BOSTON BAKED BEAN a play by SHAMROCK MCSHANE Copyright 1997 Shamrock McShane 2534 NW 52 AV Gainesville FL 32605 352-376-4008 afn32221@afn.org Shamrock McShane 2534 NW 52 AV Gainesville FL 32605 352-376-4008 afn32221@afn.org BOSTON BAKED BEAN a tragicomedy in three acts Characters: COACH J, an African-American man in his late thirties. He is not six feet tall, but all heart, bone, and muscle, a coiled spring. RENKO, a hulking, pock-marked, tobacco-spitting, foul mothed redneck and former Florida State linebacker in his early thirties. CARLUCCI, a forty year-old yankee, the schools athletic director, an educated, well-intentioned liberal. Setting: The Coaches Office in the dilapidated gymnasium of a run-down high school in a small, rural, poevrty-stricken town. There is a battered couch, a cluttered desk, a beat-up chair, file cabinets. Athletic equipment, dumbbells, balls, shoes, spikes, trophies, etc. are everywhere. A door leads offstage to the bathroom and shower. Another door leads to the locker room (offstage) and down front to the gym, where the students (audience) sit in the bleachers. Time: Act One - A Thursday in May Act Two - The next day, Teacher Work Day Act Three - The teachers last day before summer vacation I-1 BOSTON BAKED BEAN (Enter COACH J & RENKO.) J (To Audience.) All right. Stop talken. Stop talken now. Yall lissun up. Yall is seniors now, show a little maturity. (Pause.) Now lissun: yall wanted a study hall, get ready for your exams. . . RENKO Like I can believe at. J Im gonna give yall a study hall. But I want it quiet, you hear me? RENKO And you stay in them bleachers. Anybody gets out of them bleachers and Imone personally kick his ass. You hear what Im sayin, Rodriguez? J I hear one sound and I will write you up. I WILL WRITE YOU UP! (They enter the Coaches Office.) RENKO Another day dawns on "the educational setting". (Spits.) J The man had no call to do me that way. No call to . . . RENKO Did it anyway. J Call me out in front of everybody like that. Call a faculty meeting for that . . . RENKO Hey. . . J Gimme a Goddamn break. I-2 RENKO Face it, youre a hero, Coach Jackson. J Fuck you. RENKO Youre a hero. J Fuck you, Jerry. The joker died. Ok? RENKO You give him the kiss of life, J. He was breathing when he left here. J The man died, Jerry. He died. Ok? RENKO I know. J Im still shaken. RENKO You sleep? J No. RENKO Go ahead, stretch out. Ill cover for you. J I cant. Im too wired. RENKO Cool your jets. J I keep seeing the guys face. RENKO He have kids? I-3 J Grandkids. RENKO And him still workin up on a roof like at? J You know the county. RENKO Spent a whole lot of years workin for the county. Wonder what kind of Widows Benefits. . . ? J (Explodes out of office.) I SAID QUIET. DONT YOU KNOW WHAT QUIET MEANS? QUIET! RENKO (As J returns.) Take it easy, J. J Dude falls off the roof and dies. Doc calls a faculty meeting to "recognize" me. RENKO Im surprised he recognized you. J When the joker died. He died. . . . RENKO Hey, bro . . . J . . .died. . . RENKO (Pause.) You all right? J I knew he wasnt gonna make it. I knew it. I could see it in his eyes. He knew it too. He knew, man. . . I-4 RENKO Hey. . . J (Pause.) And another Goddamn thing: I am done coachin football at this school. And the man knows it. Knows its been a trade-off I done to hang in here. Because its better to be the number one man here than the number four or the number five man in the PE Department some city school. But I aint gonna coach no more football and put a smiley black face on all the shit-kickin he done around here. No way. Fire Sonny like he did. And then to hire one straw man after another. Thats all they been is straw men. RENKO Its been five football coaches here in ten years. J If it was Sonny still head coach, itd be different. RENKO If it was Sonny, itd be a man you could work with. J I know. RENKO And all Sonny done for them boys. And whats it come down to? A black and white thing, just like it always does. J Thats just the way its gonna be. RENKO Sonnyd make him one phone call and the next day itd be a brand new Universal Gym pop up in the Powerhouse. One phone call. Next day. J Sonny had connections. RENKO No shit he had connections. J The man had connections. I-5 RENKO And what good it do him, huh? J What good did it do him? RENKO You tell me. (Sound of glass breaking.) J Son of a bitch! RENKO Allow me. J Nuh-uh. Ill take care of it. (Storms out, confronts Audience.) This the way you study for finals? (Pause.) All right, who threw the ball threw the window. Come on. Rodriguez? Was it you? You gonna laugh about it. Its funny, huh? Funny when you know the county aint gonna fix that window now till sometime next century. Is that it? RENKO (Looking on.) Must think its part of Blueprint 2000. J Aint gonna be too funny next winter when a couple hundred kids is freezin they asses off. Aint gonna be too funny to them. Or me. But if you wanna laugh about it, Rodriguez, ILL JUST WRITE YOUR ASS UP RIGHT NOW! (To RENKO.) See if I dont. RENKO Hey, I believe you. (They re-enter the Office. J rifles through the desk, snatches a form out of the drawer, and starts to fill it out.) J Rodriguez. I-6 RENKO Figures. J (Writing.) Rod-ri-guez. RENKO Needs to get his ass kicked. J Needs to get his ass kicked bad. RENKO Whos gonna do it? See? This the problem right here. I personally would love to kick his ass, but state law prohibits it. Aint nobody at home to kick the kids ass. Aint no daddy there. J I am writing the son of a bitch up. (Pause.) I am. I am writing the son of a bitch up! (Writes.) RENKO Write him up. J I will. Damn if I wont. RENKO Do it. J Son of a bitch! (Pause.) RENKO What? J Im writing myself up. Im writing my own self up, aint I? RENKO I didnt say anything. I-7 J (Tearing up Referral Form.) Goddamn mother-fucken BULLSHIT! Every mother-fucken time. You wanna write yourself up? Get the dean in your face: "Yeah, thats your side of it." My side of it? Theres the ball, theres the hole, you think I threw the ball through the fucken window? (Pause.) I give up. RENKO Member that old crackers daughter, whats her name, he come in here? J Who? RENKO That old sucker had the boil, whats her name, Missy, Missy . . . ? J Missy Timmons. RENKO Missy Timmons, thats her. Member her old daddy come in here, you dont remember this? With the boil? J Yeah, I remember. RENKO Comes in here, starts talken bout what a little angel his daughter is, shes got a dozen referrals. J Right. RENKO I said, Mister Timmons, you gotta understand: at home Missy is Your Little Angel, but here at school shes Everybodys Little Angel. (They laugh.) You remember that? J I do. It was funny. RENKO Old sucker wanted to go at it right then and there, didnt he? I-8 J Here. He wanted to go at it right here. (Laughs.) Till you told him you didnt have no problem with that either. (Laughs.) RENKO Hell no. Ill kick your skinny old ass if thats what you want. Wont be the first old