EPISODE 12, SCENE 85:
I Thought We Were Buddies

[Setting: Kitchenette by the studio control room. Lorenzo and Kat sip decaf out of mismatched mugs.]

LORENZO (mid-ramble):
I dunno. If someone cares about me, I’ll care about him.
I don’t care how annoying, intimidating, or awkward they are.
That’s always been my compass.
Even with people I barely like.
It’s not pity. It’s not people-pleasing --

KAT:
It’s just... rare.
Most people don’t mirror care with care, Lo. 
They ration it.
They hoard it.
And if you confuse that for love, you’ll chase ghosts for decades.

LORENZO:
People can be cruel once they decide to leave a relationship.
Any relationship.
That’s the part that hurts most with both Myra Lee and Debra.
But Myra even knew that about me.
And chose to use that against me.

[pause]

LORENZO:
You think “All My Exes” is too sharp?

KAT:
No — just honest.
But maybe next one, let them leave with a blessing.

LORENZO:
So … a breakup hymn?

KAT:
A forgiveness groove.

LORENZO (mock-scribbling):
“Dear Departed You.”

KAT (laughs):
Closer.

LORENZO:
What rhymes with empathy?

KAT:
You?

[They both chuckle.]

LORENZO:
I keep trying to write forgiveness without writing surrender.

KAT:
They’re cousins.
(sips tea)
Kindness is the last language most people forget.

[He nods, lost in thought. Morgan barks softly from inside.]

LORENZO (half-musing):
Fifty ways to ditch your buddy … most of ’em wrong as hell.

KAT (gentle laugh):
That line’s already forgiven.

[He hums a new melody as the scene drifts into the song.]

SCENE 86:
***MUSICAL NUMBER: “50 Ways to Ditch Your Buddy”***

SCENE 87:
Performance Issues

[Setting: Writers Room. Lorenzo mid-spiral, pacing. Casey looks pale, clutching a notecard. Kat sips cold coffee.]

KAT:
You look like you saw a ghost.

CASEY:
Worse. An email from deBos.
They want me to introduce the band onstage.
With a mic. And an audience. And… adjectives.
Out loud.
In front of people.

KAT:
That’s usually how introductions work.

CASEY:
No, I mean — me, onstage.
Without you two.
I’m a writer, not a voice actor.
If they want me to speak, they better bring a teleprompter -- and a Xanax.

I guess you could say I have performance issues.

[Door swings open. Rickles barges in, holding a donut box.]

RICKLES:
Heard that!
(beat)
Buddy, I’ve had performance issues since dial-up internet.

CASEY:
I can build universes, Kat.
But I can’t look at one while it stares back.

LORENZO:
I get it. Karaoke cured my fear, but it also broke me open.
If you ever want a crash course in losing dignity for art, come sing “Whole Lotta Love” stone-cold sober.

[Casey almost smiles.]

CASEY:
I can’t. I’ll freeze.
I might forget my own name.
They call it “stage fright.”
I call it a “tiny heart attack.”

SCENE 88:
The Compromise

[Setting: Marv deBos’s office. Marv’s pacing, ready to call legal. The elevator dings; Lorenzo walks in, calm but hollow-eyed.]

LORENZO:
Look, Marv, I’m not here to fight.
Let’s keep the Karaoke Kumback Tour title.
Plaster Cheap Whiskey wherever you need it.
But the first single stays “Please Call Me Lorenzo.”

[Marv stops pacing, studies him.]

deBOS:
You’re actually… being reasonable.
Okay. You give me the brand, I give you the vanity project.
Deal?

LORENZO:
Deal.
Just don’t call it vanity when it’s the truth.

[They shake. The handshake is businesslike, not friendly.]

deBOS:
Fine. You get your little “Lorenzo.”
And I get Daddy off my back for once.

[Phone buzzes. Caller ID: DEBOS SR.]

deBOS (grinning):
Speak of the patriarch.

[He hits speaker. The older voice crackles through.]

deBOS SR. (Voice-Over):
Marv, we saw the charts.
We’re proud.
Looks like the Cheap Whiskey kid’s finally paying off.

LORENZO (quietly):
Guess everybody gets their miracle tonight.

deBOS:
Yeah. Mine just happens to come with a corner office.

[They share a small, tired laugh—two men who know they’re trapped together.]

SCENE 89:
Can You At Least Wear The Cowboy Hat?

[Setting: Morning. Marvin deBos’s sleek office — same glass palace, different hangover. Clem hovers near the door with his phone.]

CLEM:
You’ve been staring at that number for twenty minutes, Chief.
You okay?

deBOS:
Fine. Just thinking about that interview clip where I called Cheap Whiskey “our reformed drunk turned prophet.”
(grimaces)
Maybe I was… a little glib.

CLEM
You? Glib? The nation weeps.

deBOS:
Don’t start.
(sighs)
Get him on the line.

CUT TO — Split Screen:
Left: deBos reclining in his designer chair.
Right: Lorenzo at home, mug of black-cherry water, eyes already tired.

LORENZO:
Marv. Morning. Or confession time?

deBOS:
Little of both.
Listen: Cheap Whiskey’s hot in Country Western circles.
The analytics don’t lie.
You ever think about a real ‘CW’ album?
Cowboy boots, heartland vibes—“from barroom to barnyard.”

LORENZO:
You mean… Country Western: Cheap Whiskey 3?
You want songs about whiskey, grief, and maybe my dog?
Oh, shoot, we’ve already done all that.

deBOS:
And maybe a verse about your truck not starting.

LORENZO:
Marv, the first two albums were accidents of geography, not genre.

deBOS:
Accidents that streamed twelve million times, Cheap Whiskey.
We ride the horse that brings us home.
(beat)
Can you at least wear the cowboy hat on stage?

LORENZO:
Only if it says ‘Make Art Weird Again.’

deBOS:
Perfect. I’ll have merch mockups by Friday.
(beat, softer)
You know I bust you because I believe in you, right?

LORENZO:
Sure. That and the quarterly bonus.
Listen, Marv — some of us are allergic to hay.

deBOS:
Then sneeze on stage, baby.
Authenticity’s trending, Cheap Whiskey.

[He hangs up before Lorenzo can respond.]

[CUT TO — Writers Room]
[Lorenzo drops the phone, rubs his temples.]

CASEY:
Let me guess. He wants boots, belt buckle, flannel, and a twang filter?

LORENZO:
He seriously keeps asking me to don a cowboy hat on stage.
(beat)
Brother Casey, if I start saying “y’all,” shoot me with mercy, not bullets.

[Morgan barks once, like she understands.]

[END OF EPISODE 12]