DINNER PLANS

By
Benjamin Anderson
INT. MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS - CUBICLES
The employees fill the floor as their boss, TERRY, stands
above them on a table.
TERRY
Tonight... we dine... in --
A chubby, bespectacled man stands in ill-fitting clothes.
This is LOUIS.
LOUIS
Im feeling Golden Corral.
TERRY
Louis, are you shitting me?
LOUIS
I dont know -- Golden has a lot of
options is all. Some of us cant
eat everything.
Terry stares at Louis for a beat.
TERRY
Any more suggestions?
A tall man, PERRY, contributes...
PERRY
I was thinking barbecue.
LOUIS
Cant do barbecue. Herm is a Jew.
A bearded man, HERM, raises his fist in the air.
TERRY
Thats black-power.
Herm lowers his fist.
A well-dressed, handsome man, GREGORY, adds...
GREGORY
I say we separate into groups.
The room takes to the level-headed advice.
GREGORY
Each going to a restaurant which
bests suits his ethnicity.
2.
TERRY
Alright. We separate into racially
segregated factions. Is that OK?
Scattered approval.
TERRY
Thats not OK.
A small, stern looking man, CURTIS, speaks...
CURTIS
Why did you ask?
TERRY
I was making a point. About civil
rights and such.
CURTIS
Well, where do we go then?
TERRY
What about Texas?
LOUIS
Nope, Petes gay.
PETE awkwardly smiles.
TERRY
The restaurant, dammit.
LOUIS
Nope. Randys a homophobe.
A country-looking man, RANDY, contributes...
RANDY
Nah, I just fuckin hate Pete.
TERRY
So, Texas?
RANDY
Nah, I dont want to see Pete
enjoying himself.
TERRY
Come on.
A large, wild-eyed man stands in the corner. This is Jerry.
3.
JERRY
I had a friend during my time in
the service. He got a medal for
killing two men. And a discharge
for loving one.
Eye-rolls pervade the room.
CURTIS
This has nothing to do with Saigon.
TERRY
Boys, were whittling time away.
Soon all were gonna have left is
Waffle House.
LOUIS
(terrified)
Not Waffle House.
TERRY
Shit, I dont want to either.
JERRY
I remember the day my brother
arrived in Waffle House. He had a
woman there he loved -- stepped on
a landmine --
TERRY
God damn it, Jerry. Stop subtly
telling war stories!
LOUIS
Wait -- your brother stepped on the
landmine
TERRY
Alright, fuck you guys. Im going
alone.
LOUIS
Im sorry, Terry. He phrased
ambiguously. I had to know.
Terry grabs his coat and heads for the door.
RANDY
Where you goin?
TERRY
I dont know, Randy. I dont know.
Terry leaves.
4.
They stand in silence for a beat.
LOUIS
All in favor of racial segregation?
END.