THE ROTTEN FRUIT

(Or Judas Dog)

Written by

Javier Vela Martn

1
INT. REUNION RESTAURANT- DAY
The diners have finished eating
Averno graciously wipes his face with a napkin with a half move.
Andy grabs some chips here and there from the plates of his
colleagues.
Ennio finishes his beverage, a soft drink made of Cola mixed
with water from the melting ice and the juice from the lemon
slice.
Logan converses quietly with Matt, who answers with a dry half
smile.
POV of Fantasma, who has his hands clasped in front of the plate
on the napkin, makes a knocking noise with his stretched little
fingers.
Everyone is already disconnecting from the reunion, just for
one: VI.
ANDY
Man, it feels good toe at a burguer!
MATT
Youre damn right! That was a pretty
good damn Burger.
ENNIO
Definetly. The problem comes when you
are still hungry after eating it.
Burgers present this problem: one is
always too less and two is always too
much.
ANDY
Amen, dude, amen.
LOGAN
So you cant just start the second
one and stop eating when youre not
hungry anymore?
Ennio turns slowly towards him and adopts a straight position.
ENNIO
No, its actually far more
complicated than that.
LOGAN
(With a fake smile and
aversion)
Enlighten me.

2
Ennio rubs his hands.
ENNIO
Well, there are many factors playing
a role here, you know. First, every
bite of burguer requires a drink of
anything, which usually is a soft
drinkANDY
-And soft drinks fill you up and kill
the thirst.
Looks at his own soft drink with resignation, the drink-leaves
melting with the ice.
Ennio thanks Andy for his help with a hand gesture and bowing
his head, but doesnt take his eyes off Logan.
ENNIO
-It is so. So you feel more filled up
than you plannedLogan interrupts him while making a disdainful gesture,
dismissing Ennios argument physically.
LOGAN
-So what? You end up satisfying your
hunger. The only difference is that
you alleviate your hunger earlier and
eat less of your burger.
ENNIO
(Pleased)
-Thats the thing! It is not simple
to ignore a pretty damn good burger.
You will end up taking a bite, and
another one, and another one, and
then, you are more than satisfied.
LOGAN
Bullshit, I eat to satisfy my hunger.
He sentences the brief discussion turning to Averno.
LOGAN (CONTD)
Lets pay and leave? / We pay and
leave?
Averno has his gaze fixed on the tables surface, where the
bread crumbs adorn the varnish.
LOGAN (CONTD)
Boss, are we leaving or not?
Averno finally reacts, looking around a bit dazed: he hasnt

3
been aware of the discussion. He then concentrates and focuses
his gaze on Logan.
AVERNO
Sorry, you were saying?
LOGAN
(Impatient)
God damn it, I said if we were
leaving.
AVERNO
Oh, yeah, yeah. Were leaving now.
He gestures at one of the waiters passing by.
The waiter apporaches the desk, close to where Averno is sitting
with his hand still raised. He taps with his fingers on the menu
hes holding with his hands against his chest.
CAMARERO
Gentlemen, how can I help you?
AVERNO
Bill. Please.
CAMARERO
In a second, sir.
the men under his arm, he starts collecting as many plates the
best as he can carry.
Meanwhile, the criminals observe how he works.
The waiter leaves, silence stays/remains.
Suddenly, a throat clearing disrupts the silence.
VI
So Im still hungry.
Everyone looks at him, waiting for him to continue talking.
VI (CONTD)
(to Averno)
I mean, the food was really good.ANDY
-You dont have to compliment him, he
didnt cook it himself.
VI ignores the comment.
VI
-But somehow, I dont know, Im still
hungry. But for something sweet.

