Sidekicks #3: Everywhen But Here

PAGE 1

1/1 DISTANCE-ESTABLISHING SHOT-EXT-JOSIE’S HOME-DUSK
A brightly colored suburban home on the small side, with an ill-maintained lawn. The small frame of a woman (Cate) approaches the driveway carrying something.

1/2 MEDIUM
The focus is on Cate’s feet as they ascend the concrete front stairs of the home; she is only visible from the back of the thigh down.

1/3 CLOSE-UP-INSET
Cate’s finger presses a doorball.

1/4 INT-JOSIE’S LIVING ROOM-DUSK
Josie attention turns away from the television in front of her and she looks towards the front door.

SFX
BZZZZZZZZZ. BZZZ BZZZZZZZZ.

1/5 MEDIUM CLOSE-INSET
Josie rolls her eyes unenthusiastically.

1/6 MEDIUM WIDE
Josie gets up from the couch and moves to get the door.

PAGE 2
The layout of the page should show a door ajar on the left, in the first vertical third, with the panels filling in the space remaining.

2/1 MEDIUM-CATE’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
From behind Cate’s head, we see Josie standing at the door with a look of confusion tinged with a look of annoyance.

JOSIE
Hello?

2/2 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Cate’s face is finally revealed; she wears a warm smile that compliments her Sunday’s Best (though it’s the middle of the week) and she carries a basket of food with her.

CATE
Hello, dear! How are you?

CATE (CONT’D)
*sigh* I’d almost forgotten what a beautiful girl you turned out to be.

JOSIE
Um...can I help you?

2/3 DIFFERENT ANGLE
Cate’s attention shifts to the basket as she digs through it with her free hand, surveying her own handy work.

CATE
Oh, there’s no need for that.

CATE (CONT’D)
John and I-and Lionel, too-we heard about your father’s accident last week. I just wanted to let you know that you’re all in our prayers.

2/4 DIFFERENT ANGLE
Bursting with excitement and pride, Cate raises her arm carrying the basket and offers it towards Josie.

CATE
So here you are. A little “get well” dinner, for the whole family. I know how hard it can be with the provider out of commission for a while.

2/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
Josie looks down at the basket, more than a little creeped out.

CATE (O.S.)
Oh, and the tupperware is yours to keep, of course.

2/6 CLOSE-UP INSET
A small card with an image of the Virgin Mary rests on top of the basket.

JOSIE (O.S.)
Thanks...

2/7 MEDIUM CLOSE
As the door slams out sight, Cate stands silently waiting. Her smile has not faded, though her eyes register confusion or disappointment.

SFX
SLAM!

PAGE 3
NOTE: This is supposed to be a dream sequence, or a hallucination that present-day Twitch is having from the dumpster as he recalls the story; obviously, it connects back to the forward-moving part of the story, but I thought we should try to remind readers of where the narrator stands presently without breaking up the narrative too much.

3/1 WIDE-EXT-A FIELD-DAY
Two windmills stand majestically at the far end of a sweeping green field. Two figures on horseback, armed with lances, approach.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
I haven’t eaten in days at this point.

3/2 MEDIUM CLOSE-RIDERS’ POV
From behind the mysterious riders, we see the two windmills again; a woman, bearing a striking resemblance to Josie only decked out in a ridiculous princess get-up, looks out a window, flailing her arms. One rider wears medieval armor, one moves his arm to left up the face shield on his helmet; the other is dressed like a cowboy archetype.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
And I think it’s finally starting to get to me.

3/3 CLOSE-UP
In the foreground, the first Knight has pulled up his face shield, revealing Twitch’s face underneath. Behind him, Walker-as-cowboy prepares for battle.

TWITCH
Prithee, thy fair maiden waits upon yonder window!

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Alas, my friend, I am without adeptness at the ways of the sword. Dost thou truly believe thou canst defeat these evil giants in combat?

3/4 CLOSE-UP-WALKER’S POV
Walker looks past Twitch at the windmills, ready to charge into battle.

WALKER
Guess we’ll find out, huh?

WALKER (CONT’D)
C’mon. Let’s be goddamn heroes.

3/5 CLOSE
Walker screams as he charges into battle; Twitch follows reluctantly behind.

WALKER
YAAAARGH!

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Now, when I see things in my head, it’s kind of like this.

PAGE 4

SPLASH
Mrs. Henderson and Walker in “millipede vision,” shown as long extensions of themselves, simultaneously from birth to death. The shot of Mrs. Henderson from last issue should be the focus here, to remind us of where we left off. Other characters can be in this splash as well, in the same millipede form-in general, this page seem like a calamity of lives, from beginning to end, splashed and spilled together like liquid.
That is, except Twitch, who is the only one who is not a millipede person.

