FADE IN:
1 COMPLETELY BLACK
The screen is completely black. The production and directing credits
Fade in and than out. The title, ‘DANNIES’, appears in the center
of
of the screen, harboring a light
green hue, than morphing to a pink,
and finally it stops on blue. Underneath the title, a skin colored
object begins forming. We ZOOM OUT from an aerial view and it is
revealed to be a young woman’s flat
midsection. The title disappears.
ZOOM OUT until full-focus on two
teens lay side-by-side on a bed. The
male is ASLEEP laying flat on his
stomach with his arm around the girl
who is still conscious.
The girl lies on her back lighting a
smoke with another nearly-
finished one. Occasionally she ashes it in the ashtray
positioned
in the center of the BOY'S BACK.
The remaining credits appear and form
over her newly conceived
womb.
After the credits are complete she
puts the cigarette out, places the
ashtray aside and cuddles up closely
with her NEW boyfriend.
FADE TO:
2 INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
In grade 11 biology class the
students sit uncaring in their desks.
None of them seem to notice the
teacher, MR.CARTER, at the front of
the class pointing out the different
parts of a NUCLEAR MEMBRANE
projected on the overhead screen.
Suddenly the fire alarm erupts over
the room tone causing everyone
to celebrate the disruption. Without having to say a thing the
students all charge out of their
desks, grateful for the break, and
start making their way out the
door. Never mind all the "single-
file" and "remain
calm" rules taught in Elementary, these kids
wrestle their way out.
CUT TO:
3 EXT. SCHOOLYARD - DAY
All 900 students of Glennbury High are bunched together in small
groups of each class. The entire track field is flooded with these
kids.
At the very back of the Bio group is
DANI AIRMON , DANNY OLSON, his
best friend CLAYTON, and her best
friend MARGOT. Clayton leaves the
group and makes his way to a ROUGH
CUT retro-kid a few yards away.
Clay hands him some money in exchange
for a QUARTER of MUSHROOMS in
a nice little zip-lock. (The deal is very casual and goes
unnoticed.)
Clay makes his way back to his
friends and is greeted with a smile,
handshake, and pat on the back. Quickly he glances up at the
teacher who is marking the full
attendance of all his students on a
clipboard.
CUT TO:
CU: Clay's hands open the bag, dig
inside, grab a hand full of mush
and passes the rest on to Danny. We pan across the teenage hands
until the bag reaches Margot who
dumps the empty bag after she takes
her share.
CUT TO:
We see them chewing away at their
product, trying to swallow it fast
so that the foul taste doesn't make
them regurgitate.
DANNY
(swallows hard)
Are you guys going
back in?
CLAYTON
Well yeah. You're not?
DANNY
Nah, we’re bailing
out.
DANI
Margot, can you grab
my books after class?
MARGOT
Where are you guys
going?
DANI
Somewhere.
DANNY
That’s not Biology.
(pause)
Clay, grab my books
for me, would ya?
CLAYTON
Yeah, sure.
Danny and Dani
hold hands. They examine their teacher,
waiting for
the right moment to run for it. They wait...wait...and the second
Mr. Carter turns round back to the
school they dash at full speed,
hand-in-hand.
Nobody really notices (or at least
nobody that cares) but that
doesn't stop the two from sprinting
hurriedly.
They get to the fence and Danny
squeezes his way through the square
opening in the middle. Still holding his girl's hand, he helps her
through. They continue running, through a back-alley,
down the
street, across peoples front lawns.
CUT TO:
4 INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
Mr. Carter has just begun to get back
to his lecture with the
pointing stick and nuclear membrane,
when he notices the two empty
desks in the very back.
MR.CARTER
(baffled)
Where the hell did the
Dannies go?
CUT TO:
5 EXT. BEHIND OF A STRANGER'S
HOUSE - DAY
Running out of breath their marathon
comes to a halt when they reach
a familiar spot behind a stranger's
house. They stand against the
backyard fence as they struggle for
breath. They laugh and chuckle
in between their hard gasps.
DANNY
(out of breath)
Oh, man. That was fun.
DANI
(equally
breathless)
We haven't done that
for a long time.
DANNY
What do you mean?
(deep breath)
We skipped bio
yesterday?
DANI
No...
(pause)
I mean running.
DANNY
Oh Christ no. I don't think I'll ever run
again.
JUMP CUT:
Later on.
The two of them share a cigarette,
sitting on the grass. Dani is
seated closely in between Danny’s
spread legs.
They don't say a word; just cuddle
close, smoke and trip out on
whatever is in front of them. Dani feels
something on her hand.
DANI
Did you feel that?
She observes her hand for who knows
what.
DANNY
Feel what?
DANI
(her hand held
out in front)
Again.
CUT TO:
CU ON HER HAND:
A snowflake lands in the center of
her palm.
CUT TO:
She jolts up and looks up towards the
sky.
DANNY
What is it?
DANI
(laughing)
Can you feel it?
DANNY
Yeah, rain.
DANI
No. Snow.
Danny stands up with her, he puts his
hand out in the air likewise.
DANNY
Oh yeah.
DANI
It's begun?
DANNY
What's begun?
DANI
The change. The changing of the Earths and
everything that's a
part of it.
DANNY
(smiling)
You're tripping me
out.
The snow starts to become more
visible. She dances off into the
field ahead of her as Danny watches
her amused.
FADE OUT:
FADE IN:
6 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
We enter in the DIMLY LIT room of
DANNY and DANIELE.
The white walls are SCARCELY covered
with posters of yin-yang’s, groovy
spirals, and pot smoking alien’s
asking kindly of you to “Take Me To
Your Dealer.”
Together they sit on the bed,
completely hidden by a warm blanket
with a design of planet Earth on
it. It creates a dome over them
and we can hear them laughing.
We hear the flicker of a lighter and
the world inside the blanket
lights up. You hear someone take a long hoot from a
pipe.
CUT TO:
INSIDE THE HOT-BOXED WORLD OF THE
DANNIES it is extremely smokey.
Dani’s
right hand is in front of her, cupped in Danny’s hand;
they are a perfect fit. In her other hand she is holding a pipe to
her lips. Danny lights it for her.
DANNY
Our hands fit so perfectly,
you know? Have
you noticed that? The way they fit together so
naturally, like the
hinges of Heaven's gates.
It gets dark inside again.
DANI
(exhaling)
God's rendition.
DANNY
Strange.
(pause)
I never knew you
believed in fate.
DANI
Of course I do. How else could I justify our
relationship?
Light erupts within the blanket again
as Danny smokes from the pipe.
CUT
TO:
7 INT. BABY'S ROOM - NIGHT
In the nicely pampered room of
7-month-old infant, AIDEN,
Danny’s mother MARTHA sits beside the
crib reading a romance novel.
She is well aged and wears her
gray-hair back in a bun, with thick
black reading glasses.
The baby is sleeping.
CUT TO:
In the Dannies’
bedroom and inside their world again, Danny is still
taking a hoot.
DANI
I'm so glad I found
you.
Lights out.
DANNY
(exhaling)
Let's not forget who
found who.
DANI
I'm so glad we found
each other. I'm
afraid I would have
been stuck in the same
mode of
living-for-nothing forever.
(pause-exchanging
pipe
for lighter)
But now we can live
for each other.
Lights on.
DANNY
And the mediator.
Dani
finishes her hoot before she responds.
Lights out.
DANI
Mediator?
He takes the pipe from her and holds it
in front of her face.
DANNY
The mediator.
Dani laughs
aloud.
CUT TO:
We watch Martha as she indulges
herself in her book. She is distracted
by the laughing. She looks outside the room in its
direction. She
looks into the baby’s crib and
realizes Aiden is deeply asleep. She
stands up and finishes the last few words
of the page.
CUT TO:
Dannies'
room. From the EXT. of their blanket,
the light inside
flickers again.
DANI
I love you.
Lights out.
DANNY
How much do you love
me?
CUT TO:
Martha closes her book and she looks
into Aiden’s crib with a smile.
We view the Dannies’
beautiful boy sound asleep in bed.
Grandma
leans into the crib and gives him a
soft kiss on the cheek. It is
pretty obvious who is the real mother
of this baby.
She heads out the room.
CUT TO:
Dannies
room, INT. blanket.
DANI
I love you more than
you can imagine. More than
I can imagine. More than the words of I, you and
William Shakespeare
ever imagine.
CUT TO:
8 INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE -
We see the door of the kids’ room
from outside. It has a STOLEN
stop sign on the front door. We can hear the two laughing/coughing.
Danny’s mother knocks on the door.
MOTHER
You guys-
CUT TO:
From inside their dome we see Dani and Danny quickly shut up. Dani
holds the lighter in the middle of
the dome, keeping it lit.
MOTHER (OS)
It's one o'clock. Get to bed.
You've got
school and I'm not
letting you sleep in
anymore.
DANNY
Sorry, just give us a
minute.
MOTHER
And Daniella, honey.
DANI
Yes Martha.
The lighter starts to get hot in her
hand. She lets out an “Oh-
shit!” and drops it.
MOTHER
Don't forget about our little date
tomorrow.
DANNY
(mouthing words)
Little date?
DANI
I haven't
forgotten. After school, right?
MOTHER
Yes. I'll pick you guys up at the front door.
We’ll drop off Daniel
and Aiden and head off,
Okay?
DANI
All right Martha.
CUT TO:
Hallway.
MOTHER
Good night kids.
DANI
& DANNY
Good night.
CUT TO:
Inside the blanket.
They're waiting for her to leave.
DANNY
Ready?
(pause)
One...two...three!
They throw the blanket off from on
top of them, letting the room fill
with smoke. Dani opens the
window above the bed, as Danny gets into
the bed.
DANNY
Damn is it ever cold.
DANI
It’s only the
beginning.
Daniele
taps the pipe on the outside of the window so all the ashes
fall outside.
DANNY
So what is this
so-called ‘date’ you have
planned with my mother
tomorrow?
DANI
(tapping the
pipe)
Ah, our little date, right.
She walks over to the other side of the
room and puts her finger
over the light dimmer.
DANI
Your mom thought it
would be a good idea if
she took me to some
maternity course. A one
day Motherhood course,
actually.
DANNY
Do you think it's a
good idea.
DANI
Yeah, well, why not,
right?
DANNY
Right. Right.
The silence settles and Dani
presses in the dimmer and the lights
go out. There is just enough light to see her climb
into bed and
snuggle with Danny. They close their eyes with their faces close
together.
DANNY
Good night babe.
DANI
Good night.
They kiss softly.
DANNY
Love you babe.
DANI
Love you too.
They kiss again, this time longer and
more passionately. They pause,
And close their eyes to sleep
contently.
Suddenly Danny burps and exhales some
smoke with it. They break out
laughing, trying to stay quiet.
9 EXT. OLSON HOME - DAY
It is a snowy afternoon in Edmonton
and the sun will be down
in a few hours.
An old fashioned blue family BUICK
pulls up to the sidewalk outside
of the Olson family home. Danny steps out of the back seat dressed
in a heavy winter jacket and toque,
equipped with his school
backpack and holding Aiden close to his chest.
Aiden is dressed
very warm in CUTE baby winter
clothes.
He turns to the passenger window
where Dani sits.
She is drawing a
heart on the icy window and
supplements her art with a kiss. Danny
gives her one back and heads towards
the front door. The buick
drives away.
CUT TO:
10 INT. MOTHERHOOD TRAINING CLASS
- DAY
The scene opens up inside of the
MOTHERHOOD TRAINING COURSE. It is
a classroom containing three parallel
rows of tables filled with
mothers and mothers-to-be. Every person is equipped with a bottle,
a book, and a baby-doll. Dani’s mother in
law sits beside her with
a doll; she is only here because she
knows Dani wouldn’t come alone.
The instructor in front of the class
speaks loud enough for them to
all hear her.
INSTRUCTOR (OS)
If you think diaper
rashes are difficult for
you, think about how
painful they are for your
baby.
CUT TO:
The instructor who lectures them from
the front of the room is about
40.
She has an obvious abundance of experience with children, you
can tell from her mother-like
clothing and style.
INSTRUCTOR (CONT'D)
Even though your son
or daughter may cry even
more, it is important
to apply ointment cream
on their rash. Try patting it down with a wet
towel or baby wipes.
JUMP CUT:
INSTRUCTOR
Be sure to change him
regularly. Do not let
it sit.
JUMP CUT:
Daniele
takes notes looking back and forth between her booklet and
instructor.
INSTRUCTOR (OS)
Last but not least, be
sure to expose their
little butts to the
air for a little bit after
they’ve been changed.
(pause)
Let the cool air heal
the baby and sooth it
nicely.
