SCENE 1 (Morgendorffer house, around noon)
(Shot of the outside. Cut to shot of Quinn lying on her bed, head propped up with one hand, gazing down at her math text. For once she looks as though she can't focus. Her eyes keep drifting away from the page, until finally she slides off the bed and darts over to the CD player to change the CD, which has been playing inoffensive boy band pop. Once she completes the task, she turns around to go back... only to find Jane standing in her room.)
JANE: Um, knocky, knocky.
QUINN: Jane! What are you doing in here?
JANE: Wow, your room still looks like this?
QUINN: (now annoyed) Shouldn't you, like, be sitting with Daria, complaining about stuff?
JANE: (faux energized) Not when I've got the chance to invite you to join Daria on a fun-filled excursion downstairs!
QUINN: To do what?
JANE: Confront your dad.
QUINN: (frowning) That's not fun.
JANE: It would be if your dad were Ozzy Osbourne. You could watch him stumble around, mumbling nonsensical things and cursing at inanimate objects. (Wait -- that is Jake.) On second thought...
QUINN: (suspicious) Why are you here asking me instead of Daria?
JANE: You know your sister. Always on the run, too busy to handle her own affairs.
(Quinn plops back down on the bed with her math book.)
QUINN: She can confront Dad herself, then.
(Jane lets out a big groan.)
JANE: C'mon Quinn, I just got through giving this lecture to Daria. You can't afford to be mad at her: she's your only ally. The one person who knows exactly how you feel about this crappy parental neglect thing.
QUINN: What about you? You seem to know how it feels.
JANE: Only because the situation has made my childhood and young adulthood flash before my eyes. (shudders.) Be glad neither of your parents is on a balloon trip over the Andes.
(Quinn smiles, albeit briefly.)
QUINN: Sorry. But there's still no point in me coming with her.
JANE: Why not?
QUINN: Because I already talked to my dad.
JANE: (surprised) When?
QUINN: This morning. I was like, "Dad, enough is enough. Are you and Mom fighting? Are you gonna get a divorce?"
JANE: What'd he do?
QUINN: Well first he kind of went all pale and laughed really nervously and put his hand on his heart like he was about to have another heart attack, and --
JANE: Okay, okay: but did he say anything?
QUINN: (quieter) He said it was up to Mom. Then he had to check the freezer to make sure the lasagna hadn't gone bad, and ran off.
JANE: Yeesh.
QUINN: Then okay, so I called Mom on her cell phone, right? But it went right to her voicemail, so I called Aunt Amy's house and her boyfriend answered. So I talked to him a little and told him what was going on, and he sounded kind of weird, I wouldn't say mad or anything, but he told me Aunt Amy wanted to show Mom one last thing before she left. (frustrated.) So Mom hasn't even started home yet.
JANE: (overwhelmed) Well I admire your footwork. But don't you think this is something you could've might've should've told Daria?
(Quinn's expression darkens into one of resentment.)
QUINN: Why should I? She didn't tell me Mom's real reason for visiting Aunt Amy.
JANE: Oh?
QUINN: (storming) She thought I was too stupid, like I couldn't handle the truth! Well this time I wanted to know something she didn't know, something really important. (more solemn.) I was gonna tell her eventually.
JANE: First day at the retirement community? (Quinn shoots a look of defiance.) Look, Daria doesn't think you're stupid; she just has incredibly high standards that very few people meet. So to her, you're not uniquely stupid --
QUINN: (angry/amused) Ha, right. I've only lived with her since birth. And I know when she thinks you're really stupid, and I know she thinks I am.
JANE: Quinn, you're --
QUINN: And you want to know why?? 'Cause she doesn't want me to be smart.
JANE: Oh please, Daria's been encouraging you since Day One. First with the glasses, then with doing well in school, and --
QUINN: I used to think that.
JANE: What??
QUINN: Like you, that she just wanted me to meet her standards. So I've tried. But the smarter I get at math, the less she seems to like it.
JANE: And how can you prove that?
QUINN: When I was doing badly, she always used to say I wasn't living up to my potential. Now she says I'm only doing well because my math teacher is a big creep.
JANE: You think there's something to what she says?
QUINN: NO!
(The vehemence of her outburst startles Jane, and even seems to startle Quinn, who then looks embarrassed if only briefly.)
QUINN: Okay, so he gives me some extra attention. But I've come most of the way myself!
JANE: I believe you. (puts up her hands in a jovial "back off" manner.) But devil's advocate: when's the last time you doled out compliments to her? Like, say, on her appearance?
QUINN: But she hasn't changed her appearance. She hasn't changed anything! It's all been me.
JANE: Well no matter how much you think she's wronged you, it's not gonna help if all you do is growl at her. You've gotta be honest, which means you've gotta face her.
QUINN: (resistant) If I tell her, she'll just say something real smart and clever to twist it around, so I look even stupider. She's good at that. (squeezes her eyes shut.) I'm tired of it.
(Jane looks at Quinn a moment, as if understanding exactly what she feels. She reaches over to pat Quinn on the shoulder, then thinks better of it.)
JANE: 'Kay fine, we won't mention this conversation. But for the greater good, you think you could at least tell Daria what you know?
(Quinn pauses, looks from Jane to her book.)
JANE: Okay, then. I tell her.
(Quinn glares at Jane, stands up, and walks out of the room. Jane follows.)
(cut to: )
SCENE 2 (that same time, near the coast)
HELEN: I do love him, you know.
(Amy has been driving them along a two-lane highway, not far outside her city. She glances over at Helen beside her.)
AMY: Yes, you've told me.
HELEN: It's just... it's just it's complicated.
