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ALL SCRIPTS






                        BOYHOOD




                       Written by

                   Richard Linklater




EXT.   OUTSIDE SCHOOL - DAY

MASON waits outside his elementary school, laying in the
grass staring up at the clouds. In the distance, the school
door opens and Mason's MOM, Olivia, walks toward him.

                         MOM
             Hey, love bug. You ready?

He is quickly on his feet and they are walking toward the
car.

                            MASON
             Yeah.     Hey, guess what, Mom?

                            MOM
             What?

                         MASON
             I figured out where wasps come from.

                           MOM
             Oh, yeah?    Where?

                         MASON
             Well, I think it must be if you flick
             a rock into the air just right, it'll
             turn into a wasp.

                            MOM
             Dang...

                            MASON
             Yep.

                            MOM
             That's cool.

INT. CAR - DAY

Driving...

                         MOM
             So how was your day at school?

                            MASON
             Fine.

                         MOM
             Hey, I had a good meeting with Miss
             Butler this time. I kinda liked
             her.

                         MASON
             What did she say?
                                                            2.

                      MOM
          Well... she said that you weren't
          turning in your homework assignments.
          And I told her, "I know he does them,
          'cause I check them every night."
          She said she found a big chunk of
          them crumpled up at the bottom of
          your backpack.

                      MASON
          She didn't ask for 'em.

                      MOM
          Well, baby, she doesn't have to.
          You're supposed to turn them in.
          And she said you're still staring
          out the window all day.

                         MASON
          Not all day.

                      MOM
          And she said that you destroyed her
          pencil sharpener.

                      MASON
          Not on purpose.

                      MOM
          Wait, she said that you crammed a
          bunch of rocks in it.

                      MASON
          I thought if it could sharpen pencils,
          maybe we could sharpen rocks.

                      MOM
              (stifling laugh)
          Well, what were you gonna do with a
          bunch of sharpened rocks?

                      MASON
          I was trying to make arrowheads for
          my rock collection.

                         MOM
          Hm.

She glances back at him, with an understanding sigh.

EXT. HOUSE/DITCH - DAY

Mason rides his bike across the front yard and heads down
the street. Soon he and his friend TOMMY are riding down
the embankment of a large drainage ditch.
                                                                3.

EXT. DITCH - DAY

Mason runs up, as Tommy is spray-painting a drawing on the
concrete wall of the drainage ditch.

                      MASON
          Dude, when's my turn?

                      TOMMY
          I don't know.

Tommy hands Mason the can of spray paint.     Mason begins to
spray-paint a letter on the wall.

                      SAMANTHA (O.S.)
              (calling out)
          ...Maaason.

                          TOMMY
          Samantha!

                          SAMANTHA
          Oh!    Tommy!    Is Mason down there?

                          TOMMY
          Yeah.

                      SAMANTHA
          Well, tell him he has to come home
          for dinner.

                          TOMMY   (O.S.)
          Okay.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Mason lays on the floor watching a cartoon.

There's a knock at the door, and Mom comes out to answer it.
It's TED.

                          MOM
          Hey.

                      TED
          Hey, sweetie. Why aren't you ready?
          Hey, Mason.

                          MASON
          Hey, Ted.

                      TED
          Come on, come on, hurry up.      Let's
          go.
                                                           4.

                      MOM
          What time is it?

                         TED
          It's nine.     Let's go, let's go.

                      MOM
          Okay, I meant to call you, 'cause
          Janice flaked out. I don't have a
          sitter.

                      TED
          Why didn't you call somebody else?

                      MOM
          Well, I can't get a baby-sitter now,
          it's nine o'clock. But you're welcome
          to hang out with us.

                      TED
          Well, no. I mean we have plans.
          The guys are expecting me.

                      MOM
          Well... you can go.

                      TED (O.S.)
          All right. Yeah, well, I'll come
          back in a couple of hours. Is that
          okay?

                         MOM
          Yeah.   Yes.

                         TED
          All right.

                         MOM
          It's okay.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

The kids lie on either side of Mom, as she reads a story
aloud to them.

                      MOM
              (Reading)
          "Turn back! Turn back! I don't wanna
          talk to Moaning Myrtle." "Who?"
          said Harry as they backtracked
          quickly. "She haunts one of the
          toilets in the girls bathroom on the
          first floor," said Hermione.
          "She haunts a toilet?"
                      (MORE)
                                                             5.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          "Yes, it's been out of order all year
          because she keeps having tantrums
          and flooding the place."
          "I never went in there anyway if I
          could avoid it. It's awful trying
          to have a pee with her wailing at
          you."

INT. BEDROOM - LATER

Mason lies awake in bed listening to his mother argue with
Ted.

                      TED (O.S.)
          Why can't you just say that?

                       MOM (O.S.)
          I'm sorry.   I don't want to go with
          you.

                      TED (O.S.)
          You're sorry, that's bullshit!

                      MOM (O.S.)
          That's right, I wanna stay here with
          my kids. That's what I'd rather do.

                      TED (O.S.)
          All right. Would you stop using
          your kids as an excuse?!

                      MOM (O.S.)
          I'm not using my kids as an excuse!
          You don't even know--

                      TED (O.S.)
          I know you have to stay here with
          your kids! You're acting--

                      MOM (O.S.)
          You have this immature life--

                      TED (O.S.)
          And why do I always-- Why--

                      MOM (O.S.)
          You have no responsibility.

                      TED (O.S.)
          I have an immature life!   I have an
          immature life?
                                                         6.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          And I have responsibilities, okay,
          you don't know what it's like to be
          a parent.

                      TED (O.S.)
          No, I don't! And why am I responsible
          for your mistakes in life?

                       MOM  (O.S.)
          If you had any idea. You don't think
          I wouldn't--

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Mason peeks around the corner to watch as the argument
continues.

                      MOM
          Don't call my kids mistakes!   Don't!

                      TED
          I'm not responsible for your life
          choic-- I didn't call your kids--

                      MOM
          You said, "Your respons-- your
          mistakes in your life," pointing at
          my kids.

                      TED
          I know what I said, you know what,
          and immediately you use your kids
          again.

Mason peeks through the doorway.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          This is the reality: I'm a parent!

                      TED (O.S.)
          That's, that's hysterical.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          That means responsibility.

                      TED (O.S.)
          I know you're a parent.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          I would love to have some time to
          myself! I would love to just go to
          a fuckin' movie! You don't think
          I'd like that?
                      (MORE)
                                                           7.

                      MOM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          Go have some dinner, go to a bar! I
          don't even know what that's like. I
          was someone's daughter, then I was
          somebody's fucking mother! Okay, I
          don't know what that's like.

INT. KID'S BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING

Mason is comfortably asleep. Samantha slowly pulls the pillow
out from underneath his head and smacks him with it.

                      SAMANTHA
              (singing)
          "Oops, I did it again... I played
          with your heart. Got lost in the
          game. Oh baby, baby..."

Mason throws a stuffed animal at her that she deflects.

                      SAMANTHA (CONT'D)
          "Oops, you think I'm in love. I'm
          sent from above. I'm not that
          innocent."

Another stuffed animal.    She continues to sing.

                      MASON (O.S.)
          Stop! Quit it!

                      SAMANTHA
          "You see my problem is this. I'm
          dreaming away. Wishing that heroes
          truly exist. I cry watching the day.
          Can't you see I'm a fool in so many
          ways..."

                         MASON
          Quit!   Mom!

                      SAMANTHA
          "But to lose all my senses-- that
          is..."

He tries to drown out this last bit with a sustained scream.
Soon the door flies open and Mom enters, angry.

                      MOM
          What the hell is going on in here?!

Samantha has instantaneously shifted from singing to crying.

                      MOM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          Do you guys know what time it is?
                                                                   8.

                      SAMANTHA
              (through tears/sobs)
          He's throwing things at me...

                     MOM
          Mason! Do not throw things at your
          sister!

                      MASON
          She's faking, she hit me first!!

                       MOM
          Listen, both of you! I am going
          back to bed. I don't wanna hear
          another peep out of here for an hour.
          Go to sleep.

Mom slams the door behind her.        Samantha is suddenly fine,
almost cheerful.

                      MASON
              (to Samantha)
          Faker!

                            MOM   (O.S.)
          Hey!

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

Mason swings on a large outdoor swing, while Tommy sits
thumbing through a catalog. Immediately after, we see Mason
and Tommy looking through the lingerie section of the catalog
together.

                            MASON
                 (laughs)
          Ohh!

                      TOMMY
              (pointing, giggling)
          Look what I found in the street!

                            MASON
          Dude!

                      TOMMY
          I know, right?
              (turns page)
          Look at those.

                      MASON
          Hm, look at those!
                                                           9.

                      BOYS
              (giggling)
          Ohh!!

EXT. BACKYARD - DAY

Moments later we see Mason having an introspective moment as
he gazes upon a deceased bird's carcass in the dirt.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

Mom, Samantha, and Mason eat lunch.

                      MOM
          So listen, guys, I wanna talk to you
          about something, and you might not
          like this idea at first but... we're
          moving to Houston.

                         MASON
          When?

                      MOM
          Well, soon. We should be out by the
          first, so we don't have to pay two
          rents next month.

                      SAMANTHA
          No, Mother, we're not moving. Nope,
          nope, sorry Mom. Nope. Nope.

Smack, smack, smack...

                      MOM
          Samantha, I have to go back to college
          so I can make us a better living.

Smack.

                      MOM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          With this job I can't take care of
          us the way I'd like to. I can't
          keep going this way. And Grandma
          said she'd help us out... and it
          would be nice to be near her.

                       SAMANTHA
          Fine, Mother. You can do whatever
          you want but
              (shrugs)
          We're not moving.
              (Smacks)

Mason moves his fork around in his bowl.
                                                       10.

                       MASON
           What about our friends?

                       MOM
           Oh, baby, we can e-mail them or write.
           We can come back to visit. And guess
           what?

She reaches out to touch Samantha's arm.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           This place that Grandma found us,
           you'll each have your own room.
           Right?

Samantha shrugs.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           And there's a pool.

Samantha shrugs again, clearly not sold on the idea.

INT.   BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mason and Mom are lying on his bed together.

                       MASON
           Mom, do you still love Dad?

                       MOM
           I still love your father... but that
           doesn't mean it was healthy for us
           to stay together.

                       MASON
           What if after we move he's trying to
           find us and he can't?

                       MOM
           Oh, that won't be a problem. He can
           call Grandma and she'll tell him or
           he can call Information. We won't
           be hard to find.

She pushes back his hair lovingly.

                       MASON
           Is he still in Alaska?

                       MOM
           Well, that's what your uncle says.

                       MASON
           Probably taming polar bears or
           something.
                                                            11.

                      MOM
          Yeah... well, I hope they're taming
          him.

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

The moving van drives off as mom puts another item in the
pile of stuff to be left at the curb.

INT. HOUSE - DAY

Mom and Mason are getting ready to paint in the empty bedroom.
They're looking at the two lone murals, which look a little
odd without the bunk bed in front of them.

                      MOM
          Here, wanna help me out?

                         MASON
          Sure.

                      MOM
          Okay. Take this paint... very
          carefully... and paint any little
          smudge or mark or anything on the
          baseboard there, behind the door,
          and all around the doorways on the
          inside.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Meanwhile, Samantha is talking on the phone.

                      SAMANTHA
              (on phone)
          She says we're gonna come visit and
          I'm gonna write and call you. Oh,
          wait, hold on a second. I'm getting
          another call.
              (Pushes Flash)
          Hello? Sorry, Tommy, Mason can't
          come over today. We're moving. And
          I'm on the other line. Bye.
              (Pushes Button)
          Althea? I'm gonna be sending Sailor
          Scout instructions. Email, and write
          back telling me how the other scouts
          are doing. Well, because you're the
          leader now.

During the last bit of this conversation, Mason slowly paints
over the "growth chart" lines on the bedroom door jamb.
                                                              12.

EXT. OUTSIDE FRONT DOOR - DAY

Carrying their final belongings from inside the house, they
slowly exit the front door and head over to the car.

                      MOM
          Okay, let's go, 'cause I wanna get
          there before it gets dark.

                      SAMANTHA
          Goodbye yard, goodbye crepe myrtle,
          goodbye mailbox. Goodbye box of
          stuff Mommy won't let us take with
          us but we don't wanna throw away.
          Goodbye house, I'll never like mommy
          as much for making us move.

                      MOM
          Samantha! Why don't you say goodbye
          to that little horse shit attitude?
          Okay? 'Cause we're not taking that
          in the car.

Just before he gets in the car, Mason is looking out at the
neighborhood.

                      MASON
          Goodbye old lady who listens to rock
          music and rides a motorcycle.

Soon the car is pulling away. As they drive off, Mason
notices out his side of the car, Tommy approaching on a bike
in the distance, gesturing toward the car. Mason watches
him out the window, but says nothing as Tommy recedes into
the distance.

INT. CAR - DAY

Mason and Samantha are restless     and energetic, letting their
childish energy get the best of     them as they wrestle, hit,
and squeal at each other in the     back seat of the car. It is
all well-intentioned though, as     the two share a laugh after
Mom tells them to quiet down.

                       SAMANTHA
          Eeeee!   Don't!

                     MOM
          Hey! Hey, what's happening back
          there? Stop, put the barrier up.

                         SAMANTHA
          Ahh!   Stop!    No!
                                                            13.

Mason punches the pillow barrier between himself and Samantha,
while his Mom speaks.

                      MOM
          Hey, put the pillow between you.
          Make a barrier, come on. Stop.
          We're gonna play a game called The
          Game of Silence. Whoever can stay
          quiet for the longest period of time
          wins. You guys think you can do
          that? Okay, go!

The family's car moves on toward the Houston skyline just as
dusk arrives.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

Mason appears grumpy, trying to shove what he needs for the
day into his backpack quickly.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          The bus'll be here in ten minutes.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
              (steps into doorway)
          Put that homework in your backpack!

                        MOM (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          Go eat!    Baby, go eat!

                        MASON
          I am!

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

Samantha places pancakes on their plates while talking to
Mason in a cryptic language, reminiscent of pig latin.

                      SAMANTHA
          ...I affatay servay yoohay.

                      MASON
          Speak English! Shut up. Mom! She's
          speaking that stupid language again!

                        MOM
          Samantha!

                      SAMANTHA
          I was speaking perfectly clear
          English, Mother. You know, he's a
          little slow in the head. He did
          officially flunk first grade.
                                                          14.

                       MOM
           Sit your butt down.

                       SAMANTHA
           Yes sir, Mother sir!

She salutes.

                       MOM
           All right, listen up guys. Grandma's
           gonna pick you up after school.
           Your dad is in town for the day so
           you're gonna spend the afternoon
           with him.

                          SAMANTHA
           Hmm.

                       MASON
           Is he moving back?

                       MOM
           I don't know.

                       SAMANTHA
           We haven't seen him in about eighty
           years.

                       MOM
           Like... a year and a half.

                       MASON
               (points to Samantha)
           Ha-ha.

                          SAMANTHA
           Oh please...

                       MOM
           Can we please eat, here? The bus is
           coming. Who wants syrup?

INT.   CLASSROOM - DAY

Mason plays Oregon Trail on a classroom computer, while his
TEACHER speaks in the background.

                       TEACHER (O.S.)
           All right, nice cursive. Okay, Mason,
           when I check the mobiles, am I gonna
           find yours?

                          MASON
           No.
                                                             15.

                          TEACHER
           And why not?

                       MASON
           'Cause I didn't finish it.

                       TEACHER
           Well, it's time to finish it.

                       MASON
           Just a minute.

                       TEACHER
           No, let's do Apple Quit.

Mason cuts a sheet of construction paper in the shape of the
state of Texas, presumably to finish his mobile. He sits
across from a female classmate, GIRL IN RED, who teases him.

                       GIRL IN RED
           Time to finish your work, Mason.
           "Apple Quit."

INT.   GRANDMA'S HOUSE - LATER

Samantha sits with her GRANDMA, Catherine, showing off her
good grades on various school reports. Mason sits in his
own chair, playing with a Gameboy.

                       SAMANTHA (O.S.)
           So this is my history test...

                        GRANDMA (O.S.)
           Mm-hm.   A+, very good.

                       SAMANTHA (O.S.)
           And that's another history test.

                       GRANDMA (O.S.)
           Mm-hm, and another A.

                       SAMANTHA
           Yeah, well, it doesn't have a plus
           but... oh well.

                          GRANDMA
           Oh.

Grandma strokes Samantha's hair proudly.

                       SAMANTHA
           And then um, that's my report on
           lizards...
                                                               16.

                       GRANDMA
           Oh, let me see your pictures.

                        SAMANTHA
           And then, um... Oh yeah, these are
           my pictures.

                       GRANDMA
           What is that?

                       SAMANTHA
           Well, that's called a dewlap.

                       GRANDMA
           A dewlap, okay.

                       SAMANTHA
           Oh yeah, this is a math test.

                       GRANDMA
           Oh, "A" again.

Mason reaches into candy dish on the table.

                       GRANDMA (CONT'D)
           Mase, that's the last candy, okay?

                           MASON
           Okay.

                         GRANDMA (O.S.)
           Okay.    We need to put this stuff up.

EXT.   STREET/FRONT PORCH - DAY

A Pontiac GTO pulls up outside.

                           GRANDMA    (O.S.)
           That's him.

DAD gets out of the car and hurries to the door.    Samantha
squeals, as she runs out to greet him.

                           SAMANTHA
           Daddy!    Hi!

                         DAD
           Oh my!    Look at you, you're so big!

He hugs them both.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Hey, MJ! What's happening, buddy?
           Are you guys ready to have some fun?
                                                   17.

                        MASON AND SAMANTHA
          Yeah!!

                     DAD
          Yeah! Alright.     Hey, Catherine, how
          are you?

                        GRANDMA
          Mase.    I'm good.

                      DAD
          Good to see you.

                        GRANDMA    (O.S.)
          Yeah.

                      DAD
          What time should I have these rascals
          back?

                      GRANDMA (O.S.)
          Oh, I don't know, around 7:30, I
          guess. I gotta get 'em home by 8:00.

                      DAD
          Aw, you know what, why don't I take
          them over to their mom's?

A moment of tension passes between them.

                      GRANDMA
          No, that's okay. She's expecting
          me.

                      DAD
          Oh no, that's alright. You guys
          know where it is, don't you?

                        SAMANTHA
          Mm.   Yeah.

                      DAD
          All right, I'll do it.     It's no
          problem.

                      GRANDMA
          I don't think that's such a good
          idea.

                      DAD
          Look, it's no problem.     Alright?

                      GRANDMA
              (rolls her eyes)
          Okay...
                                                18.

            DAD
You guys ready to go?

                 MASON AND SAMANTHA
Yeah!

            DAD
Let's do it, go!

            GRANDMA (O.S.)
Whoa. Wait a minute, you gotta get
your stuff.

                 SAMANTHA
Oh yeah.

            GRANDMA
You got backpacks, your purse.
Homework. Go to the bathroom.

            DAD
Can't believe how big they are.

              GRANDMA
Yeah.    Time is goin' by.

            DAD
Mm. Must be nice for you, having
'em here in Houston.

            GRANDMA
I love it, yeah. I'm volunteering
at their school.

             DAD
Oh yeah?   What you doin' over there?

            GRANDMA
I'm in the library.         You know, reading
to the little ones.

                 DAD
Huh.    Great.

            GRANDMA
So -- Alaska, huh?

                 DAD
Yeah.

            GRANDMA
Are you back?

             DAD
We'll see.   How's Liv?
                                      19.

            GRANDMA
She's a busy girl. Yeah. She's
back in school. But she's working,
and single parenting... a lot to
juggle.

            DAD
You guys got everything, huh?

               MASON AND SAMANTHA
Yeah.

             DAD
Alright, say goodbye to your
grandmother.

               MASON (O.S.)
Bye!

               SAMANTHA   (O.S.)
Bye grandma!

            DAD
Alright, let's roll. Now wait a
second. You're not the type of kids
who like presents, are ya?

               SAMANTHA
Yes!

            DAD
Naw, you don't --

               MASON
Yeah!

            SAMANTHA
'Course we are!

             DAD
Really?   Let's do it!

               MASON AND SAMANTHA
Yeah!   Yay!

            MASON
I call front seat!

            SAMANTHA
I wanted the front seat, though.

            DAD
Alright. Well, Mason gets it on the
way there and Samantha gets it on
the way back, huh? Hop in there.
                                                            20.

                          GRANDMA     (O.S.)
           Seat belts!

                          DAD
           Seat belts.     Alright.

He motions to Grandma that he's got it covered.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Seat belts. Not like this car has
           any seat belts.

INT.   BOWLING ALLEY - LATER

Samantha is bowling, her pink ball hurdling down the lane
toward the pins.

                        DAD (O.S.)
           Nice...   Nice... Nice...

Strike!

                          SAMANTHA
           Yay!

                         DAD
           Yeah!    Alright!

Dad is clearly impressed and excited for Samantha, as he
stands to embrace her.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Come here, come here, yes! That was
           awesome! Get up there Mason, get up
           there!

                          SAMANTHA
           Daddy!

                       DAD
               (to Samantha)
           It was so good!
               (to Mason)
           Come on. Let 'em know who you are,
           buddy. Let 'em know who you are.

Dad kisses Samantha.      Mason throws his bowling ball.

                          DAD (CONT'D)
           Yes!    Yes!   Yes! Alright, alright...

Gutter ball.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Don't worry about it.
                                                          21.

                      MASON
          Wish we could use the bumpers.

                      DAD
          Bumpers are for kids. You know,
          what're you, two years old? You
          don't want the bumpers. Life doesn't
          give you bumpers.

Mason tosses the ball again.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          There we, there we go, there we go!
          We got something there! We got
          something! We got something! Ooooh!

Another gutter ball.

                      MASON
          Last time I went bowling we had
          bumpers and it was a lot more fun!

Dad gets up to bowl.

                      DAD
          You don't want the bumpers, alright?
          You bowl a strike with the bumpers
          and it doesn't mean anything. Trust
          me. Just lay it out on the lane.
          One, two, three and...

Samantha mimes smoking, points to Dad, as if to say that he
smells of cigarettes. It's Dad's turn to bowl.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Ka-blam! Let's hear it for the
          father! Whoo!
              (To Samantha)
          Get up there, get in there...

                       SAMANTHA
          Yay!   Great job!

                      DAD
          Get out there, girl, get out there!

Score-keeping screen flashes an animated alligator that reads:
STRIKE

EXT. Street as car burns (on TV screen)

                      TV NEWSMAN (V.O.)
          Four Blackwater operatives have been
          viciously attacked in their cars in
                      (MORE)
                                                          22.

                      TV NEWSMAN (V.O.) (CONT'D)
          Fallujah. The bodies and cars were
          set on fire, after insurgents started
          shooting, killing American citizens.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Look at this. It's a disaster.

                      TV NEWSMAN (V.O.)
          But the ambush didn't end there.
          The bodies of the four men were
          savagely ripped apart...

INT. BOWLING ALLEY CAFE - EVENING

The family sits around a table enjoying their snacks, while
Dad smokes a cigarette.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Alright, let me tell you what's
          happening in Iraq, alright? Exactly
          what every thinking person in the
          world knew was gonna happen before
          they got started. Bush and his little
          numb-nut fanatics he's got around
          him, they don't give a rat's ass.

                      SAMANTHA
          That's a quarter.

                      DAD
          What's a quarter?

                      SAMANTHA
          You said a-s-s.

                       DAD
          Oh, sorry.   My bad.

                      SAMANTHA
          And my teacher says it's a good war,
          because it's better to be safe than
          sorry.

                      DAD
          That's what they're teaching you in
          school? Alright, listen to me.
          Listen to your father, okay? That
          is the lie. That's the big lie.
          Iraq had nothing to do with what
          happened at the World Trade Center.
          You know that, right?

                       SAMANTHA
          I guess.
                                        23.

            DAD
Alright. Who are you gonna vote for
next fall, MJ?

            MASON
I don't know.

            SAMANTHA
He can't vote. He's not eighteen.

            DAD
Yeah, oh -- alright, who would you
vote for?

            MASON
Kerry?

            DAD
Anybody but Bush!   Okay?

