RAY, a high school student wearing a bac...

RAY, a high school student wearing a backpack, waits for NEBULA to arrive. NEBULA enters with ALEX. RAY hands NEBULA a notebook with some loose homework in it. NEBULA takes out her homework and copies RAY’S during:

NEBULA Alex, go to your homeroom, I'm going to talk to Ray.

ALEX waits by the entrance of the school.

NEBULA Alex! Homeroom, GO… Whatever.

RAY You f#$ked off kind of early last night.

NEBULA Yeah that creep just put me out.

RAY Who, Perry? That dude's hilarious. He's old, but he can be chill. He was just on a bad mix last night, told me to tell you he was sorry.

NEBULA F#%k that guy, that psychopath ripped my damned shirt. Like, he's too f#%king old to be hanging out us anyway.

RAY Yeah, so why'd you give him your number?

NEBULA Because he's hot. You don't think he's hot?

RAY Everyone at the parlor thinks so. I'm apprenticing him a bit, and he seemed like he knew how to party, you know, so I just thought whatever. Do you like, just go around giving thirty-year-old dudes your number? Or just hot ones?

NEBULA Ray, you're being really gross right now, like jealous gross. You're the one who wanted to be all slow and careful. I don't have time for that sh#t, so please be my friend. Meanwhile, I'm going to f#$k around a bit. Plus Perry's like 26 tops.

RAY Well, that's just it, I want a slutty phase too, you know. I didn't want to wait around. Sometime you gotta...

NEBULA Sh#t or get off the horse.

RAY Why the f#$k are you sh#tting on horses?

NEBULA You shouldn't get too whatever about Perry. I mean he's a middle-aged f#$king man who hangs out with high school kids, which means he's got some chronic identity issues or some gross addictions. So that makes him a creeper. I don't get down with creepers. But being a creeper doesn't make him not hot. UGH! Life is confusing, Ray!

RAY No sh#t. You wanna f#$k around later?

NEBULA Jesus, Ray, could you not in front of my brother?

RAY No, I was thinking in my car.

NEBULA No. Just No. Alex, go to homeroom, you're going to be late!

ALEX waves, but does not move. He's acting nervous.

NEBULA Goddammit. ...Do you know anybody who's f#$ked him?

RAY Alex?

NEBULA Perry, idiot.

RAY Ha! You're the only one who hasn't. Alex, come here!

ALEX approaches.

ALEX Ray, hi, Ray, hi, Ray, hi-

RAY You don't have to be nervous. I got something for you, dude.

NEBULA What are you doing?

RAY It's in my bag. Unzip it for me.

ALEX unzips Ray’s bag.

ALEX I already have a math book.

RAY In between the books, man, it's a piece of paper, pull it out.

ALEX pulls out a piece of paper with an ornate design inked on it.

ALEX Oh, it's a picture!

RAY It's the Israeli word for courage. Do you like it?

ALEX Oh-kay! Are Israelis Jews? Probably.

NEBULA The hell, Ray?

RAY I'm thinking right here.

RAY runs his finger down ALEX's forearm.

RAY Free of charge, what do you think? You want some ink done, brother?

NEBULA No! Ray, goddammit!

NEBULA grabs the design and shoves it into RAY’s chest.

NEBULA You have really been pissing me off lately.

RAY Oh, come on! It would look f#$king sinister! And it would help me out a lot. There's a client who wants it done, and I could use... you know.

NEBULA What, practice???

ALEX Courage.

RAY Yeah! Yeah, courage, see, Neb, he's into it! Let's set it up! You can come chill with us, we'll get a little loose, plug in, do some ink-

NEBULA Hell, No! No, Alex, it hurts. He's talking about a tattoo. Tattoos hurt. And what would hurt worse is when Mom kills us if she sees.

RAY Oh, bullsh#t, your mom's got like a hundred tats.

NEBULA And did you think of this, you think of what Alex would do? How he would react, you know?

RAY He'd be fine. Come on, Neb, he doesn't need to be babied by everyone in his f#$king life.

NEBULA ... No. Period. Just f#$k off for bit, Ray. You're annoying the sh#t out of me. Come on, Alex.

RAY gives ALEX the design again before they exit into the school.

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