man I kicked the shit out of. (They laugh.) J Goddamn mother-fucken son of a bitch! RENKO Whats the matter? J Its water leakin in under the door. Look at that. RENKO Aw shit. J Hey, its your watch. RENKO It was your watch, Rodriguez. J Thats right, it was my watch. RENKO I get it. (RENKO leaves; J pumps iron.) J Gonna Goddamn "recognize" me? When some poor joker has lost his LIFE? Gonna "recognize" me? "Recognize" me? Huh, Doc? When the . . . Aw, man, Im sorry, man. But it wasnt gonna be no good anyway. Wasnt gonna do you no good to be hangin around, tubes stuck into you, tied to some machine, it wouldnt of been no good. . . . Im sorry, man. I-9 RENKO (Coming back.) What Imone do: Imone bring my waders, rent em out to anybody wants to go in the lockerroom. J Shit. (Leaves office, to Audience.) All right, lissun up. Yall cant come through this door now when the bell rings. You got to go round and use the other door. You cant come in this way cause its all water in here. So you got to go round HEY ARE YOU LISTENIN TO ME? I SAID YOU GOT TO GO ROUND! (Pause. To a particular student.) Excuse me, would you mind takin your hands off her? I SAID . . . . Thank you. Now, man, why would you wanna do her like that, huh? Hold her up to everybody like that? Is that all you care about her? (Shakes his head, goes back to Office.) RENKO Why is it these kids is so off the wall today? J No school tomorrow. RENKO No shit, we got the day off? What for? J We aint got the day off. Its Teacher Workday. Remember? RENKO Teacher Workday. What a concept. J Yeah. RENKO So, what will I work on tomorrow? I think I will work on my short game. A little chippin in the morning, little puttin in the afternoon. J Some kids gonna slip and bust his ass in that lockerroom. RENKO Probly. I-10 (Bell rings. J leaves Office to address Audience.) J DONT COME IN THIS WAY NOW. YOU GOT TO GO ROUND. DIDNT I JUST TELL YOU YOU GOT TO GO ROUND. GO ROUND! RENKO (Lounging on couch.) Stupid, man; these kids is dumbern a box a rocks. J I had to break two of em up a minute ago. Shes sittin on his lap in the bleachers, facing him. Study hall. Hes studyin her ass with both hands. And I told him, man, you ought to have more respect for her than that, than to hold her up to everybody like that. RENKO You might as well of told that to some concrete block. J Concrete block wouldnt of being doing to her what he was doin. RENKO Its "harrassment," write him up. J If its "welcome," then it aint "harrassment." RENKO I get it. Then its just regular love-maken. J Thats right. RENKO Id write him up anyway. It aint fair. Im married and I dont get it as much as some of these damn kids. J Just be writin your own self up. RENKO (Laughs.) Listen to this: last night? I-11 J Yeah? RENKO Were watchin tv. You know how they got on The Newlywed Game again. J No. RENKO Yeah. So, they ask this black guy: what is the weirdest place you ever made love to your wife? J What is the weirdest place . . . ? RENKO "What is the weirdest place you ever made love to your wife?" J So whatd he say? RENKO "Uh, thatd be in the butt, Chuck." (They laugh.) "In the butt, Chuck." (They laugh. Pause.) Hey, I tell you my kid won a trip to Disney? J No shit. RENKO Yeah. The Make A Wish Foundation for cancer kids give it to him. We go there for three days. Stay in a room and everything. And five hundred bucks. J No shit? Well, all right. RENKO Yeah, can you believe it? Stay in the room, stay up late and watch the dirty movies on the box. . . . I may have to hit the dog track tonight and celebrate. What do you say, J? J You do it. I-12 RENKO Come on, man. Take tomorrow off. J Cant do that. (Exits to bathroom.) RENKO Why not? Teacher Workday. Whatre you gonna miss? J (Offstage.) Its Payday. RENKO Thats the good news. (Enter CARLUCCI.) CARLUCCI Wheres the hero? RENKO In the land of heroes. (Toilet flushes. Re-enter COACH J.) CARLUCCI Coach Jackson, I interrupt your planning period to present you the Congressional Medal of Honor in recognition of the bravery you demonstrated yesterday in fastening your face to the skinny lips of that poor old honkey who fell off the roof. RENKO Thanks for bringing that up, Carlucci. J Get out of here with that, Car. CARLUCCI I mean it, J. It was a hell of a thing to do. (CARLUCCI tries to shake Js hand. J ignores him.) I-13 RENKO The sucker died, Carlucci. CARLUCCI I know that. (Pause.) At least he tried. J Yeah right. CARLUCCI They said when you got to him his heart had stopped. RENKO Hey. . . CARLUCCI You beat on his heart, didnt you, J? J He was turning blue, it wasnt no pulse, so I . . . CARLUCCI You gave him the mouth-to-mouth, you whammed him . . . RENKO And the sucker was breathing when he left here. CARLUCCI Nice goin, Kent. Seriously. RENKO Yeah, so wheres his medal? CARLUCCI I thought it was good, Doc "recognizing" you and all. RENKO Make it sound like it was your idea, Carlucci. CARLUCCI It was. J Oh. (Pause.) Thanks a lot, Car. I-14 CARLUCCI No problem. Man deserves recognition, Im going to see he gets it. If its within my power. J Ok, then let me ask you this, Car, if its within your power, exactly whats it gonna take to get a few things done around here? CARLUCCI Such as? RENKO Hey, bright boy, you wanna go in the lockerroom, Ill rent you my waders. (CARLUCCI opens door to locker- room, almost exits, then stops short and closes door.) CARLUCCI Ok. What else? J Broken window. CARLUCCI Par for the course. Anything else? J Yeah, the gym floor be like a ice rink. Them boys get runnin a fast break in there, try to stop and they speed up. Whats it gonna take to get a coat of varnish on the gym floor, Car, somebody gotta get killed? CARLUCCI Thats about it, J. I talked to Doc about it. Just cant locate the funds. RENKO Its a joke. J It is a joke. I-15 RENKO Its like the Lottery.. Id just like to know where all this money is goin they say is goin to education, because it sure as shit aint goin to teachers. J Goin in somebodys pocket. RENKO Some "administrator." Like our friend here wants to be. I tell you what you do, you wanna save a whole shitload of money in education, you get rid of all these fatass "administrators," and you know what you replace em with? Nothin. J No. I tell you what you do, you wanna save money: you cut your school week back to four days a week. Let they mamas and daddies take care of em an extra day each week. And then sit back and see how long it takes before they wanna kick in a little more on taxes, get they baby sitters back. RENKO I like at. CARLUCCI So whats with the water in the lockerroom? J We cut it off. RENKO Had a malfunction. CARLUCCI I see. RENKO So Carlucci? What is it gonna take to get something done around here? (Pause.) Because you are in my office now, and I gotta tell you, man to man, you aint worth shit. Ok? I thought you were supposed to be the man around here. Thats what the AD is supposed to be. AD is supposed to be the man. But you, on the other hand, are