Front credits roll over scenes of the city in February: residential areas, business districts, school yards where kids are playing and hanging out. There are also scenes of classes, including Rachel’s, in session. The montage ends at the Davis neighborhood of single-family houses with yards and off-street parking.
INT: RACHEL’S BEDROOM: MORNING:
Rachel (46, English teacher) is sound asleep on her side of the bed. She has bruises and cuts all over her body. John (45, Rachel’s husband, manufacturer’s rep) comes from the bathroom and quietly goes to her. He smiles and kisses her softly. He waits then kisses her again; Rachel smiles, waking up slowly. John brushes her hair out of her face, and Rachel opens her eyes.
JOHN
Good morning.
RACHEL
Morning. I thought you had an appointment today.
JOHN
(kissing her)
I do. How do you feel?
RACHEL
I’ve been better. How about you?
JOHN
Pretty good, actually.
Rachel turns over to let John sit next to her. John kisses her, and Eric sticks his head in. Eric closes the door quickly, and both adults look up.
RACHEL
Hello?
ERIC (off)
Nevermind.
JOHN
It’s all right; she’s awake.
The door opens, and the kids bring in breakfast. Stefanie (22, police officer) has a tray of muffins, donuts, and rolls, each with a lit candle in it; Cori (17, high school senior) has a plate of bacon and eggs, silverware, and a glass of milk on her tray; Eric (13, eighth grader) is bringing a pitcher of orange juice; Javier (8, second grader) has two presents. Rachel sits up in bed, and John moves out of the way.
CORI
Here, mom; this’s yours.
Cori sets the tray over Rachel’s lap.
JOHN
Happy birthday, honey.
RACHEL
What is all this?
JAVIER
Happy birthday, mom. We wanted to put all the
candles in, but dad wouldn’t let us.
RACHEL
Well, eleven is close enough. Thank you. Come sit.
Stefanie puts her tray in the middle of the bed, and Eric sets his things on the dresser.
JAVIER
Abre os presentes primeiro.
CORI
Blow out the candles first.
ERIC
She’s got to make a wish.
Rachel closes her eyes, smiles, then opens her eyes and blows out the candles.
JAVIER
What’d you wish for?
ERIC
She can’t tell you, or it won’t come true.
RACHEL
I’ve already got everything I want, thank you.
JAVIER
Apurate! Abre los regalos.
RACHEL
While you eat? Not a chance.
She starts to eat as John pours the juice.
JOHN
They’ve already eaten once.
CORI
The other presents are downstairs.
ERIC
You like it, mom?
RACHEL
This is great.
STEFANIE
Eric cooked today.
RACHEL
You did? This is amazing.
JAVIER
Being with all those girls really paid off, Eric.
Eric pushes Javier, and they start fighting.
JOHN
(separating boys)
That’s enough, Javi. Nobody makes fun of your
Power Rangers, do they?
ERIC
After all, who plays with dolls here, right?
RACHEL
Come on, guys; we’re supposed to be nice to each
other.
JAVIER
Abres os presentes!
STEFANIE
She’s not done eating yet.
RACHEL
I’ll open the presents, okay?
(Javier cheers)
But then you’ll have to let me eat in peace.
JAVIER
Cool.
John gives Rachel the two presents. She takes the larger of the two first.
CORI
If you don’t like it, mom, I’ll be glad to take it off your
hands.
RACHEL
I’ll keep that in mind.
She opens the box to find a shirt with neon colors and an illustration of the quote, “TOAST!” on the front of the shirt. Rachel shows the shirt to John.
CORI
Like I said,
RACHEL
As you said, and don’t even think about it, Cori. This
is great. How did you get this to print on a shirt?
CORI
It’s top secret.
RACHEL
You didn’t pay somebody to print just one shirt;
CORI
Mom, it’s your birthday. Don’t worry about little things
like that.
She kisses Cori and puts the shirt on John’s pillow away from the food.
RACHEL
Oh, did you mail your applications,
CORI
(overlapping)
No, mother; not yet. I still have to write the essays.
Come on; you still have another present here.
Rachel unwraps the next present to find another wrapped box inside.
RACHEL
Oh, look; another box.
STEFANIE
Eric.
ERIC
It wasn’t me; entirely.
RACHEL
(still unwrapping)
How many layers are there?
JAVIER
Oh, three or four.
Rachel gets to the third layer to find a watch box. She opens the box to find a dress watch.
RACHEL
Oh, you guys. This is beautiful.
STEFANIE
That’s from all of us, including Steve.
RACHEL
Your Steve, the great house painter? He has money?
STEFANIE
Mai.
ERIC
That’s to make up for the one they stole at school.
RACHEL
This is really great, you guys. Thank you.
She kisses all the kids, and Stefanie takes the wrappings from the bed.
JAVIER
It’s not quite the same; this one has roman numerals
instead of a smooth face, but it’s pretty close.
RACHEL
You guys are too much.
