"AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN" by Douglas Day Stewart FINAL DRAFT April 13, 1981 FADE IN: EXT. MANILA AIRPORT - FULL SHOT - DAY A Philippine Airlines passenger plane is arriving and touching down. ANGLE - THE PLANE A 13-year old boy starts down the ramp, a suitcase in one hand, an old photo-strip in the other. He studies the strip closely as he searches the faces of the people greeting the passengers. CLOSE - THE PHOTO STRIP A handsome sailor is necking with his girl in each of the three shots. CLOSE - THE BOY looking around. HIS EYES FALL ON A SAILOR It's the same sailor from the photo strip, only about fifteen years older. If he was in his early twenties then, now he's in his mid-thirties. He's in the uniform of a 1st class Petty Officer. He searches the faces of the descending passengers, very uncertain and uncomfortable. THE BOY AND THE SAILOR come together very, very tentatively. The sailor, BYRON MAYO, extends a hand to young ZACK. BYRON You, Zack? ZACK Yes, Sir. BYRON I'm Byron. Nice to meet you. (awkwardly) C'mon. Let's go get your luggage. They head off together. EXT. THE AIRPORT PARKING LOT - DAY Byron and Zack step aboard one of the colorful jeepneys that Manila is famous for. We MOVE WITH the jeepney as it leaves the airport and starts down the highway toward Olongapo. The boy is frightened but he's also excited by the strange, super-chrome and ornately-decorated vehicle he's riding in. They're not alone in the small bus. Ten or more Filipinos ride with them, some in suits and ties, others in the rougher attire of farmers. One old woman carries a big cage on her lap with a squawking fluttering chicken in it. BYRON Take that coat off. This is the Philippines. He helps Zack out of his coat. BYRON (making conversation) How was the flight? They take care of you okay? Long way from Norfolk, isn't it? ZACK Yes, sir. BYRON Listen, kid, I was sorry to hear about your mom. That's pretty rough. I would've returned your call a lot sooner but I was out at sea... ZACK I been calling for four months. BYRON Well, that's how long I've been out at sea. EXT. THE ROAD TO OLONGAPO - DAY The jeepney has only two passengers now, Byron and Zack. A roadside sign reads: "U.S. NAVAL FACILITY, SUBIC BAY ... 12 miles." EXT. THE HONKY-TONK SAILOR TOWN OF OLONGAPO - DAY Known throughout the Seventh Fleet as the armpit of the Orient, Olongapo is one, long rain-rutted street of gaudy bars and rattan-walled whorehouses. Countless jeepneys careen past with their silly fringe awnings and chrome accoutrements, many filled with U.S. sailor boys and officers on liberty. Zack and Byron's jeepney ENTERS SHOT and stops in front of the noisiest and raunchiest bar on the strip. BYRON This is it. This is where I live. MOVING WITH ZACK AND BYRON CAMERA FAVORS the boy as they head for the entrance of the bar, Zack taking in the kinky street activity: "Beenie boys," small boned Filipino boys dressed up as exquisite young girls, hustling tricks on the sidewalk while their sisters lounge in the doorway of places like "California Dreamin'" and "The Manhattan Club," in nipple-showing tank-tops, licking their lips. INT. THE RAUCOUS BAR - DAY CAMERA CONTINUES MOVING with Zack and Byron as they cross through the NOISY bar toward a stairwell at the back. Navy enlisted men are making out openly with bar girls and Zack even sees one little girl stick her hand right down the front 40 of a sailor boy's pants. Byron glances at the boy, a little embarrassed by his digs. Zack is staring at every girl he passes, nervous but a little excited by it all, too. BYRON If I were in port more, I'd rent a better place, but this works out okay. They start up the stairs. INT. BYRON'S ROOM - DAY They walk in and find two semi-naked prostitutes lying on the bed. Zack's eyes are as big as silver dollars. BYRON I thought you girls were gonna do some shopping. (gives them money) Tiki, Maria... I want you to meet my son. The girls giggle as they hurry into their clothes and leave. Byron closes the door. BYRON This is it. This is where I live. I suppose you could bunk over there and you could go to school at the base. ZACK Great. BYRON I'm not finished. I'll only be in port one week a month and when I'm here you'd never catch me playing daddy with you 'cause it's not who I am. Like I told you on the phone, you I'd be better off in that state school back in Virginia. ZACK I ain't never going back to that school, sir. BYRON You got to kid. Let me spell it out for you. This is a whorehouse. And I happen to like my life the way it is and nobody's gonna make me change. ZACK I don't care about that. I just ain't going back. You don't want me? Okay. I'll find me another place. He opens the door and walks out. MOVING WITH ZACK DOWN THE STAIRWELL Byron appears on the landing above. BYRON Hey, come back. Zack keeps moving. BYRON Come back here, kid! ZACK (turns) What for? BYRON (grudgingly) Okay, okay. You win. ZACK (brightens) Thank you, sir! BYRON Stop calling me 'sir! I ain't no officer. My name is Byron. On the boy's happy expression we: DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE BAR - SEVERAL WEEKS LATER Zack sits on the stairs watching a crazy scene taking place on the long bar. A bunch of jet pilots off one of the carriers are in town and they're playing a game of "chicken". Each pilot must take a turn being pushed down the bar in a chair on rollers. The winner is the guy who flies the farthest without bailing out of his chair. The whores are rooting them on and gambling money is being waved in the air. As Tiki, one of Byron's girls, climbs the stairs, he catches her hand and gestures questioningly in the direction of the hotshot fliers. TIKI Hot shot jet jockeys. Maybe you grow up like that, fly mach five, no jive. The boy laughs. Then Byron comes out of his room, his sea bag over his shoulder. He passes the kids some folding money. BYRON Here, kid. Put this in your shoe in case you need it. Zack hides the money. QUICK SHOT - TWO FILIPINO BOYS ABOUT ZACK'S AGE They see him hide the money in his shoe. ANGLE - BYRON AND ZACK Byron kisses his two mama-sans goodbye, shakes Zack's hand and strides out of the bar. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE STREETS OF OLONGAPO - DAY Zack is walking along the main drag, looking in the curio stores, when the two Filipino boys approach him, smiling innocently. 1ST FILIPINO BOY Hey, palequero. You new in the P.I.? ZACK Yeah. I've been here a couple of weeks. 2ND FILIPINO BOY Wanna see some nice things, guy? We could show you around. Nobody knows this shithole like us. The two boys laugh and Zack laughs, too, trusting them. ZACK Sure. I guess it's okay. They start off together but as they reach a narrow alleyway, the two boys shove Zack into it. ZACK Hey! 1ST FILIPINO BOY Hey, big spender. Give us some money. ZACK I don't have any money. 1ST FILIPINO BOY (furious) Bullshit! Get it out!! The first Filipino kicks Zack in the balls. VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE FIGHT Zack isn't a bad fighter but he's no match for either of the Filipinos, especially the leader, who has a way of fighting that is something to watch. He uses his feet. Waving the other Filipino aside, he destroys the American with spinning roundhouse kicks to his stomach and his face. Zack goes down from a kick to the groin. Another kick to the head and he loses consciousness. His two attackers bend over him to rifle his pockets. Finding the five dollar bill he's hidden in his shoe, they run off down a dark alley, one of them nearly tripping over a dead dog. TIGHTEN ON ZACK He stirs. His eyes open. He sits up, wincing from busted ribs. Reality sits heavy on his youthful features. DISSOLVE VERY SLOWLY TO: EXT. THE NAVY HONKY-TONK AREA OF SEATTLE - DAY A rough-looking young man rides his Triumph 750 Bonneville through a Navy honky-tonk area in Seattle, Washington: NOISY bars, a Seven Seas Locker Club, a credit jeweler, a pawn shop. The boy who took his licks in the Filipino back alley is now a man in his mid-twenties. A long mane of jet-black hair. A scuzzy beard. The same cold blue eyes. He wears jeans and big, muddy boots. There's a tattoo of an eagle half-revealed under the sleeve of his T-shirt. EXT. A FLEA-BAG HOTEL - DAY Zack Mayo drives up and climbs an outside stairway to a second- story entrance. INSIDE THE FLEA-BAG HOTEL - DAY CAMERA MOVES WITH Zack down a dark corridor, past a succession of rooms. A door is open, affording him a quick glimpse of a woman and child, a sailor's uniform hanging on a chair nearby. The sailor appears and closes the door in Zack's face. Zack consults an old postcard he takes from his pocket and pauses in front of a doorway. He knocks authoritatively and shouts: ZACK Shore Patrol! Shore Patrol! Open up!! A moment later the door opens and Byron stands there, fumbling to cover his nudity with a little kimono. A naked prostitute in her late teens watches from a rumpled bed. ZACK Hi, Byron. BYRON Zack, you little shit! You haven't changed a bit! ZACK Neither have you, pard! They come together in a macho embrace like old whoring buddies. BYRON (to his girl) Hey, honey, look at this! My son! Isn't he beautiful? (to Zack) You should've called! ZACK You were out at sea! Hey, guess what? I graduated. I got my degree. BYRON I thought you quit school. Last I heard you were on your way to a construction job or something down in Brazil. ZACK Yeah, I made some money down there, then I talked my way into another college and I did it. I wasn't magna cum laude but I did okay. You should've seen me in my cap and gown. BYRON Why the fuck didn't you invite me? I would've come. Zack's expression sheds some doubt on that subject but Byron chooses to ignore it. He turns to the prostitute. BYRON Get on the phone, honey. Call up your friend... Gloria... Gloria big tits. We're gonna celebrate! You hear that? My son's graduated from college! CUT TO: INT. BYRON'S APARTMENT - LATER THAT NIGHT It's an orgy, all right. Father and son style. Zack and his girl on the left half of the bed, Byron and his girl on the right. Pumping away. Drinking and passing a wine bottle around. Candles burning in dishes flickering against the seedy walls where the only decorations are monkeywood carvings Byron brought back from the Philippines. 