so much of a pussy you will let me call you a pussy right to your face and I aint even gonna stand up to do it. I-16 CARLUCCI Trying to provoke me, Renko? RENKO I am trine red the newspaper. So move your sorry ass, youre blockin my light. (Pause.) Carlucci, what are you here for? What is your mission? CARLUCCI Just wanted to touch base with you guys. See if anythings happening on the transfer wire. RENKO Doc tell you to do that? CARLUCCI Ive got my own interest here, Renko. Im going to be here next year. If Ive got coaching slots to fill, I want to know it. RENKO Good. You can count me out. CARLUCCI I think I knew that. Kent? J No I aint puttin in for no transfer. And I aint coachin no more football here either. CARLUCCI You saw the Bridgestone Heights job got posted. J Yeah. CARLUCCI Youre not going to apply? J Yeah Im gonna apply for the Bridgestone Heights job, Car. They dont even play black schools, why they gonna hire a black coach? CARLUCCI Come on, Kent. Youre a child of the sixties just like me. You dont believe in change? I-17 RENKO You wanna kick his ass, Rodriguez, or can I? CARLUCCI Rodriguez? RENKO That all you got to say, Carlucci? Goodbye. CARLUCCI Not exactly. I thought you might be interested to hear the recommendations of the school advisory committee. RENKO No. J What they say? CARLUCCI More emphasis needs to be put on hiring for academic positions. Even if that means eliminating caoches. RENKO I tell you who that is, Carlucci, is them teachers on the three-ten shift. You know the ones Im talken bout. Theyll run your ass over, you get in their way at three-ten. Run the damn kids over, theyre so concerned, their eductaional purpose. . . CARLUCCI Im just telling you. In brief, the committee recommends: hire teachers, fire coaches. RENKO (Pause.) Well, with you to look out for us, Carlucci, Id have to say we are severly fucked. CARLUCCI And I want to advise you of a complaint. RENKO Oh good, I love complaints. CARLUCCI The kids smell. I-18 RENKO Beg pardon? CARLUCCI They stink. And the school advisory committee, seeing as how the PE facilities are equipped with showers. . . J Car, what are you sayin? We sposed to make em take a shower? RENKO Hey, child of the sixties, welcome to the nineties. You caint make anybody do anything. J Thats right. You cant make nobody do nothin. I aint gonna try and make no kid take a shower, get the school board in my face face tellin me kids got a right to stink. Piss on em. Let em stink if they want to. CARLUCCI Im just telling you what the committee said. RENKO That all you got to say, Carlucci? CARLUCCI Well, actually . . . RENKO Uh-oh. CARLUCCI Whats the matter? RENKO Run for cover, boys! (J runs into bathroom.) CARLUCCI What is it? (RENKO farts loudly.) I-19 RENKO Proceed, Carlucci. CARLUCCI Damn. . . . Damn! Later, gentlemen. Damn! (Leaves.) RENKO Asshole. (Re-enter J.) So whos on this bullshit committee? J Bonnie. RENKO Bonnie? Dont get me started on that fat fucken bitch. J Be a riot start, they come lookin for caoches pretty damn fast. RENKO That fat fucken bitch tried to tell me the reason Doc fired Sonny is cause he was drinkin before the games. I said, "How would you know? Was you drinkin with him?" J Shit. RENKO I tell you what lets do: lets check this shit out. (Picks up phone, dials.) Excuse me, Bonnie? This Coach Renko down here, the PE facilities, and, hey, a colleague of mine just told me are you on this, what is it, "school advisory committee?" Maybe you could enlighten me then? Is it some kind of recommendation been made, hire more teachers and fire some of these lazy-ass, no-good coaches? (Pause.) Because what I wanted to ask you: is this recommendation directed against me personally or what? (Pause.) I see. Musta been directed at some other lazy-ass, no-good . . . Probly my man Jackson here. Well, I can understand that. Afterall, he is a nigger. (Pause.) You still there? (Hangs up.) Think I offended her? J You too much, man. I-20 RENKO (Spits.) Sorry, Bonnie. That get you in the eye? J Teachers instead coaches. What they think we is? RENKO Id just like to know what sport it is a kids gonna play, you dont have to teach him how to play it. They dont think we teach these kids? How do they think we won anything? (They begin to work out, curling and pumping iron with rising intensity.) J Think you just throw em a ball. RENKO They dont know. J Hell no they dont know. RENKO You see where the Bradford kid who broke his neck died? Thats a perfect example. J Kids better off. RENKO Thats right. J Better to just die and get it over with than to die a thousand deaths the way he would of if hed of lived, being paralyzed and all that. Thats why the firstest thing I always teach is: you tackle with your face, not the top of your head. YOU TACKLE WITH YOUR FACE! And I always get real aninmated about it too. RENKO (Laughs.) I know you do. I-21 J Think we dont teach these kids. You gotta teach em. Or theyd kill theyselves. RENKO I know it. J You cant never be lunchin. Thats the first rule of survival. RENKO I hear you. J When I first hit El Paso, right? RENKO Yeah? J First thing when I hit El Paso I seen a sign said population four hundred thousand and I knew right there this wasnt gonna be no walk in the park. You could not go nowehere you didnt have to be watchin your back the whole time, every minute, know what I mean. It wasnt no time at all you could just sit back and relax or some joker would come outa nowhere and try some shit on you. You could not just be lunchin or. . . WHAM! Know what I mean? RENKO Tell me about it. (Pause.) You ask me: all were doin is baby-sittin. J Cheap-shit baby-sittin. RENKO Thats all were doin. J It aint a job, its just a meal ticket. RENKO Its not a job, youre right. I-22 J Its just a meal ticket, its not a job. RENKO Just a mean ticket. J It aint a job, man. RENKO Treat you like dirt. . . J . . . Just a meal ticket. RENKO All it is . . . J You wanna tell me . . . RENKO Like Doc comin around to "observe" me. Wants to see my lesson plans. Lesson plans? I said, Doc, who gives a shit about plans? Whynt you take a look at one Im doin. Take a look at that fatass kid I got runnin the track in this heat. You wanna show me another teacher you got who can motivate like at? Just look at that fatass sweat! J That dont even enter into. RENKO Whether you can get the job done. J Doc dont understand these kids. RENKO Damn sure dont. J He dont want to. RENKO The man fired Sonny. And the Boosters came to us. I-23 J Thats right. RENKO So whats Doc do? J Hire on straw man after another. RENKO It shoulda been us, man. J I aint volunteering for nothin around here anymore. RENKO Me either. J I lived here, man. Talk about givin, I gave. How many times we get off the bus after midnight, have to be back here next mornin? How many weekends? RENKO Bout every damn one. And that fat bitch Bonnie, shell make light of your situation. Shell say: are you gettin paid extra for