AMY: I understand.
(They continue to ride in silence, the same silence that has been between them for most of the trip. Amy glances at Helen expectantly, while Helen gazes out at the faintly visible coastline. She then checks her watch for the dozenth time, then her cell phone, which has been accidentally shut off. She clicks it on and sees that she has missed a few calls, but there are no messages. Helen gets an even more distressed and restless expression.)
(Soon the road pulls away from the coast, and Amy drives into the parking lot of a slightly rundown, yet otherwise bland strip mall. Helen looks confused as her sister parks in front of a secondhand store.)
HELEN: This is it??
AMY: (getting out) This is it.
(Cut to the inside. The shelves are packed with slightly dusty, interesting artifacts, such as old board games, lamps, exercise equipment, collectors' plates, etc. Amy looks around appreciatively, with a sense of familiarity that comes from frequent visits. Helen, on the other hand, reacts with distinct discomfort.)
AMY: There's a real sense of ambiance, isn't there?
HELEN: Um, sure... but I don't understand. (a little cross.) We came all this way, just to visit a shop that's no different from any other pawn shop.
AMY: It's not just any shop. This one has sentimental value.
HELEN: You? Sentimental? Right.
AMY: You don't think I can be sentimental?
(Helen pauses, as if remembering something.)
HELEN: Actually, I do.
AMY: (pleased) You see, I stumbled upon this place years ago, when I broke down on my way home from college. I was trying to pass time, waiting for the mechanics to fix my engine... and suddenly it hit me.
HELEN: What?
AMY: I didn't want to be a chemist. (off Helen's puzzled reaction.) I majored in chemistry to please Mom and Dad, because I thought it made me look distinguished. I was good at it, but I didn't enjoy it.
HELEN: So what happened?
AMY: I switched majors... Mom and Dad said I was spoiled and lacked direction, of course. I headed down the path of liberal arts and haven't looked back. (sighs a little, then smirks.) It felt like the right idea at the time.
HELEN: So something here brought you to your epiphany?
AMY: I'm not sure. (looks around her, eyes filling with feeling.) But since then, I've come back every so often. It's where I decided to call Joel after Mom's anniversary party. There's something about it.
HELEN: (a little distant) Yes.
(And whatever that something is, Helen doesn't like it. She wishes she knew why. Then she turns to look at Amy, who is watching her with a rare sparkle in her eyes. Something about it touches Helen deep down, and in spite of her misery, she smiles.)
HELEN: Thank you for showing it to me.
AMY: I thought you might like it as well.
HELEN: How come?
AMY: Because if you've lost something, there's a good chance you might find it here. (looks at her carefully.) And it's also a good place to lose and find yourself again.
HELEN: (confused, or pretends to be) But I'm not looking for anything.
AMY: You've always been looking for something, Helen.
HELEN: (surprised) How do you know?
AMY: I just do. Blame it on that sixth sense I've got from years of standing in the background observing. (quietly matter of fact.) Ever since we were young, you didn't take on new challenges just to be the best, did you?
HELEN: I'm pretty sure I did.
AMY: You may have thought you did, but through all that testing of personal limits, you wanted to learn more about who you were. Find something that really fit you.
HELEN: (cocks a brow) That's a pretty strong statement.
AMY: (smirks) Says the woman who blamed me for ruining her life.
HELEN: (remembering) But you told me yesterday that I'd always tried to be something I wasn't.
AMY: That's right: something more than you were at present. It was a compliment, Helen.
HELEN: (sarcastic) Pardon me for not getting the obvious. Have you always felt this way?
AMY: (nodding) But I didn't realize it until last night.
HELEN: Why last night?
AMY: (placid) It's amazing, isn't it? How one experience can just trigger a bunch of new feelings? Remind you of things you once felt and at the same time open you up to new possibilities?
(Helen listens, feeling both bewildered and strangely closer to her sister than ever before.)
HELEN: Yes. (looks probingly at Amy.) But are you sure it's not you who's always been looking for something? Like right now, perhaps?
AMY: I'm just saying I think you're very close to getting what you want, and you're probably afraid. (intense look.) Don't be, Helen. You could be on the verge of something wonderful. Don't turn away, or you might never forgive yourself.
HELEN: Thank you, Ann Landers, but I...
(Helen is about to tell Amy she's just fine, but something about Amy's impassioned, sincere request causes the words to stick her throat. It comes across almost like need, suggesting a deeper level of despair than Joel had mentioned. At the same time, Helen can't deny its power. She finds herself smiling again and is about to speak, when it finally hits her -- why the shop bothers her. Like water through a busted dam, fears that she has been holding back flood her consciousness. Helen squeezes her eyes shut.)
AMY: What's wrong?
HELEN: This place... all these useless things. It reminds me of Jake's junk sculpture.
AMY: (not understanding) Really?
HELEN: (miserable) Oh Amy, Jake's the one you should be talking to, not me! He's the one who's been trying to find himself after years of being held back.
AMY: Held back?
HELEN: By me. I've been holding him back.
AMY: (frowning) How?
HELEN: I don't know... but there's something I'm not doing. (face puckers.) Because with the proper encouragement, he can do so much.
(Amy watches her sister's distress and feels a barrier slide between them again.)
HELEN: You know he's been teaching night classes? A friend of his got him involved. At first they just went bowling, but now he... classes. It really seems to be doing him a lot of good.
AMY: So what's the problem?
HELEN: His friend encouraged him. Not me.
AMY: All rivers run to the ocean.
HELEN: But I'm his wife! If I can't influence him in the right direction, what's the point of my being with him??
AMY: What about when he encourages you?