CUT TO:
11 INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING
The lights are off in the Olson’s
living room, it is only
illuminated by the dying sunlight and
TV. Danny’s dad, HAROLD OLSON
sits on the sofa watching the
news. To the right of him, but sitting
on the floor with his back to the
couch, is Danny.
Danny is doing some chemistry
homework while he takes care of his
son Aiden. Aiden sits in front
of Danny playing with letter blocks.
The two of them listen to music, as
Danny has planted one earphone
in his ear and one in Aiden’s.
The TV screen reveals that Harold is
TURNING DOWN the Volume. As
the little green volume notches on
the screen get smaller and smaller
we can see Harold looking over at his
son and grandson. Danny
doesn’t react.
It takes a while for Harold to get
the words out.
HAROLD
Your mother showed me
your report card.
Danny pretends he can’t notice, but
his pen stops in his hand and we
can see that he is staring at his dad
from the corner of his eyes.
After a while, his dad gives up,
turning the TV volume up again.
CUT TO:
12 INT. MOTHERHOOD TRAINING CLASS
- EVENING
Later in the course, we see all the
women standing over the table in
front of them. It is 3 rows of fake-babies having their
diapers
changed. Daniele is
struggling with the re-attachment of her doll’s
diaper.
MARTHA
(leaving the doll
in front of her
alone for a
moment)
Let me help you,
sweetie.
She removes Daniele’s
hands and slowly assembles the diaper on her
fake baby boy. She finishes and looks at Daniele.
MARTHA
Think you got it?
Daniele
nods her head “yes”.
MARTHA (CONT)
(sliding her
uncovered baby
over)
Try this one.
CUT TO:
13 INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING
In the living room Aiden sits alone in the living room with one
earphone still in his ear. In the background Danny is in the kitchen
on the phone, his dad heads over to
join him.
Danny ends the conversation and hangs
up.
CUT TO:
14 INT. KITCHEN - EVENING
Danny sits on the counter next to the
sink enjoying a glass of
orange juice. He seems to enjoy the empty room because when
his dad
joins him he lowers his head and
attempts to shun him from his
peripheral.
His dad stands next to him silently
grabbing a glass from the
cupboard and filling it with water. As the water pours into the cup
Harold decides to break the ice:
HAROLD
(no eye contact)
Going anywhere?
DANNY
Ah, yeah, Clayton's
picking me up. Gonna
for
a ride.
HAROLD
I thought you were
watching Aiden tonight.
DANNY
Oh. Umm, do you mind.
HAROLD
Yes I do.
DANNY
Okay than. I'll tell Clay not to bother, if
he hasn't left
already.
He
hesitates for the phone…
HAROLD
Forget it, your mother
and Daniele will be
home at seven,
anyways.
It gets silent and the two are just
waiting for someone to make the
their presence more social. Harold takes the pleasure of breaking
the ice, yet again:
HAROLD
So how you been
lately, Daniel?
DANNY
What do you mean?
HAROLD
I mean how are you? How’s it going? What’s
new? What’s cool?
What sucks? Fill me in
kid.
DANNY
Oh, I don’t know. Ah, let’s see, I’m good,
It’s going good as
well. Not really
anything’s new. School sucks, though.
HAROLD
That’s what I’ve been hearing.
CUT TO:
15 INT. MOTHERHOOD TRAINING CLASS
- EVENING
All the woman and girls in the room
are taking the time now to share
life stories over coffee, either
one-on-one or in larger groups.
At the end of one table is Danny’s
Mom talking to the instructor.
They are obviously having a serious
discussion, we cannot hear them
over the rest of the room’s chatter.
CUT TO:
Dani stands
next to the juice dispenser filling up a cup.
Behind
her a young girl around her age
approaches her with the intention of
making conversation.
GIRL
Hi, I'm Mindy.
Daniele
turns around to MINDY, a cute blonde girl with a small
tummy.
DANI
Hi.
(offers her
hand)
Dani.
MINDY
(very friendly)
How many months.
DANI
Actually I've been a
mommy for a few months
already.
MINDY
Oh no way! You look great, I'm so scared that
I'm gonna be a
complete wreck after I push
this one out.
(rubbing her
tummy)
One more month, can
you beleive it?
DANI
No, actually. Wow.
You look too incredible
for 8 months.
MINDY
Thanks, I don't know
how long it's gonna last.
(pause)
So tell me is it
pretty tough.
DANI
What?
MINDY
Being a mom.
DANI
Oh-no, not
really. I can say that I manage quite
well.
MINDY
Really? Is he still around? The daddy, I
mean.
DANI
Oh, yeah, of
course. We live together with
his parents. Makes things easier, you know?
MINDY
You're so lucky.
DANI
What about your man...
MINDY
(somber but
sweet)
Won't claim possession.
DANI
(clenching her
teeth)
I'm so sorry. That really sucks.
MINDY
Well, what can I
say? He was an asshole when
I met him.
(pause)
Still go to school?
DANI
Grade 12. You?
MINDY
Just started grade
10. I'm on this home
schooling
computer-type-thingy.
DANI
How's that?
MINDY
Gets the job
done. I do miss my friends
though. But hey, it all comes with the job.
Growing up, right? Well, you know what I'm
Talking about.
Martha merges with the two
girls. She smiles at Mindy.
MARTHA
(to Dani)
Just about ready?
DANI
(to Mindy)
It's was nice meeting
you. Maybe I'll see you
again.
MINDY
I really hope so. Bye-bye!
DANI
Bye.
Dani shoots
her a smile and leaves with Martha.
CUT
TO:
16 EXT. OLSON HOME - NIGHT
The Buick pulls into the driveway.
CUT TO:
17 INT. FAMILY BUICK - NIGHT
Dani sits in the
passenger seat looking at Martha. Martha
shuts off
the engine. She notices Dani
staring at her as if she's trying to
say something. Martha waits for her to say something, and
low-and-
behold she speaks:
DANI
(nervous)
I really want to thank
you Martha. Really I
do. You don't know how much I appreciate all
this. Not only this but everything else too.
I'm very grateful for
your help, and I know
that's the least I can
say but it's the best
way I can put it right
now.
(pause to catch
her breath)
So until I figure out
a better way of saying
this, thank you so
much, Martha. Thank you.
MARTHA
Daniella,
hon, please stop calling me that.
DANI
Oh. I'm so sorry Mrs. Olson.
MARTHA
No, no, no. You've been living with us for
almost a year
now. You're like a daughter to
me, child. I was hoping we'd be on mother-
daughter terms by now.
DANI
Oh. Umm, well then, thanks...mom.
Mom has a priceless smile on her
face. She makes Daniele
give her a
hug and kisses her NEW daughter on
the cheek.
CUT TO:
18 EXT. PUBLIC PARK - NIGHT
In a dark and deserted parking lot of
a public park on the outskirts
of Edmonton Danny paces to and fro,
high and COKED-OUT, under the
light of a street lamp. Clayton is hidden in the drivers seat of his
CHEVY SILVERADO.
CUT TO:
19 INT. CLAYTON'S TRUCK -
There is a thin line of coke left on
his dash board, it is all that's
left of their Eight-ball. Clayton snorts this all up with a crisp
five-dollar bill.
CUT TO:
20 EXT. PUBLIC PARK -
Danny starts waving his arms and
ranting on about something that
barely makes sense with his million-syllables-per-second
speaking
pace.
DANNY
You know, you know,
love is amazing. It is!
It really and truly
is! It's the only emotion
that can act like a
drug. A hard and...and...
fiending
drug. I mean people crave it, get
addicted to it, it's
so addictive! Like heroin.
like mother-fucking
heroin! And if you have it,
you love Love until you lose it where you go
through sick withdrawals
wishing and hoping
that you can one day
get it back. It's a
lovely narcotic. Love is great. It will get
you high and get you
down, but it is so great
when you have it.
CLAYTON
(mumbling)
I think what you
really mean is sex, man. Sex
is great. Sex gets you high.
DANNY
(offended)
No! No way!
No way Jose. Love is not a
product of sex, it's
the other way around.
You got it all wrong. You got it upside-down,
inside-out, and all
mixed up inside your head.
On that note Danny slips on a patch
of ice, his legs kick from under
him and he lands flat and painfully
on his back. He lets out a big
wail and then starts to laugh.
DANNY
(somewhat in
pain, otherwise
humored)
Love. How great you are.
FADE TO:
21 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Daniele
lays sound asleep in bed when the door creeks open, it
doesn't wake her up. Danny steps through tired and a complete
wreck. He slowly makes his way to the bed and sits
at the foot of
it.
Slowly he peels off his shirt. Then his socks. And then his pants,
which he struggles with a bit.
As he is slipping into his side of
the bed, Dani wakes up. She
looks him into his eyes. He kisses her softly.
DANI
(whispering)
Where were you?
DANNY
(whispering back)
With Clay.
DANI
Did you do any of the
bad stuff.
DANNY
Yeah.
DANI
I can tell. You feel hollow. Distant.
You look a mess. Even in darkness.
DANNY
I'm sorry. I know you don't like us doing
that. I won't anymore.
DANI
Promise?
DANNY
Promise.
DANI
Do you love me?
DANNY
More than life itself.
She smiles and cuddles up close to
him.
FADE OUT:
22 EXT. EDMONTON RESIDENTIAL - DAY
(the day they met)
The two of them walk side-by-side on
the deserted street. Each of
them have a giant Slurpee
that they drink from. Dani holds a bag
of chips as the each take turns
grabbing chips from.
DANNY
(pointing in a
direction)
That there is the best
goddamn Korean food
restaurant in the city
of Edmonton. They make
a kick ass wonton
soup.
DANI
Isn't that Chinese.
DANNY
Ehhh.
(points in
another direction)
That is 24-Hour Video, which ironically
closes
at 3…go figure.
(points down a
right turn in the
road)
I live down that
street.
As they begin to cross the street that
Danny lives on, Dani turns
down that road without him knowing. It takes a while for him to
realize he’s missing his friend.
DANNY
(coming to a halt)
Where are you going?
DANI
(she turns to him
and stops)
Going to your house.
They let the moment settle, and then
Danny runs to catch up with
her.
DANNY
Cool! Can I come?
Following from behind, we see him
catch up with her as they walk
together down the street. We see Dany toss
the bag of chips. She
wipes her hands on her thighs and
grabs Danny’s hand.
CUT TO:
23 INT. OLSON HOME - DAY
From inside the empty but well
furnished home we view the front door
as Danny unlocks it from
outside. The door swings open and Danny
rushes in to present his lavish home
to Dani as if they were on a
game show.
He runs into the living room.
DANNY
Welcome to the
marvelous home here at
Ninety-seven-oh-eight,
Frank St.
Daniele
laughs and claps her hands like a stoned fool.
DANNY
(CONT)
This home was
purchased by Harold and Martha
Olson during the
summer of 1985. It was the
same home in which
they raised there great
son, Daniel Victor.
CUT TO:
24 INT. BATHROOM - DAY
They stand in the doorway of a completely
white-tiled, white-walled
bathroom.
DANNY
It was in this
bathroom that I took my first
solo bath, at the
tender age of five.
DANI
Oooh.
CUT TO:
25 INT. PARENT'S ROOM - DAY
She sits on the edge of his parents
bed as he rants on about its
history.
DANNY
Theoretically, I was
conceived on that very
Bed.
CUT TO:
26 INT. BASEMENT - DAY
In an unfurnished and unfinished
basement, Danny shows her the
downstairs from the stairway.
DANNY
Basement.
CUT TO:
27 INT. KITCHEN - DAY
DANNY
Kitchen.
CUT TO:
28 INT. BEDROOM - DAY
They stand in the middle of the
bedroom staring at each other.
DANNY
My room.
We pan over to the bed, the blanket
has a design of Earth on it.
JUMP CUT:
Now they are sitting on the bed,
facing each other, making-out like
rabbits in a hurry.
JUMP CUT:
A shot of Dani
removing his shirt, their lips never come apart,
except for one brief moment when his
shirt collar gets pulled over
his head.
JUMP CUT:
Lips still attached, Dani, now on top, removes unbuttons and removes
her shirt, joining the no-shirt club.
CUT TO:
Now they lay on top of the World bed
cover, because after all, they
feel as if they are ON TOP OF THE WORLD. Her head is tucked into
his arm and there is an ashtray on
his stomach as they share a
smoke. Dani ashes out her
cigarette, she takes another drag and
then kisses Danny before
exhaling. He exhales the recycled smoke
and she continues with the cigarette.
DANNY
(laid back)
You know I woke up
this morning and I had this
feeling.
(pause)
I woke up, and
somewhere in between opening my
eyes and hitting the
snooze button, I thought
to myself: “I feel
like falling in love
today.”