that? Like its some extra supplement she aint aware of. Like every nickle dont go trough her fat fucken fingers. And you try and tell her: no, I do not do everything for money. J She laughs at the money you make. RENKO Meanwhile aint her old man still stacken cheese over at Publix for five dollars an hour? J Shit. RENKO She aint nothin but a secretary. J "Administrative Assistant." I-24 RENKO In charge of watchin her ass get bigger. J Id rather be outside. RENKO Me too. J Id rather be drivin that truck again, haulin shit. Dont think I dont think about that. And I quit that job over a lousy fifty cent an hour. RENKO They wouldnt give it to you, would they, the cheap bastards? J And it wouldnt of cost em nothin either, because I saved em money. I was careful. I would count the bags. A whole lot of these jokers drivin for em wouldnt never the bags, and I know for a fact theyd always be windin up five, six bags short. I would at least count the bags. You think that aint worth an extra fifty cent an hour? RENKO Didnt even enter into it. J And I heard, not two weeks after I quit . . . RENKO Yeah? J Some drunk overturned the whole rig on em. RENKO Serves em right. J Twenty tons of shit on I-75! (They laugh.) I-25 VOICE Coach Renko, You have a call on line one. RENKO Phone call? My planning period? What is it, a parent? This better be good. (Picks up phone.) Yeah, this Renko, whos this? Holy sh--. . . Hello, sir. No sir, no sir, its just that. . .this my planning period, so you caught me at a bad, I mean you caught me at a good time. (Pause.) Yeah, you bet Im interested. No, no, be informal. What the hell, its your. . . Oh yeah, I got a valid certificate. Thats no problem. Yeah? I see. Sure. Get back to me, get back to me. No, I can hold - hes gone offer me the job, hes gone offer me the fucken yessir, yessir. Im waitin to hear from you. Bye-bye. (Hangs up.) Hes gone offer me the fucken job! J What job? RENKO I didnt tell you I applied at North Marion? J No. RENKO Defensive coordinator. The only thing, he says: they got a coaching slot, have they got a teaching slot? J And? RENKO Do I have a problem with runnin the in-school detention program? J In-school Detention? (Laughs.) You goin to jail, man. RENKO (Laughs.) Goin to jail? Man, I am gettin outa jail. Free. Goodbye, Doc. Goodbye, Carlucci.. Goodbye, Bonnie, you fat fucken bitch! I-26 J See, Jerry, it aint nothin to you to burn bridges. RENKO Been doin it all my life. J Some bridges you dont burn. RENKO You think you got a handle on it here, Rodriguez. Cause you gonna be the man around here now. J Not me. Im just a middle man. I aint no head man. You know me. I just go along to get along. RENKO Yeah, but once Im outa here, you gone find that you the man around here. J I aint gonna be the man. RENKO You is gone be the man. J How Im gonna be the man. RENKO You watch and see. (Fade to balck.) II-1 (The next day. Teacher Work Day. Enter COACH J & RENKO.) RENKO So she says to him, you dont want grits, what the Hell you order the breakfast for? (Laughs.) J (Switches on light.) Damn, look at them roaches run! (Exits to bathroom.) RENKO Hey, Rodriguez, if youre fitten to take a dump, I strongly advise you flush the shitter first. Them roaches hide under the rim and theyll crawl right up your ass if youre not careful. (Sound of toilet flushing. RENKO sits at desk, reads newspaper.) Bosnia. You wanna go fight in Bosnia? J (Offstage.) Its my secret wish, howd you know? RENKO What the Hell is Bosnia? J Used to be Yugoslavia. RENKO Great. Bunch of slavs. J Serbs and Croats. RENKO Serbs and Croats. What the Hell do we care about Serbs and Croats? J I duno. RENKO This exactly my point. What the Hell do we care? II-2 J We dont. (Toilet flushes.) RENKO What the fuck are they fighting about anyway? J (Returning.) Racism. RENKO Figures. J "Ethnic cleansing." RENKO "Ethnic cleansing"? Like you could clean a bunch of fucken slavs to begin with. J Doin some pretty bad shit over there. Burning people alive, raping kids. RENKO Hey, we can see it for what it is: them people are stupid. Whatever the Hell theyre fightin about. J Somebody oughta do something. RENKO Imone tell you what we oughta do: oughta fly our bombers in there and bomb the living shit outa both of em. Say, lissun, motherfuckers, either you cut this shit out right now or were gone kill both your asses, we dont give a shit whos who. J Jerry the Peacemaker. RENKO Damn right. (Pause.) You tell Doc you aint coachin football? J No. But I already told Car and you know he told the man. II-3 RENKO The man knows I wash my hands of this fucken shithole, but you best watch yourself, J. You hear what Im sayin? J I hear you. RENKO You caint believe the man. J I know it. RENKO Hell lie to you. J I know. RENKO Same with Carlucci. J I aint gonna be lunchin, man. RENKO (Pause.) And you caint take this shit too serious neither, know what I mean? J It aint a job, its just a meal ticket. RENKO Thats right. J It aint a job . . . RENKO When I started out, it was what? Fourteen grand a year? And it was a guy, Vince, Vince LaPaglia, hed been there five years when I got there. So hes five years ahead of me. And after taxes and shit, come to find out hes maken about five hundred dollars a year moren me. Five hundred dollars. And I look at the guy, and that sumbitch was sittin on the ragged edge of a nervous breakdown. I mean to tell you: he was II-4 RENKO (Cont.) ready to go! Every day, screaming at the kids, these purple veins thick as pencils bulging out his neck, his face all red, about to turn blue. . . . Anyway, Vince LaPaglia, he was Italian but he was a nice guy. I thought he was gone have a stroke. And I made up my mind right then, damn if Im gone ever let em do me that way. I do not give a shit. Way I look at it . . . J It aint a job. . . RENKO Member that referee I got all over? Called him over and said: whatre you during the day anyway? Some kind of peon? That why you gotta come out here and pee on us? J Yeah. (Enter CARLUCCI.) RENKO Speaking of which. CARLUCCI Gentlemen. (Collapses onto couch.) RENKO The man with the plan. CARLUCCI Dont start on me, Renko. RENKO Whatre you, tired, Carlucci? CARLUCCI Damn right. RENKO What from? You never do a Goddamn thing. CARLUCCI Tired of it, boys, tired of it. If its not the Boosters at each others throats then its the Boosters crawling all over my ass. II-5 J Bullshit, Car, you schmooz them Boosters bettern preacher passing the basket. RENKO Tired of it? Im just flat-ass tired. Went to the dog track last night and . . . (Starts laughing, nudges J.) CARLUCCI Didnt think you got tired working, Renko. (J & RENKO laugh.) Thats funny, isnt it? The thought of Renko actually working. RENKO (Laughing.) You say them Boosters was crawling all over your ass? CARLUCCI Thats right. . . . What is so Goddamn funny? (J points at the roaches crawling on CARLUCCI.) What the. . . Shit! Jesus! (J & RENKO laugh as CARLUCCI stomps on