Badlands

My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid.

My father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years.

After the funeral, he gave it to the yard man.

He tried to act cheerful, but he could never be consoled...

by the little stranger he found in his house.

Then one day, hoping to begin a new life...

away from the scene of all his memories...

he moved us from Texas to Fort Dupree, South Dakota.

I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie.

I ain't gonna eat him for a dollar.

I don't think he's a collie, either.

Some kind of dog, though.

Watch your head.

Hey, Woody.

Gimme a cigarette.

Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette.

Ever notice he don't talk much?

Yeah, he's not a talker. You got that.

Little did I realize that what began...

in the alleys and back ways of this quiet town...

would end in the badlands of Montana.

No, they wouldn't fit. How do you know? You haven't tried 'em on.

I know. What size are they? Your size.

Come on. Gimme a dollar for 'em. No.

Cost 20 new.

Why don't you see if they fit you?

This lady don't ever pay her bills.

She gonna get in trouble if she doesn't watch out.

I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.

I'll see you in the morning.

Catch.

What do you mean?

Hi. I'm Kit.

I'm not keeping you from anything important, am I? No.

Just thought I'd come over and say hello to you.

I'll try anything once.

What's your name? I said mine.

Holly.

Well, listen, Holly...

you, uh, I don't know, want to take a walk with me?

What for?

Oh, I got some stuff to say.

Guess I'm kinda lucky that way.

Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they?

Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers.

Sounds a little too much like "druthers," huh?

It's okay.

Yeah, well, nobody asked me what I thought.

They just hung it on me.

You still in school?

Nah. I got me a job.

Doing what?

Well, I don't mind gettin' up early, so...

I got a job throwin' garbage.

Holly! I'm not in love with the stuff, okay?

That's my father. I gotta run. Hey, wait.

When am I gonna see you again?

Well, I know what my daddy's gonna say.

What? Can I be honest?

Sure.

Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that collects garbage.

He'll say that? Yeah.

Now, what's he know about garbage, huh?

Nothin'. There you go.

Well, I mean, there's nothing he wants to know.

I gotta run.

Who was that?

Just some boy.

Is that gonna kill the grass?

You got some on my feet!

What'd he want?

He was just asking if we needed any yard work done.

I said no...

and for him not to bother us.

Heard the news, Kit?

No. Been in all the headlines.

What's that? You've been fired.

Ain't that a helluva note?

Yeah, how about that?

Oh. I won't be needin' my keys anymore.

I'll just leave 'em where they'll be handy.

I've got my dog.

Have you ever held another job before?

Yeah, I used to throw trash for the city.

And you lost that one?

Yeah, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't.

Why did you leave?

Just felt like it.

What kind of work do you think you'd be qualified for?

I just got to get this.

Well, I can't think of anything at the moment.

I want you to write me out a slip, though...

provin' I came down here.

I think we can get you something working cattle over at the pens.

Well, what the hell.

Just hope there's a breeze.

He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met.

He looked just like James Dean.

Hi. Well, stop the world.

Hey, quit my job. Great.

Seemed like the right move. What you doin'?

Spanish.

How do you say "quit my job" in Spanish?

Something mi trabajo.

Well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now.

Thinkin' about it.

It's a routine, like anything.

What do you think? I don't know.

Yeah, well...

at least nobody can get on me about wearing these boots anymore.

You wanna go for a ride?

Well, I got homework.

Bring it along.

Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk.

If everybody did that, the whole town would be a mess.

Hi.

You're a redhead. I know.

Anybody ever call you Red?

Yeah, but I don't like it. Why not?

I just don't.

I have a headache. Oh, yeah?

Can I come around and see you tomorrow?

Okay.

Kit went to work in the feedlot...

while I carried on with my studies.

Little by little, we fell in love.

As I'd never been popular in school...

and didn't have a lot of personality...

I was surprised that he took such a liking to me...

especially when he coulda had any other girl in town if he'd given it half a try.

He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't interested in me for sex...

and that, coming from him, this was a compliment.

He'd never met a 15-year-old girl who behaved more like a grown-up...

and wasn't giggly.

He didn't care what anybody else thought.

I looked good to him, and whatever I did was okay.

And if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was okay too.

What a nice place.

Yeah, the tree makes it nice.

And the flowers.

Let's not pick 'em.

They're so nice.

It's your play.

Of course, I had to keep all this a secret from my dad.

He woulda had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me...

and came from the wrong side of the tracks, so-called.

Our time with each other was limited, and each lived for the precious hours...

when he or she could be with the other...

away from all the cares of the world.

My stomach's growlin'.

There's an old Fudgsicle. You want it?

No.

Somebody else is gonna get it.

I don't care.

Kids eat that kinda stuff in Korea.

In the stench and slime of the feedlot...

he'd remember how I'd looked the night before...

how I ran my hand through his hair and traced the outline...

of his lips with my fingertip.

He wanted to die with me...

and I dreamed of being lost forever in his arms.

The whole time, the only thing I did wrong...

was throwing out my fish when he got sick.

Later I got a new one, but this incident kept on bothering me, and I turned to Kit.

Well, he was sick.

You couldn't do much about that.

I guess not. So?

Well, it scared me.

Ah, don't worry about it.

I didn't mind tellin' Kit about stuff like this...

'cause strange things happened in his life too...

and some of the stuff he did was strange.

For instance, he faked his signature whenever he used it...

to keep other people from forging important papers with his name.

And as he lay in bed in the middle of the night...

he always heard a noise like somebody was holding a seashell against his ear.

And sometimes he'd see me comin' toward him in beautiful white robes...

and I'd put my cold hand on his forehead.

Did it go the way it's supposed to?

Yeah.

Is that all there is to it?

Yep.

Gosh, what was everybody talkin' about?

Don't ask me.

Well, I'm glad it's over.

For a while I was afraid I might die before it happened.

Had a wreck or some deal like that.

Did you see where that tree fell in the water?

Yeah.

River must've washed the roots away.

You don't care about anything I say, though.

You know what I think? What?

We should crunch our hands with this stone.

That way we'd never forget what happened today.

But it would hurt. Well, that's the point, stupid.

Don't call me stupid.

Okay, but I'm gonna keep it for a souvenir.

Well, maybe one that's lighter.

Kit made a solemn vow he would always stand beside me...

and let nothin' come between us.