DANI
(relaxed and
calm)
Your in love with me?
DANNY
No, not yet, but I’m
falling. I’m falling
hard.
DANI
So what do you want me
to do about it? Do you
want me to fall hard
into love with you?
DANNY
I want you to
know. That’s all.
She takes another long drag from her
smoke and once again shares it
with Danny. He exhales smoothly.
DANNY
You’re amazing.
He hands her the ashtray and turns
over to lay on his stomach. He
rests his arm over Daniele’s body. He
closes his eyes and rests.
Daniele
places the ashtray on his back as she stares up at the
ceiling.
FADE OUT:
(the present)
BLACKNESS
The annoying sound of an alarm clock
erupts over the pitch-darkness,
followed by the sound of someone
hitting the clock once, twice, and
then finally and putting an end to
the disturbance at the third
attempt.
FADE IN:
29 INT. BEDROOM - DAY
Danny opens his eyes and sees Dani sitting on top of him.
She is
seductively smiling and Danny can
sense a surprise.
DANI
I have something for
you.
She moves her tongue around in her
mouth as if to grab something
with it.
DANI
(CONT'D)
(tongue out,
semi-coherent)
Surprise!
On the tip of her tongue is an
Ecstasy tablet. Danny sits up and
slides the pill from her tongue into
his mouth. He bites half of it
and removes the other half with his
finger and puts it in Dani's
mouth. She sucks on his finger as he removes it.
DANNY
Mmmmm!
CUT TO:
30 INT. CLASSROOM - DAY
POV under desk: You can see Danny's
hand down the front of his
girlfriends pants. He finger-bangs her.
The ecstasy must be working well.
CUT TO:
WIDESHOT OF ENTIRE CLASS:
We see the quiet classroom going
about their business. Danny fills
out a worksheet with one hand and
with the other...
CU:
Daniele
holds her head up with her arm firmly planted on the desk.
Her eyes are closed and she pants
softly.
The teacher, MRS.LARSON, is an old
woman that might as well should
have "HEINOUS BITCH"
tattooed on her forehead. She wears her
hair
back in a gray bun, dressed old fashioned
in the type of sweaters
your Grandma used to wear.
Mrs. Larson sits at he desk indulging
in a book which covers most of
her face. She sits back proud of her quiet class until
her eyes
drift away from her novel to the two
horny teens in front of her.
She is nothing short of shocked and
disgusted.
CUT TO:
31 INT. SUPERMARKET - DAY
Martha is shopping alone in the
supermarket. Her shopping cart is
full of toilet paper, bread, tons of
vegetables, and she's just
topped it off with a package of baby
diapers.
A woman strolls by who seems to
recognize her, but she doesn't make
an attempt to greet her. Martha senses this and turns to her.
MARTHA
Theresa. How nice to see you. How are you?
THERESA
(not interested
in conversation)
Hello Martha. I'm fine, and you?
MARTHA
Wonderful.
THERESA
I see that.
(pause)
How is Daniele? Taking care
of her?
MARTHA
She seems to take care
of herself well enough.
She's doing quite
well, actually. She took
this maternity course
yesterday. Did quite
well.
THERESA
Good to hear. I'll be sure to let her mother
know, she'll be extra proud this time.
MARTHA
Now Theresa, they're
good kids.
THERESA
Uhh-hmm. Great kids in fact. I hope they
function even better
as parents.
MARTHA
They're catching on
quite well.
(pause)
You know you should
come over some time. I'm
sure Daniella would be more than happy to see
you.
THERESA
I'm sure she would be.
MARTHA
I'm sure she'd love it
if you joined us for
dinner this evening.
THERESA
As much as I'd love
to, I can't. I have
plans.
MARTHA
What sort of plans?
THERESA
The sort of plans that
don't concern your
interest.
(starts stolling away)
Say hello to the kids for me.
CUT TO:
32 INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Martha plops the last of her grocery
bags onto the counter next to
the others. She naturally activates the near-by answering
machine
and starts to unpack the groceries.
ANSWERING MACHINE
(beep!)
Hi, Miss Olson. This is Principal Foster
calling from Glennbury High.
CUT TO:
33 INT. PRINCIPALS OFFICE - DAY
Martha sits at Principal Fosters
office desk. She doesn't look too
happy, neither does MR. FOSTER. MR. FOSTER is a tall and
intimidating black man in a GRAY SUIT
AND A BURSH CUT.
The Dannies
stand against the wall with their heads down.
They
share the same guilty face. Dani holds Aiden close to her chest
facing away from all the commotion.
Mrs. Larson sits on the corner of Mr.
Fosters desk. With her legs
and arms crossed, she explains to Martha
why they brought her here:
MRS. LARSON
(calm as if not
to alarm her)
He was masturbating
her.
DANNY
(fierce and
jumpy)
Bullshit.
MR.FOSTER
Daniel, please.
DANNY
She's lying. She didn't see shit!
DANI
(covering Aiden's ears)
Shhh.
MARTHA
Why would she lie,
Danny?
DANNY
(defensive)
Because she's a
heinous bitch!
MR.FOSTER
Relax!
MARTHA
Stop Danny. I raised you better than this.
MRS.
LARSON
(to Danny)
Don’t make this any
worse, Danny.
(reassuring Martha)
I don't lie.
(to the Dannies)
This isn't something I
was hoping to witness
in my career. Two hormone driven teens
getting off during an
exam.
(pause)
Very mature.
DANNY
Mom. She's lying.
MARTHA
(head in her
arms, grieving)
I just don't know what
to do anymore. I give
you everything. Everything!
DANI
We're sorry.
MR.FOSTER
Our school does not
tolerate this type of...
(pause)
activity. What we're prepared to do is give
each student a 1 week
suspension. Afterwards
they will be subjected
to a month of school
services. And we'll also require them to see
the school counsel a
few times before we can
trust them together in
the same classes.
DANNY
But we share all the
same classes.
MR.FOSTER
You'll just have to take turns
coming to
class. One day Daniele
will attend class,
while Daniel stays in
the library. The next
day Daniel will go to
class.
DANI
Until when?
MR.FOSTER
Until you have proven
to us that you can be
trusted together.
DANNY
You can't just move us to opposite ends of
the
Class.
MRS.
LARSON
I'm afraid that would
be just too awkward,
for me and
teachers-alike.
DANNY
(angered)
What the hell are you
talking about?
MR.FOSTER
Daniel, I'm warning
you.
(pause)
Mrs. Olson, we
understand how hard it must be
for you-
MARTHA
No you don't! Nobody does.
I try and I try
and I try! I have done everything that I can.
Everything to make it
like it used to. I work
my...ASS!...to climb
back up there, but every
time I get close
something pulls me down
another flight of
stairs.
(turns to the Dannies)
You guys! That is it!
You're on your own.
(stands up)
I'm not looking out
for you anymore. You want
to behave like adults,
well pack your shit and
live on your own,
because I am NOT going to
lose my sanity over you, not anymore!
She takes Aiden
away from Daniele with force
MARTHA (CONT'D)
And you can go ahead and walk
home. Take your
time, I don't want to
have to see you again
for a while.
She opens the office door and slams
it behind her.
The Dannies
look horrified.
DANNY
Are we done here?
CUT TO:
34 INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING
The Dannies
are not done yet, the shit has rolled downhill to Dad
now, and they sit more sorry than
ever on the opposite ends of the
sofa.
Harold paces back and forth in front
of the two of them. His head
down, it jolts up and turns to Martha in
the kitchen feeding Aiden
baby food in his high chair.
He shifts his attention to the kids
on the sofa before him.
HAROLD
Well I think your Mother is right. You guys
need discipline. If we keep letting you get
your way you'll never
grow out of this teenage
idiocy that you two
seem to embrace so well.
DANNY
What about school?
HAROLD
What about it?
DANNY
How am I supposed to pay off an
apartment with
school in the way?
Harold looks over to his wife
again. The look they give each other
reminds them of something they
obviously discussed earlier.
HAROLD
Your mother and I were
thinking that...well,
maybe school isn't for
you.
DANNY
(shocked)
What?!
HAROLD
Well it's not like
you're trying very hard.
And you barely go
anyways.
DANNY
What? I'm there every morning.
HAROLD
Where? School?
Cause I know you're
definitely not talking
about your classes.
DANI
What am I supposed to
do?
HAROLD
You can do whatever
you like, dear.
DANNY
No she can't, she's
got to take care of Aiden.
MARTHA (OS)
Home schooling, honey.
DANI
Like cyber school?
HAROLD
I think it's a good
idea. That way you won't
have to let Aiden out of your sight and still
complete your
education.
(pause)
I don't think you guys
realize what a great
opportunity this
is. I think it's the best
thing that's ever
happened for you.
DANNY
Where am I supposed to
find a job?
HAROLD
Are you still strung
up on that? Christ, I'll
help you find one if
that's what you want.
He sits down on the corner of the
sofa.
HAROLD (CONT'D)
Believe me, you guys
need this.
CUT TO:
35 INT. APARTMENT - DAY
The newly purchased apartment is bare
and small. The white wall is
never ending except for the glass
door that connects to the balcony.
It isn't bad, but not luxurious
either.
The Dannies
enter.
Danny caries a large cardboard box in
his arms and a black-strapped
bag over his shoulder. Dani enters with a
bag in one hand, another
bag over her shoulder, and a carriage with Aiden comfortably inside.
Dani drops
her bag and carefully unloads the rest of her luggage.
Danny places the box in the middle of
the room, and then, with the
bag still over his shoulder spins
around slowly observing their new
home.
He smiles looking at Dani, who has an equally
jovial
expression.
FADE TO:
36 EXT. SCHOOL YARD - DAY
(the day they met)
With their backs to the brick wall
Danny and Dani each have a smoke.
Danny smokes his cigarette like a
real smoker, meanwhile, Dani holds
and smokes hers more like a joint.
DANI
So what's with the
shirt?
DANNY
Huh?
(looking at the
huge
orange stain)
Oh, that. I had an accident.
DANI
You should drink more
water.
DANNY
Why's that?
DANI
Because dehydration
makes you piss orange.
JUMP CUT:
After the two have already put out
their smokes they stand against
the wall still and silent.
DANI
So tell me Daniel-son,
where can we find some
weed?
CUT TO:
37 EXT. SIDEWALK - DAY
We begin by focusing on the footwear
of Danny and Dani walking at
the same pace beside each other on a
sidewalk. The sounds of cars
zooming by fills the soundtrack.
TILT UP: Danny removes a bag of pot
from his pants and hands it to
her.
DANI
Not too bad. Not too bad at all.
DANNY
I know it won’t be as
good as that B.C. weed
you’re so used to, but
hey, pot’s pot.
DANI
Yes, Daniel Olson, pot
is pot.
CUT TO:
38 EXT. BEHIND OF A STRANGER'S
HOUSE – DAY
The same location as in scene #5.
WIDESHOT: Danny and Dani sit on the tall unmowed-grass
behind
somebody’s house (same house as in
Sc.5. Their backs are leaned
against the blue fence, Danny
has his legs spread out far as Dani
holds her knees close to
herself.
CU: Danny holds a psychedelically
multicolored glass pipe to his
lips.
He lights it up, takes a fat hoot...then passes it
over.
DANNY
So you got any crazy Van-city
adventures. I
could just imagine all
the shit you were
getting into.
DANI
(after exhaling)
Oh, there was some crazy
shit. Every night
there was some crazy
shit. We wrote the book,
on crazy shit.
DANNY
Care to recite a
chapter. Tell me about your
acid frenzy.
Daniel takes his hoot, she doesn't
respond to his asking. He waits
for her story, but by the time he
blows it out, he realizes that
it's a touchy subject.
DANNY
I take it you'd rather
not.
DANI
Good take.
DANNY
I'm sorry. I'm just curious about you. You
fascinate me. You've got a certain mystique
that most girls do not
have.
(he waits for her
to say
something)
There's something
about you that just drives
me to want to know everything
about you. I'm
compelled.
DANI
(obviously
touched)
I did all sorts of
drugs in Vancouver. My
parents say it messed
up my brain.
(beat)
I don't know, I don't
think anything about me
has changed. Just my perspectives on life. I
was doing them for the
different state of mind.
How ecstasy made me
love, mushrooms made me
free, or how acid made
me immortal.
DANNY
You're parents knew
about it all.
DANI
They did. Well, they did and they didn't.
You see, when I come
home at 5 in the morning
and my nose is numb,
eyes blood red, and
pupils the size of plums,
my parents still ask
me what I'm on.
(beat)
I say: "I've got
a cold, my contacts are
getting old, and it's
only natural for pupils
to get bigger when you were just
outside in
the night.
DANNY
And she believes that?
