Lulu in Honolulu (3 page)

NOELANI

Here's a good word for the day:
koa
.

LULU

Does it mean: give me more
laulau
?

NOELANI

It means brave.

LULU

Cool. Did you just learn that?

NOELANI

I was just thinking about it, Lu. I really, really hoped we'd win the hula-off. Now, without Khloe and the Cs, there's no way.

LULU

(puts her ALOHA cap on and sticks her head outside the umbrella)

Noelani, you're a super-looper, better hula dancer than all of them put together.

NOELANI

(softly, barely heard over the waves)

I have no
koa.
I'm too scared to dance in front of anyone. And a huge crowd? That's totally impossible.

LULU

So don't worry about it. We'll all just go to the hula-off for fun. I really hope my parents might come.

NOELANI

(stares at Lulu)

I just thought, if we win, Ohana Camp could get the prize money.

Kenna runs over to Lulu and Noelani. Tears stream down her face. A gaggle of boys, led by Kapono, follows behind her.

KAPONO

We didn't do anything!

KENNA

(yelling in her loudest little-girl voice)

YES, you did. I have sand in my hair and all over.

The boys and Kenna scooch onto Lulu's mat. They all try to explain what happened.

NOELANI

(in her soft voice)

Well, just forget it. We should all just get along, like one big
ohana
.

LULU

Geez peas! Instead of sand fights, why don't we do something together, like win that hula competition? Wouldn't that be an awesome shock and surprise for Khloe and the Cs and the kids at Island School of Hula?

NOELANI

(turns to Lulu)

That's not too nice.

KAPONO

(waving his foot in the air)

Yeah! Let's kick their butts!

Lulu jumps up, almost hitting her head on her umbrella.

LULU

Well, I'm in.

Kenna giggles and totally forgets about her sandy hair.

KENNA

That's so funny, Lulu, 'cause you're like the worst hula-er ever!

EXT/INT. HARRISON FAMILY HOUSE, DIAMOND HEAD—ONE HOUR LATER

CUT!! Again. You should know about this house we're living in for the summer. It's in my mom and dad's contract that the studio has to rent them a big, fancy house while they are making a movie. This house has lots of sliding glass walls that stay open all day long. So, even though you're inside, you feel like you're outside at the same time. The only problem is that Watson, our chubby pug, crashes into the glass. He can't figure out the difference between inside and outside.

Here's what I like about this house: I can see the ocean from every room. Here's what I don't like: there's nowhere I could munch a Nanea Hawaiian chocolate macadamia nut bar without leaving brown flecks. The floors are whitewashed wood and covered with a giant pale wool rug. Low, cushy couches are a color called
sand
, which is crazy because specks of sand aren't allowed in this hyper-clean place. Walls that aren't glass are painted Tibetan Jasmine, and I know that because my mother insisted on having them repainted before we moved in. In nooks and corners of the house stand dark wooden sculptures that you can't sneeze near because they're precious Tahitian antiques. Oh, and in case you thought you could prop up your feet, DON'T! The tables are made of glass. OK, back to: ACTION!!

Lulu, sandy and sweaty from a day of Ohana Camp, dashes through the house's large, two-story-high double doors. She almost trips on WATSON, who lies on the natural bamboo doormat. Watson has chewed through three of the four corners. He loves chomping the mat because it feels like he's chewing a stick without him actually needing to find or fetch one himself.

MAYA, a tall, older woman with dark skin and blue eyes, lifts her right hand to form a STOP sign. She doesn't need to say a word. Her thin hand and long fingers command immediate attention.

CUT!! Quick important information I want you to know. Maya moved to Hawaii from Japan when she was eight years old. When I first met her, I thought she didn't like me because she doesn't chitchat, but I learned that her kindness runs deep and that just because she doesn't blab doesn't mean she doesn't listen! She takes care of our house, which also means she helps take care of me. Back to: ACTION!!

LULU

Aloha
, Maya. I know. Shoes. Off.

Lulu plops onto the front doorstep and kicks off her sand-filled checkered Vans. Maya smiles. Her face easily creases in places it has folded many times before.

Walking out the front door, ALEXIS looks down at Lulu. Alexis carries an ISLAND LIFE magazine. Wearing a black string bikini top, a wide-brimmed white sun hat, and tiny white shorts printed with black stars, Alexis looks as if she just walked out of a page in the magazine.

LULU

I gotta talk to Mom and Dad. It's mega important hula business.

ALEXIS

(barely hiding a smile)

Since when are you a hula star?

LULU

I'm NOT. That's especially why they've gotta come to the hula-off.

Alexis pulls Lulu's hands to help her up.

LULU

Lex. Seriously. If they'd come watch me, it would be like a dream come true. They've never been to any show or program I've been in at school.

ALEXIS

(trying to keep a laugh out of her voice)

Lu, I'm serious. If your thing is during the day, there's about as much chance of them coming as there is of it snowing in Honolulu.