CREDITS
“Tilting at Windmills, or, Everywhen But Here”
Created by Thom Dunn, Paul Cantillon, and Dmitry Milkin

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Everything that ever has been. Everything that ever will be.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Everything, at once.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
How do you know which face is now? Or which who happens when?

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Okay, sure. Maybe I’ve just completely lost it.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
But maybe it’s a matter of perspective. Maybe if you change your angle-change the way you look at things-maybe if you just change the way you stand-

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Maybe you can change the future.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Maybe you can change the past.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Or maybe...

*On the following pages, during Mrs. Henderson’s lectures, her speech bubbles can be partially covered or obscured by others.

PAGE 5

5/1 BLACK
The panel is all black, but for a single speech bubble:

CHRIS (O.S.)
This is stupid.

CHRIS (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Can we go back to the part about the Tasmanian Devil?

5/2 WIDE-INT-HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM-DAY
Walker, Twitch, Chris, Josie, et al in Mrs. Henderson’s history class. Mrs. Henderson is clearly not amused by this remark. There is a map of Australia pulled down on the board behind her. The analog clock on the wall should read 10:35.

MRS. HENDERSON
I assure you, they’re not as cuddly as the Warner Brothers would have you think.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Why, they don’t even do that little...tornado spin-y thing they do on television.

MRS. HENDERSON (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Though I suppose that rabbits can’t speak English in the real world either.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Memory is a funny thing.

5/3 MEDIUM CLOSE-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Mrs. Henderson turns her back to face the board.

MRS. HENDERSON (SMALL)
Now where was I...

5/4 MEDIUM-WALKER’S POV
Walker looks over at Twitch, who is paying attention to Mrs. Henderson

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Although, I guess it’s not really funny in that I-told-you-so sense, because if it were, that would defeat the entire point of trying to articulate whatever it is I’m trying to articulate.

MRS. HENDERSON
Ah, yes! Here we are!

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
While each aboriginal tribe does have its own variation on the creation myth, there is a-generalized-consensus regarding this notion of the Dreaming.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Which, as I was trying to say before, seems to contradict the commonly accepted Western understanding of time.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
(And obviously, it’s not hilarious)

5/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
Focus on Twitch, as Walker still tries getting his attention from across the room in that way that people do by focusing all their energy on someone else. On Twitch’s wrist, we should see a digital watch that reads 10:28.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
It’s kind of like trying to explain to someone why you organize your clothes the way you do.

MRS. HENDERSON
An oversimplification of this concept...

MRS. HENDERSON (SMALL) (CONT’D)
...but one that I suppose would suffice...

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
...would be to say that history and dreams in Aboriginal cultures are viewed as being completely objective, whereas one’s personal sense of time and memory is subjective.

PAGE 6

6/1 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Twitch finally notices Walker looking at him, and he looks back, with an inquisitive expression on his face.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
As far as you’re concerned, there’s only one place that socks could possibly go, and that’s in the left-hand side of the top drawer of the dresser, next to the underwear, which should always stay in the center.

MRS. HENDERSON
Being that the past-history, if you will-is inexplicably linked to both our present and our future, the three are seen to exist in simultaneity and harmony.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
It is our dreams that connect our souls to the greater, all-encompassing web of life.

6/2 MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV
Twitch looks back at Walker, who simply rolls his eyes at the lecture.

MRS. HENDERSON
Now, I know it might sound like I’m just advocating History as a field of study, but there is a distinct cultural relevance in these ideas.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Yes, Justin?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Of course, someone else might use the bottom drawer, or-God forbid-a middle one (which makes no sense, whatsoever), because that just seems right to them.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
(Again, unless it’s a middle drawer, because that’s just wrong no matter how you cut it.)

6/3 WIDE-MRS. HENDERSON’S POV
Mrs. Henderson calls on Justin, who nervously asks a questions. In the background, Twitch can be seen looking at Walker still, while Walker shrugs his shoulders.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
The point is, I could really use a new pair of socks now. There’s some really gross garbage juice in here, and it soaked through a while ago.

JUSTIN
This isn’t going to be on the test, is it?

JUSTIN (CONT’D)
All this...theoretical time...stuff.

MRS. HENDERSON
I’m afraid not, though you shouldn’t take that as an excuse for not doing the reading.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Just because it’s not on the test doesn’t mean it’s not important.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
And the tragic irony of it all? I don’t even know how long I’ve been here in this dumpster. The logic of my own memory is a mystery even to me-which I guess makes sense, with all that’s been going on.