DANI
No, but at least she can reassure
herself that
I'm sober enough to
lie.
DANNY
Quite elaborately, in
fact.
DANI
Why, thank you.
(pause)
So how about you? What sort of shit do you
do?
DANNY
I smoke weed.
DANI
That's a given.
DANNY
I do all the organics
too: mush, hash, rat
root--
DANI
(disturbed)
Rat root?
DANNY
Only once. Grade 9, science fare. Some kid
had a display on
Indian herbals. We were
lucky enough to steal
the apparatus before he
got kicked out of
school.
(beat)
Where was I? Aw, yes, ephedrine is always
nice, I kinda like ecstasy, and I tried coke
once too long ago.
DANI
How'd you like that?
DANNY
Enticing. After though, I kinda
felt dirty
for doing it.
DANI
I hate cocaine, that
shit's poison. It really
messed up some close
friends of mine. My
friend Amber wound up
dead because of it. She
had been on rocks and
rails for 10 days.
DANNY
Crazy.
DANI
So your parents. What all do they know.
DANNY
Nothing.
DANI
Nothing?
DANNY
Not a goddamn thing.
DANI
No?
Danny pulls out two cigarette and
passes one of them to Daniele.
DANNY
They know I smoke,
actually my mom thinks I
quit. Other than that they don't know much
about me. Everything else is a complete
mystery.
Lighting his smoke, and then hers.
DANI
Do you wish they knew
more?
DANNY
Well I don't wish they
knew more about what
I'm doing every night,
but it would be nice
for them to know a little
more about their
son, other than the
fact that he's smoker and
is at risk of many
cancers, including cancer
of the lung, colon,
and throat.
DANI
You always been a
little sarcastic bastard?
Danny stands up off the grass.
DANNY
My whole life.
He lends out his free hand the girl
below him, helps her to her
feet.
CUT TO:
39 INT. 7-11 STORE - DAY
ARIAL SHOT: In the aisles of 7-11 store
the two stoned teens are
Looking for munchies. They laugh and giggle at each other, with
their scarlet-red eyes barely open.
CUT TO:
Danny stands at the counter, putting
a big bag of chips, two
Slurpees,
two Mr. Big chocolate bars, and some gum on the counter.
Dani is at
the small candies aisle as she holds out a quarter-filled
plastic bag in one hand and tweezers
in the other.
DANI
(dropping a 5
cent candy in the
bag)
A dollar ninety.
(another)
Dollar ninety-five.
(another)
Two bucks.
(She throws one
more in her mouth)
Two-oh-five.
She drops the bag of candies on the
counter.
DANI
Two dollars.
Danny pays for them plus the rest of
the munchies.
CUT TO:
40 INT. APARTMENT (LIVING ROOM) -
DAY
(the present)
At first the scene enters with the
sight of the TV which currently
has the Teletubies
throughout the screen.
Aiden is
sitting on the floor in front of the TV in a daze. He
seems to have aged a month since last
seen.
CUT TO:
The apartment is now fully
furnished. It is actually not too bad
for two teenagers trying to make ends
meet. The walls are still a
little plain, but the rest of it is
all right.
Dani,
sporting her NEW GLASSES, is at the far corner of the living
room at her COMPUTER DESK, currently
attending school. In the
background we see Aiden
and the television set.
On her monitor is a diagram of the
abdominal cavity, she is
attending Biology class. She chews the cap of a pen while she
analyzes her homework, occasionally
writing something down.
CUT TO:
41 INT. RESTAURANT (KITCHEN) - DAY
At his new job as a cook at the local
BOSTON PIZZA, Danny is in the
middle of a rush: removing fries from the deep fryer, flipping
burger
patties, putting the fries in a
plate, drenching them with gravy,
tapping the bell (twice), putting the
burger patties in a bun,
placing the burger on a plate,
tapping the bell (twice).
CUT
TO:
42 INT. APARTMENT -
Dani is
still analyzing the computer screen, chewing the cap of her
pen.
In the B.G. we see Aiden crawling towards her,
the TV is just
a blue screen. Noticing her son coming towards her she gets
off the
chair and comes to him first. Dani picks him up
and walks over to
the VCR. She ejects the tape and exchanges it for yet
another
brilliant episode of the Teletubies. She
kisses Aiden and places
him in front of the television again.
CUT TO:
43 INT. RESTAURANT (KITCHEN) -
Danny's workload has settled down a
bit. Now he is cutting the big
juicy slobs of raw meat into 10 oz.,
8 oz., and 6 oz. pieces.
He wraps up two steaks in brown
paper.
Danny checks over his shoulders;
nobody is watching. He bends down
below the counter and slides a styrofoam take-out package from
beneath. He places his wrapped up meat inside of it
and slides it
underneath again. He down this with perfect caution, paranoid
that
the boss might be watching him from
some place afar.
And back to the meat slicing, he
goes.
CUT TO:
44 INT. APARTMENT (BABY’S ROOM) -
NIGHT
As the scene opens Dani
is just putting Aiden in his crib. He is
sound asleep.
Daniele
turns the lights off and exits the room closing the door
shut, leaving us in total darkness.
CUT TO:
45 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
In the main room the lights are
off. Illuminated only by the
television set, which is just a blue
screen. It casts a blue-
hue over the room.
Danny sits comfortably in the
recliner, dressed in boxer-shorts and
a ratty tee-shirt. He is just finishing rolling up a joint as he
licks it and finishes the job.
Dani enters
the room and sits over his lap on her knees facing
him.
She looks back at the blue screen behind them.
DANI
We should really order
cable.
Danny pays no mind. He puts the joint in his mouth and Daniele
lights it for him. He take the first drag and you can tell he's
been waiting for this all day. He exhales, takes another, than
passes it on.
Daniele
takes hers and exhales. Danny takes
another hoot and holds
it in. He comes closer to Dani, closer and closer, and than kisses
her.
He digs his face into her neck while Dani
exhales his recycled
hoot.
She takes another drag while Danny sucks on her neck. She
licks her fingers and puts out the
joint with them, saving it for
later.
It takes a while to get the ball
rolling, but they finally get
things together and on the recliner
they make love. It seems to be
rougher than usual, but it might just
be less comfortable
considering their surface area.
This continues, however, just as
things are getting hot and heavy,
we hear Aiden
crying in the far room. At first the Dannies don't
want to stop. However Daniele
can't take it anymore and stops to
rest her head on the top of the
chair. She waits awhile for her
breathing to get back to normal and
leaves for Aiden.
Danny, frustrated, grabs the
incomplete joint from the table and
proceeds to smoke it.
FADE TO:
46 INT. APARTMENT (KITCHEN) -
NIGHT
In the kitchen Dani
stands by the microwave waiting for a bottle
of warm milk to finish heating up.
THERESA (OS)
What time does Daniel
usually come home?
DANI
He's usually here by eight.
CUT TO:
Theresa sits in the living room with
a cup of tea. Aiden
sits next
to her on the sofa.
THERESA
(muttering under
her breath)
Usually.
(pause)
Tell me, darling, does
he like his
job?
Dani enters
the room with a warm bottle of milk and plops down to
the far side of the sofa, taking Aiden into her lap.
DANI
(feeding Aiden)
He doesn't mind
it. "A job's a job" that's
what he always says.
(pause)
It pays pretty well
actually.
THERESA
I see you never got
around to breast feeding.
DANI
Should I be?
THERESA
I don't know, should
you?
DANI
I tried it a few times
after Aiden was born.
It really hurt.
THERESA
Oh I know. It hurts like a bastard. Your
cousin Christopher was
always a painful feed.
DANI
Do you want more tea?
THERESA
No I'm fine, thank
you.
(pause)
So tell me how is this
new schooling you've
got going? On the internet? I didn't even
know you could do
that.
DANI
Oh, it's, well I think
anyways, a big joke. I
mean it's so
easy! And if I'm actually
learning all that needs
to be taught, than
every teacher I knew
was doing their job
wrong. It's a cinch.
THERESA
How many classes are
you taking?
DANI
Four, got a full
setup.
THERESA
And you're managing
well?
DANI
Never learned more in my life.
THERESA
Good to hear.
The room gets silent and Theresa
passes her attention on to Aiden.
The two woman watch him with a
twinkle in their eyes.
THERESA
You gave birth to a
beautiful child.
DANI
Isn't he.
THERESA
He is. He has your eyes. Your nose and chin
too. Funny, he doesn't take a single physical
trait from his father.
DANI
I don't know--
THERESA
Let's just hope
Daniel's genes didn't all go
to his brain, huh?
Theresa breaks out laughing at her
own joke. Not to be rude, Dani
adds a little hint of laughter.
THERESA
(gets up)
I guess I should be
going.
DANI
(stands up with Aiden)
No more tea?
THERESA
No more tea, thank
you.
DANI
Aunty, thank you for
visiting. You'd be
surprised how bored I
get here alone.
THERESA
My pleasure.
DANI
I have to admit, Aiden isn't the most exciting
child in the world.
THERESA
He's a quiet one.
(pause)
Lucky you.
Dani
follows her to the front door. Theresa
opens it up and turns
to her niece.
THERESA
Take care.
Dani shoots
her a smile. Theresa steps out the door,
however, just
as she does this she clings her back
to the wall. Her back sticks
flat-up to the wall and she gives Daniele a strange look that
prepares her for something bizarre.
Danny, carrying the end of a tree
under one arm and a paper bag in
the other.
DANNY
Hello Theresa.
THERESA
(hidden behind
the tree)
Daniel.
Clayton is at the other end of the
tree carrying a case of beer in
his free hand. Clay shoots Aunt Theresa a super-fake
smile. The
men struggle to fit the tree through
the doorway. As they do this
Theresa squeezes her way through.
The finally get the tree in the
house. They plant a too-tall
Christmas tree straight up in the
middle of the room. The top of
the tree bends a bit at the
roof. Daniele
is shocked, but amused.
DANI
What the hell is that?
DANNY
It's a tree.
DANI
I see that. Where did you get it?
DANNY
This guy Clay works
with hooked us up.
Dani looks
over to Clay for confirmation; he nods his head.
CUT TO:
47 EXT. BACK ALLEY – EARLIER
TONIGHT
Clay's truck rips through the back
alleys of Edmonton. Inside Danny
and Clay drink beers and are
obviously intoxicated. They are
laughing hard about something we just
missed.
Something outside catches Danny's
eye.
DANNY
Stop!
Clay slams on the breaks.
CLAYTON
What?
Danny's head turns towards a truck
parked outside of a home. In the
box of the truck is that oh-so special
Christmas tree he just
blessed his home with.
CUT TO:
48 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Back to the present, Danny takes the
case of beer from Clay and
leaves the room for the kitchen. Dani puts Aiden down carefully by
the tree and follows Danny into the
kitchen. Clayton sits down on
the couch. Aiden plays with
the bottom branches of the tree.
CUT TO:
49 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Danny is unpacking things into the
fridge. He takes two bottles of
Molson out from the box and places
the rest of the beer in the
fridge.
DANI
What were you guys
doing?
DANNY
Oh, you know, just
driving around.
Danny opens up a styrofoam
container from work and takes out some
eggs, tomatoes, and a block of
butter. He unloads them into the
fridge.
DANI
(watching him)
What are you on?
DANNY
(giving her his
full attention,
but not really)
Huh?
(pause)
Nothing.
CUT TO:
50 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Clayton sits in the middle of the
couch, eaves dropping and staring
at Aiden
crawling towards him. Aiden reaches out his hand towards
Clay, Clay pats him on the head
softly.
CUT TO:
51 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Dani gives
Danny an unconvinced look.
DANNY (CONT)
(very defensive)
Nothing, I swear.
She still doesn't believe him.
DANNY
(CONT)
I'm a little drunk,
that's it.
DANI
You're talking pretty
fast for a drunk.
DANNY
(shooting an
irresistible smile)
No, I'm talking fast, because I
am a drunk.
(pause)
I'm not coked
out. I promise.
Daniele's
spiteful look quickly becomes that of a pleased one. She
jolts towards him and bites his lip,
then they kiss lustfully, as
Danny kicks the fridge door closed.
CUT TO:
52 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Danny enters with two beers, hands
one to Clayton: who is busy
holding Aiden
up by the arms, staring at his face.
Danny pulls
Aiden from
Clay. He plops him down on his lap,
opens the beer, and
tosses the cap.
DANNY
He's fucking getting
huge.
CLAYTON
I can see that.
DANNY
I swear he got bigger, I
didn't even realize.
CLAYTON
That's what happens
when they age.
DANNY
(baby talk with Aiden)
"You're a big
guy, now, aren't ya?
What is
she feeding you
spoonfuls of butter?"
Aiden
reaches out his arms to pull at his daddy's face.
