"What?" "Who is it?" "Go back to sleep." "Hey, you're alive, I'm hanging up." "I think I did something." "Yeah, yeah, you did." "You woke my ass up at four in the morning." "I think I did something bad." "Where's your inhaler?" "In my bedroom." "Good, good." "Here's what you're going to do, you're going to hang up the phone, you're going to walk to your bedroom, you're going to take a hit off that thing, and you're going to go to bed." "Mason?" "Mason?" "Should I call the police?" "Call the police?" "Shit, Mason, I think you can handle it." "So what are you going to do?" "Use my inhaler and go to bed." "Good." "Yes, buddy, breathe and then bed." "Breathe bed." "I'm going to do my part and I'm going to go back to sleep." "See, it's like teamwork, only I don't do anything." "You get it?" "Okay?" "Okay." "You're going to be alright." "I'm going to be alright." "You're late." "Do you hear me?" "Where you been?" "Sorry." "Well that's real nice of you, Mason, but it's not helping me." "And you know why?" "'Cause I've got six thousand phone calls that have to be made by the end of the week, and an employee who can't get his ass to work on time, even though he lives two and a half blocks away." "Shit, I'm sorry." "I guess, uh, I'm just tired from, uh, oh," "I don't know, someone waking me up in the middle of the night." "See how that can make a guy cranky in the morning, Mase?" "Yeah?" "Yeah." "Okay, then, you okay?" "Get some sleep finally?" "Ready to make some calls?" "Okay, good." "Then get to work, you crazy bastard." "Yes, I believe that I can help lower your rate by 20 percent." "Let me ask, have you or anyone in your family ever been in a car accident?" "The rates are fixed and they'll stay the same for the life of the plan." "Yes." "Tracie..." "Ma'am, yes, can you, can you please hold?" "She's pretty." "Who's she?" "She's... nobody." "Well you have a good imagination." "What are you doing?" "Huh?" "Oh, just eating potatoes, you want some?" "Amber." "You picked a really nice spot here, it's like a middle school inside." "I feel like I have to smoke a cigarette and make out with an eighth grader to sit at the cool table." "Anyway, what did you say your name was again?" "Mason." "I really like your drawings." "I, I don't draw, I sketch." "I'm a painter." "Okay." "It looks like it's going to rain again." "Hey, Mase, get in the car, man, what the hell are you doing?" "Get your ass in the car, man." "Seriously, bro, you're a grown man." "Invest in an umbrella already." "So, hey, Mason, are we headed to the apartment?" "Or we'll just sit right here." "Hey, Mason, what's up?" "Hey, you remember Christy?" "She was a year ahead of us?" "I hired her today." "Brought her on for 20 cents less than you, the bitch." "Anyway, she's got fakies now, so you might want to start drawing her if you're done with that one." "Come on, Mason, it's pouring out there." "What happened to conversation?" "I am really getting sick of this shit, Mason." "No, ma'am." "We only handle annual and bi-annual schedules." "Yes." "Uh huh." "A what?" "I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that." "Yeah, I'm going to have to check with my supervisor." "Can you please hold?" "So, you're from Kentucky, huh?" "Yeah, I've been out here for almost three months." "Well, you're awfully far from home." "Hey, Mase, what's cooking?" "Yeah, tell me about it." "No, yeah, mm hmm." "That's a great plan, I actually got one for my grandma." "True story." "No... can you hold on for one second?" "Can I help you?" "I need to do an R-27." "So?" "I've never done one." "JZDJ?" "Absolutely, he's at his desk, just let me transfer you there." "Okay." "What is it you need?" "How to do an R-27." "What?" "Am I a guidebook?" "Ask Val." "I just, I..." "JZDJ?" "Yeah, absolutely, it's... please go away." "It's called an R-27." "It's under one account." "And I can set you up on that if you just give me a couple minutes." "Yes, I looked into that for you, and it looks like you'd save over 70 dollars a month" " with that particular plan." " Look, I would do that, okay?" "Now what we can do is, we're gong to take..." "Yeah, I know, I know, well..." "It rained." "Should have been a weather girl." "My, uh, supervisor says I'm not cut for sales." "Isn't that great?" "I've been here under a week, and already she's giving me that, 'you're not right for this job,' talk." "So I'm not the Milkman." "You know, Chris Milke." "Six sales a day." "I'm still learning, it's just..." "I spit in her drink." "Her coffee." "I spit in it." "It's really immature, but it was just sitting there and I was just, you know," "I really want to be good at this, I really do." "But it's just not