            SAMANTHA
Are you gonna move back?

            DAD
Uh... I'm plannin' on it.   You know,
I gotta find a job.

            MASON
Are you and mom gonna get back
together?

            DAD
I don't know. That's not, uh...
entirely up to me, you know?

            SAMANTHA
I remember when I was six, you and
mom were fighting like mad. You
were yelling so loud and she was
crying.

            DAD
That's what you remember, huh?

            SAMANTHA
Yep.

            DAD
You don't remember the trips to
Galveston, camping in Big Bend, all
the fun we had?

            SAMANTHA
Nope.
                                                    24.

                      DAD
          You ever get mad at your mother?

                        SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          You ever get mad at your brother?

                        SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                        DAD
          Yeah.    You ever yell at him?

                        SAMANTHA
          Oh yeah.

                      DAD
          Yeah. Doesn't mean you don't love
          him, right?

                        SAMANTHA
          Mmm...

                      DAD
          Look, the same thing happens when
          you're grown up, alright? You...
          You know, you get mad at people.
          You know, it's not a big deal.

                      MASON
          What'd you do in Alaska?

                      DAD
          I worked on a boat for a while.     Um,
          I tried to write some music.

                      MASON
          Did you see any polar bears?

                      DAD (O.S.)
          No, but I saw a Kodiak bear.     It was
          fuckin' huge.

                     SAMAMTHA (O.S.)
          Dad! That's fifty cents for the F-
          word!

Dad reaches into his wallet.

                     DAD
          I'm sorry. Here, take a dollar,
          alright? Keep the change.
                     (MORE)
                                                          25.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           You guys are gonna be seein' a lot
           more of me. Okay? I missed you two
           real bad, while I was gone. Okay, I
           want you to know that. I just needed
           to take some time. You know, to...
           Just... Your mom and me, okay...
           Well, your mother, okay, is a piece
           of work. Alright, I think, I think
           you know that by now. Alright? And
           I'm just, I'm so happy to be with the
           two of you. Okay. And I'm sorry
           about that bumper business. Alright.
           I'm gonna get better at stuff like
           that, okay?

As a token of reconciliation, Dad high fives them both,
smiling.

INT.   MASON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mason shows Dad his collection of arrowheads and a long
feather, all laid out on top of a skateboard. Mason describes
each of the pieces to his Dad.

                       MASON
           I got that one at Dripping Springs...

                         DAD   (O.S.)
           Mmhmm.

                       MASON
           And um, my friend Rodney gave me
           that one.

                         DAD   (O.S.)
           Yeah?

                       MASON
           And I bought that one.

                       DAD
           You bought this one?

                         MASON
           Yeah.

                       DAD
           You found this at Dripping Springs?

                         MASON
           Uh-huh!

                         DAD
           Wow!    What else do you got?
                                                          26.

                      MASON
          Well, um, these are snake vertebrae.

                      DAD
          Snake vertebrae? That's disgusting.
          Huh? Mason, I don't want you
          collecting snake vertebrae anymore.

They both share a laugh.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Is this the feather I sent you?

                        MASON
          Yeah!    Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is.

Samantha enters the room carrying photos and a stuffed animal.
She sits down next to Dad, interrupting Mason.

                      SAMAMTHA
          Oh, Dad! Um, I forgot to show you
          these, um, these basketball pictures.

                      DAD
          You're on a basketball team?

                            SAMAMTHA
          Yeah!

                        DAD
          Wow!    Check you out!

                      MASON
          Yeah, and these are-- these are beaver
          claws.

                      DAD
          Beaver claws?

                        SAMANTHA       (O.S.)
          I know.    That's me.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          What, you hunting beaver, huh?

                            MASON (O.S.)
                 (laughs)
          No.

                      SAMANTHA
          You see, that's McKinney, that's
          Meg, and that Gem. They're all my
          friends --
                                                       27.

                       MASON
           ...And this is dried Canadian grass...

                        DAD
           Uh-huh.   What position do you play?

                         SAMANTHA
           Um, guard.

                       MASON
           This is dried Canadian grass... And,
           and uh...

                        DAD
           Uh-huh.   Wait, you scoring any points?

                       SAMANTHA
           Well, about eight or ten a game.

                       DAD
           Eight or ten a game?     That is awesome!

                         SAMANTHA
           Yeah!

                       MASON
           Once she didn't score any and she
           cried!

                         DAD
           You cried?

                       SAMANTHA
           Well, only a little bit.

                         DAD
           Awww.

Dad kisses Samantha's forehead.

INT.   FRONT ENTRY - MOMENTS LATER

                         MOM
           Hello!

                       SAMANTHA
           Oh, Mason, Mom's home!

                         MASON
           Mom's home!

Dad quickly shifts from playful to nervous.

                       DAD
           Hey, Mom's home.
                                       28.

            SAMANTHA
Mom, hi!

            MOM
Hey.

            SAMANTHA
Oh, look at this owl Daddy gave me!
Isn't it cool? See, its head spins!
And look at this bracelet! It was
made by Indians in Alaska.

            MASON
And Mom, Daddy made this cool hand
carved grizzly bear and this tiki.

            MOM
It's a totem. Wow.

            SAMANTHA
And guess what else? We went bowling
and I made four strikes!

            MASON
Yeah, and we got to ride around in
Dad's car!

            MOM   (O.S.)
Wow.

            DAD
Hey, Liv.

            MOM
Hey.

            DAD
I know you wanted me to drop them
off at your mom's. I just thought
it'd be easier if I brought 'em over
here.

            MOM
Well, it really screwed up my plans.

            MASON
Well, we just wanted to show him our
rooms.

            SAMANTHA
Yeah.

            MOM
Did you guys eat anything?
                                                             29.

                       SAMANTHA
           Well, we had some french fries at
           the bowling alley.

                       MOM
           Did you do your homework or...

                       MASON
           No.

                       SAMANTHA
           Not yet.

                      MOM
           Okay. Can I talk to you outside for
           a second?

                       DAD
           Yeah. Sure.
               (as he exits)
           They had more than french fries.

The children scramble to find a suitable spot for
eavesdropping but their parents are inaudible.

INT.   UPSTAIRS BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Samantha and Mason look out the window, down at their parents
having an argument below.

                       MASON
           Do you think he's gonna spend the
           night?

                       SAMANTHA (O.S.)
           Doesn't look like it.

Mom walks away from Dad. He stands there for a beat, then
saunters off. The kids are visibly disappointed.

EXT.   COLLEGE - DAY

Mason and Mom walk across the campus lawn.

INT. COLLEGE CLASSROOM - DAY

A professor, BILL, lectures to the class.     Mason and Mom are
seated in the classroom audience.

                       BILL (V.O.)
           Okay. An unconditioned stimulus,
           something that produces an unlearned,
           involuntary, unconditioned response.
                       (MORE)
                                                           30.

                      BILL (V.O.) (CONT'D)
          Now in Pavlov's experiment, what was
          the stimulus, that he used? Come on
          now, people! Tough weekend? What's
          the deal, here? Meat. Right? Meat.
          Meat powder, actually. Whatever
          meat powder is, it worked on this
          dog. Okay. He put the meat powder
          in there and it produced an
          unconditioned response in the dog,
          which was? Salivation. Alright.
          Now, who can give me another example
          of an unconditioned stimulus-response
          pair that happens to you everyday.
          It's probably happening to some of
          you right now.
              (pause)
          How about sex? Sure, you know. You
          see an attractive member of the
          opposite gender, you have an automatic
          response. You don't have to think
          about it. Mick Jagger wrote a song
          about... Oh, when they call your
          name, I salivate like a Pavlov dog.

Class laughs.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          Thank you very much. Class dismissed.

Students leave, as Mason and Mom approach the professor.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          Doctor Welbrock, this is my son Mason.

                        BILL
          Ohh.

                      MOM
          Mason, this is Dr. Welbrock.

                      BILL
          Your son. Now see, I thought this
          was a boy genius who was taking my
          college course.

Mason laughs.    He and Bill shake hands.

                      MOM
          He wasn't feeling well today, so I
          thought I'd bring him with me.

Bill touches Mason's forehead.
                                                         31.

                      BILL
          Ah! No fever. It's a con job. I
          can tell because I have a nine year
          old son, he pulls this all the time.
          Same kind of deal. Hey, you play
          soccer?

                         MASON
          Mm, no.

                      BILL
          Neither does my boy. He hates soccer.
          He likes computers. My 11-year-old
          daughter, loves soccer. Who can
          figure? Hey, maybe we can get all
          you guys together sometime, huh?

                         MOM
          Maybe, yeah.     Well, you ready to go?

                         MASON
          Yeah.

                      BILL
          Nice to meet you, Mason.

                      MASON
          Nice to meet you, too.

                      BILL
          And thanks for coming to my class.

Mason walks ahead of them as Olivia and Bill speak a little
more intimately. It's clear that they have more than just a
professor-student relationship. Mason notices a bit of this
and looks on, confused.

                         BILL (CONT'D)
          Olivia.

                         MOM
          Hm?

                         BILL
          Nice kid.

                         MOM
          Thanks.

                      BILL
          So you think, uh, Grandma might be
          available for a little baby-sitting?
                                                                32.

                       MOM        (O.S.)
               (giggles)
           Maybe.

                        BILL
           Really?   Well, great.

EXT.   BACKYARD - DAY

Mason and Samantha play an outdoor trampoline game with Randy
and Mindy, their new stepbrother and stepsister. They are
in the big backyard of their new home, where Dr. Welbrock
and his children have lived.

                       GRANDMA
           Hey kids, they're here!

                       KIDS
           Oh, they're home, they're home!

                         GRANDMA
           Hurry!    Hurry!

They all scramble inside and quickly assemble for a big
welcome home ceremony in the front entryway. A sign reads,
"Welcome Home Honeymooners, We Love You Mom & Dad". Olivia
and Bill open the door to enter the house.

                           MOM
           Hey!

                           KIDS
           Mom!   Daddy!

                         BILL
           Oh!    We're here!     Hey, we've returned!

Hugs all around. The family talks over one another.      Bill
notices the "Welcome Home" sign the kids made.

                           SAMANTHA AND MASON
           Hi Dad!

                       BILL
           Samantha, Mason, look -- Thank you.
           That's very nice.

                       MOM
               (to Randy and Mindy)
           Hey guys!

The group all speaks at once.
                                                             33.

                      BILL
              (To Grandma)
          Hi, Mom. How are you?

                      SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom! Look at the
          sign we made!

                      BILL
              (To Grandma)
          They give you any trouble?

                      MINDY
          Samantha and I made it all ourselves.

                      BILL (O.S.)
          I know the boys helped you with that
          a lot.

                      MINDY
          No, not at all!

The group continues to speak at once.

                      BILL
          That's good... Oh, pass out the
          goodies.

Mom passes out a bag of presents to each of the kids.

                       MOM
          This is for the girls, this is for
          the girls...

                      BILL
              (to Grandma)
          Don't worry, we got you some absinthe
          or something.

                      GRANDMA
          Oh, let's pour it.

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

The family sits around the table, swapping fun stories and
pictures from their time apart.

                      MOM
          You take this big elevator up, and
          when we got to the top, we flew a
          paper airplane off.

                      RANDY (O.S.)
          And what happened?
                                                         34.

                         MOM    (O.S.)
          It flew!

                      BILL (O.S.)
          It flew away. It went for miles.
          Went onto the Arctic Trail.

They laugh.

                      SAMANTHA
          Oh, did you guys kiss under the Bridge
          of Sighs?

                         MOM
          Yes.

                         BILL
          Yes, we did.

Bill leans in to kiss Olivia.

                      MINDY
          Hey, Mom, can we see your wedding
          ring?

                         MOM    (O.S.)
          Oh, sure.

Mom hands over her wedding ring. The boys look at a 20
Questions game.

                         MINDY (O.S.)
                 (Eyeing the ring)
          Wow.

                      SAMANTHA (O.S.)
              (Holding the ring)
          Technically that's a fancy step cut
          surrounded by miniature brilliant.

                      MASON
          I wish we could've gone to Europe.

                         RANDY
          Yeah.

                      BILL
          Yeah, we'll go as a family next time.
          But you didn't miss much, really.
          We just stayed in the hotel room the
          whole time playing video games.

Mom laughs.
                                                 35.

                         MASON
          Really?

                      BILL
          And the hotels are really small and
          really old. Squeaky.

The WAITER comes over.

                      WAITER
          Can I get you anything else? Would
          you like to see a dessert menu?

                       BILL
              (To Randy)
          Listen, I told you to put that away.
              (To Mom)
          Would you put that in your purse,
          please? Computer games at the table.
              (To Waiter)
          Yes, uh, please, another bottle of
          wine.

                      MASON
              (to Waiter)
          Um, Coke.

                      MOM
          Um, you know what? Mason, you're
          okay with water. No more Cokes.
              (to Waiter)
          Thank you.

                      BILL (O.S.)
              (To Randy)
          Now how 'bout you? Did you finish
          your science project?

                      RANDY
          Not quite yet.

                      BILL
          Well, did you work on it? I mean,
          did you build anything, or plan
          anything, or..?

                         RANDY
          A little.

                      BILL
              (to Mindy)
          Did he work on it at all, Mindy?

                         MINDY
          No.
                                                         36.

                      BILL
              (to Mindy)
          Did he sit around playing video games
          with Mason the whole time?

                         MINDY
              (laughs)
          Yeah.

                      BILL
          Mm. You were supposed to finish
          that by the time I got back.
          Remember? Hey.

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY

Our gang of kids, plus two more (NEIGHBORHOOD BOY and
NEIGHBORHOOD GIRL) walk home from school together. The boys
walk in a pack slightly in front of the girls.

                      NEIGHBORHOOD BOY
          Grievous is the best, man.

                       MASON
          Yoda!   Yoda, man.

                         RANDY
          No, Yoda is!

                         MASON AND RANDY
          Yoda!

                      NEIGHBORHOOD BOY
          He has four arms.

                       MASON
          Yoda!   Represent.

                      MINDY
          I hate Ms. Billingsly. Everybody's
          been saying she's lesbian.

                       NEIGHBORHOOD GIRL
          She is.   She hit on Stacy.

                      MINDY
          Man, that's gross.

                      SAMANTHA
          Think it's true?

                      NEIGHBORHOOD GIRL
          She's always walking in the locker
          room.
                                                          37.

                      RANDY
          I think I still have a couple of
          those--

PAUL, overly large/mentally impaired neighborhood teen they
seem familiar with, walks by awkwardly bouncing a basketball.

                         NEIGHBORHOOD BOY (O.S.)
          Hey, Paul.     Tell us a joke.

                          PAUL
          Damn.   Fuck.     Go to hell.   Ass.

The kids look at him quizzically and keep walking.

INT. BEDROOM - LATER

Mason and Randy are playing a video game.

                        MASON
          Uh!    Blew you up.

                      RANDY
          Aw heck, man. That was not fair.

                      MASON
          No, actually it was. That's like
          the fairest thing ever.

                          RANDY
          Ugh.

                      MASON
          Oh, once again I take you down.

INT. FAMILY ROOM - DAY

Samantha and Mindy sit with Mom on the sofa, laughing, while
Mason and Randy sit opposite them. Bill is up first, as the
whole family plays charades.

                      MASON
          Three Musketeers?

                          RANDY (O.S.)
          First word.

                         MASON AND RANDY
          Chicken?     Bird?

Mom and the girls laugh.

                          BOYS
          Second word.
                                                   38.

                         RANDY
          Um... hood?

                         MASON
          Big hair?     Uh. Robin Hood!

                        BILL
                (tapping his nose)
          Ah!

Mom applauds.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          Brilliant child!

Samantha stands to take her turn.

                         MOM AND MINDY    (O.S.)
          Second word.

                         MINDY   (O.S.)
          Blanket?

                      MASON
          Hey, you can't use props!

Samantha turns to smack mason with the blanket.

                      BILL
          Hey, hey, hey, hey. Cut it out.
          Hey, uh-- Judges speak: No props.
          No props. Can't use props. You can
          do it without that. Think, think,
          think.

                         MOM (O.S.)
          Um, bunch!

                        MINDY (O.S.)
          Folding?    Is it like...

                      MOM
          The gathered? Folded.

                         MINDY
          Uh...

The boys laugh.

                      MINDY (CONT'D)
          Messing around with a blanket...
          Wrinkling it, uh...
                                                          39.

                      MOM
          Wrinkling clothes... A Wrinkle In
          Time!

Mom and Mindy clap and cheer at their victory.

INT. BOOK RELEASE PARTY - NIGHT

Sign reads: "7-15: Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.
Magical Midnight Release Party 9PM." The kids are all present,
dressed in Harry Potter costumes. They participate in a
variety of Harry Potter festivities, beginning with a trivia
contest.

                      BOOK TRIVIA JUDGE
          What are the guards at Azkaban?

Samantha rings the bell first, as Mason fumbles for the
correct answer.

                         SAMANTHA
          Dementors!

Samantha got it right.

                      EMCEE
              (into a microphone)
          Front of the line, are you ready?

All four kids cheer.

                      EMCEE (CONT'D)
          Count down with me, ladies and
          gentleman!

The rest of the crowd joins in.

                     EMCEE AND GROUP
          Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!
          Five! Four! Three! Two! One!

                        EMCEE
          Let's go!    Whoo!!

The kids each pass through the long line, all smiles as they
receive their books.

                         MINDY
          Thank you.

                         MAN
          Next.

                         SAMANTHA
          Thanks.
                                                                40.

EXT. GOLF COURSE - DAY

Mason, Randy, and Bill are practicing at a golf course.
Bill is advising the boys on their stances and golf swings.

                      BILL
              (to Randy)
          Oh no, no, no, no. Back up and take
          a practice swing first, remember?
          Nice and easy. Sweep the floor.
          Sweep the floor. That's good. Don't
          swing too hard, Randy.
              (to Mason)
          He always swings too hard.

Randy takes a swing.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          Hey, alright! Very good.

It's Mason's turn to take a swing.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
              (to Mason)
          Back your feet up a little bit.
          Yeah, like that. Now you're gonna
          hit it straighter. Okay. Alright,
          go up and hit it. That's good.
          Nice slow swing is going to be better
          for you.

Mason swings.

                         BILL (CONT'D)
          Alright!

Later, Randy putts the ball and misses.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
              (to Randy)
          I don't know man, you must've been...
          See, your feet are too open, Randy.

Mason sets up to take his putt.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
              (to Mason)
          Nice and natural.

Mason hits the ball into the hole.       Bill high fives him.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          Yes! Go! Alright! Give me five.
          Good putt, son, good putt.
                      (MORE)
                                                             41.

                       BILL (CONT'D)
           Did you see that, Randy? That's the
           way to do it!
               (to self)
           Alright, birdie putt.

Bill misses the easy putt.

                       BILL (CONT'D)
           Goddamn it. Son of a bitch.
               (to Mason and Randy)
           Get my clubs, would you? Get the
           ball.

EXT. LIQUOR STORE - DAY

Bill and the boys drive up to the local liquor store.

                       BILL
           This is just in case we have guests
           this weekend.

Bill gets out of the car.

                        RANDY
           He always says that.      But we never
           have guests.

The boys are chewing green bubble gum. Randy blows a big
bubble and Mason pops it with his hand.

INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - DAY

Bill pours a generous amount of vodka into a large, opaque
cup. He then hides the vodka bottle behind some detergent
in the laundry cupboard.

INT.   KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Samantha and Mindy are busy loading the dishwasher.   Bill
enters the room, drink in hand.

                       BILL
           Samantha, I think I heard your dad
           pull up.

                          SAMANTHA
           Oh, alright.

                       BILL
           You guys finish your chores?

                          MINDY
           Not quite.
                                                      42.

                        SAMANTHA
          Just about.

                      BILL
          How 'bout the dusting, Sam?

                      SAMANTHA
          I haven't done that yet.

                      BILL
          Well, I saw you working on your art
          project. You mean you had time to
          finish your little art project but
          you didn't have time to finish your
          chores? I thought we talked about
          that.

                      MINDY
          Dad, it's fine. I can finish the
          dusting. I have all day here.

                      BILL
          No, it's not fine,    Mindy. You have
          your own chores to    do and Sam has
          hers to do. Huh?      It's simple!
          Poor choice there,    Sam. Hurry up.

EXT. BACKYARD - DAY

Mason is pulling weeds, while Randy rakes the lawn.

                      BILL
              (yelling from the
               porch)
          Mason! Your dad's here...

As the boys approach...

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          You guys aren't settin' any speed
          records, are you? What'd you do,
          get about half done? Hey, hey, hey,
          hey, hey. So did you finish?

                        MASON
          No.

                      BILL
          Is the job complete?

Mason shakes his head "No".

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          So, what are you going to be doing
          tomorrow? Same thing, right?
                                                          43.

                        MASON AND RANDY
          Yeah.

                        BILL
          Okay.   Go.

INT. KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Mom is doing work at the kitchen table, as Samantha and Mason
kiss her goodbye.

                        MASON
          Bye, Mom.

                      MOM
              (to Mason)
          Bye, baby. I love you.

                        SAMANTHA
          Bye, Mama.

                      MOM
              (to Samantha)
          Bye, honey. Have fun with your dad.

                       BILL (O.S.)
          Just a minute, Mason.
              (to Mom)
          The boys didn't finish raking the
          leaves. Samantha did not finish
          dusting. So tomorrow, when they
          come home, instead of swimming and
          all the other little stuff that they
          want to do, they're gonna do their
          chores. Right?

                      MOM
          Right! Okay, guys, you had this
          conversation, you understand?

The boys nod.

                        MOM (CONT'D)
          Tomorrow?

The girls nod.

                        MOM (CONT'D)
          Okay.

                      BILL
          Thank you. I just wanted you to
          back me up on that so I'm not the
          only one yelling at them all the
          time.
                                                               44.

                      MOM
          Okay, I back you up.      You guys got
          that?

Mason nods.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          We all agree, everybody agrees, right?
          Tomorrow, chores?

Samantha nods.

                      BILL
          Well, they don't hear it, you know.
          It goes in one ear and out the other.

                      SAMANTHA
          But Dad, I mean, dusting is pointless.

                      BILL
          It's not pointless, you just don't
          like to do it.

                      SAMANTHA
          But I mean, who dusts anymore?

                      BILL
          You do when we ask you to! And don't --
          Olivia, don't let her back-talk me
          in front of the other kids, please.
          Thank you.

                      MOM
          Samantha, please...

                         SAMANTHA
          Whatever!

Samantha turns to walk away from the conversation.

                      BILL (O.S.)
          Bye-bye, have a wonderful weekend.

                         MOM (O.S.)
          Mm.    Okay.   Bye, guys. Love you.

The other kids follow Samantha as she exits.       Bill sits down
at the table with Mom.

                      BILL
          I'm sorry, but I thought we talked
          about it. You have to draw a line,
          you have to back it up.
                                                                45.

                      MOM
          Okay. It's just... you have so many
          lines Bill. Everything's a line.

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

Dad is parked in the drive way.     He gets out of the car to
greet the kids.

                         DAD
          Hey, Randy!

                         RANDY
          Hey!

                         SAMANTHA AND MASON
          Bye.

                         RANDY AND MINDY
          Bye.

                      DAD
          Hey, you two. How you doin'?        Oh.

                         MASON
          Shotgun.

                      DAD
          Here, let me get this bag here.      You
          doin' okay, darlin'?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                         DAD
          Yeah?    Ah.   What about you, cowboy?

                         MASON
          Pretty good.

Dad throws the kids' bags in the trunk.

                        DAD
          Yeah?    Alright.    Let's roll!

EXT. CITY STREET - DAY

They drive down the street in Dad's car.

                      DAD
          You guys ready for the big game?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah.
                                      46.

            DAD
Sam, who are the Astros playing
tonight?

            SAMANTHA
I don't know.

            DAD
Milwaukee Brewers. Alright, get to
know 'em, get to hate 'em. Mase!
How you been, huh? How was your
week?

               MASON
Pretty good.

             DAD
Yeah?   What you been up to?

               MASON
Not much.

           DAD (O.S.)
No? You still hangin' with that kid
Joe?

               MASON
Yeah.

            DAD
Yeah, he's still your best friend?

            MASON
Yeah, I guess.

