1.6 YEAH, THE DERANGED MILLIONAIRE
PUNK KIDS
HE HAD A NAME
HE HAD AN UNLIKELY NAME
FIRST PUNK KID
YEAH, THE DERANGED MILLIONAIRE
THE DERANGED MILLIONAIRE
(LIGHTS up and CURTAIN to reveal a tired industrial neighborhood near the river. Whatever renaissance may have swept Staten Island over the last decade or so, it hasn't made it this far. Graffitti, debris, old cars, scaffolding, boarded-up windows. A few PASSERS-BY traverse the scene, avoiding eye contact and looking as bleak as their surroundings.
We see a small group of PUNK KIDS lounging on the front steps of a boarded-up industrial building. They are simultaneously both bored and on edge - both standing guard and waiting for someone to arrive. Several of them are holding baseball bats and other improvised implements of hand-to-hand mayhem.
DORIS and JOHN appear, walking carefully along the sidewalk, approaching the PUNK KIDS's corner and trying to remain inconspicuous. JOHN is holding a cell phone up to his ear.)
SECOND PUNK KID
HE LIVED IN A SECRET LOCATION
BURNING MONEY ALL DAY
THIRD PUNK KID
AND PEOPLE FROM MILES AROUND WERE MILES AWAY
PUNK KIDS
HE HAD A NAME
HE HAD AN UNLIKELY NAME
FOURTH PUNK KID
YES, THE DERANGED MILLIONAIRE
THE DERANGED MILLIONAIRE
FIRST PUNK KID
GOLD IS DIAMOND-ENCRUSTED
AND DIAMONDS ARE COVERED IN GOLD
SECOND PUNK KID
HE LOST A LOT OF MONEY BETTING ON THE GENOME OF BATS
THIRD PUNK KID
WITH ECHOLOCATION, YOU'VE ALWAYS GOTTA GO WITH THE BATS
PUNK KIDS
HE HAD A NAME
HE HAD AN UNLIKELY NAME
(PUNK KIDS all strike an anticipatory pose, expecting SKETCHY GALORE to appear. SKETCHY GALORE does not appear, so after a beat or two:)
HE HAD A NAME
HE HAD AN UNLIKELY NAME
(PUNK KIDS remain awkwardly in their frozen position, although their collective enthusiasm begins to sag over the course of the ensuing dialogue.)
JOHN
(On phone)
...No, Mr. Cunningham, entirely on foot. ...Yeah. Uh-huh... Well, I called my sister, and she's going to come pick us up.
(Listens, and then looks around)
I don't know... buildings, and cars, and people, and...
DORIS
There they are.
(Her stance takes on that of a lioness stalking a gazelle as she covers the remaining distance to the doorway. JOHN remains where he stands, looking nervous and confused. None of the PUNK KIDS notice DORIS.
YOU ARE READING
Good to Be Alive
ParanormalA woman reads too much noir fiction and comes to believe she is actually a hardboiled detective. A young man attempts to put his life back together after tragedy. An abandoned nightclub in the woods. A modern, jukebox-musical retelling of Don Qui...