roaches.) RENKO Hey, dont go killing the inhabitants. CARLUCCI Dont you guys ever clean up around here? J (Of smashed roaches.) Have to clean that up now. CARLUCCI Sorry. (Pause.) RENKO Well, Carlucci, who do you say we get to clean it up? The nigger here? CARLUCCI Sorry. II-6 (CARLUCCI exits to bathroom, returns with some toilet paper and collects roach remains, deposits same in trash can.) RENKO Hes sorry, Rodriguez. CARLUCCI All right, what is with this Rodriguez shit? RENKO What brings you here this time, Carlucci? CARLUCCI Check on the facilities. You had a flood here, remember? J Water still be cut off. CARLUCCI And it will be too, until after the School Advisory Committee takes its tour. We wouldnt want em to think the place was falling apart. They might form a bad opinion of us. RENKO (Holding his hands wide apart.) I am that close to givin a shit. CARLUCCI Im talking about those of us who are gonna have to deal with the School Advisory Committee next year and for the forseeable future. RENKO So, Carlucci, I tell you Imone get a job? CARLUCCI Oh yeah? RENKO Aint you happy for me? CARLUCCI No. II-7 RENKO Now dont this just chafe my ass. Here I am. Im trine get outa here the last year and a half. My attitude sucks. Im a drain on morale. I been nothin but a pain in the ass the whole time. I finally get a chance to go somewhere. . . CARLUCCI Where? RENKO North Darien. CARLUCCI Good. Its out of the county. RENKO That all you care about? CARLUCCI That and whos gonna replace you. RENKO Thats your problem, Buddy-ro. CARLUCCI (Pause.) So. . .Kent, have you reconsidered coaching football for us next season? J No. N I got another news flash for you, Car. I put in for a transfer. RENKO No shit? CARLUCCI Where? J THS. RENKO All right! J Its an opening there and. . . II-8 CARLUCCI Yeah, I know, the head job is open at THS, but, come on, Kent. . . RENKO Come on what? Its the mans school, its where he went. CARLUCCI You know. RENKO No, Carlucci, we dont know. Why dont you tell us? CARLUCCI Kent? J No matter what happens, Car, I aint coachin no more here period. Its all the shit Im gonna take. Im thirty-eight years old now and Im still oh and oh as a head coach. I can hear the clock tickin. And I can see I aint never gonna get the chance here. I been passed by too many times. I seen too many people aint as qualified as me go on ahead of me to where it seem like its something other than qualifications bein taken into consideration here. RENKO Like what fucken color you are. CARLUCCI Bullshit, Renko. Youll never get a head coaching job either. And youre white. RENKO Gone get spiteful now, eh, Carlucci. Ok, I can play that game too. CARLUCCI Get it off your chest, Renko. Lets hear it. Just what is your bitch? RENKO What is my bitch? CARLUCCI Yeah. What is your bitch, Renko? Ive heard you do a whole lot of bitching. Just about ever since you came here. But what is your primary bitch? II-9 RENKO With this place? What, do you mean the school or the whole fucken town? Because if I had an extra three, four thousand dollars Id buy the whole thing and turn it into a landfill. Stupid fucken rednecks. CARLUCCI Thats an intriguing criticism, coming as it does from a fucking redneck. RENKO Thats stupid fucken redneck. J Yall two go at it if you want to. RENKO Im just sayin you got a pretty fucked-up place here. CARLUCCI Its about to get a little better now youre leaving. RENKO Maybe so, Carlucci, maybe so. But I dont think so. I dont think me leaving is gone slow down them bitches thats runnin the place one damn bit. You know the one fat bitch sits on the School Advisory Committee and her old man is a member of the motherfucken KKK! J Aw, man, dont bring that shit around me. RENKO Im just tellin you what I know for a Goddamn fact. CARLUCCI (Laughing.) Jerry, youre like the National Fucking Enquirer, for crysakes. RENKO You tellin me it aint true? CARLUCCI Who knows? Who cares? J Who cares? II-10 CARLUCCI Lets just drop it, ok? (Pause.) Ok? Jesus, I mean. . . You guys wanna hear something funny? Last night Karen and I are watching tv . . . RENKO Dont tell me, uh, thatd be in the butt, Chuck. J In the butt, Chuck. (J & RENKO laugh.) CARLUCCI What? No. This took me back. First year I taught here. This must be ten, eleven years ago now. Doc stuck me out in the middle school, out in the pods. Out in West Dutman County we used to call it. And nobody could hear you out there and the kids all knew it and theyd just scream and yell and act nuts all day long. I used to come home with a migraine every night. And I used to think, hell, Ill sell insurance or some shit before Ill ever do this for a living. And this one kid, Bobo, was the worst. Thats what they called him. Bobo. Fucking Bobo. Well, Bobo, it should come as no surprise, was a clown. He made everybody laugh. But more than that, you never knew just what hed do? Hed lie, hed cheat, hed steal. He was thief. And he was violent, hed sucker-punch kids, jab em with a pencil, pull a chair out from under em, you name it, the kids all knew better than to turn their backs on him. But I didnt. So one day Im up there at the board. Theres this scream. I turn around and theres Bobo and hes got both his hands down this little girls shorts. Theyre in the sixth grade for the love of God. And I just lost it. Both hands. I went nuts. And I snatched that kid, that fucking Bobo, I snatched him up by the belt, and it was almost the end of the yearit was hotter than HellI had the door open, and I just threw him. I threw him. And I swear to God he came that close to cracking his skull open on a block of concrete, that close. And I threw him. My God, I couldve killed him. . . RENKO This a funny story: you and your wife watchin tv? CARLUCCI Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, were watchin tv, last night, were sitting there watching the news. Theres these three guys they got for carjacking in Ocala. II-11 J I saw that. CARLUCCI Oh it was godawful. They murdered this woman and. . . Anyway, they flash the three guys faces on the screen and Ill be damned if it isnt fucking Bobo. Its been eleven years but I recognize him. Its him. Its Bobo. Hes got the same smile. RENKO I give. Whats the funny part? CARLUCCI I shouldve killed the little son of a bitch when I had the chance. (CARLUCCI laughs. J & RENKO do not.) J You shoulda killed him, huh? RENKO Well thats the thing in the business, Carlucci, you just never know who you should kill and who you shouldnt. But one thing I do know: what day is it we get out of this shithole? J June nine. RENKO On that day I already told my wife she may not see me again for three days. CARLUCCI So, Kent, I cant talk you into it? J Hey, I got an idea, Car. CARLUCCI Lets hear it. J Why dont you go fuck yourself? I trust you less than I do the man because the man dont pretend to be my friend. II-12 CARLUCCI That hurts, Kent. It really does. Because what am I trying to do? J I give, Car. What are