fair for her treat somebody that way." "So what I do?" "I go and act like a teenager and I just do something really stupid." "Now I feel like, I fell like this." "She probably deserved it." "So we're an auto insurance... no." "Sir, we don't do life insurance." "No, we just... okay." "Just think of it as make up sex without the awkwardness." "Or the sex." "Thanks." "Well, what can I say?" "I'm a great guy." "Besides, I know you, buddy." "I know your routine, I can tell when it's time for you to move on." "Look, Mase, there's a whole ocean out there for you to dip your rod in." "Come on, carpe diem, you know?" "So, whatever, it was just ten bucks." "Hey, you know what?" "Why don't we go play some ball later this week?" "Lunch hour down at the courts like old times." "You can work on your jump shot." "I don't have a jump shot." "That's exactly my point." "Hey, Tennessee, where are you going?" "Wow, you smell fantastic." "She is calling me all the time, she wants me to meet her parents." "This girl is way too invested, Mase." "I mean, look, I just think there should be an agreement, you know, some sort of conversation between the two parties, 'cause until then you should have the opportunity to entertain other options." "Does she know that?" "Does she, God, no, what?" "Are you kidding?" "She'd never agree to that." "And neither would the other options." "Come on." "So I fired that chick, Chrissy, already." "Why?" "Ah, she showed up late for work her first three days." "Anyway, it doesn't matter, she had a boyfriend." "Have you hired anyone else recently?" "Mase, I hire people all the time." "No, I mean, like girls." "Somebody's on the prowl, huh?" "Uh, let me think." "No, no, but I'm not the only one who does hiring, why?" "Nothing." "Nothing, huh?" "Alright, office romance can be a tricky thing." "Shit, I've had my wings caught in that nasty web quite a few times." "But fortunately it doesn't matter." "Go shoot the damn ball." "You're never going to get any better if you don't practice." "I don't want to get better." "And therein lies your problem." "Mason, hey, wait up." "Hey." "Hey, I missed you today at lunch." "Yeah, I, uh..." "Do you always walk home?" "You don't have a car?" "Huh uh." "Oh." "Well, the Nader thing, that's cool, I get it." "What are you doing this weekend?" "Nothing." "Are you, uh, going to the end of the promotion thing?" "No." "'Cause I was thinking about going, you should go." "You're very happy." "Yeah, well, that could be because somebody got all her numbers today." "Whoo." "I got all my numbers, I got all my numbers." "You know what that means, Mason?" "Coffee's safe again?" "No, it was only one cup, I didn't even touch the pot." "Surgical strikes, Mason, surgical strikes." "So, anyway, now that I've, uh, conquered my current job, what do you think I should do next?" "Huh?" "I'm thinking feminist or astronaut." "Probably go with feminist." "I'm afraid of heights." "Um, what does a feminist do?" "Um, mostly just bitches about stuff." "Okay." "I don't know." "But, oh, maybe ninja." "You know what?" "I've always thought there's not enough girl ninjas in the world, and I love that word, by the way, anyway." "Say it." "Ninja." "Come on, Mason, say it." "Ninja." "Ninja, Mason, ninja." "Say it." "Ninja." "There, see?" "Doesn't that sound great?" "You know what you get?" "You get a karate chop." "Hoo-ah." "That's going to bruise, I've been practicing." "Seriously, though, I think it would just be nice to have a job that makes you feel good." "Um, I, I live here." "Oh." "Okay." "Well, uh, gee, Mason, thank you for walking me home." "Perhaps you would like to come inside and have some coffee or something, or look at my art." "Right." "Alright, I'll see you later." "Thank you... for the umbrella." "Oh, yeah, of course." "These things are, uh, rare in this town, you know." "But if you look really hard you can usually find one." "I probably shouldn't get mine wet." "You suck at this game, you know that?" "You suck." "What do you got?" "I got a rocket launcher, what do you got?" "You got, you got nothing." "You got nothing." "Stop whining, stop whining." "Did you really bring a sack lunch to a party?" "Hey, guys, just play the game." "You alright, buddy?" "Do you have any water?" "Ah, yeah, bitch!" "Mason, Mason, you're at a party, if you want a glass of water you don't have to ask." "Son of a whore." "Yes." "That was a lucky kill." "That is not, that, lucky?" " Yeah." " Two in a row is lucky?" "You got one, you killed yourself the second time." "You blew yourself up with the rocket launcher." " That's two in a row." " Oh, it was him, it was you." "I beat both of you." "You didn't kill