By Misti Velvet Rainwater
Date: 4 February 2000

SCENE 32

SCENE 32-INT.-IHOP-Night.
Derek and Becca are sitting in a booth.
Becca: This doesn't feel natural to me.
Derek: What?
He's smoking a cigarette and glancing at the
menu.
Becca: Sitting across from you! I feel like
we're on a first date or something.
Derek stands up. Slides in beside Becca.
Derek: That better?
Becca: Much.
Derek: Wanna share some French toast?
Becca: Not really. That's sweet of you to ask, but remember,
I don't eat breakfast.
Derek: It's eleven o'clock at night, babe.
Becca: Yes, but it's still like Breakfast. Maple
syrup and alla that. I'm going to get some cheese 
sticks with marinara sauce.
Derek: That sounds good.
Puts his arm around Becca.
Becca: I think your grandfather likes me.
Derek: I think he does, too. That was a huge deal,
him asking you to read to him.
Becca: It was so strange. I closed my eyes and then
opened the book. I opened it right to chapter five,
where Alice meets the big caterpillar. It was so symbolic,
you know?
Derek: Yeah, like she's talkin' about all the changes she's
gone through. Lewis Carroll was the Timothy Leary or Hunter
S. Thompson of the Victorian Era. That book is filled with
drug references.
Becca: Well, there's more to it than that. There are also a lot
of metaphysical and psychological references. But what I'm
referring to is how your grandfather must identify with Alice.
Like he's always in a state of confusion and he's in a strange
place surrounded by strange people. He doesn't know from one
moment to the next how his life will be. He must live in
constant fear, knowing that it's only going to get progressively
worse.
Derek: I've never thought of it like that. But you've got a 
good point.
Becca: I can't think about it or else I'll start crying.