1ST PROSTITUTE Are you guys really father and son? You're putting us on, right? BYRON Right. We're putting you on. What happened to that joint? 2ND PROSTITUTE I think it went out. BYRON (pigeon English) Ay, palequero. ZACK Ay, palequero. Never hochi in the P.I. BYRON (laughs) Wha-chu-say, palequero? Short time, long time, only ten dolla. Both men laugh and the girls start laughing, too. DISSOLVE TO: INT. BYRON'S APARTMENT - THE NEXT MORNING Zack awakens and finds himself entangled in arms and legs and soiled sheets. He carefully slips free and rises to his feet on unsteady legs, his head pounding, his eyes blood- red. As he's pulling on his shorts, his eyes suddenly take in the apartment and the lifestyle it represents: half-smoked joints and cigarettes cascading out of makeshift ashtrays; empty wine bottles; and three naked people, snoring, their bodies draped over one another. A look of profound disgust comes over Zack's face and he turns away from the scene and heads into the bathroom. INT. BYRON'S BATHROOM Zack finds some aspirins and downs them with a glass of water. Suddenly, Byron comes in, shoves him out of the way, and pukes in the toilet. Zack stares at him in an intense way, seeing more than the moment, seeing all the other times he's played out this scene with this man. BYRON What're you looking at? Hand me that towel. Zack hands him the towel. Byron swigs some mouthwash, then turns to his son. BYRON Hey, that was pretty great wasn't it? Not as great as that night with the three stewardesses in Manila... but pretty fucking nice. Zack says nothing but there's something on his mind. BYRON So what're you doing in Seattle? ZACK Get ready pard. This one's gonna blow you away. BYRON Zackie, nothing you do will ever surprise me, pard, not after some of the shit you've pulled. ZACK I joined the Navy. Byron's face drops and Zack laughs. BYRON You... in the Navy? ZACK That's right. I'm on my way over to this officer school in Port Ranier. BYRON Why? ZACK To fly jets. To be the fastest motherfucker in the world. You gotta come and visit me. I'm only a couple hours away. BYRON Who gave you this idea? ZACK Nobody. It just came to me. Byron starts to laugh and Zack reddens slightly. BYRON I don't believe this! You... in the Navy... an officer... that's like me saying I'm running for fucking president. Hey, man, look at you! Hey, officers don't have tattoos! He laughs until he practically chokes. ZACK Look, I Ill be seeing you, Pard. Take care. Zack leaves the bathroom and starts putting his clothes on. BYRON Don't be pissed. I'm on your side, Pard. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret. You gotta give six years to the Navy if you wanna fly... that's six years with the most uptight assholes God put on this earth. Officers aren't like you and me, man. It's another breed. ZACK You afraid you'll have to salute me, Chief? BYRON Fuck, no! Why would I care about something as dumb as that? ZACK I don't know. That's just how it sounded. Well, I'll see you. He opens the door and walks out. Byron moves to the door. BYRON Hey, what did you want? A lot of fatherly bullshit? A big pat on the back? ZACK (turns, grins) From you, pard? Never. Thanks for the graduation present. BYRON Hey, Zackie -- don't go away mad. EXT. AN AREA NEAR THE GATES OF PORT RANIER NAVAL AIR STATION - DAY Starting CLOSE on Zack's upper arm as he covers his eagle tattoo with a band-aid. WIDEN as he drives through the gates of the sprawling air station. EXT. THE GATES OF THE AIR STATION - DAY He drives through the gates and past the guard gate and disappears into a stand of tall trees. A sign by the road reads: "THROUGH THESE GATES PASS THE FUTURE OF NAVAL AVIATION." EXT. AN AIRFIELD (2ND UNIT) He motors past a line of aircraft. EXT. AN INTERSECTION He stops to let a class of candidates run past in their fatigues. CAMERA PANS as he crosses the intersection, revealing a large parade ground where two classes of Aviation Officer Candidates are drilling with rifles. EXT. THE BASE ADMIN. BUILDING Zack parks his motorcycle near the F-14 "Tomcat" jet fighter plane that sits in front of the Admin. Building like a piece of sculpture, and is directed by a Navy lieutenant to wait with the other civilian types under a tree. NEW ANGLE - THE ADMIN. BUILDING A girl named CASEY SEEGER steps out of a rented car, kisses her parents goodbye and, carrying a small suitcase, approaches the same officer. She has the slim, athletic body of a runner and a naturally pretty face without even the slightest hint of makeup, and she finds most of the thirty boys under the tree ogling her as she approaches. FAVORING ZACK He flirts with Casey as she joins them under the tree, and she flirts back, taking a place near the five other girls. Nearby, two other boys are eyeing Casey. The brain-looking kid is TOPPER DANIELS. The tall Okie is SID WORLEY. TOPPER Why would a girl who looks like that go into the military? SID Hey, this is the modern Navy. STAFF SERGEANT EMIL FOLEY, USMC strides smartly toward them and comes to a brisk, heel- clapping halt in front of them, a cane tucked under his arm like a swagger stick and the traditional "Smokey the Bear" hat of the drill instructor on his head. FOLEY Fall in! Form a line, you slimey worms! Heels on that chalk line! Attin-hut! The thirty-six civilians shuffle into a single line, ill- concealed looks passing between them as though to say, "Get a load of this character." FOLEY Now when I say "understand" I want the whole group to say, "Yes, sir!" Understand? GROUP (raggedly) Yes, sir! FOLEY Louder! GROUP Yes, sir!! FOLEY I don't believe what I'm seeing! Where've you been all your lives, at an orgy? Listening to Mick Jagger and bad mouthing your country, I'll bet. He strolls menacingly down the ranks, probing them, plumbing them with his squinty little eyes. He pauses in front of Perryman. FOLEY Stop eyeballing me, boy! You are not worthy enough to look your superiors in the eye. Use your peripheral vision! Understand?! GROUP Yes, sir! His voice shifts register, becoming almost human. FOLEY (a sudden grin) I know why most of you are here. We're not stupid. But before you get to sell what we teach you over at United Airlines, you gotta give the Navy six years of your life, Sweet Pea. Lot of things can happen in six year. Another war could come up in six years. If you're too peaceful a person to dump napalm on an enemy village where there might be women and children, I'm gonna find that out. Understand? GROUP Yes, sir! He pauses in front of Sid, and smiles the friendliest of smiles. FOLEY Hi, son. SID How're you doing, Sarge? Foley's eyes become instantly crazed. FOLEY What did you call me? SID (taken aback) Pardon? FOLEY What did you call me, boy? SID I called you Sarge. FOLEY Before that. SID I didn't call you anything before that. FOLEY You said, 'How're you?' I am not a 'ewe,' boy! A ewe is a female sheep, boy! Is that what you think I am, boy? SID No. FOLEY No, sir! SID No, sir. FOLEY Lauder, Sweet Pea! SID No, sir! FOLEY Do you want to fuck me up the ass, boy? Is that why you called me a 'ewe'? Are you a queer? SID No, sir. FOLEY Where are you from, boy? SID Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. FOLEY Only two things come out of Oklahoma, steers and queers. Which one are you, boy? I don't see any horns so you must be a queer. SID No, sir. FOLEY Stop whispering, Sweet Pea, you're giving me a hard on! Zack starts to chuckle and Foley eyeballs him hard. FOLEY Are you laughing at me, dick-brain? ZACK No, sir! Foley pushes his face close to Zack's and tries to stare him down. Zack just stares back, totally unintimidated. FOLEY You'd better stop eyeballing me, boy, or I'll rip your eyes out and skull-fuck you to death! Zack keeps a straight face. FOLEY What's your name, boy? ZACK Mayo, Zack Mayo, sir! FOLEY How did you slip into this program, Mayo? I didn't know the Navy was so hard up. (noticing the band- aid) You got an injury there, Mayo? ZACK Not exactly, sir. Foley suddenly tears the Band-Air off his arm, revealing the eagle tattoo. Foley leans close to inspect it. FOLEY Where'd you get