Standing Outside the Fire

6

[You Can't Handle the Truth]

INT. BIGGERSON'S RESTAURANT, CALUMET CITY, ILLINOIS

A voice said over the television, "I'm Ashley Frank, and I will..."

Jane Peterson, a waitress, emerged from the kitchen and walked to the till in the restaurant, all the while speaking on her cellphone. "He said he'd call, but of course he never did. But -- I don't know. I just -- we had such a good time. I-I should call him, right? Do you think? I mean, should I call him? I don't know. Oh. Uh, Olivia, just hold on a sec." She turned away from the frowning front manager, but continued her phone conversation. "I just need the truth. That's all. I really gotta go, 'kay? Call you later."

INT. BIGGERSON'S KITCHEN

Jane was picking up an order.

"I pity you," the cook said.

"I'm sorry?" Jane asked.

"You're sad and pathetic, and I pity you -- only reason I'm giving you a head's up. Stay away from the clam chowder. I flavored it with my own... seasoning."

Jane looked shocked and went to deliver the order.

"Hey, Jane," the front manager called. "You know that new girl, Misty? Way hotter than you."

"Excuse me?" Jane replied.

"Basically, she's an eight, and you're a... a three."

Jane, disconsolate, continued her duties. She said to an elderly patron, "Can I get you anything else, ma'am?"

"No, thank you," the elderly patron said. "I ran over a homeless man once, and I never even stopped to see if he was alive."

Jane turned. Other people addressed her as she moved through the restaurant.

A little girl said, "I hate Mommy. I want to burn her in her sleep."

A waiter spoke. "I don't know what it is, but you just give me the creeps. Like I get physically nauseous."

A female voice said, "You're pathetic."

A male voice. "Loser."

Another male voice. "Desperate."

Jane was in a back room, unlocking a drawer and pulling out a gun.

A female voice. "Stupid. Mousy."

Yet another male voice. "You're a desperate, pathetic loser."

"You're gonna die alone."

Jane was in a corridor outside the main dining room, speaking on her cellphone to her sister Olivia.

"Hey, can you come get me?" Jane asked.

"You sound awful," Olivia told her. "Have you been drinking?"

"I think I'm going crazy. I'm freaking out."

"Of course you are. 'Cause you are a freak. You're certifiable. Every time the phone rings, my stomach drops. Jane with another crisis. You're a walking disaster." Jane pulled the gun out of her apron. "The whole family's just waiting for your next big breakdown, Jane. We're like hostages. Why don't you just go ahead and kill yourself already?"

Jane placed the gun under her chin. A shot rang out and Jane's blood splattered on a sign that reads: BIGGERSON'S: THE HAPPY PLACE.

EXT. - DAY - HOT DOG VENDOR

Sam was in the line up. Dean was walking away, talking to Bobby on the phone. Francesca followed Dean.

"Frankie and I know what we saw, Bobby," Dean said.