well, i mean it. i'm serious -- i do. you promise and promise, and then you change your mind, just like that.
you wait 'til you ask me for something. just wait. see if you get it.
i said -- for the twentieth time -- if a person promises somebody something, they can't just turn around and take it back.
why not?
i bet if you'd promised roy some moccasins he'd of got 'em.
yeah, but you did promise.
jack. call me jack.
seriously. if a person can't get a stinking miserable pair of moccasins, at least he ought to be able to choose his own name.  .  and i wanna be called jack!
oh, you're so stupid sometimes,
i hope to hell this isn't some kind of omen. caroline turns to toby, her face worried. then she sees the look in toby's eyes -- he's ragging her. she grins and gives his shoulder a light, affectionate shove.
how's this thing work, anyway?
and we just walk along the street and find this glowing uranium?
but we were too late in moab, and that guy at the office said nobody'd found any uranium in salt lake city.
it almost makes me want to see roy -- he was the only one could make the thing stop overheating. my god, he was boring. boring and mean: you sure got crappy taste in boyfriends. at the mention of roy's name, caroline lightly touches the bruise on her right cheekbone. not enjoying the talk about roy, she pours the water into the radiator, and speaks directly to the car.
that mechanic in colorado said it needed points.
you're gonna give our car away?
yeah, and like dad used to say, 'we may be broke, but we're never poor.' and later, if we get a house with a big yard, i could get a collie, you know? one like lad or grey dawn. and someday maybe a palomino. and i'm going to try harder in school, too.  the two of them walk on -- a bit foolish, but, in an odd way, brave as hell.
she works. she's working. silent, the man continues to hold out the telephone to toby. finally he takes it and dials.
it wasn't me broke their stupid windows.
gee, thanks a lot, mom -- believe them instead of me.
yeah, well if you'd stayed married to dad none of this would've ever happened.
seven. almost.
i started dinner. the potatoes are frying, and i'm heating up the hot dogs. caroline sees that he's trying to make it up to her, and pats the bed for him to sit down next to her. he moves to sit beside her.
i'm sorry.
who was that? she closes her eyes.
who was that? caroline laughs aloud, then slides down the wall until she's on the floor still laughing.
it's the best present i ever got. i just love it. i'm going to pretend i'm shooting.
it's not loaded!
it's got no bullets, for god's sake.
i'll point it at the sky, then. caroline sighs. toby opens a screenless window and points the gun up into the night sky, pretending to fire it over and over. caroline starts to clear the table. roy jumps up to help her.
hello. the woman stops to take a breather, lights a cigarette, pokes her companion.
over there. i won't be here long, though, 'cause my dad's coming to get me.
yeah. i'm gonna live on his ranch in phoenix. the "lazy b," it's called.
it is. i've got a palomino horse and a collie, and dad lets us go on hunts all by ourselves. he gave me this winchester .22, and last year i shot a mountain lion with it. and lad -- that's my dog -- found a nest of rattlesnakes one time, and killed all twelve of them.  the two women exchange a glance. it's obvious the boy is lying.
what're you doing home so -- we going someplace?
where?
phoenix.
what about your fabulous boyfriends? what about the fabulous, boring roy? is he coming, too?
roy's so uncool. so boring.
oh, shut up. but he's smiling, completely unbothered. suddenly caroline laughs, stands up, and begins to close the suitcases. toby laughs, too.
now? we're going now? what about all the food?
even the canned stuff?
well, ask him when the next one to phoenix is.
if there's a big yard, can i get a collie?
yeah -- like heaven on a june day. the doors of the bus close. whoosh! the bus begins to move. caroline and toby's faces are at the window: seattle or bust. dissolve to:
yeah, yeah.  toby exits the house. but, jesus, what a new toby: he's turned cool. a few months have passed. he now wears t-shirts and jeans which ride way low on his hips. as he walks along, he combs his hair into a duck's ass in back, and forward into a curl at the center of his forehead. he's 1957 hip -- or thinks he is. he strolls on, feeling cool.
hey, terry.
who listens?
i fucked her 'til her nose bled.
oh, lois. oh, baby, come here -- i got six hot inches just waiting for you.
oh, babybabybabybabybaby.  you make my dick hard! the three carry on for a few more seconds.
don't want who?
he the one drives down from the boondocks? the mechanic? dwight. what a stupid name. dwiiiight. duhhhhwight. dwight-tah-h-h-h. dwighttahhhhh. there is a knock on the front door. toby sticks his head around the door, looking into the living room. a man is outlined against the sunset, only his black silhouette is visible. it is our first glimpse of dwight. has the man heard him? toby doesn't know for sure. caroline brings dwight into the kitchen. he is older than her, an attractive-enough man. he is well-built, has a full head of brown hair, and very white teeth. those are his good points. on the minus side: his over- eagerness to please, his nervous smiles and his clothes. he wears two-tone shoes, a hand-painted tie, and a monogrammed handkerchief, folded beyond perfection, in the pocket. caroline introduces him to marian and kathy. then she introduces dwight to toby. dwight is all smiles.
