The
Diner of Love
3503 Angel Square Court
Llanview, PA
"Nothin' Could Be Finer Than Some
Lovin' In the Diner"
"There ain't no lovin' like some diner lovin', hey ho"
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"Nothin' Could Be Finer Than Some
Lovin' In the Diner" |
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What can I get you?
Coffee's a dollar
I hope you like whip cream.
I just love the Voice of the Night. We have this special connection. |
MARCAL SCENES PAGE 4
Scene 8 Denial, Denial & Trust,
Inc. Setup: Al is struggling to keep it all together--school, his parents' expectations, his juggling act with two personalities and the only thing that seems to help are the pills. In the meanwhile, Gabs is dealing with her own version of her "worst nightmare" as she watches Bo bond with Matthew and, she fears, eventually Nora. April
15 Matthew bursts through the doors of the diner followed closely by Bo and Nora. They are just coming from the movies and Matthew is very excited. He bumps into Marcie who has a loaded tray. Nora apologizes. Marcie smiles and says, “It’s okay.” Matthew runs and claims a booth and Marcie continues on her way to serve the order. As Marcie rushes back to the counter though it is obvious that she is irritated. Marcie: I cannot believe it. (She looks at her watch) Why are some people always late? She picks up the diner phone and dials a number fiercely. In the meanwhile, Al is pacing around the garage club. His cell phone rings and he answers it. Al: Hey. Man, where are you at? Marcie: No, Al, the question is, where are you? Al: Marcie? Marcie: Yeah. You know, your tutoring session was supposed to start ten minutes ago. You know, you're lucky that I am working overtime for Mrs. Vega. But if you are not here in the next twenty minutes -- I cannot believe you! Brad walks into the garage and Al notices him. Al: Yeah -- you know what? I'll -- I'll be right there. Got to go. Al breaks the phone connection and rushes over to Brad. Brad: You called. Al: Hey. Brad: Hey. Al: Buddy. Brad: Yeah. Al: Um -- you got any more of those little blue guys? Brad: I just got you a batch of those, like, two days ago. You're becoming a regular speed freak. Al: Speed freak? No, okay? There is no way that I would let myself get hooked on this stuff, ok? I just misplaced the stuff you gave me before. Anyway, do you have any or not? Brad: Do you got any money? Al: No. Brad: No? Al: But I'm going to have some money in a couple of days. (Al grabs Brad’s jacket and gets in his face.) Please, come on. You got to do me this solid. Please. Brad: Yeah, okay. Al: All right. Brad: I'm going to spot you a couple until you can get the cash, all right? Al: Yeah, yeah. Like I said, a couple of days, tops. You know I'm good for it. Al take the pills gratefully and pops one immediately. At the diner, Gabs has arrived and she, Bo, Nora and Matthew share a booth. Nora, however, has to leave and tells Matthew that Bo is going to take him home. Nora leaves and Gabs is struck by how close Bo and Matthew already seem to be. She decides to leave them alone and heads to the counter to talk to Marcie. She looks back at Matthew and Bo who are happily eating a sundae and talking about the trip home with the “siren” on. Gabs sighs, straightens her back and turns toward Marcie. Gabrielle: Marcie, excuse me. Marcie: Hi, Mrs. Medina. Gabrielle: Hey. Marcie: (smiles) You know, Al's doing a lot better. He really is. Gabrielle: Oh, I am so relieved to hear that. I wanted to thank you in person for giving him this auxiliary reading list that he needed a hundred dollars for. Marcie: What auxiliary reading list? I -- Gabrielle: The one that Al told me about. I think it is a terrific idea that Al has this auxiliary reading list. Marcie: There is no auxiliary reading list. Al walks into the diner and spots Gabs talking to Marcie. He is immediately put on high alert. Gabs and Marcie turn and look at him. He shifts his gaze between the two of them. Gabs rushes over to him and gets in his face. Gabrielle: Okay. I have just been talking to Marcie. She has never heard of an auxiliary reading list. Okay? So why did you need the one hundred dollars, and are you in trouble? Al: No, no, I'm not in trouble. Everything is ok. I'm fine. Relax, mom. Gabrielle: Then why did you lie to me? Al: Well, I mean -- I didn't -- I didn't lie, exactly. Listen, I just -- I – Al moves around Gabs and rushes to the counter calling out to Marcie. Al: Marcie, you remember all those extra books that you had me read. Marcie: No, I don't – (She notices Al’s expression) ummmm -- Ahem -- Oh, you mean the supplementary material? Yes. No, there's no aux-il-iary reading list. It's called the supplementary material. Yeah. Gabrielle: Oh, for pity's sake. Al: Yeah. I am so sorry about that, mom. So sorry. Misunderstanding, you know? Marcie can be a little clueless every now and again. (Al’s voice is dripping with sarcasm. Marcie glares at him.) She is a great tutor, though. Really excellent. We're late. We have a session, don't we? Marcie: Yes, we certainly do. (brightly exaggerated tone) Marcie rushes around the counter. Al: Yeah, we do. So we better get started, huh? (Marcie walks briskly toward the door. Al is right behind her. He reaches up and grabs her coat off the coat rack as they head out of the door.) Yeah. Got to go, mom. Nice seeing you. Gabrielle: Al, I'd like to talk to you -- Al: No time. No time at all. Got to hit the books.