this, Mayo? This is really wonder work. ZACK Subic Bay, sir. In the Philippines. FOLEY I thought I recognized the work. (stares him in the eye) Be proud of those wings. They're the only ones you're gonna leave here with, Mayo-naise. He moves on to one of the others, short, barrel-shaped DELLA- SERRA. Foley glances at the roster, then at Della-Serra. FOLEY Hmmmm... Emiliano Santos Della-Serra. You a college boy, Della-Serra? DELLA-SERRA (proudly) Yes, sir! I graduated with honors from Texas Tech, sir! Math major, sir! FOLEY You don't say. See this cane, Della- Serra? See these little notches near the handle? There's a notch for every college puke like you, Della-Serra, who I got to D.O.R. -- drop on request -- from this program. And the first one I want to carve out of this class is you, Emiliano. Giving him an evil look, Foley turns away. FOLEY I expect to lose half of you before I'm finished. FOLEY I will use every means at my disposal, fair or unfair, to trip you up, expose your weaknesses... as a potential aviator... and as a human being. The price at the other end is a flight education worth one million dollars, but first you have to get past me. (shouts) Lay your suitcases open for inspection! Zack and the others open their packs and suitcases on the sidewalk. With his cane, Foley suddenly spears a pair of lacy underwear in Casey Seeger's suitcase and dangles it high in the air. FOLEY Seeger, are we going to have to watch you run around in these for the next thirteen weeks? She reaches for them but he teases her and dangles them out of reach. FOLEY Some girls will do almost anything to get laid. Are you one of those girls, Seeger? Did you put in for AOCS to get gang-banged, Seeger? Casey reddens and stares daggers at the man. CASEY Sir, you can yell at me if that's what you're supposed to do, sir. But you have no right to insult me, sir. Foley pushes his nose right up to hers and screams: FOLEY I'll call you a beaver sandwich, if I want to, until the day they commission you an officer and a gentleman and I have to call you 'sir'! FOLEY (beat) My language offend you, Seeger? Well, maybe the Navy's not for you 'cause you'll hear far worse out in the fleet? (in the same breath) You've got five seconds to put your suitcases in order and prepare to move out. Time's up. Attin-shut! Left-humph! Fo-wud-harch! The candidates fall all over themselves trying to follow his orders. CUT ABRUPTLY TO: EXT. A LARGE PAPER MILL - THAT SAME DAY Minutes before quitting time. INT. THE MILL - DAY PAULA POKRIFKI and LYNETTE POMEROY, two twenty one year olds, are both looking at their watches as they wait for that magic moment. Two older women are assisting them in the job of stacking and tying brown paper bags, then returning the tied stacks to the conveyor. LYNETTE Come on, guys. It's five o'clock. PAULA One more minute. The conveyor finally shuts down and the four women join the flow of workers heading for the exit. EXT. THE MILL PARKING LOT - DAY As Paula and Lynette are leaving, Paula calls out to a woman just then getting into a beat-up old Toyota. In her youth easily as pretty as her daughter, ESTER POKRIFKI is now a tired, over-worked woman of 39, looking closer to 45. PAULA 'Bye, Mom, see you later. (beat) C'mon, Lynette, before she asks when I'll be home. The girls hurry toward Lynette's old Falcon, Ester watching with a mingling of emotions, from nostalgia to concern. CUT TO: INT. THE BASE BARBER SHOP - DAY STARTING CLOSE ON shears as they cut a swath through a forest of hair. In a matter of seconds, Della-Serra is converted from a long-haired individualist into a cipher, balder than a baby's butt. He leaves and one of the female candidates sits down in the chair. Whack! Whack! The barber doesn't shave her but he cuts her long hair very short. EXT. THE BASE BARBER SHOP - DAY Foley collars Della-Serra and turns to the line of candidates waiting to get inside. FOLEY Now this is my idea of an ass bandit. Wait 'til some of our local girls get a look at you, scrotum head. The class cracks up laughing, especially big Sid, standing near the end of the line with Zack and Casey. FOLEY You think that's funny, Worley? Let me tell you something. Not all the obstacles that can trip you up are on this base. (strolling down the line) As long as there's been Navy base here there's been what you might as well call your Puget Sound Debs, poor girls who come across the sound on the ferry every weekend for only one reason, to marry themselves a Naval aviator. Skeptical looks from the candidates. CUT TO: INT. LYNETTE'S FALCON - DAY As they clear the gates of the National Paper Company Paula reaches into the back seat for her makeup kit, positions it on her lap, and adjusts the mirror. Off comes the scarf. Out come the pin curls, one by one and she starts combing out her hair. Their disco dresses, satiny and suggestive even in their plastic cleaner's bags, are hanging from separate hooks in the back. FOLEY (V.O.) Now a Puget Deb will tell you, 'Honey, don't y'all worry 'bout no contraceptives. I got that all taken care of.' Well, don't you believe a word of it, Sweet Pea... EXT. THE ROAD TO THE FERRY - DAY Paula is fleetingly naked as she pulls her emerald green dress over her head. FOLEY ...'cause a Puget Deb will do anything and say anything to trap you... and once she has you by the balls, child, you might just find yourself with a couple of income tax deductions you didn't have when you came here. EXT. FERRY - STARTING ON THE FALCON - DAY It appears to be moving, because the scenery is moving by. Lynette and Paula have traded places and now Lynette sits in the passenger seat, pulling the pin curls out of her hair. She finishes and quickly takes off her shirt and bra. FOLEY I know this all sounds silly to you, especially in this so-called modern age... A guy in a car traveling alongside the Falcon is getting an eyeful. Lynette sees him and gives him a dirty look. FOLEY ...but you scuzzy college pukes had better watch out, 'cause they're out there. And you, Sweet Pea, are the answer to their dreams. We PULL BACK to reveal that the two cars are not on the highway, but aboard an open ferry crossing the Puget Sound. CUT TO: INT. THE UNIFORM SUPPLY ROOM - DAY CAMERA MOVES AHEAD of Zack, Sid and Casey. Navy enlisted men behind the counter are handing out "Poopie Suits," "Chrome Domes" and "Boonies" to the candidates as Foley looks on. All the boys are bald. The girls have suffered a military haircut as well, but have been mercifully allowed to keep a few inches of coverage. FOLEY How do you like my Poopie Factory, Seeger? You enter these doors and individual with a look that's all yours, a style, a way about you, a personality... and you come out a Poopie! That's sort of like what happens to food. It goes in looking all fancy and pretty. Seeger grimaces. SID I knew those commercials were full of shit. CAMERA HOLDS on a recruiting poster on the wall. INT. THE INDOC BARRACKS - DAY The new Poopies come running in, carrying their suitcases and uniform issue, Foley herding them like cattle up the stairs. FOLEY This is where you live, children! This is Poopie-ville! Girl Poopies to the left, boy Poopies to the right! INT. THE UPSTAIRS OF THE BARRACKS - QUICK SHOTS - DAY The Poopies find their assigned room, the five girls in a wing to the left of the stairwell, the thirty-one boys in the wing to the right. INT. ZACK'S ROOM - DAY The names on the door are: "PERRYMAN, MAYO, WORLEY and DANIELS." Zack is the first one through the door and he grabs the upper bunk by the window. His roommates come in and share a look as they see what he's done. LOUIS PERRYMAN is a no- nonsense black, a few years older than the other, like Zack. PERRYMAN How do you figure that's your bunk? ZACK He said it's up to us and I got here first, didn't I? SID Whatever you say, Mayonnaise. FOLEY (O.S.) Fall out on the lawn in five minutes, in your Poopie suits! Perryman and Topper select lower bunks and start stowing their gear in their lockers. Sid takes the other top bunk. ANGLE - THE LOCKERS Perryman immediately tapes a photo of his family on the door of his locker, wife and two young children, one a baby in diapers. TOPPER You're a married man, huh, Perryman? Perryman touches the photo affectionately. PERRYMAN Yeah. They're the main reason I'm here. TOPPER (shakes his head) I still can't believe I did this. A three-point-eight average from Amhearst and I signed up for this? Perryman laughs. Both Zack and Sid are stowing their lockers expertly. Zack glances questioningly at the big Okie. SID (in reply to his look) I'm a service brat, pal. Same as you. Zack takes five new packs of cards from his suitcase and hides them in his locker under his skivvies. Sid notices him do it. SID Someday you'll have to tell me about Subic. Zack says nothing. Both boys start changing into their sloppy- fitting Poopie suits. SID That Foley looks like he's been through a war or two. ZACK I've seen better. FOLEY Fall out! Fall out!! Zack, Sid and their roommates push out in their Poopie suits. CUT TO: EXT. THE BARRACKS BUILDING - DAY The candidates line up outside, in their Poopie uniforms. Sid lines up between Zack and Casey. For the moment, Foley is