Zuma Beach

December 18, 2010, 9pm PST

Chloe Gold and Will Friedman are driving in Friedman’s Mustang, after the Executive Council meeting.

Chloe: Kevin Reilly is a freaking riot.

Will: He certainly is. At one point, I thought Jaime was going to punch him.

Chloe: I’m still not sure about her. That whole Star Crew thing…

Will: She’s grown beyond that. It’s mostly for effect now.  

Chloe: Yes, but do you actually like her?

Will: I do. She’s spirited. And there’s a lot more underneath that exterior than you realize.

Chloe: Well, she’s certainly been good for Tom. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him let himself go like this. He’s always been so controlled.

Will: I was surprised that Mitch hadn’t told you about Kim. They’ve been going out for almost a month now.

Chloe: [Quietly] I’m not.

Will: Oh?

Chloe: [Sighs and looks guilty] He’s been nursing a pretty strong crush on me, and I don’t think I’ve helped any.

Will: It’s not like you’ve been leading him on.

Chloe: Haven’t I? I’m always hugging and kissing him. Holding his hand.

Will: That’s just who you are, Chloe. It’s a lovely quality.

Chloe: Not so lovely for him I’ll bet. You remember your first crush, don’t you?  

Will: Yes, I do.

Chloe: Was it reciprocal?

Will: No.

Chloe: So, how would you have felt if she’d been all over you, even though she hadn’t the slightest romantic interest?

Will: It would have been hard.

Chloe: [Bitterly] That’s what I’ve been doing to Mitch for the last four months. Some best friend I am.

Will: [Pulls the car over to the side of the road. Turns to Chloe] You’ve been a great friend to him.

Chloe: I can’t stand the thought that he’s been carrying this around, and I’ve been treating him so casually.

Will: Why haven’t you talked about it with him?  

Chloe: [Shakes her head] I couldn’t. Mitch is proud, Will. He’d be mortified if I even mentioned it.

Will: [Puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes it gently] He’s got someone now, Chloe.

Chloe: [Looks down] Yeah, and he didn’t want to share it with me.

Will: He wouldn’t even be seeing Kim if it wasn’t for you. In fact, I’m not sure he would be doing any of the amazing things he’s doing, if it hadn’t been for your friendship.

Chloe: How do you figure that?

Will: He’s sixteen, but he looks twelve. Shy by nature. I’ll bet you he was terrified of girls until now. And leadership? Running an operation like the Media Center? Managing people? That’s something entirely new for him. You’ve given him confidence.

Chloe: Mitch was painfully timid when I first met him. It was all I could do to convince him to start those videos he’s been filming around the school, and now he has an archive of footage.

Will: He had to talk to people he’d never have dreamt of talking to before. It opened him up; allowed him to discover all of those qualities that we see now. And as for girls, do you think someone like you ever gave him the time of day before?

Chloe: [Looking down again]. I wouldn’t know.

Will: Drop the idealism and look at it in the cold, hard light of our present reality outside of the school; at Central or Stevens or Beverly Hills. Would a girl like you pay a guy like him even a moment’s notice?

Chloe: No, I guess not.

Will: Sure, he had to work through his feelings for you. Sure, it must have been difficult. Maybe it even felt like torture at times. But you’ve given him an incredible gift, and he’s not the only one.

Chloe: What do you mean?

Will: You’ve made everyone in our school feel like a million bucks. You cracked the social barriers; brought all the students together. The day you become Student Body President was the day that New Ridgemont High really came into its own.

Chloe: [Rests her head on his shoulder] Oh, Will…

Will: [Puts his arm around her and squeezes] Are we done with the “I’m so rotten” stuff?

Chloe: We’re done.

Will: Outstanding. [Slides a cigarette from the pack in his shirt pocket and lights it] Shall we go?

Chloe: Yes, but not this way. Take the boulevard.

Will: [Pulls away from the curb] But your house is this way.

Chloe: I don’t want to go home yet. Let’s go to Zuma beach.

Will: Won’t your parents be worried? It’ll be late when we get back.

Chloe: Stop at the convenience store on the corner, and I’ll call them from a pay phone. Tomorrow’s Saturday. They won’t mind.

Will: Right on! [Executes a three-point turn and heads for the boulevard]

December 18, 2010, 10pm PST

William Friedman and Chloe Gold have parked the car at Zuma Beach.

Will: [Opens Chloe’s door and offers his hand] Zuma Beach, as requested.

