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187
by
Scott Yagemann
REVISED SHOOTING DRAFT
November 4, 1996
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
Rev. 7/10/96
1 8 7
1 EXT. LOWER MANHATTAN SKYLINE - BROOKLYN BRIDGE - MORNING 1
RUSH HOUR
ON a pair of black Dexter penny loafers diligently
pedaling an old Schwinn mountain bike. ADJUST ANGLE now
to meet the bicyclist...
He's African-American. Anywhere from 33 to 40. Wears
wire-rim glasses, a fresh white oxford shirt, creased
slacks and a solid green tie. An unobtrusive figure, at
once familiar and yet undiscerning. The type you'd pass
on a sidewalk and never even notice. He's TREVOR GARFIELD.
ADJUST ANGLE FURTHER now to reveal the upper promenade
bike path and a dramatic view of Lower Manhattan behind
him. Morning sun glimmers off the Trade Center towers.
Trevor's shadow skitters along the wooden path, 160 ft.
above the East River.
A fat briefcase, strapped to the back of his bike, rocks
back and forth as he pumps the pedals.
FROM ABOVE now a sweeping view of Trevor, alone on the
bike path, a speck, suspended above a sea of rush hour
traffic on the bridge below.
2 EXT. ATLANTIC AVENUE (BEDFORD STUYVESANT) - MORNING 2
A wrought-iron train trestle covered with graffiti shakes
as an "EL" TRAIN ROARS overhead. Trevor races parallel
with it along Atlantic Avenue. Every city block becomes
more and more rundown.
3 EXT. ROOSEVELT WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL (BEDFORD 3
STUYVESANT) - MORNING
A cyclone fence frames the stalwart face of the old
three-story administration building. Ubiquitous gray
patches of paint fail to cover where taggers have most
recently left their marks. The ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, a
black man with a booming voice, barks at late-comers who
are about to be tardy...
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
(clapping his hands)
... Let's go, people! Tardy lock-
out starts in one minute! Get
your butts in gear! One minute,
people! Move it!
(CONTINUED)
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 2.
3 CONTINUED: 3
SUPERIMPOSE: ROOSEVELT WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL -
OCTOBER 1994
The Assistant Principal, attention diverted, doesn't even
notice Trevor as he enters on his bike and races down the
sidewalk in front of the school. With all the prompting,
students still don't seem to be in much of a hurry.
4 OMITTED 4
5 INT. RWHS "A" BUILDING - MAIN ENTRANCE 5
... as Trevor squeezes through the doorway past students
being processed through card readers and metal detectors
and turns down the main hall.
6 INT. RWHS - MAIN FLOOR 6
With a glance over his shoulder, Trevor hops back onto
his bike and pedals it down the middle of the corridor.
STRAGGLING STUDENTS either ignore him or look at him
like he's insane.
STRAGGLING STUDENT
(as Trevor passes)
... No ridin' bikes in 'a hallway,
stoo-pit.
6A INT. STAIRWELL 6A
As Trevor reaches the end of the main corridor... and
steers his bike down the stairs.
7 INT. RWHS - BOTTOM FLOOR 7
Trevor coasts skillfully down the stairs and emerges
onto the bottom floor of the school. He pedals away
toward the other end of the corridor.
7A EXT. TREVOR'S CLASSROOM 7A
A crowd of 10th graders loiter outside Trevor's room.
Seeing him coming, they stir to life with a flurry of
taunts. Trevor chooses to face all dissension with a
smile.
(CONTINUED)
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 3.
7A CONTINUED: 7A
As Trevor hops off his bike and unlocks the classroom
door, he notices two lovers making out in the hallway...
VOICE IN CROWD
... Yuh late, Garfield.
TREVOR
(catching his breath)
... No, bell hasn't rung yet.
Okay, let's get inside. C'mon.
(as they file
into the room)
... Morning, morning. Rise and
shine.
TWO STUDENTS make passing comments...
AUGGIE
(shaking his head)
... You one crazy-ass nigga, G.
TYWAN
(a quarter stuck
in one ear)
... Damn skippy.
TREVOR
Thank you for sharing, Auggie.