HELEN: (not hearing) He might have fulfilled his dreams years ago, and wouldn't have spent all this time feeling so hurt and resentful.
AMY: (arched brow) So his failings are your fault.
HELEN: Before I kissed Greg, I saw Jake's sculpture, and it struck me that Jake might deserve someone else. Someone who... (Pause, as Helen's face turns red and tears well up in her eyes.) Someone who could help him be... the kind of man he wants to be.
(Tears well up in her eyes, and she closes them to keep them from spilling over. Helen sinks down just as Amy reaches over to put a hand on her shoulder, leaving Amy to stroke air. She doubles over and hugs her knees, crying noiselessly and tearlessly, as though she's been seized by pains on the inside that would only get worse if she let anything out. Amy watches with concern, before crouching down to put her arms around Helen's shoulders.)
(After several moments pass, Helen sniffles and wipes her eyes, and looks about her as though trying to adjust to a new perspective.)
HELEN: (realizing) That's what this is about, isn't it? All this misery I've been feeling: it's because I felt like Jake deserves someone else. (sniffles, smiles a little.) Yes... that's it.
(She stands up shakily, with Amy's help.)
HELEN: Now that I've actually said it, it really doesn't seem so bad. (lawyer-like.) I can work with this. I can --
AMY: (carefully) And Greg?
HELEN: What about him?
AMY: You kissed him, didn't you?
HELEN: (quietly acknowledging) Of course I did. But don't you see? The only reason I did was because I felt so horrible about Jake. It was really more of a... an impulse. A fluke.
AMY: A fluke??
HELEN: This changes everything, now. (wipes her eyes.) I can work with this. I'll tell Jake about my insecurities, and we'll talk about it and maybe see someone.
AMY: (unrelenting) But what about what you said last night? About how Greg helped you "discover" yourself through sculpting and caused you to have some spiritual awakening?
HELEN: (smiles a little) I think that might have been the wine from dinner talking. I don't remember half of what I said.
(Amy just stares at her, dumbfounded.)
(cut to: )
SCENE 4 (Morgendorffer house, that same time)
JAKE: (OS) I don't know how it happened.
(Cut to shot of him, Daria, and Quinn sitting on the living room couches.)
JAKE: (crestfallen) Everything was fine. Well I mean your mother and I were fighting, but we always fight, and we always make up in the end.
(His eyes take on a dreamy look, suggesting the way in which they made up.)
JAKE: But then we had this one fight... it was the worst one we'd had, and it was all my fault!
QUINN: That one at Grandma Barksdale's party?
[*] See Helen and Jake's blow-up at the end of "None in the Family, Part One"
JAKE: No. (His face flushes, as he realizes he'll have to 'fess up about more recent events.) I accused her of having feelings for someone else. She said she didn't, and I thought we made up. But then she just... drifted away.
(Quinn looks distressed. Daria nods faintly, recalling what Jane said about Greg.)
DARIA: Drifted where?
JAKE: I don't know. She hasn't acted upset. When I get home at night, she's always there. You haven't seen her go out in the evenings, have you?
(Daria and Quinn shake their heads.)
JAKE: (reflective) Which is strange, because I would have thought...
(He catches himself again. This time Daria notices.)
JAKE: Maybe it's all in my head. When I talk to her, she answers the same way she always does. (face clouds.) But she isn't the same. I feel like she looks at me... like she doesn't know who I am.
QUINN: (quiet) She does that with us, too, Dad.
DARIA: It's her general mood. It's like she's depressed.
JAKE: (mopey) Depressed...
DARIA: Did you ever talk to her about it?
JAKE: I tried, but she -- (He stops, then he shakes his head vigorously.) No, no, I never tried. I should have tried. God dammit, why didn't I ever try?!
(Daria and Quinn look at each other, concerned about his reaction.)
QUINN: (helpful) You could still try.
JAKE: (shakes his head, in his own world) And I thought "Hey, well you cold-shoulder ME, I can do it right back! HA!" So I drifted away and did my own thing even more. And I started thinking about what life would be like without her. And then I --
(He stops abruptly, as if catching himself, then grips his head, anguished.)
JAKE: Aw girls, I shouldn't be telling you this!! You're too pure and innocent for these kinds of details.
QUINN: Hello, Dad? Celebrity magazines.
DARIA: Well you've told us. There's nothing you can do about it now.
JAKE: I just don't want you to feel the same resentment toward me that I've got toward my old man!
DARIA: Dad, we asked you to tell us. Actually, forced you to. We can't hate you for doing what we asked.
QUINN: (solemn) But you and Mom will make up eventually. Right?
(A long, excruciating beat.)
JAKE: I want to, honey. I miss her. (groans.) But for some reason, I keep feeling like even if we really want to make up, something will stop us.
QUINN: (frightened) But the point is you want to, right?
JAKE: (exploding) I'm such an IDIOT! How could I say those things to her?! I hurt her so much, and then I turn around and -- !
DARIA: Dad.
QUINN: Calm down!
JAKE: (hands over his eyes) GOD, I'm so weak! I'm such a jerk! A terrible mean-hearted jerk! It's my fault!!
QUINN: Da-aad!!
(Daria looks at Jake's face and sees a level of anguish almost out-of- proportion to the situation. She recalls the way he caught himself earlier, and frowns with concern.)
QUINN: (terse) Dad, look at me. You do want to fix this, don't you??
JAKE: (moaning) Sure I do! But --
QUINN: Then you can. Remember what happened the last time?
JAKE: The Guptys? (cringes.) Oh God no! The house is a mess.
