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FADE IN:

EXT. DINER – NIGHT
The building that the eatery resides inside of resembles a large, immobile trailer with some characteristics of a normal restaurant. Light from inside is cast out into the parking lot through the windows in rectangular blocks, and silhouettes of both customers and staff can be seen moving within. Behind the diner the cloud-spotted sky has become a deep midnight blue, and the moon sits fat and swollen among the visible stars. Night has fallen.
The truck pulls into the lot. It is sparsely populated, with only a few cars near the door of the establishment, and the man pilots the vehicle into a similarly close spot and brings it to a halt. Once the engine is off he looks over to the still-sleeping girl and gently shakes her.

MAN
(shaking her) Hey...Wake up. (she murmurs softly in protest) C’mon now, rise and shine.

The girl finally stirs and sits up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before her hand moves to smooth her mussed hair.

GIRL
(yawning) Mmph...We there...?

MAN
We’re still a couple of miles out, but I wanna take a little break from driving. I’m famished. You hungry?

GIRL
I could eat, yeah.

MAN
Then come on.

He takes off his seatbelt and opens his door before stepping out and closing it again behind him. A few seconds later the girl does the same, thrusting her hands into her jacket pockets to ward off the chill of the night air, and follows him up the ramp leading to the door. When she arrives at it he reaches out and opens it, holding it for her before stepping through himself and allowing it to swing shut.

INT. DINER - NIGHT
The main dining area is populated by three rows of deserted booths, two side-by-side with a shoulder-height divide between them and another along the wall by the windows. Towards the far end of the room, a few customers sit hunched over plates of food and coffee mugs on stools surrounding the counter sitting against the wall. A portly, middle-aged WAITRESS with greying hair walks back and forth behind it with a half-full coffee pot refilling their cups, but once she spots the two of them waiting near the door she steps out into the main area and makes her way over to them.

WAITRESS
Just the two of you?

MAN
(nodding) Yes, ma’am.

WAITRESS
Alright. Follow me, please.

The waitress weaves through the walkways with the man and girl not far behind her before stopping at one of the booths next to the windows. They slide in, the man to about the middle of his crimson-upholstered seat and the girl all the way to the wall, before she hands them a pair of menus.

WAITRESS
How’re we doing tonight, guys?

MAN
About as well as one could expect.

WAITRESS
(with a chuckle) Can I start you off with a drink?

The man looks to his young companion first, but it takes her a moment to notice and subsequently respond.

GIRL
...Water, please.

MAN
Two waters.

WAITRESS
Alright...You guys take a moment to look over the menu and I’ll be right with you, okay?

As the waitress walks off to tend to the other customers, they both pick up a menu and leaf through it. He finishes before she does and sets his aside, watching her look at the different options and reading their descriptions.

MAN
You go ahead and get whatever you want, okay? It’s my treat.

GIRL
You don’t have to do that...I have money.

MAN
I know. I want to. Hold onto your money for somethin’ more important, alright?

Nodding, the girl goes back to examining her options before lowering her menu as well. Both are silent for a long moment.

MAN
(clearing throat) So...You feel like talkin’ now?

GIRL
(leaning back) I don’t know. Do you?

MAN (CONFUSED)
What do you mean...?

GIRL
Well, considering you still want to know about me, I’ll let you know...But only if you tell me a little about yourself as well.

MAN
You get what you give, huh?

GIRL
Right. Quid pro quo.

MAN
I thought you didn’t trust me.

GIRL
(smiling) You know, it’s not exactly a good idea to keep trying to prove your point when you’re already ahead. It’s this simple: what you want to know about me, I likewise want to know about you. I think that’s fair, don’t you?

The waitress returns with the drinks, and their laser-like focus on each other is diverted to her as they each take one.

WAITRESS
We ready to order?

MAN
I believe so.

From behind her ear the woman produces a pen, and pulling out a notepad from the breast pocket of her shirt she flips to the first blank page.

WAITRESS
What’ll it be?

They look at each other expectantly before the man answers.

MAN
How’s the steak here?

WAITRESS
It won’t win any contests, but I think it’s pretty good.

MAN
I’ll have it.

WAITRESS
(writing) Alright...How do you want that?

MAN
Medium well.

WAITRESS
(writing) And for your sides?

MAN
Double portion of the steak fries, please.

WAITRESS
(writing) Alright... (turns to girl) And for you?