            DAD
Okay.
    (To Samantha)
How 'bout you? How was your week?

               SAMANTHA
Fine.

            DAD (O.S.)
What you been up to?

            SAMANTHA
Nothin' really.

            DAD
You um, you still working on that
sculpture project?

               SAMANTHA (O.S.)
Yeah.
                                                      47.

                      DAD   (O.S.)
          Yeah?

                      SAMANTHA
          Almost finished.

                      DAD   (O.S.)
          What's it of?

                      SAMANTHA
          Nothing.

Dad pulls the car over and parks.

                      DAD
          Alright, no-no-no-no-no. Nope, that
          is not how we're going to talk to
          one another. Alright? Now, I will
          not be that guy. You can not put me
          in that category, alright? The
          biological father who I spend every
          other week with and I make polite
          conversation, you know, while he
          drives me places and buys me shit.
          No! Talk to me.

He turns to Samantha in the passenger seat.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Samantha, how was your week? Uh, I
          don't know Dad, it was kind of tough.
          Billy and Ellen broke up, and Ellen's
          kind of mad at me because she saw me
          talking to Billy in the cafeteria.
          And you remember that sculpture I
          was working on? Well, it was a
          unicorn and the horn broke off. So,
          now it's zebra. Okay? But I still
          think I'm going to get an 'A'.
          Alright?

Dad turns around to address Mason in the back seat.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Mason, uh, how was your week? Well
          Dad, you know it was kind of tough.
          Joe, he's kind of a jerk, actually.
          He stole some cigarettes from his
          mom and he wanted me to smoke 'em.
          But I said no, cause I knew what a
          hard time you had quittin' smokin',
          Dad. How 'bout that? Is that so
          hard?
                                                           48.

                      SAMANTHA
          Dad, these questions are kind of
          hard to answer.

                      DAD
          What is so hard to answer about what
          sculpture are you making?

                      SAMANTHA
          It's abstract.

                      DAD
          Okay. Okay, that's good. See,
          that's, I didn't know that. I didn't
          know you were even interested in
          abstract art.

                       SAMANTHA
          I'm not.   They make us do it.

                      MASON
          But Dad, I mean why is it all on us
          though? You know, what about you?
          How was your week? You know, who do
          hang out with? Do you have a
          girlfriend? What have you been up
          to?

                      DAD
          I see your point.

Mason smiles.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          So we should just let it happen more
          natural, right? That's what you're
          sayin', right?

Mason nods.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
          Okay.   That's what we'll do.    Starting
          now.

EXT. BUTTERFLY MUSEUM - DAY

Dad, Samantha, and Mason are pointing out different
butterflies they find, using a nature chart. A butterfly
lands on Mason's shoulder.

                      MASON
          Hey, check this out.
                                                           49.

                      SAMANTHA
          That would be a... That would be a
          Magnificent Owl. Caligo Atreus.

                      DAD
          What's that one?    Look at this.

Dad opens his hands and shows them a butterfly in his palms.

                       SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          Whoa.

                      DAD
          What kind is that?

                      SAMANTHA
          That looks like a Zebra Longwing.

                       DAD
          Alright.

                       SAMANTHA
          Cool.

                      DAD
          This one's incredible.     That's the
          owl one, right?

                       SAMANTHA
          Yeah.   Magnificent Owl.

                      DAD
          I think he went pee-pee on you, bud.

Dad laughs.

EXT. SCULPTURE GARDEN - DAY

Dad, Samantha, and Mason play tag around a large outdoor
sculpture.

                      MASON
          One, two, three, four, five...

Soon they are running in circles around it.

                      DAD
          Ahaa! Ahh! Get away from me! Get
          away from me! Get your sister --
          Ahh!

EXT. PARK - DAY

Dad is tossing a football with Mason and Samantha.
                                                              50.

                       DAD
           Yo, Mase, look at me here. Make a
           diamond with your hands, alright?
           Fingers and thumbs. Keep your hands
           soft. Hey, Sam.

Samantha throws the football to Dad.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Very nice. That's how you want to
           catch it, just like that. Even when
           you're runnin', that's what you're
           thinkin' about, that diamond. That
           diamond, and soft hands.

Dad throws the ball to Mason.

                          DAD (CONT'D)
           There it is.

Mason throws the ball back to Samantha.

EXT. PARK - MOMENTS LATER

Dad, Samantha, and Mason crouch down into starting line
positions.

                          DAD
           Down!   Set!    Hut!   Ahhhh!

Dad releases the ball down the hill and the three of them
chase after it.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           No no no no no!

The ball kicks up and into Samantha's hands.   They are now
chasing after her.

                          SAMANTHA
           Yes!

                       DAD
           Don't let her get -- No no no no no!

INT.   BASEBALL STADIUM - NIGHT

Dad, Samantha, and Mason watch a live baseball game.

                       DAD (O.S.)
           Let's go, Roger!

The crowd reacts to the game.
                                                           51.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Guy's incredible. He's unhittable
          this year! Now just so you know,
          what we're watching here, is history.
          Now you see this guy out here? This
          dude is like forty-three years old
          and he's strikin' out guys half his
          age. This guy's ERA is 1.47, alright,
          can you believe that? Now if the
          Astros could just get a few runs
          maybe we'd win a game.

                      MASON
          Dad, do you have a job?

                       DAD
          Ha!   Why would you ask me that?

                      MASON
          I don't know. Mom wanted to know
          and I didn't know what the answer
          was.

                      DAD
          Mom wanted to know. Alright. Well,
          you can tell mom that I just happen
          to have passed my second actuarial
          exam, alright? So... you tell her
          that. How's she doing?

                       SAMANTHA
          Great.

                      DAD
          She finishing school?

                      SAMANTHA
          Yep, all 'A's.

                      DAD
          All 'A's huh? Like mother, like
          daughter, right?

The kids leave to get hot dogs, etc.   Mason puts mustard on
his.

They return to the game. A clutch Astros home run and the
crowd is cheering. Our guys celebrate with high fives, etc.

                      DAD (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          You got this! That's outta here!
          That's out-- Oh! Oh!

Fireworks go off.   The crowd stands to their feet.
                                                            52.

                        DAD (CONT'D)
           Yeah!!   Fuckin' A!

INT.   DAD'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

The TV is playing the horror film HOSTEL. JIMMY sits on the
couch watching the movie, as Dad and the kids enter.

                         SAMANTHA
           Hi, Jimmy.

                       JIMMY
           Hey, Samantha!

                       MASON
           Hey, what's up, Jimmy?

                       JIMMY
           What's goin' on, Mason, man?

Mason and Jimmy fist bump.

                         MASON
           Astros won.

                       JIMMY
           You went to the game?

Dad enters the room.

                       DAD
           What, I'm the only one with any arms
           around here? Nobody else can carry
           anything, huh? Help their old man
           out?

                       MASON
           What you watching?

Jimmy gestures for silence.

                       DAD
           Aw, come on Jimmy, man! You knew
           the kids were comin' this weekend.

Dad clears dirty dishes and paraphernalia from the table.

                        DAD (CONT'D)
           Can't you just help me out a little
           bit, just --

                       JIMMY
           I'm sorry, muffin.
                                                           53.

                      DAD
          Yeah, don't "muffin" me, alright?
          Don't put me in that position.
          Alright, I'm not your fuckin' Tony
          Randall.

                      SAMANTHA
          Dad, it's always a mess.

                      DAD
          It was not a mess this morning.
          Okay?

                      JIMMY
          I mowed the lawn.

                      DAD
          Oh yeah, great.

Dad stretches out beside Samantha on the couch.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Oh, come on man! Turn this shit
          off. Come on, give me that thing.

Dad takes the remote control away from Jimmy.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Did you watch the game?

                           JIMMY
                (laughs)
          No.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Lane won it with a three-run homer.
          It was beautiful, wasn't it?

Samantha shrugs.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Sam lost her mind! She's a huge
          Astros fan.

                           SAMANTHA
          Sure.

INT. MUSIC ROOM - LATER

Dad plays the piano and sings, while Jimmy plays guitar.
The kids sit at the kitchen table, listening intently.
                                                       54.

                      DAD
          "Well Saturday night was a lunar
          eclipse, I sang 'em a song, went
          somethin' like this: Well go to sleep,
          my weary babies, Let the sounds roll
          on by, Tonight we're safe here in
          Houston, With this, your daddy's
          lullaby. Your mother's got a new
          husband now, He seems alright, I
          wonder if he's readin' them stories,
          And kissin' them goodnight? Well
          babysitters say they miss me, I know
          I shouldn't hope it's true, The
          teacher says my son paints pictures
          of a family all in blue, She says
          she caught him whispering to the
          window, Will Daddy please come home?
          I know I could call him up, but what
          if his mother answers the phone?

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

Samantha is lying in her bed, listening to her iPod.

                      DAD
          You brush your teeth?

She removes her ear buds.

                        SAMANTHA
          What?

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Did you brush your teeth?

                        SAMANTHA
          Oh.   Yeah.   Yeah.

                      DAD
          You gonna fall asleep with those
          things in your head?

                        SAMANTHA
          Maybe.

                      DAD
          Yeah well, try not to, alright?

                        SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          Okay.

                      DAD
          You want me to turn off the light?
                                                            55.

                         SAMANTHA
          Sure.

                      DAD
          Okay, goodnight Sam.

                         SAMANTHA
          'Night, dad.

                      JIMMY
              (leaning in doorway)
          Goodnight, Sam.

                      SAMANTHA
          Goodnight, Jimmy.

                      DAD
          Hey... that was a fun day, right?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah it was.     Sorry.

                         DAD
          Why?

                      SAMANTHA
          That Mason had to be there, you know.

                         DAD
              (laughs)
          Goodnight.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Mason is lying on the couch in the dark, trying to sleep.
Dad is lying on the other couch, reading a book.

                      MASON
          Dad? There's no like... real magic
          in the world, right?

                      DAD
          What do you mean?

                      MASON
          You know, like elves and stuff.
          People just made that up.

                      DAD
          Well, I don't know. I mean what makes
          you thinks that, that elves are any
          more magical than something like...
          like a whale?
                      (MORE)
                                                              56.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           You know, I mean, what if I told you
           a story about how underneath the
           ocean, there was this giant sea mammal
           that used sonar, and sang songs, and
           it was so big that its heart was the
           size of a car? And you could crawl
           through the arteries? I mean, you'd
           think that's pretty magical, right?

                       MASON
           Yeah. But like... right this second,
           there's like no... elves in the world,
           right?

                        DAD
           No.   Technically no elves.

EXT.   NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY

Dad, Samantha, and Mason pull up in the GTO.    They sit in
Mom's driveway, saying their goodbyes.

                       DAD
           Love you guys.

                       MASON
           See you, Dad.

                       DAD
           Alright. Be well. Okay. Have a
           great week. Sam, I'll see you next
           weekend?

                        SAMANTHA
           Alright.   Oh yeah, that's right.

                          DAD
           What?

                       SAMANTHA
           Susie has a birthday party next
           Saturday.

                          DAD
           A sleepover?

                          SAMANTHA
           Yeah.

                        DAD
           Alright.   I'll talk to your mom about
           it.
                                                              57.

                         SAMANTHA
          Bye, dad.

                      DAD
          Don't worry about it, okay?      Have a
          great week.

                      SAMANTHA
          Had a great time.

                         DAD
          Okay.

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

Mason, Randy, and the Neighborhood Boy sit around a computer
screen. They appear to be looking at something illicit.

                      NEIGHBORHOOD BOY
          Aw, man. How do you guys not know
          how to do this? I'll make you some
          bookmarks. Just a second. Shit,
          guys.

A knock on the door interrupts them. They close the laptop
immediately and turn around, trying not to look guilty.

                      MINDY
          Randy, and Mason, Dad wants you guys
          downstairs.

                         RANDY
          Why?

                      MINDY
          You're getting haircuts.

The boys stand to exit.

INT. BARBER SHOP - DAY

Mason sits for his haircut, while Randy and Bill wait to the
side. Mason is clearly distressed as the barber glides an
electric razor over his head.

                      BILL
          This is gonna look so much better.
          You're gonna look like a man instead
          of like a little girl. You're takin'
          the eyebrows off next, right, Byron?

Bill nudges Randy, and laughs.      Mason does not find it funny.
                                                             58.

INT.   UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - MORNING

The kids wander down the hallway, filing into Mason's bedroom.

INT.   BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Randy, Samantha, and Mindy enter one at a time, to let Mason
know they are leaving for school.

                       RANDY
           Mason, we're leavin'.

                       SAMANTHA
           You're not sick.

Mindy is the last to leave the room, shaking her head in
disbelief.

INT.   FRONT ENTRY - CONTINUOUS

The kids file down the stairs.     Mom is getting ready to go.

                        MOM
           Bye, guys.

                        KIDS
           Bye, mom.

                       MOM
           Where is Mason?

                       RANDY
           He doesn't feel too good. I don't
           think he's going to school.

                       SAMANTHA
           He's totally faking it.

                        MOM
           Bye.

INT.   BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Mom knocks on Mason's door, then enters the room.

                       MOM
           Mason, what's goin' on?

                       MASON
           I don't feel good.

                       MOM
           Yeah? Well your head feels fine.     So
           get your ass out of bed.
                       (MORE)
                                                    59.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           I'm gonna drive you to school, you
           got five minutes and don't make me
           late.

EXT.   SCHOOL - DAY

Mom is dropping Mason off at school.

                       MASON
           I mean, he didn't even ask! He just
           cut it. I mean, it's my hair!

                       MOM
           Well, no wonder you were angry.   I'd
           be angry too.

                       MASON
           I look like a martian now.

                       MOM
           Honey, you know what? I'm gonna
           talk to him about it later, okay?

                       MASON
           Yeah, I tried to call you but you
           didn't answer your phone.

                       MOM
           I'm so sorry. I've been so busy
           with school... Hey.

She touches his hair, lovingly.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           For what it's worth, it's hair and
           it will grow back. Now I can see
           your pretty eyes and your foxy face.

                       MASON
           Why'd you even marry him?    He's such
           a jerk.

                       MOM
           Well, Bill has his good qualities.
           You know, nobody's perfect. And now
           we have a family.

                       MASON
           We already had a family.

With this, Mason turns and exits the car.
                                                          60.

INT.   SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY

Mason walks down the hall, towards his classroom door.

INT.   CLASSROOM - DAY

Mason enters the classroom, just as his class begins reciting
the Pledge of Allegiance.

                       STUDENTS
           I pledge allegiance to the flag of
           the United States of America, and to
           the Republic for which it stands,
           one nation, under God, indivisible,
           with liberty and justice for all.

Students snicker at Mason's new haircut.

                       TEACHER (O.S.)
           Please join me in the Texas pledge.

                        STUDENTS
           Honor the Texas flag, I pledge
           allegiance to thee, Texas, one and
           indivisible.

                         TEACHER (O.S.)
           Thank you.    You may be seated.

The students continue laughing at Mason.

                       TEACHER (CONT'D)
           Alright! Alright class, as you know,
           we've been working on our mythology
           projects. And we're going to be
           writing papers about gods and
           goddesses. We've listed those gods
           and goddesses here on the board. We
           added a couple of monsters, for some
           of you who might be interested in
           that. And you're going to write
           your essay about your god or goddess,
           and to make sure that you cover
           everything, let's make sure that we
           do all of these things right here...

Mason is handed a note from across the room.

                       TEACHER (CONT'D)
           First of all, we need to name your
           god or goddess, and you need to
           include who, what, when, where, why,
           and how...

The note reads: Mason, I think your hair looks kewl! - Nicole
                                                             61.

                       TEACHER (CONT'D)
           So make sure that you cover all those
           things when writing your essay.

EXT.   NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY

Mason and Randy ride their bikes, while the Neighborhood Boy
skateboards alongside them.

                       NEIGHBORHOOD BOY
           There's a bump right there.

Neighborhood Boy skates off in a different direction.

                       NEIGHBORHOOD BOY (CONT'D)
           Alright, I'll see y'all later, guys.

                        RANDY
           Yeah.

INT.   GARAGE - DAY

Mason and Randy pull up to a half open garage and drop their
bikes outside. Mom can be seen laying on the floor of the
garage, crying.

                       MASON
           Mom, are you okay?

                       RANDY
           What happened?

                       MOM
           No -- Go in the house! Go! Go in
           the house! Go in the house!

                       BILL
           Your mother had a little accident.
           Now she's being dramatic.

Mom is still crying as the boys exit.     Bill enters the garage
with a drink in his hand.

                       BILL (CONT'D)
           Get off the fucking floor Olivia,
           for Christ's sake!

Mom continues to cry.

INT.   DINING AREA - MOMENTS LATER

Bill walks in angrily, carrying a bottle. He loudly bangs
things on the table, and pours himself a drink.
                                                            62.

                      BILL
          I'm having a drink with my dinner.
          Anybody else have a problem with
          that? Hm? Samantha?

The family is seated at the dinner table, practically frozen.

                           SAMANTHA
          No.

                           BILL
          Mindy?

                           MINDY
          No.

                      BILL
          I didn't think so.

He drinks the entire glass, and slowly zeros in on Mason.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          You don't like me much, do you Mason?
          That's okay, I don't like me either.
          Think that's funny, huh? You think
          that's fuckin' funny?

Bill throws his empty glass at Mason's plate, shattering it.

                           MOM
          Oh!

                      BILL (O.S.)
              (to Randy)
          What's the matter, you feeling a
          little left out?

Bill throws the empty whiskey bottle past Randy.   It shatters
on the floor.

                           MOM
          Oh!

                      BILL
          Clean it up, goddamnit!     Clean it
          up!

                           MOM
          Bill!    Bill!

                      BILL
          Clean it up, goddamnit!     I hate
          squash!

Bill walks away, leaving the shocked family at the table.
                                                              63.

INT.   BEDROOM - NIGHT

Mason watches THE LANDLORD web video on his laptop. The
other kids lounge about the room, listening to the audio.

                       SAMANTHA
           How many times can you watch that,
           Mason?

                         MASON
           It's funny.

A moment passes as Mason watches his video.

                       MASON (CONT'D)
           Has he ever gotten this bad before?

                       RANDY
           No, but he's yelled a lot.

                       MINDY
           Yeah, but he hasn't thrown and broken
           stuff.

INT.   LIVING ROOM - DAY

Bill sits on the coffee table, facing all four kids in a row
on the sofa.

                       BILL
           Give me your cell phones.     So nobody
           talked to her, huh?

The girls shake their heads no.      Bill is checking their phone
call histories.

                         BILL (CONT'D)
           Mason?

                         MASON
           No.

                         BILL
           Mindy?

                         MINDY
           No.

                       BILL
           I'll believe you...      Samantha?

                         SAMANTHA
           No.

Bill holds her phone screen out, as if to prove her wrong.
                                                          64.

                       SAMANTHA (CONT'D)
           I didn't talk to her. She left a
           message.

                       BILL
           What'd she say?

                       SAMANTHA
           Nothing much.

                       BILL
           What did she say?

                       SAMANTHA
           She said she'd be back later.

                       BILL
           And that's all? "I'll be back later,"
           click?

                       SAMANTHA
           She said, "Stay in your rooms.   I'll
           be back later."

                       BILL (O.S.)
           I'll be back later, stay in your
           rooms. And that's all? Hm?

                       SAMANTHA
           Yeah.

                       BILL
           Where is she?

                       SAMANTHA
           I don't know.

                       BILL
           Where is she?

                       SAMANTHA
           She didn't say!

                       BILL
           Alright, everybody get in the car.
           Hurry up! Get in the car!

EXT.   LIQUOR STORE PARKING LOT - DAY

Mindy stands at the ATM. The screen first reads: PLEASE
TAKE YOUR RECEIPT. Then: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. She walks
over to Bill's car window.

                       MINDY
           It's still not working.
                                                           65.

                       BILL
           Ohh, bullshit. She took it all.

INT.   DRIVER'S SEAT - CONTINUOUS

Bill sloppily writes out a check.   It's obvious that he has
been drinking.

                       BILL
           Alright, Randy, go cash this. Uh...
           Tell him I'm not feeling well or
           something. I don't know. Mason, go
           with him. Here. Here's my ID.

Mindy gets back into the car, as Mason and Randy exit.

INT.   LIQUOR STORE - CONTINUOUS

Mason and Randy enter the liquor store.

                       CLERK
           Hi, good afternoon, fellas.    What
           can I do for you today?

Randy lays the check and driver's license down on the counter,
for the Clerk to examine.

                       CLERK (O.S.) (CONT'D)
           Now what's this? Can't read this.
           Hey! This isn't you, who is this?

                       RANDY
               (pointing outside)
           It's our... dad.

Bill waves from the car.

                       RANDY (CONT'D)
           He's not feeling well.

                       CLERK
           Oh! Hey! Yeah, I know him. Okay,
           here we go. Five hundred bucks.
           One, two, three, four... Five hundred
           bucks. Alright? Don't forget your
           dad's ID.

The boys leave the store, while the Clerk calls after them.

                       CLERK (CONT'D)
           Alright, take care of your dad now,
           son. You've only got the one.
                                                              66.

INT. CAR - DAY

Bill is impatiently stuck behind a slow-moving car.

                        BILL
           Damnit.   Get outta the way!    Jesus
           Christ.   God!

The children SCREAM as Bill weaves in and out of traffic
trying to pass the car.

                        BILL   (CONT'D)
           Calm down!

                       MASON
           What the hell?!

INT.   HOUSE - DAY

Mom walks into the front entry, but stops there.      She has a
friend, CAROL, waiting behind her.

                       MOM
               (shouting)
           Samantha! Mason!    Samantha!

Samantha is a the top of the stairs observing the scene.
Bill approaches the front entry.

                       BILL
           Where the hell have you been?

                       MOM
           I'm leaving you, Bill.    We're moving
           out.

                       BILL
           I doubt that.

                       MOM
           Samantha and Mason!     Come down!

                       BILL
           No, mm-mm, don't think so.     Oh, who's
           this?

                       CAROL
           I'm not here for you!

                       BILL
           Oh, really? Oh, I know, you're here
           to protect my wife from me. Well,
           thank you so much, you two.

He reaches towards her.
                                                           67.

                      MOM
          Okay, stay back!     Now behave!

                      BILL
          Why don't you come inside here, huh?
          Come inside here.
              (To Samantha and Mason)
          Where the hell are you goin'? Get
          your ass upstairs, you're not goin'
          anywhere.

                      MOM
          Stop!
              (to Samantha and Mason)
          Come on!

                      BILL
          Where the hell do you think you're
          going?

Bill notices Randy and Mindy listening.

                      BILL (CONT'D)
          Get upstairs! What the hell--

                        MOM
          Hey!

                      BILL
          Nobody's going anywhere, goddamnit.

                        MOM
          Stop it!

                      BILL
          No, goddamnit!

Bill moves to block them from leaving the house with his
arm.

                      MOM
          Don't touch my kids!

                      BILL
          Alright, take 'em.     Go on, go on.

                      MOM
          Don't touch them!

                        BILL
          Take 'em!

                        CAROL
          Come on.    It's okay, it's okay, it's
          okay.
                                                         68.

                       BILL
           Well take 'em then, just take 'em!
           Go!

Bill turns back to Mindy and Randy.

                        BILL (CONT'D)
               (to Randy and Mindy)
           Get upstairs!
               (calling down the
                street)
           Olivia!

                          MOM
           Seat belts!     Put your seat belts on.

The car backs out of the driveway and leaves.

INT.   VAN - CONTINUOUS

                       SAMANTHA
           Where are we going?

                       MOM
           We're going to stay with Carol and
           her family for a while.

Samantha and Mason look around.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           Don't look back.

                       CAROL (O.S.)
           It's gonna be okay.

INT.   CAROL'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Mason and Carol's son, LEE, play a boxing game on Nintendo
Wii, while her daughter, ABBY, sings in the background. Mom
brings the boys a snack.

                       MOM
           Hey, Lee and Mason.    Take a break.
           Here's a snack.

Abby continues to sing.     The room is tense.

                       CAROL
           Hey, Abby, why don't you come help
           me with this, huh?

                       SAMANTHA
           Why couldn't Randy and Mindy come
           with us?
                                                   69.

                      MOM
          I'm not their legal guardian, honey.
          That would be kidnapping. I can't
          just...

