MAVIS
Listen, there's
been a change.
Shui looks up.
SHUI
Yeah?
MAVIS
Yeah, I want you
to call a meeting.
SHUI
Everyone?
MAVIS
Yeah, everyone.
Just the girls though.
Shui pauses.
SHUI
Got it.
MAVIS
Set it up so
that everyone's on
time. Like, 1 PM.
SHUI
Alright.
MAVIS
It'll be fun, trust me
SHUI, confused, yet excited, turns around and exits the frame. Where will our friends all meet for such an important occasion? We cut to..
1 INT . G&G CLOTHING KITCHEN - DAY
MAVIS sits with ROXY, SHUI, CAROLINE, and GINA at a ROUNDTABLE decorated with bags and electronics.Shui, Mavis and Gina are snacking on CHIPS and SALSA, Mavis holds a cigarette over the CLAY ASHTRAY she brought. Caroline, also smoking, has to resort to tapping hers on the floor, as she sits away from Mavis. GINA & Roxy have their LAPTOPS open, Roxy has a mug of COFFEE handy and doesn't hesitate to take frequent sips, interchanged with a nibble or two on a PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE from a small bowl she acquired..
ALL
(Chatter)
Roxy is typing like a newspaper editor.. She's most likely texting someone though...
MAVIS
Has anyone heard
from the boys?
Shui shakes her head.
CAROLINE
Nah.
Mavis turns to Gina.
MAVIS
(close)
You wanna call
them?
GINA is confused, she isn't an errand-boy, or girl for that matter.
GINA
Why me?
MAVIS
I don't know,
I was just saying.
ROXY watches this exchange, amused. Gina however sits confused and slightly offended..
CAROLINE
I'll call them.
CAROLINE picks up her phone to dial, she does so, and puts the phone to her ear. Patiently letting it ring, she and SHUI look over to MAVIS and GINA who are still quarrelling.
GINA
(hushed)
What you want coffee
now, too? What do you
want?
MAVIS
(interrupting)
No, no. I was just
asking, Gene.
The phone stops ringing and picks up. The girls cease conversation.
CAROLINE
Oh, uh, hey, Neville?
Where are you?
Uh, huh. Yeah,
we're here. Okay,
thanks, buh-bye.
Caroline hangs up the phone.
CAROLINE
(cont'd)
He's like down the
street.
MAVIS
Okay, good.
CAROLINE
George is with him, too.
GINA
Fuck, I should've got
him to pick up some
drinks or something.
ROXY
Thought we still
had some.
GINA ponders for a second.
GINA
Let me check the
basement.
GINA gets up followed by CAROLINE
CAROLINE
Lemme' go with you.
I wanna see the spooky
basement.
GINA
(laughing)
Okay, C'mon.
(to ROXY)
Let me know when they're
here, alright?
The TWO exit the room, ROXY looks at MAVIS with slight scorn, what is she? The new errand-girl? MAVIS shrugs. We hard cut to..
2 INT. G&G CLOTHING BASEMENT - DAY - DIM
CAROLINE and GINA walk slowly down the stairs. GINA, ahead of CAROLINE, flicks the switch to reveal a dingy basement, corrosive. slightly rotted wood walls with a pool table (no balls or sticks) in the middle, a table and chairs on the far left, and a small fridge on the right. GINA's nose crinkles at the eroded smell of iron and sink water..
GINA
Smells like Metal..
CAROLINE
Or blood.
GINA
Right?
Gina opens the fridge, inside is a case of SMIRNOFF ICE WATERMELON MIMOSA WINECOOLERS, she grabs it.
GINA
I should call my
cousin, Andy.
Caroline looks around at the depressing architecture.
CAROLINE
So, Denny's fucking
with our shit, or what?
Gina walks back towards the stairs. Caroline lazily follows.
GINA
Well, yeah. Denny
didn't pay Nev for
the freaking, like
vocals he did on
their record? He
didn't credit him
neither, apparently.
So..
Gina turns around to Caroline, she scratches her head with the same hand she's holding the WINECOOLERS in.
GINA
So, like, um.
Neville wants to
sort it out, y'know.
CAROLINE
'Kay. Wait, why
can't we take this
to court?
GINA
Please! My mom
has enough shit
to balance let
alone driving
us to school.
GINA scoffs. CAROLINE smiles.
GINA
(cont'd)
Tell you the
truth.. I wish
we could. All
this could be
solved with a
paycheck. Y'know?
CAROLINE
Yeah, right?
Gina nods and turns around, she heads up the stairs and CAROLINE follows. The two seem in better spirits, we then cut to..
INT - G&C CLOTHING KITCHEN - DAY
Gina and Caroline enter to see that GEORGE and NEVILLE are taking their seats among the girls.
GINA
Oh, hello!
GEORGE looks up. NEVILLE nods kindly as the two sit down.
MAVIS
So, lets get
started on the
thing, shall we?
EVERYBODY turns their attention to NEVILLE.
MAVIS
(cont'd)
Alright, Neville.
you said you had
a problem with,
Denny and Unkouth.
NEVILLE
Yeah, Well, see.