QUINN: I mean when you got the courage to tell Mom how you felt, and she didn't bite your head off, and then you kissed and kissed and kissed until I was about ready to die. Remember?
JAKE: (thoughtful) Yeah...
DARIA: Quinn, I think a few things are different this time.
(Quinn spins to face her, eyes narrowing.)
QUINN: What's different?? Dad's in trouble and he needs help. If you won't help him I will.
(She turns to Jake, business-like.)
QUINN: Now Dad, it sounds like you were Mr. Insensitive and a trifle insecure, which always turns girls off. You could buy Mom gifts, which works for most women, but Mom has this weird thing against material displays of affection.
(Jake nods slowly, a sliver of hope in his expression.)
QUINN: So you should probably try to boost the sensitivity.
JAKE: Sensitivity. Check.
QUINN: If you want, I can show you how.
DARIA: That'll leave him in good hands.
QUINN: First let me get something to write with...
(Ignoring Daria, she dashes off.)
(cut to: )
SCENE 5 (driving, early afternoon)
(Amy and Helen are on the return journey to Amy's apartment. Unlike last time, Helen keeps the silence at bay with lively, effusive chatter that makes her sound more like her "old" self than she has for quite some time.)
HELEN: (relieved) ... This has been such an incredible load off of my mind, you don't even know. All this time, I was so afraid the kiss meant something more than it did, when it didn't!
(Amy tries to smile at her sister's happy tone. Instead, her cheeks flush with embarrassment. Unused to being as vulnerable as she was in the shop, Amy now feels quite stupid for the things she said and the assumptions she made. She tries to recall what Helen said the night before that led her to think Helen wanted something else.)
HELEN: All that guilt, all that fear about what could happen. But no matter: it's all much simpler now. I really think things will be all right, I really do.
AMY: Good. That's good.
HELEN: (brow furrows) But you know, this isn't the first time I've gotten carried away by irrational fears. I used to have these fits of anxiety that made me completely shut down.
(Amy looks at her questioningly.)
HELEN: And it was always for the same reason: concern about a loved one, causing me to either withdraw from human contact or seek comfort in another human being. That's all the kiss was, same with my running to visit you.
AMY: That makes sense.
HELEN: I can't wait to go home, now.
(Helen finally comes down from her high enough to notice Amy's taciturnity. She feels such a sense of gratitude, even she can't find words to express it, and she wants Amy to feel as happy as she does.)
HELEN: (warm) Well what about you? Do you feel better after visiting one of your favorite haunts?
AMY: (unconvincing) Oh... certainly.
HELEN: Are you sure? You said some pretty intense things to me in the shop.
AMY: That was for your benefit.
HELEN: (more direct, gentle) Is there anything you'd like to talk about?
(Amy considers. But already, the moment between them feels so far in the past, she doesn't have the will to try and rekindle it. Instead, she struggles to bring her hopes back down to earth.)
AMY: (faint smile) And ruin your hour of triumph?
HELEN: Amy...
AMY: I'd rather listen to you. What's this about anxiety attacks?
(Helen glances at her, somewhat disappointed that she doesn't want to talk, but decides that the best thing is to lead by example.)
HELEN: (smiling) I'm surprised you don't know, given that you seemed so certain of how I felt when I was younger.
AMY: What?
HELEN: But then, most of these attacks seemed to happen when you were either very young or not yet born. (cocks a brow.) I wasn't always the questing, challenge-seeking person you claim I was.
AMY: So what were you?
(Pause)
HELEN: Scared. A lot. As a child, of course, you have much less control over your life. And I was a wayward, willful child, always getting yelled at.
AMY: (cocks a brow) By Mom?
HELEN: By everyone. Back when we were doing a lot of moving and things were so stressful. I'd get so worried people would think I was "bad" and stop loving me that I'd just go mute. It seemed easier, somehow.
AMY: (sympathetic) I'm sure Mom and Dad were a positive influence.
HELEN: (resigned) Well yes, Mom was Mom. Rita was her favorite and nothing would change that. But in some ways Dad was worse.
AMY: (knowing) Of course.
HELEN: Because I knew he loved me best. (impassioned, drawn into the memory.) When he got angry, I knew that meant I'd done something just awful, and I would get so scared it would happen again. I didn't want to lose his love -- I couldn't. Without him, I felt like I had no one.
AMY: (feeling the bond again) Helen...
HELEN: Ironically, my worst attack had nothing to do with what I'd done. (laughs a little.) How strange, I was just remembering this last night! It was when Dad started talking about wanting a boy.
AMY: He tortured you, too?
HELEN: (bitter) Oh yes. He talked about it so damned much, I prayed in my room every night that it wouldn't happen. (fiercely.) I wasn't about to be the odd man out.
AMY: Right.
HELEN: I started to lose weight and couldn't sleep. Mom and Dad wound up putting me in the hospital for a short time.
AMY: For how long??
HELEN: About a week. (assuring.) Anyway, it was before you were born, and obviously I've lived to tell about it.
AMY: What was the magic cure-all?
HELEN: I just came to my senses. And afterward, the thought never again crossed my mind.
AMY: That's a relief.
HELEN: Then of course I grew up, grew independent, and found ways to exercise control over my life. (reflective.) It's funny: this is the first time I've ever had this problem as an adult. Especially since I married.
(Amy doesn't hear her. She's musing about something.)
HELEN: (pensive) When I've ever felt so completely unsure of my course of action that I couldn't handle it.
(She turns to Amy, who responds after a beat.)
AMY: Helen? How soon did that attack happen before I was born?
HELEN: Oh, not too soon.
AMY: (cocks a brow) Within nine months?
(Something about Amy's tone makes Helen look at her strangely.)