TYWAN
(provoking Auggie)
... Auggie doggie.
AUGGIE (O.S.)
Fuck you, Tywan. Yer mama's a
gangsta-rapper.
Trevor offers a pleasant greeting to the two lovers.
TREVOR
'Scuse me, you two... this isn't
the Playboy Channel.
Trevor enters the room, but ducks his head back into
the hall.
TREVOR
'Morning, Juanita.
8 INT. RWHS - TREVOR'S CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION 8
Walls are covered with assorted science posters.
Styrofoam nuclei dangle from the ceiling. Trevor
unstraps the fat briefcase from his bicycle and sets
it on a metal stool next to his desk...
(CONTINUED)
4.
8 CONTINUED: 8
TREVOR
(enthusiastically)
Let's get started. August and
Tywan, you pass out the books.
Thank you, gentlemen.
Auggie and Tywan don't budge.
TYWAN
Whas up wit' your car, G? Yer
Pinto blow up?
The majority of students aren't even paying attention. A
group in the back is already starting a card game.
TREVOR
(good-natured smile)
No, I don't own a Pinto, Tywan.
(addressing the class)
Okay, can I have everyone's
attention?
No response, but it doesn't phase Trevor. He removes
the front wheels from his bike.
TREVOR
The purpose of the bicycle is to
demonstrate the principle of
centripetal force. That's the
opposite of the force we studied
yesterday, which was...
VOICE IN THE CROWD
Magnum force.
Hoots and laughter.
TREVOR
Centrifugal force... Centripetal
force is where the acceleration of
a body moving in circular motion
is directed toward its center by an
opposing force, thus creating
momentum that constrains the body to
its circular path. Like a gyroscope.
(sees nothing
but yawns)
It's better if I show you. Here,
Tywan, you be my helper.
Tywan and Auggie are busy talking in the corner. They
still haven't passed out the books.
(CONTINUED)
5.
8 CONTINUED: (2) 8
TREVOR
Tywan? Come on.
Tywan, solidly built like a Rodin bronze, saunters over.
TYWAN
Whad-up, G?
(to rest of class)
Hey, shut up! Y'all too damn
loud, man!
Class quiets but only marginally.
TREVOR
I need you to demonstrate
centripetal force.
(removes briefcase
from stool)
Here, have a seat.
Tywan sits and Trevor hands him the upside-down bicycle.
TREVOR
Okay, hold the bike steady with
your knees. That's it. Seat
positioned against your chest.
Tywan glances over at Auggie and starts to laugh.
TYWAN
(to Auggie)
Shut up, foo.
TREVOR
Okay, now crank the pedals and get
that back wheel spinning about
180 R.P.M.
TYWAN
Whas up wit' dat?
TREVOR
(coaxing him along)
You'll see. Be patient.
A skeptical Tywan starts to crank the pedals, but he's
not pedaling hard enough.
TREVOR
... Put some muscle into it.
Tywan cranks the pedals harder now. Trevor back-pedals
over to the textbook shelf and randomly selects a
physical science book (but doesn't open it).
(CONTINUED)
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 6.
8 CONTINUED: (3) 8
TREVOR
... Keep pedaling. Harder.
A paper airplane sails past an oblivious Tywan. He
cranks harder and harder until he's sweating ham juice.
Now, he impales Trevor with a befuddled squint.
TYWAN
(incredulous)
Whas up? I tol' you you was
crazy, man.
A thin smile of confidence from Trevor now...
TREVOR
Now tilt the wheel to your right.
Tywan does and immediately the wheel pulls him to the
right, causing the stool to slowly spin on its axis.
TYWAN
(eyes wide like
a little kid)
Aw, damn. I'm spinnin'. Lookit
me, Auggie!
Trevor flickers a smile as Tywan's spinning starts to
draw the attention of the rest of the class.
Now Trevor refers to the physical science book in his
hand. Smile on his face immediately fades.
INSERT: Physical science textbook. In magic marker.
The large number 187 has been scrawled across every
page. Trevor flips through the book. He checks the
front page to see who it belongs to.