6/4 CLOSE UP-INSET?
Close up on the analog clock in the classroom, with Twitch’s face reflected in the plexiglass.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
So my socks are back in the left hand side of the top drawer of my dresser at John and Cate’s house, and I’m here waiting for the Future Garbage Truck to come and take me away.

MRS. HENDERSON (O.S.)
However, Chapter Thirty Seven, which deals with the specifics of some of the more popular Creation epochs, will be.

PAGE 7

7/1 MEDIUM
Mrs. Henderson’s head is cut off in “Muppet Babies” fashion again, as Twitch and Walker try to talk inconspicuously.

MRS. HENDERSON
Interestingly enough, “The Dreaming” is actually a term that was popularized by an Australian anthropologist named WEH Stanner.

WALKER (WHISPER)
What are we supposed to do about this?

MRS. HENDERSON
Despite it’s popularity in the English language canon, the term was actually intended to serve as an insult of sorts. An Aboriginal man reportedly told Stanner that the-and I quote-”White man got no Dreaming,” a phrase which Stanner ironically adored and used as a title for one of his books.

TWITCH (WHISPER)
I don’t know...

MRS. HENDERSON
The Aborigines, of course, are not English speakers, and-yes, Chris?

7/2 MEDIUM CLOSE
Focus on Chris, as he tries to crack a joke.

TWITCH (O.S.)(WHISPER)
...you’re the action hero.

CHRIS
So are you kind of saying that Morpheus from The Matrix was one of these guys?

CHRIS (CONT’D)
I mean, Laurence Fishburne’s black, the aborgines are black-ish, and the Matrix is all about the same kind of dreaming mind stuff and all, you know?

MRS. HENDERSON (O.S.)
Thank you for your insight, Chris.

CHRIS
No problem, Missus H.

7/3 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Walker rolls his eyes at Chris’s joke.

WALKER (WHISPER)
Well, do you remember anything?

TWITCH (WHISPER)
Yes, I told you what I saw!

WALKER (WHISPER)
Do you remember any details, or-? Maybe you can bring the image back in your head, paint a picture or something.

WALKER (WHISPER) (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Or have Tim Sale do it.

MRS. HENDERSON
As I was saying, calling it “The Dreaming,” or, “Dreamtime,” can be seen as somewhat ignorant by some of the Aborigine tribes.

7/4 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

TWITCH (WHISPER)
Maybe we could ask her? After class?

WALKER (WHISPER)
That’ll go over great. Oh, hi Mrs. Henderson. Do you have any dying planned soon that we could help stop?

WALKER (WHISPER) (CONT’D)
Oh, by the way, I was wondering if I could get some extra credit if I punch Chris in the face while I’m at it.

MRS. HENDERSON
The Anangu, for example, call this idea Tjukurpa. In fact, they have no word for dreams or dreaming in their language and all, and some take insult with the idea that we would consider such an important spiritual truth to be the equivalent of dreams, of sleep-induced fantasies.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Whereas many people in English-speaking countries do believe that dreams reflect life, the Anangu believe that what we call “The Dreaming” is life, in all its forms, existing beyond time.

CHRIS (SMALL)
Who makes this shit up...

TWITCH (WHISPER)
Look, I don’t know if she’s going to die necessarily, she just...looked like she was in a lot of pain, that’s all.

TWITCH (WHISPER) (CONT’D)
Well, plus she was sprawled out on the floor. But that could just be a coincidence!

7/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
Mrs. Henderson gives a stern look.

MRS. HENDERSON
Gentlemen...

7/6 TWO-SHOT
Shrunken with embarrassment and shame, Walker and Twitch exchange a look.

WALKER AND TWITCH
Sorry Mrs. Henderson.

PAGE 8

8/1 FULL FIGURE TWO-SHOT-INT-HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY-DAY
Walker and Twitch talk as they leave the classroom.

WALKER
I just think you need to start training, that’s all.

TWITCH
Training? I’m not running a marathon, Walker.

WALKER
You know what I mean. We need to discipline your..your eye thing, so we can use it. The eye is a muscle after all, like anything else.

THE REST OF THE PAGE IS A SINGLE IMAGE, BROKEN VERTICALLY INTO PANELS (MAINLY FOR DIALOGUE'S SAKE), AND DEPICTS WALKER AND TWITCH STANDING IN THE HALLWAY SPEAKING, WHILE THE REST OF THE STUDENT BODY BLURS/MILLIPEDES AROUND THEM.

