Election Page #8

SHERRY:

What do you think?

It's clear what JIM thinks.

JIM:

You look great

INT. JIM'S CAR -- DAY

They're driving home. There are packages on Sherry's lap and in the

backseat.

SHERRY:

I can't afford this stuff right now.

JIM:

Oh, come on. You've had a hard year,

you're cooped up with the kid all the

time. Let go; live a little.

SHERRY:

You sure?

They come to a stop at a red light. Out one window JIM spots a MOTEL.

JIM:

So what do you think? Should we get a

room?

SHERRY:

Should we get a what?

JIM:

points at the motel.

SHERRY (CONT'D)

Oh.

Her smile fades, and she stares straight ahead. There's an icy,

uncomfortable silence.

SHERRY (CONT'D)

(stiffly)

That's not funny.

The light changes. JIM swallows, accelerates

INT. JIM'S KITCHENDAY

JIM walks in through the backdoor. Diane is loading the dishwasher.

They peck-kiss.

DIANE:

How'd it go?

JIM:

Fine. You know. We just went to

Crossroads.

DIANE:

You guys have fun?

JIM picks an apple out of a bowl.

JIM:

(between bites)

Yeah. No. I mean, you know.

DIANE:

What?

JIM:

Well, Sherry's great. But she can be a

little much sometimes.

INT. MCALLISTER BEDROOMNIGHT

Diane lies face-down, and JIM is on top of her. JIM makes spirited

love with her.

DIANE:

Oh, Jim! Oh, God!

SHERRY'S HEAD, like a cut-out from a tabloid cover, floats in from

off-screen and lands on the back of Diane's head. At the right moment,

her face COMES TO LIFE and vaguely mouths the words that Diane is

saying, like a badly-dubbed movie.

DIANE/SHERRY

Oh, God. Just like that. Oh yes. Fill

me up...

Jim's wicked desire increases with each movement

Now TRACY FLICK'S FACE floats over and replaces Sherry's. Tracy mouths

Diane's words.

DIANE/TRACY

Do it, Jim. F*** me.

JIM is at once in deep-space ecstasy and surprised at himself.

Diane's voice now changes: it's Tracy's VOICE.

TRACY (OS)

F*** me, Mr. McAllister

FADE OUT:

UNDER BLACK:

JIM (VO)

So like I was saying, things were going

pretty well in my life.

INT. MILLARD HALLWAY -- DAY

It's passing period, and hundreds of students clog the halls

JIM (VO)

... that is, until things started going

all haywire with that damn election.

A distant DING-DING grows louder and louder. Everyone turns toward the

source, far down the hall, and eventually TAMMY emerges wearing a

makeshift SANDWICH BOARD that reads "Tammy Metzier For President."

Smiling a perverse smile, she rings a hand bell. Salvation Army style.

Paul is at his locker and watches Tammy go by.

PAUL:

Tammy? Tammy, what are you doing?

Tammy ignores her brother and keeps walking directly toward us,

finally INTO CAMERA.

INT. MILLARD TEACHERS' OFFICES -- DAY Tracy sits opposite Mr.

McAllister.

TRACY:

You're the advisor. You should stop

her. She's not qualified. She's just a

sophomore.

JIM:

Calm down, Tracy. Just calm down.

TRACY:

Are you sure all her signatures are

real? It's not easy to get all those

signatures.

JIM:

As far as I know, they--

Suddenly LISA AND PAUL are sitting where Tracy was.

PAUL:

We can't both run, can we? We're

brother and sister. Can we?

LISA:

It's a conflict of interest. And Paul

was first.

JIM:

Anyone who gets signatures in on time

can run. And she got in just under the

wire. Nothing I can do.

Now TRACY replaces Lisa and Paul

TRACY:

Let me see them. Let me see them

Sighing, JIM fishes in his drawer and hands Tracy some sheets

TRACY:

These are a bunch of burn-outs. And

look at this one, I can't even read this

one.

JIM:

(taking the sheet)

Looks like Tim Kobza.

LISA AND PAUL again

LISA:

She's doing this to get back at me

PAUL:

For what?

LISA:

I mean at you.

PAUL:

For what?

LISA:

I don't know. You're her brother you

should know.

TRACY returns.

TRACY:

Tim Kobza? Tim Kobza! Who's he? I've

never heard of him!

JIM:

Look, why don't we just forget about

Tammy? We'll have the assembly

tomorrow, everybody'll make their

speeches, and I'm sure everything will

be fine.

INT. MILLARD GYMNASIUM DAY

The entire student body is assembled on the bleachers. There is a

palpable mood of boredom and apathy.

JERRY SLAVIN, a handicapped kid in a wheelchair, is at the

microphone. His head lists to one side, and he takes long breaths as

he speaks.

JERRY:

I love Millard High, and I will be a

dedicated vice President. A vote for

Jerry Slavin is a vote for good

government. And even if I can't really

stand up for you, I will.

(cracks himself up)

Thank you.

Jerry motors away amid scattered applause and coughs. JIM steps

forward, clapping, and raises the mike.

JIM:

Thank you, Jerry, and good luck. Again,

Jerry is running unopposed for Vice

President. So we'll move on now to the

presidential race with three candidates

running. The first in alphabetical order

is Tracy Flick.

Tracy steps forward with a small stack of index cards. During her

speech she flips the cards over one by one but rarely looks at them.

TRACY:

Poet Henry David Thoreau once wrote, "I

cannot make my days longer, so I strive

to make them better." With this

election, we here at Millard also have

an opportunity to make our high school

days better. During this campaign I

have had the opportunity to speak with

many of you about your concerns. I

spoke with freshman Eliza Ramirez, who

told me how alienated she feels from her

own homeroom. I spoke with sophomore

Reggie Banks, who said his mother works

in a cafeteria and can't afford to buy

him enough spiral notebooks for his

classes. I won't bore you with long-

winded promises about all the new and

innovative things I will definitely

achieve during the year in which it will

be my honor and privilege to represent

each and every one of you, but I can say

that my years of experience on the

student council have taught me the three

most important attributes the president

needs to possess; commitment -

DOUG SCHENKEN:

Eat me

DOUG'S BUDDY

Eat me raw!

There is scattered laughter. Tracy pauses, wait Hendricks bounds up

and grabs the mike.

WALT:

If you can't be adults and give these

candidates the courtesy they deserve,

then you don't deserve to be called

adults but children* Because that's what

children are. And you'll be treated like

children. So let's all listen up.

Walt backs away to his seat. Tracy resumes

TRACY:

The three most important attributes the

president needs to possess are:

commitment, qualifications, and

experience. I'll add one more; caring.

I care about Millard, and I care about

each and every one of you, and together

we can all make a difference. One of

the things I would like to establish is

a regular open forum where any student

can come and voice their concern about

issues we face here at Millard. I and

the rest of the student council would

then interface with the faculty and

staff, so a continuous dialogue would

exist.

Walt whispers to Jim.

WALT:

I'd say she knows a thing or two about

student-faculty dialogue.

JIM nods solemnly

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