Scene: East Van Rooftop at Sunset – Joe and Nelly sit on the ledge with mugs of herbal tea.
Joe (looking out at the skyline):
“It’s okay to laugh… or cry. It doesn’t make you bipolar, Nelly.”
Nelly (half-smile, eyes wet):
“Some days it just feels like… if I’m not cheerful, I’m defective.”
Joe (shaking his head):
“You have the right to be a Negative Nelly. Own it. Without some shrink handing you a pill cocktail or whispering ‘lobotomy-lite’ in clinical terms.”
Nelly:
“They said I was too emotional, then too numb. I can’t win.”
Joe (smirking):
“That’s ’cause their game is rigged. Their goal isn’t your healing — it’s your obedience. But your spirit, Nel? They can’t touch it. No matter how hard they try, it’s unbreakable. Diamond-core.”
Nelly (quiet):
“Sometimes I forget that.”
Joe (leans closer):
“That’s why I’m here. To remind you. And also to say thank God Ned Flanders isn’t Lord and Master of the Universe.”
Nelly (laughs through tears):
“Oh my God. Stupid sexy Flanders!”
Joe (grinning):
“Exactly. You don’t need to smile for anyone but yourself. And if you want to cry while flipping the bird to the skyline, I’ll be right here doing it with you.”
Nelly:
“Then hand me the finger, Joe.”
Joe:
“One universal middle finger, coming right up.”
They raise their fingers toward the sky as the sun dips beneath the horizon, the city below oblivious to the silent rebellion of two broken hearts refusing to bow.