HELEN: Within a month or two of your birth, actually. After you arrived a girl, our parents decided not to have any more children, and all of Dad's talk... sort of went away.
(Amy absorbs this in silence, the color draining from her cheeks. She focuses straight ahead on the road, but it's soon clear that her mind is not on driving, as she almost forgets to brake at a stop sign.)
HELEN: Amy, watch it! (amused.) True, it's not the most selfless wish a little girl could make, but it's not as if any harm was done. (long Pause) Amy?
(cut to: )
SCENE 6 (Morgendorffer house, a short time later.)
(Shot of the outside.)
JANE: (VO) So good, you see?
(Cut to shot of her and Daria sitting in Daria's room.)
JANE: You took the problem by the horns and now your dad's downstairs trying to think up ways to win your mom back.
DARIA: Oh yes, his enthusiasm was palpable.
JANE: So why the gloomier than usual tone?
DARIA: Damned if I know. Dad really does seem to want Mom back.
(Cut to shot of Quinn and Jake still on the living room couches. Quinn has a notepad and is writing things down. Jake fidgets with anxiety.)
JAKE: So what's on the paper?? What?? Something that will help me? Fix me?? What?!
QUINN: Patience, Father. (finishes writing, rests her pen on the tablet.) Okay, based on what you've said about your fight with Mom, how you feel you haven't listened to her, I've made up a short pop quiz covering the basics.
JAKE: (pales) P-pop... quiz? But I didn't study!
QUINN: Dad, that's the point. We'll know the severeness of your problem based on how many questions you can answer, and go from there.
JAKE: And that helps?? Has it helped anyone else?
QUINN: Oh, lots of people! (thinks.) Well, no one I actually know, but lots of models in Waif swear that it's kept their relationships afloat for an extra six months.
JAKE: Six months?!
QUINN: Question One: What's Mom's middle name?
JAKE: Oh God, I know I know this one! It's... (frowns, wilts.) K-something, right?
(Quinn looks down at the pad, then at Jake, disappointed.)
QUINN: Dad, it's Anne. The only K in her name is in Barksdale.
JAKE: Gah, I knew I'd get that one wrong! Give me another one, please?? I'll do better!
QUINN: Okay, that was just for warm-up. Question Two: How old is Mom?
(Jake looks at Quinn with a "You've got to be kidding, right?")
JAKE: Oh come on sweetie, we were in college together. I'm not that dense! She's... (Pause) thirty-eight.
QUINN: (disappointed) Dad, that's not even...
(She then sees Jake wearing a suave grin and realizes that is the age Helen wants to project.)
QUINN: Very good, Dad!
(Cut to shot of Daria and Jane in Daria's room, as before.)
DARIA: Something just feels off. Quinn treats this like it's the second seminar of the Gupty Empowerment Program. Get Dad in touch with his touchy-feely side, and all will be peachy. I don't buy it.
JANE: So you're questioning Quinn's wisdom?
DARIA: Don't I always? (relenting.) Believe me, I want it to work. The "something" that is off is giving me a sick feeling inside.
JANE: Why assume Quinn doesn't know what she's doing? This relationship stuff is her thing.
DARIA: Dating is her thing. Relationships require a level of maturity that's beyond her.
JANE: (scorn creeping in) Don't be so picky. At least she's trying.
DARIA: Who says I'm being picky?
JANE: She was the one who first confronted your dad, you know.
DARIA: (cocking a brow) Yes, I know. I don't need you to be her skywriter.
JANE: Sorry, it's just that she said some pretty strong stuff when I talked to her earlier. Like that you make fun of her because you don't want her to be as smart as you.
(Daria rolls her eyes, unsurprised by this statement.)
DARIA: So we're discussing Quinn now? As opposed to the very pressing problem at hand?
JANE: (shrugs) It'll be good for a breather. Besides, I'm kind of curious to know your thoughts.
DARIA: My thoughts are that she's got it all wrong.
JANE: So you don't think she's cheating in math?
DARIA: I don't think she thinks she is.
JANE: But do you?
DARIA: (after a pause) No. I don't.
JANE: (surprised) Really?? Even with your suspicions of You Know Who?
(Daria's brow furrows, as though she's been giving this a lot of thought.)
DARIA: Those suspicions don't touch Quinn. Whatever she's earned... she's done it on her own.
JANE: You should tell her that. Talk about a blow torch to the chill between you two.
DARIA: (irritated) Given that I never called her a cheater in the first place, I shouldn't have to.
JANE: Does that mean also you wouldn't be upset if she got really high grades?
DARIA: I would lead the Brain Pride Parade.
JANE: And if everyone started saying "Hey Quinn, you're just like your sister. You'll have the same success, the same privileges. You might even go to the same college and--"
DARIA: That wouldn't happen.
JANE: Why not?
DARIA: (frowning a little while remaining even-toned) Because she hasn't been a brain for that long, and only in one area. People don't catch up that fast.
JANE: Yeah, but remember how quickly everyone embraced her for that "Academic Imprisonment" essay? And that wasn't even good.
DARIA: She couldn't have kept it up, even if I hadn't stopped it. That would require work and effort, which she may be learning, but still has a long way to go. She can't just take a short cut and expect everyone to love her for it.
(Right there, Daria realizes that she has at least partially confirmed Quinn's suspicion. She rolls her eyes.)
DARIA: I am very happy that my sister is taking her course work seriously. But if she expects me to embrace her as my equal, pretend away the years she spent wiggling out of the tough assignments and mocking me for being a brain, she's got another thing coming.
JANE: So you just want her to pay her dues. It's not about whether she's as smart as you.