Chloe: [Takes Will’s hand and rises from the passenger seat. Raises her face to the sky and savors the air.] Mmm, that sea breeze.

Will: It’s wonderful. I’ve always lived near the ocean. Well, except for the four years I spent in Ann Arbor.

When they reach the sand, Chloe bends down and removes her sneakers. Hands them to Will, who ties the laces together and hangs them over his shoulder.

Chloe: [Wiggling her toes in the sand] This is heaven. Don’t you want to take off your shoes?

Will: I wouldn’t inflict my feet on any innocent person.

Chloe: Your age really bothers you, doesn’t it?

Will: Let’s just say it’s an unfortunate reality that I choose to ignore as much as possible.

Chloe: I’d call it fortunate. There’d be no New Ridgemont High if you were twenty years old.

Will: True.

Chloe: And you’d be much less interesting to talk to.

Will: Maybe.

Chloe: [Examining him] And you wouldn’t be nearly as handsome.

Will: Now you’re talking crazy.

Chloe: Off with those damned shoes. That’s an order, straight from the Office of the President!

Will: [Laughs and removes his loafers. Ties the tassels to Chloe’s sneakers and throws both pairs back over his shoulder] God, the sand does feel good.

Chloe: [Takes his hand] Let’s go down to the water.

The two make their way down to the water’s edge and stand, silently, watching the waves churn and break onto the shore.

Chloe: It’s like time has stopped…

Will: Mmm.

Chloe: …and we’re the only two people in the world.

Will: Wouldn’t you miss everyone?

Chloe: I’d miss our friends. I’d miss my parents. But, everyone? I’m not sure about that. Not loving “everyone” right now.

Will: Things have become ugly in this country of ours, haven’t they?

Chloe: Yes, but we’re going to take it to them; show them the way.

Will: [Singing softly] 🎜I want you-oo-oo to show me the way.🎜

Chloe: It’s really working, Will. Soon it’ll be working across all of California, and where California goes, the rest of the country goes.

Will: I’ll take your word for it. It’s hard for me to see past the obstacles sometimes.

Chloe: [Turns and stands in front of him.] What you said to Jaime, at the meeting; about how you don’t have anyone?

Will: Yes?

Chloe: Why don’t you have someone?

Will: [Slowly] I guess Sal’s right. I’m married to the company.

Chloe: And what about before?

Will: I don’t know. I’ve always been pretty wrapped up in my work.

Chloe: Didn’t you date? In High School? College? Graduate School?

Will: Yes, of course.

Chloe: So why didn’t any of your relationships work out?

Will: I never met someone who mattered to me as much as the work.

Chloe: In all those years?

Will: [Wistfully] There was one girl in high school. She was smart; beautiful; tough. A little punk, a little goth; but there was much more to her than that.

Chloe: What happened?

Will: It was on and off, for a few years; almost like we were circling around each other. Then this really weird thing happened and…. [Hesitates] 

Chloe: Yes?

Will: Oh…well…it just never came to anything.

Chloe’s eyes narrow ever so slightly, but she remains silent. The two continue walking.

Will: I could ask you the same question. Why don’t you have someone?

Chloe: I asked for that, didn’t I? My parents are wealthy.

Will: I understand.

Chloe: I’m not sure that you do. Aside from the house in Beverly Hills, we have a place in Nice; condos in Manhattan and Miami Beach; we ski in Aspen; we fly on a private jet. We’re not normal, Beverly Hills rich.

Will: It’s isolated you from people.

Chloe: Yes, but not in the way you’re probably thinking. It wasn’t just that other kids only liked me for my money or that they resented me for it. I couldn’t identify with them. I’d been to too many places; seen and heard too much; done too many things. The guys I went with fell too hard, and I always wound up hurting them in the end.

Will: So, you became a “floater.”

Chloe: Yeah, along with Tom. His parents are crazy rich too, and he’s as traveled and experienced as I am. We could share things; talk in a way that the others couldn’t; compete on an equal level. So, we stuck together mostly; drifted around, picking up the stray friend here and there; other kids who didn’t quite fit in.

Will: I was a floater too.

Chloe: I figured you were. It fits you. 

Will: And no one at New Ridgemont High has asked you out? Expressed interest?

Chloe: Aside from Mitch, who didn’t exactly express interest but couldn’t hide it? No.

Will: Seems hard to believe. Why?