nowhere to be seen, but a Navy lieutenant is talking to a Navy captain in SHOT b.g. SID Think there's any truth to what he was saying about those girls? Is that still going on? ZACK Sure it is, Sweet Pea, but he should've warned you 'scuzzy' female types about the 'Puget Dudes.' They'll tell you they're wearing a rubber but they've bit a little hole in the end. CASEY You're pretty funny, Mayo. ZACK Maybe we'll be roommates, Seeger, and you'll find out how funny I really am... Foley suddenly appears. FOLEY Seeger, Mayo and Worley -- hit the deck and give me fifty push-ups. On the double! The trio drops to the ground and starts doing push-ups. ACROSS THE STREET - DAY Lynette's Falcon drives up and the two girls start across the street, carrying boxes of LP's. ON SID, ZACK AND CASEY They're about ten, eleven push-ups along when Casey starts to fade. Foley's polished shoes ENTER SHOT and she looks up at him sheepishly. FOLEY Looks like you need a little work on your upper body strength, Seeger. He leads her off to where the other candidates stand at attention, leaving Zack and Sid alone, doing push-ups. They eye Lynette and Paula as they walk past. EXT. THE STEPS OF A NEARBY BUILDING - DAY NELLIE RUFFERWALL, 50, the base social director, is chatting with a young Naval officer as the two girls approach in their sexy disco dresses. The officer flirts with both girls as he walks off. NELLIE Paula, honey, Lynette... I hope you didn't call all this way just to bring me these nice records. LYNETTE (eyeing the retreating officer) No, ma'am. We planned on stopping at the 'O' Club tonight, one way or the other. ANGLE - SID AND ZACK About 30 push-ups in. Both are in terrific shape and have no problem at all with the push-ups. They watch Paula and Lynette talking with the matronly social director across the street. SID (whispers) Look at that hot little blonde! Zack is staring at Paula. ANGLE - PAULA AND LYNETTE They leave Nellie with the boxes of records and start down the steps. NELLIE 'Bye girls, and thank you again. Blue Angels be in next month. You want me to line you up with one, just let me know. The girls start back across the street, in the direction of the Officers' Club. LYNETTE Far fucking out! I've been wanting to meet one of the Blue Angels since I can remember. PAULA Lynette, watch your mouth! Somebody might overhear. LYNETTE Paula, look at the new Poopies. PAULA Yeah, I saw 'em. Poor guys. LYNETTE (calling to them) See you in a month when you get liberty! PAULA (calls) Don't worry. It grows out about an inch by them. Laughing, they start into the Officers' Club. NEW ANGLE - THE OFFICERS' CLUB ENTRANCE A handsome young pilot named DONNY TARLTON, 29, is walking out just as the girls are entering. LYNETTE (flirty) Hi, Donny. DONNY Oh, hi, Lynette. Hey, Paula, haven't seen you for a while. When're we gonna go out? PAULA I already told you. I don't go out with guys who've been dating a good friend. See ya. The girls go inside. CUT TO: EXT. THE LAWN IN FRONT OF THE CHOW HALL - DAY Thirty-six chrome dome helmets fly into the air and land on the lawn and then thirty-six starving Poopies rush into line in front of the mess hall, at close-order attention, nose touching the back of the head of the Poopie ahead of them in line. FOLEY Count off! They start the count off. When it gets to Perryman he screws up and gives the wrong number. Foley descends on him. FOLEY Daydreaming about your wife and kids, Perryman? You want to join 'em now? PERRYMAN No, sir! FOLEY Count off!! From the top. This time somebody else fucks up. INT. THE MESS HALL - VARIOUS SHOTS - DAY The candidates wait in line with their trays held in both hands directly in front of their faces, STOMACHS GROWLING so loudly we can hear them. Sid whispers to Zack. SID (softly) I'm so hungry I could die. They go through the food line, staring longingly at the shit on a shingle they're being served. Drooling. They stand at attention at their table. Foley putting them through a silly drill of slapping their arms together and sinking, as a unit, slowly into their seats. Each time they fail to do it together, Foley makes them start again. Steam rises up from their trays, teasing them cruelly. Finally, they get it right. FOLEY Okay! You got thirty-five seconds to get that garbage in your belly, bus your dishes, and get your asses out of here. They go at it like animals, stuffing their faces as fast as they can, Zack the fastest eater of all. He finishes in no time at all and busses his tray. He smiles smugly as he passes Foley and the D.I. reacts. CUT TO: EXT. CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE - THE FIRST - DAY Foley runs the candidates over the cross-country course with rifles raised overhead. Sunlight filters through the dense trees that overhang the narrow trail. FOLEY (jody-calling) Flying low and feeling mean. Spot a family by a stream. Pickle a pear and hear'em scream. 'Cause napalm sticks to kids. EXT. CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE - NEAR THE LIGHTHOUSE - DAY Foley runs his Poopies through the surf, past the old lighthouse, CAMERA MOVING with Sid, Zack and Casey, near the end of the group. FOLEY Eighteen kids in a free fire zone. Books under arms, just walking on home. Last kid walks home alone. 'Cause napalm sticks to kids. Sid glances over his shoulder at Casey, running tiredly behind him. SID Hey, Seeger, what're you doing in this program? CASEY (testy) What's the matter, Worley? Am I threatening you? Zack runs behind Seeger. ZACK Hey, baby, you could get sent to war, get your ass shot down. CASEY Don't lose any sleep over it. I wouldn't mind being the first woman to fly a jet fighter in combat. ZACK Great. You can go in my place. SID (to Casey) Are you really going for jets? CASEY Uh-huh. All the way. SID How about you, Mayo? ZACK Jets. SID I hate to tell you guys, but only two out of every class make it into jets. Which one of you is going with me? EXT. CROSS-COUNTRY COURSE - THE GUN EMPLACEMENTS - DAY Foley stands at the entrance to a dark tunnel, watching the candidates run past. FOLEY Here's my favorite one now. See if it ain't your favorite, too. (resuming) Family of gooks sittin' in a ditch, Baby sucking on her mama's tit. Dow Chemical don't give a shit, that napalm sticks to kids. CAMERA PANS the last of the candidates through the tunnel. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TUNNEL There's a huge, three-story gun emplacement bunker built in 1895, that now serves as a torture chamber for aviation officer candidates. The other D.I.'s from the program stand at different places on the time-weathered stairs, waiting to assist Foley, their canes propped behind them, truly cruel expressions on their faces. On cue from Foley, they begin to P.T. Zack's class into the ground, running them up and down the stairs, shouting in their tender ears until some members of the class actually start passing out. An ambulance is there with two enlisted attendants to carry away the casualties. Zack, Sid, Casey, Perryman and Topper are starting to show the wear of the arduous "C" course, like the rest of their class. As they pass the "finish line" where Foley stands, they all fall on their faces, and lie there, gasping for breath. Suddenly, they're distracted by a disquieting sight. EXT. OBSTACLE COURSE - DAY An advanced class of officer candidates comes running past the exhausted Poopies in smart-looking blue warm-up suits with an insignia and the name "THRAXTON'S COBRAS" on the front and nicknames on the back like: "HOOSIER FACE," "THE BARBER," "ANIMAL HOUSE," "CHOW HOG," "BABY HUEY," AND "THE PROFESSOR." CAMERA PANS them to the obstacle course where Thraxton's Cobras start eating up the course like child's play. ANGLE - FOLEY AND HIS CLASS Foley sneers down at his exhausted Poopies. FOLEY That's you in thirteen weeks, those of you who survive. Don't you dare look at them! You're not worthy enough to look at them! Della-Serra, I saw you eyeballing them! Zack and the others can't take their eyes off the advanced class. It's literally impossible to imagine ever being that well-conditioned. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ZACK'S BARRACKS ROOM - NIGHT CAMERA MOVES AROUND the room, past Perryman's snoring face, past Sid, tossing fitfully, so exhausted he keeps mumbling, "Yes, sir," over and over in his sleep... finally HOLDING ON Zack, sleeping so lightly that the SOUND OF HISSING near at hand causes his eyes to open, then harden with disgust at what he's seeing. Topper stands at the sink, pissing. ZACK What the fuck're you doing, Topper? TOPPER (mortified) I'm afraid to go out there, Zack. I know he'll catch me. He sleeps in the head, you know. ZACK He doesn't sleep in the head, man. He just says those things. Shit! I just cleaned that sink this morning! DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE BARRACKS - DAY (SEVERAL WEEKS LATER) Zack comes out of the head, Candidates Della-Serra and Marcus on his heels. Zack wears a white T-shirt and the khaki pants of the uniform they've been issued after "Poopie Week". His shoes are spit-shined to perfection, his belt brassoed to a lustrous shine, and his hair is now about an inch long. He pats it back with his hands, primping. DELLA-SERRA Another week or two, you'll have that ducktail back, Mayo. He rubs Zack's head and Zack pulls away. ZACK Hey! I worked on it for thirty minutes! Zack snaps Della-Serra with his towel, spots a couple of female candidates leaving the woman's head, looks around to see if any's watching, and crosses by the stairwell toward Seeger's room. INT. SEEGER'S ROOM - DAY Zack pushes the door open and stands there, grinning, as Gonzales rushes into her uniform. Seeger just sits there on her bunk, in her khaki pants and a bra, spit-shining her boonies. ZACK Good morning, girls. CASEY Ever heard of knocking, mayo? ZACK Hey, did you hear? Sands and Kantrowitz DORed last night. (His killer grim) Survival of the fittest. CASEY The whole world's a jungle, huh, Mayo? Dog eat dog down to the last one, right? ZACK You got it, Sweet Pea. (eyeing her breasts) Nice boonies, Seeger. Casey smiles easily and Zack pushes off down the corridor. ZACK WALKS INTO HIS ROOM and finds his roommates rushing around in a frenzy, trying to get squared away. Sid is working like a fool on his boots. Perryman is brassoing his belt buckle, and Topper is folding his underwear and T-shirts and then measuring them with a ruler to be certain he has the correct dimensions, before placing them in his locker. TOPPER Inspection's in five minutes, Mayo! Give 'em to me. ZACK Where's your money? Topper gives him a fiver. Totally unrushed, Zack gets up on his bunk and starts prying a piece of fiberboard loose from the ceiling. PERRYMAN You'd better hope Foley never finds out about that, Mayo. Zack pulls the piece of fiberboard free and reaches inside. Slaving over his boonies, Sid looks up and sees Zack remove from his stash a perfectly spitshined pair of boonies and hand them down to Topper. Laboring over his belt buckle, Perryman practically drools as he sees the glistening buckle Zack suddenly holds up for him to see. ZACK Two bucks a buckle, Perryman. Look at that shine! Boonies'll cost you five. PERRYMAN Who's got two bucks? It's costing me every penny they pay us just to keep my old Lady and my kids in that motel. SID Who you got doing all that for you, man? Some enlisted guy? Not one to give away his secrets, Zack just smiles, and replaces the boots and buckle in his stash. PERRYMAN Hey, man, is the piss-ass money you're making off this worth the risk of getting us all kicked out of here on an honor violation? ZACK I don't notice anyone else complaining. CUT TO: EXT. THE OBSTACLE COURSE - DAY Foley is timing the class over the killer "o" course. While most of his classmates are struggling to complete the course, Zack is breezing through it. As he finished, he moves off by himself, aloof, confident. Foley watches him closely. He's the only one not rooting for his classmates. ANGLE - THE TEN-FOOT WALL Casey is having a terrible time getting over the wall. She doesn't have the upper-body strength for it. Foley saunters up and watches her futile efforts with a cockeyed little smile. FOLEY I can tell you right now you're not gonna make it, Seeger. First, I can't graduate you unless you make it over that wall. You gotta have muscles, Seeger, if you want to fly my jets. CASEY I'll make it over the wall, sir! FOLEY Do you want to be a man, Seeger? Is that why you're here? CASEY Sir, if it means getting all the respect a man gets, then yes! I was told I could find that in the modern Navy, sir! She takes another run at the wall but fails once more to scale it. She sinks to the ground and bites her lip to keep from crying. Still, tears well up in her eyes. FOLEY That's it! That's exactly what'll beat you, Seeger... your mental attitude as a person of the female persuasion. Under all your bullshit, you still think like a second class citizen, Seeger. You could never give orders to men. INT. THE AERODYNAMICS CLASSROOM - DAY Zack struggles to comprehend the mumbo-jumbo of higher physics being demonstrated on the blackboard by the instructor, a Navy Lieutenant. All the candidates are using slide rules to work out the difficult problems. QUICK CLOSE SHOTS reveal that most of the candidates have a pretty fair facility with the slide rule, but Zack looks like he's never had one in his hand until now. EXT. THE BARRACKS - NIGHT STARTING CLOSE ON a row of shined boots and a row of shined buckles WE WIDEN to reveal an enlisted sailor and Zack, scrutinizing the boots and buckles spread out on a Navy issue blanket. Zack nods his satisfaction, hands over a wad of currency, and carefully starts folding the edges of the blanket around his booty as the sailor disappears into the darkness. Then, as Zack lifts his Santa's sack of goodies over his shoulder, and turns around to go, he stops suddenly. INCLUDE SID He stands there in the darkness, a big grin on his face. SID So that's how you do it. Zack looks like a thief caught in the act. ZACK Hey, you gonna tell anybody about this? SID (kidding him) Not if you make it worth my while. How about free boonies for the duration? Zack smiles, realizing his roommate is putting him on. ZACK How about you kiss my ass? Sid laughs. Together, they head back toward the barracks entrance. DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE OFFICERS CLUB - REGIMENTAL BALL - NIGHT Zack and Sid are part of the line of stubble-haired AOCs in dress white uniforms, watching the door like eagles as a parade of Puget Debs come into the club, wearing satiny formals and hopeful smiles. Perryman walks past with his attractive black wife. Casey enters in uniform, hand-in-hand with a handsome young Lieutenant JG, her shortened hair brushed back nicely on the sides. She smiles at Zack and he smiles back. Topper approaches one of the girls coming through the door, a short, dumpy little girl with jugs the size of watermelons, and escorts her toward the ballroom. Then Sid and Zack spot Paula and Lynette coming through the door in clingy little formals, milky-white bosoms pushed up high and little gold crosses dangling in the valley between. SID Look, Zack. It's them. Holy shit. Look at that bodacious set of ta- tas. They approach the girls where they've stopped to chat with Nellie Rufferwell. SID Mrs. Rufferwell, ma'am, think you could introduce us to these attractive young ladies...? Sid immediately fixes his eyes on Lynette. Zack and Paula size each other up as Nellie makes the introductions. NELLIE Officer Candidate Sid Worley, may I present Miss Lynette Pomeroy. Miss Paula Pokrifki, Officer Candidate Zackary Mayo. (beat) Well, I hope you have a good time. She slips off, leaving the foursome along. ZACK (rubbing his head) You told us it would grow out an inch. SID (aside, to Zack) It's grown out more than an inch, sweetheart. Zack stifles a chuckle. PAULA That was you guys, huh? LYNETTE Come on. Let's go dance. Sid offers her his arm and she takes it with a little smile. Zack offers Paula his arm and she takes it, meeting his eyes for an instant. INT. THE OFFICERS CLUB - NIGHT As they cross the dance floor. A shitty local band is PLAYING embarrassingly loud. LYNETTE Is this you boys first night of liberty since you got here? SID Yes, ma'am. Four long, hard weeks of sacrifice for my country... for my people... for you. But I survived. ANGLE - THE REFRESHMENT TABLE As Sid and Lynette dance, Zack and Paula have some punch at the refreshment table. ZACK Hey, what kind of name is Pokrifki? PAULA Polish. What kind of name is Mayo? ZACK Italian. My mom was Irish. I got her ears. But the rest is all wop. PAULA Where are you from, Mayo the Wop? ZACK Everywhere and nowhere, Paula the Polack. PAULA Seriously. ZACK (straight-faced) My father is a Rear Admiral in the Seventh Fleet. PAULA Really? ZACK Yeah. We've lived all over the world. Katmandu, Moscow, Nairobi. PAULA (impressed) Really? I've never been out of Washington except once when I visited this aunt of mine over to Portland. I mean, over at Portland. Ain't it pathetic the way folks talk around here? She suddenly blushes. PAULA You're putting me on, aren't you? We don't got no Navy bases in Moscow. Zack just smiles. PAULA (returns his smile) You got a girl? ZACK No, and I'm not looking for one either. Paula meets his eyes and flirts brazenly. PAULA Yeah, what are you looking for? Zack just grins. ZACK I hear most of the girls who come to these things are looking for a husband. PAULA Not me. ZACK Yeah? Why're you here? PAULA To meet interesting people, improve myself. You wouldn't believe the losers we got over in Port Angeles. ZACK Do you go to school? PAULA No. I work for National Paper. It's a good job. I make eight-twenty-three an hour. (beat) When I get enough money saved, I plan to go on to college. The band surges into a slower ballad. ANGLE - SID AND LYNETTE As they dance to the slow music, they waste no time with formalities and soon are pushing their bodies together and rubbing in all the best places. LYNETTE You been through the Dilbert Dunker yet? SID Cake walk. Both my dad and my brother went through it and made it, so I know I can. LYNETTE Is your brother a flyer? SID He was. He died. LYNETTE Vietnam? SID Yeah. LYNETTE I had a big brother who died over there, too. He wasn't no flyer though. He was just your