DARIA: Who knows if she's as smart as me?? If I spent as much time on one subject as she does, maybe they would call me maestro. It's excelling in all areas that shows what you're made of.
JANE: That sounds sensible. (fingers her artist clothes.) Though what does that say about me?
DARIA: You're different. At least you spent years developing your art.
JANE: So?
DARIA: You didn't just plunge in to a subject because your teacher made you, win a few tournaments, and expect to silence your critics.
JANE: So only if Quinn slogs away at math for thirty years and winds up some savvy business tycoon, you'll begin to respect her? Or is even that not enough?
DARIA: Why are you taking her side?
JANE: (sighing) I'm not. But I do sort of feel for her. She really, really wants your approval, I can tell. And it's one thing to feel the sting of Daria Morgendorffer's scorn when you're an outsider, but to get it every day in your own home.
DARIA: (scowl) Could we talk about crumbling marriages again? It was more reassuring.
JANE: I have to confess, your scorn for her is pretty visible.
DARIA: Like her scorn for me.
JANE: Be honest: is it just because you feel she doesn't deserve it? Or is part of you reluctant to share your identity?
DARIA: Scorn. Quinn. For me. Have you been listening? Why should I coddle her when she's never put herself out in the same way??
JANE: (soft) Okay, I'll go with the first one.
DARIA: If you think that means Quinn and I can't work together on this parental crisis, you're wrong.
JANE: No, I don't think that. But it definitely won't make things easier.
DARIA: She'll get over it. She has before.
JANE: Yeah. (shrugs.) And then she'll get mad again.
DARIA: Which is her choice.
JANE: But always about the same subject. Looks to me like this smartness thing is a real sticking point between you two.
DARIA: And how is it any different from our other sharp objects?
JANE: (shrugs) Maybe because right now, in spite of the past resentments you've had, you don't need Quinn's approval. But she seems to need you to tell her she's smart. Which means until you can shave down the sticking pointy thing, you guys won't resolve your differences.
(Daria cocks an eyelid, considering that fact.)
(cut to: )
SCENE 7 (neighborhood near Amy's residence)
AMY: Goodbye, Helen.
(Her voice is cold and tight. Helen looks at her imploringly.)
HELEN: Come on, Amy, not even a hug? We shouldn't end things this way -- again.
(They stand out on the curb, besides Helen's parked SUV and Amy's double- parked convertible. Their demeanors tell us that the rest of the trip home was silent and uncomfortable.)
AMY: I have to go inside.
HELEN: I don't get you. Things were going so well, and I don't want us to part in anger. Please tell me what happened.
(Amy considers, but even she can't find a logical explanation -- whether this rage that came on so suddenly has a connection to her present issues, or whether it's free-floating childhood resentment best left to wither away on its own. Finally Amy leans forward to give her sister a hug that exudes more chill than warmth.)
AMY: Just go home, Helen.
HELEN: (disappointed) Fine. I can't understand if you won't let me. (She whips out her purse and removes a few large bills, which she then stuffs into Amy's hand.) Here, this should cover my expenses.
(She fumbles around in search of her car keys, while Amy looks at the money expressionlessly.)
HELEN: (muttering) Just like your clinic, if you don't tell me I can't --
AMY: (overhearing) What??
HELEN: (facing her) Your clinic. I would have let you go yesterday if I had known about it.
(Amy looks dumbfounded, before putting two and two together.)
AMY: But instead Joel told you.
HELEN: I'm glad someone did. Though he didn't know you hadn't said anything. When we were chatting late last night --
AMY: (faint disgust) About me, behind my back? What a surprise.
HELEN: (rising anger) How else can I learn anything about you?! Sure, I open up about my deepest, darkest thoughts, but you only tell me what you think I should know, when you think I should know it. I'm sick of this double standard.
(She finds the key and points it toward the lock, but Amy restrains her, a surge of righteous anger loosening her tongue.)
AMY: You call that whining you've been doing "opening up"?? You don't have a clue what that means.
HELEN: (hard) Oh? So enlighten me.
AMY: It means being honest about what you want. But you, dear Helen, never think of what you really want -- only how you're affected by other people. How it's for Jake's own good, or that it could harm the girls, or it's because of something I did to you.
HELEN: Yes, how dare I think of others besides myself!
AMY: Which means, when you do something like run to me in blind panic at midnight, you don't have any idea why you did.
HELEN: So what's your take??
AMY: That Helen realized she's sick of her life and wants to change it, but is scared of the consequences.
HELEN: That's what you think?
AMY: It's what I thought. (challenging.) Is it really so hard to admit??
(For a moment, Helen is thrown, as she considers possibilities she had wanted to keep at bay. Then her expression hardens.)
HELEN: Not if that's what I actually felt. Why did you ever believe that??
AMY: Just... (righteous anger quickly dissolves.) Never mind.
(Helen looks at Amy dumbfoundedly for a moment, before pieces of a puzzle start sliding into place.)
HELEN: It's what you wanted me to feel... isn't it? (off Amy's flushed, embarrassed reaction.) Yes, it makes sense now. The way you kept insisting that I'm in search of something, how you kept bringing up Greg and the kiss, and why you took me to... "lose and find" myself...
(Dazedly, Helen stares at Amy.)
HELEN: You wanted me to leave my husband.
AMY: I just wanted you to --
HELEN: You took me to that place to convince me to leave. (Before Amy can speak:) Why would you do something like that? (enraged.) Have you any idea what you were doing?!
AMY: Just let me explain, Helen.
HELEN: (wounded) Amy, I trusted you! I thought we were there to share something. You've never deliberately misled me before.
