Anxiety Stricken Screenplay Written by ferf ziamond FADE IN INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT
Two burnout teenagers, BAGGER and NOPOLY sit
in a smoke filled abandoned apartment. Cartoons
on the television, volume on full blast,
beer cans spread around. A Monopoly game
board sits on the floor with the
money and pieces unorganized.
Two typical mafia type gangsters, GHADO and
ALFONZO burst through the door.
Ghado the taller of the two smirks, a horse
voice.
GHADO
Feeling anxious boys?
The two have a look around.
GHADO (CONT.)
Have a good time at the
party? Now it’s time to
pay up.
INT. CAR - DAY
JIM PICKANEY, late thirties, behind the wheel,
KELLY WHELMIN and son KEVVY sleep in
the back seat. Jim narrates.
JIM’S VOICE
The three of us, my lovely
yet un-understanding wife
Kelly, her son Kevvy, and
myself approach our final
destination. Un-understanding
may not be a word, however
it explains Kelly perfectly,
in my eyes anyway. You’ll
understand when the time
comes. We drove from
of
arriving to our new little
home four hundred and
thirty miles away in
Lenoir North
We pulled fifteen year old
Kevvy away from his good
friend Marshal who he grew
up with. Our family is
quite close with Marshal
and his mom. Four hundred
and thirty miles will
decide how close we remain.
They drive down a main road, storefronts,
restaurants and a BOWLING ALLEY just
before the turn off.
JIM’S VOICE (CONT.)
I remember bowling.
The landscape is lush, children play on
long lawns leading up to well crafted
newly built homes. One stands out, a one
story ranch, tanish in color, cultivated
lawn, white picket fence.
JIM’S VOICE (CONT.)
There’s ours. A window
next to the garage tempts
me to call the room my
office. A view of the
street, that works for me.
I am a cartoonist, yes, I
draw pictures and scribble
a joke underneath, I call
it a job and I still allow
myself to get stressed.
Yep, I‘m the guy that
average workers want to
slap across the head and
say, give me a break pansy!
For the record it’s not
the job that works me to
a frenzy, it’s the thoughts
eating away at my hopeless
brain. A pansy in a frenzy.
Jim looks to the back seat.
JIM
Honey, we’re home!
Kelly rubs her eyes.
KELLY
Wow. It’s still as
beautiful as it was three
weeks ago.
Kevvy stretches and grunts.
KEVVY
What the hell is this under
my ass? Ow! Shoot it’s the
damn seat belt buckle.
KELLY
Watch your mouth!
KEVVY
I didn’t curse ma.
KELLY
You said damn.
KEVVY
So?
JIM
Welcome home guys.
KEVVY
Great Jim. Shall we get our
gloves and throw the ball
around now?
JIM
If that’s what you want
to do smartass.
KEVVY
See mom. That’s where I
get it.
KELLY
Jim.
JIM
Relax Kelly. Look at this
place.
EXT. DRIVEWAY
They walk up to the front door.
INT. HOUSE
Inside is gorgeous. Wood floors, ceiling
fans, a view of a lake out back from the
large sliding glass doors.
KELLY
Where’s Kevvy?
JIM
He just went that way.
KELLY
Kevvy?
KEVVY
What?
KELLY
Where are you?
KEVVY
I’m in my room.
INT. BEDROOM
Kevvy lies down, his back on the floor with
legs crossed while reading a
motorcycle magazine.
INT. HALL
JIM
I have to take a walk.
KELLY
Jim, don’t start this crap
again.
JIM
I’ll be right back.
Jim walks to the sliding glass door, exits.
EXT. YARD
He walks along the lake.
JIM’S VOICE
I escape towards the lake.
I don’t know why I get
this feeling but it’s not
the first time. I begin to
panic and I don’t have a
reason to panic. I am
fearing made up things in
my mind. I’m dizzy, shaky,
hot, cold, confused. I
don’t want to walk too
close to the lake for
fear that I may jump in.
If Kevvy was next to me,
would I push him in? What
about Kelly? The thoughts
race. Am I losing my mind?
What the hell is wrong
with me? I try not to cry
or make an ass of myself.
I feel a tear. I would
let it drop so not to
draw attention but no one
is around so I wipe it.
What if I had a real job?
In an office in the city.
I’d have to walk or run
away whenever I felt this
way. What if I worked on
a construction site? I
could end up killing myself.
Or at a store assisting
customers. I could
embarrass myself. How would
I handle that? Could I
handle that? Would I have
to be put away?
DREAM SEQUENCE INT. RUBBER ROOM Jim sits at the end of a bed wearing a straight jacket. He sways back and forth. INT. HOUSE – DAY Jim
and Kevvy sit in Kevvy’s room at a poker table Jim sips wine, Kevvy, a soda. Kevvy’s eyes raise from the magazine.
KEVVY
Fun
trip Jim?
JIM
It
wasn’t so bad. You guys
slept
through the beautiful
parts.
KEVVY
Not
that trip. You’re
attack
by the lake.
JIM
Shhhh!
Your mother!
KEVVY
She’s
out.
JIM
I
know but you never know.
KEVVY
Thanks
for making sense.
Kevvy
looks back down at the magazine. Jim smiles.
JIM
It
wasn’t enjoyable.
KEVVY
I
could tell.
He
looks over the magazine.
KEVVY
(CONT.)
You
gotta do something
about
that. It’s scary. I
know
you tried everything
but
this is crazy.
JIM
Don’t
say crazy.
KEVVY
You
know what I mean.
JIM
I
have to look into more
solutions.
JIM’S
VOICE
I
am doubtful as to there
being
any solutions. I
don’t
want to be so
negative
in front of the
kid
though. He lost his
father
for God’s sake. He
doesn’t
need his dad’s
replacement
snapping out
or
bringing him down.
DREAM
SEQUENCE
A
FIREMAN runs into a burning building. Grabs a child, carries the child to a window, hands the child to another FIREMAN.
JIM’S
VOICE (CONT.)
He
lost his dad, a fireman
who
saved a child before
going
back into a building
to
die himself. A hero.
The
building smolders. Smoke blows from the window.
JIM’S
VOICE (CONT.)
How
can I ask this kid to
call
me dad? His dad was
a
hero for crying out loud.
INT.
BEDROOM
In
a child’s room, YOUNG KEVVY and his FATHER sit on a bed looking through a magazine. Young Kevvy wears a fire helmet.
JIM’S
VOICE (CONT.)
The
only memory he has of
his
dad is that motorcycle
magazine.
Maybe if he did
call
me dad all these
weird
feelings would go
away.
If it wasn’t for
that
child burning in
that
building, we wouldn’t
have
what we have now.
Why
was I put into this
poor
kid’s life? There
has
to be a reason. I
over
analyze as always.
BACK
TO SCENE
Kelly
enters. She puts down her packages by the door and
rambles on.
KELLY
Kevvy,
I saw a bunch of
kids
skateboarding, cute
girls
watching. A pizza
place
down the road. I
picked
up these little
decorations.
A
ceramic bird and glass ornaments.
KELLY
(CONT.)
There
is other stuff in
the
car. Give me a hand
guys.
Kevvy
claps.
KELLY
(CONT.)
Not
that kind of hand. I
ordered
some furniture.
The
stores are so nice.
The
people are friendly.
The
air is pure. Why
didn’t
we do this sooner?
KEVVY
It’s
a treat ma.
EXT. DRIVEWAY
Kevvy
follows her to the car.
KELLY
I
spoke to your grandmother.
She’ll
be here in two days.
Jim
begins to follow with the words echoing.
KELLY’S
VOICE
She’ll
be here in two days.
JIM’S
VOICE
The
words bounce around my
brain
uncontrollably.
Couldn’t
I get away from
these
people for at least
a
week? Why did we come
here?
My mind becomes
clogged.
KELLY’S
VOICE
Two
days.
JIM’S
VOICE
I
need to sit.
Jim
crouches on the grass. Kelly is not pleased.
KELLY
What
now?
KEVVY
Let
him relax ma. He drove
a
long way.
JIM’S
VOICE
Kevvy
to my rescue. I knew
I
liked this kid for a
reason.
I wish he could
call
me dad. Why did his
father
die? Am I going to
die?
How am I going to
die?
Jim
sits pulling blades of grass from the ground. He looks upward.
DREAM
SEQUENCE
EXT.
SKY
Clouds
form figures. A baby, an angel.
JIM’S
VOICE (CONT.)
When
I die do I just
go
away like it was before
I
was born? Nothing?
The
clouds turn dark.
EXT.
CLIFF
A
man jumps.