AMY´S CREEK - S01E08 - HE AIN´T HEAVY, HE´S MY BROTHER
Disclaimer: I don´t own Dawson´s Creek or the characters from it.
1. Int. Classroom. Day.
Marco is sitting in class, listening to the teacher give their lecture. He looks to only be there physically, though. His mind is far away.
Marco (voice over):
I usually like school. It´s not like I wake up five days a week and say gee, I´m so happy that I have school today! But it´s not that I mind going and if I´m going to go places in life, I´ll have to get an education. I don´t want to end up like my brother.
He turns his head and makes eye contact with a guy, who gives him judging eyes. Marco quickly looks away again.
Marco (voice over):
One thing that blows about Capeside? So little happens, that when something does, everyone knows about it. Our car crash and my brother´s latest drug arrest has been the talk of the town for days. I´ve never done drugs in my life, but it feels like everyone is judging me, for being guilty by association.
The bell goes and Marco yawns and stretches, before getting up. He puts his arm around a waiting Paige and they leave the classroom together.
2. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Marco is sitting with Amy, Ash, Vicki and Paige. Paige is vividly explaining something.
Marco (voice over):
My friends are the only ones here, who I know, won´t treat me any different. Paige does, but only in a nice way. She´s been extra attentive since the accident and really tries her hardest, to be the best girlfriend, she can be. I don´t know what I did right, to have her like me. She´s one of a kind!
Paige:
Did you see her hair? Paige Truth Bomb number 178: If you hair is that thin, don´t get a perm!
Vicki:
Isn´t that more, just beauty advice?
Ash:
I would say, that it´s more for a do´s and don´ts list!
Marco grunts a little, as he straightens his back out. Paige immediately turns his attention to him.
Paige:
Are you okay, Sweetie?
Marco:
It´s only soreness.
Paige:
These chairs aren´t very comfortable, are they? I can see, if I can find you a pillow?
Marco smiles at her.
Marco:
You don´t have to.
Amy:
He can do things by himself, Paige. It´s not like he´s crippled.
Marco:
You´ve done everything, I could have asked for. Relax and enjoy yourself. I´ll be fine in no time.
He gives her a re-assuring smile. Paige looks comforted by it.
Marco (voice over):
It´s a big, fat lie, but she has enough problems of her own. I don´t want her to worry.
OPENING CREDITS
3. Ext. Beach. Day.
Marco is down at the beach with Vicki, Amy and Ash. They´re shooting a movie. Ash is the camera operator and seems to be getting the hang of it, while Marco operates the boom mike. It´s a romantic scene between Vicki and Amy, that they´re getting ready to shoot.
Marco (voice over):
I´m lucky to have my friends, especially on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, when Paige has gymnastics training. We´ve started a new project, shooting a mini movie, that Vicki and Ash wrote together. I agreed to operate the boom, as long as they gave Paige a part in it.
Ash:
Amy, you have to stop looking into the camera.
Amy:
I´m trying!
Ash:
Try harder! It can´t be that hard!
Amy:
Okay, miss Director!
Marco looks at Ash and smiles to himself.
Marco (voice over):
I´ve known Ash, for as long as I can remember and she´s never been one to speak her opinion. She´s really passionate about this and it´s fun to see, how it´s bringing out a brand new side to her. I like it.
Vicki:
Concentrate on your lines and me, okay?
Ash:
We´ll try it again. The scene has to ooze of sexual tension!
Marco smiles teasingly at Ash.
Marco:
You´re really into this! Is there something, you want to tell us?
Ash smiles teasingly back at him.
Ash:
If you want to see that, you´ll have to imagine it.
Amy looks Vicki in the eyes and concentrates hard.
Ash:
Action!
Vicki:
I can´t just pretend that our kiss meant nothing,
Amy:
You don´t know what you´re asking of me! It´s ...
Ash:
Cut!
Amy looks annoyed.
Amy:
What now?
Ash:
I know, I said that it needed tension. But the kind of tension you´re giving off is more of a ... how can I say it?