DANNY
Hey Dani,
what are you feeding this kid?
AIDEN
Da-nee.
Danny stops playing with him. He stares in sheer surprise.
DANNY
He just said my
name! Did you hear that? He
just said da-nee. He said my
name! Dani
baby! Aiden just said his
first word.
Dani steps
in as she is attaching her earrings.
DANI
What?
DANNY
Aiden! He just said his first word. His said
Danny.
DANI
Oh, I know.
DANNY
You know?
DANI
Uh-hmm.
DANNY
When did this happen?
DANI
Like...two days ago.
DANNY
And you didn't tell me?
DANI
I didn't think you'd
care.
DANNY
Well I do care! I care about my son.
Clayton is getting nervous.
DANI
I didn't think it was
such a big deal to you
I’m sorry.
DANNY
What do you mean
"not a big deal?" Of course
it is. I'm his father and he's my son. And
the things things he does do interest me. I'd
like to know when he
starts talking, all
right?
DANI
Okay, relax.
DANNY
And I want to know
when he gets his first
tooth. And starts walking. And grows out of
those Goddamn pants!
DANI
Whoa, relax! maybe if
you spent some time with
him you wouldn't have to wait for
me to tell
you all about it.
DANNY
Well aren't we being
the hypocritical bitch
tonight?
Dani is
shocked.
DANI
(mortified)
What did you just call
me?
(pause)
You just called me a
bitch.
DANNY
Well, you're certainly
acting like one.
CLAYTON
I'm gonna go to 7-11.
You guys want anything?
Clay leaves without waiting for a
response.
DANI
Excuse me? I am your fucking woman. You do
not say that to
me! I am home watching over
him 24-7! I am the one that feeds him, and
cleans him. And when you come home do not
forget what you're
coming home to.
DANNY
Yeah. My woman and my son. When I'm at work
getting grease and
blood and shit all over me,
I'm thinking about
coming home to my woman and
my son.
And every morning, when I wake up at
eight, I'm thinking
about my woman and son—who
are comfortably sleeping away—while I'm on my
way out the door to
work for my woman and son!
DANI
And beer!
DANNY
And beer?! Okay, fuck off, you're scaring
Aiden. Just fuck right off. I don't even
know why we're
fighting anymore. Just leave.
Cause if you don't, I
will.
DANI
(grabs Aiden
away from him)
Fine!
(shoots an evil
smile)
I will leave!
She marches to the door, opens it,
marches out with her son
tight in her arms, slamming the door
shut on he way-out.
DANNY
Where are you going?!
CUT TO:
53 EXT. BALCONY - NIGHT
It is a full moon outside. The moonlight illuminates the entire
area to a silver hue.
Danny stands leaning over the railing
of his fourth floor balcony.
He pulls out a joint and lights it
up. He watches Daniele
walk out
the main entrance with Aiden hanging silently over her shoulder. He
waves to her back with greatly faked
enthusiasm.
CUT TO:
On the ground below, Dani marches away with Aiden, and
slams into
Clayton (who now has a Slurpee) with her shoulder.
He's not the
least bit surprised to see her in
this mood and keeps walking. He
gets to the front of the building.
CUT TO:
On the fourth floor balcony...
DANNY
Come on up, man.
CUT TO:
54 INT. HOUSE - NIGHT
The front door of a mysterious home
swings open and, Dani and Aiden
are on the other side of it.
The woman who stands in the doorway
is about 35 and looks very good
for her admirable age.
WOMAN
Daniele?
DANI
(cold and
breathing hard)
Hi, Miss Foreman.
WOMAN
Daniele.
DANI
Is Margot around?
WOMAN
Yeah, come in. What a surprise to see you
here.
DANI
Is Margot around?
CUT TO:
55 INT. MARGOT'S HOME (BEDROOM) - NIGHT
Margot's room consists of very bright
colors: PINK, PURPLE, YELLOW,
etc.
Pictures of KITTENS, JOSH HARTNETT, and all that cute stuff
covers the walls. It is quite an immature bedroom for a 17 year
old.
ARIAL SHOT:
Daniele is
laying on Margot's single-bed staring at the roof, as
Margot sits on the floor playing with
Aiden. She
holds a pink sock
up above Aiden's
head as he keeps reaching for it she pulls it
higher; quite an irritating challenge for
the young-one.
MARGOT
Danny's never acted
like a dick-head before,
maybe you just got
under his skin.
DANI
(extremely
offensive)
Under his skin?
(beat)
He comes home with
that sleeze-ball Clay,
drunk, and probably cracked out knowing
Clay!
And then he totally
loses it over one Goddamn
thing that I know
doesn't even matter to him!
Blames his lack of
knowledge on me. And has
the nerve to call me a
bitch!
(beat)
You Goddamn right I
got under his skin. I got
under his skin and
tugged at his veins that
cock sucker!
CUT TO:
56 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
On the coffee table, clay cuts a nice
straight line of cocaine up
for himself. Danny sits next to him with his line sitting
patiently
in front of him.
DANNY
(talking fast and
incoherently)
You know, I work damn
hard. Damn, damn hard
to keep this
place. To feed her. To...keep
her happy and keep her
off my back. And what
does she do. She fucking--
CLAYTON
Line's done.
DANNY
(forgetting what
he just said)
One...two...snort!
They start to snort their lines.
CUT TO:
57 INT. MARGOT'S HOUSE (BEDROOM) -
NIGHT
Dani is
sitting at the edge of the bed now, facing Margot who is no
longer playing with Aiden. Dani's face is full of tears now.
DANI
(barely coherent
under her cries)
I don't know what I'm gonna do?
MARGOT
(slowly losing
her grip)
You have to go back.
DANI
Oh, I know, I
know! I will-- I have to.
Aiden's
diapers and wipes and bottle is all
there--
(laughing under
tears)
You wouldn't happen to
have any of that lying
around here, would
you?
Margot steps over Aiden
and comes to Daniele's aid. She gives her a
big strong hug.
MARGOT
(now crying too)
You're so strong. So, so strong. I don't
know how you do it.
CUT TO:
58 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
The guys finish snorting up the coke
at the same time. Clayton gets
the rush; while he rubs his numb nose, Danny
continues.
DANNY
She fucking leaves me
here. Takes the baby
and leaves. Took the baby. My son!
Who
fucking knows my
name. She just took him and
fled. Off and on they go to: who knows where?
You tell me that ain't fair.
CLAYTON
That ain't fair, man.
DANNY
That ain't fair! You know
what Clay? You're
a good listener. Anyone ever tell you that?
CLAYTON
I am?
DANNY
(standing up and
pointing down at
him)
Yes you are! You are a great listener, and!
And...an even better
friend.
CLAYTON
(stands up with
him)
Well thanks man. I've been waiting my whole
life for someone to
say that.
They share the brotherly love with a
hug.
DANNY
I love you man.
CLAYTON
I love you.
DANNY
You the man,
Clay. You are the man to talk
to.
CLAYTON
I am that man.
CUT TO:
59 INT. MARGOT'S HOUSE (BEDROOM) -
NIGHT
Dani and
Margot's hug ends.
DANI
(trying to
maintain breathing)
Just let me stay here
till Aiden shits
himself.
There tears quickly convert to
snorkeled laughs.
CUT TO:
60 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
The room is once again illuminated in
that bluish-hue radiated from
the TV set. Danny is alone now, sleeping in the recliner,
facing
the TV.
Suddenly the channel on the TV
changes spontaneously to that of a
WEDDING SCENE.
Danny is awaken by this and his eyes
slowly open. He is caught in a
daze: confused, lost, yet fully
attentive to his surreal
surroundings.
On the TV set is Danny, sharply
dressed in a black tuxedo, and Dani,
in a gorgeous white wedding
gown. The smile on each others face is
absolutely priceless. Sheer happiness. Danny puts a ring on her
finger and, although no sound is
projected, his lips say "I Do".
Holding each others palms they look
deep into each others eyes.
SUDDENLY, the sound of a key in the
key hole, and a door-knob
turning grab Danny's attention.
POV DANNY: PAN-LEFT from TV to DOOR—slowly
opening. PAN-RIGHT back
to TV, it is just a blue screen
again.
Daniele and
Aiden (sleeping over her shoulder) carefully step
backwards through the door into the
blue darkness so not to wake
Danny. It’s too late. A thrilled Danny jolts from his sofa to
his woman. He grabs a hold on her legs just as she is
turning
around. He presses his face hard into
her lap.
DANNY
(voice muffled in his tears and
her lap)
I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
DANI
Shhh…
(calm not to wake
Aiden)
It's okay.
DANNY
I am so, so, sorry.
DANI
It's okay.
DANNY
Please don't leave me
ever again.
DANI
I won't. I promise
(bends down,
looks him in the eye)
I promise.
DANNY
Marry me.
DANI
What? With what?
Danny leaves her crouching on the floor
and returns with a tin
pudding cup. He rips the ring off and tosses the
rest. He grabs
her free hand from her and tries to
slide it onto her ring finger.
DANI
(pleading)
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Danny, my fingers bleeding.
DANNY
I'm sorry. I'm serious though. I'm so for
real. I'll get a real one as soon as you say
we can marry.
DANI
When?
DANNY
I don't know! It doesn't matter. Just say
you'll marry me and
we'll live together
forever and we'll be
so happy and...
(pause)
Just say you'll marry
me.
DANI
I love you Danny. I love you so much. Danny
Olson, there is
nothing I'd rather be in this
world than your Dani Olson.
(pause)
I do. I will marry you.
The three of them hug each other
tightly. Their arms stay wrapped
around each other as if never to let
go for the rest of eternity.
FADE TO:
61 INT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA - DAY
(the day they met)
Dani sits
alone at a table in the cafeteria. She
stares up at
Danny who stands in front of her.
DANNY
(pointing at the
chair across her)
Do mind if I…?
He sits down across her and lets his
presence marinate a bit.
DANI
No, go right ahead.
DANNY
(offering his
hand to shake)
Danny.
DANI
(taking up his
offer)
Dani,
too.
DANNY
That’s funny.
(pause)
I’ve never met a girl with the same
name.
DANI
Yeah, well, it
happens.
DANNY
So where are you from,
Dani--
(beat)
I’m sorry is it Dani as in Daniele?
DANI
What else would it be?
DANNY
Do you mind if I call
you Daniele?
DANI
Only if I can call you
Daniel.
DANNY
Deal.
(beat)
So Daniele,
where are you from?
JUMP
CUT:
Later on in their
conversation:
DANI
It’s a lot different
than Vancouver. Smaller,
yes, significantly,
but Edmonton I think has
more pride. It’s so proud to have a former
Stanley Cup winning
team. Yay! Go Gretzky,
back in the eighties,
haven’t won anything
since. And boy, you Edmontonions
are just
head over heals in
love with your mall. Like
Jesus Christ, you’ve
got a pirate ship. A
pirate ship in a
shopping center! Never
thought I’d see it.
DANNY
Yeah, well, we stand
proud as the safe keepers
of the world’s biggest
mall to date.
DANI
Exactly, and why
not. It’s a beautiful
structure.
DANNY
Listen, what do you
have next block?
DANI
I think the kind
school counseler signed me
up for foods.
DANNY
Sound delicious. Wanna skip?
DANI
And do what?
DANNY
We could go have a
smoke.
DANI
One smoke? You want to free up an our and
twenty minutes for one
smoke?
DANNY
C’mon, I’ll show you around the area.
(pause)
I promise we won’t get
in trouble.
DANI
Who said I was worried
about getting into
trouble?
With that, Daniele
shoots him an ever so seductive smile.
CUT TO:
62 EXT. SCHOOLYARD - DAY
With their backs to the brick wall
Danny and Dani each have a smoke.
Danny smokes his cigarette like a
real smoker; meanwhile Dani holds
and smokes hers more like a joint.
DANI
So what the hell do
you guys do here?
DANNY
What do we do?
DANI
Yeah, like for fun.
(she looks at him
sternly)
You guys do have fun
her in Edmonton don’t
you. Please tell me you do.
DANNY
I don’t know. We party, hang out, go the
mall. What do you guys do?
DANI
Well considering I’m
not one of them anymore,
what they do is the exact
same thing, word for
word.
DANNY
Fantastic.
(pause)
Hey, do you mind if I—
DANI
Do you mind if you
stop asking me if I’m going
to mind something
before you ask a question.
(pause)
Just ask. Go’head, just giv’er.
DANNY
Why’d you move to
Edmonton?
DANI
Well you see, one night
I thought it would be a
good idea to do six
hits of acid.
Danny’s face turns cold quickly
DANI
(CONT)
And when I woke up, I
had a razor blade stuck
in my wrist.
(pause)
Cute huh?
