麻豆社

Scenes 5 to 8

A co-production between 麻豆社 Radio 4 and Franco-German Company Arte

• SCENE 5

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• PERE LACHAISE CEMETERY. THEY ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF A GRAVE.

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• HIM: Tu veux pas faire un petit bisous 脿 Oscar ? Oscar Wilde.

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• HER: It鈥檚 covered in lipstick.

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• HIM: Allez, un petit ... ?

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• HE MAKES A KISSING SOUND.

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• HER: No! I couldn't kiss a tombstone.

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• HE LAUGHS. SHE LAUGHS GENTLY TOO. SHE STOPS.

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• HER: [READING] 鈥淎nd alien tears will fill for him pity's long-broken urn. For his mourners will be outcast men and outcasts always mourn.鈥�

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• HIM: En fran莽ais ?

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• HER: Well 鈥� he's saying 鈥� outsiders 鈥� [SUDDENLY SHE GRABS A WORD] l' 茅tranger 鈥� always 鈥� sad.

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• HIM: Triste 鈥� l' 茅tranger 鈥� very good.

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• HER: Albert Camus. You've read L' 脡tranger ?

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• HIM: Bien s没r. He is Algerian.

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• THEY WALK.

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• HER: Is Camus buried here?

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• HIM: Ici ? Non. Ici 鈥� Chopin 鈥� Balzac 鈥� Jim Morrison.

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• HER: Oh. Can we see Jim Morrison?

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• HIM: It is not very impressive.

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• HER: I don't care.

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• HIM: Bien, viens alors.

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• HE GRABS HER HAND AND THEY RUN. SHE SCREAMS.

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• HER: Stop!

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• HIM: C'est tout pr猫s.

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• HER: I can't run anymore. Ahmed!

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• HIM: Juste l脿.

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• HIM: [SINGS] Come on baby, light my fire.

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• THEY STOP.

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• HER: Those kids, they're looking at us.

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• HIM: [SINGS] So what. You know that it would be untrue 鈥� You know that I would be a liar.

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• THEY WALK TOWARDS THE GRAVE. WE HEAR SOME KIDS CONGREGATED AROUND THE GRAVE. THEY ARE DRINKING AND SWEARING.

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• HER: [READING] 鈥淎nd alien tears will fill for him pity's long-broken urn, For his mourners will be outcast men and outcasts always mourn.鈥�

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• HER: [INTERNAL] I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

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• HIM: What are you thinking?

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• HER: [INTERNAL] I love you. I love you.

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• HER: Nothing.

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• TWO POLICEMEN APPROACH. THEY SPEAK ONLY IN FRENCH.

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• POLICE 1: Bonjour. Papiers d'identit茅, s'il vous pla卯t.

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• HIM: Pardon ?

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• POLICE 2: Vos papiers, monsieur, s'il vous pla卯t.

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• HER: What do they want?

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• HIM: Nothing.

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• POLICE 1: Vous 锚tes d'o霉 ?

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• HIM: Paris.

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• POLICE 2: D'accord. Votre nom, monsieur, s'il vous pla卯t.

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• HIM: Ahmed Ibrahim Hamil.

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• HER: Ahmed?

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• POLICE 1: Eh, on se calme, s'il vous pla卯t.

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• HE PUTS HIS HAND IN HIS POCKET.

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• HER: What's going on?

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• HIM: Don't say anything.

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• HIM: Elle est anglaise.

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• THEY READ HIS PAPERS.

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• HER: He's my boyfriend.

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• HIM: Shut up Claire.

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• HER: Mon copain.

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• HIM: Je viens de la rencontrer. Elle voulait visiter le cimeti猫re. Je l'emm猫ne voir la tombe de Jim Morrisson.

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• BEAT.

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• POLICE 1: Allez, on se calme.

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• HIM: Pourquoi vous ne lui dites pas en fran莽ais ?

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• POLICE 2: Allez, n'en rajoutez pas, s'il vous pla卯t.

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• POLICE 1: Allez, circulez.

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• HIM: Come on. Let's go.

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• HER: What was all that about? Ahmed? Ahmed?

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• SCENE 6

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• HOTEL ROOM, PARIS.
  
  THEY ARE IN BED. A TV IN THE ROOM NEXT DOOR IS PLAYING. CLAIRE CAN'T SLEEP. SHE SIGHS, FIDGETS. TURNS OVER.

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• HER: Ahmed? 鈥� Ahmed?

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• HIM: Hmmm?

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• HER: Are you asleep?

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• HIM: Oui.

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• HE ROLLS OVER HUGS HER.

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• HER: Ahmed?

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• HIM: Rendors-toi.

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• HER: I can't.

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• HIM: Essaie.

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• HER: It's the TV next door.

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• HE SIGHS.

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• HIM: You want me to call reception?

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• HER: No.

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• HIM: Bien rendors-toi, alors.

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• SILENCE. EXCEPT FOR THE TV.

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• HER: Ahmed?

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• HIM: I can go next door ...

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• HER: No. It's not the TV. It's today.

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• HIM: Quoi ?

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• HER: With the police.

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• HIM: Forget about it.

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• HER: I can't.

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• HIM: It was nothing.

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• HER: It didn't seem like nothing.

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• HIM: It happens all the time.

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• HER: To you?

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• HIM: No. To people.

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• HER: It's not right.

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• HER: Why did you tell them I wasn't your girlfriend?

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• HE SITS UP AND SWITCHES THE LIGHT ON.

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• HIM: I know how to handle them. Okay?

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• HER: Why didn't you tell them the truth?

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• HIM: Parce que la v茅rit茅, ils s'en foutent.

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• HER: They could have hurt you.