anybody." "You did not kill me, you didn't kill him." "Guess who?" "Oh, I always hated that game." "Soon as the other person hears your voice, it's over." "I want to create my own game where nobody says anything, you just have to guess." "You came." "Yeah, of course I came." "I said I would." "Are you getting ready to leave, or..." "No, no, I was just..." "That's real cute." "Real cute." "I hate these people." "Then why'd you come?" "Well, not for them." "Look." "Wow." "Look at all of this." "This is so beautiful." "It's cold." "Oh, quit." "Come on, it's so worth the view." "No pain, no gain, Mason." "This is nice." "See?" "I told you." "Look, you can see Laurelhurst Park from here." "I used to go feed the ducks there when I was little." "It was amazing." "I think that's the phone bank." "Oh, yeah, you're right." "And look, there's your apartment." "If I had a view like this, mm, you look out my window and all you see is bricks." "You should paint this, Mason." "I don't do scenery." "Just people?" "Like, uh, like the girl in your sketches?" "Sorry." "It's really none of my business." "We all have a history." "If I told you my life story we'd be here for the rest of the night." "But, um, you're not a, you're not painting anyone right now, are you?" "No." "No one." "You know, we could walk from here." "Maybe you should just take your own coat." "Bat Cave?" "Um, can I..." "Yeah, sure." "They were my first." "All the great jazz albums." "Is that what we're going to do?" "Only with bigger brushes." "Are you calling me fat?" "They're postcards." "You're awesome." "Did you make them for someone special?" "Am I doing this right?" "Or is there something I should be doing?" "Just be you." "Hey, buddy." "What you doing?" "Didn't see you leave last night." "Everything okay?" "Fine." "Oh, yeah?" "Alright." "I knew that sketchpad would do you good." "Best 10 bucks I ever spent." "You wouldn't believe how long those assholes stayed at my house last night." "God, next time we're doing it somewhere else, let senior management pick up the tab." "I'm going to go... eat." "Well why don't you come and eat in my office for a change?" "No." "My grandma was a dream reader." "It's true." "My whole family practically Gypsies." "Mm, did you know that in Romania they still have whole tribes of Gypsies." "It's crazy." "They just, you know, ride around the countryside on wagons drawn by horses, and just campfires, the whole thing." "Wouldn't that be great, just to be, you know, free?" "Free to what?" "To do whatever." "I mean, just to go." "You know, it wouldn't even matter where." "Let me see your hand." "Why?" "Let me see it." "I want to see if your lifeline matches up with your health line." "If it does, that usually means that you're going to get married." "Are you doubting my Gypsy blood?" "No." "Well you'd better not be." "I could put a hex on you." "I think hexes are more for witches than Gypsies." "You just made a joke." "You big phony." "Did you just call me a witch?" "So, did you get her naked yet?" "It's not like that." "Well it would be if I was painting them." "Seriously, buddy, it's a good scam you're running." "Chicks dig the quiet artsy type." "Hey, what about this one?" "I don't think that's jazz." "You barely looked at it." "There are not a lot of soprano saxophones in jazz." "Oh, yeah, smarty pants?" "You want to see how much you really know?" "Soft Hits, Smooth Jazz." "Smooth jazz isn't jazz." "How is it possible that you of all people are a snob about something?" "Uh, no, Buddy Holly didn't put out a live record in 1962." "Well, because he died in '59." "Rave on." "That's a good one." "It's like Weather Report on crack." "Yeah, as long as it's not smooth." "I don't get it." "Well I guess you don't get jazz." "Listen, uh, that redhead, she still work here?" "I haven't seen her around." "Jill?" "Yeah, yeah, Jill." "No, no, she doesn't work here, I fired her a couple months back." "For what?" "Ducks!" "Look at all of them, aren't they great." "Oh, you got to spend more time outdoors, really." "It's going to be my New Years resolution for you." "I can't believe you've lived here your whole life, and you've never once come down here." "Man." "These ducks are seriously fatter than I remember." "Look at the little kid feeding those fat, freezing birds." "I used to do that when I was little." "I made them fat." "I did that." "Come on, don't I get to see what you're working on?" "No, there is rules." "You can't see it until it's finished." "Yes, and I've been very understanding when it comes to that part about the painting." "But I think that I deserve to see a first draft." "It's not that." "This is the next one." "Who