8/2

TWITCH
No, it’s not.

WALKER
Sure it is. What else could it be?

TWITCH
It’s-they’re-organs, like the heart or the lungs.

8/3

WALKER
Really?

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Weird.

TWITCH
Listen, Walker-I feel like this is all just a little much right now.

WALKER
What, Henderson’s lecture? I’ll just wiki it later, it can’t be that confusing. But we should really focus more on-

TWITCH
Okay, I get it. This whole twitchy eye thing is really cool and all, but a few days ago you didn’t even know my first name. Now you’re all anxious to run around playing hero? It’s just kind of sudden. Maybe...

8/4

TWITCH
Maybe it’s too fast. Maybe we’re all moving too fast.

8/5

WALKER
Listen. We know that something bad is going to happen to Mrs. Henderson soon.

TWITCH
We don’t-

WALKER
AH.

WALKER (CONT’D)
We-that’s you and me-we are the only ones with the power to prevent this. It’s our duty-our responsibility.

8/6

TWITCH
Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were Smokey the Spider-Bear all the sudden. Does that mean I get a code name, too, or...?

WALKER
What?

TWITCH
Nevermind.

8/7

WALKER
What does that even-

TWITCH
I told you to forget it.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
But yes, okay, you’ve got a point, I admit.

WALKER
So why are you being hesitant? I thought this was your thing! Epic quests, and damsels in distress, and something else that rhymes. It’s like those books you’re always carrying around!

TWITCH (CAPTION)
You’d think I’d know the difference between fiction and reality by now.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
But those are books, Walker. And that’s just me. What I still want to know-what I still don’t get-

PAGE 9

9/1 INT.-HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA - DAY
From Twitch’s perspective, Walker is sitting at a table eating lunch with friends, including Chris, the rest of whom are clearly jocks or “cool” guys. They are all laughing and having a good time.

TWITCH (O.S.)
“...what’s in it for you?”

GUY 1
You’re fuckin’ kidding me, dude! She said that?

GUY 2
Yeah man. She’s totally into that shit.

9/2 MEDIUM CLOSE
Walker looks over his shoulder, away from the group. He hasn’t been paying attention to the conversation at all.

GUY 1
What about you, Walker? You been goin’ through a dry spell or somethin’ lately? Whatever happened with, uh...what the fuck’s her name...

9/3 WIDE
Sitting alone at a table, with the world buzzing-even blurring-around him, Twitch eats lunch alone reading “Don Quixote.”

GUY 1 (O.S.)
Walker?

9/4 MEDIUM
Saving face, Walker turns around and rejoins the conversation with the guys. A hint of skepticism or suspicion sneaks across Chris’s face, however.

WALKER
What? Yeah, sorry.

WALKER (CONT’D)
I’m just kind of spacing today. Late night.

GUY 2
I hear that. I was trying to read for Henderson’s class the other day, right? Took me like, four hours.

GUY 2 (CONT’D)
That shit makes no sense, at all.

9/5 CLOSE-INSET
Chris looks back in Twitch’s direction.

9/6 CLOSE
Chris turns his attention back to the group and motions in Twitch’s direction.

CHRIS
Hey.

CHRIS (CONT’D)
Did I tell you guys what happened with Twitchie Richie’s mom the other day?

PAGE 10

10/1 MEDIUM WIDE
Twitch is looking down at the table, still reading and eating and not paying much attention to the world around him.

10/2 SAME
The panel is the same,except a person-shaped shadow has now fallen over Twitch.

10/3 SAME
The panel is the same as the previous one, except Twitch has now looked up at the shadow’s source.

CHRIS (O.S.)
What was your Mom doing over at my girlfriend’s the other night, creep?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
You’d think I’d know when I’m being set-up for a joke...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
What the heck?

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Am I supposed to answer that seriously?

10/4 MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV
Hands on the table, Chris stares down Twitch.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
...or when I’m the punch line.

CHRIS
I heard you made dinner for Josie and you had your mom deliver it.

CHRIS (CONT’D)
Too scared to stalk my girlfriend on your own, so you ask your mom to do it for you?

10/5 CLOSE
Still sitting at the lunch table with the other guys observing Chris’s masculine assertion, Walker’s face reveals his empathy. He’s torn between saving face and letting it happen, or stepping in and standing up for Twitch.

10/5 CLOSE
Completely confounded by this accusation, Twitch searches frantically in his head for an answer as his eye begins to twitch.

TWITCH
Um...I don’t...I’m not really sure what that-

CHRIS (O.S.)
See, now I know you’re lying,’cause that creepy little eye of yours is freaking out.

