No Stranger Than Love

Hi, Bob.

Boo!

Oh.

Hi.

Uh, Ms. Sherrington?

I have a question. Um...

Did you know that Napoleon had a girlfriend who was 19 years older than he was?

Ms. Sherrington, could you come to the office immediately please?

I did not know that, Alex.

- It's dark. It's black. - John?

It's Ethiopia. It's the jungle.

My god, John, you are the principal.

Just listen.

Lucy, I want you and me to Chuck everything, just Chuck it.

- Oh, good god. - And then we go to some third world country,

drop to our hands and knees and sink up to our elbows in filth.

Filth?

Filth is life, Lucy.

See, I chose this janitor's closet as a symbol.

See, I've really thought this thing out.

John, how do we get out of here without people seeing us?

Right through that door.

I am sick and tired of caring what people think.

You go out first. And then I'm going to...

I want to bust out of here and I want to bust out of here with you.

Hemingway was shooting elephants when he was my age.

John, really, I mean it!

John, I hate that.

I just absolutely hate that.

This yanking! Don't you ever yank me like that ever again.

Ever. You hear me?

Oh. Did you tell her about the votes?

Less than one minute ago, Mrs. Crooper.

Congratulations, Lucy.

You're queen of the jamboree again.

The whole town is so proud of you.

Okay.

- Hey, Queenie! - Ugh!

Don't you 'ugh' me. So who's bringing the pastries for tomorrow?

I am.

Well, yes, though you brought them last time.

I know. I want to.

Hmm, you want to. All right, I'll see you tomorrow.

Hi, Willie.

Hey, you wanna go out tonight?

It's a school night.

I... I really can't. I really...

Well, good, 'cause I can't either.

Sorry to tell you I'm drunk as a turd.

Aw, Willie.

I know. I know, I hate it too.

I just wanna ask you a favor.

When you see me from now on

can you try lookin' a little deeper?

- Deeper? - Uh-huh.

'Cause I'm a helluva surprise when you look past the...

Well, you know, me not having much of a job

and riding around on a Schwinn, that sort of thing,

and I am so much in love with you, okay?

Okay, Willie.

Thank you, Lucy.

See you later.

Hey, Lucy!

Hey, Lucy! Lucy, check it out. Check it out!

No, no, no, Lucy. Lucy, check this out.

Yeah!

Have a good one.

Hello?

Hi, Lucy. It's... it's Vernon. I hope I'm not bothering you.

No, no, I'm just getting ready for bed is all.

Okay, well, I won't keep you.

Um, what I was wondering is,

are you finished with the books I gave you?

Well, no, Vernon,

I haven't gotten around to them yet.

Well, that's fine then.

I was just curious to know your thoughts about the poems

and that piece on the end of nature.

'Cause you always have such a fresh angle on things.

Well, I'm looking forward to them, Vernon, I really am.

Okay, well, maybe I'll bump into you tomorrow at school.

I hope so. Goodnight.

Goodnight, Vernon.

Hello?

I'm at the dairy whip.

You really are?

I really am.

- I'm coming over. - What did you say?

I... I said I'm coming over.

I mean to your wife.

Oh, oh. Uh, I said that I was gonna the school to watch old game films.

And I did. I... I actually went there and I watched old game films

so it wouldn't be a lie.

Good. That's good. What did she say?

She said fine.

I'm gonna leave my car in the woods.

Okay, I'm gonna turn off the outside lights so it's darker.

We really have to be very careful about this, Clint.

No, I... I know. I know. She... you think I don't know?

The side door by the woods.

Side door by the woods.

Here I come.

Oh, god, have you ever felt like this?

Well, I dunno.

What do you mean you don't know?

You know, yes, you do know.

But, the thing is it's frightening.

This feeling is frightening. And you know why?

- Why? - Because this is love, Lucy.

This is it. It's what we've waited all of our lives for.

And everybody in this little fleabag town they think that they love you,

but I really love you.

I fooled myself with Verna.

This is the real thing.

This is the genuine thing.

Is it?

Well, yes of course it is. What else could it be?

Well, I don't know.

What do you mean, you don't know?

It's just when it comes to love,

the thing that's always clouded the issue for me is sex.

You want me to go?

No, I'm just saying,

in my life, I've... I've always been...

I guess frugal is the word, frugal with things like this.

Frugal?

Well, I'm frugal too.

All right, now, I want you to stand there, okay?

Don't move. I'm gonna stand here. Okay.

Now, I'm gonna take off all of my clothes

and I'm gonna ask you to do the same thing.

Lucy Sherrington, if it's sex that clouds things up for you,

I say let's just scrape sex off the plate

so you can see things more clearly, all right?

This is not sex now. Do you know what this is?

What?

Two humans talking.

All right? Stripped down. No bullshit. Straight on.

Okay, we've known each other for how long?

Well, let's see, maybe what, three years?

And for most of that time period, you and I have been doing a lot of,

well, smoldering for each other, wouldn't you agree?

- Have we? - Yes, we have.

Now, we have been patient,

we've been good, we've been respectful of people.

Yes, we have.

We're not fools. We're not kids all juiced up on hormones.

No. No.

You know what we are?

Romeo and Juliet.

Romeo and Juliet?

I never believed in that kind of baloney.

You know that kind of love where nothing else matters.

Or the kind of love that you'd die for.

But tonight when I was watching that game film

I was just leaning back in my chair,

with my arms hanging down

and I swear to god all I could think about was you.

Well, but hadn't you actually seen that particular game film before?

Yes, but the point is

I've never felt like this before, Lucy.

I love you and... And if I have to wait a year,

five years, if I have to wait the rest of my life

I will not touch you until you say,

"Clint, I love you."

Clint,

I love you.

- Ahhh! - Clint!

Clint! Clint? Clint?

Clint?

Clint?

Clint?

Clint?

Clint?

Lucy!

Lucy, what happened?

Clint?

- Lucy, where are you? - I'm here!

I'm right up here, Clint! Are you all right?

I don't know. I can't see anything.

Are you hurt?

I'm not even on anything. I'm just floating.

You listen to me. Lie very still.

On what? There is no ground!

There is no anything! What is going on here?

I don't know, Clint!

There's a big hole up here but when I go down to the cellar

there's nothing! Just the ceiling.

What do you see when you look up?

Up? There is no up! Everything is the same!

It's all black! Ow. What the... wait a minute.

Something just hit me.

There are horrible little things pinging off of me!

- Things? - Yes, things! Little things!

- Coins! - Coins?

I threw down coins.

Coins? Ow! I've been shot. Ow!

No, it's a candy dish.

What? It's just a dish.

Yeah, I'm feeling it. And it's floating.