                      SAMANTHA
          Well, what's gonna happen to them?
          What happens when their legal guardian
          is dangerous and abusive?

                      MOM
          You know, I don't know honey. I
          called their mom. I called the Child
          Protective Services. You know, I
          have you and your brother. We were
          in a dangerous situation. You're my
          responsibility.

                      SAMANTHA
          Are we ever gonna see them again?

                      MOM
          I don't know. And I hope so.

                      SAMANTHA
          How much longer are we gonna be here?

Mom fights back tears.

                      MOM
          Not long. We're...
              (starts crying)
          Oh, I don't -- I don't know. I don't
          have the answer to everything.

                      CAROL
          Hey, listen. We are happy to have
          you here as long as you want. As
          long as you need. This is fun for
          us, isn't it?

                         ABBY
          Mm-hmm.

                      CAROL
          Yeah, it's like having a big sister?
          Like having a brother.

                      MOM
          We're gonna help out, right? You're
          not even gonna know we're here.

                         CAROL
          Okay.
                                                          70.

EXT.   SCHOOL - DAY

Mom pulls up to drop Samantha off at the front doors of her
new Junior High School.

                       SAMANTHA
           Mom, this is awful. You're dumping
           me in some parking lot of this school
           where I don't even know anyone! I'm
           leaving all my friends and I didn't
           even get to say goodbye! I don't
           know where to go!

                       MOM
           Okay, Samantha. You go right through
           that door. The office is right there.
           They're expecting you, they're gonna
           give you your schedule. Here's your
           lunch money. I will pick you up
           right here at 3:30.

                       SAMANTHA
           I'm wearing dirty clothes! Because
           you wouldn't even let us get our
           stuff! We don't even have a place
           to live! This sucks!

Samantha gets out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
Mom screams out of the window as she walks away.

                       MOM
           Samantha... I'm doing the best I
           can! And you're right, it sucks!
           But it doesn't suck half as much as
           having a drunk fool slam your head
           against a wall! So cut your horseshit
           attitude.

Mom turns to Mason in the back as he climbs toward the front
seat.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           Put your seat belt on!

INT.   SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY

Mom is walking Mason to his class.

                       MOM
           You know if you need anything I'm in
           room 112, right?

Mason nods.
                                                          71.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           Okay. This is Mrs. Darby's room.
           Oh, honey, it's gonna be okay. Okay?

Mom leans in to kiss him.

                         MASON
           Mom...

Mason walks away, embarrassed at her public affection.

INT.   SCHOOL CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS

The students all make small talk as they wait for class to
begin. Mason enters and looks to MRS. DARBY for instruction.

                        MRS. DARBY
           Hi!   Are you Mason?

                         MASON
           Yeah.

                       MRS. DARBY
           Hi. I'm Mrs. Darby. I'm glad to
           meet you. Why don't you sit here?
               (to Kenny)
           Kenny! Off!

Kenny climbs down from on top of his desk and takes his seat.

                         KENNY
           Yes ma'am.

                       MRS. DARBY
           Kenny. This is Mason and I want you
           to show him around today, okay?

                         KENNY
           Got it.

                         MRS. DARBY
           Okay.

                         KENNY
           Hey dude.    Welcome to the suck.

The boys trade a casual low five and exchange a smile.

                       MRS. DARBY (O.S.)
           Everybody, listen up. We have a new
           student joining us today. His name
           is Mason, he's sitting in the back
           row.
                       (MORE)
                                                             72.

                       MRS. DARBY (O.S.) (CONT'D)
           Kenny's gonna be his buddy, but I
           want each one of you to take the time
           today, to introduce yourselves, and
           welcome him to school. Okay?
           Alright? Let's get started.

EXT.   NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY

Mason pushes an Obama/Biden campaign sign into the ground,
before he and Samantha walk across the street. Samantha
waits in the street with more signs, while Mason knocks on
the RESIDENT's front door.

                          RESIDENT   (O.S.)
           What?

The white-haired Resident is standing to Mason's right,
beneath his carport.

                      MASON
           Oh, hi. Can I put an Obama sign in
           your yard?

                       RESIDENT
           Do I look like a Barack Hussein Obama
           supporter?

Mason shrugs.

                          RESIDENT (CONT'D)
           No.

Mason turns to leave.

                       RESIDENT (CONT'D)
           This is private property. Get off.
           I could shoot you!

He rejoins Samantha at the street.

                          MASON
           What a dick.

                       SAMANTHA
           He had a Confederate flag on his
           house.

EXT.   NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - MOMENTS LATER

Samantha is now talking to a young, BLONDE HOUSEWIFE.

                          BLONDE HOUSEWIFE
           I love it!
                          (MORE)
                                                          73.

                      BLONDE HOUSEWIFE (CONT'D)
          Young Obama supporters out on the
          trail. This is great! Are you doing
          this through your school?

                       SAMANTHA
          Um.   Our dad's a big supporter.

                      BLONDE HOUSEWIFE
          Oh, that's great. I mean, we've
          just got to pull together to get
          this win, right?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                      BLONDE HOUSEWIFE
          Oh, I just love him so much. I mean
          I have these dreams where I'm just
          kissing him because I just love him
          so much! He's so cute, isn't he?

                         SAMANTHA
              (laughs)
          Yeah.

                      BLONDE HOUSEWIFE
          Do you know, I made these t-shirts
          for my kids. "My Momma's for Obama!"
          Do you like it? It's good, right?
          Yeah.

Samantha turns to walk towards the street.

                      BLONDE HOUSEWIFE (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          Thanks for the sign!

                         SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          No problem.

Dad pulls up in his car, arriving to pick them up.

                      DAD
          Hey, alright! Looks good! How many
          you got left, two? Alright, alright,
          we're done. Let's get out of here.
          Come on, Sam.

Dad spots a McCain sign in the front yard across the street.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
              (to Mason)
          Go get that McCain sign, would you?
                                                          74.

                       MASON
               (hesitating)
           What?

                       DAD
           Get the McCain sign! Go rip it up,
           come on! Get it, get it, get it...
           Go! Go! Go!

Mason runs across the street to grab the sign.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Good job, buddy. Yeah. Proud of
           you, son.

Dad closes the stolen sign into the trunk of his car, before
the three of them drive off down the street.

                       SAMANTHA
           You guys are gonna get us arrested.

                       DAD
           Hey, look. I'm a patriot, alright?
           Sometimes in this life, you gotta
           fight.

INT.   BOWLING ALLEY CAFE - EVENING

They sit around a table talking.

                       DAD (O.S.)
           And what is it that you do at these
           parties?

                       SAMANTHA
           I don't know... talk, dance, listen
           to music.

                       DAD
           Uh-huh. And that's more fun to you
           than going camping with your brother
           and your father who love you?

                           SAMANTHA
           Yes.   Sorry.

                        DAD
           Wow.   Is there gonna be alcohol there?

                       SAMANTHA
           Probably not. Maybe some of the
           seniors.
                                          75.

            DAD
Mm-hmm. I know what this party is.
The parents are out of town, right?
Somebody's uh, scored a keg, right...
You guys are gonna have a good time,
trash the whole house... Right? Am
I right?

                SAMANTHA
No.

                DAD   (O.S.)
No?    No?

               SAMANTHA
No, Dad.     Amy's really responsible.

                DAD
Mm-hmm.      Who's gonna be there?

            SAMANTHA
Marie, Christine, Amy... Everyone.

            DAD
Is uh, is that guy on your Facebook
page, is he gonna be there? Hm?

                SAMANTHA
Who?

            DAD
Come on, the guy that has got his
arm wrapped around you with his hair
over his eyes and --

                SAMANTHA
Garrett?

            DAD
Garrett, is that his name?     Alright,
is Garrett gonna be there?

                SAMANTHA
Probably?

            DAD
Probably.
    (to Mason)
Uh-huh, you see? I learn more about
her from her Facebook page than I do
from our scintillating conversation.
    (to Samantha)
Is he your boyfriend?
                                                       76.

                         SAMANTHA
          Kind of.

Dad turns to Mason for further information.

                      DAD
          Have you met him?       Has he been around
          the house?

                         MASON
          Sometimes.

                         DAD
          Sometime-zz?     Zzz?

Dad turns his attention back to Samantha.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          You have a boyfriend... Wow.       Have
          you heard of Sarah Palin?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yes.

                      DAD
          What's the one thing that you know
          about Sarah Palin's seventeen year
          old daughter?

                      SAMANTHA
          She's pregnant?

                      DAD
          That's right. And what is the one
          thing that you are not going to be
          in a couple of years when you turn
          seventeen?

                         SAMANTHA
          Pregnant?

                      DAD
          That's right! Alright, now what are
          the, the two ways that you can achieve
          that goal? The first is... not have
          any sex. Okay? That's the first
          way. Okay? Just not engage in that.
          That did not work out very well for
          your mother and me. And what's the
          second way?

Mason stands to leave the table.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Where are you going?
                                                            77.

                          MASON
          Bathroom.

                      DAD
          You don't have to go to the bathroom.
          Sit down, Mason. Just... Just sit
          down. What's the second way?
          Alright? Has your mother talked to
          you guys about this stuff?

                        SAMANTHA
          Oh, Dad.    Dad.

                      DAD
          No, come on. Has she talked to you
          about... contraception?

The kids are visibly uncomfortable with the conversation.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Huh? What has she -- condoms?    Has
          she talked about that?

                        SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          Oh, Dad.    Please!

                          DAD
          What?   What?

                      SAMANTHA
          That's enough.

                        DAD
          Well.    Does Garret have a condom?

                         SAMANTHA
          Ohh!    God!   Dad!

                      DAD
          What? What, come on Sam. We have
          to be able to talk about this.
          Alright? Come on, we do. We can do
          it. We can do it. Just stay with
          me here. Alright? It's as hard for
          me as it is for you. But, seriously
          though, alright, I read an article
          in the paper the other day... that
          said that although U.S. teenagers
          are not the most sexually active, we
          have the highest rate of teenage
          pregnancy. Okay?

A woman, TAMMY, walks up to the table, interrupting their
conversation.
                                                      78.

                        TAMMY
          Hey.    What's goin' on?

                        DAD
          Oh, hey.    Hey, Tammy.    How you doin'?

Dad stands to greet Tammy.

                      TAMMY
          Nice to see you.

                      DAD
          Wow, yeah, good to see you. Um,
          Tammy, this is my daughter Samantha.

                         TAMMY
          Hey.

                      DAD
          And this is Mason Junior right here.
          Tammy.

                      TAMMY      (O.S.)
          Mason Junior.

                         DAD   (O.S.)
          Say hi.

                         MASON
          Hi.

                      TAMMY
          Hi, Mason. Nice to meet you.      Heard
          a lot about you guys.

                         DAD
          Yeah, yeah.     What're you doin' here?
          You uh...

                      TAMMY
          Oh, I'm just here with some friends.

                      DAD
          Oh, well, uh....

                         TAMMY
          Yeah.     What are you guys up to?

Dad sits back down at the table.

                      DAD
          Um, we're going camping. Well no,
          this one is not going camping. This
          one is going to a party.
                                                          79.

                      TAMMY
              (to Samantha)
          Ohh... Fun.

                      DAD
          We, the men, are going camping.

                      TAMMY
          Boys are going camping. Alright,
          very nice. Well uh, we still on for
          tomorrow or...?

                      DAD   (O.S.)
          Yeah --

                      TAMMY
          Yeah?

                      DAD
          Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I'll drop him
          off at seven and then I'll just call
          you, alright?

                      TAMMY
          Okay. Great. It was really nice
          meeting you both. Take care.

                      DAD
          I'll see you.

                      TAMMY
          Talk to you soon. Bye.

Tammy walks away. Mason smirks at his dad.

                      DAD
          Don't -- don't, don't look at me
          like that, alright? I just -- look,
          just to finish the point -- okay? I
          was twenty-three when your mom had
          you, alright? So was she, alright?
          And we didn't put ourselves in the
          best position to be great parents,
          and I wish that -- I wish I were a
          better parent to you guys. Alright?
          And I, I hope that you can learn
          from my mistakes. Okay? So, wear a
          condom. Or get Garrett to -- I don't
          know. Whatever.

Samantha cringes, as Dad laughs. Mason can't help but smile.
                                                          80.

INT. MOVING CAR - DAY

Dad and Mason are driving along the open road, listening to
a song by Wilco.

                      DAD
          Now... listen to this song, alright?

Sings along:

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          "I try to stay busy" It's just
          straight up, the lyrics... it's a
          straight up old school country song.

                      SONG
          "I do the dishes, I mow the lawn..."

                      DAD
          Listen to the production of this.
          Production's like uh, like "Abbey
          Road" or something.

                      SONG
          "I try to keep myself occupied"

Dad sings along.

                      DAD
          "Even though I know you're not comin'
          home." You know, his old woman's
          gone... straight up. Nothin' fancy.

                      DAD AND SONG
          "I try to keep the house nice and
          neat. Make my bed. I change the
          sheets."

EXT. RIVERBED - DAY

Mason and Dad walk along the rocks, mid-conversation. They
sit down near the water and begin taking off socks and shoes.

                      MASON
          Yeah, I think she's about to get her
          master's degree.

                      DAD
          Well, then she's gonna start applying
          for teaching jobs?

                      MASON
          I think she already has.
                                                             81.

                       DAD
          Really?   Where?

                         MASON
              (shrugs)
          All over.

                      DAD
          All over Texas?

                         MASON
          Yeah.

                      DAD
          Well, if you gotta move, you gotta
          move, you know? It's no big deal.
          We can handle that. I'll still come
          get you every other weekend. I mean,
          unless she moves 500 miles away or
          something, it'll just be a little
          more car time. No big deal.

                      MASON
          I'm just kinda sick of moving.

                      DAD
          Well, I bet you are. But you know,
          you never know. I mean, I might
          have to move, right? I'm working
          for this insurance company now.
          These places get bought and sold all
          the time. You know? We'll just
          roll with it.

They take off pants, walk up to the water in boxer shorts.

                      MASON
          I thought you were a musician?

                      DAD
          I am but... life is expensive, you
          know. Guy's got to be responsible.
          What do you think?

Mason pushes his Dad into the water, then dives in himself.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Hey, hey, you bast -- Oh you, punk
          kid! You got no respect!

Dad splashes his son and they both begin to swim.

                                                      CUT TO:
                                                     82.

EXT. FOREST - DAY

Mason and Dad are now hiking through the woods.

                      MASON
          You know that redhead at the bowling
          alley?

                         DAD
          Sure.     What about her?

                      MASON
          Do you know her well?

                      DAD
          Ahhh, you know, we've hung out a
          little bit.

                      MASON
          Is she your girlfriend?

                      DAD
          How do you mean?

                      MASON
          Like... have you kissed her?

                      DAD
          Um... Yeah. Yeah. I've kissed her.
          What about you? You got a girlfriend?

                         MASON
          Sort of.

                         DAD
          Really.     Have you uh, have you kissed
          her?

                         MASON
          Not really.

                         DAD
          Yeah.     Well, what have you done?

                      MASON
          Well, we talked on the phone.

                        DAD
          Oh yeah?    How'd that go?

                      MASON
          Pretty terrible.

                         DAD
          Oh yeah?
                         (MORE)
                                         83.

                  DAD (CONT'D)
       (Laughs)
Why?

            MASON
Well, when we're at school, we got
plenty to talk about, but when we're
alone or on the phone, it's like we
have nothing in common.

                  DAD
Nothing?

            MASON
Uh, she's not interested in music or
video games or... the three best
movies this summer...

              DAD
All right.    What?

            MASON
Tropic Thunder, Dark Knight and
Pineapple Express.

            DAD
Yeah, what about 'em?

            MASON
She said they all sucked.

            DAD
Okay, well what's she interested in?

            MASON
I don't know. Goin' to the mall
with her stupid friends.

            DAD
Alright. Well, is she cute?      Watch
your step there.

                  MASON
Yeah.

            DAD
Yeah? Alright. Well, here's what
you do. Alright. First off, you
gotta ask her a lot of questions.
Then you have to listen to the
answers, alright, actually be
interested in her. Alright, if you
can do those things, you're gonna be
light years ahead of all the other
guys.
                                                         84.

EXT.   CAMPSITE - NIGHT

Dad and Mason sit around the campfire, making s'mores.

                       DAD
           Okay, this is the best s'more I ever
           made in my life, alright.

                          MASON
           Dad...

                       DAD
           This is absolute peak.     Look at this.

                       MASON
           Ah, that's just perfect.

                       DAD
           Honey brown, no burn... look at that,
           huh?

Mason laughs.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Sell that in the store. Mmm.

                       MASON
           That's like advertisement worthy.

                        DAD
           Mm-hm.   Advertisement quality.

                          MASON
           Yeah.

Dad laughs.

                        DAD
           You think they ever will make another
           "Star Wars"?

                       MASON
           I don't know. I mean, I think if
           they were to make another one that
           the period where the game is set is
           where it would have to be, 'cause
           there's nothin' after, really. At
           the end --

                       DAD
           Yeah, no, "Return of the Jedi" it's
           over. There's nothin' --
                                                           85.

                       MASON
           Yeah, there's nothing else to do
           there. But --

                       DAD
           You know, you can turn Han Solo into
           a Sith lord. I mean --

                       MASON
           Yeah, what are you gonna do?

They share a laugh.

EXT. CAMPSITE - LATER

Dad is singing and playing guitar -- "L.A. Freeway." -- from
inside the tent.

EXT.   CAMPSITE - DAY

Dad is standing over the campfire, peeing on it.   Mason steps
out of the tent.

                       DAD
           Good mornin'.

                        MASON
           Mornin'.

                       DAD
           You gotta pee?

                        MASON
           Sure.

                       DAD
           Ah. Hit the campfire. Ancient, uh,
           Native American custom. You're gonna
           give back to the Earth what you take
           from it and you don't burn the forest
           down.

Mason pees onto the fire.

EXT.   SCHOOL - DAY

Mom pulls up to drop the kids off at school.

                       MOM
           Okay guys, you have a good day.
           Mason, don't forget, I have to teach
           late today. Sam's gonna pick you
           up. Right, Sam?
                                                            86.

                          SAMANTHA
           Yeah.

                          MASON
           Alright.

                         MOM
           Okay.    Bye, guys.

                          MASON
           See ya.

Mason exits the car and walks toward the school building.

INT. SCHOOL - DAY

Mason walks down the hall with his classmate TONY.

                      TONY
           Hey. That's who I was talking to
           you about.

                          MASON
           Yeah.     Good luck with that.

                       TONY
           See you, man.

Mason stops to get new books out of his locker.

INT.   REST ROOM - DAY

Mason fixes his hair in the mirror. Two BULLIES are
vandalizing the walls. Bully #1 turns and wanders over to
Mason, suddenly bumping into him.

                       BULLY #1
           Don't bump into me! Little bitch!

                          MASON
           I didn't!

                       BULLY #1
           You callin' me a liar?

                          MASON
           No.

                       BULLY #1
           Don't act like you're tough shit,
           motherfucker.

Bully #2 walks over to join the altercation.
                                                             87.

                       BULLY #2
          I don't think pretty boy's hair's
          good enough.

Bully #2 tries to mess with Mason's hair. Mason blocks his
hand.

                       BULLY #2 (CONT'D)
          Hey!   Don't touch me, faggot!

Another student enters. The two bullies start to walk away.
Bully #1 shoves Mason and flips him off, as they exit.

                      BULLY #1
          You're a fuckin' asshole.

EXT. SCHOOL - AFTERNOON

Mason leans against the wall of the school, waiting for
Samantha to pick him up. When he realizes she isn't coming,
he starts to walk away.

EXT. DOWNTOWN SAN MARCOS - MOMENTS LATER

Mason is now passing through an alley with JILL, who walks
her bike alongside him.

                         JILL    (O.S.)
          Hey, Mason!

                         MASON
          Hi Jill.

                      JILL
          So, where are you going?

                      MASON
          Over to the college.

                      JILL
          What's going on there?

                      MASON
          My mom's a teacher.

                         JILL
          Oh, cool!     What does she teach?

                      MASON
          Psychology... I think.      What are you
          up to?

                      JILL
          Oh, my mom owns Needleworks.
                      (MORE)
                                                   88.

                      JILL (CONT'D)
          The arts and crafts store over there?
          So I'm just kind of hanging out.
          But I'm supposed to be going to the
          hospital soon.

                      MASON
          How come?

                      JILL
          You know Courtney? Girl with the
          dyed black hair and the nose ring?
          Wears Hot Topic every day?

                      MASON
          I... think so.

                      JILL
          We used to be best friends growing
          up, but we've kinda grown apart.
          She sorta got all emo. She thinks
          I'm a prep. But, I still consider
          her a friend! Anyway, she cut one
          of her wrists. I don't know how
          bad, but I think I should go visit.

Jill glances down at the book in Mason's hand.

                      JILL (CONT'D)
          So what are you reading?

                      MASON
          Oh, it's uh, "Breakfast of Champions".
          Kurt Vonnegut.

                      JILL
          I think my older brother likes him.
          I'm reading "To Kill a Mockingbird"
          for the third time. My friends make
          fun of me. I think I'm the only
          girl in the whole school who doesn't
          like the "Twilight" books. Have you
          read them?

                      MASON
          Sure haven't.

                      JILL
          I tried... but it was so cheesy!   So
          how do you like San Marcos?

                      MASON
          I like it alright. It's a lot smaller
          than Houston, but it seems pretty
          cool. Have you always lived here?
                                         89.

            JILL
Yeah. If you want the big city around
here, you have to drive to San Antonio
or Austin. Have you been there yet?

            MASON
I went to San Antonio for a day,
but... I haven't been to Austin yet.

            JILL
That's where all the high school
kids go, on weekends, for shows and
stuff.

            MASON
That's what I've heard.

            JILL
So are you going to Shauna's party
next weekend?

            MASON
Um... I think I heard about it.    I'm
not really sure, though.

            JILL
Well you should!

              MASON
Why's that?

            JILL
Well -- LeeAnn has a big crush on
you and I know she was hoping you
would go. You don't have a
girlfriend, do you?

            MASON
Not currently.

            JILL
Well then, you should come. I'll
tell Chase to make sure you're there.

              MASON
Okay.

            JILL
But don't tell LeeAnn I told you
that. She'd kill me.

              MASON
I won't.
                                                         90.

                      JILL
          Well, I better get going.   See you
          later.

                      MASON
          Bye.

INT. COLLEGE CLASSROOM - DAY

Mason walks into his mother's classroom. He takes a seat to
observe from the back, while she lectures.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          His cognitive series, his interviews
          with orphans, Ethology theorists'
          work... And then he in turn was
          supported strongly by Harry Harlow's
          rhesus monkey study. Now you guys,
          you gotta think, this is the 1950's,
          this was radical! This flew in the
          face of traditional learning theory,
          of B.F. Skinner's classical and
          instrumental conditioning. Now,
          Bowlby is going to argue that human
          survival depends on us falling in
          love. It depends on me falling in
          love with my mother, and my mother
          falling in love with me. And if
          that doesn't happen, we're pretty
          much doomed. Now think about it. A
          tiger chases our tribe out of a cave.
          Now an ideal mother goes, "Huh! My
          baby! I love you! I'll protect
          you!" Or... "Well you, why am I
          going to pick you up? You're going
          to slow me down. You... are... tiger
          kibble!"

The class laughs.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          So next week we are gonna get into
          Bowlby's four stages of attachment --
          oh oh, uh, Professor Douglas and I --
          some of you might have classes with
          Elena -- she and I are hosting a
          little pre-Thanksgiving get-together
          at my place, so if anyone wants to
          come, please stop by.
              (pause)
          I'm not the greatest cook...

The class laughs again.
                                                             91.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Mason opens the door as he and his mother enter the house.

                        MOM
          Thanks.

Mom drops her purse on the table and then walks down the
hallway to Samantha's bedroom. She knocks on the door before
walking inside.

                        MOM (CONT'D)
          Samantha!

Samantha is sitting on her bed, listening to music with a
friend, GABY.

                        SAMANTHA
          Okay!    Mom...

                      MOM
          Why in the hell didn't you pick up
          your brother like you said you would?

