Maggie Harmon's Struggles at Work and Home, Study notes of Voice

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"Changing Lanes"

Pilot

By

Quentin Bangston

FADE IN:

EXT. SULLIVAN AQUATIC CENTER -- MORNING

A crystal clear pool of cool liquid. Pristine and ready to be enjoyed. That is until...

A body, facedown, floats into view.

It's jabbed in the head, an attempt to recover the body, by a pool net. The net only succeeds in pushing the body further into the pool.

FEMALE VOICE (O.S.) Shit!

The net hovers over the head again -- dropping perfectly, the whorl acting like a soppy target.

INT. LITTLE HARVEST ORGANIC GROCER -- DAY

SUPER: 3 MONTHS EARLIER

MAGGIE HARMON, mid 30s, attractive for a once teen mom, slim, makes her avocado-green work vest sexy, is surrounded by barrels of fresh produce. She dresses peasant chic; long sun dresses and comfortable sandals.

She stands on her tip toes, bare foot on the dirt floor of the store, as she precariously stacks oranges into a pyramid.

Almost...there...

Maggie drops the top orange.

MAGGIE There!

She steps back to admire...

...Her perfect produce pyramid collapse around her.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Fuck!

Maggie bends down, picking up the fruit, and tossing it back into the barrel, cursing as she goes.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Giving up, she takes an orange, leans back against the barrel, and peels it.

MAGGIE

You're the only child. Well, you have a brother, but he's gay and your dad doesn't count him. I'm sorry, may I ask what am I doing here?

MR. SWEENEY How did you get your job?

MAGGIE I went to high school with your father. Prom, too, if that counts, but I don't think he took that into consideration during my interview. I didn't exactly put out that night, bun in the oven and all. Which is ironic, seeing how people typically get pregnant on prom night, not the preceding months.

MR. SWEENEY Why do you still have your job?

MAGGIE Because I put out to your father after my interview?

Mr. Sweeney is unamused.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) (quickly) Kidding. It was before. Sorry. Kidding again. Okay. Let's start over. (turning on some charm) Mr. Sweeney, you're a...smart man. I'm sure you can tell me why I still have this job.

MR. SWEENEY The Little Harvest family has fallen on some hard times. Believe it or not, people don't want to spend the extra money to buy fresh, organic food. They're all too hyped up on their Naked juices and pre-made iced teas to want to squeeze their own fresh orange juice and flax seed oil. And this is why the Little Harvest family is going to become littler.

Maggie, realizing.

MAGGIE

I see.

A CELL PHONE RINGS. Maggie, knowing its hers, doesn't go for it.

MR. SWEENEY Don't feel like we're doing this just to you.

As the phone continues to ring,Mr. Sweeney begins to get irritated.

MR. SWEENEY (CONT'D) We're...cutting at least... (annoyed sigh) Four other workers and...only doing the Stuff Your Socks Savings Sale...

Maggie, pretending to listen.

MR. SWEENEY (CONT'D) Every other week instead of every...will you please answer the damn phone?

MAGGIE Sorry!

Maggie's hand dives into her vest pocket. She pulls out an out-of-date cell phone.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) (into phone) Hello? Yes, hello Principal Grady. She what? Okay. (glances to Mr. Sweeney) No, not busy, just being fired. I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay. See you then. Thanks. Bye.

She puts the phone back in her vest pocket.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) So....

MR. SWEENEY You need to hang up your Little Harvest vest.

MAGGIE Okay.

She slips her vest off. Hands it to Mr. Sweeney.

MAGGIE (CONT'D)

(stepping fully in) Am I late?

PRINCIPAL GRADY Sit down, Ms. Harmon. You're tardy.

Maggie drops into a chair next to Molly, giving her a "what did you do now?" look.

MAGGIE Whatever Molly did, I'm sure she is more than sorry and willing to apologize. If she broke anything, well...she can work it off.

PRINCIPAL GRADY If you would allow me to explain, as I should be allowed to do, seeing as this is my office and not your... (RE: Maggie's feet) Playground, I will get this meeting started so we can all put this behind us as quickly as possible.

MRS. RUCKER Your little bastard punched my Damien.

Damien sniffles to add effect.

MAGGIE Excuse me?

MRS. RUCKER (exploding anger) You heard me. That little bastard girl of yours attacked Damien. Gave him a black eye that most definitely will still be there for our family pictures.

PRINCIPAL GRADY Mrs. Rucker, please, calm down before I have you escorted from the building. Ms. Harmon, we can save ourselves all a bunch of time if Molly would just apologize for starting a fight with Damien.