10/6 MEDIUM
As Twitch struggles to gain control over the coming vision, Walker comes over and places a hand on Chris’s shoulder.

WALKER
Hey, man. Knock it off.

WALKER (CONT’D)
It’s not like Josie’s gonna leave you for him or anything.

CHRIS
Man, what is with you lately? Why are you defending this freak?

WALKER
Why are you always starting shit? You think you’re so fucking macho, but you always pick on the weakest links.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You’re a real manly man, Chris. Maybe you should-

TWITCH (SMALL)
Hnnnn...

10/7 CLOSE
Twitch ejaculates in pain from his oncoming vision.

TWITCH
GAH!

PAGE 11

SPLASH
A collage of images, with Twitch’s writhing face in the center.
--The same image of Mrs. Henderson collapsing, with close-ups of it scattered throughout the collage as well.
--A hand stroking Josie’s face. It is Walker’s hand, though his face is not visible.
--A doctor writing out a prescription or diagnosis.
--Marissa, dressed much more angrily and militant, screaming about something.

PAGE 12

12/1-MEDIUM
As Twitch pulls himself together, Chris looks down at him with a disgusted look. Whether he is disgusted by Twitch, or with himself for being embarassed by Walker is up for debate. Walker looks to Twitch with concern, but still tries to maintain and assert his Alpha Male status.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Hunh...hff...hn...

12/2-SAME
A clash of glares from Chris and Walker; Twitch is still recovering.

12/3-MEDIUM WIDE
Chris turns his back and walks away from the table, getting the last word in a “hail mary” attempt to save face; the entire cafeteria has been watching. Walker checks in with Twitch, who has finally sat up.

CHRIS
Yeah. Whatever, Don Juan.

CHRIS (CONT’D)
Have fun with Don Quixote over here.

WALKER
You okay?

TWITCH (SMALL)
I did it...

WALKER
What?

12/4 MEDIUM
Twitch, still recovering, looks up excitedly and wide-eyed at Walker, who stands beside him.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Mrs. Henderson...hhnh...falling...I saw it again...

12/5 MEDIUM
Immediately, Walker takes the seat beside Twitch, gushing with adrenaline.

WALKER
You saw it? You brought the vision back? What did you see this time?

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
I knew it.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Well, I...ahh...didn’t really pay attention...huuh...I was kind of distracted...

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Thanks, by the way.

WALKER
Don’t worry about it.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You got the vision back once, which means we can bring it back again and figure out how to stop it.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Heh...”we”?

12/6 CLOSE
A cocky but exuberant grin, dripping both of mischief and courage, takes over Walker’s face.

WALKER
You heard me. Now c’mon.

WALKER (CONT’D)
Let’s be goddamn heroes.

PAGE 13

13/1 BIRD’S EYE VIEW-EXT-TREETOP/YARD-DAY-FLASHBACK
Looking down on young Walker, he reaches up towards something in the branches of the tree.

UNCLE (O.S.)
That’s it...There he is...You got him.

13/2 MEDIUM
Young Walker, standing on a ladder supported by his Uncle below, cradles a cat in his arms.

SFX (CAT)
Mreow.

UNCLE (O.S.)
Alright Walker, now come on down, nice and slow.

13/3 MEDIUM-WOMAN’S POV
Walker gets down from the ladder, cat in arms, with help from Uncle Ted.

UNCLE
There we go.

13/4 MEDIUM
Walker hands the cat to the Woman, a neighbor, who is ecstatic to have her cat back.

WALKER
Here you go, ma’am.

WOMAN
Oh, Walker! Thank you! Thank you so much!

WOMAN (CONT’D)
Ted, thank you, too, of course.

UNCLE
It’s our pleasure.

13/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
Uncle Ted puts his hand on Walker’s shoulder; his head is cut off.

UNCLE
See, I told you. You’ve got courage lie a lion. How’s it feel to be a hero?

PAGE 14-15

14-15/1 MEDIUM INT-HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY-DAY-PRESENT
Backed up against a locker inconspicuously, Walker glances around.

14-15/2 WIDE
Chris yelling at Josie in the middle of the hallway. She pouts angrily and defiantly, eyes rolled.

14-15/3 MEDIUM-CLOSE
The doorway to Mrs. Henderson’s classroom; her name is visible on a plate on the wall beside the door.

14-15/4 SAME ANGLE
Mrs. Henderson comes to the door to leave.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Do you ever feel like you’re just waiting for something to happen?

