Family Matters - E4

INT. FAMILY HOME MOTHER'S OFFICE – MIDDAY

This is Mother's office and occasionally bedroom, the only room Father doesn't clean regularly so it's a bit messy, the room was originally a root cellar and looks the part. The main features are the large computer desk with two large monitors, two medium size monitors and one small monitor, a messy and unkempt futon bed sits to one side and a staircase heads upward on the other. At the top of the staircase is a single coat-hook with a thick red woolen robe. Mother opens the door at the top of the stairs and descends, a sandwich plate in one hand and a sports bottle in the other. She moves quickly, puts the plate and bottle down at the desk, then jogs back up the stairs to grab the robe and wrap it around herself tightly. Back at the bottom she reaches to the side of the desk and flips an unseen switch, a noisy fan begins WHIRRING inside the cabinet. Another small button near the front of the desk switches on the unseen computer and last she flips on each monitor in turn. At the top of the stairs Father opens the door and sticks his head down.

- Father
Honey, Baby and I are taking the Fuel Efficient in to town, Daughter's school called saying she need to be picked up and I'll be getting a few things for dinner. She got in -

- Mother (interrupts)
Is this something that's only going to distract me to know, or make me proud to know?

- Father (thinks for a moment)
Little of both, maybe? … Was there anything you wanted in town?

- Mother
We're out of peanut butter. And don't forget that movie rental needs to be returned! If we have another freebie, get something I'll want to watch this time.

- Father
I thought you liked the Perfect Hero live-action movie?

- Mother
Because of that hunk they cast for the flame guy … who was he?

- Father
Token Gay?

- Mother
Him! Now you get something else with him and I'll watch it.

- Father
I have no idea what else he's in, I guess I could look around at the movie store …

Mother turns to her computer desk and types a few words, then turns back to Father after a few moments.

- Mother
In recent releases, he was in Seasonal Romcom. They should have that.

Father nods, and is about to leave when Mother calls out again.

- Mother
You said you were taking Baby?

- Father
… Yes?

- Mother
And I assume you'll be telling Daughter you drove straight there from your "work?"

- Father
Of course.

- Mother (pauses a moment for him to get it)
You see the problem here, right?

Father shakes his head in confusion, then looks worried for a moment when he realizes what she means.

- Father
I'll tell Daughter it was Take Your Daughter To Work day.

- Mother (tiredly)
You told Son, you should tell Daughter as well. If you keep lying to her it won't help matters, and I wouldn't be surprised if Son had told her already.

- Father (grumbles)
Especially after how he reacted.

- Mother (sighs)
An earring is hardly a big deal, and at least he had it done by someone who knew what they were doing. And I can almost guarantee you that Daughter has been waiting for you to tell her. But if you don't feel comfortable telling her yet, fine. Just remember it will only be worse the longer you wait.

- Father (unhappy, but knows she is right)
If the topic comes up … I'll tell her, if it seems appropriate.

Mother swivels back to face her wall of monitors, several programs that fill the five screens pop up with a few clicks.

- Mother
It's far too late to be the right time, so make it soon Father.

Father nods unhappily and lets the door swing shut. With a few more mouse clicks a heavy metal SONG begins, and she is soon engrossed in her work.

---

INT. FAMILY'S FUEL EFFICIENT – MIDDAY

This car's interior shows Father's tidiness, even the floor seems to be kept clean of debris. The dashboard has a small touchscreen section which shows a map. Father is in the front driver's seat, he looks impatient. Daughter opens the passenger side door and gets in, she glances back at Baby in her car carrier in the back seat  and waves. Baby smiles back happily.

- Baby
Sie!

- Daughter
That's amazing! What is she saying?

- Father (stern)
She's not saying anything, she's just making meaningless sounds to try and mimic us. Now what's all this about you getting sent home early!?

Father doesn't make any move to start the car, and Daughter sits back glumly in her seat.

- Daughter
Well I think it's cool she's learning to speak, and you could be a little more excited about it. Will she be better at learning other languages, do you think?

- Father
Your mother and I are very excited to find out, but right now we are more worried about you! Your principal called and said you punched someone in your class today. He also said that, according to your teacher, you and this person have been at each other's throats for the past few weeks. He's recommending anger management classes for you!

- Daughter (stubbornly)
She's the one who needs anger management … or psychiatric care.

- Father
Pumpkin, this is serious! We can afford the classes, and it won't go on any permanent records at your age, but hurting people like this isn't acceptable!

- Daughter
Isn't it? On that cartoon you watch, with that super hero, Perfect Hero, he always beats up the bad guys doesn't he? That's all I'm doing, I'm beating up a -

- Father (angry now, he smacks the wheel sharply)
Daughter! … Pumpkin, you can't, you just can't say those things about people! You can't "beat up" people you don't like, there are serious consequences in the real world for acting like that!

- Daughter (defiant)
Why? Perfect Hero does it and he's got super strength, he could kill people with a single punch and no one says he's bad.

- Father (shocked, weakly)
Pumpkin, Perfect Hero is a fictional character, he's not real! And he doesn't just go around hurting people, he tries to save people, and if … if he has to use force he uses just enough not to hurt anyone, even his worst enemies.

- Daughter (sarcastic)
Sure, I'll remember that next time she tries to attack me, and if I'm super-strong and invincible at the time maybe I'll let her have the first shot.