Chloe: Well, for one thing [pauses], half the school thinks I’m fucking you.

Will: What?!

Chloe: [Laughs and puts her finger on his lips] Shhh, don’t worry. It’s just a stupid rumor that’s been going around since the election.

Will: Now I get Lee’s “line of questioning” at the debate. I had no idea. Jesus…

Chloe: Fortunately, Lee’s a lot more cooperative now.

Will: [Bitterly] Of course he is. He’s getting laid for the first time in his life.

Chloe: Now, you sound like Jaime Cohen.

The two stare at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing.

Will: So, I shouldn’t worry about this rumor?

Chloe: [Suddenly more somber] I have to think that we can trust everyone; that they understand what’s happening out there and how important New Ridgemont High is; that they wouldn’t blow it all for some juvenile gossip.

Will: You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.

The two approach a lifeguard tower and Chloe beckons to Will to follow her.

Will: [Climbing up onto the platform] Why are we doing this, exactly?  

Chloe: It’ll give us perspective. [She settles into one of several chairs] Sit, and let’s work this thing out while we control the tides.

Will: I have to admit, I’ve had more than a few worries, but this wasn’t one of them.

Chloe: I don’t know that it should be. Those kinds of lurid rumors are a dime a dozen. “The principal is boning the student-body president!” Please… 

Will: It does seem rather absurd.

Chloe: So, what have you been worrying about?

Will: Political opposition in the State. The conservatives just won control of the Assembly and the balance in the Senate is razor thin. And obviously, the national political situation is a disaster.

Chloe: Yeah, I heard my parents talking about it. We’ve all been trying to stay off of contemporary media, but they still watch the nightly news. I can’t bear to look at it.

Will: The worst is this “Shirley Putsis” woman. She’s a right-wing nutjob and has a bug up her ass about “liberal bias” and “Marxists” in education. I don’t put it beyond her to make some serious mischief. Sal is really apprehensive. He’s been begging me — us — to keep a low profile.

Chloe: But that isn’t really possible, is it? I mean, the whole point is to expand on the NRH model. That means new charter schools and that means publicity; lot’s of it.

Will: It’s our marketing and promotion efforts Sal’s concerned about. That and my “let it all hang out” way of doing things. He dressed me down for paying for taxis for everyone after the Celebration Ball. And do you remember what he said during our first Executive Council meeting? He was only reassured after Tom told him he’d run every broadcast through a “vice” filter before airing it.

Chloe: [Defiantly] I remember, but as much as I love Sal, he’s wrong. The purpose of the NRH experiment is to reverse current trends in K-12 education. That isn’t going to happen if we hide what we’re doing. The public has to see it as a change from the status quo. Otherwise, the thing has no raison d’etre.

Will: Tu parles français!

Chloe: [Bows in her seat] Courtesy of Monsieur Longo’s class. And what were you supposed to do? Let everyone drive home drunk? How would the school have looked with an evening news full of underage DUIs?

Will: I think Sal wishes I’d put the kibosh on the punch-spiking thing sooner or done more to prevent it from happening in the first place, but I get what you’re saying.

Chloe: That level of surveillance and control is a good part of what’s wrong with schooling today. You promised everyone that New Ridgemont High would be different.

Will: I know, and I stand by it. These are worries, not deterrents. 

Chloe: Good. 

Will: It’s almost midnight.

Chloe: [Reluctantly] I know. We should start heading back. [Slowly gets up]

Will: [Following her] Let’s do this again.

Chloe: [Takes Will’s hand and squeezes it.] Many more times.

The two make their way up the sand, until they reach the pavement, where they stop and put their shoes back on. Will helps Chloe into the passenger seat, then slides in, next to her. Starts the car and lets it stand, idling. He seems lost in thought.

Chloe: Will?

Will: Yes?

Chloe: When we were at the party at the Mayor’s Mansion, you and the Mayor were talking about the school crackdowns, state- and nationwide.

Will: I remember.

Chloe: Right afterwards you said something that I didn’t understand. [Looks up at the sky, reciting from memory] “It’s happening now. Four years early. What does it mean?”

Will: Ah, that.

Chloe: You seemed distressed.

Will stares out through the windshield at the ocean, with the air of someone trying to make a difficult decision.

Will: Maybe there is one more thing we should talk about.

Chloe: [Settles back into the seat and closes her eyes. Inhales deeply and smiles] Then take the long way home, and tell me everything.