A MATTER OF OPINION

Written by /u/sleepingjoey

Write Off, Write Now.

FADE IN: INT. INN ROOM - DAY GARY JAMES, 55, sits mattress. What light head and accentuates his glasses with his lenses. down on a tacky flower-patterned the curtains let in shines off his bald whats left of his gray hair. He cleans shirt. He breathes into one of the

DOUG, 30s, pours two glasses of scotch. Hes young, determined, with a chiseled face and ratty eyes. DOUG Im telling you: No is definitely the way to vote on this thing. GARY Im not so convinced... Gary puts his glasses back on his head. Doug approaches with the drinks and Gary stands up to receive his, he sits back down. Gary strokes adjusts his red tie - its a bit too tight on the collar. DOUG Youd be doing us a great service. And, as always, you can expect us to return the service. Doug takes a sip of his drink. Its strong. He takes a deep breath after his taste. DOUG (CONTD) Donations, funding for your next campaign, maybe a shot at the Rules Committee? Gary eyes his drink and sets it down. He shakes his head. GARY Ive never been interested in that, Dave. DOUG Doug. GARY Oh, sorry. The last guy was Dave.

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DOUG (chuckling) He got let go after you voted against us on the last bill. GARY Right. Look, do you know what the word Representative means, Doug? DOUG It means you speak for your constituents. GARY And do you know what my constituents want me to say? DOUG Their input doesnt have to be in the final draft, Gary. Doug pulls a chair up next to Doug and sits down. DOUG (CONTD) Besides. How many reps actually listen to their districts? 5? 20? GARY This is a big issue. DOUG Ha! Big issue? Kinda like Gitmo was for Obama? Kinda like the Iranian hostage crisis for Carter? Watergate? Nobody cares about any of those anymore! GARY Its risking a lot to go against my district on this matter. Especially during an election year. DOUG Gary, baby! You wont be risking anything! Here, look at that cobweb over there. Gary looks in the corner of the room where Doug is pointing. A cobweb sits, isolated. The rest of the room is tidy and neat but the cobweb remains.

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DOUG (CONTD) Why do you think thats still there? Maid doesnt see it? Doesnt care? Too high to reach? GARY I suppose a combination of the things. DOUG The way I see it, youre just like that cobweb up there. You cant be touched by your constituents. You think theyd vote out a guy like you? A guy whos been sitting in his seat for over 30 years? No chance. Youre as safe as the cobweb! Gary shakes his head and stands up. He walks across the room to the cobweb. Eyeing it. Looking around for more just like it. He moves his hand near it and catches a bit of the cobweb. GARY Im not so sure Im untouchable. He turns around to face Doug. GARY (CONTD) Isnt that why we have campaigns? DOUG Nobody dares touch you. Alright, lets imagine the maid sees it, right? The constituents see you. And they think He gets up and walks over to Gary. DOUG (CONTD) Wow, look at that, thats annoying. Right? Thats what they think. I wonder how that got there. And then they walk off. Nobody has any time to clean cobwebs! GARY Cobwebs dont have a fresh-web slinging spider to deal with, do they?

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DOUG Youre worried about your campaign? Ninety percent of incumbents kept their seats! Ninety percent! Plus with the money youll be getting for us in marketing and ads youre solid, consider yourself resieged. Youll stay up in that corner forever! Gary walks back over to the bed and grabs his drink from the night stand. He drinks it slowly. He sets it back down empty. GARY I dont think I can do it. DOUG Gary, baby, dont do this to me. Its real easy. A real easy nay and its a win-win. GARY Win-win for you guys, maybe. But for me? I risk losing my job, not to mention Ill already be losing my sense of morality. DOUG Morality? You are aware of your line of work, arent you? Look, Gary, you vote against us one more time and I uh, Im afraid were not going to be working together anymore. No more money, no more endorsements. Nothing. Gary sits down on the bed and takes off his shoes, nodding his head. DOUG (CONTD) I was afraid you were going to say that. He walks over to the table with the scotch on it. He picks it up and puts the lid back on. DOUG (CONTD) By the way - did that scotch taste funny to you? Gary places a hand on his head like hes got a bad headache. The bald-spot on his cranium is blistering red. He keels over on the bed in pain.

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DOUG (CONTD) Hmm, weird. Tasted a bit funny to me. Then again we always had a bit of a differing opinion, havent we? Doug walks over to Gary and puts the sheets over him up to his neck. He places a closed envelope on the night stand. Foam spews from Garys mouth and flows down the side of the bed. He twitches sporadically. Then he stops. Doug walks back to the table where he poured the scotch. He takes out a pen and a paper and begins writing: Please clean the cobweb in the corner of the room. Thanks. The pen clicks and he puts it back in his pocket. He walks over to Garys shoes, picks them up, and walks out of the room. INT. HALLWAY - DAY Doug sets the shoes down outside of the door. He places the note underneath them and walks off. FADE TO BLACK.