14-15/5 MEDIUM
Twitch looks up from the book he’s reading, sitting propped against a wall.

14-15/6 CLOSE
Walker looks intently and intensely at Twitch (off-panel), trying to communicate non-verbally; his jaw is clenched tight and eyes are wide.

14-15/7 MEDIUM
Twitch, from the same angle as before, eyes turned to look in the direction that Walker is (presumably) notioning.

14-15/8 WIDE
Mrs. Henderson walks down the hall, hobbling a bit; Chris and Josie can still be seen, somewhat obscured from view behind her. Josie has begun to walk away.

14-15/9 SAME ANGLE
Mrs. Henderson has walked further now, almost to the edge of the panel; behind her, more focused, is Josie, walking away from Chris defiantly as he yells after her.

14-15/10 SAME ANGLE
Chris alone, throwing his arms up in frustration, giving up.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
It’s like you know exactly what’s to come, and there’s nothing you can do but wait for it to hit you.

14-15/11 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch looks to Walker, with an inquisitive look of surprise.

14-15/12 MEDIUM CLOSE
Walker shrugs.

14-15/13 SAME
Walker nods his head in Mrs. Henderson’s direction.

14-15/14 WIDE
Mrs. Henderson continues to walk away down the hall; she’s at least 20 yards away by now.

14-15/15 MEDIUM
Twitch shoots an incredulous look in Walker’s direction.

14-15/16 MEDIUM CLOSE
Walker shrugs again.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
I’m sure I’m not the only one that gets that feeling.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
All things considered.

PAGE 16

16/1 TWO-SHOT
Twitch approaches Walker.

TWITCH
Now what?

WALKER
Now?

16/2 SAME
Twitch waits impatiently for a response. Walker looks down to the ground nervously searching for an answer.

WALKER
Ummm, well, uh-there could-um...

TWITCH
Seriously. What did that accomplish?

16/3 CLOSE
Walker shrugs, jokingly and charismatically, with a feigned innocence in his smile.

WALKER
...reconnaissance?

16/4 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch rolls his eyes and throws his head back.

16/5 TWO-SHOT-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Twitch steps it up, pointing at Walker (if he were more of a man, he’d poke him in the chest). Walker is surprised even by this slight step he’s taken.

TWITCH
If you really want to do something about this, then by all means, let’s do something.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Especially if it’s going to make these...things subside.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
But if you’re just going to sit here and boost up your ego with delusions of grandeur, then forget it. I’m out. I’m done with your little prank.

16/6 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch indicates to Walker that they need to get going.

TWITCH
Let’s get to class.

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
I won’t even make you sit with me.

PAGE 17

17/1 WIDE
Ms. Eliot teaching, indicating the board. The backs of students’ heads are once again visible--Walker is captivated, Twitch is distracted, Josie and Chris are separated, and Justin is hunched over, scribbling in his notebook.

MS. ELIOT
Can anyone tell me the benefits of a narrative like the one that Vonnegut uses here? When we’re told what’s going happen ahead of time, but not exactly how?

17/2 CLOSE
Ms. Eliot calls on a student.

MS. ELIOT
Ryan?

17/3 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch drifts off, clearly not paying attention. Walker can be seen behind him raising his hand.

RYAN (O.S.)
Uh, it’s like...idunno, it’s kinda like foreshadowing.

WALKER
It helps create suspense...

17/4 CLOSE
Close-up on the clock in the classroom, which reads 1:45pm.

WALKER (O.S.)
...by making the reader anticipate what’s going to happen.

WALKER (CONT’D)
‘Cause the reader knows things that the characters don’t.

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
Very good, Walker.

PAGE 18

18/1 LARGE PANEL
Twitch sharply and suddenly sits up at his desk, eyes wide, with his right eye twitching. They rest of the students might be visible around him, but they should be opaque and faded; the rest of the panel is filled up with various images from his previous vision of Mrs. Henderson, repeated at different distances and zooms. Specifically, the time on her clock (1:47) should keep building on top of other fragmented images, each time getting closer and closer.

18/2 WIDE
Ms. Eliot continues to teach, but is stopped when she notices something.

MS. ELIOT
Now, who can tell--yes, Twitch?

18/3 CLOSE
Twitch anxiously asks a question.

TWITCH
Can I go to the bathroom?

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
Of course. Go...

18/4 SAME ANGLE
Twitch is already out of his scene; Walker looks puzzled but curious.

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
...right ahead.

PAGE 19

19/1 WIDE
Twitch’s hand reaches towards Mrs. Henderson’s door (which we can tell by the nametag plaque next to it. Or not.)