                       SAMANTHA
          Mom, I know what you're gonna say.
          She was running late and we couldn't
          turn around.

                      MOM
          No, no! No excuses! The bottom
          line is you didn't do what you said
          you were gonna do. You stranded
          your brother!

                      SAMANTHA
          It's embarrassing to ask my friend
          to turn around and go get some kid
          at the middle school.

                      MOM
          What do you mean "some kid"? He's
          your brother! And you know what?
          We've helped Janie out before. I
          mean, she lives right around the
          corner. It's no big deal.

                        SAMANTHA
          Sorry.

                      MOM
          You know what, Samantha? You need
          to start thinking long and hard about
          who you want to be.
                      (MORE)
                                                            92.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           Do you want to be a cooperative
           person, who is compassionate and
           helps people out? Or do you want to
           be a self-centered narcissist?

                       SAMANTHA
           You know what? You're right. I am
           this horrible person... But honestly,
           he's not a baby anymore. You don't
           have to treat him like one. He's in
           eighth grade and he can find his way
           home if he wants to.

                       MOM
           You know what? When Gaby leaves,
           you and me are gonna have a chat.

Mom leaves the room.

                       SAMANTHA
               (to Gaby)
           Awkward...

Gaby and Samantha laugh together.

                       GABY
           Dude, that sucks.

EXT.   APARTMENT - DAY

CHASE approaches Mason's front door and knocks.    Mason answers
the door.

                         MASON
           Hey man.    What's up?

                       CHASE
           Hey, we're going camping tonight.
           You in?

                       MASON
           Uh, who's goin'?

                       CHASE
           My brother, one of his friends, and
           Tony... Maybe.

                       MASON
           Yeah, let me check with my mom.

INT.   MOM'S BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Mom is sitting on her bed grading papers.
                                                          93.

                       MASON
           Hey, Mom. Can I go camping with
           Chase tonight?

                         MOM
           Camping?    Where?

                       MASON
           Uh, at that house that his family's
           building. It's pretty much finished.

                       MOM
           Well, will any adults be there?

                        MASON
               (shrugs)
           His brother's a senior.

                       MOM
           You have your cell phone?

                          MASON
           Yeah.

                       MOM      (O.S.)
           Is it charged?

                          MASON
           Mm-hmm.

                        MOM
           Okay, do me a favor. Leave his
           parents' number and the address on
           the counter.

                          MASON
           Okay.

INT.   CAMPING HOUSE - NIGHT

Mason, Chase, and Tony are now with two older guys, CHARLIE
(Chase's older brother) and his friend (SENIOR GUY). The
boys are drinking beer and breaking wooden boards with their
feet.

                          SENIOR GUY
           Yeah!     That's what I'm talkin' about!

The boys murmur indistinctly.

                       SENIOR GUY (CONT'D)
           You ready? Check this shit out.
           That was alright, but this is gonna
           be badass.
                                                          94.

                      CHARLIE
          Alright, let me see, let me see what
          you can do.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Alright. This -- is your face. I'm
          about to break his face, right here...

Senior Guy kicks through the wooden board.

                      BOYS
          Ohh shit, alright.    Nice.

                      CHARLIE
          Alright, alright.

                      CHASE
          Alright, alright. Now check this
          out. You might want to move.

Chase picks up a circular saw blade and throws it into a
large piece of sheet-rock with the outline of a body on it.

                      CHASE (CONT'D)
          Oww, that'd be painful. That's like
          the liver, stomach, something --

                      TONY
          That's like the belly button --

                      MASON
          Check this out, man.

Mason also heaves the blade into the human outline.

                       TONY
          Whoa!   Pancreas!

                      MASON
          That shit's lethal.

                      CHASE
          Yeah, that would be painful.

                      CHARLIE
              (To Mason)
          Man, have a beer, man.    That was
          awesome. Here.

Mason takes the beer and opens it, winning the boys' approval.

                      SENIOR GUY
          It's beer-30, children.
                                                  95.

                         CHASE
          Nice.

Chase offers a beer to Tony.

                      TONY
          Aw, no thanks.

                      CHASE
          Come on, man.

                      CHARLIE
          What, are you a pussy?

                      TONY
          No, I just don't feel like drinking
          a beer right now.

                      CHARLIE
          Man, if you're too chicken shit to
          even have a beer, I know for a fact
          that you have never gotten any pussy.

                      TONY
          Like you guys have.

                         CHASE
          Sure have.

                         TONY
          When?

                         CHASE
          Last summer.

                         MASON
          With who?

                      CHARLIE
          It was awesome. Chase went down
          easy street and fucked this whore
          Nancy. At least that's what he said.

                       CHASE
          I did.   Would I lie?

                        SENIOR GUY
          Bullshit.    Quick, where were you?

                      CHASE
          At Tobler's house. And, she fucked
          a couple other guys, too.
                                                 96.

                      CHARLIE
          Oh man, his first piece of ass was
          sloppy seconds.

The boys all laugh.

                      CHARLIE (CONT'D)
          What about you, Mason? You ever got
          any?

                      SENIOR GUY
          Yeah, you ever made her, uh, howl
          into the night?

                         MASON
          A few times.

                      TONY
              (skeptical)
          Really?

                         SENIOR GUY
          Yeah, right.     What was her name,
          Lucky?

                      MASON
          Nooo. Jennifer. She doesn't live
          here, though. She's back in Houston.

                      CHARLIE
          You're fucking lying.

                      MASON
          I don't care if you assholes believe
          me or not.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Let me guess -- you were pulling all
          kinds of ass back home, but once you
          got down here... lefty.

Senior Guy motions with his left hand.

                      MASON
          Hey, fuck you. I would, but none of
          the girls here want to.

                      CHARLIE
          Dude, it's not what they want, man.
          It's what you want.

                         SENIOR GUY
          True dat.

Senior Guy toasts, as Mason rolls his eyes.
                                                  97.

                      CHARLIE
          You know what you should do? Join a
          band. That's all it takes, man.

                       MASON
          Oh yeah?

                      CHARLIE
          Fuck yeah, dude. You don't even
          have to play that well. I mean, you
          start playing your instrument, and
          they line up to give you blow jobs.
              (Points to Tony)
          Except for you. It doesn't impress
          the ladies so much when you play
          flute for the marching band.

                      TONY
          I'm not in the fucking marching band.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Ah dude, you sure? I heard you play
          the skin flute.

                      TONY
          Alright, I got a question for you
          guys. If you think you're so cool,
          why are you hanging out with a bunch
          of eighth graders on a Friday night?

                      SENIOR GUY
          Hey, fuck you, you little penis
          wrinkle. You know, you're lucky to
          even be here. This is our camp out.
          The only reason you little cum gums
          are here is because fucking Charlie's
          mom made him bring his little asshole
          brother, and then he drags along you
          little dice danglers. Fucking fuzz
          nut, talking shit!

Senior Guy throws a beer just past Tony.

                      CHARLIE
          It's all good, man. These little
          fuzz nuts are going to get their
          chance soon enough. We got some
          whores coming by later.

                       CHASE
          Yeah?

                       SENIOR GUY
          Hell yeah!
                                                   98.

                      CHARLIE
          Now, I know Chase will fuck anything.
          I mean, I've seen this kid mount
          boulders before. But what about you
          guys? You in?

                         MASON
          Whatever.

                         CHARLIE
          Alright.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Alright, good man. What about you,
          Peter Puffer?

                      TONY
          I don't know. Maybe.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Dude, it's okay to be gay. We
          understand. Just, you know, sleep
          over there.

                         TONY
          I'm not gay.

                      CHARLIE
          Give it some time, man.     You'll
          realize.

                         TONY
          Fuck y'all.

                      CHARLIE
          See, that's exactly my point, man.
          Nah, but we don't have whores coming
          over, we were just fucking with you
          to see what you'd say.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Yeah, and you just earned your Vag
          Badge.

                      CHARLIE
          Put it next to your bitch card.

                      SENIOR GUY
          Yeah, 'cause you know, you're a bitch.
          Now hold this, like the bitch you
          are, bitch.

The boys return to breaking boards.
                                                             99.

                        SENIOR GUY (CONT'D)
           Alright, this shit is called the
           Death Punch.

Senior Guy breaks the board in half with one direct punch.

                            BOYS
           Ohh!    Jesus!

INT.   MOM'S HOUSE - DAY

Mom is hosting a pre-Thanksgiving get-together with 10-15
people all drinking wine and talking

                       MOM
               (to Mason and Samantha)
           Hey, you guys made it! Good.

Mom places a cheese plate on the living room table.

                       MOM (CONT'D)
           Oh, there you are.

PROFESSOR DOUGLAS hands Olivia a glass of wine.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           And here you go, hostess.

                       MOM
           Oh, thank you. Hey, can I get you a
           bite?

INT.   MASON'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Mason sits on his bed, chatting with a COLLEGE GIRL, who
looks around his room. There is a large graffiti mural on
the wall behind him.

                       COLLEGE GIRL
               (points to the mural)
           Oh, that's cool.

                            MASON
           Thanks.

                       COLLEGE GIRL
           You did that?

                            MASON
           Yeah.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
           Wow. How long have you been doing
           that for?
                                                          100.

                      MASON
          Not very long. Um, I went to this
          camp thing just this past summer.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          They have a camp for graffiti?

                      MASON
          Well, they call it "urban art".

                          COLLEGE GIRL
          Oh.

                      MASON
          So it sounds, you know, less illegal,
          but... it was really just a way to
          get free spray paint.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Cool. So is this your tag?     Is that --
          do they still call it...?

                      MASON
          Yeah, but you know, it's just letters
          that I'm good at writing.

                          COLLEGE GIRL
          Oh.   K...

                          MASON
          E.

                          COLLEGE GIRL
          E.    Z.   J.   O. Kezjo. That's cool.

                      MASON
          It doesn't really mean anything,
          though.

The College Girl notices a picture of Mason and his Dad
leaning against the GTO.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Is that your dad?

                          MASON
          Yeah.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Where's he live?

                          MASON
          In Houston.
                                                            101.

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Get to see him much?

                        MASON
          Yeah, yeah.    Some weekends, and over
          the summer.

                        COLLEGE GIRL
          Cool.

                      MASON
          So you're a student of my mom's,
          right?

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Mm-hm. Yeah, she's uh, I got one
          class with her. Yeah, she's cool.

                      MASON
          How's she doing? You know, is she --
          is she a good teacher and everything?

                      COLLEGE GIRL
          Yeah! She's great. She's super
          smart and she cares, you know, she
          makes it interesting. She's probably
          even my favorite teacher.

Mason nods.

INT. DINING AREA - MOMENTS LATER

One of Mom's students, JIM, tells a story while the group
sits around the table eating.

                      JIM
          ...So anyway, we figured out a way
          to rig up our iPods to the external
          speakers on the ASV. So every time
          we come rolling into town, you knew
          the 456 was there, 'cause we were
          bumping House of Pain. It was like,
          "Jump around, Jump around." And the
          whole family's coming outside, and
          you got the kids and the mom and the
          dad, and they're all bouncing up and
          down. We're throwing out candies
          for the kids, and soccer balls, and
          Beanie Babies, and Frisbees... Um,
          like, smokes for the adults. And
          they loved, they absolutely loved,
          Gatorade. But for some reason, you
          know, they hated the lemon-lime
          flavor. I don't know what it was.
          Yeah. Couldn't give it away.
                                                 102.

The group laughs.

                      MOM
          How long were you over there?

                      JIM
          Uhh... I did two tours in Iraq and
          one in Bosnia.

                      MOM
          Wow.

                      MASON
          Did you enlist?

                      JIM
          Mm-hmm. Yeah. I was, um, Army
          National Guard. And, uh, you know
          coming straight out of high school.
          Needed money for college. Seemed
          like a decent paying job. And, uh,
          did my tour. And whenever I got
          done, I told them if there's, you
          know, a world-changing event, I'll
          come back. And, uh, 3 months later
          9/11 happened. And I was back 9/12.
          And I'm proud to say the 456, the
          whole time we were there, we never
          lost a guy. Not one casualty.

                      MOM
          But is that odd?    Is that unusual?

                      JIM
          Yeah. Almost impossible. Like the
          guys that came along after us and
          replaced us, they didn't listen to
          any of our advice. They, you know,
          did basically the polar opposite of
          what we did, and they lost seven
          guys in the first month.

                       MOM
          Wow. What did you guys do
          differently?

                      JIM
          Well, I'd like to think it's just a
          matter of mutual respect, you know.
          I mean, all the time we spent over
          there building trust, I mean these
          guys basically destroyed it in three
          days.
                                                            103.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           So, what did the locals think about
           why we were there?

                         JIM
           Oil.    Plain and simple.

INT.   LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The College Girl is now playing guitar and singing "Wish You
Were Here" along with others in the living room. At some
point, Mason notices Mom talking with Jim outside on the
porch.

EXT. CAR - NIGHT

A station wagon pulls up in front of Mason's house. The
teenagers inside are listening to music, about to drop Mason
off at home.

INT.   CAR - NIGHT

Mason is in the far back of the station wagon, making out
with a BLONDE GIRL.

                       CHASE
           Hey, Mason.
               (hands Mason a joint)
           One last hit.

Mason takes a hit of the joint.

                       CHARLIE
               (in the driver's seat)
           Hey! Mickey Mouse Club. Get the
           fuck out of my car. Just crawl out
           the back window or something, man.

Mason climbs out the back window of the station wagon.

                       BLONDE GIRL
           I'm gonna miss you.

                       MASON
           I'll see you on Sunday night.

                         BLONDE GIRL
           Alright.    You better text me.

                         MASON
           Mm.    Do you have any gum?

                       BLONDE GIRL
           Um... yeah, I do, actually.   Here
           you go.
                                                         104.

                        MASON
           Thanks.   See ya.

Mason kisses her good-night.

INT.   JIM'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Mom is hosting a small get-together, and is currently talking
with Professor Douglas.

                       MOM
           ...And they're buying this party
           line that they're supposed to feel
           bad and trade off their own pension,
           as if that's what's corrupting this
           nation.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           Yeah, because those who hear Fox, in
           my opinion, are being lied to.

                       MOM
           Yeah, thank God for Wisconsin. I
           mean, we have to follow that example.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           You're right.

Mason enters the front door.

                         JIM
           Hey, Mason.    What time is it?

                       MASON
           Uh, like 12:15.

                       JIM
           Happy birthday.

Mason smiles.

                        MOM
           Huh!   Happy birthday!

Mom kisses Mason. Professor Douglas walks over to join them,
taking an interest.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           Mason, it's your birthday?

                       MASON
           Uh, just now, I guess.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
           Yeah, how old are you?
                                                        105.

                        MASON
          Fifteen.

                        PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          Fifteen!    Give me a hug.

Professor Douglas hugs Mason.

                      PROFESSOR DOUGLAS (CONT'D)
          Happy birthday. Oh my goodness!

Professor Douglas rejoins the party.

                      MOM
              (to Mason)
          Have you been drinking?

                        MASON
          Have you?

                      MOM
          Yeah, a little.     Have you?

                      MASON
          A little bit.

                      MOM
          Have you been...?

Mom mimes smoking reefer.

                      MASON
          A little bit.

                        MOM
          Oh... okay.

                      MASON
          I'm gonna go to sleep.

                      MOM
          Talk in the morning, huh?

EXT. JIM'S FRONT YARD - DAY

Dad and Jim stand around in front of the house. ANNIE opens
the doors to the new mini-van, so the kids can load their
overnight bags.

                        SAMANTHA
          Hey, Dad!

                       DAD
          Hey!   How you doing?
                                                         106.

Dad kisses Samantha on the cheek.

                        SAMANTHA
          Good!    Whose car is that?

                      DAD
          That's our car.    Hop on in there.

                         SAMANTHA
                 (to Annie)
          Hey!

                      ANNIE
          Hey, sweetie.

Annie give Samantha a hug. Samantha peeks in the side door
of the mini-van, finding baby COOPER in a car seat.

                      SAMANTHA
          Hey Cooper! Hey, how's it goin'?
          Hello little brother!
              (to Annie)
          He's so cute.

EXT. JIM'S SIDE YARD - CONTINUOUS

Mom talks with two workers about an exposed pipe in the yard.

                      MOM
          Can we just replace that part of the
          pipe?

                      WORKER
          No, no it's no good.      Everything is
          no good.

                      MOM
              (attempting Spanish)
          Todo... Total?

                      WORKER
          Everything, yes... Mira.

He shows the broken pipe with his shovel. He asks the other
worker to demonstrate the strength of the replacement pipe
by standing on it.

                      WORKER (CONT'D)
          See this one is...

                      MOM
          Gusto... it's stronger?

                        WORKER
          Yes.    It's better.   Yes, yes, yes.
                                                   107.

EXT. JIM'S FRONT YARD - CONTINUOUS

                       DAD
              (to Jim)
          Hey listen, uh, thanks for that camera
          you got Mason.

                       JIM
          Oh,   yeah... Mason's --

                      DAD
          He's loving that thing.

                      JIM
          He's all into the photography thing
          right now.

                      DAD
          Yeah, I know.

                      JIM
          He's actually talking about turning
          his, uh, his closet into a dark room.
          The red light and developing, the
          whole nine...

                       DAD
          Yeah?   You alright with that?

                      JIM
          I probably won't see him for a week...

                      DAD
          Yeah... Right... Well...

                      JIM
          But, you know. He's having a good
          time.

                      DAD
          At least he's focusing on something.

                         JIM
          Yeah, yeah.

                         DAD
          You know?     That's what I like.

                      JIM
          Yeah, he's all about it.
                                                           108.

EXT.   JIM'S SIDE YARD - CONTINUOUS

                       MOM
               (pointing to the pipe)
           Okay... Let's go grande.

                          WORKER
           It's good?

                          MOM
           It's good.

                         WORKER
           It's good.    It's better.   Yes.

He instructs the other worker on how to get started. Mom
turns to join the others in front yard.

                       MOM
           Hey, you know, you're smart.    You
           should be in school.

                       WORKER
           I like school, I need school, but
           it's hard. I work all day...

                       MOM
           Go to night school. At community
           college. It's -- It's pretty
           affordable.

EXT. JIM'S FRONT YARD - CONTINUOUS

                       DAD
           You're doing a nice job with the
           house though, it's looking great...
           really great.

                       JIM
           Thanks. Yeah, you know, some fix-
           its here and there, you know. We
           got a good deal on the foreclosure...
           So, now I'm finding out why. You
           know?

                        DAD
               (laughs)
           Yeah. Right?

Mason walks outside, carrying a duffel bag.

                          DAD (CONT'D)
           Hey bud!     Hey, Happy Birthday!

The mini-van catches Mason's attention.
                                                           109.

                         MASON
          What's that?

                         DAD
          What's that?     That's our new car!
          Get in it.

Dad gives Mason a hug.    Jim shakes Mason's hand.

                      JIM
          Alright, have a good weekend.

Mom arrives at the front yard and greets Dad with a hug.

                         MOM
          Hi.

                      DAD
          Hey, how you doing?      Good to see
          you.

                       MOM
          You too.
               (to Annie)
          Hey!

                      ANNIE
          Hey, how are you?

Mom gives Annie a hug.

                      MOM
          You look great.

                         ANNIE
          Oh, thanks.

                      MOM
          Aww, look at him!      Ooh.   He's got
          Mason's nose.

                      SAMANTHA
          Yeah, isn't he cute?

                         MOM
          Yeah.

Dad gets into the van, as the family closes all the doors.

                         DAD
          Alright!

                      MASON
          Love you guys.
                                                        110.

                       DAD
           We got a big drive ahead of us.

                          MOM
           Bye, Sam.

                       JIM
           You guys drive safe.

                          DAD
           Alright.     Well, we'll be back tomorrow
           night.

                          MOM
           Bye, honey.     I'm so glad you were
           born!

Dad, Annie, and the kids drive off for Houston. Mom and Jim
are left standing in the front yard, as they watch the van
drive away.

INT.   MINI-VAN - DAY

                       MASON
           So, this is like Annie's car and...
           and you drive the GTO? I guess you
           can't really put a baby seat in that
           thing.

                          DAD
           Yeah, no...     But I had to sell that
           anyway.

                          MASON
           You what?

                       DAD
           Yeah, I had to sell that.

                       MASON
           So... so it's gone?

                       DAD
           Yeah, some sucker collector from
           California paid twenty-two grand for
           it, which is great 'cause I basically
           got to pay for this in cash. I only
           paid eighty-five hundred for that
           thing way back when. I mean, you
           know, cars are generally a terrible
           investment. You know? Soon as you
           drive them off the lot you got a used
           car on your hands, and the value's
           only dropping from there.
                       (MORE)
                                                         111.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          But... if you take care of it, you
          know, and you get lucky and it's a
          classic, you know, the value starts
          going up again. I mean shit, you got
          guys paying hundreds of thousands of
          dollars for some Shelby Cobra.

After a long silence, Dad notices Mason is unusually quiet.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
          What?

                      MASON
          You don't remember?

                      DAD
          Remember what?

                      MASON
          Really? You said that was going to
          be my car when I turned sixteen.

                       DAD
              (laughs)
          What? No, I didn't.       I never said
          that.

                      MASON
          I remember. I was in third grade
          and you were taking me over to Anthony
          Nagar's house for his birthday...
          and we were there early, so we gave
          him a ride around the block. And he
          was talking about how much he loved
          your car and so you were all like
          "Oh. This is going to be Mason's
          when he turns 16."

                      DAD
          What are you..? Alright, first off,
          I have no memory of that, alright?
          Second of all, I would never say
          that. Never.

                       MASON
          Yeah.   You did though.

                      DAD
          What? Mason. Come on, what about
          your sister? I'm just gonna forget
          about her? Come on, how's that fair?
          Huh? Anthony Nagar, what the?
                      (MORE)
                                                         112.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
              (laughs)
          Are you...? Oh, come on! I mean,
          you're not... Ughh.
          Look, you can sit there like there's
          a death in the family, alright, but
          bottom line is that was my car.
          Alright? I paid for it, I took care
          of it, and I can do whatever I want
          with it. Alright? I'm sorry if you
          had other ideas about it but when
          you get older you can save up and
          buy a car of your own. And be cool
          like I used to be. Or... you can
          get a mini-van.

Annie and Samantha watch a Lady Gaga music video on Samantha's
cell phone in the back seat.

                      ANNIE
          Does your mom actually let you watch
          this?

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah.     She likes it too.

                      ANNIE
              (laughing)
          Oh, my god... Okay, well.

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                      ANNIE
          Have you ever seen her in concert?

                     SAMANTHA
          No. But she's coming to Houston in
          April.

                      ANNIE
          She's coming to Houston?

                         SAMANTHA
          Mm-hmm.

                      ANNIE
          Oh you know, your dad and I could
          get you tickets, and you could stay
          with us.

                      SAMANTHA
          That'd be great.
                                                          113.

                        ANNIE
          Yeah.

                      DAD
          Hey, hey, Annie? Will you get me
          the, the little birthday present for
          Mason?

                        ANNIE
          Yeah, babe.

Annie hands a small wrapped present to Dad.   Mason unwraps
the gift to reveal a CD set.

                      DAD
          Alright. This one, this one needs a
          little explanation, okay? Open it
          up. I call that "The Beatles' Black
          Album". Alright, what it is, is the
          best of John, Paul, George, and Ringo
          solo, post-break up.

                        MASON
          Thanks.

                      DAD
          Yeah, basically, I put the band back
          together for you.

Annie Laughs.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          You know, whenever you listen to too
          much of the solo stuff, it kind of
          becomes a drag, you know? But you
          put 'em next to each other, alright,
          and they start to elevate each
          other... and then you can hear it.
          Huh! It's The Beatles. You know?

                      MASON
          I don't know. I think I always just
          liked Paul the best.

                      DAD
          It doesn't matter, you know, you're
          missing the point. There is no
          favorite Beatle! That's what I'm
          saying. It's in the balance. That's
          what made them the greatest fucking
          rock band in the world. Okay? You
          know, and there's this decade of
          music out there that's been scattered.
          Alright?
                      (MORE)
                                                        114.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          And now it has been carefully found,
          arranged, and ordered for you, by
          your loving father.

                      ANNIE
          Very arranged and very organized,
          over and over again by your loving
          father.

