Our First Fight

Act One | Act Two | Act Three

INT. - MINUTES LATER

Billy stands in his corner, poised and determined. Now, all the men have gathered around his corner, and they CHEER him on. Lena stands alone in hers, bruised but determined.

The BELL RINGS and the men cheer Billy on even louder:

MEN
(overlapping:)

Mess her up, Billy!
You da man, Billy!
Kill dat bitch!!!

Billy and Lena face off in the center of the ring with blood in their eyes, circling. They let loose simultaneously, trading a barrage of fierce punches. They seem evenly matched now -- a standoff. Finally, Billy breaks through with a combination that buckles Lena's knees.

He keeps hitting her with everything he's got. Her defenses weaken and fall away until Billy's pounding her at will.

Suddenly, the mood in the room has changed -- the guys are no longer cheering. Seeing a girl taking a beating seems too much for this Neanderthal bunch and they start to grumble. Billy senses thisand starts to ease up on Lena, though by now she's barely able to stand. As Billy looks to the men for some kind of cue, Lena calls to him, her voice a groggy rasp:

LENA

Billy...

He turns to her.

LENA (cont.)

...respect... me...

Reluctantly, Billy nods, understanding.

BILLY

Okay.

He winds up one final, killer haymaker and lands it squarely on her chin, and Lena goes out like a light, falling to the canvas in a heap.

SLAB

Holy shit.

DUKE

He did it.

Duke, Slab, and the other GUYS IN THE GYM jump into the ring and gather around Lena.

BILLY

Who's counting? Somebody count her out!

GYM-GUY

You okay, baby?

DUKE

Damn. He nailed her good. Get the smelling salts.

BILLY

Will somebody count her out, for God sakes!!!

SLAB

You count her out, tough guy.

BILLY

I can't count her out. I'm the other fighter. I want to win fair.

GYM-GUY

Will you shut the hell up?

The bell times out and RINGS.

BILLY

That's it. I win. I unanimously declare myself the winner!

GYM-GUY

Big deal. You beat up a girl.

BILLY

GIRL?!? That's no girl! THAT'S THE BLACK WIDOW!!!

The men have now completely turned on him. Half of them are nursing Lena, the other half are yelling at him. Oblivious, Billy climbs onto his stool, proclaiming to the world:

BILLY (cont.)

I AM VICTORIOUS!!! I AM THE CHAMPION!!! I AM TH---

A pair of brawny hands grab him and yank him from his perch.

EXT. - A MOMENT LATER - OUTSIDE THE GYM

Billy is thrown through the front doors and tumbles onto the sidewalk. The men at the door throw his gym bag after him.

SLAB

If I catch you beatin' up on a
woman again, I'll kill ya myself.

Slab turns away. Gym-Guy spits at him. One of the other guys -- another giant bruiser sneers at Billy...

BRUISER

You animal.

The men retreat into the gym and SLAM the door behind them.

DISSOLVE TO:

A FEW MINUTES LATER

A confused Billy sits on a stoop outside the gym. He gingerly rubs the bruise ripening on his cheek.

Lena exits the gym, apparently okay, but moving a little slowly. Billy rises to greet her.

BILLY

You okay?

LENA

Yeah. I'm fine. Nice shiner.

BILLY

You should see the other guy.

An awkward pause.

LENA

Good fight.

Billy nods.

LENA (cont.)

Rematch?

BILLY

NO. ...no, I'm retiring from the game.

(pause)

...but... I could call you sometime.

She looks at him coolly.

BILLY (cont.)

I wouldn't blame you if you hung up on me, but if I didn't at least call... that would be... rude.

No reaction. He turns and starts down the street.

LENA

Billy...

He turns back to her.

LENA (cont.)

I wouldn't hang up on you.

She turns and walks away. Billy watches her silently, then shakes his head and whispers to himself...

BILLY

Our grandchildren will never believe this.

He starts to walk quietly down the street, glancing back over his shoulder every few steps.

Finally, when he's sure he's out of her sight, he thrusts his arms into the air and does a quick, little victory dance beforehe continues down the street.

THE END