

I thought it

was a good thing.

The least you could do

is say something supportive.

Your hair is getting so Long.

It's so soft.

Thanks, Daddy.

DOT:
I was seven

when my mom died.

After that,

my father became my world.

When I was little,

even if I was just

practicing scales,

my father

would press his back

against the base

of our upright piano

with his eyes closed

so that he could

feel the vibrations

of the piano strings.

It was his way of listening.

One day

we were eating French fries.

I was playing with

the ketchup on my plate.

My father told me he had to

run across the street

to the bank.

I said

I had to go to the bathroom.

He told me to meet him

in front of the restaurant.

By the time I got there,

there were people everywhere.

My father had run

in front of a truck

and was killed.

The police officer told me

that he probably

died on impact.

It was fast,

there was no pain.

I'm supposed to

find comfort in that.

For the record,

he had looked both ways,

but he couldn't

hear the truck's horn

honking at him.

No one ran to save him.

No one bothered

to run out and grab him.

If I had been there with him,

it would have been different.

If I hadn't left him alone.

NINA:
Daddy.

(PAUL MUMBLING)

PAUL:
You have

such a beautiful back.

If only you

weren't so beautiful.

NINA:
I gained three pounds.

I weighed myself in gym.

(CREAKING)

NINA:
What was that?

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

OLIVIA:
How is

the Alderside house coming?

Fine, fine.

NINA:
I'm spending the night

at Michelle's.

It's a school night.

And your point is?

You're not going.

Mom.

Why can't she go?

Don't contradict me

just to contradict me.

We're just

going to the movies

with a bunch of friends.

OLIVIA:
Boys?

It's none of your business.

I'm just curious.

Yeah, Michelle and I

were gonna gang-bang

the entire varsity squad

in the back row

of the Cineplex.

You're not going.

Why not?

I finished all my homework.

OLIVIA:
She finished

all her homework.

So can I go?

Well, it's up to your father.

Thanks, Dad.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Oh.

Hello? Yeah.

I'll be out in a sec.

Michelle's waiting outside.

Bye.

(DOOR CLOSING)

What's wrong?

PAUL:
She thinks she can do

whatever she wants.

She just wants

to go to a movie.

You're not

helping me, Olivia.

You're not helping me.

I'm trying to raise her.

I am trying to

do things right,

and you are not helping me.

You constantly contradict me.

Calm down. I hate it

when you snap at me.

You undermine my authority.

Don't be ridiculous,

they're just girls.

Jesus.

Oh, I'm sorry

you had to see that, Dot.

Well, he loses his temper

once in a while

for no good reason.

People can be

very complicated, Dot.

You know,

your mother was complicated.

Your mother was a slut.

I married

the first man I was with,

but not your mother.

Your mother was a big,

old, lucky slut.

You Look Like your mother,

you know that?

You are the same age now

as your mother was

when we met.

Hold on.

Here was our apartment

after graduation.

We shared a bedroom.

I put that wallpaper up

with my own two hands.

God, Look at my hair.

Umm-Hmm.

You know, you should make

more of an effort

to keep up appearances.

There you go,

you Look much better.

I envy your mother sometimes.

Never having to grow old.

What,

you want to go to a movie?

Of course.

Sure, I can take you.

PAUL:
You're in no condition

to drive.

She's all alone, Paul.

She wants to go to a movie.

It's the Least I can do.

The poor girl.

PAUL:
I'll drive her.

Paul is going to drive you.

Move over

so I can sit next to Connor.

I want to see

if he gets a hard-on

when I put my hand

in his lap.

Should we ask Dot

to sit with us?

Some people

prefer to sit alone.

Yeah, dude.

She's a buzzkill, man.

No, I... Seriously,

guys, think about it.

I mean, imagine

what that's got to be Like,

you know?

Not being able to hear?

It's f***ing depressing.

She knows

what it's Like to hear.

She Lost her hearing

when she was seven,

after her mom died.

She was totally normal

before that.

That's cool.

I don't know,

I bet it'd be harder

losing something

than never

having had it at all.

Okay, Deepak Chopra Winfrey.

Thanks for the Life lesson.

(ALL CHUCKLING)

DOT:
One day we wake up

and we realise

the world sucks.

And we suck for being in it.

And we run away.

MICHELLE:
I'm telling you,

she's a hermaphrodite.

What? You don't believe me?

DOT:
Anything

but to face ourselves

as we are.

Anything to avoid asking

why we hate ourselves

so much.

(WOMAN MOANING ON TV)

MICHELLE:
How do you know

if you're a good kisser?

NINA:
What do you mean?

I mean,

if you were a bad kisser,

do you think

people would tell you?

Or do you think you'd, Like,

actually live your whole Life

thinking you

were a good kisser?

I don't know.

MICHELLE:
You'd have to ask,

I guess.

Find someone you really trust

and kiss them.

And then ask them how it was.

I guess.

(CREAKING)

(DOOR OPENING)

I'm...

I'm sick, Dot.

I'm sick and I hate it.

I thought

when you came here,

maybe things would change.

I thought maybe

having somebody else here

would...

I don't know.

I don't know what I thought.

I hate it.

MICHELLE:
If you could live

anywhere in the world,

where would it be?

I don't know.

Did you ever

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