said there's going to be a next one?" "Mason, do you think that pictures capture people's souls?" "I mean, the Indians thought so." "Not all of them, but most of them." "I wonder what they would think of this." "Hey," "you trying to steal my soul, Mason?" "Yep, those ducks sure are fat." "You got turkey, right?" "Yeah." "The damage is already done." "Ow, ow, ow, it's a fight." "Get in the middle, get them all." "You need junk?" "Are you like a dolphin?" "Oh, it's on your head, I'm sorry." "We should go out and see a movie." "There's this, um, old theater in the neighborhood where I grew up, they play all these great movies like Casablanca and Rear window, and I used to go every single day after school and just watch them over and over again." "We should go sometime." "I've never gone to a movie." "I'm sorry, did you just say never?" "Not even, like, with your parents?" "So, uh, who did you make the, uh, postcards for, Mason?" "What?" "Wow." "Let's do the next one." "I just have a hard time getting into it." "That's part of the point." "Jazz isn't about accessibility." "It's more difficult to relate to." "It isn't friendly or clean." "Only the finest musicians can, can play it." "Masters." "People who have devoted themselves to the study and the theory of music." "The rules." "And, and, and then they get together, giants of their craft, and, and break these very rules that they value so highly." "It's decadent and carnal, all at the same time." "Mason, I think that's probably the most words you've ever said to me in one sitting." "Like, ever." "I like jazz." "And I like coffee." "And I can't believe you don't drink it." "Okay, now when we go in here, just do what I do." "They'll try to sell you on soy, but you have to stay strong." "Mason?" "Mason?" "Mason?" "Mason?" "Where were you going?" "I just..." "Mason." "So are we going to talk about it?" "What?" "No, uh, I just can't figure out what color to use for the shadow of your arm." "So we're not going to talk about it." "Okay." "So why didn't you use the blue?" "Because it'll pull focus from your eyes." "What about the orange?" "Too close to the tan in your slip." "Does it matter?" "Yes." "It's all about contrast." "To accentuate some parts you have to hide others." "So they can't be noticed?" "So they won't draw attention." "Now I know why you like to paint." "Why?" "'Cause you relate to it." "That's what's great about you." "Contrast." "I kind of envy that." "You shouldn't envy me." "That's me." "Pull your damn elbow in." "Line yourself up, and remember to follow all the way through." "Well you're still a great painter." "So contrast, huh?" "Yeah." "I can see that." "Some would call it manic, but contrast works, too." "Oh, come on, buddy, you've always been a little manic." "But you've come a long way since the old days, I'm proud of you." "Contrast." "That's right, just like your paintings." "I'm telling you, chicks dig them." "Remember little Jessica from Outdoor Ed?" "She went nuts when she saw those postcards you used to paint." "She stole one." "Yeah." "She went nuts." "Her teacher had to go through all of her stuff, and she found a pair of my underwear." "I'm telling you, that chick was a freak." "I wonder what she's doing now." "I'm sorry." "Berkeley, they're looking for you at the one o'clock." "Hey, Val, babe." "Conference room three." "Isn't she the cutest thing you ever seen, Mase?" "God, I love being the boss." "We'll work on your shot later." "Can I leave early today?" "What?" "You need some primping time before you go out clubbing?" "I'm kidding." "Do what you need to do." "And people say I'm not a nice guy." "They don't actually say that." "So are you going to tell me where we're going, or am I going to have to push you in a puddle?" "I really like Christmas." "It's the second week of December." "Oh, you know what we should do?" "We should go to the mall and sit on Santa's lap, and have our picture taken with him and tell him everything that we want, and then watch all the really angry moms with their screaming kids." "Mm, no elves." "Mason, are you afraid of elves?" "It's the ears." "That is like the cutest thing ever." "Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I have something for you." "Tah-dah." "What is it?" "It's your gift, mister." "No, no, no, no, no, you have to wait 'til Christmas to open it." "It's, it'll ruin the surprise." "They're bus tickets." "Bus tickets?" "Uh huh, and there's two of them." "They're open ended, which means we can pretty much go anywhere that we want to." "Like my Gypsy kin." "Do you like them?" "Thank you." "You're welcome." "Oh, um, uh, hey, uh, close, close your eyes." "What?" "Just close