Tough Love: Episode 4 by Alexander Dingeman
Tough Love
Episode: 4
Copyright 2015, Alexander Dingeman, All rights reserved
INT. – OBLEX’S STUDY – MORNING
(Scene opens with a pan across Professor Oblex’s living room. Duke is sleeping on a couch and Wilt is sleeping on the floor next to the couch. Cut to a one shot of Duke. Light shines through the window and onto Dukes face. Duke rolls over to get the light out of his eyes and avoid waking up. Cut to a full shot of the living room as Oblex walks in through the front door carrying a sack of groceries and slams it shut loudly behind him. Duke sits up quickly, startled by the sudden noise.)
OBLEX
Kaliméra!
DUKE
What time is it!?!
OBLEX
It’s pancake time!
(Oblex walks off-screen into the kitchen to start making pancakes. Lana walks in from another room with a cup of coffee. Her hair is disheveled and she has a dazed, half-asleep expression.)
DUKE
(Rubbing his eyes.) What is his Problem?
LANA
He’s a “Morning Person”.
DUKE
Could I get some of that coffee?
LANA
Oh I don’t know. I don’t really feel like putting in all the effort to make a new cup of coffee when you’d probably just break up with it a week before prom.
DUKE
You’ll have to excuse me, it’s early. Are we still talking about coffee?
(Lana scoffs at him and storms off angrily. Cut to a full shot of the kitchen as Lana walks inside. Oblex is standing by the stove pouring pancake batter into a pan. There is a plate on the counter next to him were he puts the finished pancakes.)
OBLEX
Good morning Lana.
(Cut to a medium shot of Oblex and Lana as Lana approaches him to talk quietly so Duke doesn’t hear.)
LANA
Ok, you know how much I respect your opinion…
OBLEX
This is the first I’ve heard of it.
LANA
Anyway, I’m not quite sure that having Duke around is the best idea.
OBLEX
Why not? We don’t even have our permit to start digging yet and thanks to him we already have the means to uncovering the archeological find of the century!
LANA
Yeah. I got that part but what you’re not getting is that Duke is just… The Worst!
OBLEX
The worst?
LANA
Look, he made me very unhappy for a long time and for whatever reason a small part of me has stayed hung up on him ever since we broke up. Then about four days ago I had this sudden realization that my life would be so much better if he simply wasn’t a part of it. I just don’t think that this is what’s healthy for me right now.
(Oblex stops making pancakes and turns to face Lana.)
OBLEX
How about this? I’ll spend today deciphering the map so we can get through this thing as quickly as possible. I’ll credit you as head of the research team and once this is over you’ll be able to land any job you want, anywhere in the world. But I want you to take Duke and his friend to go over the temples we had scheduled for today instead of me. And I want you all to try and get along too. (Hands Lana the plate of pancakes.) Deal?
LANA
(Takes plate begrudgingly.) Deal.
(Cut to a medium shot of Duke and Wilt back in the living room. Wilt is now awake and sitting next to Duke on the couch.)
DUKE
C’mon! Just play the game. I told you mine.
WILT
Alright, fine! I’d kill the Mistress, marry Jasmine, and do Kim.
DUKE
Wait, which one was Kim again?
(Wilt points to the black eye Duke got from Kim. Cut to a full shot as Lana and Oblex walk in.)
LANA
Alright you two, listen up. Now that you work for us you’re going to start pulling your own weight. Eat fast because you’re going to the temples with me in an hour. (Sets the plate of pancakes on the table in front of Duke and Wilt. Then turns to walk away but stops.) Oh, and I get first dibs on the shower. I don’t need you guys fouling it up before I have a chance to get ready.
(Lana exits.)
OBLEX
We’re both very excited to have you onboard. She just has a… different way of showing it.
(Oblex exits then the camera cuts to a medium shot of Duke and Wilt.)
DUKE
She’ll lighten up after I tell her about the curse.
WILT
You really plan on telling Lana about that?
DUKE
Yeah. Why not? This way I might get to score some sympathy sex and convenient proximity sex.
WILT
But knowing Lana, she’ll be quick to call you out on your…
INT. – MAIN TEMPLE – MORNING
(Cut to a full shot of the temple’s main hall where the priestess is polishing one of the shrines. Lana’s voice loudly echoes in from off-screen grabbing the priestess’s attention.)
