Breakfast Of Champions

Happy Tuesday, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 27 of SPIRAL, porn star Savannah, her stylist Dex and his best friend Andy continue their drug and booze binge at Savannah's Hollywood Hills home, but when the party goes into the second day, things start to get nasty ...


INT. BEDROOM - DAWN.
The three sit on Shannon's bed.
Shannon holds a big notebook on her lap.
The stereo thumps soft trip-hop, like PM Dawn.

ANDY
I didn't know you wrote poetry. That was really good.

SHANNON
I don't let anybody see it. They'd laugh at me.

ANDY
I'm not laughing. Read some more.

Dex smiles, closes his eyes, and rolls into
the fetal position at the end of the bed.

DEX
That was pretty.

ANDY
Dex? Are you okay?
(to Shannon)
He doesn't look so hot, maybe he has a concussion.

SHANNON
I'm tired, are you tired? You wanna crash for awhile?

ANDY
Yeah.

A beat. They smile.

ANDY (cont'd)
You wanna split one?

INT. SHANNON'S BEDROOM - DAY
ANGLE ON:
Shannon's nightstand. A prescription bottle
lies next to a package of doggie treats.

CLOSEUP OF LABEL
The typewritten label reads "Tuinal.
One every four hours for pain.
DANGER: May cause drowsiness.
Do not mix with alcohol or attempt
to operate heavy machinery.
0 refills."

INT. SHANNON'S BEDROOM - DAY
Sunlight beams into the room from the outside.
A tree rustles in the breeze. Birds chirp.

Shannon is passed out face down on the bed,
naked, lightly snoring.

Andy sleeps peacefully next to her,
partially under the covers, fully clothed.

Dex lies on his side on the floor, shirtless, mouth open.
His shirt crumpled up for a pillow.

The stereo softly plays the trip-hop music heard earlier.

INT. BEDROOM - MAGIC
SUPER - Day Two.

Shannon and Andy are still asleep. Dex is gone.
Silence. A toilet FLUSHES in the next room. A COUGH.

Suddenly, a long, loud SCREECH of SQUEALING tires,
then a yelp of pain.

Shannon BOLTS UPRIGHT in bed, instantly awake.

SHANNON
DAISY!

She LEAPS Out of bed and RUNS out of the room.
Andy stirs slightly. He slowly, groggily opens his eyes.
Sees Shannon's gone.

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Super: "8:32 PM"

Andy and Dex sit at the bar sipping beers.
Shannon sits on the floor petting Daisy,
her wound dressed with a makeshift assortment of towels.
Eyes closed, Daisy PURRS loudly.

SHANNON
How's my baby girl, Mommie's gonna take care of you,
my little Daisy, dee dee dee dee dee.

ANDY
She's purring like a cat.

SHANNON
Some help you were, Dex.

ANDY
He was...

DEX
...Pardon me for taking a shit.

A beat. Silence.

SHANNON
Well then I guess it's time for breakfast.

ANGLE ON:
Three large TUMBLERS filled with ice sit on the bar.
Red fingernailed hands pour orange juice
from a carton into each glass, filling them half way.
The hands and carton leave the frame.

Bright, cheerful pop music like early Madonna
plays over the action.

The hands return, this time with a gallon bottle
of Stolichnaya vodka, which is poured over the o.j.

The hands and bottle leave the frame,
then quickly come back and top off one of the glasses.

INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT
The three sit on bar stools with their screwdrivers.
The dull thump of gangsta rap wafts in from the bedroom.

SHANNON
Time for a little eye-opener...

She grips the glass pipe in one hand,
reaches over to the drug tray with the other.

SHANNON (CONT'D)
Where's the base? The fucking base is gone!
Where's the fucking base? We had almost a half left.

ANDY
It's all gone?

Dex stares into his drink. He couldn't look more guilty.

DEX
You sure?

ANDY
Maybe we were robbed, maybe somebody broke in last night.

Shannon GLARES at Dex.

SHANNON
Yeah, right, and all they took was drugs? I don't think so.

Shannon PUNCHES Dex in the shoulder.

SHANNON (cont'd)
Fess up, motherfucker!

DEX
Ow! What?

SHANNON
You did all the base, didn't you? Huh?
While we were asleep, you did all the base!

Shannon SHAKES Dex by the shoulders and YELLS.

SHANNON (cont'd)
You greedy little...

Dex SNAPS TO, and PUSHES back.

DEX
What was I supposed to do, I couldn't sleep!
I was gonna get some more...

SHANNON
Motherfucker!

DEX
Bitch! Cunt!

Andy JUMPS off his stool and PRIES them apart,
struggling with their slapping, punching hands and fists.

He EXPLODES.

ANDY
(yelling)
Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!

They stop. Silence.

Shannon and Dex are in shock. Andy's never raised his voice before.

ANDY (cont'd)
Look at you two. It's only drugs. We don't need drugs!

Shannon looks like she's about to cry. Dex is confused.

SHANNON
(softly)
Speak for yourself.

Silence. Andy grabs his drink.

ANDY
Now I've got a headache.

SHANNON
But Dex...

DEX
(quietly)
...Okay! It's my fault, okay?
I'm a pig, okay? I'm a fucking Hoover.