EPISODE 2, SCENE 9:
My Own Worst Enemy

[LIGHTS FADE UP] 
[Lorenzo stands at center stage, catching his breath, following his explanation of the story behind Hot Damn & Cheap Whiskey. Casey and Kat sit in silence, affected.]

CASEY (leans forward, serious now):
That’s not just a tour opener. 
That’s a fuckin’ confession.

LORENZO (sits back down, barely recovered):
You think it’s too much?

CASEY:
It’s exactly enough.

KAT:
Hot Damn & Cheap Whiskey --
It sounded cute until it didn’t.

CASEY:
And now?

KAT:
Now it sounds like warning tape around a crime scene.
You didn’t just name the drink. You named the phase.

LORENZO (half-chuckles, rubbing his face):
Yeah, phase one. 
Next part’s not so romantic.

CASEY:
Then tell it anyway.

LORENZO:
I need to warn you, though — this part?

(looks up)
This is when I start lying to myself.

CASEY:
I’ve seen a lot of guys try to explain the crash. 
But that last song? 
You made me feel it, brother.

KAT:
It’s not just a memory. 
It’s a mirror.

LORENZO:
Then brace yourself. 
Because the next mirror’s broken.
(voice softens)
Next one’s a cover. 
But it’s the truest one I’ve got.

SCENE 10:
[MUSICAL NUMBER: “My Own Worst Enemy”]

[A stripped-down cover. It doubles as confession.
Lorenzo’s descent begins here — INFJ regret in 90s alt-rock form.]

OPENING LINE:
“Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk?
I didn’t mean to call you that.”

ENDING LINE:
“Please tell me why…”

[SILENCE]
[Just the soft vape click. No applause. No clever remarks.
Just air thick with memory.]

[LIGHTS FADE TO BLUE] 

SCENE 14:
The Clockless Clause

SCENE 11:
You’re the Google Doc?

**FLASHBACK**

[Setting: Lorenzo is buzzing a bit. Casey is already seated at their Garfield Park meeting spot. Laptop open, earbuds still in.]

LORENZO (taking a seat):
So you’re the guy they said was ‘quiet but brilliant’?
I figured I’d recognize you by the stack of notebooks or tortured artist hair.

CASEY (without looking up):
You’re the guy who never sings the same song twice?
I figured you’d be taller.

LORENZO (laughs):
As a twice-divorced man, I have been on quite a few first-dates in my lifetime --
but this might be the first time I wasn’t the first one to arrive for a first date.
(pause}
You got a nickname, Casey?

CASEY (finally glances up, dryly):
I’m the Google Doc. They just gave me a name.

LORENZO (grinning):
Damn. I’ve heard of walking thesauruses but never met a Google Doc.

CASEY:
You talk like a man who’s two drafts away from clarity.

LORENZO:
You sound like a guy who just insulted me and complimented me at the same time.

CASEY:
Only if it’s working.

[They stare at each other for a moment, then both crack half-smiles.]

[3 HOURS LATER]

NARRATOR:
During those first several hours with Casey Bright, Lorenzo Champion repeatedly tossed out idea after idea --
his dream of a concept album, his karaoke theories of songwriting, his spiritual themes --
and Casey just started building.
Lorenzo shared his memory of that first meeting with Casey, later:]

LORENZO:
I am amazed at how easily we’re able to craft a near-complete song, while just sitting there chatting.
It was thrilling. Hey, we’re actually doing this -- already. Yaaaay!

Every line we exchanged toward the ditties we were creating, made us both laugh all the harder -- larger and larger guffaws -- sometimes even topping each other’s best lines.
Even my demure little Morgan barked a few times at us -- too loud!!
And it was like that during that entire process.

Casey Bright didn’t just help me write that album -- he also proved to me that “I’m Not Cheap Whiskey Anymore.”

NARRATOR:
That same evening, Lorenzo shared with Casey a few rough drafts of personalized song frameworks he’s been working on.

[Casey eyed all six carefully, smiled a little, while tapping his finger on the song lyrics entitled, “I Surrender.”]