no.
no.
no.
oh, have another cookie, marian -- keep your strength up.
really? i can shoot my winchester? great! i bet i could be the one to get the turkey.
okay.
i said 'okay,' didn't i?
oh, concrete, my favorite town. welcome to beautiful concrete!
stop what?
ditto. a car stops and through a window, we see dwight. caroline turns to toby.
all right.
i hope to hell it's not an omen. caroline has to fight back a smile.
there's no real turkey?
but you said i could!
i didn't know you were a member of the n.r.a.
mom won the turkey shoot.
they're okay. what's that bald spot on pearl's head? ugh.
norma's nice.
that's fine with me. i wish you would've stayed married to dad.
that woman he married? is she really rich?
i mean i blew it off, man -- i blew his fuckin' turkey's head off. terry silver takes a long slow drag on his cigarette. the other boys glance at each other: they don't buy it.
fuckin' a. winchester .22. pump.
don't believe me -- see if i care.
one bullet, maybe.
oh! toby grabs caroline's lighter, and begins to imitate dwight: saying, "oh!" and "oh, yes!" and oh, my!" and "here, let me!" and "i'll do that!" it's a mean, accurate imitation of dwight. all three women laugh in spite of themselves. caroline keeps saying "jack, that's enough," and marian says, "dwight's not that bad." but they can't help laughing. toby offers the other two women a light, then offers a broom, the back door, and the refrigerator a light.
what do you mean?
no i don'.
i can be better. i will be. and i hate the way i am anymore! i don't know why i do it! what about that stenotyping thing you were gonna do? with peculiar intensity, caroline speaks in a soft, odd voice:
what are you going to do, just give me away to him?
all right. caroline nods, turns away.
okay. i will.
no, it's okay. i'll go. o.s. we hear a knocking and dwight's cheery voice.
hey, look: is that a raccoon or a beaver. dwight swerves deliberately to hit the animal. there is a sickening thump, and dwight stops. as he backs up:
that thing's probably got rabies.
i'm a little sick to my stomach.
i'm not a hotshot.
no, sir.
i'm not a liar.
no.
i guess.
i can't.
no, sir.
yeah, is she nice?
i hate changing schools.
i'll do it. i want to be.  better.
it's angry, sort of bitter.
dear mom, thanks for the birthday present. it fit fine. you don't have to worry so much. i'm okay here. the weather is nice, and i like scouts a lot. dwight took us all to see bridge on the river kwai. i liked it. so things are all right with me, except for stupid pearl, who i hate. don't worry all the time.  55 e) dwight introduces toby at a scout 55 meeting. all the other boys have on scout uniforms. 55 f) toby is on the utility porch husking the 55 horse chestnuts. his hands are now orange. pearl stands in the doorway watching him work. norma appears beside pearl. norma's face turns sympathetic.
wanna comb your hair, pearl? pearl covers her bald spot with one hand.
probably you do, since you've got such pretty hair. i know if i had hair as pretty as yours, pearl, i'd comb it all the time.
you're ugly as a madman's ass.
really?
boy's life?
'suggested good turns a scout can do: assist a foreign boy with some english grammar. help put out a burning field. give water to a crippled dog.' i could do those.
i'm not going.
i'm not. cut down skipper's old stuff, and he's twice as big as me -- i'm gonna stay home.
i look like an idiot.
you said you'd get me a new uniform.
but look at the sleeves and how it hangs down between my legs!
yeah, piss and moan -- i notice you're all jazzed up in new stuff.
oh, yeah, pull the other leg, it's got bells on it! toby throws himself down on the sofa.
all right, but this stinks. toby walks outside. dwight follows.
me, too.
i'm okay. i'm fine.
it's just juice from some chestnuts -- it'll wear off.
it's fine.
school's school. my grades are okay.
he made us all snowcream, like he said.
what?
i'm fine.
no, i'm fine.
i think it's the best thing.
hungry. he makes another sign.
food. he makes another sign.
want. he makes another sign.
great mystery. he makes another sign.
father. he stares silently at himself in the mirror.
it's so white.
yeah, but it makes everything else look so dark. dwight's face changes. he has an idea.
yeah, you could say that. 65 g) same scene - later 65 they paint the baldwin white. dwight hesitates, then starts to paint the foot pedals. 65 h) same scene - later 65 dwight's face tells us that something still doesn't suit him. he glances at toby, toby nods, and they converge on the piano. 65 j) same scene - later 65 very carefully, dwight and toby finish painting the dark ivory keys to match the rest of the room. elvis screams out the last line, "you can do anything, but stay off of my blue suede shoes!"