DANNY
No, not at all, I was
thinking along the lines
of disgusting.
DANI
Well, my parents hate
me now and sent me to
live with Uncle Herb
and Aunt Theresa.
DANNY
Typical Edmonton
names.
DANI
Yeah, no kidding
FADE TO:
63 INT. WEST EDMONTON MALL - DAY
(the present)
The Christmas season is now in
effect. The soft jingle and jangles
of old Christmas tunes plays in a
popular toy store as a crowd of
parents scan the aisles looking for
this years "Tickle Me Elmo" (or
the next best thing).
Dani is
among this crowd. While strolling around
Aiden she examines
the aisle for a suitable present for
her 9-month old.
A familiar figure holding a baby
carriage enters frame and stands
behind Daniele.
MINDY
Hi there!
DANI
(turning around)
Hello?
(beat)
Oh, hey! How's it going? Mindy, right?
MINDY
Right. Jeeze, it's been a
while.
DANI
No kidding.
MINDY
So how are you?
DANI
Good. Great, actually. Just doing some
Christmas--
(noticing the baby)
I'm sorry is that..?
MINDY
Oh yeah! Meet Kimberly Rae Arnold.
(to Kim)
Say hi!
DANI
(leaning inwards
carriage)
Hey Kimberly! My oh my, is she ever cute.
How long ago?
MINDY
Just about a month.
DANI
(still examining
her child)
How was it?
MINDY
33 grueling hours.
DANI
(attention to
Mindy)
Holy Moses!
MINDY
What was yours like?
Daniele
smiles at Mindy as if to say "not even close."
CUT TO:
64 INT. WEST EDMONTON MALL (FOOD
COURT) - DAY
The two girls sit with their children
in the food court of W.E.M.
They sip away from disposable pop
cups and munch on fries
singularly.
MINDY
So what's new with
you? Fill me in.
Dani holds
up her hand and shows Mindy a pudding ring on her finger.
MINDY
Is that from a pop can?
DANI
Pudding actually. We're getting married.
MINDY
(swooning)
Oh my God! That's so awesome! When?
DANI
We don't know just
yet. I assure you that
we'll know as soon as
he replaces this.
(holds up hand
again)
I'm so excited. Everything's finally starting
to fit into
place. It's like, I know that
it's the begining of something great.
Something big. Life is starting to lay itself
out nice and neat for
me to carefully watch
unfold.
(pause)
The way I see it: it
can only get better.
MINDY
I'm so happy for you.
DANI
Yeah, we haven't
really told anyone. We're
gonna
throw a New Years Party and announce it
to all our friends.
(beat)
You should come.
MINDY
I'll have to see what
I can do.
DANI
Well try to
anyways. Do you know where the
Alliner
apartment complex is?
She nods her head "yes".
DANI
(CONT'D)
Room 409.
(beat)
How about you? What's new?
How's things?
School--how's that
going for you?
MINDY
Oh, school. It was fine when I was pregnant
but after I gave birth, I
couldn't really do
anything for a few
weeks. I was feeling
pretty rigid.
DANI
(chewing fries)
I bet.
MINDY
I tried to get back on
track but Kimmy is kind
of one of those...around-the-clock
babies.
Constantly in need of attention.
DANI
So that made you quit?
MINDY
Then my mom lost her
job not too long ago. So
now I started working at the
La Chateau (in
here, actually) my mom
kinda stays home with
Kimberly when I'm
working, and well...you've
kinda
caught me at a weird time now.
DANI
(intrigued)
Why's that?
MINDY
My mom decided...she thinks it's a good
idea
to raise Kimberly as
her own.
DANI
Meaning...
MINDY
Meaning: that from now on, mom's the
sister
and grandma's the mum.
Not knowing how to respond, Dani rather shows her heart sinking
in with a rude facial expression.
MINDY (CONT'D)
I know it's
weird. I think it's a good idea
though. After a while I'll be able to go back
to school and...pick
up the pieces, I guess, I
hope.
Fuck…I don’t know.
Dani stays
silent.
CUT TO:
65 INT. APARTMENT (BEDROOM) -
NIGHT
A shirt-less Danny opens up a pack of
Nicorette. He
pops a gum into
his mouth and
chews...chews...stops. He stares at
himself in the
mirror as he chews, chews, and stops.
CUT TO:
66 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Dani is
sitting on the floor next to the scarcely ornamented
Christmas tree. There are four or five wrapped presents
surrounding. She stares with content at the smallest wrapped
box.
Wrapped in red paper, it stands alone
atop a larger box.
As she holds it closer to her eyes
for better examination Danny
enters.
DANNY
Not ‘til Christmas, my
darling.
(pause)
When you open it, I want the ring to
celebrate
two occasions.
She carefully puts it back on top of
the other presents and turns
over to Danny.
DANI
Isn't it great?
DANNY
Isn't what great?
Dani gets
off the floor and cuddles with him on the sofa.
DANI
Everything. Me and you and Aiden. And life
and the future. And just everything.
DANNY
I think that...I think
that everything that
waits for us in the
future will only make life
better.
DANI
It's all gonna work out for us.
DANNY
You think so?
DANI
I know so.
It gets silent as Dani
closes her eyes and brings herself closer
to her man's body.
DANI
(eyes closed)
What do see for us in
ten years?
DANNY
Well, let's see.
(he closes his
eyes too)
We definitely won't be
living here. I see a
big house, something
down on the North end.
The house is blue with
a white fence. And the
lawn is green, dark
green, full of toys.
There's nothing in the
driveway but a
basketball net. That’s because I'm not home
yet, of course.
DANI
Where are you?
DANNY
I'm working.
DANI
(opens eyes)
Where?
DANNY
(looks at her)
At a decent job that
pays enough for me to
continue my story.
(closes eyes)
So I see a tall blonde
boy now, and he's
playing basketball in
the driveway. And...he
just sunk the ball. He's really good. The
front door opens, and
I just caught a glimpse
of the inside.
DANI
What's it like?
DANNY
I guess we have a
thing for leather.
(beat)
Now you're in the
doorway and you're holding
this little girl's
hand. She's really cute.
She has blonde
pig-tails and a pink dress. I
wish you could see
her, she looks just like
you. You look a little different now though,
your tummies rounder, nine-months
rounder.
(pause)
Now the two of you
watch Aiden playing ball
but you're also
waiting for something. And
here it comes...
(pause)
Yes...I see it. It's a Jet black 2012
Mustang, it's a
V.8. Windows tinted. 18"
rims with a nice
chrome finish. I've got two
twelves
pumping in the trunk and some nice six-
by-nines in the
back. Phoenix Gold, no,
Rockford…everything
Rockford…
As he continues with his car of the
future:
FADE OUT:
FADE IN:
67 INT. APARTMENT - DAY
It is Christmas day and all the
presents have been unwrapped. Aiden
sits on the floor playing with his new
stuffed animal. The Dannies
sit by the tree.
Daniele
holds the smallest and unrevealed present now and opens it
up.
It is a ring box and in inside is a very impressive diamond
gold ring. It is not fabulous, but for Danny's pay, it
seems a
little out of his league.
Daniele's
face is one of absolute awe. She keeps
looking back and
forth between the ring and Danny's wholesome
smile.
CUT
TO:
68 INT. OLSON HOME (DOORWAY) - DAY
The door swings open and Danny, Dani, and Aiden step through,
covered in snow.
MARTHA
Merry Christmas!
Martha greets each one of them with a
hug and kiss on the cheek
(bonus kisses for Aiden).
DANI
Did they get here yet?
MARTHA
They just called;
they're in St. Albert.
Harold enters the room and greets
them with joy, he's never been
known to act this jovial, the
champagne in his hand might be the
root of it all.
HAROLD
My little man's here!
(gives Danny a
great fatherly hug)
How's work?
DANNY
Oh, it's going nice.
HAROLD
Working hard.
DANNY
Like you wouldn't
believe.
HAROLD
Good man!
(to Dani)
Hello, Daniele, how are you honey?
DANI
Better than ever.
HAROLD
That's what I like to
hear.
(gives her a kiss
on the cheek)
Merry Christmas, dear.
DANI
Merry Christmas.
HAROLD
Who's this little guy?
(steals Aiden from her)
Oh, at look you! You're getting huge, kid.
The parents leave with Aiden as the Dannies remove
themselves of
their shoes and jackets.
CUT TO:
69 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY
Danny sits on the sofa next to his
father who carries Aiden on his
lap.
Danny and his father have their feet up on the table and each
one of them has a beer.
HAROLD
You've done well for
yourself.
DANNY
Have I?
HAROLD
Absolutely
Daniel. You're providing for your
family, that's not
easy.
DANNY
I noticed that.
HAROLD
You're a father and
I'm sure you realize
fathers don't get a
whole lot of credibility.
All they get is supper
and a beer. Now as
good as that sounds,
it's the most physical
reward you'll get. But do you know what the
real reward is?
DANNY
What's that?
HAROLD
(looking down at Aiden)
When you look at your
son...
(looking over to Dani in the
Kitchen)
and then you turn to
your woman.
(looking at Danny
now)
Then you look to
yourself and say "This is my
family. They are as much a part of me as I
am. And I will provide for their life with
all my life, and all
my love. And in return,
they complete
me."
DANNY
Wow dad...
(smiling)
Mom's got you whipped.
His dad laughs with him.
CUT TO:
70 INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Dani and
Martha are busy cooking; or at least Dani imitates
the art
of watching the master cook. Martha wets the turkey with the turkey
with the baster.
DANI
I've got a seventy-five
in Bio, seventy or
seventy-some in
English, Math I'm kinda
struggling with. I'm thinking of dropping it.
MARTHA
Well try it out a
little longer and see what
happens. But hey, way to go! It's got to be
tough teaching
yourself all that.
DANI
Actually I don't find
it to be too bad, at
all. Set your own times, set your own limits.
The door bell rings. The woman stop the cooking and chattering and
look at each other. Dani smiles in that
"wish me good luck" type of
way.
CUT
TO:
71 INT. DINING ROOM - DAY
There's nothing like sharing
Christmas dinner with your significant
other, unless it's with your parents
and your significant others
parents, too!
Danny, Dani,
Aiden, Martha, Harold, and Dani's
parents CLYDE &
DEBORAH AIRMON sit at the dining room
table eating under the
Christmas spirit.
DANI
(looking to
Martha)
Mom?
DEBORAH
Yes, dear?
DANI
(now to her real
mom)
Umm...could you pass
me the salt, please?
Deborah reaches out across the table,
to NEAR MARTHA, and grabs the
salt shaker. She passes it over to her daughter.
Dani shakes
some salt onto her plate. The people
continue eating
until:
DANNY
You know I'm really
glad everyone's here.
(only Dani stops eating)
Mom, Dad, Mister and
Misses Airmon, we have
some news to deliver.
(pause)
We already went
through this once this
morning, but Daniele and I will do it again.
For you guys.
Now that they have the entire tables
attention, Danny starts to
reach into his pocket. He pulls out a ring box and holds it out for
the audience to witness. He removes the ring, places the box onto the
table, and gently slides the ring
into place: Daniele's left pinky-
finger.
Now that the show is over, the Dannies turn to their audience, who
are still waiting for the credits to
roll.
DANI
(very happy)
We're getting married!
At that, you can hear the sound of
four forks hitting their plates.
DEBORAH
Are you insane?
DANI
Mom?!
MARTHA
Well are you?
DANNY
You guys, please! Me and Dani are
serious
here.
HAROLD
Yes: seriously insane!
MARTHA
You've got to be
kidding me?
CLYDE
You guys really want
to get married?
DANNY
Yes.
DANI
Why not?
DEBORAH
Because you're only
seventeen years old,
that's why not!
DANI
So what?
MARTHA
(in a calm voice)
So you're a little too
young to be getting
married.
DANNY
No we're not.
HAROLD
Legally, no. Morally...
(stern)
YES!
DANNY
(protesting)
Oh come on! We can handle it.
DEBORAH
And just when do you
plan on wedding?
CLYDE
Hopefully after I
perish.
DANI
Next May.
MARTHA
Next May? As in May of 2003? You're kidding!
DANI
No we're not.
DEBORAH
Yes you are.
HAROLD
And just how do you
think you'll be able to
afford this?
DANNY
Well, how did you
afford your marriage?
HAROLD
Oh, no! Oh no you don't...
(beat)
You don't expect us to
pay for it?
Suddenly the parents have become
humored by all this.
CLYDE
Oh my God--they do.
The parents start to laugh lightly.
DANNY
Oh come on. A little support would be nice.
MARTHA
Are you aware of how
much it costed our
parents? I vowed that I'd never let my
children put me though
the same thing...never!
