Saturday, August 26, 2017

Cafe-Girl: A Tru Story



ACT THREE, SCENE ONE

Exterior: Parking lot of Tru and Willow's apartment complex, night.

Ambulance, police cars with flashing lights.  Tru is in gurney being wheeled out by EMTs to ambulance.  Tru's parents stand talking to another EMT, muffled voices.  Willow sits off to the side by himself, on a curb, watching the events unfolding.

PAN: Slowly closer and closer onto Willow's face

Flashback: earlier that day with Shaggy at the coffee shop.

WILLOW

Why does everyone keep saying that?

SHAGGY

What?

WILLOW

To be careful?

SHAGGY

What? She hasn't told you yet---

WILLOW

About?

(Shaggy sits at a table, stares straight ahead.)

SHAGGY

She tell you about Matthew?

WILLOW

A bit.

SHAGGY

They got together, eventually.  They were really happy together, for awhile.  We had this friend back then, don't know what happened to him...he just sort of vanished, he was always a little off...anyway, James, that was his name, started hanging out with Deborah a lot...

WILLOW

Deborah? Oh, right, Tru--

SHAGGY

Tru?

WILLOW

She calls herself that because--

SHAGGY

Okay, then, Tru.  But she'll always be Deborah to me.  The Honey Bee.

WILLOW

Honey bee?

SHAGGY

We looked up our names once, online. Hers meant Honey Bee and that was hers.  Always running around, busy busy bringing the sweetness...I guess that's what James liked about her, he could forget....stuff when she was around.  Yeah, that's we all liked about her...she sorta hypnotized you, you know?

WILLOW

Um, yeah, I can see that.

SHAGGY

Huh.  Anyway, so James and Deborah were getting closer and one day Matt stopped by James house to buy an 8th and...well, he walked in on her and James...

WILLOW

No shit?

SHAGGY

Kissing, just kissing, but still--

WILLOW

What the hell?

SHAGGY

She was different back then, easily seduced, I guess.

WILLOW

Tell me about it.

SHAGGY

She broke it off immediately with James, and tried to patch things up with Matt but it was too late, not meant to be.

WILLOW

So, why bring this up to me now? What's it got to do with me and Tru now, today?

SHAGGY

I'm trying to explain why she is the way she is now, today.

WILLOW

But, why you?

SHAGGY

I...I don't know...but who else will? No one else is around that...remembers...that can even...anyway, Matt wouldn't talk to her anymore so she stopped coming around for awhile....until....one day...

WILLOW

One day?

SHAGGY

There was a fire one night, at the cafe.  That's why its not around anymore.  Matt was called in earlier that night to check on something, after hours and...

WILLOW

And?

SHAGGY

It happened so fast...no one got their in time.  No one.

WILLOW

What are you saying?

SHAGGY

It wasn't anyone's fault...it just happened, is all...it just happened.

Fade out and Into:

Willow sitting on curb, watching the ambulance pull away, lights and siren blaring.  He stares straight ahead.

Black out.

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