Jekyll & Dad

SCENE OPENS on Lucy (Jojo Kiss), a 19-year-old teen. She's doing her homework and calls out to the other room to her friend Emma (Kay Carter) but Emma doesn't answer her. Beginning to get worried, Lucy heads out into the hall and starts frantically looking for Emma. Finally, on the opposite end of the house, she finds Emma -- who seems to be having a perfectly friendly chat with Lucy's step-dad, Mr. Edwards (Dick Chibbles). They look up at her a bit in surprise as she comes in, looking a bit panicked. Emma explains that they were out of toilet paper in the other bathroom so she went off looking for another bathroom, and she was just heading back when she ran into Lucy's dad and they started chatting. Emma gushes that 'I had no idea your step-dad's a policeman, Lucy, you never talk about him!' Lucy seems in a hurry to bring Emma back to her room, saying they should get back to studying. Mr. Edwards suggests that Emma should stay for dinner, but Lucy interrupts saying Emma can't stay. Mr. Edwards tells Emma that she's welcome if she changes her mind, or if she wants to come back after her lessons for a late-night study session. Emma graciously thanks him, while Lucy tries to subtly pull Emma out of the room. A bit flustered, Emma manages to say it was nice meeting him, before giving in to Lucy's shepherding tactics. Mr. Edwards calls out to the girls that it was a pleasure to meet her too. Once the girls are out of sight, Mr. Edwards' hand slowly balls up into a tight fist, trembling with rage. Without warning, he slams his fist against the nearby wall. CUT TO TITLE Later that evening, Lucy and her stepfather are finishing up a meal in silence at the dining room table. Emma sure seems like a nice girl, Mr. Edwards remarks to Lucy. 'She's 19, the same age as you?' he asks. Lucy nods. Mr. Edwards takes a pause to enthusiastically eat a bite of his food, and then says 'What did you think of my little trick with the toilet paper?' Lucy does her best to ignore him. 'Well,' he says as he picks his napkin up from his lap, dabs his face gently with it, and then crumples it up and places it on his plate, 'it's a shame about Emma. Guess it'll be just us two tonight.' In a very soft voice, he instructs her to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. Lucy gets up from her seat and walks away from the table without saying a word. Soon after, in her bedroom, Lucy sits on the edge of her bed. After several long seconds of waiting, the door opens, and Mr. Edwards, in only his boxers, stands framed in the doorway, a silhouette against the light of the hallway. 'Are you ready to kiss your stepdad goodnight, Lucy?' he says in a taunting, growly voice. 'Yes, stepdaddy,' she says. It seems that there's a whole OTHER side to this stepdad...