At the garage club, Al and Marcie burst through the door. Al seems to be pushing her forward. Marcie: Al, for heaven's sakes, what is your problem? Al: You! You talking to my mom -- that's my problem. Marcie: Hey, I just covered for you, you big, fat liar! Al: You wouldn't have had to cover for me if you hadn't been yakking in the first place. Marcie: She came up to me and started asking me questions. What was I supposed to do? Al: I don't know! Shut your big, fat mouth! Walk away. Anything. (He sits on the edge of the stage) Just do me a favor, Marcie, and cool it around my mom, okay? Marcie: (Puts her hands on her hips and leans forward) What did you use that hundred dollars for? Al: What's it to you? Marcie: Well, you must have spent it on something. Al: Yeah, I spent it on something, okay? Drop it. I don't want to talk about this anymore. Marcie: Do you think I'm your tutor because I'm dumb? I know you're doing drugs, Al. Al: Drugs? Marcie: Yeah. Al: You think that I'm on drugs? Marcie: Yeah. Al: What, are you joking? Al stands up and walks away from Marcie. Marcie: No. No, Al. A doctor gave me diet pills, and I took them for a few weeks, and I got just the way you're acting now. Al: Come off it, Marcie. Diet pills? Marcie: Yeah, all jittery, talking too much, snapping at people -- that's how you have been for the past few months. Al: Have not. Marcie: Yes, you have. Plus, you've been hanging out with Brad. Everybody knows that he deals. And then I catch you lying to your mother to get money. Al: Back off, Marcie. Marcie: It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together and -- Al: (yells) Back off. (lowers his voice to a deadly whisper) Now, the last thing that I need is you running around town making stuff up about me. Marcie: I'm just trying to help you. You've been doing a lot better, Al. Your grades are up. You haven't mentioned Jen in I don't know how long. Al: I don't understand what that has to do with anything. Marcie: Oh. Yeah, well, I'd hate to see you trade one addiction for another. Al looks at her and shakes his head. Marcie: Listen, I'm just trying to be your friend here. You know, it's like -- it's like the Voice of the Night. He always says -- Al: The Voice of the Night? Oh, the Voice of the Night says this, the Voice of the Night says that. The Voice of the Night is an idiot, Marcie. An idiot. Al throws up his hands then walks out of the club. Marcie watches him go and looks sad and angry.
April 16 At the garage club, Flash & Midnight Logic are playing. Marcie sits and listens. She looks sad and hurt. Outside Al stands for a minute then opens the door and watches Marcie for a few seconds. He looks guilty. He closes the door then open his packet and takes a pill out but then throws the pill on the ground and the packet in the dumpster. He walks away. A few minutes later, Marcie leaves the club. -------- Later, Al enters the diner and calls out to Carlotta who is working behind the counter. Al: Hey, Mrs. Vega? Can I get a cup of coffee, please? Al goes to a booth and slides in. Carlotta brings him the coffee. Al: Thanks. Marcie slides into the booth across from him. She has obviously just come in because she still has on her jacket. Al: What? You here to give me more grief? Marcie: I'm here to say I'm sorry. Al looks at her.
