American Beauty Page #4

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CAROLYN:

(more authority)

What?

Lester gets up and starts after Jane, taking his plate with

him.

LESTER:

I'm going to get some ice cream.

Carolyn watches him go, irritated.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jane stands at the sink, rinsing off her plate. Lester enters.

LESTER:

Honey, I'm sorry. I...

Jane turns and stares at him, waiting for him to finish.

LESTER:

I'm sorry I haven't been more

available, I just... I'm...

He's looking to her for a little help here, but she's too

uncomfortable with this sudden intimacy to give him any.

LESTER:

(finally)

You know, you don't always have to

wait for me to come to you...

JANE:

Oh, great. So now it's my fault?

LESTER:

I didn't say that. It's nobody's

fault. Janie, what happened? You and

I used to be pals.

EXT. BURNHAM HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

On VIDEO:
We're looking through GREENHOUSE WINDOWS at Lester

and Jane in the kitchen We can't hear what they're saying,

but it's obvious it's not going well.

Jane puts her plate in the dishwasher and leaves. We FOLLOW

HER out the door, then the camera JERKS back to Lester calling

after her.

CLOSE on the face of RICKY FITTS, illuminated by the screen

of his DIGICAM as he videotapes. Ricky is eighteen, but his

eyes are much older. Beneath his Zen-like tranquillity lurks

something wounded... and dangerous.

His POV, on VIDEO: Through the kitchen window, we see Lester

at the sink, rinsing off his plate, muttering to himself.

His head suddenly jerks up and he looks at us, as if he

realizes he's being watched.

INT. BURNHAM HOUSE - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Lester's POV:
We're looking out through the kitchen window

at the point where Ricky was just standing, but he's no longer

there.

Lester turns off the faucet, dries his hands, then tosses

the towel on the counter on his way out, where it lands next

to a framed PHOTOGRAPH of Lester, Carolyn, and a much-younger

Jane, taken several years earlier at an amusement park.

It's startling how happy they look.

EXT. SALE HOUSE - DAY

CLOSE on a wooden SIGN that reads:

OPEN HOUSE TODAY

BURNHAM & ASSOCIATES REALTY 555-0195

Carolyn Burnham

The sign is planted in front of a RUN-DOWN HOME in a run-

down neighborhood. The Mercedes is parked in front of the

house. Carolyn, wearing a smart business suit, is unloading

a box of cleaning supplies and a BOOMBOX from the back of

the Mercedes when something across the street catches her

eye.

Her POV:
In front of a different house with much more curb

appeal is another SIGN, featuring a picture of a handsome

silver-haired MAN. It reads:

Another One SOLD

By Buddy Kane

The Real Estate King

555-0100

Carolyn frowns and slams the back of the Mercedes shut.

INT. SALE HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

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