In March 1994 Buzz entered Lucy into the Spring Fiesta Day Queen contest on Fifth Street. Though Lucy plays it off as unimportant, as something she is just doing to please her father…she secret desires to win. This particularly troubles Frank since he entered Julie (who was trying to drive a wedge between him and Eleni) into the contest as well. Though Frank says he never would have entered Julie had he known Buzz was entering his own sister Buzz simply tells him, “It’s always been a Cooper to wear that crown. And it always will.” Famous last words Buzz.
Lucy wants to win not only for Buzz but to prove herself as one of the Coopers, to feel as if she were actually one of them for a change. Which is why Frank’s ultimate betrayal will hurt even more. She also wants to prove herself to Alan-Michael. To show him that there is more to her than meets the eye as well as make him proud of her.
During the course of preparing for the contest Alan-Michael buys her a beautiful white gown – which she mistakenly thinks is a wedding gown at first – only for Lucy to learn that you’re only to wear white after you’ve been elected Queen. This would also be just one of many times Alexandra lets Alan-Michael know she does not approve of him and Lucy.
Alan-Michael buys a Dress for Lucy
These are the early days of Alan-Michael and Lucy and they are tender and beautiful.
(The night of the contest, Alan-Michael is held up with his family and shows up at the local school just before the start of the event. Alan-Michael enters the gym with a bouquet of roses in hand as Lucy is being coached by Nadine on how to sit. Lucy rushes off stage to greet Alan-Michael and the two go out into the hallway where Alan-Michael hands her the flowers.)
Alan-Michael: Here you are. For you. (Looks her up and down) Look at you. You look like an angel.
Lucy: An angel? Me?
Alan-Michael: Ah, maybe an angel with a slightly dirty mind.
Lucy: (Giggles and touches his chin) I oughtta smack you. Besides, do you realize what time it is?
Alan-Michael: I thought you didn’t want me to come? No, I got here as soon as I could …. Boy, you really do look beautiful.
Lucy: Thanks.
Alan-Michael: No, really … I mean, I came in here and I looked across a room full of people and all I saw was you. You just shine, Lucy. No matter where you are … And I have never seen you look more beautiful than you do today.
(Alan-Michael leans in to kiss her. Their lips touch, but then Frank, Eleni and Stavros arrive, interrupting them. LAM pull away from each other and watch them enter the gym.)
Spring Fiesta Queen Conest
**********
Lucy Loses Spring Fiesta Queen
The deciding vote between Lucy and Julie comes down to Frank. Lucy thinks she’s won since there is no way her brother would vote against her…right? Wrong. Frank decides to vote for Julie, knowing she has a thing for him and that it will encourage her even more and make Eleni jealous. He doesn’t think about how his vote would be seen in the eyes of his sister, who still feels like an outsider among the Coopers. Lucy, dejected and a bit shocked, graciously congratulates Julie and runs off into the hallway. She leans against the wall and cries, then takes off. Alan-Michael gets up after her But not without having a little chat with Frank first….
Alan-Michael: Frank, how could you do that to your own sister?
Frank: Alan-Michael, wait. (Stands) I didn’t know how Lucy felt. She acted like the whole thing was a joke…
Alan-Michael: How could you not know how she felt, Frank? (Alan-Michael goes out into the hallway looking for Lucy, who later re-enters the gym and approaches a seated David and Kat.)
Lucy: Hey, have you guys seen my Dad anywhere?
(David and Kat stand and turn around to face Lucy.)
David: Wow. Um, not in a while … actually.
Lucy: Oh, well.
Kat: Lucy, I’m really sorry. I voted for you.
Lucy: Thanks anyway, Kat.
Kat: I can’t even imagine them putting Julie in that little convertible. They’re gonna need a huge semi for that big ego of hers.
Lucy: They’re gonna need more than one.
(Frank approaches Lucy from behind)
Frank: Lucy, listen, listen…. (Lucy whips around to face Frank) I’m sorry. Look, I’m very sorry about this.
Lucy: (Visibly hurt and angry) Forget about it, okay?