so how's the bride?
the bride doesn't want to chat?
well, the bride is sure snotty this morning. smiling, toby waits for some response to his teasing, but there is none. she turns away and sits at the table.
what's his name again?
he sure walks like a girl.
he smarted off to me the other day -- told me i was a bourgeois.
why?
oh, shut up.
why don't you take a long walk off a short pier?
well, at least i'm not a great big sissy! two things happen instantly: the superior smile vanishes from arthur's face, and toby's friends exchange a single expectant look: "here it comes."
okay.
okay. i take it back.
you're not a sissy. arthur immediately turns and walks away, but toby ignores them and walks away in the opposite direction, delivering his hated newspapers.
who asked you?
oh, the bride is calm. who the hell cares? caroline refuses to argue. she picks up a piece of material and holds it up to the window to see if her choice of color was a good one.
uh, well, uh.  he's the one can't see out of one eye.
well, it wasn't black yet.
i called him a sissy. dwight hoots with laughter and slaps his leg.
well.  he was just ready to. i called him a big-assed, squat- to-pee sissy. i'd have won bigger except he hit me when i wasn't looking.
you said you'd show me how to dry-gulch somebody.
i'm afraid i'll hurt you.
but i might. finally toby gives a half-hearted "hah!" and swings the side of his forearm toward dwight's throat. dwight catches the arm easily.
you just about got dry-gulched, my man. dwight manages a grin, but he is not happy to have been bested.
 but ask him again, why don't you? i hate it so much.
then make him give me the money. it's mine, i earned it. it's $220.00 already.
that's not fair. i ought to be able to have my own money. but it's mine.
well, at least ask him about my gym shoes again. i can practice barefoot but for games i gotta have shoes.
oh, we know, we know: the bride won't argue. the bride won't raise her voice.
oh, i hate it here! i wish we could just get up and go.
big deal.
i'm telling you i didn't.
well, you're wrong.
how do you know skipper didn't eat it? or norma? or pearl?
well, how do you know i even ate any?
so what?
why don't you ever take up for me?
oh, big, big deal, who cares, and as long as we're passing out news here, i don't want to do my paper route anymore.
then give me the money i earn!
mom, won't you at least make him let me have the shoes for gym? how can i play basketball without gym shoes? i'm the only one who -- toby stops suddenly. he looks at dwight for a beat or two, and then speaks in a different tone:
it's not the shoes, is it? or the candy. it's me, isn't it? you just can't stand the fact of me. dwight glances at caroline, who still looks at her sewing.
bastard. swallow that.
yeah, he's nice.
sure -- i just about believe you.
that's dumb. a little funny, though. how come your dad never comes to meetings with you?
sure -- compared to a ride home with dwight, it'll be like heaven on a june day.
every day of my life feels like a mile on the bataan death march.
why'd you point at me that day?
oh, come on, arthur. that's a little dramatic.
i don't exactly feel like an alien. i've got friends here.
yeah, and you'll wind up a recluse that everybody says likes to dress up in his mama's old clothes.
burma-shave! arthur and toby laugh. as they walk on, though, toby's face is thoughtful.
whose dog is that on the porch?
mine?
a collie, though. not this one.
what d'you mean i paid for him? but dwight doesn't answer. toby waits, then shrugs and leaves the room.
my winchester's gone.
i don't want it.
i want my rifle!
but, dwight, that winchester was mine.
i'm not pissing and moaning.
dwight traded my rifle for a dog. he says the dog's for me, but it's some stupid dog he wanted.
oh, mom, can't we leave here? i hate it so much. you don't like it either -- all you do is stick your head in a sewing machine night and day. let's just leave and start over someplace else.
but if.
if you say 'look for the good stuff,' i'm gonna get dwight's 30. 30 and shoot myself!
great. just great. what a life: i gotta live with dwight.  i got a sissy for a new best friend.
i got no rifle.  i got no gym shoes.
yeah.
god!
it's hard to explain.
yeah, i am.
yeah, i slept about four hours.
what engine?
i don't know what you -- suddenly dwight is across the floor and onto the bed. he straddles toby and slaps him across the face with the left hand then the right, again and again. toby holds a forearm protectively across his face. dwight holds both toby's hands with one of his and, slaps the boy's face again and again. finally toby manages to get his right hand loose. he slams his forearm across dwight's throat. dwight rears back, choking and gagging. toby throws off the covers and tries to run. still choking, dwight grabs the back of toby's hair and forces the boy's face down against the mattress.
i wish.
knock it off.
where's mom? still singing, pearl points to the living room.
i'll be through in a minute. dwight looks around.
oh, dwight, is that the best you can come up with? angered, but keeping his voice low. he pushes toby's shoulder.