your eyes." "Okay, alright." "Um let me guess." "Mason." "No?" " Step down." " Okay, stepping down." "Just the one?" "Two." "What do you think?" "Next painting?" "You look like..." "A jazz player?" "A jazz singer." "Whatever, I like it." "What's the point of being a model if you can't live a decadent lifestyle?" "What do you think?" "Beige or true brown?" "Oh, Mason, Mason, Mason." "Never ask a girl if she wants to be painted in beige." "The answer will always be the same." "Oh, be right back." "Mason?" "Mason, Mason?" "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry, you okay?" "Mason?" "Are you okay?" "Oh my god." "I mean, I didn't, I didn't mean to." "I'm so sorry." "It's okay, I'm just, just, I just get startled easily." "Okay, I'm so, are you mad at me?" "I'm sorry." "No, no." "Just, no more elves." "No more elves." "I promise." "I'm sorry." "Look, I'm just saying if she's catching lipstick on dirty damn glasses in the sink, then she's too much for me." "It's like she's looking for the shit." "I mean, it's like commitment, basically." "So what, you still painting that, uh, contrast girl?" "Yeah." "Well, yeah, you must be, you're doing so well." "I mean, you're hitting your numbers, no more middle of the night phone calls." "Not that I mind, bro, but it can kill the moment from time to time, if you know what I mean." "At the buzzer, and fouled." "Do you think I can bring her?" "What are you talking about?" "Bring her where?" "To Christmas dinner." "Do you think I can bring Amber?" "Come on, buddy, you really think that's a good idea?" "I'm trying, Berkeley." "No, I, and I know that, it's just," "I mean, it's a big thing, you know?" "It's Christmas dinner." "I want you to be happy." "Why don't you just come have dinner with us?" "That way you're not setting yourself up for, uh, you know, expectations." "Come on." "I don't know, this one's different." "This one's special." "They're not special, they're just girls, Mase." "You should remember that." "Look, you're a grown man, if you want to invite somebody, you, just think about it, okay?" "I mean, you're really doing well." "I went and saw my mom." "You went to the cemetery?" "I didn't know you ever went out there." "I don't." "Well that's good." "Take a page out of my book and, uh, don't dwell on the past." "Do you think people go to hell?" "Are you asking me if I think that your old man's going to hell?" "I don't know, man." "No way, Mason, I'm not coming out." "What are you talking about?" "I don't know what kind of ideas you have about this, but I'm really a shy girl." "You don't have to if you don't want to." "Okay." "But you have to promise you'll never tell anyone about this." "Is this good?" "It's beautiful." "So Miles would play all over that area, at different lounges and bars." "And one time this young bass player got the opportunity to work with him, to play with the master himself." "And this, this kid looked up to Miles his whole life, and he was so excited to be able to play with him, but he'd practiced all these really hard baselines, and he was great." "He just went off on stage with Miles." "So when they were taking a break he walked up to him at the bar, and he asked him, 'how do you think I did?" "'" "And Miles said, 'you're great, kid." "You and me should hire a bass player and go on the road.'" "I don't get it." "You know, 'cause bass players usually just do easy..." "Oh, and he was, like..." "Wait, hold on." "I'm working on your shoulder." "Sorry." "So, Mason, how come I never got to see your lifeline?" "You never asked again." "Maybe I should have." "Then maybe I would have been able to understand your ways." "What ways?" "You're just very secretive." "I mean, not so much your art, but you definitely have, uh, boundaries." "Maybe secretive isn't the right word, um," "you're an enigma, Mason." "Well, like you said, contrast." "Whoa." "I hate these power surges." "Isn't rain supposed to be better for the electricity?" "Like a hairdryer in the bathtub?" "Hey, that's, um, that's one of the little ones, right?" "The, um, the postcards." "This was his favorite." "Whose favorite?" "We should keep working, we're almost finished." "Mason, whose favorite?" "We're, we're very close to being done." "Just..." "Mason, which..." "I, I didn't mean..." "It's late." "They were for my father." "He sent them all back." "He didn't want them." "Mason." "Mason." "Hey, you okay?" "Yeah, yeah." "I... hey." "Do you want to have Christmas dinner at Berkeley's with me?" "Yes." "All I have is peanut butter." "That's fine." "Did you just sniff that?" "Mason, if there was a nuclear explosion, all that would be left is cockroaches and peanut butter." "It's