12 and holding Page #5

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JACOB:

I wish it was. You know the last

thing Rudy said to me? He said, I

can’t be a p*ssy all my life. He

was right, I am. And Rudy might be

dead because of it.

MALEE:

Don’t say that.

(beat)

Why don’t you talk to your parents

about this?

JACOB:

They can’t help me.

MALEE:

Give them time. It’ll get better.

JACOB:

What if it doesn’t? My dad hasn’t

gone back to work yet. What if he

loses his job. We could lose our

house. I could be homeless.

MALEE:

Then you’ll stay with me.

LEONARD:

Or me.

(CONTINUED)

27.

CONTINUED:
(2)

JACOB:

We’re best friends. We...

Suddenly, something catches Malee’s attention off screen.

It’s GUS, standing beside a BULLDOZER.

MALEE:

Oh my God.

JACOB:

What?

MALEE:

That guy. I like know him. He’s

one of my mother’s patients.

LEONARD:

So?

MALEE:

I’ve never seen a patient of hers

actually out and about.

(beat)

Should we go over and say “hi”?

JACOB:

I just want to get out of here.

Leonard and Jacob start heading off.

Malee stays for a beat, eyeing Gus as he removes his T-shirt

and exposes his rock abs. She is obviously turned on.

LEONARD:

You coming, Malee?

INT. LEONARD’S HOME - KITCHEN - LATER THAT AFTERNOON

Leonard enters to find Grace, placing a casserole dish on the

table. The table is filled with a cornucopia of food.

LEONARD:

Are we having company?

GRACE:

No, this is all for you. Your

favorites; fried chicken,

spaghetti, pizza, french fries, and

chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

I made everything extra spicy, so

you can taste it.

(CONTINUED)

28.

CONTINUED:

LEONARD:

Ma, it doesn’t matter how spicy the

food is.

GRACE:

So you’re not even gonna try it?

LEONARD:

I’m sure it’s delicious.

GRACE:

Forget it. Don’t eat.

Grace puts the plate of food into the sink.

GRACE (cont’d)

You can’t just eat apples all the

time.

LEONARD:

Why not?

GRACE:

(beat, searching)

It’s unhealthy.

Off Leonard’s confusion SFX

OVER SHOT:
SCHOOL BELL

EXT. JEFFERSON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL - DAYS LATER - MORNING

Students make their way inside for the first day of school.

There is a sign out front, which reads: WELCOME BACK.

INT. CLASSROOM - SAME TIME

A TEACHER walks along the line of desks, showing students

their assigned seats.

TEACHER:

Tommy Wallace.

Tommy takes his seat.

TEACHER (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Jacob Carges.

Jacob takes his seat.

TEACHER (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Rudy Carges.

(CONTINUED)

29.

CONTINUED:

Jacob along with his classmates are shocked to discover that

Rudy’s name hasn’t been removed from the attendance sheet.

The teacher is unaware of the mistake.

TEACHER (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Rudy Carges. Hello?

Tommy looks to Jacob. Since Rudy’s not saying anything, he

will.

TOMMY:

He’s not in this class anymore.

TEACHER:

How do you know?

JACOB:

Cause he’s dead.

TEACHER:

I realize being new at this school

puts me at a disadvantage, but

joking about a fellow classmate’s

death is anything but funny, Mr....

The teacher checks her attendance sheet.

TEACHER (cont’d)

...Carges. Wait, are you...

JACOB:

I’m his brother. Was. And I’m not

joking. He’s dead.

The teacher looks around at the other students, realizing

Jacob is telling the truth.

TEACHER:

I’m so sorry. Wow, this is

awkward. Would you like the seat

left empty?

JACOB:

Why?

TEACHER:

In memory.

Off Jacob’s look

30.

INT. SCHOOL GYMNASIUM - LATER THAT DAY

COACH GILMORE (55), overweight, gym teacher, dressed in a

jogging suit, snaps gum while addressing his students.

The class of boys stand up against the wall. Leonard is

amongst them. His gym uniform barely fits.

COACH:

Alright, ladies, welcome to gym.

We will be starting things off this

year with the United States

Standardized Fitness Test.

The entire class groans.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

I’m sure you all remember it from

last year. I will be testing you

in a number of physical fitness

areas.

As coach speaks, Leonard looks as if he’s going to throw up.

SMASH CUT TO:

ON CHIN UP BAR - MOMENTS LATER

A STUDENT performs chin ups with great ease.

COACH (V.O.)

The state’s requirement for upper

body strength is ten chin ups.

The student finishes his run with a count of twelve. He hops

off the bar and crosses over to his classmates.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Leonard, you’re up.

Leonard crosses to the chin-up bar, grabs a hold of it and

begins struggling to lift himself up. Unfortunately, he can

only manage 1/8th of an inch. Leonard drops off the bar,

exhausted.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

What are you doing, let’s go!

LEONARD:

That was as far as I could pull

myself up.

(CONTINUED)

31.

CONTINUED:

A few students laugh. Coach shakes his head, disgusted.

SMASH CUT TO:

ON A STUDENT DOING SITUPS - LATER

Coach stands over the boy, timing him with a stop watch.

COACH:

Ten seconds. You need forty to

pass.

The student increases his speed.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Time. 42. Good job.

The student rises off the mat and walks over to the other

boys. Leonard enters frame and drops on the mat like a ton

of bricks.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

(rolling his eyes)

Go!

Leonard struggles to lift himself up but, he can’t do it.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Come on, son, fight it.

Leonard’s face turns red. He clenches his teeth.

Unfortunately, due to the pressure he is exerting, he blows a

loud fart. The gym erupts with laughter.

EXT. SCHOOL GROUNDS - TRACK - LATER

The coach and his students stand at the beginning of the

track, waiting for Leonard to finish his laps.

Leonard slowly walks over. He is soaking wet and breathing

heavy.

COACH:

23 minutes.

LEONARD:

Not bad.

COACH:

The goal was 8.

The class can’t help but laugh.

(CONTINUED)

32.

CONTINUED:

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Hit the showers.

The class walks off.

COACH (cont’d)

Not you Leonard.

Leonard turns back and crosses over to the coach.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Center. That’s the position you’ll

be playing in two years.

LEONARD:

Football?

COACH:

You don’t like football?

LEONARD:

I love it. It’s just I’ll never

make the weight requirement. Pop

Warner league wouldn’t let me play

for five years because of it.

COACH:

There’s no weight requirement in

high school ball, son.

The coach bends down and rifles through his GYM BAG. He

removes 2 books and hands them to Leonard.

COACH (CONT'D) (cont’d)

These are your new bibles.

LEONARD:

Books?

COACH:

One is on nutrition, the other

exercise. You do what they say,

and you can play for me once you

get to high school.

LEONARD:

Thanks.

Leonard begins walking back to the gym. After a few steps,

he stops and turns back.

(CONTINUED)

33.

CONTINUED:
(2)

LEONARD (CONT'D) (cont’d)

Coach, why are you doing this for

me?

COACH:

Because I’ve never seen a child so

out of shape in my life.

INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - LATER THAT DAY

The school BAND is on stage and playing a particularly

horrendous rendition of the STAR SPANGLED BANNER. We FIND

MALEE in the flute section, playing her heart out.

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