Later, Marcie, now dressed just in her uniform, brings Al a glass of orange juice. Marcie: I'm sorry I said you were on drugs. Except for the diet pills, I've never actually ever seen anybody on drugs. Al: Forget about it. I mean, I have been acting really strange -- wired all the time. Made perfect sense what you thought. Marcie slips into the booth across from him again. Marcie: Just tell me you're not, straight out. Al: Marcie, the only substance I'm abusing is caffeine, and lots of it. Marcie laughs, obviously relieved. Al: Caffeine and stress. Marcie: (in a bright reassuring tone) What are you stressed about? Al: Grades, the future, life, my parents -- you name it. Marcie: Well, you know what they say about stress, don't you? You divide the problems up. First, your grades. You're doing a lot better, thanks to my top-of-the-line, a-number-one tutoring. (She laughs) And better grades mean a better future, which means a better life. Al: I've been thinking about getting into broadcasting. You know, kind of like the Voice of the Night. You know? What do you think? You think I could do it? Marcie: No. I mean, no offense, but, like, not in a million years. Al: You're a real buzz kill, Marcie. Marcie: Oh, Al, maybe your heart's in the right place, but, you know, he's got passion. You obsess. You know, the Voice of the Night -- he sucks the life in, he loves it! But you're always looking for the shortcut, you know? And -- oh, he's poetic, and I'd do anything to meet him. I mean, you know, you're fine. You're fine the way you are, but I would do anything to meet him. He's -- he's perfect. (She notices his facial expression and touches his shoulder) Oh, I'm sorry. Now, why don't you tell me to shut up. Al: Because you're right. Yeah. You know all about my obsessions. (leans forward) Marcie: Hmm, well, you haven't mentioned her in a long time. Al: You know me pretty well, you know that? Al slides out of the booth and stands up Al: I got to go. (He walks toward the door but then stops, turns and looks at Marcie) Thanks. Marcie: For what? Al: For giving a damn.
At the diner, Marcie is working the counter. A radio announcer says: “All those of you who are waiting for the Voice of the Night you ain’t the only ones.” Carlotta notices the worried expression on Marcie’s face and asked if there is a problem. Marcie tells her that she hopes nothing is wrong with the Voice of the Night. Al is hiding in the shadows outside of the garage club. After RJ walks out and then away, Al sneaks up to the dumpster and leans over so far that his feet are sticking in the air. Jen appears. “What are you doing?” Al jumps down and explains he threw something in the dumpster earlier and mistakenly threw his keys in with it. Jen is unimpressed. Al tells her how sorry he was to hear about her father and her mother. Jen shrugs. “Yeah, well, life goes on.” Jen goes into the club and Al resumes his dumpster diving. He comes up empty again. He jumps down and then kicks the dumpster in frustration. Later, Al finally arrives at the radio station. He gets in his chair in the control booth and slips into his Voice of the Night persona. Unfortunately he is suffering mightily and there's no way to hide it. His speech is slurred, slow and erratic. VOTN: This is the Voice of the Night, yeah, here to keep you going till
the sun makes another appearance. Sorry I'm late, but I'm here now. And I'll be
here until the sun makes another appearance. I said that already, didn't I?
Well, I guess I should just shut up. I mean, you don't pay to hear me talk
anyway. At the diner, Marcie smiles when she first hears the Voice of the Night but as his voice trails off and his speech slows, she knows that something is not right. Marcie: Something's wrong. The Voice of the Night is in trouble! Marcie unties her apron and pulls it off then rushes toward the door. Just as she is heading out, Jen walks in and blocks her path. Jen: Marcie, I need to talk to you. Marcie: Not now. Jen: What? Marcie: Look, I know you need me, but, you know, I'm only your friend when you want it. Somebody else needs me right now, and I'm not going to let them down just to make you feel better. Marcie brushes past Jen and heads out of the door.
At the station, Marcie opens the door of the control booth slowly. Marcie: Mr. Voice, are you okay? She opens the door wider and sees Al asleep at the console. Marcie: Al what are you doing here? Al jumps awake at the sound of her voice and looks around confused.
