Election Page #16

JIM emerges from the drawer wielding a VISE GRIP. He goes to the box

and TEARS the entire hardware assembly off. Holding the mangled lock,

he turns to the students, who look back STUNNED.

JIM (CONT'D)

I just want to get this over with, so

we can have the assembly and go home.

We don't have much time until eighth

period. I have other things going on,

too, you know.

LARRY:

Okay. Yeah. We know

JIM:

All right. I'll be back

INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE SCHOOL OFFICEDAY

JIM slinks up to a PAY PHONE, inserts a coin, dials

SHERRY'S VOICE

(cheery)

Hi. You've reached the Novotnys. We're

not around, but we'll call you back real

soon. Have a nice day.

JIM it's me again. I'm sorry for all the calls. But Sherry, if I

could just hear your voice, if you'd only acknowledge that I...

SHERRY (OS)

(picking up phone)

What do you want, Jim?

JIM:

You're there.

SHERRY (OS)

Yeah. I'm here.

JIM:

Sherry... I love you.

SHERRY (OS)

(loud exhale)

Don't say that. You know it's not

true.

JIM:

It's the only true thing I know

anymore.

SHERRY (OS)

We made a mistake. Let's not make it

worse.

JIM:

A mistake? That was no mistake.

SHERRY (OS)

I was lonely. You took advantage

JIM:

Me? I took advantage of you? You

hugged me! You kissed me! You're the

one who --

CLICK.

INT. MILLARD HALLWAY -- DAY

It's PASSING PERIOD, and the halls are jammed with students at their

lockers and walking to class.

JIM is walking quickly back to his classroom. He passes Paul.

PAUL:

Hey, Mr. M. Big day, huh?

Jim doesn't even hear.

INT. CLASSROOMDAY

Larry is just finishing his count. The ballots are on a desk in front

of him, neatly organized into three piles. JIM enters.

JIM:

(impatient)

What d'you got?

LARRY:

I'm not supposed to tell. Not until

you've counted too. We're each supposed

to make an independent count.

JIM:

You're kidding, right?

LARRY:

I thought those were the rules, Mr.

McAllister. If they've changed in any

way --

JIM:

Larry, we're not electing the f***ing

Pope here. Just tell me who won.

Jim's use of profanity scares Larry, and he responds reluctantly

LARRY:

It's a squeaker, Mr. M. I've got Tracy

by a vote. Just one vote.

Jim, who hasn't cared about any of this today, suddenly takes note. He

stares blankly at Larry as the news sinks in.

LARRY (CONT'D)

Mr. M.?

JIM:

Huh. Okay. Well, I guess I'd better

do my count.

Jim-scoops up the three piles of ballots and takes them to his desk.

INT. HISTORY CLASSDAY

CLOSE ON DALE -

a junior honors student. He is thinking. The wheels are turning,

grinding. Finally --

DALE:

Sputnik.

MR. FLAGG is lecturing, really trying to make history come alive.

Tracy takes notes, but she is noticeably distracted.

MR. FLAGG

Right. And what year was that?

DALE:

1958?

MR. FLAGG

Almost. 1957. So the point here is

when we found out about Sputnik, we got

really scared. It seemed like no matter

what we had and kept secret, they could

develop it too. A-bombs, h-bombs,

rocket ships. And this time we were

behind them. So -- February 1961,

Kennedy tells Congress and the American

people he wants to go to the moon. May

1961, the Apollo program is announced...

Tracy just can't take it anymore. She abruptly stands up, takes the

GIANT HALL PASS off the lip of the blackboard, and starts to leave.

Mr. Flagg gives her a small nod.

INT. RAILWAYDAY

Tracy nears a room, a special room. She slows down and peeks in the

window of the door. She sees --

LARRY FOUCH sitting at the back of the classroom, staring front.

Tracy presses her face to see what Larry is staring at --

JIM at his desk counting ballots

LARRY catches sight of Tracy in the window.

TRACY crosses her fingers by her ears and gives a questioning look

LARRY sneaks a guilty look at Jim, absorbed in his counting. Then,

against his better judgment flashes Tracy a quick, furtive double

THUMBS-UP.

TRACY suddenly disappears from the window.

IN THE EMPTY HALLWAY - Tracy pogos with unbridled joy

TRACY (VO)

You know that moment when they announce

the winner of a beauty pageant? When

Miss Texas or whoever suddenly realizes

she's Miss America, and all she can do

is scream and weep and hug the losers?

I had my moment in the hallway that

Tuesday afternoon with no one to hug but

myself.

She pulls herself together enough to peek through the window of the

OTHER DOOR to Jim's classroom, the window behind which JIM

is still busily doing his count.

INT. JIM'S CLASSROOM -- DAY

JIM counts out the last of the ballots, mouthing the numbers to

himself.

JIM (VO)

I was at the end of my count when it

happened. I'd come up with exactly the

same numbers as Larry: Tracy had won

the election by a single vote, 256 to

257. I was about to announce my tally

when...

JIM looks up and sees

TRACY in the window, her face exploding with joy. She FREEZES.

We move closer to Jim in SLOW-MOTION. What actually occurs in a

split-second is suspended in time

JIM (VO CONT'D)

The sight of Tracy at that moment

affected me in a way I can't fully

explain. Part of it was that she was

spying, but mostly it was her face.

Looking at her, you might think she was

a sweet, innocent teenage girl. But she

wasn't sweet. And she wasn't innocent.

She was selfish and cynical and

ambitious and thought nothing of

destroying the lives of others to get to

the top. who knew how high she would

climb in life, how many people would

suffer because of her? I had to stop her

now.

Tracy UNFREEZES and darts out of sight. JIM glances at Larry. Larry is

writing in a notebook.

JIM'S HAND

creeps up from his lap and onto the pile of TRACY VOTES. His fingers

nimbly count two ballots and pull them off the desk.

JIM coughs as beneath his desk he CRUMPLES THE BALLOTS into a ball and

drops them into the wastepaper basket.

JIM:

Larry?

LARRY:

(looking up)

Yeah?

JIM:

I think we've got a problem.

INT. WALT HENDRICKS'S OFFICEDAY

Walt is just finishing counting the ballots on his desk. Larry and JIM

stand over him.

WALT:

253... 254... 255. I get the same as

you Jim. Looks like Paul's our

president.

LARRY:

No way I It doesn't make sense.

WALT:

Sorry. My figures work out exactly the

same as Jim's. 256 for Paul, 255 for

Tracy.

LARRY:

And 290 "disregards," right?

WALT:

If you say so.

JIM:

Mostly Tammy fans

LARRY:

See, it doesn't add up. There are only

801 ballots but 803 people voted. Two

votes are missing. Check the register.

JIM:

He's right. Two people must have

pocketed their ballots. Usually it's

more.

LARRY:

But, they were there I counted 803

votes.

JIM:

It happens, Larry. People make

mistakes.

LARRY:

I didn't make a mistake. Every vote was

there when you sac down

WALT:

Whoa! Easy, Fouch. I don't like where

you're going.

LARRY:

I'm telling you. Dr. Hendricks, every

vote was accounted for.

JIM:

(stern)

Larry? We've got twenty-five minutes

until the assembly, and we still have to

do counts for VP, Treasurer and

Secretary. Mr. Hendricks and I have both

verified the numbers, and unless you can

come up with the ballots you claim are

missing -

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