Inside, a handsome 28-year old man sits
at one of the tables, going through some notes. He looks up as
the woman walks in. . |
. |
MAN: Ah, not gone
yet? |
. |
WOMAN: (smiles) Obviously
not. |
. |
MAN: Oh, ask a silly
question... |
. |
WOMAN: Sorry. |
. |
MAN: That's all right. I'll
forgive you this time. |
. |
The woman walks in and stands at one of
the tables. The man gets up and begins to collect various objects
from around the room. |
. |
WOMAN: Ohh, I've had a terrible
day. I don't know what to make of it. |
. |
MAN: Oh? What's the trouble? Can
I help? |
. |
WOMAN: Oh, it's one of the girls.
Susan Foreman. (She walks around the table to the
man.) |
. |
MAN: (looks up with a grin) Susan
Foreman? She your problem too? . |
. |
WOMAN: Yes. |
. |
MAN: And you don't know what to
make of her? |
. |
WOMAN: Nope. |
. |
MAN: How old is she,
Barbara? |
. |
BARBARA: 15. |
. |
MAN: 15.....she lets her
knowledge out a bit at a time, so as not to embarrass me, that's
what I feel about her. (shakes his head in amazement) Knows more
science than I'll ever know. She's a genius! (on her smile) Is
that what she's doing with history? |
. |
BARBARA: (shares the amazed grin)
Something like that. |
. |
MAN: And that's your problem, eh?
Whether to hand over the class over to her.... |
. |
BARBARA: (laughing) No, not
quite. |
. |
MAN: (Having finished collecting
the objects, he leans against one of the tables) No?
What? |
. |
BARBARA: Ian, I must talk to
someone about this, but I don't want get the girl into trouble.
And I know you're going to tell me I'm imagining
things. |
. |
IAN: No... |
. |
BARBARA: Well, I told you how
good she is at history. I had a talk with her, and I told her she
ought to specialize. She seemed quite interested utill I said I'd be
willing to work with her at her home. And, she said "that would be
absolutely impossible, as her grandfather didn't like
strangers". |
. |
IAN: (gets up, walks around) He's
a doctor, isn't he? That's a bit of a lame excuse. |
. |
BARBARA: Well, I didn't take too
much notice. But then, recently her homework's been so
bad! |
. |
IAN: (washes his hands) Yes, I'll
say. |
. |
BARBARA: Finally, I got so
irritated at all her excuses that I decided to see this grandfather
of hers and tell him to take some interest in her.. . . . . . . . . |
. |
IAN: Oh, did you indeed? And
what's the old boy like? |
. |
BARBARA: Well, that's just it. I
got her address from the secretary -- 76 Totters Lane -- and I went
along there one evening. (Ian finishes washing his hands) Oh Ian, do
pay attention! |
. |
He walks across the room to dry his
hands. |
. |
IAN: Sorry. You, ah, went along
there... |
. |
BARBARA: There isn't anything
there! It's just an old junkyard! ...... |
. |
IAN: Well, you went to the wrong
place. |
. |
BARBARA: Well, that was the
address the secretary gave me. |
. |
IAN: The secretary got it wrong
then -- |
. |
BARBARA: No. I checked. There's a
big wall on one side, houses on the other, and nothing in the middle
except this junkyard! And tthat is No. 76 Totters Lane! |
. |
IAN: Humm...That's a bit of
mystery. Well, there must be a simple answer. |
. |
BARBARA: What? |
. |
IAN: (grins) Well, we'll have to
find out for ourselves, won't we? |
. |
BARBARA: (grins) Thanks for the
"we." She's waiting in one of the classrooms. I'm lending her a book
on the French Revolution. |
. |
IAN: What's she going to do --
rewrite it? |
. |
Barbara rolls her eyes, and the two
teachers get up to leave. |
. |
IAN: Oh, all right! (grabs his
coat) What do we do? Ask her point blank? |
. |
BARBARA: No. I thought we could
drive there, wait 'till she shows up and see where she
goes. |
. |
IAN: (puts his coat on) All
right. |
. |
BARBARA: That is, if you're not
doing anything. |
. |
IAN: No, I'm not. (opens the
door) After you.... |
. |
. | |
Inside, a handsome 28-year
old man works before a group of beakers and tubes, jotting down
some notes. He looks up as the woman walks up to the
(equation-filled) blackboard. |
. |
MAN: Not gone
yet? |
. |
WOMAN: (smiles) Obviously
not. |
. |
MAN: Ask a silly
question... |
. |
WOMAN: I'm sorry. |
. |
MAN: It's all right. I'll forgive
you this time. |
. |
The woman walks up to his side and
sits. . |
. |
WOMAN: Ohh, I've had a terrible
day. I don't know what to make of it. |
. |
MAN: Oh? What's the trouble?