19/2 ONE-SHOT-INT-MRS. HENDERSON’S CLASSROOM-AFTERNOON
Twitch enters Mrs. Henderson’s classroom, speaking before he gets even half of his body in the door.

TWITCH
Mrs. Henderson?

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Hello?

19/3 MEDIUM
Mrs. Henderson sits at her desk. She looks up towards the door, bringing her glasses down to the tip of her nose.

MRS. HENDERSON
Hello, Lionel. What can I do for you?

19/4 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch, uncertain of how to answer without sounding like a nut, desperately and awkwardly grasps for something to say. He looks down and to the right, partially to hide his twitching right eye.

TWITCH
Um...I just...I...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
There was...umm...

19/5 INSET
Twitch looks at the watch on the wrist; the time is 1:46 and somelot of seconds.

19/6 SAME ANGLE AS BEFORE
Twitch looks up, excitedly feigning confidence.

TWITCH
I just wanted to say that all that...Aborigine stuff you were talking about today, with The Dreaming and whatnot. That was really interesting.

PAGE 20

20/1 WIDE-TWITCH’S POV OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Twitch keeps talking, trying to come up with an answer, as Mrs. Henderson looks at him. She is skeptical, but amused.

TWITCH
And, you did a really good job, you know,of...of explaining all those crazy concepts.

20/2 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch, finally fully confident in his act, keeps going, injecting an air of bravado and confidence, almost scoffing at what he’s saying in a poor attempt to cover for himself.

TWITCH
All that...fluid time spectrum...dimensional...stuff...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
I mean, it’s totally ridiculous and ungrounded and...you know...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
It was really good the way you taught it.

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
You being a teacher and all.

20/3 MEDIUM CLOSE
Mrs. Henderson looks back down at her desk as she responds.

MRS. HENDERSON
Thank you for the kind words, Lionel, but...

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Shouldn’t you be in class right now?

20/4 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch awkwardly searches for an answer. Again.

TWITCH
...

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
I had to pee.

20/5 MRS. HENDERSON’S POV
Now Twitch has his alibi!

TWITCH
And-and school’s almost done for the day, you now, and-and we had a test, um, in Ms. Eliot’s class.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Which I finished, you know, ‘cause...

MRS. HENDERSON
Oh, really? And what were you reading in Ms. Eliot’s class?

PAGE 21

21/1 MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV
On a downward angle, looking at Mrs. Henderson from where Twitch stands beside her desk. This time, Twitch actually has the answer without thinking.

TWITCH
Slaughterhouse Five.

MRS. HENDERSON
Can’t say I’ve read that one.

TWITCH
It’s about time travel.

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Kind of.

21/2 PROFILE TWO-SHOT
Mrs. Henderson looks at Twitch again.

MRS. HENDERSON
Well, you should probably get back to Ms. Eliot’s class, Mr. Ritchie.

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
I’m sure she misses your engaging wit right now.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Yeah...

21/3 MEDIUM
Mrs. Henderson waits awkwardly and impatiently for Twitch to leave.

MRS. HENDERSON
...

MRS. HENDERSON (CONT’D)
Goodbye, Lionel.

21/4 MEDIUM WIDE
Twitch gets the clue. Finally.

TWITCH
Oh. Right!

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Bye Mrs. Henderson!

MRS. HENDERSON
Have a good weekend, Lionel.

TWITCH
Thanks! You too!

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Hope...you know...hope everything’s well!

MRS. HENDERSON
Thanks, Lionel.

TWITCH
Take care!

MRS. HENDERSON
Goodbye, Lionel.

21/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
Twitch walks towards the door, wearing a proud smile. Mrs. Henderson is clearly visible behind him, waiting for him to leave.

TWITCH
So long!

21/6 INSET
Twitch looks at his watch; the time is 1:50.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Mission accomplished.

PAGE 22

22/1 WIDE
Mrs. Henderson looks back down at her desk and continues correcting papers.

22/2 SAME
Same shot. Mrs. Henderson might move a bit.

22/3 SAME
Same shot. Mrs. Henderson might move a bit more.

22/4 DIFFERENT ANGLE
Mrs. Henderson looks up as the bell rings.

SFX
Bzzzzzzzzzzz

22/5 CLOSE
Focus on Mrs. Henderson’s desk; her hand is all that is seen of her, helping her up out of her chair. It obscures a doctor’s note.

22/6 SAME
With her hand removed, we get a clear shot of the doctor’s note beneath her hand that diagnoses her with breast cancer.

END.

