It's Kind of a Funny Story Page #10

Smitty hurries into the room with Solomon following after.

SMITTY:

Excuse me, Miss, you’re going to haveto leave now.

WOMAN:

Waste of my time.

The woman grabs the girl by the hand and leads her out.

SMITTY:

You okay, Bobby?

Bobby nods, forces a smile.

BOBBY:

Yeah... sorry about the noise, Sol.

As Bobby exits the room, Craig tries to avoid eye contact,

but Bobby puts on another smile.

BOBBY:

(to Craig)

My accountant... Check a wrong box andthe b*tch goes nuts.

Craig chuckles, awkward. As Bobby continues down the hall,

Craig approaches Johnny.

CRAIG:

What was that about?

JOHNNY:

His ex. They make each other a little

crazy. You know how it is with women.

CRAIG:

Yeah, sure... women.

INT. THREE NORTH TV ROOM - DAY

George and Lynn visit with Craig. Jimmy stares out thewindow in the background.

GEORGE:

I talked to the admissions guy at Gatesand he agreed to give you an extension.

LYNN:

But you should focus on getting well,

honey. Try not to stress about it.

Craig looks off.

GEORGE:

Um, yeah, that’s right. Don’t stress

about it.

CRAIG:

There’s a guy in here. Bobby. He’s

the one who borrowed your shirt. He

has an interview today. For a place tolive. He has a kid and if he doesn’t

get in, they could be homeless.

George and Lynn exchange uneasy looks.

CRAIG:

Makes the Gates application seem prettyinsignificant...

GEORGE:

Well, I’m sure you won’t be homeless ifyou don’t get in, but that doesn’t meanit’s not important.

LYNN:

George.

CRAIG:

Don’t you have a client in crisissomewhere?

Beat. George stares at Craig.

JIMMY:

It’ll come to ya!

LYNN:

Yes, it will. Thank you.

They all sit in tense silence.

INT. REC ROOM - DAY

CLOSE ON a piece of paper labelled “FRANKLIN GATES PERSONALESSAY.” It is blank, except for a series of impressivedoodles in the margins.

Craig scribbles on the sheet as he sits alone in the rec

room.

His attention drifts to the door when Bobby enters, wearingthe borrowed shirt on his head like a turban. He looks

totally dejected.

Craig watches as Bobby tumbles onto the couch and SCREAMSinto a pillow at full volume. He thrashes around on the

couch like a child having a temper tantrum.

After a few beats of this, Bobby rolls over onto his back,

makes eye contact with Craig. Hold, as Bobby’s breathingsteadies. Nobody moves.

BOBBY:

I blew it.

CRAIG:

What happened?

Once again, Bobby screams at full volume, but this time heisn’t muffled by the pillow. Craig looks on, perplexed.

Smitty and two MALE ATTENDANTS rush in, struggle to restrainBobby and usher him out of the room.

INT. DR. MINERVA’S OFFICE - DAY

Craig sits across from Dr. Minerva.

DR. MINERVA

How did it make you feel? Seeing Bobbylike that.

CRAIG:

I was scared... Not that he was goingto hurt me or anything. Just seeingsomeone lose it like that. It reminded

me of how I feel sometimes.

DR. MINERVA

How’s that?

CRAIG:

Like I’m on the verge of just blowing

up. All the stress, pressure, anxietybubbling up inside of me. But I’ve

never been able to, you know, let itout like that. I just keep it inside.

DR. MINERVA

Have you always felt that way?

CRAIG:

Well, not when I was a kid.

DR. MINERVA

Tell me about it.

CRAIG:

What do you mean?

DR. MINERVA

Tell me about being a kid-- about atime you remember just being happy...

Carefree.

Craig thinks back...

CRAIG:

There was one day back in eighthgrade...

EXT. CONEY ISLAND - WINTER FLASHBACK - DAY

Craig and Aaron, both a couple years younger, ride theirbikes along the deserted boardwalk, laughing, having a ball.

CRAIG (V.O.)

It wasn’t that long ago, but time feltdifferent back then, like there wasmore of it. We spent the morning atConey Island.

EXT. SANDY BEACH

Craig and Aaron run through a gaggle of seagulls, causingthem to take flight.

EXT. BOARDED-UP CARNIVAL GAMES

They race each other down the empty alleyways.

CRAIG (V.O.)

Afterwards, we rode our bikes throughBay Ridge....

A76

FLASH ON Craig and Aaron cruising by a Pizza joint A76

in Bay Ridge.

CRAIG (V.O.)

...Sunset Park...

B76

FLASH ON the duo eating tamales from a TAMALE VENDOR. B76

CRAIG (V.O.)

...Park Slope...

C76

FLASH ON them flying by a gang of YUPPY MOTHERS, C76

pushing strollers. One of the moms yells at them to slowdown.

CRAIG (V.O.)

...Downtown Brooklyn...

D76

FLASH ON Craig and Aaron buying a bootleg Lil Wayne CD D76

off a local STREET VENDOR.

CRAIG (V.O.)

...Brooklyn Heights...

E76

FLASH ON them rolling along the Brooklyn Heights E76

Promenade.

CRAIG (V.O.)

...all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

F76

FLASH ON the two of them rolling over the Brooklyn F76

Bridge.

They pull over to the edge, lean over, and simultaneouslyspit on the taxis below. They crack up like two kids withouta care in the world, until Aaron gets distracted by somethingover Craig’s shoulder.

CRAIG (V.O.)

Then everything changed.

Following Aaron’s gaze, Craig turns around, sees...

...a teenage girl eyeing Aaron from a few feet away. Aaron

smiles at her.

BACK TO DR. MINERVA’S OFFICE.

CRAIG:

Girls, grades, parents, two wars,

impending environmental catastrophe, a

f***ed up economy... all these things

seemed to come out of nowhere, like on

the same day.

Dr. Minerva smiles.

DR. MINERVA

Craig, there’s a saying that goes

something like, “Lord, grant me the

strength to change the things I can,

the courage to accept the things I

can’t, and the wisdom to know the

difference.”

CRAIG:

So...

DR. MINERVA

So, let’s talk about your parents.

CRAIG:

You think I can change my parents?

DR. MINERVA

No, but I’m a psychiatrist. I have to

ask you about them at some point.

Craig smiles.

CRAIG:

They’re good people. They do theirbest, but... Okay, take my dad. I justsaw him today. And, like, he knows I’min here cause I’m stressed out, but hestill brings up the Gates application.

It’s, like, get a clue, Dad. There’s

something bigger going on here.

DR. MINERVA

And what’s that?

Craig thinks for a beat.

CRAIG:

I’m not sure yet. But it feels big.

INT. THREE NORTH - NORTH CORRIDOR COMMUNITY PHONE -NIGHT

A78

Craig listens to his voice messages. First up, A78

SPLIT-SCREEN of Nia, again in the tub.

NIA:

Hey, Craig, I’m sorry Aaron was beingsuch a dick. He’s so arrogant andinsensitive. We might totally break upover this. Call me. Bye.

B78

Craig hits a button, and his goggled science teacher, B78

Mr. Reynolds, replaces Nia. He’s dissecting a cow heart.

MR. REYNOLDS

Hey there, Mr. Gilner. Look, buddy, Iheard about what’s going on, you know,

where you are... and I want you to knowwe can postpone the labs until wheneveryou feel ready. Just hang in there.

C78

Craig hits a button, and Aaron replaces Mr. Reynolds. C78

He talks on the phone as a harem of HOT GIRLS look throughhis massive record collection in the background.

AARON:

Hey Craig... Hope you’re not still mad

about yesterday. It’s been a rough day

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