Boonville

Scene 3

INT. GROCERY STORE. DAY.

DANNY and TRAVIS are behind the pizza counter.

TRAVIS: You always let Randy talk to you like that?

DANNY: (shrugs) You get used to it. He yells a lot, but I’ve never seen him hit anything but himself.

TRAVIS: Himself?

DANNY: Oh yeah! Punches himself in the head whenever he gets pissed.

TRAVIS: You think that diner down the street needs a cook?

As Danny talks, TEAL can be seen in the background, loading her basket with meat.

DANNY: Don’t worry about Randy. He’s noisy, but he’s harmless... to everyone but himself. Once I saw him burn his forehead banging it off the pizza oven. The most violent thing he’s ever done to anyone else was throw a cheesecake at a distributer that came during our lunch rush.

TRAVIS: There’s a lunch rush?

DANNY: You’ve seen it. Kids from the high school is all. Five or six, maybe ten. It’s the most pizza we ever sell at once though, so Randy spends most of his time in back worrying about it. The delivery driver caught him at a bad moment. Randy was screaming and waving his arms around like a madman, and the dumbass driver made a snide remark. Dumb. Very dumb. We had to switch distributors.

TEAL walks toward them, slowly coming into focus a moment before shock registers on her face and she freezes.

TRAVIS realizes TEAL is staring at him. DANNY turns.

DANNY: Hey. Can we get you anything else? I think that’s the last of the steaks, but we have plenty more hamburger if you want it.

TEAL  does not acknowledge DANNY, staring instead at TRAVIS.

A tense moment passes between TEAL and TRAVIS before she turns on her heels and walks away briskly.

DANNY watches after her.

DANNY: You’ve made a friend.

Travis looks nervous, returns to his work.

DANNY: Don’t worry about her. She’s a nutbar. She lives out in the woods in this little cabin with her idiot kid.

TRAVIS: (glancing up) She has a kid?

DANNY: (nods) I went to elementary school with him, before she pulled him out. I’m telling you, in fifth grade the kid was about six feet tall and had a full moustache. After that, she said he was going to be home schooled, but I don’t think anyone ever checked to see what kind of education he was getting.

TRAVIS: How old is the kid?

DANNY: (shrugs) I don’t know, my age. I haven’t seen him since school though. I hear he already looks like an old man. That’s what you get hanging out in the woods having sex with your mom.

TRAVIS: (shrugs) I’d rather sit in my living room and drink a beer.

DANNY: Welcome to Boonville. Name is all you need to know.

TRAVIS: What’s the place across the street?

DANNY: The BS? Beer is cheap. Crowd is rough. Locals.

TRAVIS: Anywhere around here get more than locals?

DANNY: BS has Miss Pac Man. I’m going there after.  You can buy my beer.

TRAVIS: How does that work for me?

DANNY: I’m a cheap drunk.

TRAVIS: (smiles) My living room does not have Miss Pac Man.

DANNY: So this is way better plans.

Continued Tomorrow