AMY: I wasn't trying to hurt you.
HELEN: Then what were you trying to do?!
AMY: (defensive) Until last night, I just wanted you to feel good enough to go home. Then you talked about how bored you were, and how your sculpting teacher helped you reach some spiritual epiphany, and God help me, I thought maybe returning to the status quo wasn't best for you, after all.
HELEN: (sarcastic) You thought.
AMY: (eyes narrow) Only that it was what you were saying. Can you honestly tell me, Helen, that a part of you doesn't want a fresh start? That you felt nothing when you kissed that man??
(Her lawyer face on, Helen looks Amy in the eye.)
HELEN: I felt nothing.
(Amy gets a frowning, angry expression.)
AMY: You're lying.
HELEN: Dammit Amy, why do you keep acting like you have some personal stake in this?!
AMY: Because when people gate-crash my weekend, I like them to leave with smiles on their faces and a song in their hearts.
(Helen's angry, wounded look returns, and she sticks her key in the lock.)
AMY: (blurts out) Because I used to worship you, you know. It's painful to see what you've become.
(This dampens Helen's rage for the moment. Slowly, she removes the key.)
HELEN: You worshipped me?
AMY: Are you surprised? Given what I said at the shop?
HELEN: No. (shakes her head.) I mean yes. I had no idea.
AMY: It wasn't obvious: you had to comb through layers of snark to find my true feelings. (softly bemused.) The fact that you even deigned to love shy little me thrilled me beyond reason.
(Helen looks at her, not knowing what to say. Then her face gets a look of recognition.)
HELEN: (soft, reflective) I remember... (pointed look.) So what made you stop?
AMY: Somewhere along the line you dropped the ball.
HELEN: (sarcastic) What, I showed I was a human being?
AMY: I mean your vision narrowed. (closes her eyes.) You were so dynamic and excited about everything. You had so much intelligence and hope and you just... (scowls, searches for words, settles for) dropped the damn ball.
HELEN: I settled down.
AMY: It was before you married.
HELEN: Why didn't you ever say anything?? (eyes narrow.) Why tell me now? Wouldn't it have been more helpful, oh, then?
AMY: I didn't think I could do anything. I didn't think it was my place.
HELEN: You've had plenty of chances over the years.
AMY: (dark expression) Before long, it was too late. We'd grown too far apart.
(Helen is about to protest, but she realizes the truth of that statement.)
AMY: It wasn't until we started getting together this past year that I even felt some of the old feelings.
HELEN: (filling in the blanks) Then you saw old photos at Mother's house that really reminded you.
(Amy nods, looking stunned that Helen knew.)
AMY: I just thought they'd be nice to have around. To remember. Even the ones where I was too young to remember, but that you had taken. It wasn't until you talked about spirituality last night, that I saw a glimmer of the "old" you.
HELEN: (softly) So a part of you has been waiting for me to have a personal crisis?
AMY: Not a crisis -- just for you to fulfill your potential. Open up, get excited, shine that big ol' beam of light on the rest of us poor miserable saps. Make me feel... (doesn't finish.)
(Helen is tired and at a momentary loss for words. What Amy said in the shop connects perfectly with what she is saying now. Then something else occurs to Helen.)
HELEN: You've been hoping for more than just a bonding moment, haven't you?
(Pause. Then Amy nods, resigned.)
AMY: Like you, I've been in a rut. I don't know whether it's something new, or just a deepening of the rut I've always been in.
(Helen raises a brow, faint concern intermixing with her lingering anger.)
AMY: Joel suggested I go to some damn aptitude clinic, like that would solve everything.
HELEN: I'm sure he just wanted to help.
AMY: I'm sure he did, too. It's just... (shakes her head.) When I first heard about your problems, it felt good to get some perspective. And then, when you brought up spirituality...
(Beat)
HELEN: (finishing) You wanted to find it, too.
(Meanwhile, cut to shot of Joel, back up in the apartment. He's just emerged from the bedroom, his hair rumpled as though he's been tossing and turning some more in bed. His dazed expression and his bloodshot eyes tell us he has not slept. In one hand he holds the cordless phone. He looks at it as though he forgot it was there, and his expression darkens. He moves to go back into the room and put it on the cradle, when he spies the guest room ajar.)
(Cut to shot of Joel peaking in the guest room. From his perspective, it is a godawful mess, except for the bed, which Helen made. Every corner is stuffed with odds and ends that have not been put up or thrown out. Joel's eyes narrow, and he moves with determined strides as though bent on making it his Sunday project to clean everything up. Putting the phone under one arm, he grabs an old lamp, a bar bell, an old radio, and the handcuffs, which he stares at for a beat. He tries to push the exercise bike out of the way of more junk, when he loses his grip and everything comes crashing down. Angry, Joel bangs his fist against the wall.)
(Resume shot of Amy and Helen. Helen is now leaning against the side of her SUV, feeling emotionally burnt-out.)
AMY: (quiet) I'm not a religious person... but I do know that there's something inside me that I'm missing. (tilts her face away as it briefly shows the anguish that she's feeling.) I'm sorry if I came on a little strong earlier.
HELEN: I'm not sure I'd know what to tell you anyway.
AMY: I was more hoping you would show me.
HELEN: At the very worst, it seems you might need to see a doctor.
AMY: A doctor?? (scowling.) I'm not sick and I am not depressed.
HELEN: I'm not saying you are, but talking to someone always --
AMY: (curt) Forget it, Helen.
HELEN: (surprised) Amy.
AMY: I don't need any outside treatment!
HELEN: (flaring up) Oh, but you're fine with living vicariously through your sister, are you?!
