The Fault in Our Stars Page #25

HAZEL:

Gus, what the -- why are you here?

Why aren't you home?

Gus throws up. He doesn't even have the energy to turn his

mouth away from his lap.

HAZEL:

Oh, sweetie...

GUS:

I wanted to buy some cigarettes. I

lost my pack. Or they took it.

(MORE)

95.

GUS (CONT'D)

I don't know. They said they'd get

me another one but I wanted... to

do it myself. Do one little thing

myself.

Hazel doesn't know what to do.

HAZEL:

I can't fix this. I have to call

someone. I'm sorry.

GUS:

No, Hazel, please!

But she must. She gets out her cell phone and dials. At which

point, Gus really loses it, weeping like the poisoned, dying

teenage boy that he is. As Hazel dials, we hear:

HAZEL (V.O.)

I wish I could say Augustus Waters

kept his sense of humor till the

end, did not for a moment waiver in

his courage and his spirit soared

like an eagle to the sky...

GUS:

(to himself, shaking)

I hate myself I hate myself I hate

this I hate this...

HAZEL (V.O.)

...but that is not what happened.

LATER. An EMT loads Gus into the back of an AMBULANCE. Hazel

is allowed to ride with him in the back. As the car starts

moving, Gus grabs her hand.

GUS:

Read me something.

HAZEL:

Read you something?

GUS:

Do you know any poems?

HAZEL:

I know one.

GUS:

Read it to me.

HAZEL:

"The Red Wheelbarrow" by William

Carlos Williams.

(beat, tries to remember)

"So much depends / upon / a red

wheel / barrow / glazed with rain /

water / beside the white /

chickens."

96.

GUS:

(BEAT)

Is that it?

That is it. But there's another ten minutes of driving to do.

Hazel thinks fast.

HAZEL:

No of course not. Um... what

else...

(THINKS)

so much depends/ upon a blue sky/

cut open by the branches/ of the

trees./ So much depends/ on the

transparent G-tube/ erupting from

the belly/ of the blue-lipped boy.

Gus smiles, weakly, barely conscious. Hazel cradles his head

in her arms. And continues...

HAZEL:

So much depends upon this observer/

of the universe...

As Gus is drifting off to sleep, WE HEAR:

HAZEL (V.O.)

One of the less bull-shitty

conventions of the cancer genre is

the convention known as the "Last

Good Day..."

EXT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY

Gus comes home from the hospital. He does not look good - but

he lives. Hazel is there to help get him inside.

INT GUS'S HOUSE - ANOTHER DAY

Gus no longer sleeps in his basement. Nor does he sleep in

his own bed. He sleeps in a HOSPITAL BED set up in a guest

room. Hazel is with him. They're watching sports on TV.

HAZEL (V.O.)

This is where the victim of cancer

finds himself unexpectedly with

some hours...

EXT GUS'S BACKYARD PORCH - ANOTHER DAY

Hazel and Gus getting some fresh air. She sits there reading

a book. Gus just sits there. His eyes staring off into

nothing. Hazel waves to him. Gus looks over, as if waking

from a dream. She manages a smile. He manages one back.

97.

HAZEL (V.O.)

... when it seems like the

inexorable decline has suddenly

plateaued, when the pain is for a

minute bearable.

INT HAZEL'S DINING ROOM - ANOTHER DAY

Hazel sits at dinner with her parents. She is barely touching

her food.

HAZEL (V.O.)

The problem, of course, is that

there's no way of knowing that your

last good day is your "Last Good

Day." At the time, it's just

another decent day.

The phone buzzes and Hazel answers it.

HAZEL:

Hi, Augustus.

GUS (O.S.)

Good evening, Hazel Grace.

His voice is strong today, and Hazel is happy to hear it.

GUS (O.S.)

Quick question for you. Did you

ever write that eulogy I asked you

to prepare?

HAZEL:

I may have...

GUS:

Excellent. Do you think you could

find yourself at the Literal Heart

of Jesus in 20 minutes.

HAZEL:

Um... sure. Is everything --

GUS (O.S.)

I love you Hazel.

The call ends. Hazel, confused, stands to go.

HAZEL:

I gotta go.

FRANNIE:

Finish eating first.

HAZEL:

I can't, I have to meet Gus.

98.

FRANNIE:

You haven't eaten a thing.

HAZEL:

I'm not hungry.

FRANNIE:

You can't not eat, Hazel.

HAZEL:

I am aggressively unhungry, ok?

MICHAEL:

HAZEL --

HAZEL:

I have to go.

FRANNIE:

Sit down.

HAZEL:

No!

MICHAEL:

Hazel, listen to your mother.

Hazel tries to push past her but Frannie grabs her shoulders.

FRANNIE:

You have to eat, Hazel. You're not

gonna starve yourself to death just

because Gus is sick. You have to

stay healthy --

HAZEL:

I can't! I can't stay healthy

because I'm not healthy, Mom. I am

dying. I am going to die and leave

you here alone and you won't have

me to hover around and you won't be

a mother anymore, and I'm sorry,

but I can't do anything about it,

ok?! Just leave me alone!

Upon seeing her mother's face change, Hazel immediately

regrets this.

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