Wait. What?

MAGGIE What?

PRINCIPAL GRADY

As you said, Molly is prepared to apologize for anything she did.

MAGGIE Exactly. Anything she did. Molly didn't start this.

MRS. RUCKER According to my Damien --

She's cut off by a hand from Principal Grady.

PRINCIPAL GRADY Please, Mrs. Rucker, let me handle this. (to Maggie) Our school policy is to suspend any student caught fighting on school grounds. Since this is Molly's first incident and she is a good student, I will over look the fact --

MAGGIE Over look what? Over look the fact that she was called a bastard child by this little shit head.

MRS. RUCKER She is a bastard child.

Maggie, a dead look in her eyes, turns to Mrs. Rucker.

MAGGIE I'm sorry, Tiffany, that I didn't marry the first thing that stuck a dick in my mouth. No offense Evan.

MR. RUCKER None taken.

MRS. RUCKER Evan!

MAGGIE And if you need me to remind you, Tiffany, I was pregnant with my son the same time you were pregnant with your first one. Except I kept mine.

She pointedly says "Tiffany", as though her name is an insult in itself.

Mrs. Rucker is incredulous and dumbfounded, probably a typical look for her.

MAGGIE

We can stop by and clean it later. Okay? We'll get all of it.

Molly stares out the window, slightly heart broken over the recent events. It tugs at Maggie's heart strings.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) It'll all work out, Moll-Doll. You'll have fun with Grandma Margaret.

Moll-Doll pronounced like Mall Doll.

MOLLY Can we eat macaroni and cheese for lunch?

MAGGIE Of course.

This brightens Molly's spirits a little.

MOLLY And do arts and crafts in the afternoon?

MAGGIE You can color to your heart's content.

MOLLY Can I stay in my pajamas all day?

MAGGIE (smiling) You can even stay in your pajamas all day.

MOLLY Cool!

Molly's smiling now, but it slowly fades. She thinks, should she ask? Then:

MOLLY (CONT'D) Mom?

MAGGIE Yeah, sweetheart?

MOLLY (beat) What's a bastard?

Shit. Maggie cringes, hoping she wouldn't ask that. She thinks, putting both hands on the wheel, concentrating solely on the road.

MAGGIE Damien Rucker.

EXT. HARMON HOUSE -- DAY

The white mini-van putters to the front of the Harmon house, a single level crap shack in a not terrible part of town, but it's no suburbia.

The yard is in need of a trim, the house in need of a paint job, and the roof is missing a few shingles, and yet it has that cozy look to it.

The van pulls into a gravel and weed driveway, barely coming to a stop before Molly is out, sprinting into the house.

MOLLY Grandma! Guess what we get to do!

And she's gone, the screen door slamming as she goes.

Maggie drags herself out of her car.

INT. CRAFTS ROOM/KITCHEN -- DAY

MARGARET, late 50s, kind, slightly large, sits in a wicker chair she made herself. The kitchen is a war-zone right now, arts and crafts supplies strewn everywhere. She takes a pot full of colorful liquid from the stove and quickly transports it to...

A table covered with jars.

She begins to pour the liquid, which we now see is a brilliant shade of red, into each jar.

Maggie enters, setting her purse down.

MAGGIE Hi, Mom.

MARGARET (looking momentarily from her work) Hi, baby. How was your day?

MAGGIE I got fired.

Maggie collapses, tired, into another wicker chair.

MARGARET

How long am I going to have to home school our little bastard?

MAGGIE A few weeks, at most. Don't call her a bastard, Mom.

MARGARET It's nothing to be ashamed of. Runs in the family, you know. Just be glad your oldest is a boy. He can do the impregnanting and not be the impregnanted.

The job is done, thirty candles now cooling. Maggie admires the sticker with the logo "SWEET HARMONY CANDLES"

MAGGIE These smell good. I'm going to get the mail.

MARGARET See if my Reader's Digest came in.

Maggie glides out of the room.

EXT. HARMON HOUSE -- MOMENTS LATER

Maggie strolls out to her mail box. On her tip-toes, she leans over the wooden fence to pull the mail out.

Flipping through, the envelopes read FINAL NOTICE, FOURTH NOTICE, and SECOND NOTICE.

TRENT (O.S.) You look like hell. Long day?

Maggie smiles as she rounds the corner of the car to find...

TRENT CLEARLY, 30s, fit, rugged as hell and is one of the lucky few to be sexy as all get out and not even know it. He wears tight, Spandex running shorts that reveal a little too much. He takes a head phone from his ear as he stops to talk.