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• HIM: Le gouvernement veut expulser 25 000 immigr茅s. Il faut bien que quelqu'un le fasse, et 莽a tombe bien, la police est l脿 pour 莽a. Tu comprends ?

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• HER: But you're a French citizen.

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• HIM: Tu vois, tu comprends tout.

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• HER: You should make a complaint.

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• HIM: Je vais me plaindre un maximum si tu me laisses pas dormir. You want to have a good time tomorrow.

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• HER: Of course.

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• HIM: Bon alors, arr锚tons de perdre du temps sur des conneries. Bonne nuit.

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• HE SWITCHES THE LIGHT OFF. BEAT. SHE SWITCHES THE LIGHT BACK ON.

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• HIM: Putain.

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• HER: If we can't talk, Ahmed. It's over. Us. It's 鈥� over.

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• HIM: Don't be silly.

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• HER: What am I learning French for? To talk to you. I'm learning it for you. Pour vous.

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• HIM: Pour toi. Tu.

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• BEAT

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• HIM: J'suis d茅sol茅. Y'a des cons partout. Y'a des flics aussi.

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• THE TELEVISION IS SWITCHED OFF.

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• SCENE 7

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• HER: I didn't know.. I don't know him. No, I don't feel I completely know him and there is something that worries me about it. You never really know anybody. How are you supposed to really trust somebody completely? Who they are, what their motives are. What their background is. All that stuff. I don't know.

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• TAPE: I'd like a room with a view, please. Une vue sur la mer ou sur le parking ? A view of the sea, obviously. Who wants to look at a car park? Si vous saviez. I'd like an en-suite bathroom. Toutes nos chambres ont des salles de bains. Vous 锚tes 脿 Paris. Nous avons invent茅 le bidet. He likes to wash. He always washes after we've been in bed together. L'hygi猫ne, c'est important. I used his razor to shave my legs.

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• HIM: T'as la peau si fine, j'ai peur de te br没ler en te caressant. T'es brune mais m锚me ton bras n'est pas comme le mien. Comme un bras clair, un bras l茅ger. Mais c'est pas que c'est clair mais c'est comme si il y avait de la lumi猫re dedans. En fait, toi t'es clair de l'int茅rieur.

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• HER: I would like him to talk more about his culture. How it is for him. We were stopped actually. In Pere Lachaise. Dunno, I found it really scary. They were obviously really vile. Treated him badly. I鈥檝e seen that happen before. To people. But it has never happened to me. I was sort of involved in it. Didn鈥檛 like it. Made me worry.

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• HIM: C鈥檈st fris茅. Long. Il sont boucl茅s masi l茅ger 脿 la fois et en fait dense mais l茅ger. Je ne sais pas comment dire, un peu comme la barbe 脿 papa.

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• HER: They wanted to see his papers. And I think they .. there was an opportunity to pick on a Muslim, you know. They stop people all the time. They do that in England, London all the time. Especially now. Because everyone鈥檚 hyper aware about all that stuff. It's so... such a clich茅. But that鈥檚 what they do.

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• SCENE 8

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• PARIS METRO.
  
  THE TRAIN STOPS AT A STATION. PEOPLE GET ON AND OFF. WE HEAR PEOPLE鈥橲 VOICES AS SHE SPEAKS.

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• HER: [INTERNAL] French 鈥� he鈥檚 French. She鈥檚 definitely French. Look at that pout. And the way she dresses. Conservative, but sexy. I hate her. He's Japanese. Or maybe Korean. He's African ...

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• A MAN ON THE TRAIN TALKS IN AN AMERICAN ACCENT.

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• HER: [INTERNAL] American鈥frican-American.

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• TRAIN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CHATELET LES HALLES, THE NEXT STATION.

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• HIM: We get off at the next stop.

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• HER: [INTERNAL] And he鈥檚 Algerian. French-Algerian.

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• HIM: Claire. Tu m鈥櫭ヽoutes ?

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• HER: Do you think I look English?

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• HIM: Comment ?

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• HER: Do I look English to you?

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• HIM: Ben, t'es anglaise.

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• HER: I wish I looked like her.

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• HIM: Who?

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• HER: That French woman over there.

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• HIM: Pourquoi ?

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• HER: Look at her 鈥� she鈥檚 so 鈥� sophisticated.

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• HIM: Tes ouf ou quoi. On dirait une pouf.

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• HER: And thin. How come French women don鈥檛 get fat?

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• HIM: [LAUGHS] You haven鈥檛 seen my cousin, Nafisa.

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• HER: I mean, French French women.

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• BEAT.

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• HER: You know what I mean.

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• SILENCE. WE HEAR THE 鈥楩RENCH鈥� WOMAN FROM A DISTANCE. SHE鈥橲 SPEAKING ITALIAN. ANNOUNCEMENT GARE DU NORD COMING UP.

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• HIM: Bon, allez, on y va.

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• HER: No 鈥� don鈥檛 worry. You go and see your mother.

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• HIM: Quoi ?

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• HER: Seriously, I鈥檒l just be going straight through anyway.

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• HIM: But I want to say goodbye.

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• HER: I hate goodbyes. So let鈥檚 just say goodbye here. Okay?

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• HIM: Tu es s没re?

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• HER: Absolument. I see you soon.

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• HIM: A tout 脿 l'heure.

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• SHE KISSES HIM. THE TRAIN STOPS. THE VOICE ON THE TRAIN SAYS GARE DU NORD. SHE GETS OFF. THEN KNOCKS ON THE TRAIN WINDOW.

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• HER: [SHOUTS] I love you.

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• THE TRAIN ROARS AWAY. FADES INTO THE UNDERGROUND IN LONDON.
  
  TUBE
  
  

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• ANNOUNCER: This train will now terminate at Stratford.

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