CASEY (still tapping):
If you decide you’re going to tell your story -- that’s the only place to start, brother.
Right there…. I’m not here to try to impress you, OK?
I’m just going be here to help you be honest.

[FADE OUT] 

SCENE 12:
You Still Up, Brother?

**FLASHBACK**
[Setting: Lorenzo paces outside Casey’s house under a dim porch light, and calls Casey unexpectedly in the middle of the night. Vape pen glows. Phone pressed to his ear. Casey answers — groggy but alert — and switches to speaker. It would be the first of many late-night writing sessions.]

LORENZO: 
Casey! You ever feel like your real life’s trying to find you, but it keeps missing because you’re stuck being ‘the old version’ of yourself?

CASEY (instantly more awake):
All the time.

LORENZO:
I was buzzed earlier … had the Christian music going.
And I swear, it felt like Jesus said, ‘Write it. With him.’”

CASEY (sits up, serious now):
With who?

LORENZO:
You. With you, dumbshit.

[Long pause]

CASEY:
You realize I’m mostly just editing typos and talking you out of quitting.

LORENZO (smirking):
Exactly. That’s how I know it’s real. 

[Long pause. A beat of emotional weight.]

Let’s do this!
Let’s write a damn album together.
It’ll be a blast, yes?

SCENE 13:
What’s In a Nickname?

[Setting: Everyone is slouched around the round table. Empty coffee cups, lyric drafts, and half-eaten takeout are everywhere. Sony leans back in his chair, arms folded, watching them like he’s already decided they’re all wasting his time.]

NARRATOR:
It was never really settled what to call him. In the early days, the team argued about it regularly….

LUNDY:
He reminds me a lot of Mr. Wonderful. He’s not that funny—he’s just a prick.

KAT:
I’d say he’s a fifty-fifty. But I’m open to sixty-forty if it helps morale.

CASEY (shrugs):
Either way, he’s insufferable.

NARRATOR:
But the day Lorenzo finally cracked—after hours of one-liners and smug commentary—he just stood up and said it.

LORENZO (standing, voice rising):
That’s it!!
I’m not calling you Sonny anymore! 
You’re ‘Rickles’ now whenever you’re being an asshole! 

[Rickles simply smirks. as the other writers chuckle in unison.]

NARRATOR:
And that was that. 
Even though consensus opinion stated that bald-headed Sonny Shears was really about 60% Don Rickles, and 40% percent Mr. Wonderful, the label stuck—
like most every other nickname Lorenzo ever handed out.

[Setting: Dr. Kat Bloom’s airy, book-filled loft. Sunlight angles in through gauzy curtains. MORGAN is napping in the corner. Lorenzo, Casey, and Kat are gathered with coffee, vape pens, and half-written lyrics spread around. The topic: team workflow now that the ‘Cheap Whiskey Kumback Tour’ is expanding into multi-media plays.]

LORENZO:
You guys… did we blow it?
(pause)
We should’ve just done another album.
Just us. You, me, and Kat — like we did in Album 1.
On our terms.

CASEY:
(sips coffee, waits)

LORENZO:
I mean, what the hell are we doing? Scheduling ‘9 a.m. meetings’?
Who the hell are we pretending to be?
That’s not me. That’s not you, Casey.
And it damn sure wasn’t Cheap Whiskey.

CASEY:
Cheap Whiskey and Crabman slept days.

LORENZO:
Damn right we did.

(pause, softer)

LORENZO:
I miss when our Writer's Room was just my living room.
One mic. One dog. One damn genius in those dreads.
You remember?

Look, I’m not saying we shut it down. 
I’m just saying… we had something magic.
We built Album 1 with no clocks. 
No call sheets. 
No check-ins from Clem.

CASEY (grinning):
No pants, half the time.

LORENZO:
Exactly. And now we’re doing 9 am meetings? 
On what planet is that gonna work for us?”

KAT:
So what’s your ask?

LORENZO:
I wanna keep the ‘no clock’ clause.
I often say Lorenzo has an equal chance of being awake at 4am as he does at 4pm. 
I average six hours of sleep a day. 
That means there’s a 75% chance I’m awake right now -- no matter what time it is.

