YOUNG BRENT
Fuck, Holland, this shit doesn’t even come on for an hour. Let’s just take it and then you can show us.
YOUNG TOPHER (enjoying his mystery)
No, you’re definitely gonna wanta see this first.
There’s a pause: TOPHER’s clearly waiting to be asked.
YOUNG ERIC
Okay, what is it?
TOPHER extends his hand, in a fist, palmside down, then turns it over and uncurls his fingers to reveal five shiny BLACK PILLS.
YOUNG BRENT
What the fuck are those?
YOUNG TOPHER
The. Fucking. Best. High. Ever.
YOUNG BRENT
Looks like speed, man. Black beauties.
YOUNG TOPHER
Oh, no, my little Bent Zengerdenger. This is shit you’ve never seen. Ain’t nobody ever seen this. This… is Black Sunshine.
YOUNG ERIC
Topher, what exactly the hell are you talking about?
TOPHER slides from the couch onto the floor, takes a theatrical swig from the rum bottle, enjoying everyone’s attention. Just to piss them off, he takes an
elaborate time lighting a cigarette, too.
YOUNG BRENT
Come on. Jesus!
YOUNG JANICE
Ooh, the mystery man.
YOUNG TOPHER
Okay, you know the lab? The place my old man works?
YOUNG BRENT
Where you have a job pushing a broom on Saturday mornings?
YOUNG TOPHER (unfazed)
Yeah. That lab. Well, Castillo the fuckin’ head janitor had to go home because he got sick — he was, like, green — and he left me the keys to lock up. Man, normally he’d rather leave me alone with his fuckin’ daughter than even let me touch ‘em, but he was in bad shape, pukin’ his lungs out all over the restroom…
YOUNG ERIC
You have a gift for storytelling, amigo.
YOUNG TOPHER
I do, don’t I? So anyway, I thought it might be a good time to check out the drug refrigerator, the one that’s always locked with this big old fuckin’ lock? Just in case they had some like pharmaceutical quality coke lying around, or some shit like that.
KIMMY
Topher! You could go to jail.
YOUNG TOPHER
Not unless I was stupid enough to get caught. So I’m checking it out, and they’ve got a little glass jar of these babies in the back, in some kind of a plastic envelope, with all these yellow warning stickers. The name was fucked up — Dee-oh-noxy-somefucking or other — but right there on the label it says, “hallucinogen”. You know what that means, right, Pierson? ‘Cause you’re so smart and shit in English?
YOUNG ERIC
You stole some drugs you don’t know anything about, except they said “hallucinogen”? You’re crazy, Topher.
YOUNG TOPHER (suddenly angry)
Don’t fucking talk to me like you’re my dad or something, Pierson. I’m not stupid. I had the keys, remember, like to the files and stuff? I went and looked in the folders, checked it out. It’s an experimental drug they’re working on for some government project, and it’s basically just like acid, except cleaner, ‘cause there’s a couple of different electrons or some chemistry shit like that.
YOUNG BRENT
Fuckin A. Experimental acid? For the government? What kind of shit is that?
YOUNG ERIC
And you just walked off with ‘em? Like they’re not going to notice.
YOUNG TOPHER
Cool out, man. I found some other pills that looked just like ‘em — some kinda water-retention shit. So if they give ‘em out to somebody for an experiment they won’t get high, they’ll just get… whatever. Bloated. (cackles)
And the scientist guys’ll just say it’s like “a non-standard reaction to the medication”. I hear my dad talk about this stuff. (brightly)
So, whaddaya say? Let’s get high!
YOUNG JANICE (incredulous)
Huh? You don’t think we’re going to take those, do you?
KIMMY
I think maybe I should go home.
YOUNG BRENT
No! No, don’t, Kimmy. It’s cool. We’re just going to take acid — Topher’s only playing around.
YOUNG TOPHER
I ain’t fuckin’ playin’ around, Zenger. This is fuckin’ straight up. What, are you all pussies? No offense, ladies.
YOUNG ERIC
Just cool out, Topher. It was pretty amazing you did that, but we’re not going to take something no one’s ever heard about. What is this “Black Sunshine” shit, anyway? They give their drugs names like that?
YOUNG TOPHER
I made it up. Pretty bitchin’, huh? I made a copy of Castillo’s key too. If this shit is half as good as I think it is, I’m gonna creep half the next batch and sell it for ten bucks a hit. Send some to Ozzy and the boys and get a backstage pass forever. Come on, Pierson — it’ll be far fucking out!
ERIC shakes his head grimly. BRENT has already begun giving out his WINDOWPANE ACID to the girls.
YOUNG BRENT
Just forget it, Holland. Come on, you’ll blow the mood. We’re just getting to the good part of this song.
BRENT puts his own portion on his tongue, then hands the rest to ERIC; as ERIC takes his, the girls look at each other.
YOUNG JANICE
We’re just going to take half.
They break one hit of acid in half and each take part, KIMMY having trouble swallowing. ERIC turns and offers the last squares of windowpane on his fingertip to TOPHER. YOUNG TOPHER
I can’t fuckin’ believe you guys. The last night of summer. Fuckin’ lightweights! What have you got to lose, Erky? You ain’t even staying around this asshole town.
He holds the five black pills in his hands and stares at them, then stares at ERIC’s proferred acid. BRENT has his eyes closed, swaying to the music — one hand is against KIMMY’s leg, which she’s trying to ignore. TOPHER looks them all over, then abruptly THROWS the five pills up in the air.
CLOSE ON: BLACK PILLS, TUMBLING