basic Marine Corps type. I was only twelve when it happened, so I don't remember much about him. SID (somberly) I sure remember Tommy. (beat) Mind if we talked about something else? LYNETTE (seductively) We don't have to talk at all. VARIOUS SHOTS - AROUND THE DANCE FLOOR The horny AOCs from Zack's class are grinding and pushing and falling into the gentle traps being set by the crafty debs. Topper buries his nose into the ample cleavage of his deb. Della-Serra nibbles on the ear of his gangly partner. Casey and her pilot twirl around the floor. ANGLE - PAULA AND ZACK As they move onto the dance floor, the handsome pilot, Donny approaches PAULA. DONNY Hey, PAULA. How about a dance later on. PAULA Well... I'm kinda with someone. She continues on with Zack. NEW ANGLE - PAULA AND ZACK Paula puts her arms tight around his neck and nestles her lips close to his ear. PAULA Think you'll make it all the way to getting your wings? ZACK Who knows? Guys a lot smarter than me are dropping out like flies. PAULA Just think 'I'm gonna do it!' Program yourself. See yourself making it. It'll happen. I know 'cause I just read this article in Cosmo, and it was about that very thing. ZACK You're a very pretty girl, Paula. He kisses her once but as he starts to pull away she won't let him and they french shamelessly for a long moment before PAULA pulls away from him, breathing raggedly, her green eyes flashing. PAULA Let's flee this pit stop, what do you say? CUT TO: EXT. THE LIGHTHOUSE - NIGHT The beacon sweeps past the empty Falcon and over the sandy landscape as we hear: SID (V.O.) Something tells me you've been here before. LYNETTE (V.O.) Now what on earth would give you an idea like that? START CLOSE ON LYNETTE'S BUTTONS Sid's fingers pop a button in their urgency. Lynette's fingers push his away and she undoes the buttons with ease. SID You're sure it's okay? LYNETTE Don't worry. I'll respect you afterwards. The dress disappears, leaving her torso uncovered. Sid's face PUSHES INTO SHOT as he kisses his way down her neck toward her tight little breasts. SID You're crazy, girl. You'll respect me. That's great. But what I meant... Lynette's face PUSHES INTO SHOT and she kisses him almost roughly. LYNETTE I told you. I'm on the pill. Don't worry, Sid. Just do it. She pulls him down on top of her. THE LIGHT FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE sweeps past Zack and PAULA, already making love a distance down the beach. CUT TO: INT. THE BARRACKS HEAD - NIGHT The two friends crow about their conquests while they brush their teeth in front of the long mirror. SID Could you believe those girls! ZACK 'Nellie's Nymphos!' SID Jesus, that Lynette! I rode her hard and put her up wet. Zack shadowboxes with his reflection in the mirror. ZACK (clowning) Look out, Foley! I'm ready to take you on for another week! They both laugh. CUT TO: INT. LYNETTE'S CAR - NIGHT Lynette has the accelerator mashed to the floorboard. Paula looks at her wristwatch. PAULA Hurry, Lynette. It's almost midnight. LYNETTE I got my foot on the floor. EXT. THE FERRY PORT - NIGHT The midnight ferry to Port Angeles is just about to pull out when the Falcon comes SCREAMING around the corner and races aboard. EXT. FERRY - LONG SHOT - NIGHT crossing the Sound. INT. THE WHEELHOUSE OF THE FERRY - NIGHT The two girls look out across the water. A curious little smile crosses Paula's face and Lynette sees it. LYNETTE Well, it you're not gonna ask, then I will. How was it? PAULA Great. LYNETTE Details, Pokrif. From what I saw he had an incredible body. PAULA Yeah... Mmmm... LYNETTE What did he do? Did he do anything that was different? PAULA Everything was different. LYNETTE But in what ways? Paula looks at her friend as if acknowledging her presence for the first time. A sense of privacy comes over her suddenly. LYNETTE Did you... come? Paula smiles. Lynette could die of envy. You sense she's never known that pleasure. PAULA How did it go with you guys? LYNETTE Big Sid came in about two and a half seconds, then had the nerve to ask, 'Did you make it, too, sweetheart?' Said with a certain affection, albeit slightly jaded. Paula laughs. LYNETTE (resuming softer) ...but I really like him, Paula. And I know he's going to make it. He comes from a family of pilots. EXT. THE PORT ANGELES FERRY TERMINAL - NIGHT The Falcon drives off and proceeds past a local hangout called "Tim's" with a number of motorcycles parked out front. A cluster of good old boys in jeans and T-shirts, lounging in front of "Tim's," see the Falcon and WHISTLE at the girls. Lynette gives them the finger. INT. THE FALCON - NIGHT Both Paula and Lynette respond to the whistles with looks of disgust. Cinderella said it first: the worst part of being a deb is the ride home. PAULA He ask you out for next weekend? LYNETTE No, but I told him I'd be at the Town Tavern next Saturday night, and he sounded like he might come. PAULA I told Zack about Saturday night, too. The fifth week's supposed to be the roughest. Come Wednesday, he'll be wishing he took my number. LYNETTE You hope. PAULA He'll show. I'd bet my paycheck on it. EXT. PAULA'S HOUSE - NIGHT A lower-middle class clapboard house sitting on blocks like all the others on the crammed little street. Built during the war as cheap housing for servicemen, the box-like dwellings now serve Port Angeles' industrial blue collar families, like Paula's. The Falcon drives up and Paula gets out. LYNETTE See you at church in the morning. Paula nods distractedly, her face reflecting genuine fear of what awaits her inside the darkened house. INT. PAULA'S HOUSE - NIGHT Her key turns in the lock and the door opens. She tiptoes across the small living room, but as she is passing a door left slightly ajar, a voice inside the room calls out to her, making her jump. JOE (O.S.) Paula, come in here, please. INT. JOE AND ESTHER'S BEDROOM JOE POKRIFKI is a tough, barely-literate Polack with enough hair on his chest to compete with some apes. Ester lies in bed beside him. Paula enters the darkened room and Joe suddenly snaps on the light, bathing them all in its harsh, almost police-room glare. JOE Come over here. I want to look at you. Paula stays near the door, scared. PAULA I know I'm late and I'm sorry, but Mrs. Rufferwell asked us to help with the cleanup and... JOE I said, come here! She slowly approaches him, stopping about halfway. PAULA Daddy, I don't want to get into anything with you tonight. I'm tired and I... JOE What are you tired from? ESTHER Joe! JOE Come over here where I can see you. She steps up to the bed and her father looks over her clothing. JOE Look at the sand! Enough sand to start your own beach! (seeing something) What's that wet place on your dress? Paula is so mortified she could scream. Tears of rage flood her eyes. INT. AN ADJOINING BEDROOM Paula's two sisters, ages 14 and 10, are awake in their bunks and listening to the confrontation in the next room. The empty lower bunk in the over-crammed room belongs to Paula. There's a stack of Cosmopolitan magazines beside the bed and fan magazine photos of John Travolta taped to the wall above her pillow. PAULA (O.S.) I don't know what it is. It could be anything. JOE (O.S.) But you knew right off what I was talking about, didn't you, Paula! Did you let that boy -- INT. JOE AND ESTER'S BEDROOM Paula interrupts her father, enraged by his insinuations. Her mother looks on, haunted by memories of her own. PAULA Don't you dare ask me that question. I'm an adult and you got no right to push your nose into my affairs like that! JOE Well, as long as you live in this house, young lady, you live by my rules! You should be dating local boys. PAULA Uh-uh! Not a chance! There's nobody in this town doing anything with his life, except what his father did, which is nothing. If I can't have more out of life than that, I'd rather be dead! JOE Do you honestly think you'll find a boy in that... that officer's school who's serious about marriage? PAULA Yes I do! JOE Then you're dumber than I thought! All you'll get from their kind is pregnant! For an instant, Esther's eyes and her husband's lock in unresolved combat. PAULA Nothing like that's ever gonna happen. To keep from sobbing in front of them, she turns and runs out. A terrible silence fills the room, the silence of two miserable human beings condemned to live unhappily ever after... because of one little mistake. JOE Esther, do you think she's using... (has trouble saying it) ...birth control? ESTHER Yes, Joe. JOE When did this happen? ESTHER A long time ago. INT. PAULA'S BEDROOM She changes into her pajamas and crawls into bed. She'd like to cry but there isn't the privacy for it, so she holds it all in. CAMERA PANS the faces of her sisters, both awake. CUT TO: EXT. CATHOLIC CHURCH IN PORT ANGELES - DAY Joe Pokrifki parks his big, old Olds Cutlass and the four Pokrifki women follow him toward the church in their prim Sunday dresses. Lynette and her three brothers climb down from the back of a dented and primered pickup truck. Lynette's pained skeleton of a mother gets out from behind the wheel and ushers her brood toward the church. There's a shocking difference between the debs who go over to the base on weekends