Back in like, January
last year, Trent
wanted me to
visit the studio,
y'know? Back when
we were friends?
A chill fills the room. CAROLINE knows more than the others. She,
as well as the audience, knows the tumultuous relationship between the two boys.
NEVILLE
(cont'd)
He's like,'oh
i remember you
in Temper Tantrum
I showed Den your
demo, he really
likes it.
Once again, Caroline is indignant, but she can only shake her head.
NEVILLE
(cont'd)
So, he's like, come
to the studio. Okay,
I go and Denny's like
'Oh, I have this track
I want you to sing on
our new EP--
SHUI
The one with that
guy from Baby Giraffes
right?
NEVILLE
Yes, exactly. I'm
in the booth for
like an hour, screaming.
After that he's like
okay, great, let's go
for lunch, right? We go
get Chinese. First thing
Denny asks me is 'what—
do you want?', I say
to him, oh, i'll pay.
He's like, 'nah-nah-nah,
my treat.' He said.
I didn't even think
much of it at the time.
We see that George is eager to get a word in, he's just as involved as Neville,but more upset. He's fidgeting with his hands before...
GEORGE
I mean, you won't
fucking believe what
this guy does, right?
Neville told me this
shit in May, I says,
did he ever pay you?
Cause at this point the
EP was already on CD,
Bandcamp. I asked
Neville, did he pay
you and Neville's like
no.
We see Neville listening back to the events that transpired and he seems ashamed more of himself than upset at Denny and Trent for their scheme.
NEVILLE
He doesn't even mention
it while we're recording.
And every time I go to
see him, we get food
and he's paying for me.
Mavis at this point has heard enough. She directs her attention toward both Roxy, who's playing legal council, and Neville who is ostensibly on trial as a witness.
MAVIS
Wait, wait... You're
telling me he hasn't
even paid you residuals?
Not through cash, wire,
nothing?
NEVILLE
No.
GEORGE
He hasn't seen a
dime.
MAVIS
(to Roxy)
What the fuck?
Everyone turns to poor Roxy, who had been following the conversation closely, but is nonetheless caught off by the sudden attention shift.
ROXY
So, clearly he's
misappropriating
funds.
Neville is listening, but is visibly confused. Mavis is enraptured by Roxy’s prose.
ROXY
Basically, he's
using his own
pocket change to
pay you as little
as possible while
still keeping a
remainder of his
funds.
SHUI
So, fraud.
ROXY
Well, yes, but
that's a general
term. Fraud can
constitute, yes,
embezzlement, like
you said. But it
really mostly covers
illegal activities.
Mavis, Shui and Caroline all listen intently, obviously taking notes in their heads.
ROXY
(Cont'd)
Such as money
laundering or
even extortion.
MAVIS
How is this
not extortion?
ROXY
Well, Neville
isn't paying off
a debt, as far as
we know. A more
apt diagnosis here
could be a money
laundering scheme,
maybe.
(shy)
I'm not a
lawyer, really.
Roxy, obviously feeling the pressure, fidgets with her hair and sips her coffee.
CAROLINE
Yeah, but aren't
you a law student?
ROXY
Financing.
CAROLINE
Ahh..
ROXY
How'd you think
I ended up with
Gina?
Gina playfully shoots Roxy a 'finger-guns' and winks. She mainly wants to reassure Roxy.However, Roxy is still extremely out of her element and is breathing pretty heavily at this point, it could be the coffee though.
MAVIS
So, you're really
up on this money
shit, huh?
Roxy nods and so does Mavis, though Mavis holds this stare that definitely shows the process of her cogs turning to see how she can use Roxy's intellect for a scheme.
ROXY
Well, I mean my
mom's a finance
lawyer, y'know.
most of this stuff
I just learned
from her as well.
Bullseye. Roxy successfully removes the Sisyphus size rock from her back. George, and by extent Caroline aren't entirely satisfied though.
GEORGE
Wait, okay, so..
Technically, this
guy, and potentially
the whole label, are
scam artists.
ROXY
Well, yeah. The
label is mainly
at fault here.
Whoever was head
of the production
should've kept
you on payroll
at least until
they didn't need
you. He owes you
money.
The magic words have been uttered. God help them, a cold silence is inhaled by all in the room. Mavis looks at Shui for a visual diagnosis, Shui nods. Neville and George await a signal, and Caroline just stares at the table, immediately recognizing what will transpire.
GINA
Not like we didn't
see this coming.
(to Roxy)
I'm sure you guys remember
our issues with him.
Roxy nods.
MAVIS
Well, that was
resolved.
GINA
We still had to
talk to the fucking
label though. Plus
having to explain
ourselves to those
Hot Topic executives
over the same shit.
ROXY
Misappropriation,
embezzlement.
GINA
We almost took
that shit to court.
MAVIS
Well, thank god
you hadn't. This
is something that
we can handle
internally.
Mavis looks at George, Neville and Caroline with unmistakable intent. There is something that’s communicated between them without a breath being taken. Mavis nods at George, George looks at both Caroline and Neville. He then stares back at Mavis, and nods back. It begins.