4
He glaces down and makes a gesture with his lips, covering the
inferior lip with the upper one while squinting.
VI (CONTD)
I could eat a berlina.
Beat.
ANDY
(To no one in particular)
And what the hell is a berlina?
Shrugging of shoulders.
Happy to finally know something, VI proceeds to describe a
berlina looking at Andy with complacency/sufficiency.
VI
You see, Andy, a berlina is an iced
roll covered with chocolate on the
top or on the base. It also has a
filling.
Andy, who has been looking at him wiht an eyebrow raised while
listening to the explanation, turns towards the rest and points
at him with the palm of his hand upwards.
ANDY
Why does this shithead talk to me
like suddenly he is clever?
Everyone laughs, except for VI.
VI
This shithead knows what a berlina
is, and you dont.
He winks an eye at him while pointing at him with his left index
finger (mientras con el de la derecha hace como si astillara
madera en l). He matches it frowning his chin, in a childish
way.
Andy turns to him, running out on patience.
ANDY
And that shithead stillt hasnt been
able to explain what the fuck a
berlina is.
Logan sighs exasperated, rubbing his forehead.
LOGAN
Its like a donut.
VI looks at him.

5
VI
No, it is not like a donut. A donut
is something completely different.
He emphasises his statement with a gesture of his hands: the
index and thumb fingers joined by their pads, the rest
stretched.
LOGAN
It is like a damn donut because it
tastes the same and thats it.
VI rasies his eyebrows with unbelief.
VI
Look, Logan, you can tell that story
to anyone, but not me. As a berlinalover, I can assure you that they are
NOT the same. A berlina can be filled
with chocolate, crme or sweet
mermalades. On the top, it can have
sprinklesANDY
-Wasnt a berlina a sweet?
Ennio makes a gesture with his hand, underplaying the importance
ENNIO
They are those kinds of ants in many
colours they put on some cakes.
Andy nods his head: YesVI
-So the berlina is something way
better than a donut. Its sweeter and
more pleasant.
His tone is soft and fussy, even slightly effeminate.
ANDY
This guy is stupid.
After a beatLOGAN
As I said, a donut.
VI
No, no and NO!
No trace of his childish, femenine tone.
VI (CONTD)
What defines a donut is the hole in

6
the middle, its its symbol. The
berlina is a completely different
kind of roll. The taste is different,
the pastry is different, the form is
different. A brelina is much more
complete. You can tell that shit to
someone else, Logan, but you cant
talk to a berlina lover in that tone.
Just no.
His tone has been accelerated, he has dropped out everything all
of a sudden, without taking a breath.
LOGAN
Okay, dude, calm the fuck down.
MATT
He definitely convinced me.
ENNIO
I still think it is the same.
Beat.
Logan takes out his phone and uses it.
POV of the mobile phone, we see Logans face illuminated, eyes
going up and down.
LOGAN
Lets see, according to Wikipedia, if
you search donut, it says that it
can be also called sweet bagelVI
-Look for the German version,
berlinas are originary from Germany.
LOGAN
I dont speak German.
ANDY
So translate it.
While Logan translates it, the rest of the group bows above him.
LOGAN
This damned translator. Shit, it is
so bad. The german version doesnt
say anything about donuts being a
berlina.
Chessmate
Andy raises a hand

VI

7
ANDY
Wait, wait. Search for berlina.
LOGAN
English or German?
Both.

ENNIO

Again, everyone awaits.

LOGAN
On the German version, they relate it
to the donuts when you look up the
suggestions.
Beat.
ANDY
We have a tie
VI stands up, with the napkin in his hand.
VI
Listen, it can say whatever it wants,
but a berlina and a donut are not the
same, or they wouldnt call them
differently in a pastry shop. They
are the experts, so if they dont
call them the same, theres a reason.
He throws the napkin on the desk and leaves for the toilet.
The criminals dont seem very surprised by VIs reaction.
AVERNO
Is this boy never going to change?
LOGAN
It doesnt seem like he is. But leave
him to it, if he is happy, let him
believe what he wants to.
ANDY
If you care so Little, why did you
put so much effort into the
discussion?
LOGAN
Because the moment seemed right and
because I felt like it/because I
wanted to. Do I need more reasons?
The tension that was present during the whole dinner is palpable
again.

8
INT. TOILLET- DAY
VI is hunched over the washbasin, his hands holding the edge.
He looks at his reflection in the mirror with contained anger
and red eyes, then the door opens and a man comes in. He starts
to urinate in an urinary without even looking at him.
VI
Im not crying.
The man looks at him, confused, while VI exits/leaves the room.