Free An Education by Nick Hornby Page B

says his goodbyes. DAVID sits down in his place.
    MARJORIE
    Wonderful to see you, Graham.
     
    GRAHAM
    ( to JENNY)
    Goodbye, Jenny.
     
    JENNY
    ( brightly, without looking up )
    Bye, Graham.
    GRAHAM makes to leave with a last attempt to catch JENNY’S eye, without success. MARJORIE shows him to the door.
    JACK
    A little something warming?
     
    DAVID
    You know me so well.
    Hearty laughter from the two men.
    JENNY
    Can I open anything yet?
    MARJORIE comes back into the room.
    MARJORIE
    Wait for me.
     
    DAVID
    Before you open that lot, I’ve got a surprise. Next weekend, we’re all going to Café de Flore to celebrate Jenny’s birthday.
     
    JACK
     
    ( flatly )
    Lovely.
     
    DAVID
    Café de Flore is in the Boulevard St Germain. In Paris.
    JENNY giggles her delight. JACK’S smile is a little more forced.
    JACK
    How d’you mean, Paris?
     
    JENNY
    You know the one, Dad.
     
    JACK
    ( panic rising )
    But . . . We don’t have any French money. And besides, it’s too . . . I don’t think it would agree with me.
     
    JENNY
    Dad!
     
    JACK
    The French don’t like us, Jenny, you know that. John Sutton from work, he went there last year. They were very rude to him.
    JENNY understands DAVID’S ploy perfectly, and the role she must play. Her eyes fill with tears. JACK notices.
    I don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, but . . . It’s just not for me, Europe.You’ll have to go another time.
     
    JENNY
    ( bitterly )
    You’ve just said you don’t like Europe. What’s going to change? It’ll have to be Europe, won’t it? Because it certainly won’t be you.
     
    MARJORIE
    I’ll take her.
     
    JACK
    ( genuinely indignant )
    To the Continent? And leave me here on my own?
    JENNY
    Oh, for God’s sake.
    JENNY gets up furiously and takes her presents to the other side of the sitting room.
    JACK looks cornered. He needs to find a way out.
    DAVID
    What do you think? You know what Jenny’s like about France, Jack. About French films and books and music.
    He looks at JACK for a response.
    JACK
    ( discomfited )
    Of course I do.
     
    DAVID
    Sorry.Yes. It goes without saying. She’s your daughter. Jenny likes to joke about how you’re a stick-in-the mud and all the rest of it, but I know that’s not who you are. Otherwise she wouldn’t be who she is.
     
    JACK
    ( uncertainly )
    No.
     
    DAVID
    But I can also see that I’ve acted out of turn, and I’m sorry.
    JACK looks at JENNY. Even he can see that he can’t do this to her.
    JACK
    What about your Aunt Helen?
    DAVID catches JENNY’S eye and she smiles. JACK smiles, too; he’s off the hook.

62 EXTERIOR: TWICKENHAM, STREET - NIGHT
    The Bristol is speeding down the road.
    JENNY
    An hour late.
     
    DAVID
    We’ll make it, I promise.

63 INTERIOR: HEATHROW HOTEL BEDROOM - EVENING
    DAVID and JENNY enter the room.
    DAVID
    OK, there’s a flight at eight in the morning.
     
    JENNY
    Good.
    JENNY stares at the featureless sitting room.
    There’s no bed.
     
    DAVID
    I pushed the boat out and got us a suite.
     
    JENNY
    A suite!
     
    DAVID
    If work stops us getting to Paris until tomorrow, then work can buy us a nice hotel room. Anyway, it’s a special occasion, isn’t it?
     
    JENNY
    I’d have thought that tonight of all nights we only need a bed.
    Close on DAVID’S reaction - she hasn’t forgotten that tonight’s the night.

64 INTERIOR: HOTEL BEDROOM - NIGHT
    DAVID and JENNY in bed, in a dimly lit bedroom.They are kissing - DAVID more passionately than JENNY . He is making little whimpers of excitement, and JENNY is clearly trying hard to hide her nerves.We’re acutely aware of her age, and of her virginity. Suddenly DAVID breaks off.
    DAVID
    Hold on one second. I’ve got something.
    Rather absurdly, he disappears into the other room to look for something. He comes back with a banana. JENNY stares at him.
    I thought . . . I thought we might want to practice with this.
    He brandishes the banana. JENNY shrieks with horror.
    JENNY
    With a banana?
     
    DAVID
    I thought we might