LULU

And there're these girls called Khloe and the Cs who just bailed on dancing with us, so if Mom and Dad came, it could make my friends and me feel fantabulous.

Lulu heads inside the house, but Maya blocks the door. She points a finger toward the outdoor shower. Lulu knows what the finger means: rinse off before you set foot in the most dirt-free, sand-free beach house in all seven Hawaiian Islands.

CAMERA FOLLOWS LULU as she walks around to a wood-slatted wall covered with a Hawaiian wedding flower vine and ducks into the shower. She tugs off her SURF MAUI T-shirt that's over her SPF 50 long-sleeved shirt but stops mid-tug. Just before her head pops out, she yanks her shirt down.

CUT!! Another super quick note. Even though I couldn't surf if a shark was speeding after me, I love wearing surf shirts because the idea of riding on wave power is, well, soooo Hawaii and California! Now, Back to: ACTION!!

Lulu faintly hears voices drift from the back of the house and takes off toward the
lanai
, the word everyone in Hawaii uses for porch.

LULU

(yelling over the sounds of waves and singing shama thrushes hidden in trees)

Mahhhhhm?! Dahhhhhd?! Are you home already?

FIONA HARRISON stands straight and tall against the
lanai
railing. Her posture and her angular beauty make her seem like a marble statue. She's dressed in narrow white jeans with zippers at the ankles, a plain white top cut high at the neck and a silky Stella McCartney blazer with the sleeves pushed up, showing off her large, rose gold men's watch and gold and diamond bangles. She wears high wedge shoes that are both stylish and professional. Her chestnut brown hair is swept into a neat ponytail. LINCOLN HARRISON lies on a chaise with the back support pulled down flat. He's barefoot and wears only Rip Curl shorts and vintage tortoiseshell Wayfarer sunglasses.

FIONA

(to Linc in an angry tone)

Not only did you act unprofessional on the set today, but you were downright childish!

LINC

(laid-back tone but mad underneath)

You squeezing my scene into only a few takes makes me stress out. All right? I deal with nerves on the set by clowning. Give me a break!

Linc props himself up and sips an icy blue drink with a wedge of pineapple stuck to the side of the glass.

FIONA

(British accent getting more clipped with each word)

You know very well why I'm rushing you. My one-hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar movie production is millions of dollars over budget and weeks behind schedule. Don't you think I…

(imitating Linc's deep voice)

…“stress out”?

Lulu walks onto the
lanai
but is unnoticed by her parents. Alexis drifts outside from the living room. She's careful not to catch her heel in the track where the glass door travels. Watson troops out after her.

FIONA

(sharp tone)

After Lulu's last birthday, we BOTH agreed to take the girls this summer. And we BOTH agreed we'd wrap each day in time to be with the girls by dark.

Lulu and Alexis catch each other's eye. Lulu pulls her ALOHA hat brim over her eyes. It's an instinct to try and hide. Alexis, however, clicks in her high, pointy heels right over to her parents.

ALEXIS

Hi, Fiona and Linc. Lulu here has a
très
important scheduling request.

Fiona immediately spins around and looks at Lulu. She takes a split second to change her tone.

FIONA

Yes, Lulu?! Hi, Lex. We're home extra early today since…ah…

Linc spins a little paper umbrella between his fingers.

LINC

I wasn't having my best day on the
Seas
the
Day
set.

ALEXIS

Well, Lu, you've got the stage.

Alexis gives Lulu an encouraging wink but also twirls her hand around her wrist indicating Lulu needs to come out with it already.

LULU

(tugs her hat brim up)

I was wondering, and, well, hoping you guys could come to the hula-off. It's this gigantic competition I'm in with my camp friends.

FIONA

A what “off”?

LULU

Hula. We really wanna try to win because whatever group wins gets prize money and performs at Ala Moana Center all summer.

ALEXIS

(smiling)

The biggest, coolest mall in Honolulu? Now I'm totally interested.

LULU

(speaks super fast)

And, geez peas, you guys have never come watch me in anything, ya know. It's what lots of parents do bec—

ALEXIS

(to Fiona)

Seriously, Fiona, it seems Lulu's camp had some girls bail today. If you and Dad show up to support Lu and her hula-dancing pals, that would, well, spread a little Hollywood glam to an otherwise hopeless cause.

FIONA

Look. I get it. But your father and I are stretched very thin. Is it at night? Get the information to Lilac and she'll check.

LULU

Your assistant? But she's in L.A.

FIONA

Yes, Lulu, but I always use the cell phone.

Linc sits up and props his shades on the top of his head.

LINC

You use about six of them, Fiona.

Linc picks up his glass, pulls out the pineapple, and tosses it to the floor. He drains the glass.

LULU

Hey, Dad, gotta be careful about Watson. He could eat anything that's on the ground.