X INT. WRITER'S NOTE — 3 PM SATURDAY — APRIL 21 2018
The director (also me) made notes to change for the previous chapter. Original script got deleted and replaced [see previous chapter].
Draft rewritten on April 28, 2018. 12AM.
Part of Scene 6 is cut and rewritten. Bolded and italicized lines are the director's writing and personal edit.
"His emotionless face breaks to the start of an emotional breakdown. Tears prickle at the corner of his eyes.
He reaches his hands up to his face.
sits up, rests face and hands on lap. hunched over. emits a short yell of frustration.
He's angry at himself again.
add: suspenseful music tension. slow panning shot close-up of Josh. red-rimmed eyes. straightening up. slowly removing hands from face. stares at the camera.
JOSH
(distraughtly)
No no no no. No more crying. No.
No more.
scene cut."
CUT TO:
08 EXT. WIDE AREA — BRACE CANYON PARK — MORNING
EXTREMELY LONG SHOT. The distant park neither empty nor crowded. Trees move along the spring breeze.
No music. Sounds of activity. Children playing in the background. Adults strolling by. It's a beautiful day.
Two speaking teenage voices. A male and female teen.
MALE TEEN (O.S)
(bemusedly)
All right, all right. Maybe some
fresh air can really do some good.
FEMALE TEEN (O.S)
(admonishingly)
Of course, it does, especially since
you've been staring at a phone
screen for far too long in the dark.
I'm surprised you're not blind yet,
but that explains the glasses.
MALE TEEN (O.S)
(mockingly offended)
Oh come on, phones aren't that
bad.
FEMALE TEEN (O.S)
For the rest of us? No. For you?
Maybe.
At the far right corner of the screen. THE TWO TEENS INTO FRAME. One blond, one redhead — their full height only a fourth of the screen's height — walking side by side, going to the left side of the screen.
The blond — CHRIS — wearing an unbuttoned green plaid shirt over a gray shirt, and some jeans and sneakers. The redhead — ASHLEY — wearing a gray-striped beanie, an army jacket over a pale blue shirt, high-waist shorts, knee high socks, and military boots.
CHRIS
(sarcastically)
Oh wow, that hurts.
ASHLEY
(sighing exasperatedly)
You're annoying, you know that?
CHRIS
You're the only one who thinks
that. Even Sam knows I'm funny.
ASHLEY
(teasingly)
That's because she's just too polite
to tell you to shut up.
CHRIS
Probably... but if you tell me to shut
up, she'd be the first to agree and
back you up. Still, I've had my good
moments with Sam.
ASHLEY
I'm not surprised that the only one
who actually appreciates your jokes
is also really good friends with the
Washingtons.
Near the center of the screen, Chris stops walking. Ashley continues to walk but stops to turn around to face him. They stand some feet apart.
Camera angle shifts.
Just their upper torso. Just half the height of the screen. Nearly on opposite sides. A lot of negative space between, above, and behind their backs.
CHRIS
Yeah, she and the twins used to
laugh hard at Josh's jokes.
(chuckling humorlessly)
Can't blame them, though. Josh's
jokes were legendary!
(looking down)
I miss hearing those stupid jokes.
Josh was the life of the party.
ASHLEY
You were right. Even the fresh air
can't stop us from talking about the
incident every five minutes.
CHRIS
Who are we kidding? That night was
pretty messed up.
ASHLEY
(looking down)
I hate how that night ended up. I
wish we could just turn back time.
Change everything. But we can't.
(shaking her head)
We were so stupid.
CHRIS
We all made some mistakes.
ASHLEY
(defensively)
You didn't do anything.
CHRIS
(reassuringly)
Neither did you.
ASHLEY
But I should have tried stopping
them, like Sam did. I could have
done something. You couldn't. I
was there hiding with the others,
laughing. You were passed out
drunk with Josh when the twins
disappeared.
CHRIS
And that is our biggest regret —
getting ourselves drunk.
(shoulders dropping)
Can't imagine what Josh feels about
all this. I'm worried about him.
ASHLEY
(sympathetically)
Yeah, I know. We all are. Did you
hear anything about him lately?
CHRIS
(shaking his head)
Not since last week. Hope he's okay
to have us today. His mom said
he locked himself in his room since
Sam and I visited. She told me that
he just snapped — kept asking to
go back to the mountain to find
Hannah and Beth. It's Josh. You
know how much he loves the twins.
They got so close after their
parents got busier with work.
ASHLEY
I'll never forget the moment we told
him they were missing. How he just
ran off to find them even with a
nasty hangover... He... He just...