and these primly- dressed, almost tomboyishly unmade-up young girls. As the two girls see each other, they exchange supportive smiles. CUT TO: INT. THE OLD BLIMP HANGAR - DAY Zack and his classmates look around apprehensively as they enter the cavernous old hangar and take seats, along with several other classes from the program, around a raised mat. Suddenly, shockingly, a bank of lights directly over the mat go on to illuminate Foley, dressed in a worn and faded pair of black silk pajamas, legs akimbo and arms crossed at the chest. Zack elbows Sid. ZACK Look at Foley! Can you believe it! SID (frightened) Shhhh... Zack looks around and the faces of the others are similarly disquieted by the sight. How do you describe the presence of death in a room? But it's there. Foley brought it in with him. FOLEY I'm the base martial arts instructor, so those of you in on-eight must desist in thinking of me as their drill instructor for the next sixty minutes. (grins evilly) Just think of me as... the enemy. Incidentally, children, I am wearing the uniform of a Viet Cong foot soldier I killed in hand-to-hand combat in Plei Me, Viet Nam... when I was about your age. Maybe a little younger. (in the same breath) May I please have a volunteer? How 'bout you, Daniels? Topper rises to his feet, terrified, and Sid pats him on the back. SID Go put him in the hospital, kid. TOPPER He can't touch me. That's the law. Foley grins sadistically as he watches Topper climb up onto the mat. FOLEY Hello, pussy. How bad do you want to survive? Topper stares at him, then stammers: TOPPER Sir, this Officer Candidate doesn't understand what you're asking, sir. FOLEY Let me see if I can improve your comprehension. He leaps on Topper like a cat, grabbing the boy's throat between his thumb and forefinger, seemingly intent upon killing him but, in reality, scaring him more than actually hurting him that much. FOLEY Do you want to survive bad enough to stop me, pussy? Or are you relying on my generosity, my love of humanity, to stop me from killing you?! Topper's eyes bug in horror. TOPPER Please... no... I can't breathe... Foley just laughs. SID AND PERRYMAN jump to their feet to protest, but events are moving too fast for them. Zack just sits there, almost amused. TOPPER finally starts fighting back. Convinced this maniac means to kill him to make his point, he finally summons enough survival instinct to wrestle Foley's hand from his throat. He sinks to the floor of the ring and struggles to catch his breath. TOPPER You... had... no right! You can't... touch... us! It's the... law! This makes Foley laugh all the harder. FOLEY (mimicking him) 'Sir, this Officer Candidate doesn't understand what you mean by survival.' Now do you understand a little better, pussy? Get out of my sight! Topper hurries to comply, while Foley swaggers to the edge of the mat, sits down and starts putting foam safety-kick pads on his feet, really getting off on this. FOLEY You think I'm a little harsh on your classmate? Wait 'til you get shot down behind enemy lines and the only thing between you and a POW camp is what you assholes learned from me! (beat) Okay, worms. Now that I've got your attention, we can begin. FOLEY demonstrates the basic karate kicks. Beyond black belt, he has moves that ought to bear his name. Leaping, spinning crescent kicks are his specialty, and he executes them like a ballet master, awing everyone in the dank old hangar. Almost everyone. Zack, cool. Zack, is unimpressed. DISSOLVE TO: INT. THE TOWN TAVERN - NIGHT Zack and Sid sit in their white liberty uniforms at the long bar, nursing beers, Sid anxiously watching the door for Lynette, Zack busy flirting with an attractive WAITRESS. The Town Tavern is a local hangout and there's a sense that a number of the townies are watching the boys in white with resentment. ZACK (to the Waitress) Hey, baby... c'mere... She slides up, smiling, giggling. WAITRESS Nice haircut. ZACK Kiss it, baby. Make it grow. She laughs and kisses the top of his head. ZACK So, when do you get off? She's about to reply when a burly BARTENDER approaches with fresh beers for the boys. He gives the boys a surly look. BARTENDER Take care of the customers, Doreen. Doreen gives Zack her best smile and grudgingly moves off toward the locals around the pool table. The bartender puts fresh beers in front of Sid and Zack. BARTENDER (surly) That'll be two dollars. The boys pay up and the bartender moves off. SID (facetiously) Nice, hospitable folks they get around here. (glances at door) I hope she comes. ZACK She'll come, pard. A rich socialite Oakie like you oughta be a big catch around these parts. SID Get off my case, Mayo. I didn't grow up rich. SEXY ENOUGH TO LIGHT FIRES, PAULA AND LYNETTE cut a path like Sherman's army through the gawking local losers clustered inside the door of the tavern, then glide into Zack and Sid's arms and kiss them gluttonously for half a minute. Some of the local boys watch it all with ill- concealed jealousy. ZACK I think we're making some of the locals jealous. PAULA Who cares? (frenching him) Mmmm. Now I remember. Mayo the Wop. Gee, I'm glad you're here. I've been looking forward to this all week. ZACK Me, too. They kiss again. SID What would you girls like to do? Want to stick around here for a little or... or could I suggest another plan...? LYNETTE Like pick up some booze and go to a motel? SID Or we could do that yeah. PAULA I vote for the motel. ZACK My kinda group! They start for the door, all four linking arms. NEAR THE DOOR One of the boys who was watching them, TROY, 25, jostles into Zack, then pretends it was the other way around. TROY Hey, make way for the warmongers. Zack and Sid spin around, surprised. Troy's a big, kid, a dockworker probably, and he seems to tower over Zack. ZACK What did you call us? TROY I called you a warmonger. Ain't that what you are? Zack looks more amused by it all than threatened. He shakes his head and starts out the door with his friends. Troy and some of the other locals share a look, and follow. EXT. "THE TOWN TAVERN" - NIGHT Troy jobs out of the place and plants himself in front of Zack. TROY Hey, let me ask you something. ZACK Yeah, what do you want to know? SID Let's get out of here Zack. A circle is forming around Zack and Troy. Paula looks frightened. Lynette looks turned on. TROY You come here for a couple of months -- you rich college boys -- struttin' around in your ice cream suits like you own the goddamn place -- fucking our best women... Hey, who do you think gets left holding the bag after you're off flying around the world? ZACK Hey, pard, why don't you go back inside and cool off. He turns away from Troy and pushes out of the circle. TROY Hey, I'm not finished talking to you, sailor boy! He charges after Zack, and knocks his cap off. VARIOUS SHOTS OF THE FIGHT If you can call it a fight. Zack turns around and hits Troy in the face with two very fast punches, a left and a right. Before his assailant can recover, Zack delivers a strange, roundhouse kind of kick that seems to come out of him in slow motion, then gathers incredible speed, until it's slamming with the force of a mule-kick into Troy's face. Troy goes down gushing blood from flattened nostrils. ZACK looks around the other locals who clustered earlier around their champion, but they're all staring at him, afraid. Taking Paula by the hand, he leads the foursome away. MOVING WITH ZACK, PAULA, LYNETTE AND SID Zack stares straight ahead, lost in the world of his adolescence. Paula just watches him, sensitive to the place he's in. LYNETTE God! I've never seen anything like that in my whole life! Did you see that guy's nose? ZACK (snaps) Lynette, just keep your mouth shut until we get to the motel. Will you do that for me, please. LYNETTE Well, excuse me for livin'! Sid pushes her into the car. CUT TO: INT. ZACK'S ROOM AT THE TIDES INN MOTEL - NIGHT Zack lies on the bed, aloof, brooding, and doing some serious drinking from a pint bottle of rum. Paula watches from a chair. PAULA Want a back rub? Might make you feel better. She climbs onto the bed and tries to position herself to rub his back, but he pulls away. ZACK I shouldn't have done that. I should've walked. PAULA He didn't give you much choice. ZACK There's always a choice. PAULA Where'd you learn to fight like that? ZACK (snaps) I don't feel like talking, if you don't mind. PAULA (angry) Opening up just a little wouldn't kill you, ya know. She starts for the door. Zack barely even looks up. ZACK You want me to fuck you? Is that it? Okay, come here. Take your clothes off. Get into bed. PAULA (turns, angry) Where's that coming from? I wouldn't fuck now if my life depended on it! ZACK Forget it. Just get out of here. Paula starts to leave, then turns back, furious. PAULA (explodes) I don't know who you think you're talking to! I ain't some whore you brought here! I've been trying to be your friend and you treat me like shit! ZACK Be a friend. Leave. PAULA You got no manners and you never tell the truth! You're nothin' special. And if you ask me, you got no chance at all of being an officer! Zack rises from the bed and very slowly approaches her. Paula almost flinches as he stops a few feet away. Then he leans forward and kisses her as gently as he knows how. Very tentatively, she responds. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. THE TIDES INN - NIGHT Lynette leaves her room and knocks on Paula's door. Paula comes out, zipping up her dress. LYNETTE (smiles) A definite improvement. They drive off. DISSOLVE TO: INT. ZACK'S ROOM AT THE TIDES INN - DAY He wakes up and slowly focuses on Paula, cooking eggs and bacon in the kitchenette. ZACK You stayed after all. PAULA Wrong. I've driven a hundred and twenty miles, told a hundred and twenty lies, and said a hundred and twenty Hail Mary's since I saw you. Hungry? ZACK I'm starving. He jumps out of bed, pulls on some boxer shorts and sits down at a small rickety table she has beautified with wildflowers stuffed in a glass. Paula puts his steaming breakfast before him and stands back to watch him attack it. He looks up at her and finds her staring at him almost wistfully. ZACK Paula, I never try to fool anybody about who I am, what I want... so if even in the back of your -- PAULA I know who you are and what you want. ZACK What do you want, Paula? What do you really want? PAULA To have a good time with you until you have to go. ZACK That's it? She nods and turns away, so he can't see her eyes and know how much she's lying. Zack finishes off his eggs and bacon, downs his coffee. As she comes over to refill his cup, he unbuttons her blouse and starts playing with her nipples. ZACK Mmmm. Last night was fantastic. She watches him with womanly eyes, aware of her own power. PAULA Zack, am I your fantasy? Zack laughs. PAULA Zack, I dare you not to fall in love with me. I ain't gonna get serious with you, no way. But how can you resist me? I'm like candy. ZACK You're better than candy. PAULA I'm serious. It's gonna be hard to get enough. He starts tickling her and she can't sustain her vamp role any longer. ZACK Getting cocky, aren't you? Huh, you little Polack? Getting feisty on me, huh? He takes her in his arms and they kiss. The moment turns suddenly real and Zack finds himself pulling away, afraid of the feelings that are churning his guts. Paula studies him a moment. PAULA Zack, when you're through with a girl, what do you do? Do you say something or do you just... disappear? ZACK I've never had a girl. Their eyes stay together for a long time. ZACK I forgot to thank you for breakfast. PAULA Any time, sailor. CUT TO: INT. THE LARGE INDOOR POOL ON THE BASE - DAY Our CAMERA is the first to ride the Dilbert Dunker, and we are suddenly shooting at high speed down a steep incline inside a cage-like contraption, painted red. Wham! We hit water at neck-wrenching speed and go under in a swirl of bubbles! Wait! What's happening? The goddamn cage is turning somersaults! Which way is up? Which is way up?? A strange looking alien in a wet suit and mask knifes TOWARD US. His hands work to extricate us. We rush toward the promise of light and air at the surface. We can hear our own tortured breathing. Will we make it? CANDIDATE DELLA-SERRA REACHES THE SURFACE gasping for air. The DILBERT DUNKER INSTRUCTOR stands off to the side, giving him a thumb's down. INSTRUCTOR Back in line. That was totally unsat, Della-Serra! Della-Serra clings to the side of the pool and vomits. He's grateful to be alive. ZACK WATCHES THEM RAISE THE DILBERT DUNKER It finally comes to a rest high in the rafters of the building, where he is to be the next to take the ride. Sid and Seeger are right behind him, followed by Topper. He steps into the cage and the Instructor makes sure he's buckled snugly into the harness. Then Zack's eyes fall on: FOLEY, STANDING POOL SIDE ZACK LOOKS AWAY FROM HIM AND GIVES HIS THUMBS UP and the Dunker takes him on its crazy ride, plummeting down the tracks, blasting into the water, somersaulting... UNDERWATER - ZACK waits until the turning has stopped, studies the direction his air bubbles are taking as he unfastens his harness, and pulls himself down and out of the Dunker. BACK ON THE SURFACE - ZACK gets a thumbs up from the Instructor and grins. As he's climbing out, he watches Sid take the big ride. UNDERWATER - SID almost loses his composure when the harness at first defies his efforts to get it open. Then, he's free and surface-bound. AS ZACK HELPS HIM out of the pool, Sid's efforts at a cocky grin fails to hide from his friend the fear he felt under there. ZACK You okay? SID Sure. They turn to watch Casey. STAY ON CASEY'S EXHILARATED FACE AS SHE PLUNGES and watch her extricate herself as easily as Zack. AS ZACK AND SID HELP HER OUT OF THE WATER her eyes are wild with excitement. CASEY Think they'll let us do that again? God, that was fun! TOPPER CLIMBS INTO THE DILBERT DUNKER He looks down at the pool far below. His three friends, standing pool side, give him a thumbs up for encouragement, but Topper is too frightened to acknowledge them. He turns to the Instructor helping to fasten him inside the contraption. TOPPER (scared shitless) Does this thing hit with the same impact as an actual plane? INSTRUCTOR This is nothing compared to a plane. (beat) Don't forget to watch the bubbles. Topper nods and gives a thumbs up. IN A PERCH ABOVE THE RAISED DUNKER a young seaman apprentice flicks a switch and the Dunker lurches down the tracks. TOPPER SUCKS IN HIS BREATH, TERRIFIED The impact of hitting the water is so jolting, it knocks his wind out in a rush and he goes under already screaming that silent little scream of the mind that drowning people hear. Underwater, the Dunker turns him over and over, leaving him upside-down. The silent scream is louder. Panic rides its frequency as Topper tears at the lever that would release him from the harness. He gets it open and pushes out of the opening in the Dunker with all his might. He has forgotten to watch for his air bubbles. Top is bottom and bottom is top. He smashes violently into the tiled floor of the pool, freaks out, and swims straight up and into the jaws of the Dunker again. ZACK, SID, CASEY AND FOLEY watch from pool side, concerned, as the diver goes down for Topper. UNDERWATER The instant the diver is within grasp of the totally unstrung boy, Topper grabs him in a dying man's grip that even the brawny frogman is unable to break. The diver hits him once, twice, but Topper clings to him even tighter and, as they wrestle, the harness further snares them both. The scream now becomes the scream of two drowning men. INTERCUT THE FACES OF THE ONLOOKERS Seconds are ticking by, and it reflects on all the faces in the huge room. SUDDENLY FOLEY DIVES, FULLY CLOTHED, INTO THE POOL His Smokey the Bear hat and cane stay at the surface as he knifes down through the water toward the churning humanity below. UNDERWATER - FOLEY REACHES TOPPER AND THE DIVER Both men are so hopelessly entangled in the parachute harness and so close to losing consciousness that Foley has to move very fast. His presence of mind is so total it's frightening. With no wasted moves, he frees both men and pulls them toward the surface. AT THE SURFACE The Instructor helps Foley get them laid out by the side of the pool and while Foley works mouth-to-mouth on Topper, he works on the diver. The diver is easily revived but Topper required everything Foley has to offer. He might have died in less expert hands but Foley is slowly pulling him through. INTERCUT - ZACK, SID, PERRYMAN, SEEGER AND OTHERS watching Foley's efforts to revive their compatriot. FINALLY, FOLEY STEPS AWAY FROM TOPPER and nods to the room of onlookers that he'll be all right. CUT TO: INT. THE BARRACKS ROOM - DAY CAMERA MOVES DOWN the row of lockers. Sid's is a study in neatness, every pair of skivvies folded identically and measured with a ruler, which is exactly what he's doing at the moment. Perryman's problem is his belt buckle, which he is frantically trying to shine before Foley gets there. Zack stands casually by his locker, buffing his fingernails, his shoes and buckle shined to perfection, as always. CAMERA HOLDS on the fourth locker, the one that belonged to Topper Daniels. The door to the locker is open and it's empty. PERRYMAN I'll never get it polished in time. Give me a buckle, Zack. ZACK I can't risk it. PERRYMAN You'd make it. He's just getting to the girls. Come on, Zack. I gotta see my family, man. I couldn't take it if he keeps me here over the weekend. ZACK Sorry, pard. Wouldn't want you to get an honor violation. Sid gives him a dirty look but Zack ignores it. The SOUND OF HARSH FOOTSTEPS approaching and the three candidates snap to rigid attention by their lockers. Foley walks in and starts inspecting Perryman. Sweat runs down the black's face in rivers. Foley moves on to Sid, checks out his locker, then turns to Zack. FOLEY In every class there's a guy who thinks he's smarter than me. In this class, it's you, isn't it, Mayonnaise? He brings his cane up suddenly, like a majorette's baton, and with one poke knocks the piece of fiberboard out of it's place in the ceiling, allowing two pairs of shined boonies, a half-dozen freshly-brassoed belt buckles, and a little black book recording the monies owed him, to rain down. FOLEY Report to my office in five minutes! Foley turns and strides out. Zack meets his