                      DAD
          Yes, yes, yes. So, I mean, look at
          that-- look at that, uh, top of Volume
          II, first four tracks... You've got
          "Band on the Run" into "My Sweet
          Lord", into "Jealous Guy", into
          "Photograph". I mean, come on.
          It's like the perfect segue. You
          got Paul, who takes you to the party,
          George who talks to you about God,
          John who says no, it's about love
          and pain, and then Ringo who just
          says hey, can't we enjoy what we
          have while we have it? It's a good
          record. I shit you not.

                         MASON
          Cool.

EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY

The mini-van drives along a dirt road lined with trees and
parks outside of a small ranch home. GRANDPA CLIFF and NANA
come outside to greet their guests.

                      DAD
          Hey there, Cliff.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Hey, how you doin'?

                       DAD
          Oh, good.   How you doin'?

                      NANA
              (to Mason)
          Oh, hi, birthday boy!   It's good to
          see you.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
          Good.   Good to see you.

                      DAD
          Ah, it's great to see you.
                                                           115.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
           You made it alright, huh?

                       DAD
           Yeah, we sure did.    We sure did.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
               (to Annie)
           How are you, darling?

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

Annie and Nana quietly light the candles on Mason's birthday
cake.

                       DAD
           Alright, we ready?

                       ANNIE
           Yeah, yeah, get started --

                       NANA
           Wait, wait, wait...

INT.   LIVING ROOM - DAY

                        DAD
           Hey, Sam.

He subtly indicates for her to get off her laptop and join
the family. They take their seats in the living room.

                       DAD (CONT'D)
           Hey, still sleeping here?

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
           Oh, yeah, sawin' logs.

                        DAD
           You ready?

The family sings happy birthday to Mason. Nana brings in
the birthday cake, complete with lit candles.

                       ALL
               (singing)
           Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday
           to you. Happy birthday, dear Mason...
           Happy birthday to you!

                       DAD
           Make a wish, make a wish.

Mason blows out the candles. The family cheers.
                                                           116.

                     NANA
          Real good! Presents!      Wait, wait,
          wait. Here, sweetie.

Nana hands Mason a wrapped gift.

                      DAD
          Hey Sam, would you get us a knife so
          we can cut this up? Hey? Alright.

Sam walks into the kitchen to grab a knife.

                      NANA
          I hope you like it. I heard you
          didn't have one, so.

He unwraps the gift.

                      NANA (CONT'D)
          It's a Bible. Is this your first
          Bible? Look, there's your name...

                         MASON
          Wow.

                      NANA
          ...In gold. And wait-wait-wait-wait.
          Look at this. It's a Red Letter
          edition, and that means that
          everything Jesus said is in red.

                         MASON
          Thank you.

                         NANA
          Like it?     Alright. I love you,
          sweetie.     Happy Birthday.

                      ANNIE
          And this one's from us.

Annie hands Mason a large gift box.

                      DAD
          It's not going to make all your dreams
          come true, here, you know. Just
          keep your expectations low. No, no,
          no, no, you need it. It's...

Dad pulls a blue dress shirt, blazer, and tie out of the
box.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          It's -- hey! Come, on right? You
          gotta have it. You need this.
                                                         117.

                      NANA
          Wow!

                      DAD
          You've got life ahead of you.   You
          know --

                      ANNIE
          And the shirt is blue, and I know
          you like blue.

                      DAD
          You've got dances --

                      NANA
          It's beautiful!

                      DAD
          -- And job interviews. Here, I'm
          going to get it all wrinkled here.

Grandpa comes out of the kitchen with a covered gun.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Mason?

                      DAD
              (whispers)
          The Black Album was from me.

                      NANA
          Uh-oh.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Come here, son. Pull that off.

Mason walks over and pulls the case off to reveal a shotgun.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF (CONT'D)
          There's a 20 gauge shotgun.

                      MASON
          Wow.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Yeah. My dad gave it to me when I
          was a little younger than you, and
          his dad gave it to him, and well,
          you're fifteen and I'd like for you
          to have it. Alright? Here, you
          hold it. Yeah.

                      MASON
              (taking the gun)
          Thank you.
                                                        118.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Congratulations, son. I'll teach
          you how to clean it, teach you how
          to fire it. I'll teach you a little
          bit of safety.

The family laughs, as Mason holds the gun pointing
precariously across the room.

EXT. RANCH HOUSE - DAY

Samantha holds a pistol, ready to shoot. Dad is helping her
aim. There are bottles and cans lined up as targets.

                      DAD
          Now cock it. Alright, there you go.
          Now, what you want to do is line up
          the front sight with the back sight,
          here, you see this little V right
          here --

                         SAMANTHA
          Mm-hm.

                      DAD
          Now which one you aiming at?

                      SAMANTHA
          Ah, the middle can.

                      DAD
          The middle can? Alright, alright.
          Now fire at will, alright?

                         SAMANTHA
          Okay.

Samantha shoots the can.

                         DAD
          Ho.   Whoa!

Dad claps as Samantha lowers the pistol.

                         SAMANTHA
          Yeah!

                         GRANDPA CLIFF
          Howdy!

                      DAD
          Alright, watch out, watch out.   Whoa.
          Be careful. Alright.
                                                            119.

Mason holds the shotgun, taking aim.
Grandpa Cliff throws a chunk of wood up into the air as a
target.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
          Ready?   Pull!

Mason misses the fist shot.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF (CONT'D)
          You uh, you uh, hit a little low.
          Wait until it gets up high and then
          shoot. Alright? Cause then it's a
          better aim coming down. Remember,
          second trigger.

                       MASON
          Mm-hm.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
          Ready?

                       MASON
          Mm-hm.

                       GRANDPA CLIFF
          Pull!

Grandpa Cliff throws another piece of wood into the air.
This time, Mason hits it.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF (CONT'D)
          Hah! Hah! Look what you did! Well,
          you nailed it, didn't you? How's
          that feel?

                       MASON
          Felt good.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          Yeah, it felt good. Good.

EXT. RANCH HOUSE - NIGHT

The family sits out on the porch in a circle.   Dad plays
guitar as the family sings along.

                      DAD
              (singing)
          Well, I want for us to be together
          forever.

                      ANNIE
              (singing)
          But to wander wherever I may.
                                                   120.

                      DAD
              (singing)
          I want you to be easy and casual.

                      ANNIE
              (singing)
          But still demand I stay.

                      SAMANTHA
              (singing)
          I want for you to know me completely,
          but still remain mysterious.

                      MASON
              (singing)
          Consider everything deeply, but still
          remain fearless.

                       DAD AND ANNIE
              (singing)
          Climb to the top, look over the ledge.
          Dance barefoot on a razor's edge.
          Reach for the stars, grab the tiger
          by the tail.

                      MASON
              (singing)
          If I don't try, I'll never fail.

                      DAD
          Good!

                      DAD AND ANNIE
              (singing)
          If you go home, you're rolling the
          dice. Can't step in the same river
          twice. If you love too much it'll
          turn to hate. If you never leave
          home you'll never be late. If you
          eat too much, you're gonna get fat.
          If you buy a dog, you'll piss off
          your cat.

Grandpa Cliff and Nana both laugh.

                      DAD AND ANNIE (CONT'D)
          Take a deep breath, and enjoy the
          ride. Cause arrivals and departures
          run side by side...

Annie's parents cheer as the song concludes.
                                                       121.

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Alright, you're our first audience,
          you know? Mason demanded we work on
          it the whole drive.

                      GRANDPA CLIFF
          It was really wonderful. That's
          sweet. Sweet.

                      NANA
          Thank you, thank you, thank you.

                        GRANDPA CLIFF
          Impressive.

                      DAD
          It's a work in progress.

EXT. CHURCH - DAY

A small country church.

                      PREACHER (O.S.)
          A week later -- we don't know why
          Thomas wasn't there the first time --
          but a week later, Thomas comes back
          and joins the other disciples. They
          say, "Hey, the Lord's alive, we saw
          him!"

INT. CHURCH - DAY

The preacher stands at the front of the church holding an
open bible. The family sits among the congregation. Mason
is wearing his new suit.

                      PREACHER
          "I won't believe it until I put my
          finger into his side and I'm gonna
          see those nail prints in his hands."
          Poof! About that time, here comes
          Jesus, standing right next to him.
          Okay? And he turns to Thomas. Don't
          you know Thomas felt some shame?
          And he turns to Thomas and says,
          "Thomas, here, stick your finger in
          my side. Look at these nail prints.
          It's me." And Thomas says, "My Lord,
          and my God, I believe."

Annie's parents nod in agreement.

                      PREACHER (CONT'D)
          And Jesus said, "Well, that's good.
                      (MORE)
                                                          122.

                      PREACHER (CONT'D)
          But blessed are those who can believe
          without seeing." It's a lot easier
          when you can see, and feel, and touch.
          But like us, we haven't seen him in
          the flesh. We haven't felt him in
          the flesh. But we have experienced
          him in the spirit. At least I have,
          and I hope y'all have too.

EXT. WOODS - DAY

The family walks through the woods. Annie holds Cooper to
her chest in a cloth carrier. Mason has his camera in hand.
Dad chews on a piece of straw.

                      ANNIE
          The pond's right up here.   Ooh, it's
          low.

                      DAD
          Yeah.

                      ANNIE
          You know, my dad could take you
          fishing next time you're here if you
          want.

                      MASON
          Nice.

                      ANNIE
              (to Cooper)
          Hi, baby. What's goin' on?

Mason and Samantha walk down to the pond.   Annie sits on a
picnic bench with Cooper.

                      ANNIE (CONT'D)
          You know, I think we're just gonna
          hang out here for a minute.

                      DAD
          Want me to stay with you?

                      ANNIE
          No, it's okay.

                      DAD
          You sure?

                      ANNIE
          Yeah, thanks.
                                                            123.

Samantha pushes a stick into the mud.   Mason photographs
pond.

                      SAMANTHA
          Mason, why are you such a stick-in-
          the-mud?

                      MASON
          What are you even talking about?

                      DAD
          Hey, you guys don't mind coming back
          here on the 20th, do you, for Cooper's
          baptism?

                      MASON
          No, it's fine.

                      DAD
          Sam?

                      SAMANTHA
          Okay.

                      DAD
          I appreciate it. It means a lot to
          Annie and her folks, you know.

                      MASON
          Were we baptized?

They share a look and laugh.

                      DAD
          I wasn't the least bit concerned
          with the state of your soul. We can
          do it now, though, if you want.

                      MASON
          No, nah, I think I'm alright.

                      DAD
          You and Cooper together, you know.
          Dunk your heads.

                      SAMANTHA
          You're not becoming one of those God
          people, are you, Dad?

                      DAD
          And what's that supposed to mean,
          hm?

                      ANNIE
          I can hear you!
                                                          124.

                      DAD
          Well, I think that shotgun should
          live at my house, huh. I don't think
          your mom would love that.

Dad picks up a rock.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          Hey, look out, Sam. Let me show you
          how it's done.

Dad skips the rock across the pond.   Mason photographs it.

                       SAMANTHA
          Nice, Dad.

She laughs.

                      DAD
          Still got the goods, hmm?

INT. DARKROOM - DAY

Mason is developing a picture in the darkroom.   His teacher,
MR. TURLINGTON, wanders in.

                      TURLINGTON
          How long you been in here, Mason?

                      MASON
          I'm not sure.

                      TURLINGTON
          I'm sure. All class. Did you
          complete your image diary?

                       MASON
          Not yet.

                      TURLINGTON
          Completed your, uh, digital contact
          sheet?

                      MASON
          Not quite, but... I mean, it's not
          gonna take me long.

                      TURLINGTON
          Not yet. Not quite. Darkroom time
          is extra-curricular. I mean
          technically, you don't ever have to
          be in here these days, and certainly
          not until you've completed your
          assignments. That's the deal.
                                                   125.

                         MASON
          Sorry.

                      TURLINGTON
          I'm worried about you, Mason.

                         MASON
          Why is that?

                      TURLINGTON
          I'll tell you why. The images you're
          turning in, they're cool. You're
          looking at things in a really unique
          way. Got a lot of natural talent.

                         MASON
          Thanks.

                      TURLINGTON
          Yeah, but, that and fifty cents will
          just get you a cup of coffee in this
          old world. I've met a lot of talented
          people over the years. How many of
          them made it professionally without
          discipline, commitment, and a really
          good work ethic?

Mason shrugs and shakes his head, unsure.

                      TURLINGTON (CONT'D)
          I can tell you. I can count it on
          two fingers. Zero. It's not gonna
          happen for you, Mason. The world is
          too competitive. There are too many
          talented people who are willing to
          work hard. And a butt-load of morons
          who are untalented, who are more
          than willing to surpass you. As a
          matter of fact, a lot of them are
          sitting in that classroom out there
          right now. Hm? You know what they're
          doing? They're doing their
          assignments, which is what you're
          supposed to be doing, but you're
          not. You're in here. Why is that?
          Are you special, Mason?

                      MASON
          No, but I mean the things you're
          talking about, like work ethic or
          whatever, I feel like I do work pretty
          hard. I spend the whole weekend
          taking pictures a lot of times.
                                                        126.

                      TURLINGTON
          You like football, Mason?

                        MASON
          Not really.

                      TURLINGTON
          Yeah, I know you don't. That's why
          I've just assigned you to shoot the
          football game tonight. Okay? It
          starts at 7:30. I want you to get
          there early. I want you to shoot a
          full card, three hundred images, and
          I want 'em downloaded, I want 'em
          sorted, and I want to see them very
          first thing Monday. Okay? You want
          to know why I'm doing this?

                        MASON
          I guess.

                      TURLINGTON
          Who do you want to be, Mason?    What
          do you want to do?

                      MASON
          I want to take pictures.    Make art.

                      TURLINGTON
          Any dip-shit can take pictures, Mason.
          Art, that's special. What can you
          bring to it that nobody else can?

                      MASON
          That's what I'm trying to find out.

                      TURLINGTON
          Try harder. Hey, maybe in twenty
          years you can call old Mr. Turlington
          and you can say, "Thank you, sir,
          for that terrific dark room chat we
          had that day."
              (walking away)
          Get back to class and do your work.

INT. CLASSROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Mason walks back to his computer.    NICK sits at the
neighboring computer.

                       NICK
          Hey man.   You're walkin' a little
          funny.
                                                         127.

                         MASON
          Fuck you.

                      NICK
          I'm just saying, you guys were in
          there for a long time. Just hope he
          bought you dinner first.

Mason playfully jabs Nick in the arm.

INT. JIM'S HOUSE - DAY

Jim sits at the kitchen table, opening a beer. Mom and
Samantha prepare dinner in the kitchen. Mom walks over to
the stairs to call up to Mason.

                       MOM
          Mason!   Honey, come down for dinner.

On her way back to the kitchen, Mom notices the screen on an
open laptop.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          Samantha! You didn't post these
          pictures and their descriptions?
          Come on, this auction is going to
          end on Sunday, honey. You've got to
          get those posted.

                      SAMANTHA
          Why are we even doing this? It's
          like an online junk shop. I thought
          you had a good job?

                      MOM
          I do. We're what you call house
          poor. Everyone's got to do their
          part. Your brother took the pictures.
          You have to help.

                      SAMANTHA
          Who even buys this shit?

                      JIM
          Hey, Sam, watch your mouth, alright?
          Don't disrespect your mother. You
          like a roof over your head, don't
          you?

                      MOM
          Yeah, and you like having electricity
          so that you can charge your cell
          phone?
                                                         128.

                      SAMANTHA
          I'm not even gonna be here next year.
          I'm a senior. I should be having
          fun.

Mason enters. He sits down at the table.   He has blue nail
polish on his fingernails.

                        JIM
          Nice nails.

                      MASON
          Yeah, some girl did that in sixth
          period.

                      JIM
          You planning on keeping them?

                      MASON
          Until it comes off, I guess.

                      JIM
          Last summer it was the earrings, and
          now the nails. You got a, uh, you
          got a purse to go with all that?

                      SAMANTHA
          A lot of guys do that.   He's just
          trying to be cool.

                      JIM
          When I was in high school, having a
          job, being responsible, being able
          to afford a car, that was cool.

                      MOM
          Mason, honey, why don't you get you
          and your sister some water.

Mason gets up to help set the table.

EXT. FOOTBALL GAME - NIGHT

An announcer comments on the game over the loud speaker.
The crowd cheers and the band plays. Mason is on the
sidelines, photographing details he finds interesting. He
scrolls through the images on his camera.

                      NICK
          Hey man, Turlington says to cut the
          artsy crap and shoot the game. So
          take your lens and point it that
          way.
                                                           129.

                      MASON
          Jesus Christ.

                      NICK
          Also, we got a ride tonight.

                      CHASE
          McCormick gonna take us to the party.
          We're gonna head out after the game.
          You're goin', okay?

                         MASON
          Okay.

                      NICK
          Shoot the game.

A player catches the ball and is tackled.

EXT. PARTY - NIGHT

"She's Long Gone" by the Black Keys plays over the party.
Mason fills a cup at the keg. Samantha takes a shot with a
boy. Kids play beer bong.

                         BEER PONG GUY
          Kobe...

It goes in - guests react.

                      GABY
          Oh! First one. What was that?
          What was that? What is up?

Nick plays drums with teen band.    Mason approaches SHEENA.
He nudges her shoulder.

                      SHEENA
          Hey, what's up?

                        MASON
          Hey.    How's it goin'?

                         SHEENA
          Pretty good.     How long have you been
          here?

                      MASON
          I don't know. Awhile, I guess.

                        SHEENA
          Awhile?    Yeah.
                                                   130.

EXT. QUIET SPOT - MOMENTS LATER

Mason and Sheena sit and talk.

                      MASON
          I just feel like there are so many
          things that I could be doing and
          probably want to be doing that I'm
          just not.

                      SHEENA
          Why aren't you?

                      MASON
          I mean, I guess it's... just being
          afraid of what people would think.
          You know, judgment.

                      SHEENA
          Yeah. I guess it's really easy to
          say, like, I don't care what anyone
          else thinks, but, everyone does, you
          know? Deep down.

                      MASON
          Exactly. I find myself so furious
          at all these people that I'm in
          contact with just for controlling me
          or whatever, but you know, they're
          not even aware they're doing it.

                      SHEENA
          Yeah. So... in this perfect world
          where no one's controlling you, what's
          different? What changes?

                      MASON
          Everything. I mean, I just    wanna be
          able to do anything I want,   because
          it makes me feel alive. As    opposed
          to giving me the appearance   of
          normality.

                      SHEENA
          Whatever that means.

                      MASON
          I don't think it means much.

                      SHEENA
          You're kinda weird, you know that?

                      MASON
          Yeah?
                      (MORE)
                                                        131.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
              (Laughing)
          Is that a compliment?

                      SHEENA
          I don't know. Do you wanna be weird?

                      MASON
          I mean, I don't want to like... scare
          kids at the park, or anything like
          that.

Sheena laughs.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
          I really like talking with you. I
          don't usually even try to like
          vocalize my thoughts or feelings or
          anything. Just, I don't know, it
          just never sounds right. Words are
          stupid.

                      SHEENA
          So, why're you trying with me?

                       MASON
          I don't know. I guess I feel
          comfortable.

                       SHEENA
          I'm glad.

EXT. JIM'S HOUSE - LATER

Mason comes home late. Jim sits outside on a chair surrounded
by empty beer cans and one in hand.

                       MASON
          Hey, Jim.   I'm sorry I'm so late.

                      JIM
          What time were you supposed to be
          home?

                      MASON
          I don't know. Awhile ago.

                      JIM
          Awhile ago like, thirty minutes ago,
          an hour ago? Cause, truthfully,
          nobody even knew where you were until
          your sister told us. She's been
          home for awhile.
                                                  132.

                       MASON
          I'm sorry.

                      JIM
          Yeah, been hearin' a lot of that
          lately. See, but you don't actually
          care. You just kinda... kinda come
          and go as you please and you don't
          care if your mom's upset or what
          time you gotta be home... Is that
          what's up?

                      MASON
          I don't know what to tell you.

                      JIM
          Stop mumbling! You know, speak up!
          I can't understand a word comin'
          outta your mouth. It's just like,
          "uh uhh nuhh" and I ask you questions
          and you just--

                      MASON
          Man, can I just have one day where
          everyone isn't all over my ass!?

Jim gets up abruptly and advances on Mason.

                      JIM
          I'm up your ass? This is my house.
          Now, if you wanna live in my house
          then you get home when you say you're
          gonna be home.

                      MASON
          You know, Jim, you're not my dad.

                      JIM
          No, I'm not your dad! You know how
          I know that? Cause I'm actually
          here. I'm the guy with the job,
          paying the bills, taking care of
          you, your mom, your sister... Huh?!
          Huh?!

Mason goes inside.

                      JIM (CONT'D)
          I'm that guy...

Jim sits down.
                                                         133.

INT. MOM'S HOUSE - DAY

Mom sits at the kitchen table surrounded by bills and papers.
Mason comes down the stairs.

                         MASON
          Morning.

                      MOM
          Morning. Hey, which one of you guys
          used the downstairs bathroom last
          night?

                      MASON
          I don't know. I didn't.

                      MOM
          That tall guy, what's his name?

                         MASON
          Phillip?

                      MOM
          Yeah, Phillip. He did it. Can
          Phillip read? I mean, there's a big
          sign on the door, it says, "Do not
          use this bathroom, it's broken." I
          mean, how difficult is that?

                      MASON
          I don't know. I'm sorry.

Mason prepares cereal.

                      MOM
          I think I'm gonna put the house on
          the market.

                         MASON
          Why?

                      MOM
          This house is too big for us. I
          mean, you're going to school
          eventually... It's too expensive.
          I'm done.

                      MASON
          Well why did you even buy it in the
          first place, then?

                      MOM
          Because I really enjoy making poor
          life decisions, keeping us on the
                      (MORE)
                                                  134.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          brink of poverty. I mean, I've spent
          the first half of my life acquiring
          all this crap and now I'm gonna spend
          the second half of my life getting
          rid of all this stuff.

                       MASON
          Really?   Like what?

                      MOM
          Like - Well, I got rid of a couple
          husbands, now I'm gonna get rid of a
          mortgage, some maintenance, the
          tchotchkes, the, the homeowner's
          insurance, the property tax, the
          plumbing... Ahhh. You know what?
          From now on I am gonna be Mommy Monk.
          Simple. Celibate.

                      MASON
          Don't be gross, Mom.

                       MOM
          Fine. I'll be a poor whore with a
          big house.
              (Laughs)
          Is that better?

                       MASON
          Okay.

Mason starts to walk away.

                      MOM
          Mason -- Mason, please, don't leave
          me that dirty dish to wash.

                      MASON
          I do dishes all day.

                      MOM
          Well, great honey, then you're a
          professional. Come on, you could do
          one or two more for you poor old
          mom.

Mason walks over to the sink.

                       MASON
          Okay.

                       MOM
          Thank you.
                                                          135.

EXT. MOM'S HOUSE

Mason gets in truck, drives away.

INT. RESTAURANT KITCHEN

Music plays in the background. Mason is in uniform, he
carries in a bus tub of dirty dishes, one with uneaten
battered shrimp on it. He sticks one in his mouth and flirts
with APRIL, a waitress.

                      MASON
          You want one?

                        APRIL
          Ugh. God --

                      MASON
              (Laughing)
          She didn't even touch them, seriously.
          I watched her the whole time.

April takes one.

                      APRIL
          Yeah, I bet you did watch her, you
          little pervert.
              (Laughing)
          It's like we're on a date. Cheers.

They clink battered shrimp.

                      MASON
          It's a night of romance.

                      APRIL
          Yeah, except I'm not gonna kiss you.

She heads back out to the restaurant floor.

                      APRIL (CONT'D)
          I will blow you, though.

Mason brings the dishes over to the industrial washers.   His
boss, MR. WOOD, storms in.

                       MR. WOOD
          Mason!   We are in the weeds out here!

                      MASON
          I'm goin' as fast as I can.

                        MR. WOOD
          Oh!
                        (MORE)
                                                         136.

                      MR. WOOD (CONT'D)
          Then I must be confused then, cause
          I just saw you chattin it up with
          April when I gotta salad bar that
          needs a refill, I gotta six top, two
          four tops I can't use, because they
          haven't been bused.