you tryin to do? CARLUCCI Im just trying to do my job, Kent. RENKO Trine do your job? Trine do your job? What happen your New Years Rosolution just kick in? Its fucken May. CARLUCCI This is none of your business, Renko. RENKO Thats right. It aint none of my concern. I dont give a shit. I aint gone be bothered. Because I am out of here. I got a mission. CARLUCCI Oh yeah, whats that? RENKO Before I go, I gotta go around to each and every asshole in this place and tell em just exactly what I think of em. That oughta keep me busy for a while. Start with that fat fucken bitch Bonnie and work my way up to Doc. CARLUCCI If you think youre man enough for it. (Long pause. Then RENKO leaves.) J What do you want, Car? CARLUCCI Kent. . . Listen, Kent, yesterday, when I said that about you trying to save that guys life, I mean, I meant that. About you being a kind of personal hero to me. And thats the kind of thing, friendship, you know, you cant put a price on. And, uh, you know. . . ? J Whynt you just cut the bullshit, Car. Get off the dime. II-13 CARLUCCI As Jerry says. J Thats right. Get off the dime. CARLUCCI Hey, J, Im gonna tell you something and you may or may not believe it, but its true, honest to God, I feel for Jerry, I really do. Because I know what he has to deal with. J You know, huh? What do you know? CARLUCCI I mean about his kid having cancer and all. You know. And with the chances being. . . Shit, you know. I dont have to tell you. And Jerrys got to live with that, with that knowledge. So, its only natural, you know. J What is? CARLUCCI Thats hes going to be bitter. And that his bitterness is going to come out. You cant keep something like that just bottled up inside you. Somethings gotta give. J Yeah? So? CARLUCCI So Im happy for him. J Youre happy for Jerry. CARLUCCI I am. J That he got the job. CARLUCCI Yeah. You bet I am. For him, not me. J You help him get it? II-14 CARLUCCI What do you mean? J Did you help him get it? CARLUCCI Hey, J, just let me put it this way: what do you think? J You gonna help me get out of here too? CARLUCCI Kent. . .Kent, I want you to saty. J Yeah, thats what you want, Car. What about what I want? CARLUCCI Thats what this is. This is all about what you want. I know, I know it may not look like that right now at this particular point in time. To you anyway. But, Kent, you gotta take the long view, believe me. You gotta step back and look at the big picture. J The big picture. CARLUCCI Yes. J The big motherfucken picture. CARLUCCI Kent. Think of the kids. You know these kids. You relate to these kids. They relate to you. Kent, these are poor kids. I mean, these kids are poor, you know what I mean. J Kids so poorass poor they aint never been in a moviehouse, aint never been to the damn movies. You ask these kids, you ever been McDonalds and they tell you, yeah, once. That Oaks Mall. That Oaks Mall is Paris France to these kids. CARLUCCI I know, I know. And see, Kent? Youre giving these kids II-15 CARLUCCI (cont.) something. Youre giving em something nobody else can give em, you hear me? Nobody. J So whatre you gonna give me, Car? CARLUCCI Ill just say this: what you do around here, J, does not go unnoticed. You hear me? Not by any means. Hey, Kent, Im finally just about at that point, Ive got the mans ear now. Hes ready to listen to me now. It took a Hell of a lot of preparation, but hes prepped now. You dont think Im gonna plead your case? J I dont want you pleadin my case to the man. CARLUCCI See, I try to help and what? J You wanna help me, Car? One phone call. Thats all Im asken. CARLUCCI Hey. . . J Theres the phone, Car. Call THS. Put in the good word for me. You said you helped Jerry. You gonna help me? CARLUCCI What, are you gonna put the pressure on me or what? J Help me, Car. One phone call. CARLUCCI (Pause.) Come on. J Help me. (Pause. Re-enter RENKO.) RENKO Just thought of something. II-16 CARLUCCI What? RENKO This is my office. So, Carlucci, whynt you get the Hell out of it? CARLUCCI . . .What I thought. Sure. As soon as you give me the money you owe me for those sodas. RENKO What sodas? CARLUCCI Six Cokes, six Grapes, six Sprites, and six Orange Crush. You took em to the track meet, remember? RENKO What? Do you want it right now? CARLUCCI No, I want it when Im dead so my kids can go to college. RENKO Jeez, Carlucci, youd think I was gonna run out on you or something. CARLUCCI You are gonna run out on us, remember? (Nods to J.) J What do you mean, us? CARLUCCI Kent? J Car, I put in for the THS job. You think it comes through, Im gonna turn it down? CARLUCCI Kent, be realisitic. J What do you mean, realisitic? You sayin I aint qualified? II-17 CARLUCCI I didnt say that at all. RENKO Damn right. Because you know the man is qualified. Jayvee team best record in the district six times in a row, undefeated twice, including this year, defensive backs, school record nineteen interceptions, most tackles. . . CARLUCCI All right, all right. RENKO And calling the plays on offense, which if your dumbfuck head coach whos so damn qualified would run em we would fucken score! CARLUCCI I know, I know. Weve been over this before. RENKO Yeah, you know. You know hes qualified but it dont mean shit. Because if it did, hed be the head man right here, wouldnt he? (Pause.) Wouldnt he? Because this is where the man paid his dues. This is where he saved your ass more times than you can count, Carlucci. CARLUCCI Renko, I didnt come here to talk to you.. How many times do I have to tell you that? J Let the man talk, Jerry. CARLUCCI Thanks. RENKO (Pause.) So talk. J Jerry. CARLUCCI Kent. . . Jerry. Man to man, ok? Cards on the table. I just want you guys to know that I appreciate everything youve done, ok? I know what youre up against. And the job you do II-18 CARLUCCI (cont.) with the kids, you change their lives, you give em a chance. And Im just in a position here . . . I wanted to know your intentions. Whether youre both gonna be here. Whether we can fight this through together, or if this is the parting of the ways, or what. Because I mean Im in a situation here. Its not easy. I get caught in the middle of things. And its like you say Kent: Youve got to go along to get along. J Yeah. CARLUCCI So I just wanted to know whats going on, thats all. You know I respect you. What more can I say? Kent? Youre probably the most valuable guy weve got. Really. If it comes down to that. J Right. CARLUCCI The kids. The people. Take anything. That guy, the way you tried to save that guys life. J No. CARLUCCI I trust you, J, is all Im trying to say. So if were gonna connect, I gotta know whats in your heart. J Im pissed off, Car. Im bein jerked around. I aint gettin a chance. CARLUCCI I know that, I know that, but you will. Its just a matter of time. And whats done is done. Weve got to find a way to put that behind us. J (Pause.) Is that what you came here to say? CARLUCCI Basically, yeah. II-19 J Put it behind us. What do you