Oscar Glyde Won't Heal Your Pride

44: From Grown To Gone

Chapter 44: From Grown To Gone

[Basil's room, Don Witty Hospital, 5:40 PM]

(Oscar walks in; he sees Basil's parents crying silently in their chairs; he sees Basil lying asleep on the bed, hooked up to at least half a dozen machines; he walks out)

...

[Kitchen table, His House, 7:59 AM]

[Enter OSCAR'S DAD]

(it's uncomfortably silent for a few moments)

OSCAR'S DAD: "So..."

(Oscar gets up and walks out)

...

[Roads in the suburbs, Somewhere Around Town, 4:09 PM]

(Oscar is longboarding aimlessly through a random neighbourhood; suddenly a red Nisan comes to a crawl on the street beside him; the window rolls down; Oscar glances and ignores the person inside it; he continues longboarding)

MR GOERING: "Why are you all the way over in this part of town, Oscar?"

(Oscar ignores; he continues longboarding)

MR GOERING: (from inside the car) "I want to talk."

(Oscar ignores; he continues longboarding)

MR GOERING: "I'm sorry about a few days ago. I'm sorry I did that to you. That was unchivalrous of me."

OSCAR: "It was douchbaggy of you. It was fucktardy of you. It was Satanic of you."

MR GOERING: "Can you just get in the car?"

OSCAR: "This whole scenario? Yeah, it's creepy. Some middle-aged mother of three is going to look out her middle-class sitting room window, take a picture of your license plate and craft an unnecessarily long Facebook post cautioning locals to 'avoid this pedophilic man'."

(Mr Goering stops his car; Oscar trips over his longboard and turns around in confusion; he walks back over to the car window)

MR GOERING: (lifeless) "Why are you still cracking jokes?"

(...)

(Oscar gets into the passenger seat)

MR GOERING: "That's a new longboard."

OSCAR: "It was a present."

(Goering nods)

MR GOERING: "Fender?"

(Oscar doesn't say anything; Goering understands)

MR GOERING: "Hey, look, I can't explain why I took off on you on Monday. I guess I was just scared."

OSCAR: (quiet) "You've got to stop being that."

MR GOERING: "I know. But me being scared shouldn't result in you being upset. And I'm sorry."

OSCAR: "I can't avoid being upset, either way."

MR GOERING: "But you can ease the pain."

OSCAR: "Only for it to come back."

MR GOERING: "I wish it hadn't happened just as much as you - "

OSCAR: (voice rising) "No you don't!"

MR GOERING: "That was insensitive of me to say. Of course I don't." (voice softening) "Of course I don't. But I don't know what to do here, Oscar. I could handle Emma's suicide and Abdul's suicide - I was grasping at straws but I was handling it. This... I don't know what to do with this."