                      MASON
          Enrique is not here.   I'm tryin'.

                      MR. WOOD
          Well, while you're tryin', we're
          dyin'! What am I supposed to tell
          my customers? "Oh, I'm sorry that
          your table's got dirty plates on it,
          but Mason's tryin'. Least that's
          what he told me, after he was flirtin'
          with April and eatin' your leftover
          shrimp." Now it is a challenge out
          there today, I know, but I wanna
          share somethin' with you, I got you
          pegged for fry cook this summer, now
          that's a lot more responsibility.
          It's also more money. How's that
          sound?

                         MASON
          Good.

                      MR. WOOD
          I know you can handle that money...
          but can you take the responsibility?
          I think you can, because I believe
          in you. But I need you on the floor.
          Now leave the dishes. Giddyup.
          Right, come on, don't let me down!

Mason exits.

INT. MOM'S HOUSE - DAY

Mason sits on the stairs video chatting with Dad on his phone.

                      DAD
          Well, so it's -- it's runnin' okay?
          That alternator's not messin' up
          anymore?

                      MASON
              (Holding Phone)
          No , it's fine. It's up for the
          trip.
                                        137.

            DAD
    (Laughing)
Well, you gonna see your sister when
you guys are in Austin?

            MASON
Yeah, she said I can stay at her
dorm, which is cool, and I guess her
roommate's out of town so it's no
big deal.

            DAD
Alright, well, did you apply there
yet? Did you get that application
in to UT?

            MASON
Not yet, but Sheena's pretty much
in, though.

            DAD
Yeah, right. Well, if you know that's
where you wanna go, you should
probably do that early acceptance
thing. You know? I mean seriously,
let 'em know you're a man who knows
what he wants.

            MASON
Yeah.

            DAD
A bit of decisiveness goes a long
way in this life, alright?

            MASON
Yeah.

            DAD
Great. And uh, what about work?
How's that goin'?

            MASON
Uh, I don't know. It's, it's alright.
Today kind of sucked, this guy didn't
show up. But it's definitely an
interesting perspective on the world.
People are slobs.

             DAD
     (Laughing)
Well, when people ask me about you I
say, "Oh, Mason, he's doing great.
He's got a job, he's really cleanin'
up."
                                                         138.

Mason laughs.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
              (From Phone)
          Alright, hey, hey, say hi to Annie
          and Cooper, will you?

Dad pans the phone to Annie and baby.

                       ANNIE
          Say hi to your big brother.     Hey,
          big brother.

                        MASON
          Hey, Annie.    Hey, kiddo.

                      ANNIE
          Can you say bye-bye?

                        BABY
          Bye-buh!

                       ANNIE
              (Laughs)
          We'll see you soon.

                      DAD
              (From phone)
          Alright, alright, well, be careful
          when you're driving, alright? Don't
          be texting, don't be doing any of
          that. Alright? Just, you're Obi
          Wan. You're centered, patient, right?
          You watch three cars ahead, two
          behind. It takes two bad drivers to
          have an accident okay?

                        MASON
          Okay.

                      DAD
              (From phone)
          Right, and listen, tell your sister
          to pick up her phone or call me back
          or something.

Mom comes down the stairs and drops a bag at Mason's feet.

                        MASON
          Okay.

                      DAD
          Alright, buddy!      You have a good
          one.
                                        139.

             MASON
Bye, Dad.

            MOM
    (Motioning to the bag)
Hey, honey, take this to your sister.
Throw it in the truck, okay?

            MASON
Okay, I will.

            MOM
So where is Sheena staying?

            MASON
At her friend Emily's.

            MOM
Is Emily a real person?

            MASON
    (Laughing)
Yeah. Yeah, she's a sophomore.    She
has an apartment.

            MOM
    (Holding out money)
Okay, this is in case of emergency.
Don't spend it. I want it back.

             MASON
Okay.   Thanks.

            MOM
Did you do your homework?

            MASON
Most of it, but... I can finish
tomorrow night.

            MOM
Honey! Eleventh grade is really
important for college. Don't blow
it.

            MASON
I know! I know. I mean, we're going
to UT and everything.

            MOM
I know, and don't you want me to
come? Come on, Sheena, road trip
with Mom! I'll pay for gas.
                                                           140.

                         MASON
          Umm...

                      MOM
          I'm just kidding.      I have work.

She kisses his forehead.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          Call me when you get there.

                         MASON
          I will.

                         MOM
          Have fun!

Mason exits.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY/ INT. TRUCK

"Suburban Wars" plays.    Mason drives, Sheena is in the
passenger seat.

                      SHEENA
          ... That sounds to me like just
          another extreme Mason view of
          everything.

                      MASON
          Not at all! I finally figured it
          out. It's like when they realized
          it was gonna be too expensive to
          actually build cyborgs and robots...
          I mean, the costs of that were
          impossible. They decided to just
          let humans turn themselves into
          robots. That's what's going on right
          now.

                      SHEENA
          Oh, right now?

                      MASON
          Yeah! I mean, why not? There are
          billions of us just laying around,
          not really doing anything. We don't
          cost anything. I mean we're even
          pretty good at self-maintenance and
          reproducing constantly. And as it
          turns out, we're already biologically
          programmed for our little cyborg
          upgrades.
                                                  141.

                      SHEENA
          How?

                      MASON
          Seriously. I read this thing other
          day about how, like, when you hear
          that ding on your inbox you get a,
          like a dopamine rush in your brain.
          It's like we're being chemically
          rewarded for allowing ourselves to
          be brainwashed. How evil is that?
          We're fucked.

                       SHEENA
          So you deleting your Facebook page
          is gonna change all that? Remember
          when Trevor deleted his Facebook
          page last year and everyone just
          hated him? You made more fun of him
          than anyone.

                      MASON
          I still make fun of Trevor, though.

                      SHEENA
          But it looked like he was so
          pathetically desperate for attention.
          Or to be different, or something.

                      MASON
          That's just 'cause they did that
          lame story about it in the school
          paper.

                      SHEENA
          And then he had to make a big
          announcement about it when he came
          back a month later.

                      MASON
          That's the thing though, I'm not
          doing it for attention. I just want
          to try and not live my life through
          a screen. I want, like, some kind
          of actual interaction. A real person,
          not just the profile they put up.

Sheena's looking at her phone.

                      SHEENA
          Oh, I'm sorry. Were you saying
          something?

She laughs.
                                                 142.

                      MASON
          Yeah, okay, I know you're joking,
          but, I mean, it's kinda true you
          have been, you know, checking your
          phone this whole time, and so what
          are you really doing? You don't
          care what your friends are up to on
          Saturday afternoon but you're also
          obviously not fully experiencing my
          profound bitching so... it's like
          everyone's just stuck in, like, an
          in-between state. Not really
          experiencing anything.

                      SHEENA
          It's not an experience, it's just
          information. Look, for example, I
          just got the address of the club
          where we're meeting them later, so
          we won't be wandering the streets of
          Austin lost for an hour tonight.
          Thank you very much, Facebook. And
          I just texted my mom back.

                      MASON
          Oh, that's -- that's groundbreaking.
          She hasn't seen you in, like, 55
          minutes?

                      SHEENA
          Oh! Oh my god, most importantly,
          Meg's family just got a miniature
          pet pig.

Sheena hands him the phone.

                        MASON
                (looks at phone photo)
          Hm!
              (Laughs)
          Okay, you're right.    That is a --

                        SHEENA
          Right?

                      MASON
          That is a really cute, tiny pig.
          Our lives can go on.

                        SHEENA
          I want one.
                                                        143.

INT. POOL HALL

Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" plays. Patrons
chatter. Mason plays pool with Samantha's BOYFRIEND.
Samantha and Sheena sit and talk.

                        BOYFRIEND
          Nice shot.

                      SAMANTHA
          Yeah, just give the lady at the front
          y'all's I.D.s and, uh, she should
          let you in.

                       SHEENA
          I see.   Cool.

                        SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                      SHEENA
          It's room 2-0-6, right?

                        SAMANTHA
          Mm-hm.

                      SHEENA
          Awesome. It's not like weird that
          we're staying there?

                       SAMANTHA
          No, it's fine. Have fun.
              (Laughs)

                      SHEENA (O.S.)
          Thank you. So how long have you
          guys been dating?

                      SAMANTHA
          About three months. Yeah, we met at
          a party and it's been, ya know, chill.

                      SHEENA
          Yeah, he seems cool.

                        SAMANTHA
          Yeah.    He is.

The guys are shooting pool.

                      SHEENA (O.S.)
          Does he go to UT too?

                        SAMANTHA (O.S.)
          Yeah.
                                                   144.

                        SHEENA
          Cool.    What is he studying?

                      SAMANTHA
          He's studying history and uh, Italian,
          I think?

The girls laugh.

                      SAMANTHA (CONT'D)
          His minor, yeah.

                      SHEENA
          Does he wanna... does he wanna teach?

                      SAMANTHA
          I don't know, I think, I think he's
          still figuring stuff out. Yeah,
          he'll figure it out, he's smart,
          he's smart. So where are you thinking
          about living when you come here?

                      SHEENA
          Um, I'm not really sure yet. We're
          gonna look at apartments tomorrow,
          um, but I know my parents sorta were
          expecting me to live in a dorm.

                        SAMANTHA
          Yeah.

                      SHEENA
          Yeah. But I mean, I'm paying my way
          through college, so it doesn't really
          matter that much.

                      SAMANTHA
          Yeah, you don't have to listen to
          your parents after you turn eighteen.
          I mean, especially if they're not
          helping you financially.

They laugh.

                      SHEENA
          That's what I figured.

                      SAMANTHA
          But I mean, living in a dorm isn't
          so bad.

                        SHEENA
          Yeah.
                                                          145.

                      SAMANTHA
          I mean especially if it's a coed
          dorm. I mean, I've never been around
          like, so many cute guys at once.
          Like, college is really fun.

They laugh.

                         SHEENA
          I'm excited.

                      SAMANTHA
          It's great, yeah.

EXT. SIDEWALK - NIGHT

The sidewalk is populated with college students. The teens
walk together in couples and pass a street musician and a
woman hoola-hooping.

                         BOYFRIEND
          Watch out.

                         SAMANTHA
          Oh!

They laugh.

INT. CONTINENTAL CLUB - NIGHT

A four man band plays as our guys watch from the audience.

                      MUSICIANS
              (singing)
          "On the day that I was born I started
          growin' old. No one told you life
          would be so lonesome and cold. I
          had a grey hair by the age of 23,
          this hard-luck livin's gonna be the
          end of me. The old black crow leaving
          tracks all across my face, and
          everywhere I go I seem to be in the
          same damn place. Hard livin's gonna
          be the end of me."

EXT. CONTINENTAL CLUB - NIGHT

Sheena and Mason wander out of the club and walk up the
street.

INT. CAFE - NIGHT

Sheena and Mason are seated at a table at a late-night diner,
full of a variety of people.
                                                           146.

                      MAN ALONE IN BOOTH
          The last death at the Hoover Dam
          construction site was his son, Patrick
          Tierny, who died on December 20th,
          1935, exactly thirteen years to the
          day.

Sheena notices a table of sorority girls and practically
whispers to Mason.

                      SHEENA
          See those sorority girls over there?
          I've just decided, if you delete
          your Facebook page, I'm pledging.

                      MASON
          Yeah, in just a few years that's you
              (Indicates Girls)
          And that's gonna be me.

He subtly indicates the Man Alone guy, still sitting at his
booth, giving a lecture of some kind, with data, etc.

                      MAN ALONE IN BOOTH
          ...Also inlaid into the terrazzo
          floors was a star map, a celestial
          map of heavenly bodies so accurately
          displayed that one could chart the
          procession of the Pole Star fourteen
          thousand years into the future, such
          that future generations upon...
              (Continuing Indistinct
               Under)

                      SHEENA (O.S.)
          I wonder what his deal is. I mean,
          he obviously has money to eat here.

                      MASON (O.S.)
          He just said. He's a UT professor,
          tenure and everything.

                      SHEENA
          Look at all these people. What are
          they even doing here at 3:00 in the
          morning?

                      MASON
          What are WE even doing here at 3:00
          in the morning?

                      SHEENA
          We know what we're doing here.

She dips a chip into a bowl of queso.
                                               147.

                       SHEENA (CONT'D)
          Queso.   We have a purpose.

                       MASON
          Hell yeah.

                       SHEENA
          HELL yeah.

                      MASON
          You know, by, like, next summer
          this'll just be our lives.

                       SHEENA
          Mm-hm.

                      MASON
          Stayin' out all night and goin' to
          shows... whatever we want.

                      SHEENA
          We ever gonna go to class?

                       MASON
          Sometimes.

                      SHEENA
          When it feels right.     When the
          inspiration hits.

                       MASON
          Only then.

A WAITRESS comes by their table.

                      WAITRESS
          Anything else?

                      SHEENA
          Uhhh... more queso?

                      MASON
              (nodding)
          Yeah.

                       WAITRESS
          Mm-hm.

She leaves, and Mason just takes it all in.

                       MASON
          Ah, Jesus.

                       SHEENA
          What?
                                                         148.

                      MASON
          I don't know, doesn't it all seem a
          little overwhelming? I mean, college?
          I mean, I like the idea of being
          away from home and gaining skills
          and getting better at photography.
          I just, I don't know, I'm not counting
          on it being some big transformative
          experience.

                      SHEENA
          I don't think it's that
          transformative. I just see it as
          the next step.

                      MASON
          But it's like a pre-ordained slot
          that's already got your name and
          number on it. I don't think it's
          the key to my future. Cause, like,
          I mean, look at my mom. She got her
          degree, and got a pretty good job,
          she can pay her bills...

                      SHEENA
          Well, I like your mom.

                      MASON
          Well, I like my mom, too. I just
          mean, basically, she's still just as
          fucking confused as I am.

Waitress drops off more queso.

                      SHEENA
              (to Waitress)
          Thank you.

                        MASON
          Thanks.

Mason and Sheena dip chips into the bowl of queso.

EXT. SIDEWALK - NIGHT

Mason and Sheena walk on the sidewalk.

EXT. PARKING GARAGE - SUNRISE

Mason and Sheena walk across a parking garage rooftop.

They watch the sunrise. Mason stands behind her and wraps
his arms around her. She turns to him and they kiss.
                                                            149.

INT. DORM ROOM - DAY

Mason and Sheena lie in bed under the sheets.     Sam's roommate
comes in.

                         ROOMMATE
          Hello?

                      MASON
          Hey. Um, did uh, did Sam tell you
          we were gonna stay here?

                         ROOMMATE
              (laughs)
          Uh -- no.

                       MASON
              (laughs)
          Sorry. Um, she uh, she said you
          were out of town for the weekend.

                      ROOMMATE
          Yeah, I was. I just got back.     Are
          you her... brother?

                      MASON
          Yeah, I'm, I'm Mason.

Awkward laugh.

                         ROOMMATE
          Right.

                      MASON
          Um, this is Sheena.

                      ROOMMATE
          Hello. Uh, great. Alright. I'm...
          gonna leave my stuff here, if it's
          okay, and get something to eat and...

                         MASON
          Okay.

                      ROOMMATE
          ... I'll just come back in a little
          bit...

                      MASON
          Yeah, yeah we have to, we have to
          get outta here soon anyway, so...

                         ROOMMATE
          Alright.     It's nice meeting you.
                                                           150.

She turns to go.

                        MASON
          Yeah.    You, too.

                      SHEENA
              (under sheet)
          Sorry!

The roommate exits.    Sheena and Mason hide under the sheets.

                      MASON
          That was so awkward.

INT. SCHOOL PHOTO EXHIBIT - DAY

There is an exhibit of various art works set up. Mason enters
and walks over to a series of photographs he took of Sheena.
He starts to take them down. One of the school's teachers
comes over.

                      TEACHER
          Mason... silver medal winner.
          Congratulations!

                        MASON
          Thank you.

                      TEACHER
          Heard you got a scholarship.

                     MASON
          Yeah. Yeah, every little bit helps,
          you know.

                        TEACHER
          Yeah.    When you gonna go out there?

                      MASON
          End of the summer I think. You know,
          work some more before then, try to
          save up some money, at least.

                      TEACHER
          Yeah, before you have to fend for
          yourself.

                      MASON
          Yeah, yeah, that's the idea.

                        TEACHER
          Yeah.    Well how're feeling about it?
                                                           151.

                      MASON
          Excited, you know. But kind of half-
          excited, half-terrified.

                      TEACHER
          Yeah, kind of that voluptuous panic.

                       MASON
          Yeah.   Exactly.

                      TEACHER
          Well, it's gonna be good. It's gonna
          be crazy good. I liked college a
          lot better than high school. You
          kinda find your people in college,
          you know?

                         MASON
          Exactly.

                      TEACHER
          Well you'll be fine, you've got a
          good heart. Just follow your heart,
          yeah?

                         MASON
          Thanks.

                         TEACHER
          Good luck.     Don't forget to floss.

Mason's phone dings.     He takes it out.

Cell phone text message graphic:

Mason - Can't, I'll just see you tomorrow.    Sheena - What's
your deal? Meet me at the tree.

EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - DAY

Sheena and Mason are sitting on bleachers outside the school,
under a tree overlooking a practice field. They are in mid-
argument.

                      SHEENA
          I just don't get why you're being so
          fucking childish.

                      MASON
          I'm not being childish. You're the
          one who made it into this big thing
          by telling everyone.

                      SHEENA
          I haven't told anyone.
                                                    152.

                      MASON
          So Cynthia just magically knows you're
          going to the prom with this loser
          even though you're not dating him
          anymore?

                      SHEENA
          She's my best friend.

                      MASON
          Well, your best friend has a big
          fucking mouth.

                      SHEENA
          Take it up with her, then.

                      MASON
          Why don't you just tell Miss Fuckin'
          Rubber Jaws she can keep on talking
          as long as she includes the truth,
          which is that we wouldn't be having
          this conversation if your college
          boyfriend weren't out of town this
          weekend.

                      SHEENA
          You had already bought the tickets.
          It's just prom, it's not like it
          matters. I'm just tryin' to be
          friends with you.

                      MASON
          Now it's just humiliating.   I can't...
          I can't do that.

                      SHEENA
          Mister I-Don't-Care-What-Anyone-Else-
          Thinks-Of-Me.

                      MASON
          Fuck anyone else. I care what I
          think of me. Which isn't much right
          now. King of the Pity Prom.

                        SHEENA
          Fine.    We're not going.

                        MASON
          Great.

A long pause.
                                        153.

            SHEENA
Why are we even... I mean, we both
knew this was coming. I'm just the
one who did something about it.

            MASON
Yeah, fucking some college guy...

             SHEENA
Oh, fuck you!
    (a beat)
I don't regret anything.

            MASON
    (Bitter Laugh)
Of course you don't.

            SHEENA
You know, it's actually kind of a
relief not to have to be around
someone who's so gloomy all the time.
The world's not so horrible. Not
everything's some big conspiracy
against humanity.

            MASON (O.S.)
It's great that you can think that
way. And you know, I'm sure dating
a jock really helps to clear the
mind.

            SHEENA
He's not a jock, okay? He just
happens to be on the lacrosse team.
We're all going to other schools
next year anyway, it's not some super
serious relationship.

             MASON
Great.   I feel so much better now.

            SHEENA
We're just having fun.

            MASON
I bet he's having fun.

            SHEENA
Grow up, Mason.

             MASON
It's not like I haven't been with
anyone else.
                                                    154.

                         SHEENA
           Who?

                       MASON
           What do you care?

                         SHEENA
           Who?

                       MASON
           Does it matter?

                       SHEENA
           You're the one who brought it up.

A pause.

                       SHEENA (CONT'D)
           This is pointless.

She gets up and starts to walk away.

                       SHEENA (CONT'D)
           Now you're just trying to be an
           asshole.

EXT./INT. NICK'S CAR

Nick drives Mason home from graduation.

                       NICK
           Holy Crap, I would rather have my
           balls clawed off than ever sit through
           anything like that ever again!

                       MASON
           Well, we never, ever have to.

                       NICK
           Oh my god, thank you.

                         MASON
           Gimme that.

Nick hands him a flask.

                       NICK
           Dude, it's all you. Drink up. So
           you coming out with me tonight,
           brother? Should be some pretty
           awesome stuff happening.
                                                           155.

                      MASON
          Naw, dude, I'm goin' to this like,
          show with my dad in Austin. His
          friend's playing.

                      NICK
          Gosh, have fun with that, I guess.

Nick pulls into Mason's driveway and parks.

                      MASON
          Fuck, there's so many cars here.    I
          don't wanna go in there.

                      NICK
              (sarcastic)
          Dude, you will have so much fun.
          Your family loves you. You'll have
          a swell time.

                       MASON
          Fuck you.   You're coming in with me.

                       NICK
          Oh, no.   Shit no.   No.

                       MASON
          Yes!   Yes, you are. My mom loves
          you.   You have to say hi.

                       NICK
          Just --

                      MASON
          Do you want to hurt her feelings?

                      NICK
          Mm-mm.
              (Shakes head slightly)

                      MASON
          Well then, let's go get 'em.

                      NICK
          Just for a second.    Just a second,
          seriously.

Nick "tests" his breath in his hand. They get out of the
car.

INT. MOM'S HOUSE - GRADUATION PARTY - DAY

Family and friends chit chat throughout the house. Mom
prepares snacks, while Dad and Annie talk with UNCLE STEVE.
                                                          156.

                      UNCLE STEVE
          You know you're in sort of in enemy
          territory here.

                       DAD
              (laughing)
          We're aware.

INT. KITCHEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Cake graphic: "Congratulations Mason!"

Olivia and Carol prep food.   Nick and Mason come in the front
door.

INT. LIVING ROOM - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

                      DAD
          Uh, look who's here!

                      ALL
              (cheer, applause)
          ...Whooo!

                       MOM
          Hey!

She hugs Mason.

                       UNCLE STEVE
          Get a job!

Mason takes off his graduation cap.

                      MOM
          No-no-no-no, wait. We're gonna take
          pictures. Put it back on.
              (To Carol)
          Hey, can you get a camera?
              (To Nick)
          Hey Nick!

Grandma comes over and hugs Mason.

                      GRANDMA
          Oh! Back on. Oh... Congratulations,
          baby.
              (to Nick)
          I don't know you, but congratulations!

She hugs him too.

                      GRANDMA (CONT'D)
          Oh, pictures, pictures, Carol.
                                                       157.

                      MOM (O.S.)
          Quick, put your hat on.

                      CAROL
          Alright, look here...

They pose and Carol takes the picture with a phone.

                      MOM
          Smile.

                      CAROL
          Here we go. Oh, that's a good one.
          And... good! Got it.

                      GRANDMA (O.S.)
          Oh, we need -- Sam, where are you?
          Samantha!

                      MOM
          Sam!

                       GRANDMA
          And where's Mason senior?   I'm feeling
          generous.
              (to Dad)
          Come here.

Another picture is taken.

                      CAROL
          Great. And... beautiful! I'll email
          these to everyone.

Uncle Steve stands up and points his finger at Dad.

                       DAD
              (to Uncle Steve)
          No, don't even start, don't start,
          don't start.

INT. LIVING ROOM - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

The guests help themselves to the array of dishes and
appetizers on the table. Buffet style. Mason drifts into a
conversation with Carol and her daughter Abbey.

                      MASON
          Can't believe you guys came all this
          way. It means a lot to me.

                      CAROL
          We wouldn't have missed it for
          anything! I'm so proud of you.
                      (MORE)
                                                         158.

                      CAROL (CONT'D)
          Congratulations. I'm really sorry
          that Lee couldn't be here. He's on
          his Senior Trip.

                       MASON
          No, no.   Tell him I said hi.

                        CAROL
          I will.

                      SAMANTHA
          Abby, I didn't even recognize you.
          How old are you now?

                      ABBY
          I'm thirteen.

                        SAMANTHA
          Wow.

Mason's boss, Mr. Wood, enters.

INT. KITCHEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Across the room, Professor Douglas has her ever-present wine
glass.

                      PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
              (Pouring wine)
          Alright, let's top her off. You
          want some, doll?

                      WOMAN AT PARTY
          Um... Sure, whatever. Yeah, totally.

                      PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          Yeah, sure why not.

                      MR. WOOD
              (To Mason)
          I got you something.

                        MASON
          What is it?

                      MR. WOOD
          That is a savings bond. That is
          worth something. It's better than
          money - you'd just spend that.

                        MASON
          Yeah.
                                                   159.

                        MR. WOOD
            God - is that your mom?

                          MASON
            Yeah, yeah.    That's her.

                          MR. WOOD
            Wow.

One of the little cousins drops fruit.

                        UNCLE STEVE
            It'll be -- three second rule.   Put
            it on your plate.

                        WOMAN AT PARTY
                (laughing)
            Such a good dad. Really.

                        UNCLE STEVE
            I know, I'm trying to help.

                        MOM (O.S.)
            Come here, you guys. I want to make
            a little toast to Mason.

She holds up her glass of wine.

                        GUESTS
                (reacting)
            Whoo! Yeah! Alright!

                        MOM
            Now Mason, I know you really didn't
            want to have a party today but... we
            did.

Laughter.

                        MOM (CONT'D)
            And you only graduate high school
            once in your life... So I want to
            celebrate you and this next phase.
            And you're going to learn so much in
            college. You're going to have so
            much fun. You're going to have
            inspiring teachers. You're going to
            learn more about your art. I love
            you babe. I'm so proud of you... To
            Mason.

                          ALL
            To Mason!
                          (MORE)
                                                         160.

                      ALL (CONT'D)
              (indistinguishable
               chatter)
          Hear! Hear!

                       UNCLE STEVE
              (to Dad)
          Alright, you're up, kid.

                      DAD
          Oh, uh... Alright, uh, well... Mason,
          I'll make a toast to the future. To
          your future. You know, it's been a
          little sketchy this... end of the
          school year here, trying to figure
          out what school to go to. Mason
          told me that, uh, he wanted...to get
          as far away from home as possible.
          But still honor our agreement that
          we pay in-state tuition, which I do
          appreciate. He's a prudent man, and
          uh, he's going to have a great future.
          So, here's to you buddy.

                      GUESTS
              (reacting)
          Whoo! Future!

                      DAD
          Congratulations.

                      UNCLE STEVE
          Mason Junior! High school graduate,
          eighteen and straight! Ha-ha-ha!

Dad subtly puts his hand over his brother's mouth and pats
his chest.

                      DAD
          Alright, that's enough. Just ignore
          him. My brother needs to learn to
          pace himself.

                      MR. WOOD
          Well, I've not known you as long as
          everybody here, but uh, since I have
          known you, you've grown a lot. And
          uh, I don't know, I'm proud of you.
          So if this photography thing doesn't
          work out, you know you always got a
          job. Lose that earring. But, uh,
          you know, maybe I can get you in
          front of house. Alright, to you
          buddy!
                                                         161.

                      MOM
          Sam, say something!

                      DAD (O.S.)
          Come on, Samantha.

                      GRANDMA
          Come on, darlin'.

                      SAMANTHA
              (hesitating)
          Good luck?

Mom and Mason embrace. A little later, Professor Douglas has
Mason cornered.

                      PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          So you broke up with your girlfriend?

                      MASON
          Yeah, yeah, just recently.

                      PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          What was her name?

                       MASON
          Sheena.

                     PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          Sheena. She's... gonna go to college
          with you?

                       MASON
          No.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          No, oh.

                      MASON
          She's staying in this part of Texas.

                       PROFESSOR DOUGLAS
          Oh, okay.   You need a ride to college?

INT. LIVING ROOM - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Dad and Annie talk to Grandma.

                      GRANDMA
          I just wanted to say hello before
          you got out of here. I haven't gotten
          a chance --
                                        162.

            DAD
You guys met before, haven't you?
Annie, Catherine...

            ANNIE
Yeah, yeah, we met at uh--

            GRANDMA
Sam's graduation.

             DAD
Oh yeah.

            ANNIE
Yes, that's right.

            GRANDMA
And with your little one.    Where is
he?

            ANNIE
Oh, he's at home.

            DAD
Yeah, yeah. Remember, he was such a
pain at Sam's thing that, you know...

            GRANDMA
Oh, I would love to see him.

            ANNIE
Well, we have a special weekend this
weekend, so...

            GRANDMA
I'm so glad you found her. I really
am.
    (to Annie)
You, you've got him at a good time,
I think.

            ANNIE
I think so, too.

             GRANDMA
Yeah.   It's good to see you two.

            DAD
Nice to see you, too, Catherine.

            GRANDMA
I'm so proud of your boy.

            DAD
Yeah, yeah we all are.
                                                         163.

Grandma walks off.    Dad whispers to Annie.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          If you think she's a bitch now, you
          should have seen her fucking twenty
          years ago.

They laugh.

INT. DEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Later, Uncle Steve, Dad, and Mason have a manly discussion.

                      UNCLE STEVE
          You got to remember, you're going to
          college, though, alright? And if
          you're anything like me or your old
          man, you're gonna be pulling down
          some serious wool. You're gonna be
          tapping some masterful gap.

                        DAD
          Steven...

                      UNCLE STEVE
          You're gonna be doing some good work
          out there. Think about it, awful
          lot of flowers in that bouquet.
          But, you gotta do me a favor. You're
          going to be vulnerable this summer,
          alright. Remember to use protection
          during breakup sex.

He puts his hand on Dad.

                      UNCLE STEVE (CONT'D)
          This guy knows exactly of which I
          speak. Look what happened to him.
          Viola'.

Uncle Steve gestures to Mason.

                        DAD
          Steven...

                      UNCLE STEVE
              (laughing)
          Cheers.

                      DAD
          It's not that simple.
                                                        164.

                      UNCLE STEVE
              (chanting)
          Four more years. Four more years.
          I'm just saying.

INT. KITCHEN - GRADUATION PARTY - CONTINUOUS

Later Dad enters the kitchen where Mom happens to be.

                      DAD
          Do y'all recycle?   Should I --

                      MOM
          I have one started there.

                      DAD
          Oh, yeah, right. Okay, great. Okay.
          Am I, uh, am I your only ex at this
          party?

                      MOM
          Yes, but I'm not your only wife here,
          though.

                      DAD
          Yeah.

                       MOM
          Can you believe they're both out of
          high school?

                       DAD
          No.  No, I can't.
              (a beat)
          You did a great job with both of
          them, by the way.

                      MOM
          Thanks for saying that. I never
          thought I'd hear you say that.

                      DAD
          Well, it's true.    Thank you.

                      MOM
          And you're doing it all over again,
          huh?

                      DAD
          I know, I know, right? It's gonna be
          uh, fifteen years till I have an
          empty nest. But hey, I'd love to
          pitch in, help with this, if I could.
                      (MORE)
                                                         165.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
          I mean, it's so great that you did
          this. I was just going to give you
          a little. I'd appreciate it if I
          could.

He pulls out his wallet.

                          MOM
          Sure.   Yeah.

                      DAD
          Yeah. But I don't have any cash.
          It's in Annie's purse. I'll be right
          back.

INT. ANTONE'S - EVENING

Mason and Dad are wandering through the green room area while
the band is doing a sound check.

                      DAD
          ...So it sucks. I mean, the guy's a
          college lacrosse player. I mean,
          what are you gonna do?

                      MASON
          She didn't even like sports.

An iced-down bucket of drinks beckons.

                      DAD
          You want a beer?

                      MASON
          No, that's alright.

                      DAD
          You can have one.

                          MASON
          It's okay.

They continue their conversation out of the green room to a
little area overlooking the stage.

                      DAD
          Yeah, well, for what it's worth,
          we've all been through the exact
          same thing, at one point or another.

                      MASON
          It's not the same, though.     I mean,
          you never got to know her.
                                                           166.

                      DAD
          No, I know, I know.    It's not the
          same.

                      MASON
          I just don't know what I did wrong.

At this point Dad yells down to Jimmy, his roommate from
years before, briefly interrupting the sound check.

                        DAD
          Hey, Jimmy.    Hey, man.   Hey --

                        JIMMY
          Hey, Mason.

                      DAD
          We're up here raiding the green room.
          Hope that's okay.

                      JIMMY
          That's totally cool.

                        DAD
          Alright.

                       JIMMY
          Wow!   Is that M.J.?

                        DAD
          Uh-huh.    Right?

                      JIMMY
          Unbelievable.

                      DAD
          Well, we just decided to come a little
          early, check you out.

                      JIMMY
          That's cool man, let me finish up,
          I'll be up in a minute.

                      DAD
          Alright, alright.

He and Mason slowly start to drift around the venue.

                      DAD (CONT'D)
              (back to Mason)
          I guarantee you, you didn't do
          anything wrong. These high school
          love things, they never work out.
          Here, come here.
                      (MORE)
                                        167.

            DAD (CONT'D)
I mean, everyone's just changing so
much. The odds of two young people
staying on the same wavelength are...

            MASON
Yeah, but still --

            DAD
Look, and I also guarantee you that
every day of your life that you spend
crying over some silly girl is a
complete waste of time.

            MASON
She wasn't a silly girl, though.   I
mean, she's a serious person. I
really thought we were --

            DAD
What?

            MASON
I don't know.

            DAD
Here's the truth. Women are never
satisfied. Ok? They're always
looking to potentially trade up and
that's, I'm sorry to say, what I
think has happened to you my fine
feathered friend.

            MASON
What does that even mean?

            DAD
It means don't hand over the controls
to your self-esteem to Sheila.

            MASON
Sheena.

            DAD
Alright. It means you are responsible
for you, not your girlfriend, not
your mom, not me. You. And if you
truly take care of you, you will be
amazed at how much girls like Sheena
start lining up at your front door.

            MASON
Great.
                                         168.

            DAD
Yeah, you know, you just gotta
separate yourself from the pack in
some way. Excel at something, you
know, and then you have your pick of
the litter when them front-running
hussies start sniffing around.

            MASON
So what you're saying is, I should
take up lacrosse.

            DAD
Exactly. Or you could, you know,
start a band. Worked for me a long
time ago. I think it's still working
for Jimmy. Or you just keep taking
pictures.

            MASON
She hated the pictures I took of
her.

            DAD
Alright. I'm sick to death of her,
okay? I only met her a few times
and yes she was cute, alright. But,
truth be told I always thought she
was a little bit, you know, a little
bit too square for you. Y'know, not
quite the same vibe.

            MASON
You really thought that?

            DAD
On some subtle, lower level. I mean,
uh, I wasn't surprised when it turned
out she was interested in some
knucklehead lacrosse player, okay?
I mean, bottom line is, it's all
timing with these things. Y'know.
I mean, uh, take your mom and me.
Y'know I think I probably turned
into the boring castrated guy she
wanted me to be fifteen or twenty
years ago, y'know? And man I'm not
saying she was wrong to be pissed.
I'm not, I'm just saying that, y'know,
she could have been a little more
patient... a little more forgiving.

            MASON
Would've saved me that parade of
drunken assholes.
                                                         169.

Dad gestures zipping his lip, saying nothing.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
          So what's the point?

                      DAD
          Of what?

                      MASON
          I don't know, any of this.
          Everything.

                      DAD
          Everything? What's the point? I
          mean I sure as shit don't know. I
          mean, but, neither does anybody else.
          Okay, we're all just winging it, you
          know? I mean the good news is you're
          feeling stuff. You know? And you
          got to hold onto that. You do. I
          mean you get older and you don't
          feel as much. You're skin gets
          tougher. The point is those pictures
          you took. Thousands of submissions
          from all over the state and you won.

                      MASON
          Well, I got silver.   And nine other
          people did, too.

                      DAD
          I'm gonna kill you. I'm tryin' to
          tell you that I believe in you,
          Mason. I think you're really special,
          and if some girl doesn't see that,
          then fuck her, y'know?

Jimmy's at the mic.

                      JIMMY (O.S.)
          Hey, this next one goes out to a
          young man in the house --

                      DAD
          Woo-oho!

                      JIMMY
          Known him since he was just a small
          boy, now he's all graduated from
          high school, making me feel old.
          Happy high school graduation, Mason.

He plays his guitar, and the band kicks in... sounding pretty
great.
                                                              170.

INT. CAFE - DAY

Mom, Mason and Samantha sit down at a table.     A waitress
places menus.

                      MOM
          Thank you. Okay guys, let's be clear.
          I'm going to break this into four
          categories. One. Anything you wanna
          keep from your childhood and your
          taking with you. Two. Throwing
          away. Three. Donating. Four.
          Whatever you wanna try to sell at
          the garage sell next weekend, whatever
          we don't sell, we're donating.

                      MASON
          Doesn't the apartment have like an
          attic, or storage or something?

                      MOM
          No. You're missing the point. We're
          not going to drag a bunch of crap to
          mom's tiny apartment.

                      SAMANTHA
          Can't believe we're moving again.

                      MOM
          No, I'm moving! You moved two years
          ago. You have an apartment in Austin.
          Mason is moving the fall. I'm done.
          This will be great for me. I'll
          have all these options. I could
          take a sabbatical. I could get some
          writing done and try to get published.

                      MASON
          What about Christmas, though?   What
          are we gonna do?

                      SAMANTHA
          I'm not sharing a room with him.

                      MOM
          One of you will sleep on the couch,
          and we'll use that blow-up mattress.

                      SAMANTHA
          How am I supposed to do my laundry?

                      MOM
          Sam, I'm gently pushing you out of
          the nest.
                      (MORE)
                                                         171.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          And on your way down you may magically
          find some quarters that you use to
          do laundry in your own apartment.
          Come on! You guys are adults. You
          need to take some responsibility!
          And what do you want?

Mom puts her glasses on.

                      MASON
          I'm gonna get the veggie burger.

                      SAMANTHA
          I'm not having anything, not hungry.

Mom takes her glasses off.

                      MOM
          What's wrong with you?

                      SAMANTHA
          I'm sick.

                      MOM
          What is it, your head?   Do you have
          a fever?

                      MASON
          She's pregnant.

                      SAMANTHA
              (weak laugh)
          No. To be honest, I drank way too
          much last night.

                      MOM
          You weren't driving, were you?

                      SAMANTHA
          No. No. Carrie's back home, too,
          and we just hung out. You know,
          peach Smirnoffs, they just go down
          so easy.

                      MOM
          No, no. Hey - that's not an excuse.
          You can still pack boxes. These
          people want to move in as soon as
          possible.

The assistant restaurant manager, who'll we'll come to know
as ERNESTO, approaches the table.
                                                           172.

                       ERNESTO
          Hi guys. I'm Ernesto, how are you?
              (to Mom)
          Uh, you probably don't remember me,
          but I worked on your septic line
          years ago.

                       MOM
          Oh, yeah.

                      ERNESTO
          Believe it or not, you changed my
          life. Yeah, you told me that day
          that I was smart and that I should
          go to school. I took your advice!
          I signed up for English classes and
          then a year later I went to community
          college and I got my associates
          degree. And I'm working on my
          bachelors now at Texas State. And
          I'm also one of the managers here.

                      MOM
          That's great.

                      ERNESTO
          Uh, it's good to see you. Because I
          really wanted a chance to thank you
          for that. Gracias. It really meant
          a lot to me. Don't worry about lunch.
          It's on me. It's the least I can
          do.

                       MOM
          Thanks.

                      ERNESTO
          You guys should listen to her.   She's
          a smart lady.

                       MOM
          Thank you.

Ernesto walks back toward the kitchen, leaving the three
seated at the table.

EXT. APARTMENT - MORNING

Mason, now with a scruffy beard, is wedging a duffel bag and
bin into the bed of his truck. He walks back toward Mom's
new apartment.
                                                          173.

INT. APARTMENT - MORNING

Mason is packing a box, in mid-conversation with Mom, who is
seated in another room.

                      MASON
          ...Isn't that kind of crazy though,
          that a computer knows who you are
          from just twenty questions off a
          form? I guess there are really only
          like eight types of people in the
          world.

Mom goes to the kitchen and pours coffee into a mug.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
          I mean there are subsets, like male
          and female, but apparently we're not
          as unique as we want to think we
          are.

                      MOM
          Have you even talked to this guy
          yet?

                      MASON
          No, but we've been trading emails.
          He seems pretty cool. He's studying
          literature, and uh, anthropology,
          and he's way into Bright Eyes... so
          that's not so bad. But anyways, he
          was telling me about how the system
          they use for assigning roommates is
          kind of spooky. Like, the Freshmen
          satisfaction rate for new roommates
          used to be like 60%, and now it's
          100%. Just cause of the computer.

                      MOM
          Well. Sounds like he'll be a good
          roommate, then.

                      MASON
          Yeah. But we've pretty much decided
          that soon they won't even need a
          questionnaire. Because they'll just
          let the NSA scan your digital ghost,
          and they'll tell you who your roommate
          is, based on everything you've ever
          said, written, or clicked.

Mason walks back into the living room, carrying a box.   He
holds up a framed picture.
                                                            174.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
          Did you -- Did you put this in here
          again?

Mom laughs.

                      MASON (CONT'D)
          I don't want it.

                      MOM
          Come on, it's the first picture you
          ever took.

                      MASON
          Well, I mean, all the more reason to
          leave it behind, right?

Mason goes to put the picture back in his room, while Mom
suddenly breaks into quiet sobs.

He comes back out, wearing a backpack, and notices Mom crying.

                         MASON (CONT'D)
          What?

                         MOM
              (crying)
          Nothing.

                      MASON
          No, what is it?

                         MOM
          Nothing!

                         MASON
          Mom...

                      MOM
          This is the worst day of my life.

                      MASON
          What are you talking about?

                      MOM
          I knew this day was coming. I just --
          I didn't know you were gonna be so
          fuckin' happy to be leaving.

                      MASON
          I mean, it's not that I'm that happy.
          What do you, what do you expect?
                                                             175.

                      MOM
          You know what I'm realizing? My
          life is just gonna go, like that!
          This series of milestones. Getting
          married, having kids, getting
          divorced, the time that we thought
          you were dyslexic, when I taught you
          how to ride a bike, getting divorced
          AGAIN, getting my masters degree,
          finally getting the job I wanted,
          sending Samantha off to college,
          sending YOU off the college... You
          know what's next? Huh? It's my
          fuckin' funeral!

A beat.

                      MOM (CONT'D)
          Just go, and leave my picture!

Stunned, Mason doesn't know what to say.

                      MASON
          Aren't you jumping ahead by like,
          forty years or something?

                      MOM
          I just thought there would be more.

Mom sits at the table crying.   Mason does not know how to
comfort her.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

Mason drives his pick-up truck through the open roads and
mountains of West Texas.

EXT. GAS STATION - DAY

Mason stops at a gas station to fill up.   While he waits, he
takes pictures.

EXT. UNIVERSITY - DAY

Mason pulls into the parking lot of his University and parks.

INT. DORM - AFTERNOON

Mason walks through a hallway area and finds his dorm room.
He enters to find it half decorated with music going. He
throws his bag up on the available bed and starts to unpack
and get situated. DALTON enters.

                      DALTON
          Hey, you must be Mason.
                                                       176.

                       MASON
          Yeah.   Dalton, right?

                      DALTON
          Yeah, man, it's nice to finally meet
          you.

                        MASON
          Definitely.

                      DALTON
          Are you cool with this side of the
          room?

                        MASON
          Yeah.

                      DALTON
          Got in this morning, just moved my
          shit in, man.

                       MASON
              (laughs)
          Well, yeah. I don't- I don't care.
          No worries.

He unzips his bag, but keeps the conversation going.

                      DALTON
          Cool. Can I help with anything,
          man? Any bags? Any last stuff you
          need brought in?

                      MASON
          I just got like one... box left, I
          packed pretty light. But I appreciate
          it.

                      DALTON
          My pleasure, man. Of course.

                       MASON
          Um, are you goin' to the orientation
          mixer thing?

                      DALTON
          Orientation mixer thing? Fuck no,
          man! I'm not goin' to that and
          neither are you, by the way. We got
          way better stuff to be doin', dude.

BARB, Dalton's girlfriend, drifts into the room.

                        BARB
          You ready?
                                                           177.

                     DALTON
          Yeah. Hey, Barb, this' my roommate
          Mason. Mason, Barb.

They shake.

                       MASON
          Hi.

                       BARB
          Hey.   You comin' with us?

                      MASON
          Where're you going?

                       BARB
          Hiking.

                      DALTON
          Yeah, man, you should come. If we
          leave now we can catch the late
          afternoon at Big Bend. You ever
          been before, man?

                     MASON
          Yeah. But not since I was really
          little.

                      DALTON
          Oh, well then all the more reason to
          come now, man. That's why we're
          here, dude.

Barb's roommate, NICOLE, is now hanging out by the door.

                       DALTON (CONT'D)
          Oh, Mason.   This is Nicole, Barb's
          roommate.

                      NICOLE
          Hey, what's up?

                       MASON
          Hi.

Barb is reaching in her bag for something.

                      DALTON
          Mason, Nicole.

                      BARB
              (to Mason)
          So, you game?
                                                            178.

                        MASON
          Sure.

She has produced a chunk of brownie that she hands to Mason.

                      BARB
          Here. Have the rest of this. Got
          it timed perfectly. It'll kick in
          when we get to the mountains.

Mason takes it, a little amused, looks at the others
(confirmation), then starts to consume.

                        MASON
          Awesome.

                        DALTON (O.S.)
          Let's go.

They roll out of there.

EXT. BIG BEND - LATE AFTERNOON

Mason, Nicole, Dalton and Barb hike through a BIG canyon.
Nicole talks to Mason about teaching dance.

                      MASON
          Do they let you major in that here?

                      NICOLE
          Well, it's not that serious here, so
          I kinda like train outside the
          university, but I'm taking all my
          basics like History of Dance and all
          that.

                        MASON
          Nice.

                        NICOLE
          Yeah.

                      MASON
          What do you teach?

                     NICOLE
          Oh, gosh. Ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical,
          hip-hop...

                        MASON
          Wow.    Which one's your favorite?

                        NICOLE
          Tap.
                                     179.

                  MASON
Yeah?

            NICOLE
Yeah. You can make up all your own
sounds and there's no rules.

                  MASON
Right...

            NICOLE
Just, like, creative freedom.

            MASON
That's great.

                  NICOLE
Yeah.

                  MASON
Right.

            NICOLE
... So to be a part of bringing it
back to the kids...

            MASON
Right, keep it going.

            NICOLE
... Is really rewarding.   Yeah.

            MASON
How old are they?

            NICOLE
Six to eight.

                  MASON
       (laughs)
Wow.

            NICOLE
    (laughing)
Yeah. They have like no fear, and
they're not self-conscious at all.

            MASON
They haven't reached the awkward
years yet.

            NICOLE
Yeah, not yet. It's coming.
                                                            180.

The group continues walking over a ridge as the sun is
setting.

EXT. HIKE - LATER

As Barb and Dalton coyote call on the rocks, Mason joins
Nicole sitting on a rock overlooking the river and sunset.

                         NICOLE
          Hey.

Dalton and Barb continue like coyotes, much to Nicole and
Mason's amusement.

                      NICOLE (CONT'D)
          Dalton can be crazy sometimes.

                      MASON
          He seems cool, though.

                         NICOLE
          Yeah.     Yeah, they're both really
          cool.     How are you feeling?

They both laugh.

                        MASON
          Great.    Really great, to be honest.

                      NICOLE
          Good. I'm really happy that you're
          hangin' out with us.

                         MASON
          Yeah.     Me too.

Meanwhile, over on a big rock, the coyotes are now yelling
words.

                      DALTON (O.S.)
          This moment's having a multiple
          orgasm! It's like as if all of time
          has unfolded before us so we can
          stand here and look out and scream -
          Fuck yea!! Wooo!

Back with Nicole and Mason laughing.

                      NICOLE
          You know how everyone's always saying,
          "Seize the moment"?

Mason nods yes.
                                                  181.

                       NICOLE (CONT'D)
           I don't know, I'm kinda thinkin'
           it's the other way around. You know,
           like, the moment seizes us.

                       MASON
           Yeah. Yeah, I know. It's constant,
           the moments, it's just... it's like
           always right now, you know?

                      NICOLE
           Yeah.

They trade smiles.

FADE OUT

Boyhood



Writers :   Richard Linklater
Genres :   Drama


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