Frank: No, really. If I hadn’t been the one to talk Julie into this, I never would have —
Lucy: You don’t have to explain.
Frank: No, if I knew that this hurt you so much, I never would have done this.
Lucy: Frank! Would it really have made any difference? (Beginning to lose her composure) Forget it. I gotta find Dad. (Lucy hurries to the door, Frank calling after her. Alan-Michael finally finds her in the hall.)
Alan-Michael: Lucy, Lucy, I’ve been looking all over for you.
Lucy: Why? I’m fine.
Alan-Michael: Yeah, well, I’m not. You were robbed!
Lucy: (Putting up her best front) Oh, come on, it’s just like Julie said. It’s just this little neighborhood thing. It’s okay, really.
Alan-Michael: Come on.
**********
(Alan-Michael takes Lucy back to the Spaulding mansion. They enter the study and Alan-Michael closes the door behind them.)
Alan-Michael: You know, it’s okay for you to admit that you’re hurting over this.
Lucy: Look, why should I pretend to feel something that I don’t? … Look, have you got something to drink?
Alan-Michael: Trust me, that doesn’t help, okay.
Lucy: I was talking about a soda!
Alan-Michael: Come on, Lucy. Please. (Alan-Michael tries to take Lucy’s hands, but she pulls away.)
Lucy: Look, would you just leave me alone already?!
Alan-Michael: Fine, then tell me … talk, talk to me.
Lucy: Fine! (Walks toward the sofa) I’ll talk to you. I mean, ever since we got in the car it was like, “Talk to me, Lucy. Tell me what you’re feeling!” I lost, Alan-Michael, okay?! It’s no big deal! I just lost, okay? (Sighs and sinks into the sofa) Gosh! Maybe … maybe they just thought that I was stuck up because I wore this beautiful dress that you gave me a day too early. Or maybe they thought it was time that they shouldn’t vote for a Cooper, because Harley won so many times. Maybe they didn’t like my smile … Maybe they just, maybe they just didn’t like the fact that I walked right on in and pretended to be one of them … pretended to be …. (Lowers her voice, tears forming in her eyes) to be family. (Alan-Michael sits down next to her and touches her shoulder. Lucy fights back her tears.)
Alan-Michael: Come here … come here, it’s alright. (Alan-Michael pulls her close and kisses her forehead, Lucy finally breaking down and letting herself cry.)
Lucy: Why couldn’t I win, Alan-Michael? I wanted you to be proud of me.
(Lucy buries her face in Alan-Michael’s chest.)
**********
(Lucy, no longer crying, sits slumped next to Alan-Michael as he caresses her shoulder.)
Lucy: I mean, I really thought that I had my family behind me. You know, I know I wasn’t raised a Cooper, (Alan-Michael kisses her on the head and pushes her hair back) but I just thought that … I guess I just thought that I was starting to fit in. (Sits up a little) You know, and maybe … maybe they did love me. I never expected to be like *Harley*, but … but little a bit … It’s funny, ’cause … for the first time in my life … I actually felt like I was a member of something so much bigger and so much more important, a real family. It wasn’t just my Dad and me. (Wipes her eyes) I liked it. I liked it a lot …. (Sighs) Oh, well. (Props herself up) I guess being born to the wrong family without a mother who’s a Cooper finally did me in because … tonight I realized that I … I wasn’t really a part of them at all.
Alan-Michael: Yeah, well, maybe not tonight, Lucy, but … as long as you don’t give up, it’s … they’re gonna have to accept you. They just … they’re gonna have to.
Lucy: You think so?
Alan-Michael: Look, I know better than anybody what it’s like to have the *wrong mother* … I had to fight for a place in my family too, Lucy, and it took a long time to get where I am, but when I finally got it … it felt so much better than, than if someone had just handed it to me. Because I faught for it and I won, I earned my place! It happened when my Aunt Alex said that she was gonna tell the board to vote me in as president to my own family’s company. You… (leans in close to her, looking her in the eyes) You have so much fire and so much will inside of you … and so much beauty that you can do anything that you want. I know you will, okay? (touches her chin) It’s gonna happen.
