INT. MOMO'S CAR (MOVING) - NIGHT
He MASSAGES his head.
Staring at him, MIMI leans in.
                            MIMI
                      (half-whispers)
                Still dizzy...?
He winks.
                            MIMI
                You crushed that ball. The
                umpire said.
                           MOMO
                I flung myself at it. Blacked
                out for a sec.
He TURNS. Give her a smile.
                           MOMO
                Thank you, MIMI...
                        (nods to her)
                For catching me. And falling
                with me.
FIVE MINUTES LATER
She TOUCHES the back of his head.
                            MIMI
                How is it now?
                           MOMO
                A bit better.
                            MIMI
                I hate him.
                           MOMO
                Who?
                            MIMI
                That sandbagger. The woman
                was nice, though.
                           MOMO
                You're right, she's likeable.
                Girlfriend material.
                            MIMI
                But why would she want to
                play with that jerk?
                           MOMO
                Cuz they're a couple.
                            MIMI
                Oh.
                           MOMO
                But rumors say he's kinda
                mean to her.
                            MIMI
                Huh?
                           MOMO
                        (turns to her)
                MIMI, why do good girls fall
                for bad boys?
                            MIMI
                I don't know. Maybe bad boys
                are cool. More fun--
                           MOMO
                Oh, girls just wanna have fun?
                            MIMI
                Not like that--
                           MOMO
                Like what?
                            MIMI
                Mmm, I mean... bad boys may
                be a little more unpredictable,
                more challenging.
                           MOMO
                Challenging?
She TURNS. Smiles at him.
                            MIMI
                MOMO, if I'm dating a bad
                boy right now, then he
                becomes a challenge for me
                to tame him. Right?
                           MOMO
                     (shakes his head)
                GMO.
                            MIMI
                          (chuckles)
                Where's the fun in taming a boy-
                friend who is already tamed?
                           MOMO
                Is it fun even if he has some
                kinda predatory dominance
                or aggression like a beast?
                            MIMI
                That I don't know. Love is
                blind--
                           MOMO
                Love is not blind, but it can lead
                to blindness. Now I know why
                women like to seduce aggressive,
                mysterious, and risky men.
                Women seduce, men abuse. Right?
She's BLUSHING.
He NOTICES.
                           MOMO
                          (smiles)
                You just confirmed it.
                            MIMI
                MOMO, I made chicken soup
                this morning. You want to
                stop by?
INT. MIMI'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
MOMO and MIMI enter.
                           MOMO
                Tadaima... I'm home...
                            MIMI
                Nobody is here. My landlady
                is never home on weekends.
INT. MIMI'S ROOM
She enters. Turns on the light.
MOMO waits outside her door.
                            MIMI
                MOMO, please come in.
He steps in.
                            MIMI
                You can rest your head on
                my bed. I will be back with
                the soup.
                           MOMO
                Thank you.
MIMI steps out.
A MacBook Air running on her desk CATCHES his eyes.
His FEET approach her desk.
He FREEZES.
STARING at the screen.
THREE MINUTES LATER
A TAP at the door.
                         MIMI (O.S.)
                       (in Mandarin)
                Chicken soup is coming...
Smiling, she enters with a tray of two bowls of soup.
Places the tray on her bed.
MOMO and MIMI sit face to face on the floor.
                            MIMI
                    (hands him a bowl)
                Man man chi.
                           MOMO
                          (takes it)
                Xie xie.
                            MIMI
                Bu keqi.
He joins hands.
She follows his lead.
              MOMO                   MIMI
         (nods his head)         (nods her head)
     Itadakimas...             Itadakimas...
After smiling to each other, they eat.
                            MIMI
                         (whispers)
                How is it?
                           MOMO
                Magical.
                            MIMI
                     (her brows furrow)
                Hmm?
                           MOMO
                Makes my headache disappear.
Both grin.
                           MOMO
                Besides studying and YouTube,
                what do you do here?
                            MIMI
                I talk to my mom every day.
                Work out. Social media. Watch
                stuff...
                           MOMO
                What stuff?
                            MIMI
                       (smiles shyly)
                K pop, K drama...
                           MOMO
                You love singing and dancing?
Her cheeks are blushing.
                            MIMI
                What about you?
                           MOMO
                J metal, J drama...
                            MIMI
                What is your favorite band?
                           MOMO
                Nemophila.
                            MIMI
                Who is your favorite actress?
                           MOMO
                Mirei Kiritani.
                            MIMI
                And who is not your favorite?
                           MOMO
                Shohei Miura.
                            MIMI
                Who is he?