Marco:
An "I´m trying hard, not to pee my pants" tension?
Ash:
Exactly! You´d make a good AD.
They smile at each other.
Marco (voice over):
If Paige didn´t want me, Ash would be my second choice. She´s attractive, she can be very funny in her own way, when you get her one on one and there´s no doubt, that my mom would be up in arms with joy. Her and Ash´s mom have been friends, since they went to school here and we live on the same street. It´s not that my family don´t like Paige, my 5 year old sister especially adores her, but Ash and Amy are like members of the family. There´s a history there, that it´s hard for someone new, to make up for.
Ash:
Okay, positions and Action!
Ash points the camera and looks focused on her job.
4. Int. Street. Day.
Ash and Marco wave goodbye to Amy and Vicki, who walk off in the other direction. Marco is carrying the camera in a bag.
Ash:
You´re sure, you don´t want me to carry it, this one time?
Marco:
I couldn´t ask that of you.
Ash:
You´re hurt. It´s okay to ask for help.
Marco:
A gentleman does what he can, to help a lady. That doesn´t involve her carrying his luggage!
Ash smiles at him.
Ash:
Since when are you set on being a gentleman?
Marco:
I´m not, but I´m trying to be the good guy. If my brother had tried that, he wouldn´t be in the mess, he´s in.
Ash:
Are you still going down to see him tonight?
Marco:
Not that I´m looking forward to it.
Ash:
When will you be home?
Marco:
Nine-ish, I suppose.
Ash:
If you´re feeling down, you can come over and we can talk or just watch some silly YouTube videos or something. I don´t like the idea, of you going to bed depressed.
Marco:
I´ll probably need it, when we reach that point. I can´t imagine, that it will be a laugh riot at the prison.
She gives him a sympathetic smile.
Marco (voice over):
Ash´s mom and my mom being close, also means that she knows how hard it´s hit us, that my brother Nando is in trouble again. He´s 25 and he´s already done two sentences. The first was 10 months for stealing a car with a friend of his and crashing it, while he was drunk and high. Nando got off easy, but his friend wasn´t as lucky. He´ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and a lot of people thought, Nando got off easy. I still remember being 9 years old with my mom at the grocery store, when a man, out of nowhere, came over and started yelling horrible things at her. I found out later, that he was a close relative of the kid, who wound up in the chair. I was scared for months afterwards, that he would show up and yell at me, like he had at my mom.
Ash:
If everything else fails, there´s always that silly cat video, that makes you laugh every time.
Marco:
Sometimes I think, that you know me better, than I know myself, Ash,
Ash:
It´s only because I care about you. I wish, I could give you the easy life, I have.
Marco:
That just isn´t, how the cards were dealt.
Marco (voice over):
You might ask yourself, where all of my friends are? I used to have plenty, but thanks to my brother´s reputation, I became the kid, the others weren´t allowed to play with. The only two, who stood by me through thick and thin are Amy and Ash. A guy doesn´t just go and forget that. I´m so glad, that Amy broke up with me and that it wasn´t the other way around. It had to end, though and we´re both better off. As for Ash, I´ll say this. Whoever the guy is, he´d better appreciate what he´s found or I´ll have to come after him. If anyone hurts one of "My Girls", then they´d better be prepared to run, because I´ll be coming after them!
Marco and Ash wave goodbye, as they reach her house.
Ash:
Say hi to Nando for me. I know, that he isn´t as bad, as they make him out to be. He´s always been nice to me and my family.
Marco:
I will. See you later.
He heads up the street with his head bowed. Ash clearly feels sorry for him.
5. Int. The Ice House. Evening.
Marco are with his parents Diego and Anna, as well as his little sister, 5 year old Esmaralda. They´re looking over the menus.
Anna:
I´m guessing, that you´re having your usual.
Esmaralda:
You know it!
Diego:
I´m thinking about trying the red snapper. What do you think, Marco?
Marco:
It sounds delicious.