AMY: (startled) That's not what I've been doing.
HELEN: What else, then?? Pushing me in certain directions, hoping to learn from the results. All because you think that like some science class nerd, I've got all the answers, and you can just copy. Because you're too stubborn or too scared to find your own inspiration.
(Amy's cheeks redden at Helen's words.)
HELEN: That's great for you -- but what about my family??
AMY: Your family?
HELEN: Did you even think about how this could hurt Daria and Quinn? Your nieces who love and admire you??
AMY: (flustered) I would never hurt them. I wasn't even thinking about them when I --
HELEN: Suggested I run off with my sculpting instructor?!
AMY: I never suggested that. You did.
HELEN: No I didn't!
AMY: (eyes flashing) I said to consider what that kiss really meant to you, and to not turn your back on any spiritual growth. You said I wanted you to run off. You suggested it.
HELEN: But I know you --
AMY: Don't you get it now, Helen, why you need to know what you really want?? If this is some repressed desire to be with Greg talking, you'd better admit it soon so you can spare your family a lot of pain. Because no matter what --
HELEN: Go to hell.
(Helen regrets these words as soon as she says them, but is too angry to take them back. She unlocks her car door and opens it. For Amy, the words cause something inside her to snap. Her face turns a vivid shade of red, as the murky rage she felt earlier takes on startling clarity.)
AMY: Fine, I will. And you can just pretend that everything will go back to normal. Bend your home life to your will, paying lip service to your loved ones' needs while not caring how you harm them, which you're so good at.
HELEN: Don't you dare say another word about them. Whether or not you told me to be with Greg, what you suggested was more than enough to threaten my home life.
AMY: (dark) I think you're enough to threaten your home life.
(Helen opens her mouth to speak, but Amy cuts her off.)
AMY: I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. That I thought your good qualities were so much stronger than your bad ones. Before you even mentioned Dad, I should have seen --
HELEN: What does he have to do with this?! (recalls the conversation in the car.) Oh if you mean that stupid bit about me wishing you'd be a girl --
AMY: I suffered for years. You don't even know! To Dad, I was just this mistake. I felt so worthless.
HELEN: (unmoved) Oh you poor baby, well guess what?! It wasn't my fault you were born a girl.
AMY: But you had to have known what would happen. The huge letdown, the bitterness he felt... you had to have known, at least a little.
HELEN: (flash of guilt) I was a child. (more conviction.) And one little wish still doesn't compare with what you suggest--
AMY: All you cared about was that it wasn't you. (disbelief.) I loved you so much, and that whole time... (Her words die out and she squeezes her eyes shut.)
HELEN: (more sober) I never wanted you to suffer.
AMY: To this day, Helen, it's stayed with me. Everything I've been feeling lately... (anguished.) and you were happy.
HELEN: Amy, I loved you! For God's sake, you built me up so much -- of course I was bound to fail you somehow. (A look of regret crosses her face.) But your problems are not my fault and don't you dare say they are!
AMY: Oh no, won't try to out-do you in that department. (eyes narrow.) You were a selfish kid, and you are a sad adult.
HELEN: And what about you? Beauty, brains, Princeton education, loving boyfriend, and you can't even lift yourself out of a simple malaise??
AMY: (on her own track) Even the purpose of this visit wasn't to be with me. It was selfish and convenient -- like all your other attempts to communicate this past year.
HELEN: As if you've tried any harder!
AMY: You would do anything to not look inside yourself and see that there's something ugly.
HELEN: And you, Amy Barksdale, are so convinced you're the martyr -- well I don't buy it! Martyrs are victims, and whether you like it or not, you have some control over your life.
(Having said her piece, Amy stands there red-cheeked and a little nauseous from the gush of emotion.)
HELEN: Other people have suffered besides you. Your boyfriend had a rough childhood, but he made something of himself!
(Hearing this, Amy's eyes narrow.)
HELEN: But no, all your gifts and you choose to do nothing. Except build vain little fantasies about being rescued. You're the one who's dropped the ball, Amy!
(Amy now turns her face to the side, absorbing Helen's words.)
HELEN: And just when I feel ashamed of calling you a bad role model for my girls, it's times like this I know exactly why I did!
AMY: ENOUGH!
(Her last word rises up in a very un-Amy like wail, causing Helen to draw back and look at her with a shocked gaze, realizing that she's gone one step too far. Anxiety and remorse wash over her. Amy's face is now completely red and she is shaking imperceptibly. Helen looks at her, sees the pain she's caused, and knows that this could damage their relationship for good. Yet she feels as though she doesn't know how to take back the things she said, or if she even wants to. After a long beat, Helen turns and climbs up into the driver's seat of her car. Amy stands there, seemingly lost in her thoughts. Before Helen shuts the door:)
AMY: (softly) If you go home, you'll just wreck everything. You're a selfish person at heart, Helen. You'll twist everything so that it goes your way, whether you mean to or not.
(Helen frowns darkly, then looks at her sister for one last beat before shutting the car door.)
[Shot of Jane talking to Quinn, followed by shot of Helen and Amy driving along the coast, followed by shot of Daria, Quinn, and Jake in the living room, followed by shot of Joel losing his balance and dropping junk in the guest room.]
You are now entering commercial HELL. Please keep your seatbelt securely fastened. You are about to see some of the lamest commercials put on television.
And Noggin: "Daria" fans are grateful that you gave our favorite show a second lease on life. But that doesn't mean we'll stand by clapping if you butcher parts of the episodes. In other words: if you bleep out the word "ass," I'm gonna get medieval on YOUR ass!!!
You are now leaving commercial HELL. Aren't you happy you survived?