INT. JORDAN/PAIGE’S APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM, DAY

Paige, Rachel, and Eric are all sitting around the living room. Jordan is practicing for his first lecture he’s giving to undergrads. He is at the TV, laptop in hand, clicking through slides.

JORDAN: So that’s why we can somewhat link Japan’s rise to be leaders in fields like transportation, technology, and tourism back to World War II and the implementation of Democracy forced on them by the US.

ERIC: Mr. Jordan?

JORDAN: Questions at the end.

ERIC: Mr. Jordan.

JORDAN: Next up, a look into modern military bases still—

PAIGE: Mr. Jordan, Eric has a question.

JORDAN: … Eric?

ERIC: Thank you, Paige. How am I supposed to feel about America?

JORDAN: I don’t care how you feel about America. That’s not what this lecture is about.

ERIC: Well they are usually the bad guys, but you just said it’s good that we gave them democracy, so I’m confused.

PAIGE: Mr. Jordan, I’m also confused about that. Also, I like your outfit, Mr. Jordan. It’s giving pride.

JORDAN: That’s not what I was going for but thank you, Paige. We’re not talking about whether or not they’re good. Just the fact that it happened and how it led to—

RACHEL: raises her hand.

JORDAN: Rachel. Thank you for raising your hand.

RACHEL: You’re welcome, Mr. Jordan. I also think you look very slay, Mr. Jordan, and I’m also confused about whether or not I should hate America.

JORDAN: Why?

RACHEL: Why was America able to do that to Japan?

JORDAN: Hiroshima.

ERIC: What’s that, Mr. Jordan?

JORDAN: They’re gonna know what Hiroshima is, Eric.

ERIC: You told us to act like your students. My character doesn’t know Hiroshima.

JORDAN: Then your character shouldn’t be a poli-sci major.

Claire enters through the front door without knocking, blasting white light into the dark living room. The group breaks out in playful screams from the bright light. Claire is a young, Asian-American influencer and definitely looks the part. Eric shuffles his fingers, reaching his arm out to Claire for an answer.

ERIC: Claire, have you heard of Hiroshima?

JORDAN: inhales to say something, pauses, swiftly turns around, brushing past Claire, darts to his room, and shuts the door.

CLAIRE: I think so. Could you sing a little bit of it?

PAIGE: We broke him.

ERIC: Claire, I’m a little shocked you don’t know Hiroshima.

CLAIRE: Why?

ERIC: I don’t know. Not like—just… I don’t know!

PAIGE: Eric, what the fuck?

When I’m all but dead

And don’t know who I am

There’ll be bits left of me

We’ll dance til we’re dizzy

I’ll make sure you miss me

And I swear that I’ll always bake bread

SALLIE ANN: 

When I was little, my dad used to talk about me and my brother like we weren’t two people. I hated it. It was like he had a kid named “y’all”. I sometimes wondered if he remembered our names. “Y’all are gonna look out for each other. Y’all will build two houses side by side. Y’all are gonna get out of here someday.” He always wanted us to get out. So when Dad died, my brother already had the train tickets West. I wrote to say I wasn’t going; I didn’t want to leave the new family I had built back home. He came for me anyway. He was insistent. Grief looks like anger sometimes. And if I looked at him and saw Dad in his eyes, I knew I wouldn’t act like myself… I’d act like y’all.

So we did. We came West together with grandaddy, chasing a promise our prairie back East could never make. Grandaddy passed soon after. We built one house, not two. One is hard enough as it is. The second winter took him. Took my brother. Glad we didn’t build a second house.

Now it’s only me. I hitch the horses alone. I split the wood alone. I used to get afraid when I was alone. But out here, fear is wasteful.

I am not the woman who left home. I have calluses thick as leather and a back that does not bend easy. I can mend a roof, dig a grave, and keep a fire goin’ til the Resurrection. 

(Takes out a pack of matches.)

Of course I feel bad for Beau and Annie. They’re sweet kids. And someday they’ll know what it means to spend your life savings on a plot of land and have the world rip it away from you. 

(Strikes a match.)

Someday they’ll understand what I did. 

I’ll tell you the truth: I’m not even sorry. I can’t be. I left my “sorries” back with my family obligations that’s now long gone. I won’t bury myself in ‘em. I survived. I (she takes a quick beat, an emphasis on the lonely “I”) survived. I don’t owe nothin’ to no one, but there’s somethin’ to be said for an iron-clad insurance policy. 

Let it burn.

LEO

You said you have a few hits on LinkedIn? What do you have?

BROOKE

There are  few other marketing companies around town that are really into my resume. Some of them are more direct marketing than I’d like, but really lateral moves.

LEO

Have you tried out of town yet?

BROOKE

Not yet, but I’ve been considering it. I’ve always been interested in New York.

LEO

Really?? I could see that, I guess. But I could never do New York.

BROOKE

Too many people?

LEO

I can’t do homeless people.

BROOKE

Oh?

LEO

Sorry, that sounds bad. I mean the New York thing of a homeless person asking you for money and not acknowledging them. I feel like New Yorkers have to get used to that, but that just makes me feel weird. 

BROOKE

Yeah, it does sound bad. It never bothered me the times I’ve been. We have that here.

LEO

Yeah, sure. I guess the amount here is as much as I can handle. Trying not to make eye contact when you’re stopped at a light near an underpass. And even then I do the thing where I stop perfectly so that the frame of my car blocks their face from my eyeline so I don’t have to make eye contact, ya know? How do you do it?

BROOKE

You just can’t think about it. 

LEO

Yeah, I overthink it. And then when I do help and give money or go get them a meal, I drive away convincing myself that I just helped them in staying on the streets longer or giving them drug money. Because my dad beat that into me so much growing up. 

BROOKE

Right. That’s messed up.

LEO

Sure, but is it worse to not think about it? You’re gonna have to deal with that a lot in New York.

BROOKE

Well I’m just thinking about New York, and I think actively avoiding them worse than not thinking about it.

LEO

So you don’t even have to think about not thinking about it.

BROOKE

You’re saying “it”. 

LEO

(Calling over to Manny and Maya:) Hey! Could I ask you guys’ opinion on something?

BROOKE

Leo.

LEO

What?

MAYA

What’s up?

LEO

What do you guys think about homeless people?

BROOKE

Oh my god, Leo.

MAYA

What do we think about homeless people?

LEO

Or, like, whenever you, yeah, whenever you see them on the side of the road, what do you think? If anything.

BROOKE

You don’t have to answer.

LEO

I’m asking in a very unbiased way, am I not?

BROOKE

That’s not—

MAYA

It makes me sad.

LEO

Great! Manny?

MANNY

Yeah, sad.

LEO

Thank you. Brooke is moving to New York and—

MAYA

Oh my god, congrats!

BROOKE

I’m not moving to New York.

LEO

She’s thinking about it. And I was saying that I can’t do the homeless people there.

MANNY

That’s an insane thing to say.

LEO

Well what I meant was that I have a hard time not interacting with them. Like I want to talk to them about their situation and how to get them off the streets, but there’s too many of them.

MAYA

I see what you mean.

MANNY

I’m sort of shocked you feel that way, Leo.

LEO

Why? Do I seem to be lacking the empathy required?

MANNY

Just doesn’t match a lot of the other things I know about you. Staunch, powerful capitalist.

LEO

Is that how I come off?

BROOKE

Definitely capitalist.

LEO

Woah. Didn’t think it was an insult til you say it like that.

BROOKE

Well.