Anna:
Give me second more to decide.
Diego:
We are on a schedule.
Anna:
I know. It´ll only take a moment.
She looks over the menu again.
Marco (voice over):
If you wanted a perfect snap shot of my family, this is it. My mom reading over the same menu, that she must know by memory by now. The Ice House is the only restaurant in town, where we can go, without being looked down on. We only go out of season, to minimize the chance of an incident in front of my sister Esmaralda again. It´s only happened once, but she cried so hard, that it took hours to console her.
Anna:
I´m feeling adventurous. I´ll have the Lamb.
Diego:
Waitress!
Allie comes over to them and is ready to take their order. Diego points the menu items out to her, as she writes them down. She then takes their menus and leaves them.
Marco (voice over):
My parents are masters of pretending, that everything´s okay and I´ve become used to playing along for Emaralda´s sake. She should still be allowed to think, that the world is a perfect place, where nothing can hurt her, for at least a few more years. My mom has already had to have a few hard talks with her, where she´s had to explain, why her new friend´s parents don´t want them to play with her. Either she hasn´t let it get to her, or she just doesn´t understand it yet. I hope, that she won´t have to deal with this. She probably will, because this town isn´t big on forgiving. It´s unfair, but what can you do?
He ruffles Esmaralda´s hair a little and she smiles at him. They then play paddy cake to pass the time, to Esmaralda and her parent´s delight.
6. Ext. The Ice House. Evening.
Marco is watching Esmaralda play on a swing, they have set up outside for the kids.
Marco:
Don´t go up too high!
Esmaralda:
I won´t!
Pacey comes over to him.
Marco:
Taking a break?
Pacey:
This whole day has been one long break, with a few spurts of work. How are you holding up?
Marco:
Holding up somehow. I don´t know how much longer, I can keep it going.
Pacey:
I admire you. If 15 year old me would have had to sit at that table, with what you´re going through, woo!
He does a shake of his hand.
Pacey:
It wouldn´t have been pretty, I can tell you that!
Marco:
It isn´t like, I have a choice. I have to keep calm, for her sake.
Pacey:
In my experience, you´d better watch out with bottling things up. Have you thought about seeing a therapist?
Marco makes eye contact with him.
Marco:
We´re scraping by, as it is. My parents have had to tap into my college fund. There´s now a big, round zero on it. I´m never getting out of here!
Pacey:
I thought the exact same thing, when I was your age. Before Andie came along and saved me from myself, I felt like the biggest loser in town and like, I couldn´t do anything right. On top of that, I couldn´t stand it at home. I felt like, my dad was born to torture me emotionally.
Marco:
Damn! I have nothing against mine.
Pacey:
He just won´t accept reality, will he?
Marco shakes his head.
Marco:
Neither will my mom. This is Nando´s 3rd offense involving drugs and he was still on parole. They want to play it off, like it´s just another bump on the road, because no one was seriously hurt. That doesn´t mean, that they´ll take it lightly.
Pacey:
Especially not, when it´s a repeat offender.
Marco:
Any fool knows that! He´ll be locked away for a long time and he deserves to be! She still sees him as her darling baby boy!
Pacey:
I have no idea, how I would react, if I were in their shoes. Or yours, for that matter.
Marco:
If you want to know, what motivates me, look over at that smiling girl on the swing set. They can do and say what they want to me, but I won´t let them do anything, to upset that little angel.
They smile at the sight of her childish joy.
Marco (voice over):
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Isn´t that what they say?
7. Int. Car, Evening.
Marco hugs Esmaralda goodbye and hands her off to the babysitter.
Marco:
Be a good girl, okay?
Esmaralda:
I will. Say hi to Nando for me.
Marco closes the door and waves goodbye to her. Diego has trouble with the manual transmission in the car.
Diego:
Dammit!
Anna:
There´s no reason to swear.
Diego:
I´m sorry, Dear. I´m not used to this transmission. I hope, we get our car back soon.