shut up. he signs the grade card, saying, "presto."
he hears you do that, you're dead. hey, lemme copy your math homework.
i tell you i'm thirsty, you offer me a sandwich thank you and fuck you.
oh, jaaack!
i know it. he's winning. i do act like him. i feel like him sometimes. i've gotta get out of this place or i'm a dead one.
i mean it. i may go live with my brother gregory in princeton.
he wrote me.
no. but i'm going. or maybe i could go to a prep school like gregory did. like my dad did.
i don't know. dwight owes me over twelve hundred bucks! if i hadn't let him keep my paper route money, i'd be okay.
i think dwight was right about you i think you fight for the pink team. toby falls into another seat, then, pulls his head back and bangs it against the window. then does it again, harder.
losers. what a bunch of losers.
all of you. you're gonna drive a fairlane just like your daddy does. how you ever going to drive a thunderbird when you're a janitor like the rest of your family? an' you can forget being an electrician, you can't even pass tenth grade math.
i know that, psycho. that's my point: ha, ha, ha. you guys are my buddies. you guys are my pals. and my dear old dad's called dwight. welcome to concreeee.  toby topples over and falls down a bank of rubble. the other burst out laughing and hooting. the camera moves off them and cranes down to a spread-eagled toby's face. the laughter echoes around the building. toby begins to laugh, but it soon turns to bitter tears. dissolve to:
i called gregory at princeton. he's sending me applications for prep schools. i need you to take me to seattle to take some entrance exams.
i've got to get out of here, mom. i've got to. i've got to get away.
saturday.
he won't let you have the buick.
hard. i think i did okay. i'll know monday.
my application forms must've come today, and he threw them away.
but why? you work right in the office -- nobody'll ever know.
i'm asking you to help me, man. i got word yesterday that i did really well on those tests -- but that's not enough. i've got to cheat and lie -- but i don't care: this is my one chance to get out of here!
you could leave too, you know.
i'll do some this afternoon.
i'll be in in a minute. let me finish this article.
a concrete boy.
that's exactly what i've got.
i'll get a sandwich after work.
hello? all right. tomorrow, then. goodbye. toby hangs up, turns to caroline, quietly:
it's hill school -- the last one i applied to. they haven't accepted me, but they're sending somebody up to interview me. caroline upsets the puzzle getting up to hug toby.
 yeah, i enjoy my classes, especially the ones that are advanced, but i've been feeling a little restless lately. it's hard to explain.
i think i would be. my father and brother went to prep schools.
deerfield and choate. mr. howard is impressed.
i want that. i do, and --
that's, uh, that's this guy.  he's a mechanic.  did some bad work on our car.  it's not much of an explanation, but mr. howard seems to buy it. he says goodbye to toby, gets into his car, drives away. toby stares after him. dissolve to:
i did.
because it was empty.
it looks empty to me, too. dwight pushes the jar against toby's eye, leaving mustard stains on the boy's face.
no, it wasn't empty.
yes! dwight slaps toby across the mouth and the battle is on. as pearl stands frozen, toby lunges at dwight, they grapple and stagger around the room. glass shatters, the kitchen table crashes over, and their feet stamp and shuffle but toby is a wild man. even though he has only one good hand. he lands a blow between dwight's eyes that bangs the man back against the wall.
i got the scholarship and he went nuts. he's crazy, and i'm leaving. i'm leaving!
give me my paper route money, and you'll never have to see my face again.
i'm leaving, mom. you can leave, too. you don't have to stay here.
no, you don't.
yes, you could!
yes, you could! caroline takes a deep breath, a weight has been lifted.
man, oh man, oh man.
great, isn't it?
yeah, i'm out! i'm outta here! maybe i'll crash and burn, but it's a chance, so i'm gone! i'm history, histoire. nobody's gonna tell me what to do now, nobody. i'm free as a bird. sayonara nest. heaven on a june day! caroline's smile becomes fixed during toby's speech and she begins to regard him oddly.
what'd he say about you having a job in d.c.?
so now you can go! oh. oh! i am so damn glad to get out of this place! i'll be in 'fourth form.' doesn't that sound great? and if you get a two-bedroom place in d.c., i can come for vacations and summers. i'm out. i'm out!
what? oh, don't cry -- he's not worth it. as sad as she is, caroline smiles.
she holds toby at arm's length and studies him.
get on the bus.
get on the bus, mom. caroline puts her arms around toby, kisses his cheek hard, then whispers something into his ear. when toby speaks, his words are full of love:
i know that, mom. i've always known that. caroline gets onto the bus, the doors close, whoosh and the bus pulls away. we see caroline's face at a window. as the bus recedes, toby turns and walks in another direction. his face is shining, incandescent with happiness. he breaks into a wide grin.