MAGGIE You have no idea.

TRENT Wanna talk about it?

MAGGIE How long you wanna stand here?

They laugh, Trent clearly adores her, too.

Maggie lets out a stressed UUURRRGGH!

TRENT That bad?

MAGGIE Be glad you don't have children.

TRENT Why do I need children when I have yours in my yard everyday?

MAGGIE To share the blame of ruining their lives?

TRENT I think I'll pass. I have a dog for that.

MAGGIE Did you get my Reader's Digest again?

TRENT Um, let me run inside. Linda got the mail today.

MAGGIE Ok, thanks.

Maggie returns to her mail as Trent disappears through the front door of his house.

She tears open the envelope that says FINAL NOTICE. Basically, it says her water has been turned off.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Great. Not that I wanted to shower anytime soon.

The screen door to Trent's house BANGS shut as he walks back to the side yard fence. Maggie walks over to him, taking the Reader's Digest from him.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Thanks.

TRENT Anytime.

He turns, starting to leave.

Maggie helps shampoo Molly's hair before doing her own.

MOLLY (urging, giggling) Hurry!

MAGGIE (laughing) I'm going! I'm going! What's our time?

Trent looks at his watch. He's timing them.

TRENT Two minutes.

MAGGIE We've got time!

MOLLY Hurry!

MAGGIE Okay! Rinse! Rinse!

They jump back under the sprinkler, shampoo now running from their hair.

Maggie rinses her own hair before helping Molly finish hers.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Okay! Go get your towel! Time!

TRENT (tsk tsk) Ah ah ah! Not until you're both dry!

MOLLY (laughing) At least turn the water off!

Trent does.

Maggie sprints to get her towel and dries off hurriedly.

MOLLY (CONT'D) Hurry! Hurry!

Maggie finishes.

MAGGIE Okay! Time!

Trent stops his stopwatch. Maggie and Molly wait anxiously.

TRENT

Three minutes and sixteen seconds.

MOLLY YES!

MAGGIE New record!

They high five, ecstatic.

TRENT (like a sports caster) Ladies and gentlemen, today you have witnessed some of the finest speed showering I've seen in my lifetime. Today we have with us champion speed washer Maggie Harmon. Maggie, would you care to say a few words?

MAGGIE (feigning out of breath) Well, first I'd like to thank the city of Sullivan, Ohio water department for turning our water off. We truly couldn't --

Something catches her eye. Trent turns to see...

LINDA CLEARLY, his jealous wife, standing hands on hips on the porch.

LINDA Trent. I need your help inside.

TRENT Okay just a second, hun.

LINDA Now. Please. (then) Maggie.

Maggie, now suddenly aware she's part naked, tries to cover up.

MAGGIE H...hi Linda. Good to see you.

LINDA Trent.

TRENT (to Maggie) Talk to you later.

The table is covered in newspaper want ads and job applications. Noah notices them, continuing to pilfer.

NOAH What's with all the applications? Get fired again?

MAGGIE Yes, actually.

NOAH What happened?

MAGGIE Stole an apple from the Garden of Eden.

NOAH I see you've been reading your Bible.

MAGGIE Not in the slightest. I stole an orange, as a matter of fact. And collapsed an entire pyramid. You know what? Let's not get into the logistics of my dark past of crime. To a brighter future, right? What should I be next? Grill master at Burger Haven?

NOAH I'm a vegetarian.

MAGGIE Of course you are. Cell phone salesman?

NOAH Lowers sperm count.

MAGGIE Good thing I'm not a man! What about librarian?

NOAH You have to like books to be a librarian.

MAGGIE (defensive) I like books. I think. (beat) You know what? (MORE)

MAGGIE (CONT'D)

Who needs to work for someone when you can be self employed? I'll just help Grandma with Sweet Harmony Candles.

NOAH Yeah cause that's a real money maker. Do we have anything that isn't expired?

MAGGIE Look further in the back. Grandma started keeping all the new stuff back there to discourage burglars.

NOAH Well it's working.

MAGGIE I'll be sure to tell her that. (beat) When are you coming home, Noah?

He doesn't answer, continuing to scavenge for food.

MAGGIE (CONT'D) Noah.

NOAH I don't know, Mom.

MAGGIE Molly misses her older brother.

NOAH Nothings stopping her from coming by.

MAGGIE Coming by where? The dumpster on 8th street? The soup kitchen? Under the bridge outside of town? We never know where to find you.

NOAH So then stop looking.

MAGGIE You can't just come and go from this family as you like. That's not how it works.