Juxtaposed to Trevor's distracted state, the class is now
focused on Tywan's achievement...
CLASS
(attempting unison)
... Tywan, Tywan, Tywan.
9 INT. RWHS - "A" BUILDING - MAIN CORRIDOR - SECOND 9
PERIOD
One of the fluorescent lights overhead flickers. The
place is deserted except for a custodian who pushes a
cresting wave of trash ahead of his broom. Now Trevor
heads up the north stairwell at the far end of the
corridor. He clutches the desecrated physical science
book. A student slides down the banister past him.
7.
10 OMITTED 10
11 INT. COUNSELING OFFICES - WAITING AREA 11
A PUERTO RICAN WOMAN prods a group of gangbanger wanna-
bes. Two of the teens hover over a Sony Walkman, sharing
the earphones.
SECRETARY
Okay, fellas, off the table. Put
the Walkman away. I said put it
away...
A 10th grade counselor's office opens and a student
emerges. Trevor walks directly in.
TREVOR
Walter, I need to speak with you.
WALTER (Anglo; 52) is a disheveled middle-aged counselor.
A lifer. He chews on an empty smoking pipe as he glances
through a student "cum" (cue-mm).
WALTER
(preoccupied)
I'm pretty busy right now,
Garfield. What is it?
Trevor sets the book down on Walter's desk and nervously
adjusts his glasses.
TREVOR
Could you open it, please?
Walter opens the book.
WALTER
(a weary look
of disgust)
Don't suppose this kid cares about
our budget crisis?
(shuts the book)
Have the textbook room charge him
for the book.
Walter snaps the book shut and looks up at Trevor.
That's all?
TREVOR
One-Eight-Seven is a penal code
number for murder, Walter.
Means the same thing as T-O-S.
'Terminate On the Spot.'
(CONTINUED)
8.
11 CONTINUED: 11
WALTER
(piqued)
For chrissake, I know what it
stands for. Look, kid probably
heard it in a rap song. Doesn't
mean anything.
TREVOR
... The book belongs to Dennis
Broadway. He's a known gangster,
Walter -- a 'Five Percenter.'
WALTER
Garfield, if I had a dollar for
every time a student threatened
faculty... Don't you think you're
overreacting a little?
TREVOR
(suppressing
trepidation)
Did you tell Dennis Broadway he
was getting a fail from me?
WALTER
(stymied)
I have legal access to those
files.
TREVOR
He's a transfer from Nixon High
School, isn't he?
WALTER
(becoming defensive)
Look, I'm not obligated to track
you down every time a transfer
student comes through here. You
want confidential information
like that, come look it up in his
cum (cue-mm).
Trevor exhales a sigh of resignation.
TREVOR
Do you have him on a contract?
WALTER
If he gets through the semester
without a fail then he gets to go
back to Nixon, so what?
TREVOR
... and be with his homeboys.
(CONTINUED)
9.
11 CONTINUED: (2) 11
Walter's caught between a rock and a hard place. His
instincts lean toward self-preservation.
WALTER
So he blew his opportunity. Now
he has to learn to live with the
consequences.
TREVOR
I don't think this kid's ready to
deal with the consequences. I
think he wants me dead.
WALTER
Relax, has nothin' to do with you.
TREVOR
I should have been told, Walter.
WALTER
Hey, I'm on your side, Garfield,
but my hands are tied. Kid has a
right to his privacy... Know what
your problem is? You're an
idealist.
TREVOR
What's wrong with that?
WALTER
You only see what you wanna see,
that's what's wrong. On one hand
you think someone's trying to kill
you. On the other hand you
actually believe kids are paying
attention in your classes.
Trevor resigns himself to the fact that he's come to
the wrong person for support.
TREVOR
(collecting himself)
Never mind. It's not a problem.
WALTER
(an empty promise)
Tell you what, as soon as I get a
chance I'll summons the kid.
Promise.
Trevor's bemusement holds us.
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 10.
12 INT. RWHS "A" BUILDING - MAIN CORRIDOR - MORNING 12
Trevor retraces his steps back up the empty corridor as
the passing BELL RINGS. Within seconds the corridor is
teeming with teenagers.
