Free Blood Sports by Eden Robinson Page B

Hey. Um. A bunch of us thought. Um. You should have got the solo.
    P. MAZENKOWSKI : Thanks.
    T. BAUER : I mean it. I’m not just saying that cause you’re, uh, you know, but you nail the runs. And Eileen fudges them. If she didn’t suck like a Hoover, you’d have it.
    P. MAZENKOWSKI : God, I know. “You’re fifty-two? Really? I didn’t think you were a day over thirty!”
    Mr. Bauer laughs.
    UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE : Can I get some service around here?
    Mr. Bauer sighs.
    P. MAZENKOWSKI : A small Diet Coke, Tom.
    Mr. Bauer pours Ms. Mazenkowski’s drink.
    T. BAUER : I got it.
    P. MAZENKOWSKI : Thanks. See you tomorrow, Tom.
    T. BAUER : Later.
[pause]
Welcome to Chuckie Burgers.
    Ms. Mazenkowski exits Chuck Wagon Burgers and returns to Mr. Rieger, who is waiting in a blue Ford pickup truck.
    J. RIEGER : And?
    P. MAZENKOWSKI : I dunno, Jer. This is creepy. Why –
    [00:41:08]
    Tom Bauer dismounts his black and yellow ten-speed at 2177 Granville Street, a salmon-coloured, two-storey stucco house with terra cotta roof tiles. He sneaks around the side of the house. He knocks on a basement window. The light in the basement goes on. Mr. Bauer proceeds to the back of the house.
    [00:42:03]
    2177 Granville Street viewed from the alley. Mr. Bauer exits the detached garage with Mike McConnell, a mid-teens, Caucasian male with a small build, and shoulder-length red hair. They shush each other, staggering to the basement.
    [00:45:25]
    Patricia McConnell wears a navy sheath dress. She looks behind her toward the open back door.
    PATRICIA MCCONNELL : Anytime this century, Michael!
    MIKE MCCONNELL : Don’t get your thong in a knot, Patricia!
    P. MCCONNELL : You will not use that tone with me, Michael!
    M. MCCONNELL : Stop fucking yelling at me!
    P. MCCONNELL : Get in the Jeep. Now.
    M. MCCONNELL : I’ll take the bus.
    P. MCCONNELL : If you skip classes again, you are grounded! Do you hear me?
    M. MCCONNELL : Fucking deaf people in Tokyo can hear you!
    Ms. McConnell enters the garage. A green Jeep exits at a high speed. Mr. McConnell waits and then opens the back door. He punches in the security code. Mr. Bauer appears. They go to the garage and exit on their bikes.
    [00:46:19]
    Looking down at the Food Court in the atrium in the Granville Mall: Mr. Bauer, in a blue baseball cap, pushes through the lunchtime crowd. He bumps into a tall man who wears jeans and a Blue Jays jacket. They speak. Bauer continues to walk and, within a few feet, hands off a tan wallet to Mr. McConnell, who walks in the opposite direction.
    J. RIEGER : Score one for the geezer.
    [00:47:36]
    Tom Bauer stares at the floor in front of the bathroom mirror.
    J. RIEGER : See how the cut of the jacket gives you the illusion of shoulders?
    Mr. Bauer sighs. He glances at his reflection in the mirror and then back at the floor.
    T. BAUER : You put food in the fridge and you paid the bills. You’ve done enough, Jer. I can’t accept these clothes. It’s too much.
    J. RIEGER : Nice try.
    T. BAUER : Give my clothes back, you jerk! I paid good money for those clothes!
    Mr. Rieger laughs.
    T. BAUER : Jer, I’m not you. If I wear this crap to school, I’m going to get a shit-kicking.
    J. RIEGER : You look great.
    T. BAUER : Can I please, please, please have my real clothes back? Please. Please, Jer.
    J. RIEGER : Dumpster divers have more sartorial sophistication than you. It’s embarrassing.
    T. BAUER : So? Why do you care? Why can’t –
    J. RIEGER : This discussion is over.
    [00:48:57]
    Mr. Rieger crushes four white tablets and sprinkles them into a can of Pepsi. The television plays music videos loudly in the background. Richard Patolmic is briefly visible as he strides past the kitchen. Mr. Rieger pauses and turns his head.
    J. RIEGER : Tom?
    Mr. Rieger gives the can of Pepsi a shake. A loud thump can be heard coming from another room, quickly followed by the sound of Richard Patolmic’s raised voice. Mr. Rieger runs into the hallway.
    T. BAUER : I don’t know!
    R.