fine." "Um, I'm just going to put it on some bread." "It's cold." "Hey, can I, uh, can I borrow some socks?" "The floor is freezing." "I have apples, too." "I, I didn't know if you wanted me to put the, uh..." "What are you doing?" "I, I was, uh, looking for some socks, it's cold." "Last night was... let's finish the painting." "I got my bump this week." "Hmm?" "I hit all my sales." "I haven't done that all year." "That's really great." "Berkeley said that our floor is leading." "It's the first time for him." "What's next?" "Hey." "I don't even get to see what's next?" "You know the rules." "Listen I, I had this idea for, um, for one of the sketches." "No." "What?" "I, I just, I'm halfway through this pose." "Come on, Mason, I'm the one that's going to have to do all these poses that you come up with." "You're not the artist." "I'm sorry." "Forget it." "Look, why don't you come up with the next one?" "Just forget it, okay?" "Are you mad?" "Mason," "how many girls have you sketched before me?" "What?" "How many, Mason, I want to know." "I don't, I don't know." "You don't know, or you don't want to say?" "Why are you doing this?" "I'm just feeling a little vulnerable right now, okay?" "I don't normally, normally do that." "Well me either." "No?" "Amber." "I'm sorry." "I, uh, I just need some time." "Why?" "Lt, it's not you, I just, I need, I need to think." "Are you still coming to Berkeley's dinner?" "I need time to clear my head, okay?" "The damn rain." "Maybe you should call her?" "She's probably just running late." "Maybe I should go outside." "Maybe she forgot the address." "Mason, do we really have to do... okay, okay." "We'll wait." "Why did you even invite him?" "Please, ten minutes ago you were telling me to be nice." "That's different." "Oh, I got you." "So in front of him is one thing, but when he's not here it's a whole 'nother thing." "That's not fair." "Well what's not fair about it?" "You know what?" "I could have been in Vancouver with my family." "So you're not having fun?" "Is that what this is?" "Fun." "Is this entertainment?" "You'd better watch yourself." "What is this, Berkeley?" "Do you even know?" "You really want to know what this is?" "It's called friendship." "It's about him having one person in his life who's the same asshole to his face that he is behind his back, and me being the only damn guy who gives a shit about him." "That's not friendship, Berkeley, that's charity." "Oh, is that right?" "Yeah, it's him being your pet." "You know what?" "To hell with this." "I hear Canada's nice this time of year." "What?" "Get out." "You can't be serious." "Get out." "Listen to yourself." "I cooked this whole damn meal." "Oh, yeah?" "Happy Christmas, hit the road." "You're sick." "And you're still here." "You think it makes you a better person that you invite him over for dinner?" "Or that you talk to him for five minutes at work?" "If you wanted to help him, you'd get him help." "Put some coal in my stocking." "You're using him." "No, no, no, honey." "The only one I'm using is you." "Drive safe." "That wasn't about you, bro." "She, she's..." "She's a bitch." "What can I say?" "I don't have the most discerning taste." "I couldn't find Amber." "You know what?" "Enough with this Amber shit, alright?" "Look, I'm going to smoke this, then we're going to go sit back down and have a nice dinner." "She couldn't be lost, she, she was at your party." "She was where?" "She was here?" "Mason, you can't keep doing this to yourself." "Maybe she thought we were meeting at my place." "Do we have to go through this again?" "It's because you went to the damn cemetery, that's what it is." "You can't keep setting yourself up for rejection like that." "I have to go find her." "Mason, calm down." "Don't touch me!" "Hey." "What are you... where, where have you been?" "Can I come in?" " I'm sorry, I..." " Where, where have you..." "I'm sorry, Mason." "I just, I couldn't do this there." "Do what?" "I can't, I, I think that we got confused." "What, what are you talking about?" "I think you want me to be something that I, I can't be." "What do you, what do you mean?" "Why can't I see the next pose, Mason?" "Because there's, there are, there are rules." "What rules?" "What does that even mean?" "Why are you doing this?" "Why, why are you doing this to me?" "What?" "Am I just some kind of replacement?" "Who are you trying to get over?" "What are you talking about?" "Sketchbooks filled with copies of the same poses." "How do you think that makes me..." "Who are they, Mason?" "Where is it?" "Poses, you had me in all the same poses." "Where is it?" "What's the last pose, Mason?" "Why is it ripped out?" "Where