A shout at a distance. Ashley looks over Chris's shoulder in shock.
ASHLEY
Is... Is that Josh?
CHRIS
What?!
Chris turns around.
Camera shifts to one side of the park. Perspective of Chris and Ashley.
A figure running from the left side to the right side. It's Josh!
Clad in just a black shirt and black jeans. No footwear either. Josh got really thin.
He's running quickly —
— occasionally looking behind him.
Is someone running after him?
Back to Ashley and Chris. Ashley just behind Chris — nearly side by side. Eyes moving as they watch Josh running. Confused and shocked stares.
ASHLEY
(gasping)
Oh my God, it's Josh!
CHRIS
Where's he going?
Back to Josh. Camera still angled at the perspective of Chris and Ashley.
He passes through people, hitting them at some points —
— but he doesn't care —
— because all he wants to do is to get away —
— immediately!
Back to Chris and Ashley. Chris immediately runs off-screen, leaving Ashley for a moment.
CHRIS (O.S)
We have to follow him!
Ashley waking from her shock. Runs after Chris.
Same perspective as before. As if Chris and Ashley left the audience behind.
Chris entering the screen this time. Ashley following soon after. Heading to the direction of an area in front of where Josh seems to be going. Choosing to intercept his path than trying to catch up to him.
CHRIS
Josh!
ASHLEY
Josh!
CUT TO:
09 EXT. SMALL HILL — BRACE CANYON PARK — MORNING
Josh at a distance, running towards the camera. Eyes distant and lost but determined.
Chris and Ashley yelling his name —
— and Josh hears it —
— but doesn't recognize it.
Who is it? Who is calling him? Is it them? Have they finally caught up to him? Are they following him?
Josh turns his head in fear, still running towards the camera, not caring what's in front of him.
Camera suddenly obstructed by a person running in front of it. We see Chris's back. Panting for breath.
He had never run so quickly in his life.
He stops to stay standing in front of the camera, blocking a part of the left side of the screen.
Ashley follows him, appearing in the screen, hands in front of her. Chris catcher her, interrupting her momentum. She continues to pant, turning to face Josh, blocking a part of the right side of the screen.
Josh — visible in the screen through the space between Chris and Ashley. Head still turned around to look behind him, still running towards the two.
We see both backs turn tense. Stance firm — ready to block an anticipated force.
CHRIS
Josh!
Josh about to turn his head towards them.
Camera angle shifts.
They are on a small hill on the left side of the screen.
All of them — their full bodies seen. Height of their bodies nearly three-quarters of the screen's height. More negative space below them. Top of their heads nearly reaching the top of the screen.
Ashley, a few feet near the peak of the hill. Chris, in front of her. Hands raised in front of him to stop the still running Josh.
Chris catches him as Josh hits them, maintaining his balance. Placing his hands on top of Josh's shoulders — Big Mistake!
Josh flails his arms in front of him. Throwing away the foreign feeling of someone or something touching his shoulders. Walking backwards, away from them.
They caught him! They finally caught him! Can they touch him now?
JOSH
(bitingly)
Get off me!
CHRIS
Camera angle shifts. Chris' and Ashley's backs obstructing most of the screen again.
Josh visible on the space between them, looking on in a panic —
— dark circles under his eyes more prominent in the sunlight —
— eyes wide, unseeing, bloodshot —
— his body shaking and sweaty —
— his breathing rapid but he's trying to control it.
Josh is definitely not doing well.
CHRIS
Hey, Josh... Come on, man.
ASHLEY
It's okay, Josh.
Josh blinking profusely. His eyes finally focusing in on their faces. He pants.
JOSH
(addressing with a shaky nod)
C—Chris. Ash—Ashley.
Camera angle shifts. Showing only around their hips to their heads. Negative space all around them. Ashley still behind Chris, both of them at close proximity with each other at the left side of the screen.
Josh is a few distance away from them — alone on the right side of the screen. Hunched over. Head dropping down to face the ground.
He places his hands on his knees, panting. Feeling like he just ran a marathon.
He just pushed his frail body nearly to its limit.
CHRIS
(taking a few steps near him)
Jesus, man, you okay? What the hell
happened?
(looking over his shoulder)
Who the hell is after you?
Josh, still catching up to his breath. He glances up to look at them for a moment before dropping his head back down, shaking his head.
Of all the coincidence in the world... Can this be any more embarrassing? Why does the universe keep on punishing him?
JOSH
(straightening up)
Uhm... No one. Don't worry about
it. It's nothing.
CHRIS
That's not nothing!