DANNY
Well do you want us to
get married in some
Vegas drive-thru
chapel?
MARTHA
No, we don't want you to marry
at all. You're
just not ready.
DANNY
Not ready? We have a child together. We live
together. And we love each other
indefinitely. I think we're more than ready.
Probably more than you
guys were, when your
parents thought you
weren't.
They're starting to cave in...
DANI
What's the problem
here? We thought we'd have
your blessings.
CLYDE
Oh, you do, don't worry
about that. You just
don't have our
funding, that's all.
DANNY
Fine. I'll pay for it.
(pause)
But when we can't
afford enough seating for
our parents, don't get
mad.
HAROLD
I will gladly donate
four dining-room chairs.
MARTHA
And I'll provide
catering.
DANI
Right, then.
(raising her wine
glass)
Do we have ourselves a
wedding?
Everyone but Deborah raise their wine
glasses to this. They stare at
Deborah waiting for her to join.
DEBORAH
You do realize that you put her ring on the
wrong finger.
DANI
(holding her hand
up to see)
Yeah, it only kinda fits on my pinky, though.
Deborah smiles and joins the toast.
The CLING of the glasses:
CUT TO:
72 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
ALL WE SEE: A HAND HOLDING A ROLL-UP
NOISE MAKER HIGH INTO THE AIR.
The walls are decorated with
streamers and balloons.
And then we hear a CROWD OF VOICES
countdown:
CROWD
OF VOICES
5...4...3...2...1...
The person blows the NOISE MAKER and
it unrolls itself with a loud
horn.
CROWD
OF VOICES (OS)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
CUT TO:
The apartment is crowded with the Dannies’ friends.
The place has
never looked this small with so many
people. Some of them wear
strap on party hats but all of them
hold onto a bottle of something.
They celebrate with hugs, kisses,
drinks, and jumping on the couch.
Danny and Dani
stand at the side of the room completely self
absorbed. They just stare into each others eyes and
share a
passionate kiss.
CUT TO:
LATER THAT NIGHT.
The music is blaring. A circle of Dani's
friends are crowded around
her.
She's is holding her ring up for them to all see.
GIRL
1
Oh, my God! It's so gold!
MARTHA
How the hell did you
manage that?
DANI
Don't ask me. However Danny managed it, I
don't know.
GIRL
1
Well it's beautiful.
GIRL 2
So you guys are really
serious here?
DANI
Of course we're
serious!
MARTHA
I better be invited.
DANI
Actually we were
inviting everyone but you,
sorry.
MARTHA
(gasps humorously)
Oh, now that hurts.
DANI
Don't worry. You'll be there. I need a maid
of honor, right?
Martha shrieks with excitement. Dani calms her and
then kisses her on
the forehead.
DANI
(CONT'D)
I'm gonna find Danny.
CUT TO:
73 INT. APARTMENT (BATHROOM) -
Danny sits on the bathroom counter
with two other friends of his
standing around him. They are smoking a joint.
BOY 1
(smoking the
joint
Clay's not here.
The kid passes the joint to Danny.
DANNY
No thanks.
(beat)
Yeah I don't know
where he is. He said he was
coming. He better show up.
BOY 2
(puts the joint
to his mouth)
I know where he is.
The 2nd Kid takes a drag from the doobie, and while he does that he
puts a finger to his nostril and
imitates snorting.
BOY 1
Surprise.
Surprise.
(beat)
You don't do that shit
anymore, do you Dan?
DANNY
No man, I don't even
smoke anymore.
(beat)
Clean as a newborn baby, man.
BOY 2
Damn man. No weed?
DANNY
No nothing.
BOY 1
You still drink
though, right?
Danny raises his hand with the beer
bottle in it like "no shit" and
then bumps the top of his friend's
bottle. The beer fizzes and
starts dripping down the side of the
glass.
BOY 1
Oh shit.
BOY 2
Drink it man! Before it hits the floor or you
gotta
fake an orgasm!
BOY 1
(trying to slurp
the beer's head)
Shit! Shit!
DANNY
I'll leave you guys to
it.
Danny hops from the counter and
leaves the room. Letting those guys
go about their business.
CUT TO:
74 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
The party continues. In the doorway we see Mindy. Shy and
hesitant, she creeps through the door
and examines all the
unfamiliar faces. She kicks off her shoes and makes her way
through
the crowd smiling at every face she
sees.
CUT TO:
Dani seems
to be lost in her own home as well. She
creeps through
the people looking for Danny. Then she spots Mindy wondering around
lost.
She approaches her from the other side of the room.
DANI
(behind Mindy)
Didn't expect to see you here.
Mindy turns around, her lost look
turns to her usual excited and
optimistic one.
MINDY
Oh, there you are!
(cool)
Cool party Daniele.
DANI
How long have you been
wondering around
aimlessly for?
MINDY
A good minute or so.
(pause)
Sorry it took me so
long to get here. I had
to wait for my mom to
come home before I could
leave.
DANI
Hey, whatever, it's
cool.
(pause)
Did you have a fun
time squeezing through?
MINDY
A blast!
(pause)
Are all these people
your friends?
DANI
Friends and acquaintances.
Danny creeps up from behind Dani and wraps his arms around her
midsection. He lifts her high into the air.
DANI
(being lifted up)
Help!
I'm being—
Danny places his hand over her mouth.
DANI (CONT’D)
(muffled)
Kidnapped!
Mindy looks confused and maybe a
little worried. Dani
turns around
to her man. She greets him with a kiss.
DANI
(to Mindy)
Mindy this is my...fiance, Danny.
(to Danny)
This is Mindy. We met a few months ago. At
the class for
motherhood.
DANNY
(extending his
hand for shaking)
Well hello there.
MINDY
Wow, Dani, you didn't tell me you were
marrying a stud.
DANI
Yes, and he's mine! All mine!
(beat)
Listen, Mindy, you
want something to drink?
Cooler?
MINDY
Sounds great.
DANI
Be back in a second.
She slaps Danny's ass on her way out,
leaving the two there alone.
DANNY
So I take it you're a
mother too.
DANI
That's right. Two month old girl.
DANNY
Well
congratulations. Did you bring your
boyfriend along?
CUT
TO:
75 INT. APARTMENT (KITCHEN) -
NIGHT
Even the kitchen is full of
people. Sitting at the table, on the
counter, on the floor, on the
counter, they are everywhere!
Dani smiles
and greets her way to the fridge. She
politely asks a
person to move from the refrigerator
door and opens it. She grabs
two bottles of vodka coolers.
Clay approaches her from nowhere and
leans over the fridge door to
talk to her.
CLAYTON
Hey-hay Misses
Olson. You wouldn't happen to
know where I can find
Mister Olson?
DANI
Hey Clay. I believe he's in the living room
talking to a pretty
blonde girl without my
consent.
Dani closes
the fridge door.
CLAYTON
Permission to snatch
him away?
DANI
Granted.
Clay nods his head and leaves for the
living room.
CUT
TO:
76 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
At the far corner of the room Danny
stands side-by-side with Mindy,
not really looking at each other, not really
talking, not really
doing anything. Clay enters the room and Danny's face lights
up.
DANNY
Clayton! Damn boy, it's about time.
(grabs his
shoulder)
Come one, I need to talk to you.
CLAYTON
Likewise.
DANNY
(to Mindy)
It was really nice
meeting you. Talk to you
again.
MANDY
Ya
for sure!
DANNY
I think she's...
(pointing out in
the crowd for
Dani)
She's right there.
MANDY
Thanks.
The guys leave in one direction and Mindy
starts walking towards
Dani in the
other. They meet up halfway and Dani hands her a drink.
CUT TO:
77 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) -
The only room closed off to the party
is Aiden's.
Somehow he is
kept sleeping amongst all the
noise. Clay and Danny enter the room.
DANNY
Fuck, man, what took
you so long?
CLAYTON
That's exactly what I
wanted to talk to you
about.
(pause)
Hey, whose that cutie
you were talking to?
She's not from our school.
DANNY
That cute blonde is a
very naive and
vulnerable girl that Daniele somehow met.
CLAYTON
Did I hear naive and
vulnerable? Just the way
I like them.
DANNY
She's also a
mommy. You like that?
CLAYTON
(embarrassed)
Oh.
(beat)
Okay, I was gonna tell you something, right?
Right.
CUT
TO:
78 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Dani is
seen introducing Mindy to Martha and the gang.
We CANNOT
hear them under all that music.
CUT TO:
79 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) -
NIGHT
ALL WE SEE: Danny's hand, and in his
hand is a baggy full of
smaller baggies, each containing a
gram of coke.
CLAYTON (OS)
Ten grams. Sixty bucks a piece. Tonight,
I can make up to
six-hundred dollars man!
CUT TO:
A FULL FRAME shot of the guys. Danny gives him pack the drugs.
CLAYTON (CONT'D)
My man said if I
finish these in one week,
he'll hook me up with
20 for the next.
DANNY
I don't fuck with this
shit no more.
CLAYTON
(surprised by his
decline)
You know how much that it is?
DANNY
I know how much it is,
it's twelve-hundred a
week. I'm just saying I don't do smoke or
snort this shit, or
any shit, no more.
CLAYTON
You don't have to!
DANNY
Yes I do. I'd have to test my product. What
drug dealer
doesn't? Only ignorant ones. I
know you know it.
CLAYTON
Well you don't have to
put any of it in your
nose. I've been on it all night and believe
me; this shit is THE SHIT.
(pause)
Look, I saw her
ring. Now don't even try
telling me that didn't
leave a fat hole in
your pocket. You're getting married and your
kid’s only gonna get more expensive with age.
This here...
(holds the drugs
for him to see)
this is your solution.
DANNY
(pulling Clay's
hand away gently)
It's a solution. A...
(pause)
Now I know you're
trying to be a nice. Trying
to be a good guy and
all.
CLAYTON
(offended)
What do you mean,
trying?
DANNY
I mean thank you. It's nice of you to try to
help, but I don't need
any.
(pause)
I'm fine man. I've made it this far. I know
we'll figure things
out later without having
to resort to any of
this shit.
(pause)
Like, Me and My Girl,
we've pledged allegiance
to stay clean. For our baby and for
ourselves. This shit...all these drugs and
shit. All they do is leave your mind cloudy.
They stop you from
getting places. Stop you
from growing up.
(beat)
Now I'm not one to
judge, you can do what you
wanna
do. That's fine, go out, have fun,
experience all you got
to experience. But I'm
done with
experiencing. We got to grow up, we
can't stay here acting
like teenagers—even
though it's what we
are. We just can't. We
chose to grow up
faster than everyone else.
So now our adolescence
is over. It's done
for. It's a new year and a new life.
CLAYTON
So you're for real?
DANNY
As real as love is
real.
CLAYTON
Alright man. I'm sorry. That was foolish of
me.
DANNY
Don’t sweat it.
They hug.
CUT TO:
80 INT. APARTMENT -
In the living room Mindy, Martha, and
a few other girls are talking
to one another. Mindy is showing a picture of her daughter to
the
strangers around her. They seem amused; not by the photo but by
the fact that she brought a photo of
her daughter.
MINDY
That's
Kimberly-Rae. Seven pounds, four
ounces.
GIRL
1
Cool.
(passing her a
joint)
Wanna
hoot?
MINDY
Huh?
CUT TO:
81 INT. APARTMENT
(BATHROOM) -
Dani sits on
the toilet. Her head rests on her hand,
supported by
her knees. She stares at the floor reminiscently. She sees a
roach and with a somewhat
disappointed look on her face, picks it up
and flicks it into the garbage.
CUT TO:
82 INT. APARTMENT -
Mindy's eyes settle in on the evil marijuana
cigarette in front of
her.
MINDY
Aw, no. No thank you.
I'd rather not, but
you go ahead. Thanks anyway.
CUT TO:
83 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) –
The guys finish there hug.
CLAYTON
So what were you gonna tell me before we got
all soft on each
other.
DANNY
Oh shit yeah!
(prepares
himself)
Okay. I want you...to be my best man.
CLAYTON
(super-excited)
Oh shit yo! That's awesome!
Danny rushes to Aiden
who has awoke from Clayton's excitement.
DANNY
Shhh,
relax.
CLAYTON
Sorry.
DANNY
So what do you
say. You'll do it?
CLAYTON
Well of course. You're my best man so it's
only natural I'd be
yours.
DANNY
And I always knew you
were The Man, so I had
to make The Man the Best
Man. I had to!
CLAYTON
Man, I can't believe
this. You're fucking
getting married and
shit. You've got a
family.
(beat)
Hey, you guys thinking of having
any more
kids? Can I be the Godfather.
DANNY
(his face says
"hell no")
Maybe.
CLAYTON
You know what you need
before the night's over
and you start your new
life and whatever?