CORI
Do you want any of these?
Rachel grabs a donut as Cori takes the tray off the bed.
JOHN
You can leave them here; I’ll take care of it later.
Cori puts the tray on the dresser.
STEFANIE
Pass um bom dia, mai.
Rachel is suspicious as the kids kiss her goodbye and leave.
RACHEL
John.
JOHN
It’s your birthday, honey, and they promised to be
nice. If you’re still hungry, there’s more downstairs.
Rachel is a little stiff as she gets out of bed. John helps clear the food from the bed.
RACHEL
We’re supposed to go out with the Mitchells tonight.
JOHN
I know. Everything’s going to be perfect today.
He kisses her and holds her loosely. The phone rings twice.
RACHEL
You’re sure.
JOHN
Positive.
RACHEL
Where are the kids?
JOHN
Stefanie and Steve are taking them. Relax, Rachel.
It’s a beautiful day; enjoy it.
John kisses her, and there’s a soft knock at the door.
JOHN (cont’d)
Yes.
STEFANIE
(stepping in)
Sorry to bother you, but there’s a Sergeant Moran on
the phone for mom.
RACHEL
Thanks.
(answering phone)
Hello? Yes, this is she. Yes, I remember. What can
I do for you? I see. Does he have a lawyer yet? I
would like that, yes, before anything else goes wrong.
How would I go about filing charges against the
district attorney’s office? No, but I want to make
sure I have all the information. Yes, I can be there at
eight. Yes, thank you.
Rachel hangs up.
STEFANIE
What happened?
JOHN
Doesn’t this kid have parents?
RACHEL
Apparently not. Don’t worry about it; we’re meeting
tomorrow.
STEFANIE
You want me to come?
RACHEL
No, we’re fine. Don’t worry about it.
Stefanie leaves. Rachel holds John loosely.
JOHN
No more interruptions?
RACHEL
I have to call for a sub.
JOHN
Can it wait?
Rachel kisses him.
INT: RACHEL’S BEDROOM: NIGHT:
The lights are out, and the door is closed. Rachel and John are heard giggling as they come up the stairs. John opens the door and leads Rachel into the room. She closes the door behind them.
RACHEL
Oh, I don’t know if I can take any more surprises
tonight.
JOHN
(kissing her)
Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a surprise.
RACHEL
This was beautiful, John. Thank you.
JOHN
You had a good day today?
(she kisses him)
Does this mean you’re going to bed?
RACHEL
I certainly hope so.
They slowly undress each other.
JOHN
Do you feel like company?
RACHEL
I thought you’d never ask.
JOHN
We’ll have to do this again some time.
RACHEL
What’ll we do with the kids?
JOHN
Send them over to Steve’s.
They giggle as they sit and then lie down on the bed. Rachel flinches, and John stops immediately.
JOHN (cont’d)
O que?
RACHEL
(kissing him)
Nada. Esta tudo bem.
As they get comfortable, there’s a soft knock at the door. John stops, frustrated.
JAVIER (off)
Mom?
RACHEL
Yes, Javi.
JAVIER (off)
Can you come here for a second?
Rachel buttons her blouse to a decent level and opens the door. Javier is wet from the chest down.
JAVIER (cont’d)
I didn’t do it this time; honest. Eric’s throwing up all
over the place, and he didn’t make it to the bathroom
the first time, okay?
RACHEL
All right, honey. Go get changed, and we’ll take care
of Eric.
JAVIER
Cori’s got him now; she told him not to eat the whole
pizza, but ....
JOHN
Come on.
Rachel kisses John quickly as they follow Javier out.
INT: INTERROGATION ROOM: MORNING:
Rachel is sitting by herself, her briefcase and a legal pad in front of her on the table. Damon is shown in by two guards. He remains handcuffed as he sits next to Rachel. Damon, 14, is one of Rachel’s students at South JHS.
DAMON
Ain’t you supposed to be teachin’ or som’m?
RACHEL
Good morning, Damon. We don’t have a lawyer yet,
so I’m going to do the best I can for you. Any last
minute confessions or little surprises you may have,
I’d like to hear about them before the rest of them
get here.
DAMON
I didn’t do nothin’, Miss. Why you so down on me?
Talves eu deveria ter esperado foro meu pai.
RACHEL
If that’s what you want.
Sergeant Moran, Lieutenant Grossman, and D.A. Lowenstein come in together. Both officers are in sharp uniforms, and Lowenstein is in a fancy, crisp suit. Lowenstein puts his briefcase on the table and takes a thin file from it.
LOWENSTEIN
Good morning, Mrs. Pelt?
RACHEL
Mrs. Davis. In the absence of legal counsel, I am
acting on Mr. Pelt’s behalf. However, I cannot
believe that this could be considered a formal
meeting, as Mr. Pelt’s right to an attorney has not
yet been met.
Damon is sufficiently impressed.
GROSSMAN
Mrs. Davis, we were hoping to avoid the whole trial