Lucy: Thanks. You know, (takes his hand and kisses it) it’s weird, isn’t it? … I liked you the first second I saw you and I didn’t even know what family you were from or who your mother was. I just liked you. Just you.
(Lucy leans her forehead against Alan-Michael’s and they kiss softly.)
Lucy wants to win not only for Buzz but to prove herself as one of the Coopers, to feel as if she were actually one of them for a change. Which is why Frank’s ultimate betrayal will hurt even more. She also wants to prove herself to Alan-Michael. To show him that there is more to her than meets the eye as well as make him proud of her.
During the course of preparing for the contest Alan-Michael buys her a beautiful white gown – which she mistakenly thinks is a wedding gown at first – only for Lucy to learn that you’re only to wear white after you’ve been elected Queen. This would also be just one of many times Alexandra lets Alan-Michael know she does not approve of him and Lucy.
Alan-Michael buys a Dress for Lucy
These are the early days of Alan-Michael and Lucy and they are tender and beautiful.
(The night of the contest, Alan-Michael is held up with his family and shows up at the local school just before the start of the event. Alan-Michael enters the gym with a bouquet of roses in hand as Lucy is being coached by Nadine on how to sit. Lucy rushes off stage to greet Alan-Michael and the two go out into the hallway where Alan-Michael hands her the flowers.)
Alan-Michael: Here you are. For you. (Looks her up and down) Look at you. You look like an angel.
Lucy: An angel? Me?
Alan-Michael: Ah, maybe an angel with a slightly dirty mind.
Lucy: (Giggles and touches his chin) I oughtta smack you. Besides, do you realize what time it is?
Alan-Michael: I thought you didn’t want me to come? No, I got here as soon as I could …. Boy, you really do look beautiful.
Lucy: Thanks.
Alan-Michael: No, really … I mean, I came in here and I looked across a room full of people and all I saw was you. You just shine, Lucy. No matter where you are … And I have never seen you look more beautiful than you do today.
(Alan-Michael leans in to kiss her. Their lips touch, but then Frank, Eleni and Stavros arrive, interrupting them. LAM pull away from each other and watch them enter the gym.)
Spring Fiesta Queen Conest
**********
Lucy Loses Spring Fiesta Queen
The deciding vote between Lucy and Julie comes down to Frank. Lucy thinks she’s won since there is no way her brother would vote against her…right? Wrong. Frank decides to vote for Julie, knowing she has a thing for him and that it will encourage her even more and make Eleni jealous. He doesn’t think about how his vote would be seen in the eyes of his sister, who still feels like an outsider among the Coopers. Lucy, dejected and a bit shocked, graciously congratulates Julie and runs off into the hallway. She leans against the wall and cries, then takes off. Alan-Michael gets up after her But not without having a little chat with Frank first….
Alan-Michael: Frank, how could you do that to your own sister?
Frank: Alan-Michael, wait. (Stands) I didn’t know how Lucy felt. She acted like the whole thing was a joke…
Alan-Michael: How could you not know how she felt, Frank? (Alan-Michael goes out into the hallway looking for Lucy, who later re-enters the gym and approaches a seated David and Kat.)
Lucy: Hey, have you guys seen my Dad anywhere?
(David and Kat stand and turn around to face Lucy.)
David: Wow. Um, not in a while … actually.
Lucy: Oh, well.
Kat: Lucy, I’m really sorry. I voted for you.
Lucy: Thanks anyway, Kat.
Kat: I can’t even imagine them putting Julie in that little convertible. They’re gonna need a huge semi for that big ego of hers.
Lucy: They’re gonna need more than one.
(Frank approaches Lucy from behind)
Frank: Lucy, listen, listen…. (Lucy whips around to face Frank) I’m sorry. Look, I’m very sorry about this.
Lucy: (Visibly hurt and angry) Forget about it, okay?
Frank: No, really. If I hadn’t been the one to talk Julie into this, I never would have —
Lucy: You don’t have to explain.
Frank: No, if I knew that this hurt you so much, I never would have done this.