mean, forget about it? Pretend like it never happened? CARLUCCI No. J Put it behind us. Aint that what you said? RENKO Yeah. Thats what he said. J Put it behind us? CARLUCCI Look, I never said to forget about it, I didnt say that. J Yeah, Car, but you already halfway done forgot about it, didnt you? CARLUCCI No. J No? You aint forgot about it? You aint forgot the man passed me over four times already? Four times? I been here longer than you, Car. You think Im goin for the record, huh? You think Im goin for the Guinness book? Im in the book, I got the record! Or is it like some kind of bet? That it, Car? You and Doc got a bet: see how many times the nigger gonna get took? CARLUCCI Get out of here. J "Get out of here"? "Get out of here"? CARLUCCI I didnt mean it like that. Kent? I meant, like, you know, come on. Jesus. J "Get out of here"? Youre gonna come in here: "Get out of here"? II-20 (J shoves CARLUCCI.) CARLUCCI Hey, watch it. J You get out of here. Get the fuck out! CARLUCCI Kent, come on. . . J Get the fuck outa here! (Pushes CARLUCCI.) CARLUCCI Dont push me. J Get out, motherfucker. (J grabs CARLUCCI and tries to throw him out.) CARLUCCI Keep your hands off me. J Get the the fuck out! (J & CARLUCCI fight. CARLUCCI succumbs, but J goes on beating him till RENKO pulls him off. CARLUCCI rises.) CARLUCCI Jesus. J (Restrained by RENKO.) You wanna go, car? You wanna go? Come on, Car, lets go. You wanna go? CARLUCCI (Pause.) Kent, Im sorry. RENKO I believe the man asked you to leave. II-21 (Pause.) CARLUCCI (Extending his hand to J.) I am sorry, Kent. (Pause. Then CARLUCCI & J shake hands. CARLUCCI leaves.) RENKO What you do that for? J Man pissed me off. "Put it behind us." Like its any skin off his ass. RENKO I mean what you shake his hand for? J Aint gonna hurt nothin, shake his hand. I dont need to embarrass the man. (Pause.) You think he gonna tell Doc? RENKO Yeah, I think hes gonna go yell it all over town. "Hey, I just got the shit kicked out of me." (Laughs.) J It wasnt that bad. RENKO No. It was pretty good. (They laugh.) J Serious. You think hes gonna tell Doc. RENKO Based on past history Imone tell you exactly what the man is gone do for the rest of his life, J: nothin. The man aint gone do diddly squat. Not now, not ever. The man aint gone do nothin, (Pause.) And dont you go worryin none about him neither. The man aint hurtin. You seen the mans house. You seen where he lives. J Car? II-22 RENKO Then you know hes not hurtin. That house must be what, a couple hundred grand easy. Pool. Drives a Mercedes. J Its old. RENKO Still. Mercedes. He aint hurtin. I even asked him once. I said, Carlucci, so whered you get all this money, you in the Mafia or what? J Whatd he say? RENKO He says he dont care about money. J He dont care about money? RENKO What he said. You wanna know his heart? Well, Carlucci told me he dont care about money. Hell, I wouldnt care either, if I lived in a three hundred thousand dollar house had a pool and drove around in a fucken Mercedes. J Youd look funny in a Mercedes. RENKO You know where he gets his money? J No. RENKO Its his wifes. They inherited it. J I get it. RENKO Carlucci didnt do shit. The wife, she inherited it. Carlucci just married it. Thats all. He married it. J Yeah, well, now hes married to it. II-23 RENKO Thats right. And what is it? Aint his wife nuts or something? J I dont know, is she? Shes good-looken, I know that. RENKO She is good-looken, aint she? Lucky bastard. But aint she nuts or sick or something? I think shes sick and it makes her act nuts. Anyway, hes right: hes got his own private situation there, I understand all about that. Still: he married it. Nobody puts a gun to your head. All I know is he said to me, are you ready for this? He said to me, you know what he said to me? J No. RENKO Its not the money, its the power. J Its not the money. RENKO Its the power? J Whats the power? RENKO Thats why hes doin it, thats why hes AD. For the thrill. For the power. J (Pause.) What power? RENKO Thats what I said. I said, Carlucci, what power? You dont do shit. You only do what the man says. J (Pause.) You think hes gonna tell Doc? (Phone rings.) II-24 RENKO (On phone.) Yeah, this is Renko, put him through. (Pause.) Physical Education, Coach Jerry Renko speakin. How may I assist you? (Pause.) Hey, how ya doin? Yessir, it is that. (Pause.) Yessir, yessir, I can. I understand, different county, fingerprints, pee in the bottle, the whole nine yards, no problema. I will. (Pause.) You too. (Hangs up.) J You get the job? RENKO (Pause.) Imone be drunk three days. J You got it. RENKO I got it. J Congrats, man. RENKO Defensive coordinator. I got it. I fucken got it! J Found a teaching slot? RENKO In-school detention. J Goin to jail, man. RENKO Who cares? Imone be the warden. And Ill tell you somethin else: I aint gone do shit around here no more and the Gods truth. From this moment on, I am Officially Retired. From her on out, Imone celebrate! (Fade to black.) III-1 (The students are gone for the summer. It is the last day of "Post-Planning" for teachers, who need only their superiors initials on their "Check-Out Sheets" to pick up their pay- checks and leave for summer vacation as well. RENKO occupies the couch, COACH J the desk.) RENKO I think somebody kicked me in the head. J You think? RENKO I dont remember anybody punchin me, but I do remember bein on the floor. Could very well be somebody kicked me whilst I was down there. J What was you doin down there? RENKO Trine get up. J Well now you dont need to. RENKO How bout you? You still need Docs initials on your check out sheet to get your check? J Doc and Car. RENKO Doc and Car. The man and the straw man. J Yeah. RENKO Thats a tough position to play, that straw man position. III-2 J You aint kiddin. Got to all the time be side-steppin, backin up. Anybody asks you anything, gotta say: oh, you gotta ask the man that. Cant never take nothin on your own. RENKO Let shit go is looken you right in the face. J All the time: "Well this is the way this is, because, you see, the man said. . ." RENKO The man. The man said. The man. J You the straw man, thats the way it is. You get to learn all the variations on it, all the options, just which way to pitch it, get you a million diffferent ways to say you aint gonna do shit. RENKO I couldnt do it. I couldnt be no straw man. Id get fed up with that in one real fast hurry. J You would. Youd have to get involved. RENKO I would. J Have to be active. It was a dude like that at THS when I was coming up. We used to call him Boston Baked Bean. RENKO Why the Hell youd call him that? J Cuz he had a head look like a Boston Baked Bean. (They laugh.) RENKO Boston Baked Bean. J Boston Baked Bean. He wasnt no straw man. III-3 RENKO Boston Baked Bean. J He used to be on my case. Boston Baked Bean. Damn. He used to be all over me. Boston Baked Bean. And I used to be like, damn, man, whynt you go get you some kids of