An Elinor Wonders Why Special: My Bunny Girl: Part 2

(Scene: Living room) 
(Mr. Rabbit and Bibi are sitting in the living room watching television. Elinor walks into  the room. and she sits next to Mr. Rabbit.) 
Elinor: Daddy, can I have thirty-five dollars?
Mr. Rabbit: That's a lot of money for a little girl. 
Elinor: It's for school, for summer writing class. 
Mr. Rabbit (is very interested in the television show): Any more soda left? 
(Elinor pours Mr. Rabbit some soda pop.) 
Elinor: Irene thinks I'd be a good writer. 
Mr. Rabbit: Last month, you wanted to play the violin. then you wanted to be a ventriloquist. 
(Mr. Rabbit keeps his eyes on the television screen this entire time.) 
Elinor: Dad? 
Mr. Rabbit (talking about the television screen) I love this guy!  
(He laughs at the character on the television screen.) 
Elinor: Dad? 
Mr. Rabbit: What? 
Elinor: The money? 
Mr. Rabbit: Ahh, maybe next summer. 
Elinor (thoughts): He forgot about the time I wanted to be a magician, I was really great  at making myself disappear. 
(Scene: Foyer) 
(Elinor is bouncing a basketball. Mr. Moose comes in.) 
Elinor: Wanna play? 
Mr. Moose: No, I gotta go to the cemetery. Keep your head up. Don't look at the ball, look  at me. 
(Mr. Moose takes the basketball from Elinor. and bounces it around properly to show Elinor.) 
Mr. Moose: See. You were looking at the ball. Alright? Keep your head up. Gimme some skin. 
(Elinor and Mr. Moose high-five one another. Mr. Moose leaves the house. Elinor continues to play around  with the basketball. The basketball bounces away from her and down the stair steps to the basement. Elinor  goes down the stair steps slowly. She's terrified of the basement. and she peeks around  the corner. There's a corpse there. but it's covered up. She runs across the room. and she  gets the basketball. Irene Pepperberg, who is walking by, notices the door open. and she closes it.  unaware of Elinor down there. Elinor runs up the stair steps. and she tries to open the door. but it's  locked. She drops her basketball. and it bounces down the stair steps. She is crying.) 
Elinor: Please! Open the door, please! 
(Irene Pepperberg hears the banging of the door. and Elinor crying for the door to be opened. She walks over the door.) 
Elinor: Please, open the door! 
(Elinor sits on the step by the door and covers her ears. She sings "Do Wah Diddy Do!" to  herself. Irene Pepperberg opens the door.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Elinor? Elinor! What happened? 
Elinor (very scared): My ball. I lost my ball. 
(Irene Pepperberg picks up Elinor to her feet.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Come on, sweetie. 
(They both walk away from the basement.) 
(Scene: Basement) 
(Irene Pepperberg is putting makeup on a dead turtle lady. Mr. Rabbit is at his desk.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Excuse me, Ethat? 
Mr. Rabbit: Uh-huh?  
Irene Pepperberg: Could you take a look at Mrs. Turtle? 
Mr Rabbit: Yeah. 
(Mr. Rabbit gets up from his desk. and he looks right at Mrs. Turtle. He's not impressed at Irene Pepperberg's work.) 
Mr. Rabbit: Didn't I give you a picture of what she looked like? 
Irene Pepperberg: Yeah.  
(Irene Pepperberg looks in her pockets. and she takes out the photo. Mr. Rabbit compares her work to the photo.) 
Irene Pepperberg: You don't like it? 
Mr. Rabbit: This was the Reverend Turtle's wife. you have her looking like a two dollar hooker. 
Irene Pepperberg (is a bit offended): I think she looks nice! Her lips are very thin so I used the gloss to give them a more sensual quality, and her eyes just needed  a little definition, and her necklace. I'm sorry, nobody wears this thing anymore in nineteen seventy-two. 
Mr. Rabbit: She did. This photo was taken a month ago at the church food drive. 
Irene Pepperberg: I just wanted to get past this "old school Marm" image. 
Mr. Rabbit: That wasn't an image. She was an old school Marm. Fix it. 
(Mr. Rabbit makes his leave.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Ethan? 
(Mr. Rabbit turns himself around.) 
Irene Pepperberg: I was just wondering. if there is anything wrong with Elinor. 
Mr. Rabbit: What do you mean? 
Irene Pepperberg: Well the other night at dinner... 
Mr. Rabbit: Oh that, she just likes to play. 
Irene Pepperberg: I don't think so, I think she's confused about death. 
Mr. Rabbit: She was raised in a funeral home. she knows a thing or two about it. 
Irene Pepperberg: Ethan, I really think she..... 