Into SLOW MOTION now. MANEUVERING THROUGH the crowd to
DISCOVER DENNIS BROADWAY (16). About ten paces behind.
His Snoop-Dogg Afro frames a gold earring and a pair of
deep-set eyes filled with vitriol. Oblivious of Dennis,
Trevor presses on toward the north stairwell.
VARIOUS SHOTS OVERHEAD and THROUGH crowd as the gap
between Dennis and Trevor narrows. Every facial
expression, every blink of an eye, all magnified a
hundred times.
Broadway's right hand is wrapped in a dirty white
handkerchief as he reaches into the front pocket of his
baggie Solos and pulls out a block of wood with a
ten-penny nail imbedded in it.
13 INT. RWHS - AT NORTH STAIRWELL 13
Trevor's heavy eyelids blink as he slowly glances up into
a parabolic mirror on the wall. A silent, paroxysmal
terror registers on his face.
In a parabolic mirror, the blurred image of Dennis
Broadway, pushing hard toward a conclusion now.
BACK TO SPEED as Dennis explodes forward, body blocking
Trevor from behind, pinning him against a wall and
sending the "187" textbook flying.
He rams his weapon into Trevor's back.
In a SERIES OF RAPID-FIRE CUTS, filtered sunlight
shimmers off the sharpened nail as it slashes downward.
A barrage of stabbing motions, tearing at cloth and
flesh. Trevor's backward flailing arms are ineffective
in blocking the frenzied stabfest. Downward slashing,
again and again... 10 times.
Aftermath. As quickly as it began it's over. Dennis
Broadway slams open an exit door and is gone. Students
scatter like cockroaches. An eerie stillness lingers.
Trevor Garfield is lying on his back now in a pool of
blood; black plastic framed glasses in pieces on the
floor; lifeless arms spread out at his sides. His
rheumy, unblinking eyes stare upward into infinite space.
Breathing is the major focus of his concentration now as
we SLOWLY MOVE IN ON his face. HOLD and now...
11.
14 EXT. TREVOR'S HOUSE (SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA) - 14
SUPERIMPOSE: LOS ANGELES - SAN FERNANDO VALLEY,
SEVENTEEN MONTHS LATER
It's a tiny one bedroom house in the East San Fernando
Valley. A chain-link fence surrounds the perimeter and a
large olive tree shades the neatly-mowed front lawn.
And in the back there's a wooden tool shed that borders
a narrow alley.
15 INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM 15
In the predawn light a terra cotta angel stands guard
over a bookshelf.
16 INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - BEDROOM 16
Stillness. Now the PHONE RINGS. A shape in the bed
stirs. A desk lamp flickers on, illuminating the phone.
Trevor's hand reaches for the receiver.
TREVOR
Morning...
SUB UNIT (V.O.)
'Morning, Mr. Garfield. This is
the Sub Unit. Are you available
for work?
TREVOR
(clearing his throat)
... Yes, uh huh.
SUB UNIT (V.O.)
There's a science class in the
Valley at John Quincy Adams. It's
a four day assignment. Teacher's
name is Eskander.
17 INT. TREVOR'S HOUSE - TREVOR'S PRAYER - SERIES OF SHOTS 17
We hear what God hears over the following...
A) IN SHOWER
Trevor hangs his head under a torrent of soothing
water.
B) TREVOR
Ceremoniously, he irons a shirt... and polishes his
shoes, a broad scar shows across the back of his hand.
(CONTINUED)
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 12.
17 CONTINUED: 17
C) ANOTHER ANGLE
His pressed slacks and tie hang meticulously over a
chair as he gets dressed.
D) CRUCIFIX
Now Jesus Christ looks down on Trevor from his crucifix
on the bedroom wall.
TREVOR (V.O.)
(kneeling bedside)
... If you're listening, God,
please help me today. All I ask
is a chance to do my job... t'do
the job you put me here to do in
the first place.
(prayerfully now)
Please help me accept those things
I cannot change... and give me
strength to change those things I
can.
(beat)
... This is me, Trevor, God.
Amen.
