The Butterfly Effect Page #6

EVAN:

Welcome home, Lenny!

Inside the car, Lenny jerks back in horror. Mrs. Kagan looks angry as she rolls the window down.

MRS. KAGAN

I think your little homecoming's in bad taste.

The smile fades from Evan's face. Kayleigh hangs back.

EVAN:

Sorry?

MRS. KAGAN

(acidic)

Lenny's been through a hell of an ordeal no thanks to you.

Evan and Kayleigh look guilty as the garage door opens up and Mrs. Kagan continues into the garage.

INT. LENNY'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Alone, Lenny concentrates on a MODEL AIRPLANE. There is a sudden KNOCK at the window. Lenny's head jerks around to see Evan and Kayleigh smiling through the window.

EXT. LENNY'S WINDOW - CONTINUOUS

Evan and Kayleigh stand on the ivy-covered trellis.

EVAN:

(quietly)

Welcome home. Thought you might like some fresh air for a change.

KAYLEIGH:

Hi, Lenny.

Lenny twitches ever-so-slightly.

LENNY:

Is Tommy with you guys?

Evan shakes his head "no".

EVAN:

It's cool.

Lenny looks back at the model airplane. Needs to think.

EXT. JUNKYARD WOODS - DAY

Evan, Lenny and Kayleigh pass a junk pile in the woods.

KAYLEIGH:

(to Lenny)

So what did you do in there?

LENNY:

It was awful. You can't sleep 'cause everyone's screaming all night long. I never want to go back.

As Evan and Kayleigh absorb this in silence, they see a column of smoke billowing in the horizon.

KAYLEIGH:

Do you see that?

Evan and Kayleigh run toward the smoke. Lenny nervously follows behind.

They exit the woods to find:

EXT. JUNKYARD - CONTINUOUS

Tommy has stuffed a dog into a gunny sack which he douses with lighter fluid. Next to a campfire.

EVAN:

Crockett!!

Evan and Kayleigh rush toward the trapped, helpless dog. Tommy is ready for them. He drops the lighter fluid, picks up a wooden plank and SWINGS! Evan ducks back at the last minute and Tommy accidentally connects with Kayleigh's head. Knocking her unconscious.

TOMMY:

Look what you made me do!

EVAN:

What's wrong with you?!

Tommy, enraged, fakes a high swing, then goes for Evan's knee cap. BASH! Evan doubles over in pain and falls to the ground, clutching his knee.

Tommy moves to the fire, Crockett squirming inside the bag and picks up the lighter fluid.

Evan painfully looks up from the ground and his eyes dart from the sight of Kayleigh, unconscious, to Crockett, trapped in the tied gunny sack.

EVAN:

Kayleigh! Wake up!

No response.

TOMMY:

Why don't you f***ing kiss her, Prince Charming!

Tommy squeezes the bottle hard, creating a flaming fuse from the campfire to the fluid soaked dog.

As the flames near Crockett, Evan, seething with rage, stands up with clenched fists and CHARGES Tommy at FULL SPEED --

SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. JUNKYARD - DAY

Evan comes to in an unfamiliar place. Still in running mode. His body contorts spastically like a fish on land, since he is now lying face down on the ground.

Evan regains himself and sits up painfully. His face is badly bruised and he clutches his battered ribs.

EVAN:

How long was I out?

He gets no answer from Lenny, who stands in the exact same spot. Tommy is nowhere in sight and the sound is of Kayleigh weeping. Evan spins to face her.

EVAN:

Kayleigh?! Are you okay? Where's Crockett?

Kayleigh, her knees drawn tightly to her chest, is unable to answer through her tears. Evan struggles to rise but he becomes dizzy and falls back to the ground.

Evan takes a quick glance toward the gunny sack, smouldering then moans and buries his head in his hands.

EXT. LENNY'S HOUSE - DAY

A small neighborhood CROWD has gathered to watch an ambulance with the SUNNYVALE insignia take an entranced Lenny away. Mrs. Kagan is about to climb in the rear when she stops and turns to Evan.

MRS. KAGAN

(ice cold)

Do you know what you are? A monster.

Evan stands there, speechless.

EXT. ANDREA'S HOUSE - DAY

A packed U-HAUL sits in front of Evan's house. Andrea shifts the small truck into gear and slowly pulls out.

Outside the truck, Kayleigh waves to Evan, tears spilling shamelessly down her cheeks. Evan reaches behind his seat and opens a large cardboard box. It is filled with past journals. He finds the most recent journal, uncaps a pen and writes something.

Finished he presses the journal to the window.

EVAN'S DIARY

I'll come back for you.

Evan waves back to her, trying nonchalantly to wipe away his own tears as she fades into the distance.

When Kayleigh disappears from sight, Andrea looks over to see what he's written.

ANDREA:

I'm sorry.

Evan returns the journal and begins writing furiously.

SLOW DISSOLVE TO:

INT. COLLEGE CLASSROOM - DAY - 2002

TITLE:
SEVEN YEARS LATER

Evan, twenty now, continues writing in a college Blue Book. He is older, dressed down in worn jeans, T-shirt and plaid flannel. He closes the Blue Book with a cocky grin just as PROFESSOR CARTER, 40, calls out to the class:

PROFESSOR CARTER

Time! Please place your blue books on my desk before you leave.

Evan grabs his psychology textbook from under his seat, gets up and turns in his exam.

PROFESSOR CARTER

How'd you do, Evan?

Evan flashes a confident smile.

EVAN:

I'm not sure. I might have gotten some stories mixed up. Did Pavlof condition his dogs to lick his nuts?

PROFESSOR CARTER

(laughing)

Typical psych major. A complete wise ass. And how's your project coming? Still planning to change the way we humble scientists view memory assimilation?

EVAN:

(shrugging)

Hey, I got no choice.

Professor Carter nods solemnly, obviously in the know.

EXT. COLLEGE - QUAD - DAY

Evan bikes past students.

EXT. COLLEGE - FRAT HOUSE - DAY

Evan bikes past some obnoxious GREEKS.

EXT. COLLEGE - EVAN'S DORM - DAY

Evan docks his bike and carries his knapsack inside.

INT. EVAN'S DORM - MOMENTS LATER

Evan's dorm is cluttered "double" whose walls are adorned with head-shop posters of Gothic rock bands.

By Evan's bed is a bookshelf filled with books on amnesia, memory loss, fugues, hypnotism and other related bands.

Evan's roommate, THUMPER, 19, is a completely punked out Gothic boy who weighs 300 pounds. He currently hands a black lacy dress to CRICKET, 17, a pierced Goth co- ed. She slips the tattered dress on as Thumper wipes his post-coital self off with a black tee-shirt.

Evan barges through the door, throwing his pscyh books on the bed and politely looking away from the half-naked girl.

EVAN:

Whoa. Smells like patchouli and...ass.

Evan opens the window and checks out his Pscyh project: a small maze has several flatworms at one end and a bowl of cornflakes at the other.

THUMPER:

Cricket, meet my well-mannered roommate, Evan.

Cricket puts on her Doc Martens as Evan watches the worms.

CRICKET:

Yeah, you're the one who f***ed up the bell-curve on my Anthropology final. Later, Thumper.

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