An Almost Perfect Thing by Nicole Moeller Page A

in the top ten. It's nothing.
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"I'm sure you're a shoo-in. So what about those pictures of you two? Was that your first time at a party like that, Chloe?"
    GREG
    Chloe's been working so hard. She deserved a little relaxation.
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"It definitely caused an uproar. How do you respond to that?"
    GREG
    I think what people—
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
Would they prefer I stay locked in my room like before?
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"Well, you weren't exactly locked up in your room before. You were upstairs. At least that's what it says in the last article."
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
Not all the time.
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"How do you respond to people who say you just want your fifteen minutes of fame?"
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
I never asked for it.
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"You chose to be in the newspaper."
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
To tell my story. Because I survived. If I don't share how I did it, then it's like it never happened.
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"Personally, I think I'd want to forget it."
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
That's stupid.
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"Some people say you're just wasting police time and tax dollars by not giving him up. How do you respond to that?"
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
The police are choosing to investigate. I'm not making anybody do anything.
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"There's a dangerous person out there. That person will abduct another one of our children. Right? And you can prevent that. So…"
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
So—
    GREG
    (imitating the host)
"So why don't you prevent that? Our viewers are curious as to why you're protecting him. It's clear he needs to be punished. Why the secrecy? Are you still in contact with him? That's a common question because you don't seem too afraid that he's gonna come after you. Isn't that obstruction of justice? Impeding an investigation? The police are being patient, but are you ever afraid you could be charged? Go to jail? Get locked up again? What does that feel like? The possibility of being locked up again? Must not bother you too much. Unless of course none of this is true. Some of our viewers are going back to the theory that you were just a runaway."
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"Greg, everyone's calling you the Last Hope. Everyone—even the police—are relying on you to figure this one out. I mean, that must be—"
    GREG
    (to the host)
That's not true. I'm a journalist. My responsibility is to—
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"But that is your nickname. Right? The Last Hope. Pretty nice title. What's going to happen after the series is done? I'm sure you'll get plenty of offers to—"
    GREG
    (to the host)
I plan to move into investigative journalism. I find it—
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
We're gonna write a book together. Me and Greg. We're gonna write a book together. And it's gonna be so good. We're gonna travel all over the world together and—
    GREG
    (to the host)
We'll see.
    CHLOE
    (to the host)
We're going to write a book together.
    GREG
    (to the host)
We'll see.
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"Well that's a pretty good place to wrap it up."
    GREG
    (to the host)
Thanks so much for having us.
    CHLOE
    (imitating the host)
"The whole world is waiting, Mr. Kalowitz. Good luck."
    SCENE SIX
    Shift. GREG and MATHEW both speak to CHLOE and the audience. CHLOE is in her own space, post talk show, speaking to GREG or herself.
    CHLOE
    Five… four…
    GREG
    You okay?
    MATHEW
    Sorry I'm late. I got here as fast as—
    CHLOE
    Three… two…
    GREG/MAT
    Chloe?
    CHLOE
    You trapped me.
    GREG
    I didn't—
    MATHEW
    â€”mean to. The traffic was—
    CHLOE
    Five… four…
    GREG
    (to audience)
She counts like this all the way to the airport.
    MATHEW
    (to audience)
Still freaks out when I'm ten minutes late.
    CHLOE
    Three… two…
    MATHEW
    (to audience)
Secretly—
    GREG
    â€”I knew what would happen.
    MATHEW
    (to audience)
I do it on purpose