He gets it in gear and they finally get moving. Marco shakes his head to himself, as soon as he´s sure that Esmaralda can´t see him anymore.
Marco (voice over):
Once again, he´s living on hope. They´re still trying to determine, if our old car can be saved, after Nando wrecked it. A blind person can see, that it´s beyond repair, but they refuse to give up hope. In the mean time, we get this wonderful loaner. After they determine, that it´s beyond repair, we´ll have to wait months, until the insurance company pays out and we can get a new car. At least, a friend of my parents loaned them this one. If think, that my dad is bad with a manual transmission, it´s nothing compared to my mom! If that gearbox survives, until we get the new car, I´ll be shocked!
The gearbox makes a sound, that doesn´t sound good at all, when Diego changes gears. Marco winces at the sound of it.
8. Int. Car. Evening.
Anna nervously checks her phone, an old model, to check the time.
Anna:
Visiting hours end in less than an hour. I told you, that you should have put the GPS on.
Diego:
It hasn´t been updated in years. God knows, where it could lead us to.
Anna:
Don´t take the Lord´s name in vain!
Diego:
Sorry, Dear. We´ll be there soon.
Marco looks out the window.
Marco (voice over):
In my mom´s world, taking the Lord´s name in vain is among the biggest no no´s, something you just don´t ever do! God bless her, but compared to what Nando has done, I could have burned a thousand bibles and it still wouldn´t be as bad. The second time, they sent him away, was for drug trafficking. My dad got him a job as as a janitor´s assistant at Capeside High, but he was back in 10 months later. That time they gave him 8 years for being part of smuggling in and distributing over a hundred kilos of Cocaine. One of his partners got caught, told on him and that was all she wrote. My mom would spontaneously burst into tears, for weeks after they arrested him. The police even had us under surveillance, in case someone tried to get at him through us. The town was up in arms, when they found out that Nando had been using his job, to sell drugs to students. This included a 16 year old, who had died from an overdose, so you can imagine the outrage, we faced. He was paroled last year and worked as a garbageman, until he did, what he always does. I hate to say it, but maybe it would be best, if they kept him. He can´t stop screwing up and ruining lives, when he´s out in the real world.
Diego smiles.
Diego:
There´s the exit. I told you, I was right!
Anna:
I stand corrected!
Diego and Anna smile at each other. Marco smiles to himself at the sight of them.
Marco (voice over):
I know, I´ve complained about them, but I will say this: If me and Paige, or whatever girl I end up with, are as much in love, after over 30 years together, as my parents are, I´ll consider myself lucky.
9. Int. Prison. Evening.
Marco is watching his parents talking to his brother Nando, who´s behind a fiberglass screen. All of them are crying.
Marco (voice over):
That´s how it always ends with him. My parents crying and him apologizing and saying, that he´ll never do it again. I´m sure, they blame themselves for not being harder on him, when he was growing up. He got into some trouble here and there, but what kid doesn´t? No one could have predicted, how he would turn out.
He tries to stretch out his sore back and neck. He lets out a slight grunt.
Marco (voice over):
The truth, that I didn´t tell Paige, is that they can´t say for sure, when my back and neck will be okay again. The doctors say, that I suffered a whiplash and recommended, that I go to a Chiropractor. Of course, that´s yet another thing, that isn´t an option, for financial reasons. Tonight´s restaurant dinner, was payback for work, my dad has done for Pacey. We can´t even afford to buy more painkillers, so I have to bite the pain in me and hope, that it ends soon.
He sees him parents get up and does so himself.
Marco (voice over):
We agreed that it would be best, if they talked to him alone, before I did. I wish, it had been the other way around, so it would have been over and done with.
Diego:
He´s all yours. You have ten minutes.
Marco:
Thanks, Dad.
Anna:
Don´t be too hard on him. He´s still your brother, after all.
Marco gives her a reassuring smile.
Marco:
I won´t, mom.
He walks over to Nando and takes his seat. He picks up the phone and puts it to his ear. Nando looks remorseful.