your own? Forty years old. And I resented the shit out of it. It was like he singled me out, you know? Motherfucker. RENKO Boston Baked Bean. J Man just had too much Goddamn energy. Know what I mean? RENKO Wired, huh? J And every time he saw me. I mean every Goddamn time, hed be on my case. I didnt never get away. RENKO Single you out. He didnt single you out. He figured you out. J He never bullshit me. That was the thing. Even when Id try and bullshit him. RENKO Uh-huh. J One time I told him, I thought, what the Hell, I told him, hey, Im sorry, I guess I fell Off The Path a little there, know what I mean, Rev? Wed only been partyin for about three weeks straight. And Boston Baked Bean look me right in the eye and say: Bullshit, you one long-ass way from the path, Kenneth, aint like you just drove onto the shoulder or nothin. RENKO Boston Baked Bean. III-4 J I lot of them jokers I used to run with is dead now. And these kids now think theyre bad. RENKO They wanna think theyre bad. J I keep tellin em, man, you gonna say the wrong thing to the wrong dude in the wrong place at the wrong time sometime and the motherfucker is either, one, gonna kill your ass, or, two, you gonna wish he did. RENKO Amen. J Do they lissun? RENKO Did you? J I was just at that point too, you know, where you realize it aint gonna come out like you dreamed. I knew I was too small for the NFL. Hell, I was too small for 1A. It wasnt nobody interested. And I could see that part wasnt never gonna change. That was nature. RENKO I could read the writing on the board at FSU that first day when a 290-pund down lineman beat me in the forty. J Uh-huh. RENKO By two steps. J I mean I was playin basketball, but I didnt have no skills. About all I was good for was defense and maken lay-ups. RENKO Like I believe at. J Its true. Basketball wasnt nothin for me but a pastime. Just a way to pass the time with the fellas. It wasnt goin III-5 J (Cont.) nowhere. It wasnt nothin happenin. Another year and Id be out on the streets just like the rest of them jokers, Cabbage, Ice, all of them. RENKO Shit. J And this was back in them hippy days like Car talks about, remember? Go in the john and its be a cloud of pot smoke so thick youd get high just walkin through there. Wed be in there, five, six of us, suckin down these big-ass joints get to be flaming like a blowtorch. And one time were in there, going at it like Rastafarians, all of a sudden, somebody yells: Boston Baked Bean! WHAM! Stall door slams open and there he is. . . RENKO Boston Baked Bean. J "Dont anybody move!" And were all standin there, hes got the door blocked, what are we gonna do? And all you can here is "HISSSSS". Fucken Boston Baked Bean reaches his hand right down in there in the bowl with the turds and all. . . RENKO Aw. . . J And fishes out that joint. "You been smoking this? You? You been smoking this?" (They laugh.) Yeah, we were bad. You know how bad we were? You know what we did? We ran. Yeah, I ran my ass outa there, ooh man, I was fast then, I was the fastest one, me and Jermaine, I ran my ass outa there, jumped the rail and tore my ankle up bad. I mean real bad. I wasnt gonna play no more nothin that year. Next playin I did was semi-pro after I got my degree. So here I am, Im limping around, my ankles all fucked up, and Im laughin, and Boston Baked Bean catches up to me and says, "Damn, Kenneth, you know better." And, shit, he was right. RENKO The man wasnt no straw man. J No he was not. (Pause.) III-6 RENKO You hear anything yet? J What do you mean? About the job? RENKO No. About the situation in Bosnia. J Yeah. They got it all worked out. RENKO They gonna interview you? J I dont know. RENKO Hey, they gotta interview you, thats equal opportunity, thats the law. J Well, thing is, even if they interview me, they just got rid of a black coach, they aint gonna be in no all-fired hurry to hire another one. RENKO Its like they done their bit. Still, if a man deserves the shot, know what I mean? J They wouldnt have to fire me. Wouldnt be no push to get rid of me. Wouldnt be no pissin and moanin. Wouldnt be no taken my case to the newspaper or none of that shit neither. If I couldnt get the job done, Id quit. Id disappear. Just gimme two years. Thats all. And if I cant get the job done, Im gone. Simple as that. RENKO All you want is the shot. All anybody wants. J One shot. . . RENKO You think you gone get it? III-7 J No. (Pause.) Cars right. Hes an asshole but hes right. Aint nobody else gonna gimme a shot. Im stuck here. RENKO Hey you never know. Some bolt out of the blue. . . J Right. Im thirty-eight. Im gonna hold my breath, some bolt out of the blue. . . RENKO You dont know. Look at me. Connections. So? Now you know somebody in Darien County, somebody can put in a good word for you, you dont know. J Right. RENKO Dont be all bummed, man. Last day. J I aint bummed. Im resigned to it is all. RENKO Look at it this way: youre gettin on that three-ten shift. Go home, see your wife and kids for a change. J Right. RENKO Beats workin. Beats the shit outa workin. J Its more to life than this. RENKO A lot more. J Got kids of my own. RENKO Me too. III-8 J Get tired investin all this energy. Somebody elses damn kids. Got my own! RENKO I do too. J And your kid got cancer. . . RENKO Yeah, thats true, but nobody thinks about that. J Messed-up. Its all messed-up. RENKO Carlucci, gettin off on the power. I asked him, what power? J Dude turns blue and you can see it in his eyes. RENKO What? J I knew you wasnt gonna make it, man. You knew. RENKO Knew what? J Its all messed-up. Your grandkids. . . Workin for the county. . . All of it. Its all messed-up. RENKO Hey, man, lets get the sheet signed, go drink a beer. J No. RENKO Why not? J Lets go drink a lot of beers. III-9 RENKO Im with you. J Forget about this place. RENKO About time. J Forget about this Goddamn motherfucken fucked up piece of shit PLACE. Goddamn motherfucken BULLSHIT. BULLSHIT YOU HEAR ME? GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKEN BULLSHIT! (Tears up sheet. Trashes office.) RENKO (Pause.) Jesus. At least let me trash the place. Im the one whos leavin. J (Pause.) Aw, man, look at this place. RENKO Quit looken at this place. Lets get out of here. J No, man, you go on ahead. RENKO Come on, man, give it a rest. Youre lettin this place get to you. J Its not a job, its just a meal ticket. RENKO Come on. J Its not a job. RENKO I know its not a job. Its a reason to drink. J Its not a job. III-10 RENKO (Pause.) Kent? J Its just a meal ticket. Its not a job. Its not a job. RENKO Hey, Rodriguez? J What? RENKO I just want you to remember one thing. J What? RENKO You tackle with your face. Not the top of your head. J Thats right. RENKO You tackle with your face. J First thing I teach. And I always get real animated about it too. RENKO I know you do. J Shit. RENKO (Pause.) Now what do you say we get that beer, Rodriguez? J Yeah, man. (They leave. Fade to black.)