Mr. Rabbit (annoyed): She's a perfectly happy eleven year old girl. look. don't give me any advice about my daughter. okay? 
(Mr. Rabbit goes back up the stair steps. and Irene Pepperberg watches.) 
(Scene: Front of house) 
(Elinor and Ari are playing jump rope with Baba. Baba is panting and jumping  while Elinor and Ari say a rhyme. Irene Pepperberg's camper pulls up to the house.) 
Elinor: There's Irene! 
(They stop jump roping leaving Baba tired. They run to the camper as Irene Pepperberg gets  out.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Hi. 
Elinor: Can we look around in your camper? 
Irene Pepperberg: Sure. I'll give you the royal tour. 
(Irene Pepperberg opens the door. and Elinor and Ari rush in excited.) 
Irene Pepperberg (surprised by the excitement): Whoa! Gosh! 
(Ari gets on the driver's seat. and he pretends to drive the camper. Elinor sits at the camper's dining table. and she begins reading a book to herself.) 
Ari: Wow. this is the coolest thing. like you really eat and sleep here? 
Irene Pepperberg: Uh-huh. 
Ari: I'm gonna drive us to Liverpool. 
Irene Pepperberg: Liverpool? 
Elinor: Big Ringo fan. 
Irene Pepperberg: Oh. right. Would you like a soda? 
Elinor: I would. 
Irene Pepperberg: Ari? 
Ari: Yes. please. 
(Ari gets up. and he sits at the camper's dining table across from Elinor.) 
Ari: What are you reading? 
(Elinor puts a finger to her mouth. telling him to be silent. and she keeps reading. Irene Pepperberg notices this.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Oh! 
(She takes the book from Elinor.) 
Irene Pepperberg: You shouldn't be looking at that. it's a little too old for you. 
Elinor: Did you read all these books? 
Irene Pepperberg: Uh-huh. 
Elinor: What are they about? 
Irene Pepperberg: Mostly love, and romance. 
Ari: Eeeww, gross. 
Irene Pepperberg: They're just fun to read. 
(Irene Pepperberg gives Elinor and Ari soda pops.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Here. cheers. 
(The three of them all drink a mouthful.) 
Elinor: Are you married? 
Irene Pepperberg: No. I'm divorced. 
Elinor: Daddy said it's bad when people get divorced. 
Irene Pepperberg: Well, sometimes married people just find out they can't live with each  other. 
Ari: Mine aren't divorced. 
(Ari stands up. and he reaches for the cookie jar.) 
Ari: Irene, can I have a cookie? 
(Irene Pepperberg has soda pop in her mouth. and trying to tell Ari not to open it.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Hmmmph gurgle gurgle... 
(Ari opens the cookie jar. and he takes out a few dollar bills.) 
Ari: Hey. where are all the cookies? 
(Elinor notices the cash. and she gets an idea.) 
Irene Pepperberg: Well. I guess you found my secret hiding place. 
(Irene Pepperberg puts the cash back. and she closes the cookie jar.) 
Ari: What are you saving for?
Irene Pepperberg: Nothing in particular, just putting it away for a rainy day. 
(The cuckoo clock goes "Cuckoo." It is now noon, lunch time.)
Ari: I'm supposed to be home at noon for lunch. thanks, Irene. Bye. 
Irene Pepperberg: Bye. 
(Ari leaves the camper. and he goes back home to his house)
Irene Pepperberg: Well, Miss Elinor. what do you say we head back? 
Elinor: Can I use your bathroom first? 
Irene Pepperberg: Sure. 
Elinor: You don't have to wait. Daddy'll be mad if you're late. 
Irene Pepperberg: Okay. 
(Irene Pepperberg leaves the camper. and Elinor goes in the washroom. She has a guilty look on her face.) 
(Scene: Mr. Hamster's writing class) 
(Mr. Hamster is teaching his class.) 
Mr. Hamster: The great way, is not difficult for those with no preferences, with the  absence of both love and hate, everything becomes clear and undisguised. That was  written by a Chinese philosopher in the year six hundred. Now why would I choose to bring that  up in a creative writing class? Because, the absence of judgment helps us to appreciate  reality. In other words, I want you to listen to your classmates writing, with a clear  and open heart, okay? So who's gonna go first? 
Classmate Number One: I got one. 
Mr. Hamster: Yeah.
(The classmate stands up.) 
Classmate Number One: I sang a song for you to hear, I painted a picture for you to see, I picked a  rose for you to smell, I planted grass for you to touch, But you did not hear my song,  You did not see my picture, You did not smell my rose and you did not touch my grass. 
Classmate Number Two: Maybe she was outta town? 
Classmate Number Three: That's not funny. His poem is about futility. We toil in unrewarded obscurity. 