Marco:
Hey.
Nando:
How´s the body? We took one hell of a tumble back there!
They grin at each other.
Marco:
It was a roller coaster ride, I won´t ever forget!
Nando:
Seriously, are you okay?
Marco:
My back and neck are still sore, like you wouldn´t believe. They say, that I probably suffered a whiplash in my neck.
Nando hides his face in his hand.
Nando:
Man!
Marco:
They thought, I had a concussion at first, but I dodged a bullet on that one. Were you hurt?
Nando:
Nothing serious, some bumps and bruises. I can´t tell you, how sorry I am.
Marco:
Were you high, when we drove?
Nando:
No, but I´d been partying hard the night before. I can´t say for sure, if there weren´t some drugs left in my system. It´s official, I´m the worst brother in history!
Marco:
There´s sure to be worse ones out there.
Nando:
I could have gotten you killed. That´s nothing to joke about.
Marco scoffs.
Marco:
You´re telling me!
Nando:
You should know, that I´ve made a decision. When I get out, some day far in the future, I won´t be coming back to Capeside.
Marco:
Where do you plan on living?
Nando:
The west coast, probably. You´ve all suffered enough, because of what I´ve done. It´s not your fault, that I´m a hopeles addict.
Marco:
I don´t believe, that you´re beyond hope.
Nando:
There´s so much about me, you don´t know. Other things, I´ve done, that they could have sent me away for. I don´t think, I can change, unless if I get far away from here. If we´re lucky, then Esmaralda will forget, that I existed in the first place.
Marco:
She loves you.
Nando:
I love her too, but what if I return to my old ways and she ends up getting hurt? I´ve dealt with some dangerous people. There´s no saying, how far they´ll go.
Marco:
Do you think, we should be scared?
Nando shakes his head.
Nando:
Not this time. I´m counting on you, to look after her. You´re the only sibling, she has now.
Marco:
You got it. I love you, Nando.
Nando:
I love you too, mi Hermano. That´s exactly why, I can´t stay.
They smile sadly at each other.
10. Int. Ash´s Room. Evening.
Marco is hanging out with Ash, who´s also invited Amy, Vicki and Paige over. They´re playing a board game and it looks to have helped with his mood.
Marco (voice over):
You´ve probably asked yourself more than once, why we haven´t moved away and started fresh somewhere else? The reason, why we´re still here, is me. I couldn´t imagine leaving my girls behind, any more than I could imagine abandoning my sister or my parents, if they needed me. The world will tear us apart in a few years, but until then, I want to enjoy every minute with them, that I can. I´ve started to become friends with Vicki and it won´t be long, until we´ll know each other almost as well, as I do with the others. It´s evenings like this, where Ash surprises me, by inviting the others over to cheer me up, that make it all worth while.
Ash rolls the dice and moves her piece.
Paige:
Personal question. Exciting!
Amy:
Not for us. We know everything, there is to know, about each other.
Vicki:
Paige and me don´t know yet.
Paige:
It´s only fair on me and Vicki, that we´re allowed to be up to date.
Amy:
Fair enough.
Ash picks a card and reads it.
Ash;
What´s the naughtiest thing, you´ve done?
Marco:
I know, what it is.
Paige:
You took an apple, that grew on your side of the fence?
Ash:
I shoplifted a candy bar.
Paige and Viacki don´t look like, they´re buying it.
Vicki:
You? I don´t see it.
Amy:
It´s true.
Paige:
No way! I never had you picked for a bad girl!
Marco:
It should be added, that she ran back in, seconds after we came out, to confess and pay for it.
Vicki:
So much for "Bad Girl Ash"!
Ash:
For those seconds, I had stolen it!
Marco and Ash smile at each other.
Marco (voice over):
Life isn´t all roses, but as long as I have my girls, I´ll survive. Who knows, I might even make a guy friend again someday? He´ll never take the place of these friends, though.
He concentrates, as he rolls the dice.
CLOSING CREDITS