ASHLEY
You're not even wearing any shoes.
Josh looks down at his dirty feet. Confused for a moment before looking up with a smirk.
JOSH
(chuckling to himself)
Just trying out Sam's passion for
Mother Nature.
(raising his palms and head up)
To be at one with the natural world.
To feel the environment with my
spirit. My feet — the closest thing
to being at one with the Earth.
Josh laughs, relishing on mocking Sam even when she isn't there. Chris and Ashley will laugh.
They always do when he makes a joke. They'll love his exaggeration on their friend's actions. They love making fun of Sam's Save the Earth advocacy. They'll love him.
Meanwhile, Chris and Ashley share a small look. They know that the jokes was meant to be funny. They would find it funny if the situation was different.
But Josh's voice was too flat. He wasn't joking for joking's sake.
They know what he is doing —
— using humor to mask his pain —
— trying to act as he did before the disappearance of his sisters —
— a diversion.
His physical appearance — the opposite of how he's pretending to be. He is not okay.
They didn't realize they've been far too silent.
Josh slowly lowers his head to look at the other two.
JOSH
Not funny enough for ya? Geez,
tough crowd.
He shrugs nonchalantly. Hands in his trouser's pockets.
CHRIS
Come on, man. What happened? We
haven't seen you in weeks, and
then suddenly you're —
JOSH
(assertively)
Look, man, I told you it was
nothing. Just forget about it. What
are you two doing here anyway?
ASHLEY
We just came from the library.
Josh gives Chris a significant look. All traces of panic and paranoia from before, finally gone from his facial features. If it wasn't for his sickly appearance, it's almost as if everything was normal.
JOSH
(pointedly staring at Chris)
Oh, did you?
Since Ashley is behind him, Chris is free to give Josh a murderous glare.
Josh smirks. Oh this is just gold...
ASHLEY
Yeah, I was returning the book I
borrowed.
JOSH
(grinning mischievously)
Hmm, I see...
(turning to Chris)
And what were you doing at the
library?
CHRIS
(spluttering)
Dude, the WiFi there is —
ASHLEY
(rolling her eyes)
Again with the WiFi.
CHRIS
(turning to look at her)
I didn't comment about your books.
ASHLEY
(glaring back)
Yeah, you did...
CHRIS
(chuckling good-naturedly)
Yeah, whatever. Anyway...
(looking back at Josh)
You're not getting off the hook that
easily. Come on, man. What the hell
happened to you?
Josh pauses. What didn't happen to him? Everything's been one big mess over another.
ASHLEY
You can trust us, Josh.
Josh frowns. Trust them? Should he trust them? Is there even someone out there worthy of trust nowadays? No.
How the hell could he trust someone else if he can't even trust himself? No, he has to lie.
JOSH
(sighing)
Fine, it's just... I got jumped, okay?
CHRIS
What?!
ASHLEY
Oh my God!
JOSH
(shaking his head, looking down)
I was just... walking around, you
know? Get some fresh air for once.
These guys just came from
nowhere. Took a lot from me, too.
ASHLEY
Even your shoes?!
JOSH
(nodding)
Even my shoes.
CHRIS
(accusatorily)
And you didn't want to tell us
because... Why exactly?
JOSH
(defensively)
'Cause it's fucking embarrassing.
They took my shoes, man. How'd
you like it if I steal your shoes? My
feet are covered in shit!
CHRIS
Shit, you're right. We gotta go to
the police.
JOSH
No.
ASHLEY
Oh my God, Josh, you have to
report this!
JOSH
(nonchalantly)
Nah, it's fine. They didn't cost that
much anyway.
CHRIS
(rolling his eyes)
Right. I bet they only cost about...
Hmm, I don't know... my college
tuition fee, I guess?
The two boys share a small chuckle before Chris' smile drops again.
CHRIS
Seriously, though, they didn't hurt
you, did they?
JOSH
Other than my ego? Nah. Seriously
though, I'm fine, man.
ASHLEY
(hesitantly)
Sure you don't want to report it?
JOSH
(shrugging)
Nah, that'll cost time and effort.
They can take my stupid shoes all
they want, but they are not taking
my precious time of gold.
A buzzing sound.
They look over at Ashley. She takes out her phone and looks at it — finally!
ASHLEY
(turning to the boys)
It's Sam.
(placing phone by her ear)
Hey. Hey, Sam? Sam! What? Can you
speak a little louder?
Josh walks towards Chris, who is still looking at Ashley who walked a small distance away from them as she talks over the phone.
Camera angle shifts.