is the other one?" "Where is it?" "You should have never..." "Why did you do that?" "Mason..." "No one sees them before they're done." "Mason." "You can't leave now." "No, no..." "Sit down." "Just sit down." "You shouldn't have done that." "Mason, please." "Please don't do this." "You should have just them." "Mason, Mason..." "Shut up." "Shut up." "You knew that there were rules." "I wanted you to be the one." "Mason, Mason!" "Mason!" "I'm sorry." " Mason!" " I'm sorry." "Mason!" "What's going on here?" "Hey, hey!" "Shut up, everybody just relax." "Just another damn power outage, the emergency lights are going to come back..." "You see?" "There's nothing to worry about." "I need help." "Holy shit, Mason." "Mason, Mason, hey, hey, what the hell are you doing, huh?" "It's alright, it's alright, he's alright." "Come here." "What's the matter with you?" "Huh?" "What's the matter with you?" "You trying to get us both fired?" "You out of your mind?" "Showing up to late to work is one thing, showing up looking like a psychopath is another." "What the hell happened to you?" "Hey, hey, buddy, hey, look at me, look at me." "What is your name?" "What the fuck is your name?" "Listen, Mason, hold on." "Come here, come here, come here, come here." "What?" "Am I paying you to stand around with your thumb up your ass?" "Is he alright?" " Close the door." " I was just..." "Close the door." "This is the last time, Mase, I swear to God." "She went through my things." "I don't give a shit, buddy." "I told you, you have to start dealing with your own bullshit problems." "She found out about the others." "What others, Mason?" "Huh?" "What the hell are we talking about here?" "The waitress?" "The one that would come up to your apartment late at night and let you paint sexy pictures of her?" "Or, or, or who was before that?" "Maybe it was her, huh?" "The, uh, uh, the damn, the Spanish one, the poet?" "Or maybe it was the girl that you met at the laundry place who was into Chick Corea." "Don't you get it?" "You pathetic little shit." "None of them are real." "They don't exist, you made them up." "You always make them up, but shit, it keeps you happy so I don't make a big deal about it." "But, but Amber..." "Amber?" "Amber who, huh?" "Contrast girl?" "The one who works here?" "The one that was at my party?" "Why haven't I ever met this girl, Mason?" "You ever stop to think about that?" "You ever seen anyone smile at her or talk to her, ever seen anyone move out of her way or hold the door for her?" "But I killed her." "Well I've never seen hands covered in blood, Mase." "But I've seen hands covered in paint." "At least I've seen yours like that a dozen times." "No, no, no, it's real." "You didn't kill anyone, Mase." "You're dad did, a long time ago, and I wish that he hadn't." "And I wish that they had fried his ass 20 years ago so this still wasn't an open wound for you, but I ain't God, Mase." "I got problems of my own, you know?" "What am I going to do?" "You're going to take another hit off that thing, you're going to go get cleaned up, and you're going to calm down." "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to take a hit," "and get cleaned up." "And calm down." "And I'm going to stay right here and take care of a little business, okay?" "None of them are real?" "None of them are real, buddy." "How can you tell the difference?" "Mm hmm." "Yeah, yeah, well whatever, that's not my problem." "How the hell am I supposed to know?" "You're the doctor." "Just send somebody over here as soon as you can." "Knock-knock." "Yeah?" "So, I heard there was some, uh, excitement down here this morning." "Yeah, you know, damn power outages." "Right." "Hey, whatever, he's harmless, alright?" "He just has problems." "Yeah, well, we've all got problems." "That guy needs help." "I don't know, you catch the game last night?" "Are you kidding?" "I stopped watching when Drexler stopped playing." "Ah, so how's life up on the third floor treating you?" "No lie, man, I was happier when I worked down here for minimum wage." "I tell you, manager's salary is not worth the shit they put you through." "Tell me about it." "Actually, uh, that's why I came down here." "One of my girls didn't show up for her shift this morning." "I got her mom calling up looking for her." "Her mom?" "Yeah, I guess she didn't come home last night." "Right, like we're their damn babysitters." "Anyway, um, I'm sure this is the last conversation you want to have right now, but I've seen your severely troubled friend talking to Amber a few times," "I thought maybe you'd ask him if he's seen her." "What did you just say?" "She's pretty." "Who is she?" "She's nobody."