LANA
BULLSHIT!
(Duke, Wilt, and Lana walk on-screen and cross the room to meet with the priestess.)
DUKE
Ok, slow down. Where exactly did I lose you?
LANA
It does not take magic for you to hit on a crazy stalker and hump a married woman.
DUKE
I don’t know, it felt pretty magical at the time.
LANA
As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm on the subject, the gods are not real. They’re just a silly myth devised by the locals to try and make sense of the world around them. There are no gods, gorgons, minotaurs, sirens, or anything else. Also, I’d rather not hear the details about every girl you bend over a coffee table!
PRIESTESS
Ahem.
(Duke and Lana look up from their argument to see the priestess standing in front of them.)
LANA
(Fake Cheerful) Hello, Lana Lovan. We are the archeologists scheduled to study the temple today.
PRIESTESS
You’re late.
LANA
Sorry about that. We had...
DUKE
Car trouble! (To Wilt) Totally saved it.
PRIESTESS
Right then. As you can see this is the main hall where we have small shrines to all of the twelve gods. Most of the gods have their own temples nearby as well. At the end of the hall we have the shrine to our island’s chief deity, Aphrodite.
(The priestess gestures over to Aphrodite’s shrine which is adorned with a silver tapestry.)
LANA
Thank you. Would you mind giving me just a minute with my colleagues?
(The priestess exits. Lana reaches into her bag and pulls out a camera which she hands to Wilt.)
LANA
Ok. I’m going to go with the priestess. What I want you two to do is take this camera and start taking pictures of the shrines and temples. (Looking at Duke with disdain.) Do you think you can handle that?
WILT
We’ll be fine.
(Lana exits. Duke and Wilt turn and stare intently at the shrine of Aphrodite.)
DUKE
Do you think I should…?
WILT
(Shrugging) It couldn’t hurt.
(Duke kneels down nervously to pray by the shrine.)
DUKE
Um, Aphrodite?
(Duke is suddenly launched across the room by an invisible force and gets smacked against the wall on the other side of the room. He slowly sits up, noticeably in pain.)
DUKE
Is there any chance that Lana saw that?
INT. – DISCIPLE’S LAIR – MIDDAY
(Scene opens with a full shot inside the Cult of Aphrodite’s new base. The subtitle “Tuesday” appears near the bottom of the screen then fades away. The Mistress is sitting at a table looking intently at the crystal ball that was stolen from the museum. In the background Jasmine is sparring with one of the other disciples of Aphrodite. Reluctant to hurt her friend she only blocks the disciple’s punches.)
MISTRESS
(Deep in thought.) Underneath the glass lies the true path.
(Jasmine grabs her opponent’s arm and flips her over her shoulder.)
MISTRESS
Again.
JASMINE
Yes Mistress.
(Jasmine and the disciple resume sparring and the Mistress continues staring at the ball.)
MISTRESS
What am I missing?
(Jasmine sweeps the disciple’s leg knocking her down to the ground.)
MISTRESS
That was sloppy. Do it again.
JASMINE
You weren’t even looking!
MISTESS
But I can still hear you. You should be able to take Gale to the floor in two moves.
JASMINE
We’ve been training all day.
MISTRESS
Because lately you’ve done nothing but display your lack of discipline. Now. Do. It. Again.
JASMINE
(Sigh) Yes Mistress.
(Jasmine and the disciple, Gale, turn to face each other again. They continue sparring while the scene fades out.)
INT. – PALÁTI TOU DIONYSOU – NIGHT
(Scene opens with an establishing shot showing the outside of a bar called “Paláti Tou Dionysou” while loud techno music is heard. Cut to a medium shot inside of Selene’s dressing room showing Selene and some man. The techno music is muffled. The man is sitting in a chair, facing the camera and looks thin and malnourished. Selene is naked, straddling the man with her back to the camera. She slides up and down suggestively.)
SELENE
Come on. Just a little bit longer. You can take it.
(The man’s body goes limp and he slumps down in the chair. He stops breathing. Selene gets up off of the chair but still keeps her back to the camera.)
SELENE
Damn it.
(There is a knock on the