The camera shows Josh's and Chris' backs — Chris on the left side of the screen, Josh on the right. Ashley blurred at the background, pacing around.
Josh turns his head towards Chris.
JOSH
(questioningly)
Sam?
Chris turns his head to look at Josh, coming back from a trance. Josh doesn't comment. Too preoccupied by some troubled thoughts.
Both boys turn to look at each other. Opposite sides of the screen. Ashley pacing around before moving towards the left, going off-screen.
CHRIS
Uh... yeah. Sam.
ASHLEY (O.S)
(perplexedly)
Are you running?! Why are you —
Yeah, we're at the park!
JOSH
(glancing at where Ashley is)
You guys all hanging out?
CHRIS
(chuckling)
You don't actually think I have the
guts to hang out with Ashley alone
for no reason, do you?
Josh nods distractedly. Not looking at Chris in the eyes. Face emotionless but eyes heavy.
Chris notices, shifts uncomfortably — not really wanting to reveal how much of a worry-wart he has been towards Josh. But knowing that right now, Josh needed to hear it.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
(awkwardly)
No, we were actually planning on
seeing you today. Just the three of
us. Check to see how you're doing.
Josh turns his head back at Chris. Wide eyes. Perplexed expression. Could it be...?
Could they really? That can't be true. But it is. They are...
JOSH
(genuinely surprised)
Really?
ASHLEY (O.S)
(confusedly)
What the hell are you — Wait no!
Park! I said "park"!
CHRIS
(rubbing the back of his neck)
Yeah, Sam and I tried to visit again
last week but uhh... yeah.
(clearing his throat)
So the two of us planned to try to
visit again today. Ash tweeted that
she was going to the library today. I
was gonna pass it by on the way
anyway. Killed two birds with one
stone. She said she wanted to come
see you, too. To see if you're okay.
JOSH
(dazedly)
Oh.
ASHLEY (O.S)
(yelling)
Yeah! Brace Canyon Park!
CHRIS
(awkwardly)
Guess we don't have to anymore,
since you're here now. We could all
just hang out somewhere else.
Chris, wanting to change the subject. Doesn't really like showing how much he cares about Josh.
He shakes his head. Sam would have been ranting about toxic masculinity at this point.
He looks away to lessen the awkwardness. Placing his hands in his pockets. Trying to be nonchalant but obviously failing. He doesn't see Josh's face.
Josh — confused and moved.
Do they really care about him? Did they really come all this way for him? They can't be... can they? But why?
JOSH
(staggeringly)
Thanks, man. Really. I appreciate it.
CHRIS
(giving a reassuring smile)
Don't worry about it.
ASHLEY (O.S)
(exasperatedly)
Brace Canyon — ! Can't you just
stop running for one second so we
can talk without yelling?!
CHRIS
(glancing down at Josh's feet)
Man, you really need some shoes.
Both boys change attitude. Back to mischievous smiles. Back to jokes and laughter. No need for more heart-to-heart. They have nothing else more to say.
JOSH
(grinning)
I told you, Cochise. I'm trying to be
at one with the Earth. I bet Sam will
appreciate it.
Back at Ashley. The boys blurred behind her, still talking to each other. Making jokes, occasionally bumping fists. Short laughter.
Ashley is still on her phone, facing away from the boys. She noticed that the boys were relaxing with each other again. Hopefully, Josh is going to be okay.
ASHLEY
(chuckling)
Yeah, that's what happens when
you run and don't stop to breathe.
(to herself)
Geez, what's with everyone and
running today anyway?
(shaking her head)
Nothing. I'll tell you later. Anyway,
we're at Brace Canyon Park, and
you will not believe who just joined
us right now.
CUT TO:
X INT. WRITER'S NOTE — 2 AM WEDNESDAY — APRIL 18 2018
I had a hard time because it's in one location but split into two scenes due to how long it is, and the changes in scenery.
I have two final exams later: Basic Finance, and Operations Management. I had studied for neither and focused more on this screenplay. I might post this at the end of the week, due to the fact that I will still be editing a photograph via the director of the fake film (me), because I had realized that in a film, the last scene from the previous chapter will most likely cut.
X INT. WRITER'S NOTE — 12 AM THURSDAY — APRIL 18 2018
I shan't rewrite anything I publish. Instead, I'll make notes. Just as any screenplay revision does.
X INT. WRITER'S NOTE — 3 PM SATURDAY — APRIL 21 2018
I finally posted this shit. My printer jammed so it won't print right. I couldn't edit on Photoshop quickly either because I was updating the application for a better one.