Lucy: Frank! Would it really have made any difference? (Beginning to lose her composure) Forget it. I gotta find Dad. (Lucy hurries to the door, Frank calling after her. Alan-Michael finally finds her in the hall.)
Alan-Michael: Lucy, Lucy, I’ve been looking all over for you.
Lucy: Why? I’m fine.
Alan-Michael: Yeah, well, I’m not. You were robbed!
Lucy: (Putting up her best front) Oh, come on, it’s just like Julie said. It’s just this little neighborhood thing. It’s okay, really.
Alan-Michael: Come on.
**********
(Alan-Michael takes Lucy back to the Spaulding mansion. They enter the study and Alan-Michael closes the door behind them.)
Alan-Michael: You know, it’s okay for you to admit that you’re hurting over this.
Lucy: Look, why should I pretend to feel something that I don’t? … Look, have you got something to drink?
Alan-Michael: Trust me, that doesn’t help, okay.
Lucy: I was talking about a soda!
Alan-Michael: Come on, Lucy. Please. (Alan-Michael tries to take Lucy’s hands, but she pulls away.)
Lucy: Look, would you just leave me alone already?!
Alan-Michael: Fine, then tell me … talk, talk to me.
Lucy: Fine! (Walks toward the sofa) I’ll talk to you. I mean, ever since we got in the car it was like, “Talk to me, Lucy. Tell me what you’re feeling!” I lost, Alan-Michael, okay?! It’s no big deal! I just lost, okay? (Sighs and sinks into the sofa) Gosh! Maybe … maybe they just thought that I was stuck up because I wore this beautiful dress that you gave me a day too early. Or maybe they thought it was time that they shouldn’t vote for a Cooper, because Harley won so many times. Maybe they didn’t like my smile … Maybe they just, maybe they just didn’t like the fact that I walked right on in and pretended to be one of them … pretended to be …. (Lowers her voice, tears forming in her eyes) to be family. (Alan-Michael sits down next to her and touches her shoulder. Lucy fights back her tears.)
Alan-Michael: Come here … come here, it’s alright. (Alan-Michael pulls her close and kisses her forehead, Lucy finally breaking down and letting herself cry.)
Lucy: Why couldn’t I win, Alan-Michael? I wanted you to be proud of me.
(Lucy buries her face in Alan-Michael’s chest.)
**********
(Lucy, no longer crying, sits slumped next to Alan-Michael as he caresses her shoulder.)
Lucy: I mean, I really thought that I had my family behind me. You know, I know I wasn’t raised a Cooper, (Alan-Michael kisses her on the head and pushes her hair back) but I just thought that … I guess I just thought that I was starting to fit in. (Sits up a little) You know, and maybe … maybe they did love me. I never expected to be like *Harley*, but … but little a bit … It’s funny, ’cause … for the first time in my life … I actually felt like I was a member of something so much bigger and so much more important, a real family. It wasn’t just my Dad and me. (Wipes her eyes) I liked it. I liked it a lot …. (Sighs) Oh, well. (Props herself up) I guess being born to the wrong family without a mother who’s a Cooper finally did me in because … tonight I realized that I … I wasn’t really a part of them at all.
Alan-Michael: Yeah, well, maybe not tonight, Lucy, but … as long as you don’t give up, it’s … they’re gonna have to accept you. They just … they’re gonna have to.
Lucy: You think so?
Alan-Michael: Look, I know better than anybody what it’s like to have the *wrong mother* … I had to fight for a place in my family too, Lucy, and it took a long time to get where I am, but when I finally got it … it felt so much better than, than if someone had just handed it to me. Because I faught for it and I won, I earned my place! It happened when my Aunt Alex said that she was gonna tell the board to vote me in as president to my own family’s company. You… (leans in close to her, looking her in the eyes) You have so much fire and so much will inside of you … and so much beauty that you can do anything that you want. I know you will, okay? (touches her chin) It’s gonna happen.
Lucy: Thanks. You know, (takes his hand and kisses it) it’s weird, isn’t it? … I liked you the first second I saw you and I didn’t even know what family you were from or who your mother was. I just liked you. Just you.
(Lucy leans her forehead against Alan-Michael’s and they kiss softly.)