Something I can do to help? |
. |
WOMAN: Oh, it's one of the girls.
Susan Foreman. . |
. |
MAN: (looks up with a grin) Susan
Foreman? Oh ho. She your problem too? |
. |
WOMAN: Yes. |
. |
MAN: And you don't know what to
make of her? |
. |
WOMAN: Yes. |
. |
MAN: How old is she,
Barbara? |
. |
BARBARA: 15. |
. |
MAN: 15.....she lets out her
knowledge a bit at a time, so as not to embarrass me, that's what
I think of her. (shakes his head in amazement) She knows more
science than I'll ever know. She's a genius! (on her smile) Is
that what she's doing with history? |
. |
BARBARA: (shares the amazed grin)
Yes. |
. |
MAN: Your problem is whether to
stay in business or simply hand the class over to
her. |
. |
BARBARA: No, not
quite. |
. |
MAN: Heh heh...what
then? . |
. |
BARBARA: Ian, I want to talk to
someone about this, but I don't want the girl to get into
trouble. And I know you're going to tell me I'm imagining
things. |
. |
IAN: No, I'm not. |
. |
BARBARA: Well, I told you how
good she is at history. I had a talk with her, and I told her she
ought to specialize. Well, she seemed quite interested 'till I said
I'd be willing to work with her at her home. She said "absolutely
impossible," as her grandfather didn't like strangers. ...... ...... ...... ...... |
. |
IAN: (gets up, walks around) He's
a doctor, isn't he? Bit of a lame excuse. ...... ...... |
. |
BARBARA: Well, I didn't pursue
the point. But recently, her homework's been so bad! ...... ...... ...... ...... |
. |
IAN: (washes his hands) Yes, I
know. |
. |
BARBARA: Finally, I got so
irritated at all her excuses that I decided to have a talk with this
grandfather of hers and tell him to take some interest in
her. |
. |
IAN: Well, did you indeed? And
what's the old boy like? |
. |
BARBARA: Well, that's just it. I
got her address from the secretary -- 76 Totters Lane -- and I went
along there one evening. (Ian finishes washing his hands) Oh Ian, do
pay attention! |
. |
He walks across the room to dry his
hands. |
. |
IAN: Sorry. You went along there
one evening.... |
. |
BARBARA: ...but there isn't
anything there! It's just an old junkyard! |
. |
IAN: Well, you must've gone to
the wrong place. |
. |
BARBARA: That's the address the
secretary gave me. |
. |
IAN: The secretary got it wrong
then -- |
. |
BARBARA: No. I checked. There was
a big wall on one end, houses on the other, and nothing in the
middle! And this 'nothing in the middle' is No. 76 Totters
Lane! |
. |
IAN: That's a bit of mystery.
Well, there must be a simple answer somewhere. |
. |
BARBARA: Well, what? |
. |
IAN: (grins) Well, we'll have to
find out, won't we? |
. |
BARBARA: (grins) Thanks for the
"we." She's waiting in one of the classrooms. I'm lending her a book
on the French Revolution. |
. |
IAN: What's she going to do --
rewrite it? |
. |
Barbara rolls her eyes, and the two
teachers get up to leave. |
. |
IAN: Oh, all right! (grabs his
coat) What do we do? Ask her point blank? |
. |
BARBARA: No. I thought we could
drive there, wait 'till she shows up and see where she
goes. |
. |
IAN: (puts his coat on)
Well....all right. |
. |
BARBARA: That is, if you're not
doing anything. |
. |
IAN: No, I'm not. (opens the
door) After you.... |
. |
Continue | |