Mr. Hamster: Now. I hear judgment. let's not forget the part about the open heart... 
(The door to the classroom opens. Elinor enters with a notepad. She is nervous.) 
Mr. Hamster: Elinor. 
(Everybody turns. and they look right at her.) 
Mr. Hamster: Is there something I can do for you. 
Elinor (is nervous): I paid the money. 
Mr. Hamster: For this class? 
Elinor: Uh-huh. I wanna be a writer. 
Mr. Hamster: Elinor. this is an adult writing class. 
Classmate Number Four: Hey. I think it's real beautiful. She wants to be a writer. 
Mr. Hamster: Elinor. you sure you wanna do this? 
(Elinor nods her head yes.) 
Mr. Hamster: Welcome to the class. go find a seat. 
(Everybody applauds for her.) 
Mr. Hamster: Okay. ahh, who's next? 
Shelly: I experienced something with my boyfriend the other day. and I wrote a few words  down. 
Mr. Hamster: The floor's yours, Shelly. 
Shelly: He covers me like a blanket, from the cold, dark night, As I look into his eyes,  I know it's right, To touch, To feel, I know he's real, Flesh all a mush, Flesh all a  mush, I can't fight it, There's no point, I wake up in lighter joint. 
(The classmates glane around the room. Elinor raises her hand.) 
Mr. Hamster: Uhhh, oo, uhh, Elinor. 
Elinor: I wrote a poem too. 
Mr. Hamster: Please. 
Elinor: "Ode to Ice-cream" by Elinor Rabbit. I like ice-cream a whole lot. It tastes good  when days are hot. On a cone or in a dish. This would be my only wish. Vanilla,  chocolate or rocky road. Even with pie a la mode. That's all I got so far.  
Marvin: I hear that Elinor, Flesh all a Mush or Rocky Road, is about desire. 
Mr. Hamster: Elinor. that's... It's very sweet, and it rhymes and that's also good  but,  you're not expressing to me what's in your soul. I want you to show me how you see the  world, your fears, your desires, your innermost secrets.
Elinor (thoughts): My fears and secrets. I'm afraid I killed my mother. 
(Scene: Inside the house) 
(Irene Pepperberg is sitting at her desk. She hears a tuba playing. and she gets up. She smiles. and she walks into the next room. It's Mr. Rabbit playing the tuba to Bibi.) 
Mr. Rabbit: Cannot do without 
Ethan's wild about 
Irene Pepperberg: Hold right there, Ethan. I'm sorry. I just wanna let him go 
(Shooting)
Ethan: aaaaaaaaaaah! 
Irene Pepperberg: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Mr. Rabbit: (Mr. Rabbit playing the tuba)
Irene Pepperberg: Nooooooooooooooooooooooo
(Fade To Black)
(Scene: Weeping willow by a lake) 
(Elinor and Ari are at their favorite spot. It's a big beautiful weeping willow by a  lake with a small pier. Oona is sitting on the pier waiting for a bite. Ari is hanging from the tree with his fishing pole set up next to Elinor's.)
Ari: Nothing's biting today. 
Elinor: Maybe they had a big breakfast. 
Ari (hanging from tree): I'm gonna be an acrobat when I grow up. 
Elinor: Big deal. I can do that too. 
(Ari's reel clicks.) 
Elinor: Ari. you got something! 
Ari: Oh no! (Ari jumps from the tree.) 
Ari: Uuh.
Elinor: Hurry! 
Ari: I'm trying. 
Elinor: Reel it in. 
(Ari reels in his pole. He has caught a very small fish.) 
Elinor: He's only tiny. throw him back. 
Ari: I don't like touching fish. how do you pull the hook out without touching it? 
(Ari tries to free the fish from the hook by stepping on it and pulling it off.) 
Elinor: You're hurting him, don't kill him! 
(Elinor takes the reel. and she removes the hook. and she accidentally pricks her finger.) 
Elinor: Ouch! Darn hook! 
(Elinor throws the fish back in the water.) 
Elinor: I'm bleeding. did he get away? 
(Ari looks in the water. and he sees the fish floating on the water. The fish is dead.) 
Ari (fibbing): Yeah. he got away. Come on let's go. 
Elinor: Hey. we can become blood brothers. 
Ari: Nah, I don't wanna. 
Elinor: You could pick that scab on your arm. 
Ari: It's a mosquito bite. 
Elinor: It'll bleed. 
Ari: If I do it, can we go? 
Elinor: Uh-huh. 
Ari: Okay. 
(Ari picks at his bite.) 
Ari: Ow! 
(The bite begins to bleed.) 
Elinor: Okay. rub them together. 
(They both rub the cuts together as always.) 
Elinor: Now we're blood brothers for life. 
End of Part 2. 
Category:My Bunny Girl series