SCENE opens on an 18-year-old girl and an older man, Darla and her Uncle Gus, laughing and small-talking as they are midway through enjoying a coffee at a sunny outdoor café. At Darla’s feet are several bags from high-end shopping boutiques, the spoils of their afternoon out together. We close in on them to catch the tail end of an anecdote, where Gus is telling Darla yet another embarrassing story about her step-father in his youth. ‘I can’t believe Dad was so wild younger,’ Darla laughs, ‘he’s so normal and boring now. You on the other hand…’ She trails off with a wink and a laugh before taking another sip of her coffee. Gus chuckles and says ‘Well, I was always a bad influence on him. Just like you’re a bad influence on me!’ he says, gesturing to the shopping bags at their feet, ‘I spoil you way too much! But…you know I just can’t say no to such a pretty face.’ His compliment has a sinister undertone to it, but Darla is too enamored with her uncle to notice. ‘You know,’ she says after a time, ‘my mom’s out of town for a business trip all weekend, if you don’t have any plans you should come back to the house with me. You haven’t been over for supper in ages!’ Uncle Gus’s ears perk up at the invitation. He looks Darla up and down, hungrily basking in her features for a moment. ‘That sounds wonderful!’ he exclaims. ‘Who knows, maybe we can get you to bring out a bit of that wild side in your dad too.’
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