18 EXT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS H.S. (SAN FERNANDO VALLEY) - 18
"A" BUILDING - MORNING
Traffic bottle-necks as students cross in front of cars,
and big yellow L.A.U.S.D. buses pull in. The green lawn
is scattered with students (about 65% Hispanic).
Compared to the scarred, institutional look of Roosevelt
Whitney, the face of John Quincy Adams is unblemished.
(This is your own backyard, not the inner city)
Sagging pants (Dickies, Ben Davis) and oversized jackets
(County Bens, Duke, Georgetown) are represented. The
different socio-economic and ethnic groups stick with
their own kind; the IHPs (Individual Honors Program), the
taggers, the Gangbangers, the Asians, the Armenians...
18A EXT. JQA PARKING LOT 18A
Anglo boy, Stevie Littleton, gets out of his mom's Lexus
in the school parking lot and walks towards school.
19 INT./EXT. TREVOR'S '64 RAMBLER AMERICAN - FACULTY 19
PARKING LOT DRIVEWAY
Trevor sits behind the wheel of his Rambler. Watches a
passing parade of students with detachment.
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 13.
20 INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - "A" BUILDING ENTRANCE - FEW 20
MINUTES LATER
Trevor, fat briefcase in hand, crosses the front lawn.
He's not the same Trevor we met back in Bedford-
Stuvyesant. Withdrawn, guarded, he manufactures a
cautious smile at students in passing.
Trevor now approaches VICTOR SIFUENTES, a young plain-
clothes narc, who intermittently wands students with a
metal detector at the front doors. FAVOR a kid now who
wears a baseball cap with an emblem on the crown that
says "Fucd."
VICTOR
... Baseball cap, give it up.
The kid grudgingly reciprocates, handing over his cap.
VICTOR
(stopping Trevor now)
Hold it, please.
Trevor produces his blue employee card.
TREVOR
I'm a substitute.
VICTOR
(pointing)
Okay, you want the Main Office,
straight ahead. Check in with
Mrs. Ford.
21 INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - "A" BUILDING/MAIN CORRIDOR - 21
BEFORE FIRST PERIOD
Trevor wanders up the crowded corridor. Along with his
briefcase he now carries a sub folder that contains a
homeroom roster, lesson plans and seating charts.
A sporadic row of teachers, like weary sentinels, stand
outside their classrooms.
TEACHER #1 is an insipid woman in her mid-forties. She's
overweight and wears too much make-up.
TREVOR
... 'Scuse me. I'm lost. I'm
looking for Bungalow...
(checks homeroom roster)
... eighty-six.
(CONTINUED)
14.
21 CONTINUED: 21
TEACHER #1
(pointing)
All the way out, next to the
parking lot. Last bungalow on the
left.
TREVOR
... Thank you.
TEACHER #1
(fatalistic)
Good luck.
Her comment weighs on him as he resumes his winding path
through the bustle of students headed for first period.
22 INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - MAIN CORRIDOR/CLASSROOMS - 22
TREVOR'S POV
Glancing through open doorways. Observing the inner life
of various classrooms in passing... sees students watch-
ing TV, teacher ignores them.
INTERCUT WITH:
23 INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - CLASSROOM #2 23
ANGLO MALE, 39, slouching behind his desk, attempting to
read a newspaper but distracted by an offstage commotion.
CLASSROOM #2 TEACHER (ANGLO MALE)
(erupting)
... Sit down. I come back there
and you're gonna be sorry.
INTERCUT WITH:
24 INT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - CLASSROOM #3/COMPUTER LAB 24
On the opposite side of the corridor... we can hear
Ellen Henry's voice before reaching her doorway. All
brightness and light, full of enthusiasm...
ELLEN (O.S.)
(like, a buzzer;
times up)
... EEEEgghh! Wrong. William,
you know this. C'mon, how do you
find the pound sign? What's the
fastest way?
(CONTINUED)
15.
24 CONTINUED: 24
Now we see her through the doorway. ELLEN HENRY (TEACHER
#3). She's thirty, Anglo, and non-tenured. At the front
of the class ten students stand linked together, arm-in-
arm, in a human chain. WILLIAM (15) sits behind a computer
in the front row struggling to decipher the problem...