- Father (stern again)
Daughter, the teachers say you attacked her, and from what they can tell for no reason.

- Daughter
Well then I guess they missed the part where she tried to drop a plate of breakfast-for-lunch pancakes and syrup on me from behind. It only made a very small mess after all. My guess is that she's bribing the teachers to look away, she's got the money -

- Father
Daughter, this is getting absurd! You can't accuse your teachers of taking bribes and you can't accuse your classmates of offering them!

- Daughter
And why not? If the teachers are saying they didn't see anything, they're either blind or lying! There was at least three teachers there when it happened, and it was completely obvious what she had been trying to do. Not to mention I'm sure she laughed triumphantly when … you don't believe me?

Father has become more and more worried as she spoke, but now he looks startled. Daughter is angry now.

- Daughter
You think I'm crazy! You think I'm delusional.

- Father
Pumpkin, I never said that!

- Daughter
You didn't have to, it's obvious looking at you! I can't believe you would think that about your own … wait, stop, there's a history of … mental illness in our family?

- Father (confused)
Well, yes. I was just thinking about that, how did - ?

- Daughter
Dad, that look you gave me said there would be evidence to back it up, and a family history is the obvious first guess. Now what kind of family history are we talking about here?

- Father
Well … there was your Mother's great-aunt Long Dead on her side of the family, who heard things that no one else could. Or my mother, who claimed that my father was cheating on her so frequently that eventually they split up. Your great-great grandmother claimed nearly daily -

- Daughter (excited)
Grandma can hear things?

- Father (tiredly)
Pumpkin, your grandma thought she could hear other people thoughts but we call that paranoid delusions. She never actually heard people's thoughts, and with the proper treatment she stopped thinking she could too. It may have been too late for her marriage by then, but … oh pumpkin, I won't let that happen to you!

He reaches over and awkwardly tries to hug Daughter, who can barely suppress her excitement.

- Father (emotional, choked up)
Don't you worry pumpkin, don't you worry. Your dad won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise!

- Daughter
Uh, dad?

- Father
Yes?

- Daughter
Before we try anything drastic like pills or expensive tests, maybe that anger management thing would be easier? I'm not crazy, and sometimes my anger does get the best of me, so it couldn't hurt to try that first. You trust me, right? You believe me that the girl at school tried to dump her food on me, don't you?

She stares him down and he stares back, then nods slowly.

- Father
Yes pumpkin, you say you saw her do that and I believe you. But that's how delusions work, you see things that may not actually have happened. So we'll have you take a simple, easy test, just to know for sure.

An angry look steadily appears on her face and he tries to mollify her.

- Father
Pumpkin, look, when … when your grandmother was at her worst it was really … very hard on both me and her. I don't want you to go through that, and if we test you early maybe you can be treated early. The test isn't hard or painful, someone will just ask you a few questions and it will be over. If you pass the test, at least we know you don't have to worry about it.  And if you do happen to fail the test, well at least you won't have to take the anger management classes!

- Daughter (somewhat mollified, a bit indignant)
If I have to take a stupid test, at the very least I shouldn't have to take the classes.

- Father (smiles)
Pumpkin, you punched someone. You're not getting out of those classes that easily.

- Daughter
Fine, okay! … Hey, dad? When is Grandma visiting next?

- Father
Oh, I never know when she'll blow in to town next, she's unpredictable like that. Same with most of my side of the family, I suppose. Why, was there – oh, pumpkin, you weren't going to ask her about the past, were you? Please, that was a very hard time for her, it's not good for her to relive it.

- Daughter (innocently)
No, we haven't seen her in forever, and talking about her reminded me of that. I just wanted to see her.

- Father (relieved)
If I hear from her, I'll tell her that. I know she would visit to see you kids, especially if I told her that you all were missing her.

- Daughter
Thanks dad!

She reaches over and hugs him happily, which he returns and as happily.

---

INT. FAMILY HOME FATHER & MOTHER'S ROOM – NIGHT

Mother and Father sit on opposite ends of the bed and with Baby in the middle. They speak her name in turns and she crawls back and forth, and sometimes one takes her under the armpits and helps her to walk a few steps but mostly they let her move in whatever way she wants. She is still at the age where she must crawl, but she is quite fast at it. Father, although happy with the game, still seems gloomy as he talks with Mother about the day.

- Father
It was terrifying honey. She's always been so rational and mature for her age, but suddenly she thought violence was an appropriate answer. She was saying that the teachers were being bribed by this girl, and talking about this girl like she was some kind of comic book villain. It was mom all over again, she's seeing a reality that just isn't real.

- Mother (calmly)
And that's all?

- Father
Isn't that enough!?

- Mother
This girl, I'd be willing to bet she's the same one Daughter nearly stayed overnight with a few weeks back. She wouldn't say a word when I got there about why she had called to be picked up early, I surmised they had a fight and she didn't want to talk about it. So that would explain the hostilities between them at school, although Daughter still needs some kind of punishment for hitting that girl. And when I picked her up that night, it was also obvious that the girl lived in a very well-off neighborhood; it's not absolutely crazy for Daughter to leap to bribery, more a wide leap of the imagination.

- Father (slightly hopeful)
So … she might not be getting my mother's condition.

- Mother (smiles kindly)
I'd say there's hope Father.