(reflects)
LORENZO:
Let Rickles bring in pages.
Let them all work their own rhythm. 
But me and you,  Crabman — we don’t set alarms. 
We don’t do on-the-clock.

KAT:
Why don’t we all just all work from our place?
You can sleep in the guest room, whenever you want a nap.
I know that’s all you two do anyway -- power naps.

LORENZO:
That’d be great We do spirit timing…. Buzz math…. Jesus hour.

CASEY (nods):
Yeah. 'Spirit timing.'
That’s how we found Hot Damn.

KAT:
Then let’s write it in: Call it the ‘Clockless Clause.’
All collaborators agree to respect your... nocturnal flexibility.

CASEY:
We built the first album on spirit time. 
We were pulling 24-hour shifts, not ‘cuz we had to… but because the music wouldn’t leave us alone.

KAT:
Most of the times Lorenzo dozed off was with a half-finished lyric and a full vape cartridge still in his hands.
You two weren’t lazy…. You were possessed.

(smiling)
And it shows in the work.”

LORENZO:
That first album didn’t come from the 9-to-5. 
It came from 3am porch talks. 
From the back of your mind when the world shuts up. 
You can’t schedule a reckoning.

CASEY:
Or a resurrection.

LORENZO:
So, if Rickles wants call sheets and structure? Fine.
Phil wants workflow charts? Great.
But we stay on the old rhythm.
Unclockable.
Unfuckwithable.

KAT:
Then we write it in: No alarms. No expectations. You two retain the ‘Clockless Clause.’

LORENZO:
Everyone brings their own stories. 
Show up with your weird.
Just don’t bring a damn clock.

[Morgan barks softly):

CASEY:
And no meetings before Morgan’s first stretch of the day.

[They laugh. Lorenzo grabs a long-sleeved shirt from a chair — folds it slowly into his worn overnight bag.]

KAT:
You staying again tonight?”

LORENZO:
I do have a thing at 4am with Jesus.
But, Morgan does like your floors.

[Kat smiles but doesn’t answer. Casey watches the exchange like a stoned owl.]

CASEY (under his breath):
Rickles is gonna lose his mind.

KAT (smiling):
Then we better put that in bold.
No clocks.
No khakis.
No Clem.

SCENE 15:
Where’s the Damn Clock?

[Setting: Rickles and Lundy walk into the new “writing room” the following morning. Rickles is in khakis for a change, Lundy is eating hummus out of the tub.]

NARRATOR:
Well, Cheap Whiskey’s crew is now officially transitioning into 'Phase 2' of the Kumback Tour — multimedia expansion, additional hires, chaos at the seams.

The ‘Clockless Clause’ will soon become a literal clause, a turning point that gives the three INFJ co-writers their freedom -- while setting up Rickles' possible explosion.

RICKLES:
Wait. This is it?
This is the new Writer's Room space?
Where’s the whiteboard?
Where’s the structure?
It looks like a woman’s living room.

[They look around. Long pause. ]
Where’s the damn clock?

LUNDY:
Just say thank you and sit your ass down.

[The only sound is the faint whir of Morgan’s snoring.]

LUNDY (offers hummus):
Want some?

[Casey enters wearing pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt that reads:
“THE MUSE IS ON HER OWN TIME.”]

CASEY:
We don’t do clocks.
We do chaos.

SCENE 16:
I’m Done, You’re Done

[Setting: Later during that same intense Writers Room session.]

RICKLES:
You two do realize nobody outside this room gives a damn about your ‘artistic integrity,’ right?
You’re either marketable or you’re not.

LORENZO (face reddening):
Oh, here we go—Rickles strikes again.

RICKLES (smirking, arms folded):
Look, I’m not saying you’re talentless.
I’m just saying you’re not talented enough to pull this off without me.

LUNDY:
Oh, good—he’s doing the Mr. Wonderful routine again.

RICKLES (smug, louder):
Fine. You pick the ratio — either way, you fuckin’ need me.

LORENZO (pointing, as he walks swiftly from room):
Rickles!!…. That’s it! I’m done. You’re done.

[FADE OUT]

[END OF EPISODE 2]