                           MOMO
                Her hubby.
She chuckles.
Smiling, he stares at her.
TEN MINUTES LATER
They sip tea.
                            MIMI
                MOMO, are there many couples
                in ping-pong clubs here?
                           MOMO
                Like that beauty-and-the-
                beast couple whose asses we
                whooped?
                            MIMI
                You're so bad...
                           MOMO
                There's this senior couple who
                plays every day. The man loops,
                his lady chops.
MIMI's face GLOWS.
                           MOMO
                They always play together.
                A perfect harmony like yinÂ
                and yang--
                            MIMI
                I want to be like that. Every
                day together. Play ping-pong
                together. Always.
                           MOMO
                      (shakes his head)
                You're a hopeless romantic.
Both chuckle.
                            MIMI
                MOMO, what makes a guy and
                a girl a couple?
                           MOMO
                Anywhere? Or here?
                            MIMI
                Here...
                           MOMO
                There must be romance in
                the air, I guess.
                            MIMI
                How do I know if it is both
                sides?
                           MOMO
                Beats me. Why don't you ask
                him?
                            MIMI
                What if nobody says anything?
                           MOMO
                     (touches his chin)
                That's a real good question,
                but no real good answer...
They can't help but STARE at each other.
                           MOMO
                          (shrugs)
                There's kissing on both sides?
                Why did you ask me?
Shaking her head, she smiles and lowers her eyes.
STARING at his lips.
Making him STARE at hers.
INT. MIMI'S KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER
MOMO helps MIMI wash the dishes.
                           MOMO
                MIMI, what's your plan
                after college?
                            MIMI
                I will look for work and spon-
                sorship here.
                           MOMO
                Don't wanna go home?
She shakes her head.
                           MOMO
                Why?
                            MIMI
                Freedom.
They both ICE UP.
                            MIMI
                      (half-whispers)
                Without freedom, we are not
                people. Just puppets...
                           MOMO
                      (half-whispers)
                Freedom takes balls.
INT. MOMO'S ROOM - NIGHT
His iPhone GLOWS in the dark.
                        MIMI (TEXT)
                MOMO, are you already home?
                       MOMO (TEXT)
                Yes MIMI, I am home
                        MIMI (TEXT)
                I am glad
                       MOMO (TEXT)
                Thank you for thinking about
                me. And winning with me
                        MIMI (TEXT)
                I don't care about winning as long
                as you are not dizzy anymore
                       MOMO (TEXT)
                Thanks, mother of pearl. LOL
                        MIMI (TEXT)
                Haha. You are funny
                       MOMO (TEXT)
                Good night, oyasumi, wan an
                        MIMI (TEXT)
                Good night, oyasumi, wan an,
                son of pearl. Haha!
                       MOMO (TEXT)
                LOL! LOL!
INT. BALBOA PARK ACTIVITY CENTER, SAN DIEGO - DAY
A tournament in FULL SWING.
MOMO and MIMI share a bench.
She's attracting ATTENTION.
                            MIMI
                    (whispers in his ear)
                Why is everyone looking at me?
                           MOMO
                    (whispers in her ear)
                Cuz you're the hottest girl in
                table tennis.
                            MIMI
                   (whispers back in his)
                And you are the hottest guy...
Both look away.
SMILE SHYLY.
A MINUTE LATER
MOMO gets up.
Signals the restroom to MIMI.
                           MOMO
                Wanna go?
Smiling, she shakes her head.
A FINGER touches MIMI's shoulder.
She turns. LOOKS UP.
                            SARA
                Sup, chimp.
EXT. BALBOA PARK ACTIVITY CENTER, SAN DIEGO
MIMI and Sara FACE each other.
                            SARA
                Listen, panda. I know you're
                getting cozy with him. But
                don't get too excited yet--
                            MIMI
                What do you mean? Oh, never
                mind--
                            SARA
                What?
MIMI moves closer.
                            MIMI
                You are a loser and you are
                jealous.
                            SARA
                Jealous? Look at you, girl. I can't
                even tell if it's your back or chest...
Flushing, MIMI glances at her bosom, then Sara's.
                            SARA
                You're bragging about what?
                            MIMI
                  (points to Sara's bosom)
                Your boobs will sag and wrinkle...
                            SARA
                You know nothing about him,
                bitch...
She BRINGS her face closer MIMI's.
                            SARA
                       (half-whispers)
                But if you dare to take advantage
                of him in any way, I swear you
                won't make it back to China in
                one piece.
MIMI's face and ears turn really RED.
Her eyes and nose get really BIG.
