* This is a fictionalized account of some shit that actually happened. All the names, locations, etc. have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. – JG *
EXTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH PARKING LOT – DAY
Hoover and Caitlin walk away from the madding crowd and sit over to the side on a concrete barrier. The PA plays innocuous pop music while the next band gets set up. The song changes to “The Ghost In You” by Psychedelic Furs as they begin talking.
CAITLIN
So! You guys were really good! I
didn’t think you were gonna be that
great...I mean, no offense, but you
don’t even have a drum kit...
HOOVER
Well, yeah, it is weird, I guess. But
Maureen Tucker from the Velvet Under-
ground played like that so...I figured
it was cool.
CAITLIN
I never heard of them, but maybe I would’ve
if you had made me that mixtape!
Caitlin grabs his hand and shakes Hoover, who laughs, but she doesn’t let go and neither does he. They sit for a moment, holding hands.
HOOVER
I would’ve made you one but I never
thought someone as amazing as you
would want a mixtape from someone
like me.
CAITLIN
(shakes her head)
Why do you always put yourself down?
HOOVER
(looks her in the eye)
I don’t know.
They kiss, tentatively at first, then with real teenage passion. This is Hoover’s first real kiss, and Caitlin isn’t too far removed herself. They lose themselves; the music rises. Suddenly the mood is broken by DANNY, a Head.
DANNY
Hey, Mike, why do you think that a
girl would want to kiss a faggot like that?
Guerrasio, Danny and 4 other Heads walk over. Hoover and Caitlin stop kissing.
HOOVER
Goddammit!
GUERRASIO
I don’t know, maybe she’s a lesbian!
The other Heads laugh.
HOOVER
That doesn’t even make sense...
CAITLIN
(yells)
Hey! Why don’t you assholes go find
something to do!
Hoover winces. Guerrasio laughs ruefully.
GUERRASIO
I’ll slap your face for you, bitch.
CAITLIN
Ha! I’d like to see you try.
GUERRASIO
I’ll do it, bitch. You just watch me.
HOOVER
That’s it.
Hoover stands up, a man possessed, and walks up to Guerrasio and punches him directly in the face. Guerrasio shakes it off after a moment, his face become a mask of animal cruelty.
HOOVER
Oh, shit.
Guerrasio begins whaling on Hoover, who fights back the best he can. The other Heads cheer, and suddenly the Misery Kid, D-Man and Griffin run over with a bunch of other Punks. Soon more Heads join the fray, and there is a crazy melee of Punks and Heads fighting all over the parking lot. “In A Hole” by the Jesus and Mary Chain erupts on the soundtrack.
CUT TO:
INTERIOR – NEEDLE TRAX – DAY
Jim looks up suddenly from the receipts he is tabulating.
JIM
It’s time.
He grabs a cassette tape and runs out the door, locking it behind him.
CUT TO:
EXTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH PARKING LOT – DAY
The Kid jumps up on the roof of a car to jump right off it onto some Head with a flying elbow drop.
CUT TO:
INTERIOR – JIM’S CAR – DAY
Jim speeds along a Fallsville street, pounding the dashboard.
JIM
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon...
CUT TO:
EXTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH PARKING LOT – DAY
D-Man is chased by 3 Heads this way then that around a full bike rack.
CUT TO:
INTERIOR – JIM’S CAR – DAY
Jim peels into the Fallsville North parking lot, right into the midst of the battling Punks and Heads.
JIM
Okay, here we go...
CUT TO:
EXTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH PARKING LOT – DAY
Jim stops the car and opens both doors wide, then presses “Play” on his car stereo. Immediately, Metallica’s cover of “Last Caress” by the Misfits comes screaming out of the car’s speakers. Slowly, everyone stops fighting to just listen. Even Guerrasio, who has Hoover in a headlock, stops and marvels at the power and the glory.
GUERRASIO
That’s the best Metallica song I’ve
ever heard.
HOOVER
That’s a Misfits song!
Guerrasio grimaces and pushes Hoover away. All the assorted Punks and Heads nod along with the amazing music, some punching their fists, some starting to rock back and forth on their heels. By the time that phenomenal break comes and then the music slams back in, all the Punks and Heads are headbanging and slamdancing as a single great mass. They have truly Come Together. Then the song ends.
JIM
Okay, now that we’ve all found something
we can agree on, we’ve got some stuff to
discuss. I need all of you to meet me over
at Needle Trax as soon as you can get
there.
The Heads and Punks look around at each other, measuring Jim’s words.
CUT TO:
