Ditch Day Screenplay

8/7/2019 Ditch Day Screenplay

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Ditch Day Original Screenplay by Jason Wiese

The five guys continue walking while Robert, with his lastparting shot, raises his arm and flips the Moses Brown guysoff without even turning back or breaking his stride.

Still woozy, Stanley walks over to join the other guys.

ROBERTHow you feeling there Stanley?

STANLEYIm still a little woozy, but I think Im OK.

ROBERTGood.

STANLEYThanks for standing up and defending me.

ROBERTNo problem kid.

STANLEYIt was nice, especially since we havent talked to each other since 5 th grade.

ROBERTHey, no one from another school is going

to come and pick on someone from myschool. At N orth Providence, were allbrothers in the end.

Robert tries to high five Stanley but he stands thereconfused momentarily, not knowing how to react.

ROBERTCome on, high five me Stanley.

Stanley finally gives him a high five to the applause of

the other guys.

CHARLIE OHey, its Miller Time guys!

All the guys, except for Stanley, run over to the cooler.Stanley continues walking slowly, still woozy from the hardhit he took.

Surprisingly, Sandy walks up to console him.


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CHARLIE O(confused)

Are we in Rome, Rhode Island? I thoughtwe were in Narragansett?

STANLEYWe are, its just an expression.

CHARLIE OYoure a smart dude.

Charlie O playfully messes up Stanleys hair .

CHARLIE O (contd) I l ike you, youre a good kid. Whatcan I get you?

STANLEYI guess Ill take a Busch.

Charlie O grabs a Busch beer can from the cooler and givesit to him.

MARCUSId like to propose a toast.

Everyone raises their beer can.

MARCUS (contd) To St anleythe guy that almost won usthe game.

EVERYONETo Stanley!

Everyone drinks to Stanley as he stands there with a hugegrin on his face. For the first time in a long time hesfinally being accepted by his peers and he didnt have tochange himself at all for that to happen.

Vincent looks over at his brother who is sitting on thebeach holding his head in his hands.

VINCENTHow are you feeling?

JOEYThe beach is spinning.


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VINCENTIt doesnt feel good, right?

JOEYNot at all.

VINCENTSee you should listen to me more, Im just trying to protect you.

Joey grabs a bag that is sitting next to him, leans to theside and vomits into it.

STACEYEwww, still? Is he ever going to stop?

VINCENTHe just has to give it time.

Once Joey is done, he lays down on his back and stares upat the sky.

JOEYAwww god, I feel like hell.

Vincent looks over to Charlie O and gives him a look ofdisgust.

VINCENTI still hate you Charlie O.

LATER ON LATE AFTERNOON CLOSING IN ON SUNSET

All of the friends are sitting on the beach in a line closeto the water, watching the sunset and drinking beer.

Theyre sitting in a few separate groups, one of which ismade up of Marcus, Stacey and Johnny.

MARCUSLook at the sun setting.

JOHNNYYeah, its like a metaphor for all of our friendships.

MARCUSOhhh, stop being so overdramatic.


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JOHNNYWhat? Its true. Theres not going to be many more times when all of us aregoing to be together in one place.

MARCUSIts not like were all going off todie. Well still have holidays and other breaks.

JOHNNYYeah but I am going into the Army , Im not going to have that many breaks.

MARCUSPlease, the military is a great gigthese days, the world is totally safe.The Soviet Union is dead, who else isgoing to step up and fight America?Theyd have to be crazy .

JOHNNYThat may be so but you never know.

MARCUSPlease, look at the world today, its fine. Americas on top, whos going to mess with us? Russia? Theyve got

bigger problems than us, like standingin line for hours to get bread andtoilet paper. Iraq? We alreadyslapped those pricks around once.

JOHNNYYeah but we left the man in power.

MARCUSWhatever, hes impotent now, nothing for us to worry about anymore.

JOHNNY(laughs)

Ha ha, you said impotent.

MARCUSYesyes I did.

STACEYSo are you excited for the Army?


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JOHNNYYeah, yeah I think I am.

MARCUSI dont get it.

JOHNNYWhat? The military runs in my blood,my grandfather was a colonel in WorldWar II, my uncle was a lieutenant inVietnam and I have two cousins in theMarines who fought in Desert Storm.This is my destiny.

MARCUSI know that, and I respect your familybut this whole military thing, itsstill barbaric.

JOHNNY` Why?

MARCUSWell outside of being the most sexistinstitution ever filled with a bunch ofmindless meatheads, they never seem tohave much of a problem indiscriminatelykilling civilians during wartime.

JOHNNYGreat, I love how you just listed allthe common stereotypes associated withthe A rmy; thats the lazy mans way of arguing. But come on, even you shouldknow they dont intentionally go outlooking to kill civilians.

MARCUSYoure so nave.

JOHNNYIm not saying it doesnt happen butwar is hell, things happen sometimes.Besides, you yourself said that weredone with war so according to you itshould be a non-issue for me.


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MARCUSI just dont understand war, I dont u nderstand how things just cant be solved diplomatically.

JOHNNYGod youre such a Democrat , I feel badfor you sometimes. Theres some crazypeople out there and some of those peoplecontrol resources that could potentiallythreaten us one day. Thats where wecome in, to keep them in check. To keepthe peace.

MARCUSGood luck with that, me however willremain anti-war.

JOHNNYMarcus, its not like Im pro war. On t he contrary, Im pro peace. We havethe military to enforce the peace, notto instigate a war.

MARCUSI dont believe that, but I do respectyour opinions and the decisions you make no matter how wrong they are.

Marcus flashes Johnny a big smile to which Johnny respondsby playfully pushing him.

JOHNNYYoure a dick.

MARCUSYou love it though.

In another group, Karen and Vincent are sitting together

watching the sunset while Joey is lying next to her, stillpassed out from drinking.

VINCENTSuch a great view.

KARENWhat a beautiful sunset.


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Karen grabs Vincents hand and holds it. After a few seconds of silence, Joey wakes up from his alcohol-inducedsleep.

Groggy, he rubs his eyes then looks over to Vincent andKaren and notices them holding hands.

JOEYAre you guys holding hands?!? Are youguys boyfriend and girlfriend?

Instinctively, Vincent moves his hand away from Karen.

KARENHey squirt, you finally woke up!

VINCENTJoey, shut up and mind your business.Just enjoy the sunset, eat your chipsand try to sober up.

JOEYHow long was I out for?

VINCENTTwo, two and a half hours.

Joey grabs his head which is throbbing in pain.

JOEYMy head is pounding.

VINCENTWell thats because youre drunk.

JOEY(shakes his head)

I dont like being drunk.

VINCENTI didnt think you would. I tried to warn you, but you didnt listen. Im just trying to help you out in life butyou dont get that.

Vincent has a bottle of water sitting next to him so hegrabs it and passes it over to Joey.


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VINCENT (contd) Here, have some water. Itll rehydrate you. Youll fe el better after this.

Joey takes it and slowly gulps it down.

JOEYThanks. I feel like puking.

VINCENTAgain? I dont think you have anything left in your system at this point.

JOEYWhat? I puked before?

VINCENTMultiple times.

JOEYHow many?

VINCENTI lost count at 4.

KARENI think it was 5 or 6.

JOEYEwww, I dont even remember any of that.

VINCENTSo are you going to drink again anytimesoon?

JOEYNo way.

VINCENT

Good boy.(pause)

Karen can you pass me over another beer?

Karen gives him a beer that was sitting next to her whichhe promptly opens and takes a large drink from.

JOEYEwww, just watching you drink that beermakes me want to vomit again.


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VINCENTWell if youre going to puke make sureyou make it to the ocean or a trash canthis time.

JOEYNahhh, I dont think Im going to puke. I think Ill be fine.

VINCENTThats a relief.

Joey lays back down on the beach and looks straight up tothe sky.

JOEYSo are you two going to kiss?

VINCENTGod, youre so less annoying when youre passed out drunk.

After a few seconds where theyre staring silently at thesunset, Karen and Vincent move their hands back until theyfind each others .

They sit there peacefully holding hands until Vincent looksover at Robert and Jodi, who are sitting together watching

the sunset too.

VINCENTLook at Robbie and Jodi over there.

Karen looks over at them.

KARENAwww, they look so cute.

VINCENT

Yeah its amazing, they actually looklike a re al couple when theyre nottalking to each other.

Robert and Jodi are sitting close together, his arm isaround her back.

Jodi tilts her head back until it is resting on hisshoulder.


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JODIDont you just love how the sunraysreflect off the clouds, making themshine that pretty color of pink?

ROBERTShhh, dont ruin the moment by talking.

JODIOhhhkay.

And with that, the two of them just sit there in silence,still in each others arms though.

Sandy and Stanley are sitting together at the end of theline in a small group of their own.

SANDYI love watching the waves crash intot he beach as the sun goes down. Its s o tranquil. Dont you think?

Stanley just sits there nervously, too nervous to sayanything. Sandy looks over to him and sees that hesnervous.

SANDYAre you OK Stanley?

STANLEY(nervously)

Ummm, yeah, yeah Im OK.

SANDY(laughs)

Are you nervous?

STANLEYA little.

SANDYWhy are you nervous?

STANLEYI dont know actually. Here we aresitting together watching this beautifulsunset and for some reason Im nervous. Im so nervous that my palms are sweaty

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STANLEY (contd) and the sand is sticking to my hands.See.

Stanley shows Sandy his palm which is covered in sandthats stuck to his hand.

This makes Sandy break out in hysterical laughter.

STANLEYSo this is funny?

Sandy slaps Stanley on the leg.

SANDYSorry, but yes, yes it is.

Stanley sits there for a moment just looking at her then hejoins in on the laughter.

STANLEYI guess it is pretty funny.

SANDYStanley, youre a trip.

STANLEYA trip?

SANDYYeah, you know, youre funny, yourefun.

STANLEY(innocently)

Thank you, but I dont usually mean to be.

Sandy regains her composure and looks Stanley directly in

the eyes.

SANDYStanley.

STANLEYYes.

SANDYDo you want to kiss me?


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STANLEY(nervously)

Yes.

SANDYOK.

Sandy leans in and gives Stanley a sweet, innocent kissthat lasts for several seconds.

SANDYWas that your first time?

STANLEYYes, I guess thats why I was so nervous, I think maybe subconsciously I knewsomething like this might have been apossibility when we sat down togetherto enjoy the sunset.

SANDY(laughs)

I told you I had a feeling youd be experiencing a lot of firsts today.

STANLEYI wouldnt mind experiencing someseconds either.

SANDY(laughs)

Youre funny. I think I can help you out on one of the seconds.

Sandy leans in and gives Stanley another kiss, this one ismore passionate and lasts much longer than the first.

SANDYWell you couldve fooled me about

this being your first time.

STANLEYThank you.

SANDYStanley, sorry I was such a bitch toyou before.


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STANLEYThats OK, you just didnt know me.

SANDYYoure right, and Im sorry for judging you without really knowing you.

STANLEYThats OK Sandy , its all in the pastand I just want to concentrate on thepresent.

SANDYMe too.

This time Stanley, with his newfound confidence, leans inand gives Sandy a sweet, innocent kiss.

Karen looks over to the two of them and sees them kissing.

KAREN(shocked)

Well Ill be damned.

Karen slaps Vincent on the arm to get his attention.

KAREN (contd) Vincent, look.

Vincent turns his head and sees Stanley making out withSandy.

VINCENT(smiles)

There you go champ. Get after it.

KARENThats so sweet.

VINCENTIt is.

(pause)Karen.

Karen turns to look at Vincent, whos looking directly intoher eyes.

KARENYes, Vincent.


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VINCENTCan I take you out for some pizzatomorrow night?

KARENYou mean, like a date?

VINCENTWell yes.

KARENA real date, huh?

VINCENTYes, an honest to goodness real date.

KARENCan Joey come?

Vincent looks over at his little brother and thinks for amoment, but before he says anything Karen stops him.

KAREN(laughs)

Im just kidding Vincent, relax.

VINCENT(confused)

Sooo, back to this date.

KAREN(interrupts)

Yes, Id love to go out on a date with you. Truth be told Ive had a l ittlecrush on you for the last few months.

VINCENTYou have?

KARENYes.

VINCENTSweet, so have I! I wish I knew thisbefore, I wouldve acted sooner.

(pause)Well now that I know where we both standl ets kick the date up a notch. How

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VINCENT (contd) about we do Applebees and a movie atthe Showcase?

KAREN(laughs)

Ha, sounds great!

Marcus looks around and notices that all of the guys aregetting comfortable and cozy with the girl theyre hangingout with.

MARCUSEveryo ne looks like theyre getting along really well around here.

STACEYI guess its the magic of the sea.

MARCUSStrangely, were like the only ones not holding hands.

STACEYWell we should be.

MARCUSOh yeah? Whys that?

STACEYAre we not boyfriend and girlfriend?

MARCUSI didnt think we are .

STACEYWell I thought we were?

MARCUS

No shit?

STACEYWhats that supposed to mean?

MARCUSDont get me wrong, I would love to be your boyfriend, I just didnt think you wanted to be my girlfriend.


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STACEYI think we have to work on ourcommunication skills.

MARCUSApparently.

MARCUSSo let me get this straight, we areboyfriend and girlfriend, right?

STACEYYes, that is if you want us to be.

MARCUSOh boy, I want us to be.

STACEYGood. So we are.

MARCUSGreat, we are!

STACEY(smiles)

Hi boyfriend.

Stacey awkwardly shakes his hand.

MARCUS(laughs)

Hi girlfriend.(pause)

Ohhh, what the hell.

Marcus leans in and kisses Stacey.

At this point Charlie O comes back to the beach carryingseveral Styrofoam containers, one on top of the other,

filled with stuffies, aka stuffed clams.

CHARLIE OIm backand I brought some goodies.

JOHNNYJeez Chucky, we were wondering whathappened to you.


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CHARLIE OLet that be a lesson to you all, dont ever send a stoned guy off to get agroup dinner.

JOHNNYWell I was thinking thatd be a positive since your munchies would probably forceyou to buy too much food, which is nevera bad thing.

MARCUSWhered you go?

JOHNNYThat little fish n chips shack across the street.

ROBERTOhhh, I love that place. Hook me upwith some.

Charlie O starts going down the line and passing out acontainer to each couple.

CHARLIE OOK, OK, all in good time; dont grab. I got stuffies though, I thought the

fish n chips would be too difficult to eat with plastic knives and forks.

ROBERTWhatever, Im so starved Ill eat anything.

JOHNNYWhat? My snacks werent good enough for you?

ROBERTThey were, but they were exactly whattheyre calledsnacks. Now its time for dinner.

Everyone opens up their containers and digs into the food.Sandy actually feeds Stanley a couple of bites from herfork.


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VINCENTI just wish the yd let us grill out here, I could use a steak.

JOEYWhatever, youd probably burn down the beach.

VINCENTWhat are you talking about drunk boy?

JOEYYou dont remember the time you almost burned down our house when the parentswere away and you tried to turn on thegas grill by yourself?

MARCUSHoly shit! I remember that! I wasthere!

JOEYThat fireball must have flown four, fivefeet up in the air. Almost singed youreyebrows off.

VINCENT(defensively)

None of that w ouldve happened if dadconnected the hose right to begin with.

JOEY(laughs)

Riiight. Keep on believing that.

VINCENTI liked you better when you were black-out drunk.

MARCUSIm sorry man, I love you and all but I got to go with your little brotheron this one. You had no fucking cluewhat you were doing.

VINCENTScrew you.


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Vincent picks up a fistful of sand and throws it at Marcuswho blocks most of it from landing in his container.

MARCUSWhoa, whoa, whoa, calm down!

STACEYVinny, stop it!

VINCENTOK fine.

After Charlie O finishes delivering all the containers, hetakes a seat by Marcus, Stacey and Johnny.

CHARLIE OSo what did I miss while I was gone?

JOHNNYNothing.

CHARLIE OWell what were you guys talking about?

MARCUSThe future.

CHARLIE O

Really? Thats deep.

JOHNNYWhat about you Chaz, what about yourfuture?

CHARLIE OMy future? I have no future.

MARCUSWhat? Come on, everyone has a future.

Even Vincent has a future.

Vincent turns around after hearing his name then crawlsover to join the group, hes quickly followed by Karen.

VINCENTWhat? I heard my name.

MARCUSYou have a future right?


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VINCENTYeah I guess. I have a great uncle inNew York City that hooked me up witha summer internship. Hes at this place c alled Cantor Fitzgerald. Im not even s ure I know what they do, theyre into trading or something like that. Idont know, but my dad says theyre really legitand theyre in the World Trade Center. So Im going to try t hat out and see what happens, Im s ure Ill make some good contacts at least.

KAREN(sadly)

So you re going to be away for thesummer?

VINCENTNot really. Two month internship,four days a week, Im home Fridays -Sunda ys, so its not that big of a deal. Ill still be around a lot.

KARENOhhh OK, good.

Karen grabs a hold of Vincents hand.

KAREN (contd) I was afraid I was going to lose youbefore I even got you.

MARCUSSee Charlie O, even Vincent has afuture, and I think most people gaveup on him years ago.

VINCENTThanks dick.

MARCUSJust go with me on this Vin.

(pause)My point is, Chuck, everyone has afuture.


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CHARLIE ONa-uh, not me. If I think about myfuture Im just going to b e settingmyself up for failure , and thats toomuch of a burden for me to handle. Idont have a future.

MARCUSSure you do. What are you good at?

CHARLIE ONothing.

MARCUSNothing? Come on everyones good at something.

CHARLIE O(agitated)

Im good at being an alcoholic drug addict! Thats all Ive ever been goodat and thats all Ill ever be good at!I mean look at me? Look at what I do,I got Vinnys little brother drunk for n o reason. Because I thought itd be funny? Maybe. Because I was bored?P robably. Because Im a fuck up?Definitely. Look, Im going to shitty

community college and Ill probablyflunk out of that because, again, Ima fucking drug addict!

JOHNNYYou probably wont flunk out of community college, my cousin madei t through in three years and shes an idiot.

Charlie O is not amused by Johnny story and, in fact, he

looks a little pissed off.

CHARLIE OMaybe Vinnys right, I am a fuckingloserand I always will be.

MARCUSNo you re not. Vincent was just angry,he didnt mean it.

(MORE)


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MARCUS (contd) (yells out to Vincent)

Did you Vinny?

VINCENT(thinking)

No, I guess I didnt. Charlie O, youre not a loser, you just do dumb shit a lotof times.

CHARLIE OIll t ake that and I accept your apology.

MARCUSYou know Charlie, we can get you helpto battle your addictions.

CHARLIE OThanks, but I dont want it. Imperfectly content with being a fuckup.

MARCUSAre you sure?

Charlie O puts his hand up to try to stop Marcus fromtalking.

CHARLIE OMarcus, thanks, but Im fine. I just want to eat my stuffies in peace.

Charlie O moves a couple feet away from the group andquietly eats his food.

MARCUSOK, fine. Be like that.

CHARLIE O

I will.

Charlie O puts down his container of food, takes his bowlof weed out of his pocket and smokes in peace.

After a couple of puffs, he turns and offers the bowl toMarcus.


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CHARLIE OWould you like a hit? Would you liketo join me in my fuckedupness? Comeon, help me put the high in NorthProvidence High.

Marcus waves him off.

MARCUSNah, Im good.

CHARLIE OOK, you dont know what youre missing though. This is some good shit; thechronic man, the chronic.

Charlie O takes another puff from his bowl, exhales deeplythen he falls back on the beach and lays down on his back.

MARCUSAnd I think Charlie O is finally goodfor the day.

CHARLIE ONah man, Im alright, Im just looking up at all the funny cloud shapes in thesky.

JOHNNYOh yeah? What do you see?

CHARLIE OAn elephant carrying a briefcase withhis trunk. A Ford Explorer. A karatemaster breaking a piece of wood. And,ummm, I think I see the Easter bunnyin mid- hopthat or its someone jumpingrope, I really cant tell.

Johnny looks up at the sky but is quickly confused when hecant make out anything that Charlie O sees.

JOHNNYCharlie I cant make out one thingyoure looking at, not one fuckingthing.


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CHARLIE OThats because youre not expandin g yourmind. You look at something and takeit at face value, I on the other handsee something and look for different waysto interpret itIm always searching forthe deeper meaning of things.

MARCUSNow whos the deep one?

Charlie O shrugs his shoulders while still lying on thebeach.

CHARLIE OHey, I have my moments.

Marcus looks around his group of friends and sees everyoneagain cuddling up and getting along with each other.

MARCUSGuys, look around. This is what its all about. Friends hanging out withfriends, high school seniorsnot a carein the world. This is the last timeitll be like that. Were going off tocollege, going off to internships, goingoff to work, going off to the army;

were all going into a world filled withresponsibilities. No longer can we hidebehind our parents, siblings and friends.Well have to man up and take ownershipof our lives, both the good and the bad.

Marcus stands up and begins to get more animated with hisactions as he walks along the line of friends.

MARCUS (contd) And who couldve asked for a better day

to ditch? Not only was the weather greatbut the day was chock full of pleasantsurprises. I found out today that Ivehad a girlfriend for the last two months.Vincent and Karen are finally going togo on a date, which is great because,honestly Karen, Vincent has been in-fatuated with you for a long time now,so its great to see that.


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Vincent looks at Karen and sheepishly shrugs his shouldersin agreement.

MARCUS (contd) And we showed that we could not only belovers but we could be fighters as wellby getting a few good punches on thosepricks from Moses Brown.

ROBERTDamn right we did!

MARCUSAnd who wouldve ever thought thismorning that by the evening Sandy andStanley would be sitting on the beachtogether hand-in- hand. Its so precious. I just want to pinch your cheeks, youre both so cute.

Sandy and Stanley look at each other and giggle.

MARCUS (contd) As the sun sets and day turns into night,I think one last toast is in order.

Marcus stands up and walks over to the cooler. Hesfollowed by the rest of his friends.

Everyone digs in and grabs the last remaining beers andZimas.

Marcus raises his beer can into the air.

MARCUSTo high school friendships.

VINCENTMay they live forever.

EVERYONEHere, here.

Everyone raises their drinks in the air, with the exceptionof Joey who is drinking another bottle of water. They do acheers with each other then take a sip.

JOHNNYOne last jump into the water?


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MARCUSLast one in buys the beer tonight.

As the sun goes down completely and day turns into dusk,all of them sprint into the water and splash around.

They then come together, raise their drinks in the airagain and have one more sip.

INT. STACEYS PARENTS CAR

A 28-year old Stacey is riding quietly in the backseat ofher parents car with her younger SISTER; her DAD isdriving and her MOM is in the passengers seat.

Everyone is dressed in black, the father is in a crispblack suit while the three females are wearing conservativeblack dresses.

All four of them are silent, not a word is being spokenduring the drive. The mood is very somber.

TITLE: JOHNSTON , RHODE ISLAND 2005

STACEY (V.O.)And that ditch day at the beach was thelast time we all hung out together.The next week we graduated, and the

week after that Johnny shipped off tobasic training.

(pauses)A lot of things have happened in the tenyears since high school and most of themhave been centered around tragedies.Vincent made such an impression duringhis two-month internship at CantorFitzgerald that he continued on witha summer internship during college andwas hired as a full-time analyst at

the firm right after graduation. Sadly,he had just gotten to his office onthe 102 nd floor of One World TradeCenter on September 11 th , 2001 when ahijacked airliner crashed into thebuilding. While his wallet waseventually found three months laterperfectly intact, his body, or anyother remains for that matter, were

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STACEY (V.O.) (contd) never found. And if this wasnt sad enough, Vincent was a newlywed andhis wife was three months pregnant.Distraught, she later committed suicidein the couples modest Park Avenueapartment after she had given up hopethat rescuers would ever find her husbandalive. Vinnys wife was Karen, his highschool crush and the love of his life.Karen and Vincent married in their senioryear of college and moved to New YorkCity when Vincent accepted the job atCantor. She was excited to be living inthe big City of New York and even moreexcited over her pregnancy, but in theend she couldnt bear the thought ofgoing through life, and having a family,without her beloved husband around.

(pauses)Which leads me to Johnny. Johnny was awarrior. He loved the military and themilitary life. His unit was one of thefirst units called into Afghanistanafter the war started. By all accountshe fought valiantly, each and every dayhe was there, however one day in 2003during a routine patrol, the vehicle he

was driving was torn apart by an IED.He barely survived, having lost a leg,an arm and sight in one eye from theexplosion. He was strong and hung onto life for a while, but a month laterhe passed away from his injuries. Hewas a good guy and I miss him.

(pauses)Unfortunately the tragedies werent only limited to September 11 th and the warthough. Not surprisingly, Charles, or

Charlie O as everyone called him,succumbed to drug abuse only a few yearsafter high school. As he predicted, hedropped out of community college afterhis first semester when he failed allhis classes. He never recovered fromthat and started hanging with the wrongcrowd. He took up black tar heroin andeventually ODed three years to the day

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STACEY (V.O.) (contd) after high school graduation. Charleswas found alone on the bathroom floor ofsome cheap motel off of Pine Street. Hewas a good-hearted kid, very troubled,but good-hearted nonetheless.

(pauses)Another truly tragic story was whathappened to Robbie and Jodi. Theybegan to grow apart during college asshe spent most of her time at her dormin Boston and he continued to live athome while going to RIC. Finallytired of the endless fighting andarguing that dominated their sevenyear relationship, they broke up intheir senior year of college. Jodidumped him, but Robbies ego believed it was mutual. She started to see otherguys but Robbie wouldn t accept thattheir relationship was truly over. Oneweekend Robbie decided to surprise Jodiby driving up to her dorm. He hoped thathe could work things out with her andthey would reconcile. Unfortunately,he not only surprised Jodi but he alsosurprised her new boyfriend who shewas in bed with at the time. Upon

seeing him, Robbie flew into a jealousrage and beat the guy into a coma. Hesurvived, unfortunately Jodi wasnt solucky. Robbie picked up the closestblunt object he could find, maybe itwas a lamp, maybe it was a radio, I neverfound out what it was, I didnt want to know. Whatever it was he hit her overthe head with it then choked the lifeout of her right in her own bed. Afterthat he walked into the kitchen, grabbed

some sort of sharp object and committedsuicide. The scene was apparentlyso gruesome that I heard the firstresponders who were all hardened veteransof the force had to go to counselingfor months. Jodi was a great friendand I wish I couldve don e somethingto stop this well before it happened.Ill always kick myself over my

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STACEY (V.O.) (contd) inactions.

(pauses)Among all the tragedies, there weresome heroics though. Joey adored hisbig brother, Vincent. He felt so help-less on 9/11 when he heard about Vinny,so he decided to do something about it.In October of that year, he dropped outof college and enlisted in the Army asa way to avenge his brother. Within theyear he was shipped out to Afghanistan.He was only there for a month beforehe was killed in a firefight. Joeydied for the honor of his slain brotherand he wouldnt have had it any other way. He died honorably and althoughhe was always known as the little kidaround us he was mature beyond his years.Joey was pretty liberal and barely everagreed with anything that George Bushdid, but you have to respect a guy thatputs his personal feelings aside andfights for whats right. He was a goodkid.

(pauses)Which is why were here today .

The car pulls into a cemetery parking lot.

EXT. HIGHLAND MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY DAY

Stacey is holding a red rose as all four of them get out ofthe car.

They are immediately greeted by a somber-looking Stanley,whos dressed in a crisp black suit, an d Sandy, in aconservative, long black dress. Theyre holding eachothers hand.

STACEY (V.O.)Theres Sandy and Stanley. Theyre nottogether anymore, but theyre still goodfriends. They just had different pathsto follow in life. Stanley is a topsurgeon in Washington, DC while Sandybecame a high school teacher inProvidence.


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Stacey begins to cry when Sandy and Stanley welcome herwith a big hug.

SANDYIm so sorry Stacey.

STANLEYThis sucks, he was such a good guy anda great friend. He always made me feellike a part of the group.

STACEY (V.O.)That ditch day on the beach wasnt afluke as we all became good friends withStanley post-high school. Too bad wedidnt know what we were missing withhim earlier since we all wouldve been proud to call him a friend in high schoolif we just gave him a chance.

All three walk up a hill, arm-in-arm, as her family followsbehind them.

Once they get to the top of the hill, they see rows androws of plots. They begin to head over to an area whereseveral people are gathered around a plot.

STACEY (V.O.)

Marcus was always anti-war, he hated theidea of the military and he hated thet hought of violence. But even he couldnt stand idly by after America was attacked.It was nt just Vincents brother Joeythat walked into a Army recruitment officeon a cold, cloudy autumn day to seekretribution. He was driven there by myboyfriend, Marcus. They enlisted together,although they were sent to separate units.And while Joey eventually went to Afghani-

stan, Marcus found his way to Iraq. Hewas a faithful boyfriend who found a wayto email me every week, except when hewas on a long reconnaissance mission,then it was usually once every otherweek. Marcus was initially upset thathe was sent to Iraq, and not Afghanistanbecause he, like many other people, didntthink Iraq had anything to do with 9/11

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STACEY (V.O.) (contd) and he thought it was pointless to go.But a short time after he got there hesaw the devastation and destruction thatwas caused by decades of dictatorshipand star ted to believe in the greater good of their occupation. He becamesomething he never thought he wouldin a million years, a warrior justlike Johnny. But last week it allcame to an end. His platoon came underfire while on a humanitarian missionin Mosul. He was struck by a sniper sbullet and died instantly. His lastletter to me talked about moving intogether when he got back. We hadtalked from time to time about gettingengaged too; but he couldnt focus toomuch on that at the time because he hada job to do first. Here at HighlandMemorial is our chance to say goodbyeto a loyal American, a loyal soldierand an even more loyal boyfriend. Illmiss him deeply.

(pauses)But at least I ll always have times like our senior year ditch day, whereeverything was simple and we enjoyed

life just like the nave kids we were.I wish we could go back to that simplertime in life when the biggest challengeswe faced were things like a pop quiz inMs. Caponis geometry class.

(pauses)Vincent, his brother Joey, Karen, Johnny,Jodi, Robbie, Charles and Marcus. Eightfriends, seven from my class, all deadbefore the age of 30. Some say our classwas cursed. Earlier this week, the

Providence Journal even wrote a frontpage article about the unfortunatecircumstances of the Class of 1995.But I dont believe we were ever cursed;we were just victims of a changing world.A group of friends who grew up naveduring the eternal optimism of the 90sand had no idea, and werent preparedto deal with, what the world had in

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STACEY (V.O.) (contd) store for them in the 2000s. SometimesI close my eyes and wish I was backthere in 1995 but find myself dis-appointed when I open them up and seethat Im still stuck in 2006.

Stacey, Stanley and Sandy walk up to the plot where Marcuscasket is sitting. The area is surrounding by 30-40friends and family with an honor guard standing off to theside.

A group of four singers are also standing off to the sideand their singing a rendition of Boyz II Mens Its SoHard to Say Goodbye To Yesterday.

SINGERSHow do I say goodbye to what we had?The good time that made us laugh out-weigh the ba d. I thought wed get to see forever b ut forevers gone away. Its so hard to say goodbye to yester -d ay. I dont know where this road is going to lead. All I know is whereweve and what weve been through.If we get to see tomorrow, I hope its wor th all the wait. Its so hard tos ay goodbye to yesterday. And Ill

take with me the memory to be mys unshine after the rain. Its so

Ditch Day Screenplay

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