Night on the Paramount lot. BETTY's office is a spartan affair, one of a row of wooden cubicles suspended at first-floor level, above the darkened streets of the back lot. BETTY sits behind her desk, staring at her typewriter, from which a piece of paper protrudes; JOE, in his shirt-sleeves, paces up and down, holding a pencil. Presently, as the silence extends, HE crosses to look down at the sheet of paper in his typewriter, frown,; then, his brow clears as an idea occurs to him.

JOE
How about
They don't know each other
He works the night shift,
And she takes classes all day?
Here's the thing
They both share the same room,
Sleep in the same bed
It works out cheaper that way.

BETTY
Well, I've a feeling you're just kidding,
But to me it sounds believable.
Makes a better opening than that car chase scene:
Girl finds boy
Borrowing her toothbrush
Or oversleeping
Or at her sewing-machine.

(She's got up as the excitement over her ideas has gripped her, and now JOE takes her place behind the typewriter.)

JOE
You know, it's not bad, there are some real possibilities...

(BETTY picks up JOE's cigarette case, helps herself to a cigarette and then notices the inscription.)

BETTY
Who's Norma?

JOE
Who's who?

BETTY
I'm sorry, I don't usually read private cigarette cases.

JOE
Norma’s a friend of mine, middle-aged lady, very foolish, very generous.

BETTY
I'll say: this is solid gold. ‘Mad about the boy’?

(JOE rises to his feet, thinks of a way to change the subject.)

JOE
So how's Artie?

BETTY
Stuck in Tennessee. It rains all the time, they're weeks behind. Nobody knows when they'll get back.

JOE
Good.

BETTY
What's good about it! I'm missing him something fierce.

JOE
No, I mean this idea we had is really pretty good.

(He picks up the notebook, scribbles a note, as BETTY moves back towards the desk.)

JOE
Back to work.

BETTY
What if he's a teacher?

JOE
Where does that get us?
Don't see what good it would do.

BETTY
No, it's great,
If they do the same job...

JOE
So much in common,
They fall in love, wouldn't you?

BETTY
Yes, but if he's just a teacher,
We lose those scenes in the factory.

JOE
Not if he's a champion for the working man.
Girl likes boy,
She respects his talent.

BETTY
Working with someone,
Can turn you into a fan.

JOE
This is fun,
Writing with a partner.

BETTY
Yes, and it could be...

JOE
A Helluva movie.

BETTY
Can we really do this?

JOE AND BETTY
I know that we can!

(Blackout.)