Lulu in Honolulu by Elisabeth Wolf

ginormous dark space is large enough to park a couple of 747 airplanes. It’s cool inside, thanks to huge air conditioners blasting freezing air.
    Lulu bounds through darkness toward tall directors’ chairs placed behind a row of movie cameras on wheels. Every few feet she trips on cords and cables. Then she bumps into the catering table.
    CATERING ASSISTANT
    Vegan or non?
    LULU
    What?
    CATERING ASSISTANT
    Are you vegan or non-vegan? We’ve got two different catering areas depending on which way you eat. This is the non-vegan table.
    LULU
    Mahalo for asking. I’m definitely non-vegan. But I’m just looking for…
    Alexis comes up behind Lulu and grabs her arm.
    ALEXIS
    (whispering)
    Listen, if you want to see another sunset over the Pacific Ocean, I suggest we get out of here before anyone knows we’re alive.
    LULU
    (soft, thoughtful tone)
    Hey, Lex, I’m glad we’re in this together.
    Alexis releases Lulu’s shoulder.
    Alexis yanks a bunch of her silk-like hair, something she does when she’s thinking.
    ALEXIS
    I’m trying to get us out of it together. We’ve got to lie low for a while and let Mom and Dad work.
    LULU
    (loud whispers)
    But maybe we can help, just like Mom and Dad did for me and my friends.
    ALEXIS
    Look, I don’t want to get in mega trouble or, worse, sent back to L.A. I’ve got more bikini shopping to do! And, Maxwell’s really cu…
    A tall, slim, but muscular man in a perfectly clean, pressed naval officer’s uniform strides up to the girls. He shines a flashlight in their eyes.
    NAVAL OFFICER
    (deep voice)
    Quiet on the set!
    Alexis shakes with fright.
    LULU
    Yes, sir.
    (then, focusing her eyes on the Officer)
    DAAAAD?
    Linc flashes a wide grin. He looks great in his costume. He gives them both sharp salutes.
    ALEXIS
    You look so totes cool!
    LINC
    Like a guy who’s gonna save America?
    Heels can be heard clicking closer.
    LULU
    Geez peas! You look like someone who could save the WHOLE world!
    FIONA
    (furious, frosty tone)
    How about you start by saving this movie from being shut down?
    LINC
    (looking from Lulu to Alexis)
    And that would be your mother.
    Linc gives the girls a nervous “we’re in for it now” smile.
    LINC
    Too bad we don’t have the real United States military to come save us right now.
    Fiona points a long, thin finger at Linc.
    FIONA
    (stares coldly at him)
    Where are you going in costume?
    LINC
    (grinning)
    Just catching some bad guys who entered our territory illegally.
    Linc winks at Lulu.
    FIONA
    (icy, scary voice)
    Alexis and Lulu. I don’t know why you’re on my set. But since you are, I can tell you myself that summer vacation is CANCELED. Dinners together are OFF.
    ALEXIS
    Got it, Fiona.
    FIONA
    Linc and I will now be working twenty-four/seven.
    LULU
    Mom, how about me and Lex and my friends help on the movie? We could carry stuff and be extras and anything you need to save some money and—
    Fiona spins around to examine Lulu. Her ALOHA cap is smashed over her hair. Her battered tote bag is slung over her mango-stained SURF KAUAI T-shirt, and her white SPF undergarments shine in the dark. She hardly looks like someone who’d work on a movie, unless, of course, she were the actress dressed in costume to play an eleven-year-old character who survived a shipwreck and floated to Hawaii on a rubber raft.
    FIONA
    Look, my focus has bounced around all summer, and now I’ve got this movie hanging from a string.
    (pause while she mindlessly tugs at her gold watch)
    I could run out of money before I can shoot the final big military landing.
    LULU
    Mom, it’s my fault.
    FIONA
    (voice softens)
    Lulu, darling, what are you even talking about?
    Alexis jumps in.
    ALEXIS
    It’s my fault too.
    Fiona looks from Alexis to Lulu while she clicks her clean, perfect nails polished in OPI’s gel color called Samoan Sand.
    FIONA
    It’s all our faults.
    Fiona gives each girl a