GIRL
Um...Cheeseburger with a side of fries, please. Can I get the lettuce and the tomato and onion and stuff on the side?

WAITRESS
(writing) Sure, sweetie. How do you want that cooked?

GIRL
Extra-rare, please.

The waitress scribbles down a final note in her notepad before flipping it shut and tucking it back into her shirt pocket, freeing up her hands to collect their menus.

WAITRESS
Alrighty...I’ll have that right out for you guys.

The waitress walks off, leaving them alone with one another once again. The man reaches for his water and takes a long, slow sip from the glass, the girl watching him the whole time.

MAN
Well...What do you want to know?

GIRL
Your name, for one.

MAN
Arthur Douglas. Friends call me Art.

GIRL
(smiling) Anyone call you Artie?

ART
My wife did sometimes, to get under my skin.

GIRL (INTRIGUED)
You’re married?

ART
I was. This comin’ April’ll make it five years since we split.

GIRL
You mind if I ask why?

ART
Irreconcilable differences. I think that’s about all you need to know about it.

GIRL
(nodding) I understand.

ART
(shifting in seat) Let’s shift gears for a minute...Now I told you my name, so how’s about you tell me yours?

GIRL
...Call me Isabel.

ART
Is that your real name?

ISABEL
It’s a name. You can decide for yourself if it’s truly mine.

ART
(smirking) You love talking in riddles, don’t you?

ISABEL
Only when I’m feeling cryptic.

ART
(scoffing) So how old are you, Isabel?

ISABEL
(before he’s finished) Ah ah...Slow your roll there. It’s my turn, and I get another one.

ART
Yeah? Why’s that?

ISABEL
I asked you three questions. You asked me four, and skipped over me when we should have been even.

ART (AMUSED)
Is that right?

ISABEL
(nodding) That’s right.

ART
What about there at the beginning? You asked me my name, that’s four. We’re even.

ISABEL
(smiling) Wrong. You asked me what I wanted to know, and I said your name. Which means you actually asked five to my three, so I get two extras...

ART
(laughing) You’re a slippery one, you know that? (shifting in his seat) Alright...Ask away.

ISABEL
...I’m still interested in your family.

ART
That’s too bad. I don’t really feel like talking about them anymore.

ISABEL
Too bad for you, maybe. That’s not how this works. Do you have kids?

ART
One. A girl.

ISABEL
What’s her name?

ART
Sarah.

ISABEL
...How old is she?

ART
She’s sixteen, and that’s all three. So, same question to you.

ISABEL
(with a chuckle) ...I really am being completely honest when I say this: I don’t know. When you’re on your own, living day to day off the bare necessities and the occasional kindness of others...Things like that become less important to you.

ART
Makes sense...Don’t sweat it. I guess I should’ve thought of that.

Things fall silent between the two of them for a moment. Art looks around impatiently for the waitress while Isabel’s eyes fall to the surface of the table.

ISABEL
...You wanted to know to see if I was around the same age as your daughter, I assume.

ART
(sighing) Yeah...Yeah, that’s right.

ISABEL
Do you have a picture of her?

ART
Yes, I do... (pulling it out) And before you ask, you can most certainly look at it. (slides it across the table)

ISABEL
(takes it, smiles) She’s pretty.

ART
(returning the smile) Sure is...Sharp as a tack, too. Gets it from her mom. It worries me sometimes, the way guys fawn over her because of that.

ISABEL
(chuckling) That’s called being a parent. If I were you, though, I’d be more worried for them than I would be for her.

ART
Why’s that?

ISABEL (SERIOUSLY)
...A woman’s greatest vulnerability is also her greatest strength - she possesses what men desire above all else.

Art, slightly confused and a little unnerved by this last sentiment, looks at her in the hope of receiving a further explanation only to be denied one by the waitress returning with the food.

WAITRESS
Here ya go, guys, enjoy...Careful with the plates, they’re still pretty hot.

ART (WITH A HALF-SMILE)
(taking one) Thank you.

ISABEL
(taking the other) Thanks.

WAITRESS
You are most welcome. Let me know if you guys need anything else.

The waitress walks off for a final time, and as she does Isabel ravenously tears into the burger. She chews, swallows, breathes, and takes another bite, larger than the last one. The man watches before picking up his knife and fork and cutting into his steak, the blood and other juices from the meat congealing beneath it on the plate.

FADE TO BLACK: