Starting With Jazz

Roman & Louie.

EXT. AQUATICOMB RECORDS/BACK ALLEY - MORNING

An array of graffiti adorns the cement wall behind them. A dirty, plastic awning is hanging off the side of the building to provide some shade, but due to the overcast, it’s not needed.

Louie and Roman are leaning against the wall, smoking.

LOUIE

What the f**k is up with this weather? It’s August and we have this f*****g overcast.

ROMAN

I have no clue.

LOUIE

What. The. F**k.

They both stare up at the sky in wonder.

LOUIE (CONT’D)

You know what I always thought was useless?

ROMAN

What?

LOUIE

A pumpkin. I think Cinderella threw me off. Like I thought pumpkins were supposed to be f*****g magic, you know? “Have a bippity-boppity-f*****g-boo, will travel?” And I held them to that. But without god-moms, those f*****g orange veggies s**t out this rotten aroma and it depresses me. Useless.

ROMAN

Well, you can make them have scary faces.

LOUIE

I can do that to people by calling them shitheads.

Roman laughs, and takes a drag of his cigarette.

LOUIE (CONT’D)

So what’s with this whole Lucy thing?

ROMAN

Things get around fast, huh?

LOUIE

Come on, Roman. You know this place.

ROMAN

It’s not a thing, really. It’s just been on my mind.

LOUIE

Spill.

ROMAN

OK, I’ve been working here since I was eighteen. And it’s the s**t.

LOUIE

It’s the f*****g s**t.

ROMAN

It is the f*****g s**t. And when I was nineteen, I got that job at Capitol Records. Thought the world was mine. Then, they dropped me last minute.

LOUIE

I remember.

ROMAN

They replaced me, and I invested everything in that management job. So I come crawling back here. And I’ve been this way for seven years now.

LOUIE

How does Lucy tie into this?

ROMAN

I’ve been thinking about what I missed in the last seven years. I missed going to school. Lucy is getting a higher education. Cap and gown. She wants me to do what she does since she’s doing something productive with her life and all that.

LOUIE

‘All that’ is f*****g bull. Who needs school, Roman? School is like the pumpkin. It seems fun on the outside. Yeah, it turned into a f*****g horse and carriage with a fairy f*****g godmother’s wand. But by midnight, it’s all going to turn back into that rotting pile of s**t and masturbation. But Aquaticomb? This is always going to be awesome. Appreciate what you have. One day, it’s all going to go away and you’re going to wonder “what the f**k?”

ROMAN

What the f**k.

LOUIE

What. The. F**k.

They both look at the sky again, still cloud cover.

ROMAN

This weather pisses me the f**k off.

LOUIE

F**k yeah.

Author's Note

Is the excessive use of "fuck" effective to the light-heartedness of the scene?