DANNY
What?
CLAYTON
(as if everything
Danny said
before had no
meaning)
Some crack.
DANNY
No man. No, no, no!
I thought you were a good
listener I don't fuck
with that anymore. And
especially when you
refer to it as "crack". As
if that will make it
anymore appealing.
CLAYTON
Come on man. I know you miss it. Just try
this shit. Have fun tonight.
DANNY
I'm having fun.
CLAYTON
Well have more fun.
(beat)
Come on, for old
times. For the good times.
One more time.
Danny’s thinking…
CUT TO:
84 INT. APARTMENT (BATHROOM) -
Daniele
flushes the toilet and washes her hands.
You can hear the outside music
starting to fade away.
Dani opens
the bathroom door and starts walking back to the
party, however, with the music now
gone she can hear something
coming from across the hall in the
baby's room. It sounds like
snorting.
She puts her hand on the door-knob and
listens closely
CUT TO:
85 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) -
Danny walks to the door and locks it.
CUT TO:
86 INT. APARTMENT (HALLWAY) -
Dani turns
the doorknob. It's locked.
Another song starts up.
Just then Mindy walks to her
silently, sensing something wrong. Dani
looks at her hair. She pulls a bobby-pin from her head and
starts
picking the lock.
CUT TO:
87 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) - NIGHT
There is a nicely cut line ready for
Danny on the railing of Aiden's
crib.
Clayton is rubbing his nose.
Danny leans over the rail in
position to snort. You can hear the door open. Danny doesn't
notice.
CLAYTON
Close the door!
Danny does his line swiftly, when he
lifts his head, Dani and Mindy
are seen in the doorway.
DANI
(horrified)
You...You...you
fucking asshole! How could
you?
This startles Danny. He is shocked to see his fiance
in the
doorway. She is hysteric.
DANI
(on a rampage)
You fucking cunt! You fucking
piece of shit!
She starts slapping his back and
shoulder with both her hands.
DANI
How could you? In his room?!
Get out!
Get out!
Danny tries to restrain her.
DANNY
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Relax. I can explain.
DANI
No you can't!
(pause, calm and
blunt)
You're a fucking liar.
She storms out of the room and into
the party where everyone is
crowded watching. She storms through the crowd with Mindy close
behind.
DANI
(furious)
Everyone get out! Get the fuck out! Go home!
Leave!
They know she's seriously pissed, but
they don't know why. They
respect her; the crowd start scrambling for
their shoes by the
front door. Slowly the population of the apartment
decreases.
Dani
marches to the stereo and with a slam of her fist, shuts it
off.
She falls down on the recliner and watches everyone leave.
Danny tries to come over to her. She throws her hand up to tell him
to stop in his place, he obeys.
DANNY
What are you doing?
DANI
What am I doing? What are you doing? I
told you get out!
DANNY
Please--
DANI
(scream)
I said get out! Now get the fuck out!
He stays put, not reacting. Some people are still watching them
fight.
DANI
(to the audience)
Hey! Did you lose your shoes or something.
(pause)
Get out!
(to Danny)
You too. And I advise you hurry up and maybe
you can catch a ride
with your girlfriend
Clay.
Danny gives up. He turns around and follows his girlfriend—Clay—
and the rest of the others out the
door.
Dani holds
her self together by covering her face with her hands. The
house seems to be empty, but she can
still sense someone.
DANI
(in tears)
Please leave. Please.
(beat)
Just leave me alone.
Mindy is seen still standing in her
stationary position. She
doesn't bother putting her shoes on,
she just walks over to them
picks them up and leaves, closing the
door behind her.
Dani stays
sitting in the recliner, sulking. You can
hear Aiden
crying in the background, it's a
disturbing cry.
CUT TO:
88 INT. CLAYTON'S TRUCK - NIGHT
Cruising down the freeway at 80 km/h
recklessly and in absolute is
silence is Clayton with Danny. It's a very awkward ride to an unknown
destination.
CLAYTON
Where are we going?
Danny stays staring ahead on the
road.
CLAYTON
Look, I'm really
sorry.
DANNY
(subtlety)
You don't have to say anything. Just drive.
They continue driving. Moments later Clayton's noticeably careless
and swaggered driving skills are
spotted by a POLICE CAR. The red and
blue lights flash.
CLAYTON
Oh shit. Shit. Shit.
Shit!
(slams his
dashboard)
Motherfuck!
He starts to pull over. Danny now snaps out of his sulking. Before
Clayton throws it in park, Danny
remembers he has his drugs in his
pocket.
DANNY
(pulling out the
bag)
Here, quick, take
these.
CLAYTON
What are you
doing? Put that away! Hurry!
DANNY
You take them. Not mine!
The cop is walking towards them.
CLAYTON
Hurry!
Danny shoves them down the front of
his pants.
Clayton rolls down his window and the
cop approaches. He points
his flash light in Clay's face and
moves it to Danny's. Both kids
look awkwardly nervous and sweaty.
CUT TO:
89 INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Dani lies
on the couch amongst the crowd of beer bottles and cans.
She stares up at the roof, looking
right through it. Aiden's
cries
have not simmered one bit, if
anything, they've gotten worse.
She finally gets up from the couch
over to Aiden's room.
CUT TO:
90 EXT. CLAYTON'S TRUCK (FREEWAY)
-
Danny stands by the truck patiently
waiting for the police to finish
their business. One of the officers is watching Clayton try
to walk
in a straight line, right foot over
left, finger on nose.
There is another cop searching the
truck. He's already come across
a few empty beers, but so far, that's
the worst he's found.
CUT
TO:
91 INT. APARTMENT -
Dani
holding Aiden in her arms, trying to quiet him,
rubbing his
back.
Not after long does she give up,
placing Aiden back into his crib
and slamming the door on her way out.
CUT TO:
92 EXT. CLAYTON'S TRUCK (FREEWAY)
-
Both boys have their hands stationed
flat on the hood of the truck.
Each cop searches one of them.
The cop finishes with Clay and
handcuffs him. The other one
continues with Danny. He pats him down his sides, down and then up,
his chests, and then down again. We see the cop get around to
Danny's crotch area: he feels
something...
CUT TO:
93 INT. APARTMENT (KITCHEN)- SOMETIME
LATER
Dani is in
the kitchen. She pours two bottles of beer
out in the
sink.
She throws the bottles in a half-full black garbage bag.
We hear the muffled cries of Aiden coming from the other room.
She takes the black bag with her into
the living room. What a
disgusting mess. One by one she picks up the cans, shakes them
for
sense of emptiness, and places them
in the bag. She continues this
until the phone rings.
She has a bad feeling about it, but
she still answers it.
DANI
Yeah, hello.
(listens...)
What?
JUMP CUT:
MOMENTS LATER:
Dani slams
the phone onto the receiver. Tears roll
down her face
and she is back in that violent rage
she was an hour ago.
She rips the engagement ring off her
pinky and chucks it across the
room, letting out a breathtaking
wail.
CUT TO:
94 INT. STATION (HOLDING CELL) – EARLY
DAWN
In a holding cell we see a half dozen
guys sitting on a bench, on
the floor, some leaning against the
wall. Among these men are
Clayton and Danny.
Danny stands at the front of the cell
with his hands gripping the
bars, one of them holding a burning
cigarette. He keeps his head
down, listening to the approaching
footsteps.
The footsteps belong to Dani, with Aiden in her arms,
he's not
crying as badly anymore, but he
weeps.
They stand in front of Danny, he
doesn't even lift his head. He
holds out his cigarette to her, she
gladly takes it. She gives it
back to him after two drags.
It remains silent until:
DANI
Well are you going to
tell me what happened?
DANNY
(head still down, shameful)
We got pulled
over. They made Clay do some
tests to see if he was
drunk. He failed
pretty bad.
DANI
So what the hell does
that have to do with
you?
(Danny doesn't
respond)
Well...
DANNY
They found...
(pause)
They're accusing me of
intention to
distribute.
DANI
Distribute what?
(no response)
Distribute what?
DANNY
Ten...
(slowly lifts his
head)
Ten grams of cocaine.
DANI
But it's not yours.
DANNY
No.
(beat)
It was on me though.
DANI
No...
(pause)
I can't believe...
(pause)
You are a coward
Danny. A goddamn coward. A
liar too.
(beat)
Be ashamed.
DANNY
(in tears, head
down again)
Please--
DANI
(monstrously)
Suffer!
She tries to leave but Danny grabs a
hold of her hand. He stares at
her bare left-pinky. She yanks her hand back, nearly dropping
Aiden. And slowly makes her way out.
CUT TO:
95 INT. HALLWAY – EARLY DAWN
Dani walks
through the hallway of her apartment building with Aiden
resting on her shoulder. He cries maniacally. We can imagine the
stress right now for Dani, who remains silent.
She reaches her door and is greeted
with an EVICTION NOTICE taped to
her door. The only handwriting on their says "7
DAYS!!!" Dani
stares at it.
She rests her head on the door and
inserts the key and turns the
knob.
She enters her apartment, still reeking of party.
Dawn has just begun to sneak through
the window.
She shuts the door and leans her back
on it. She is still silent,
mysterious, emotionless. All we know about what is going through
her mind right now is the fact that Aiden's cries are doing a number
on her. She paces around the room.
She starts to rub his back a
bit. "Shhh"
is all that can come out
of her mouth. She's never been in this position
before. Aiden
never cries.
DANI
(calmly)
Shhh. Shhh.
(no change)
Shhh. Shut up.
Please, shut up.
She is begining
to absorb his rage through his tiny body.
DANI
It's all your fault. Shhh. Be quiet.
(about to lose
it)
Shut up. Please.
Please.
(losing it)
Shut up! You've ruined my life. Shut up!
(she's lost it)
Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up!
She starts to shake Aiden violently. This
does nothing to calm him.
The cries continue. Her shaking gets more violent.
DANI
(repeating
herself)
Shut up! Shut up!
Shut up!...
CUT
TO:
We watch AIDEN'S FEET swinging back
and forth. It's too dark and
disturbing to watch this from the
full.
The screaming and crying and shaking
continue. She shakes him so
hard that he loses one of his tiny
baby shoes.
Suddenly the cries stop, but her
shaking and screaming continues.
CUT TO:
We watch from a view BEHIND Aiden. Dani stops with her violent
rage.
She has now repressed back to that calm and emotionless state
she had possessed minutes
before. She plops Aiden
over her shoulder
again.
CUT TO:
96 INT. APARTMENT (BABY'S ROOM) – MOMENTS
LATER
POV INSIDE CRIB:
Dani gently
places Aiden back into his crib as if he were sound
asleep.
Still no emotion.
She turns around and, with her back
against the crib, slides
downwards and rests on the
ground. She holds her knees close to her
and tucks her head within.
She lifts her head up to reality and
there are tears rolling down
her face. But she does nothing. She only stares up at
something...anything...it doesn't
matter.
FADE TO:
97 INT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA – DAY
We’re inside the cafeteria of Glennbury High, a public school full
of teenage boys and girls. The tables are flooded with 15 to 18
year old adolescents.
At a middle table sits a group of
boys.
The boy that stands out the most is
DANNY OLSON, a tall handsome
young man with black hair combed foreword. His smile is that of
pure charm as he shines it across the
table to his friend CLAY.
Although the rest of the boys at the
table are sharing one big joke,
Clay and Danny are not a part of
it. Clay tells something funny to
Danny, it is too loud for us to hear
but it sends Danny in a laughing,
which causes him to knock his Minute
Maid off the table and right into
his lap.
He gets up as Clay, and a few others
laugh at him. He stands at the
table observing the orange wreckage on
his white shirt. He puts his
hands up and surrenders to the
laughter, he then leaves for some paper
towels.
At the counter at the far back of the
lunchroom, Danny picks some
napkins from a pile right next to a
row of microwaves. He pads his
shirt stain with a few paper towels. He crumples that pile up and
puts them on the counter. He starts cleaning it off again with
another tissue, as he does this he
suddenly looks up, as if sensing
something beautiful in front of him.
Far across the room, at a scarce
table of rejects, newbies and
mentally deficient students he spots
a DANI AIRMON. She is a girl,
beautiful only in a way that Danny
knows. She has blonde hair that
she just lets rest on her
shoulders. She has a tray of minimal
food,
but she seems distant from her meal,
staring at different parts of the
room.
Danny crumples the last paper towel
and makes his way to her slowly
and shyly.
He stands in front of her,
immediately grasping her attention. He
shoots that ever-so charming smile of
his.
DANNY
Hi.
DANI
Hello.
They stare into each others eyes,
looking for something. What is it?
IT MUST BE LOVE.
FADE TO BLACK:
ROLL CREDITS
[THE END]