April 17 At the radio station, Marcie bursts into the control booth and finds Al asleep at the console. Marcie: Al? What are you doing here? Al: What? What am I doing here? Marcie: Yeah. Al: What are you doing here? Marcie: Well, I -- I came to check on the Voice of the Night. You know, I was listening to him in the diner like I always do, and he didn't sound right. He sounded like he was in trouble, so I came over as fast as I could. Al: Why? (rubs his face as if trying to wake himself up) Marcie: Well -- I wanted to see if he needed anything, you know? But when I got here, you were sitting there taking a nap. Al: Yeah. Well, you see, the thing with that is -- Marcie: Yeah? Well, why are you sitting there taking a nap? You know, that doesn't make any sense. (She stops short and inhales) Oh-h-h-h-h. Unless -- Al: Unless what? Marcie: (laughs) No, no, there's no way. I mean you couldn't be the Voice of the Night. I mean, are you? Al: Me? You think that I'm the Voice of the Night? It's impossible, Marcie. I can't be the Voice of the Night. You and I sat together in the diner. We were listening to him together. Marcie: Oh, yeah, right. Talk about dense. You know, besides, when I listen to his voice and think about all the beautiful, wonderful, helpful things that he says, you know, I can't picture you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. Al: Don't worry about it, okay? Marcie: So -- well, if you're not the Voice of the Night, then why are you here? Al: Because -- because I wanted to know who this guy was. Marcie: You did? Al: Yeah. Marcie: Well, why? Al: For you. I know how much you want to know, so -- Marcie: (she is obviously very touched by his gesture) You did that for me? Al: It really wasn't a big deal. When I got here, they told me that he'd gone home sick. Marcie: Oh, so that's why he sounded so strange. I hope he's ok. Al: Yeah. Me, too. Marcie: Hey, now, you don't look so good either. Is something wrong with you? Al: Oh. I think I'm coming down with something, you know? Flu maybe? Marcie: The flu? Al: Yeah. And come to think of it, that's probably what got the Voice of the Night. Marcie: Yeah. Well, you know, they say it's going around campus. Al: Yeah. Marcie: You know what? You should be in bed. Come on. I'll take you home.
At the dorm, Marcie and Al walk into his room. Marcie: Whoa, man! Al: What? Marcie: Well, now I know you're not the Voice of the Night. I mean, he'd certainly never live like this. Al: Well, you know, I've been busy. I haven't really had time to clean. Marcie: Yeah. Since when, freshman year? Al tries to joke but all he can do is stumble over to his desk and flop in a chair. Marcie rushes next to him. Marcie: Oh, no, no, no, it's okay. You're really sick. But that's okay. You know, I got everything here you need to make you feel better. Al: Oh. Marcie: I got tissues, I got orange juice, …. And I got "Motor Fever." My brothers liked it. (laughs) Al: (looks up at her gratefully) You know, Marcie, you didn't have to do any of this. Marcie: It's okay. (sees magazines on the desk) Oh. You’re into "Rolling Stone." Al: Yeah, but, you know, "Motor Fever's" good, too. Marcie: Oh! You know what? I forgot the best! I got you some egg drop soup from Wong Foo's. It's the best. You're going to feel better in no time. Al: Yeah. Uh -- I feel like something that got scraped off the sidewalk. I think it's going to take more than soup to make me feel better. Do you have any aspirin or -- Marcie: Hmm -- Al: Or anything because I -- Marcie: Well, yeah, I might. Let me check. Let me check for you, okay. (Marcie rummages through her purse) No. I just got these a-- you know, these diet pills -- you know, the ones the doctors gave me, that made me so weird.(Al perks up and stares at the bottle of pills in her hand.) I never clean out my stupid purse. I should really throw them out. Al: You know -- I may have some aspirin in the bathroom. Do you mind checking? Marcie: Yeah, sure, I'll go look. Al takes out the bottle of pills out of Marcie’s purse and swipes ten or so pills just before Marcie returns. Marcie: Couldn't find any, but I brought you some water anyway. Al: Thanks. Marcie: Ok, so, we're going to go make the bed, and then you are going to get some sleep. Marcie pats him on the shoulder then walks over to the bed and begins to straighten it and fluff things. Al pops one of the pills but then looks guilty. Later Al is sitting on the bed and Marcie is standing close by with the container of soup and a spoon in her hands Marcie: Eat the soup. Al: I'm not hungry. Marcie: Eat the soup. Al: (pushes the soup away) I'll eat it later. I promise, okay? Marcie sighs Al: Right now I'm going to try to get some sleep. Marcie: Ok. That's a good idea. (Marcie puts the container of soup on the desk then walks back toward Al) Now, remember, you got to keep your fluids up, so you finish that soup. You eat it and you finish it, and you keep drinking your water. Al: I'll try. Marcie: Hey -- thanks for trying to figure out who the Voice of the Night was for me. That was really sweet of you. Al: It's no big deal. (shakes his head) Marcie: It was to me. You know, I never thought I'd say this, but you're a real good friend. Al smiles at her and Marcie leaves. Once she closes the door, his facial expression changes. He looks ashamed of himself and guilty. What a great sequence. Al’s guilt is so obvious. He hated lying to Marcie. And Marcie cares about him so much. More than she even knows at this point. They are connected and slowly that is becoming obvious even to them. My MARCAL loving heart is thrilled.
SCENES
MARCAL
All Snappies courtesy of Cataz's Daily Pics. Thank you, Cataz, for letting me use your beautiful snappies.
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