ELLEN
(playfully)
You're not thinking.
(a major clue)
How 'bout Binary search.
William remains puzzled. The chain of students delight
in chiding him. "C'mon, Beavis!"...
ELLEN
(the answer)
You split them!
Ellen attempts to bisect the impulsive chain of students
with a double-handed karate chop. Fickle chain that they
are, they resist.
ELLEN
(amused)
... Very funny.
Now a SLOW MOTION fleeting moment as she catches Trevor's
passing gaze and openly smiles at him.
25 INT. MEN'S BATHROOM 25
Trevor rinses his face at the sink as Victor Sifuentes'
head speaks to him from above one of the heavily
graffitied stalls in b.g.
VICTOR
So who yuh here for?
TREVOR
Eskander.
VICTOR
(zipping up,
exiting)
Aw, man, you got bungalow
duty.
26 EXT. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS - BUNGALOWS - MORNING 26
On a MEANDERING COURSE, MERGING with Trevor now.
(CONTINUED)
16.
26 CONTINUED: 26
Increasing evidence of tagging, and bands of wandering
students, indicate a higher degree of disorder the
further one gets from the Main Office.
FROM ABOVE NOW, like Algernon and his maze, Trevor
negotiates his own path deeper and deeper into the
configuration of bungalows.
... And Trevor's trepidation. Eyes discerning every
passerby. His PULSE AUDIBLY RACES, senses heightened.
SHIFTING INTO SLOW MOTION AGAIN... And the reverberating
SOUND of a SPRAY PAINT MARBLE as Trevor rounds a corner
and comes face to face with three tag-bangers concealing
spray paint cans inside their oversized jackets. One of
the taggers locks eyes with Trevor as he passes, a slow
premonitory burn. The tagger has a "skin tight" (pelon)
hair cut and a string of black rosary beads around his
neck. A barcode tattoo on the back of his neck identi-
fies BENNY.
27 EXT. UTILITY SHED AND VICINITY - MORNING 27
... Behind the bungalows, adjacent the delivery gate.
Meet DAVE CHILDRESS, a forty-something ditto-head.
The residual effects of a hangover linger as he sneaks a
cigarette before first period. He wears a faded Hawaiian
shirt and Huarache sandals. An old military tattoo
emblazons his left forearm. As he crushes out his
cigarette, something catches his eye.
28 EXT. UTILITY SHED 28
... Thru a chain-link fence we see a handful of cholo-
types loitering around the shed.
Childress investigates. As he approaches the fence...
CHILDRESS
... Hey, ese(s)?!
Homeboys scatter in all directions, some hop the chain-
link fence, others scurry out a narrow gate behind the
shed. Childress weighs an amused smirk. Now out of
nowhere a gangbanger lurches from the shed, buttoning
his sagging Dickies and tripping over his own feet. He
scrambles out the back gate and is gone.
Childress, curiosity piqued, now enters the compound
through a tear in the fence.
1 8 7 - Rev. 7/10/96 17.
29 INT. UTILITY SHED - MOMENTS LATER 29
As Childress pokes his head inside he discovers...
Rita Nartinez, seventeen... braless. A niobium belly-
ring piercing her navel. She pulls a dark blue sweat
shirt on over her head. Glances up at Childress. Masks
her shame with a defiant smirk.
(Behind the heavy eyeliner and baggy pants of a chola,
Rita's really nothing more than a little lost girl.)
CHILDRESS
(knowing full well)
What the hell's going on here,
lil' sister?
30 INT. BUNGALOW "84" - MORNING 30
Trevor flicks on the lights, exposing bare, colorless
walls and closed venetian blinds. His breathing's
slightly labored as he sets down his briefcase. His back
faces the mob of students that trickle in now as he takes
a surreptitious hit off an inhaler. Almost instantly his
breathing returns to normal.
Now he shuts his eyes and prepares to conjure up the
dormant enthusiasm he used to have. Takes a deep
cathartic breath. Now he digs a file folder out of his
briefcase, opens it, selects a dispatch and approaches