The Future, On Fire

Speakers from all of the leading universities and think tanks will be there. They’ll be talking about wormholes and quarks and divergent time streams and parallel universes and paradox theories and Star Trek and everyone will cheer and they’ll call it a success and they’ll celebrate, just like this. Beautiful women will parade around in silver vinyl suits, flashing Vulcan signs and flesh but never nipple (they’re not paid that well) and saying things like “Klaatu Barada Nikto” and giggling while they upturn their voluptuous lips and cock their heads a bit to appease the other cocks in the room. Everyone will be home smiling, or reminiscing, or go out drinking and celebrating. Adam Ng will be on his fifth pint of the night, except he’ll be drowning his sorrows, hunched over on a barstool, tapping the glass with his finger whenever he wants a refill. His friends will be paying for most of his drinks and doing tequila shots in honor of the “First Annual Time Travelers’ Convention,” that they had been working for months to put together. The whole thing will have gone off without a hitch.
Or a time traveler.
Right on cue, there will be a bright flash outside—there it is—and I see myself walk into the room about 7 hours earlier, and a lot more sober. I take a drink to keep my mouth shut (and maybe hide my face) and I watch myself look frantically around the room and try to make sense of the situation.
“Fuck,” I hear me whisper to myself, and I laugh because this really is exactly how I remember it. I struggle to keep the beer from coming out my nose and everyone else in the bar turns to look at the guy in the funny metallic costume with racing stripes down the side. I ask the bartender for another drink and watch myself do exactly what I’m going to do.
“I’m late, huh?” I say—the other me says—after a pause. I drink to my own lack of wit.
“Sorry, man. Convention was hours ago,” Jae says again. I don’t actually know his name yet. “Are you looking for someone in particular, or…?”
“Fuck, man! This fuckin’ thing never works!” the other me cries, smacking the device on our wrist as hard as he can. It starts beeping and blinking frantically, and this time I understand why, even if he doesn’t.
“What is that?” asks Jae.
“Tachyon Compression Gauge. It’s, ah—it’s supposed to read and monitor stringent and derivative particles in divergent timelines . Or something like that, I don’t now. You guys are supposed to figure it out. But either way, this thing is going nuts right now, and I have no idea why.”
At this, Adam will lift his head and turn his curious ear towards the conversation.
(He does)
No one will realize that my Tachyon Compression Gauge is picking up on my own presence in the room. Except the bartender, that is. He looks at me when I chortle in my throat, then looks back at our foolishly costumed new guest—me, again—and does a double take back towards me. Fortunately for the structure of timespace, he just shakes his head, confused, and gets back to making drinks.
I then plop down on a stool across from myself at the bar. I turn around quickly, so I don’t notice me because the results would be disaster—two of the same object can never occupy the same space at the same time—and I start to wonder about my decision. Obviously, I turned around, just like this, when I was in his position. Could I have stayed, and just hid my face? Could I have done something else, or nothing? Or was I compelled to do exactly what I did the last time, simply because I had done it already?
How much of my actions or thought processes were pre-determined by the structure of time?
I can’t turn around and face him again, either because I’m too afraid of what might happen, or because I’m simply not allowed to because I didn’t do it last time. It’s funny—I knew everything that would happen to me before, but not now. Not me now, even though I was already here and already went through this same scene.
Of course, while I’m busy having a mild panic attack over the nature of pre-destination paradoxes, the other me will try to convince Jae and Adam and the guys the he is, in fact, a time traveler—just one that apparently can’t time travel on time. They’ll be laughing at the irony as he tries to convince them of the truth. Adam will have a fleeting moment of pride and accomplishment before he submits to the belief that the whole thing is a scam and turn back to his drink. Feeling guilty, I’ll continue to berate him with arbitrary truths about the future that he’ll be convinced I’m just making up as I go along.
And then I’ll tune in again, just in time to watch myself go out the door and try again. Except I trip down the stairs on my way out and twist my ankle. Clumsy fuck. I limp outside, and everyone in the bar sees that bright flash of light again and I’m gone. Adam orders another shot of tequila, absolutely certain that I was just some asshole pulling his chain and rubbing in the fact that his Time Travel convention was an absolute failure.
Only it wasn’t.
I get up from my barstool and limp over to Adam. I pat him on the back and say, “Congratulations” as I hand him my Tachyon Compression Gauge and Distorter. "This is for you. It's what you need, the last piece of the puzzle. Pick it apart. Figure it out. You were going to anyway."
“What the hell is this…” he starts to ask as he looks up at me. He spins his eyes around their sockets as he tries to rationalize my presence. “Didn’t you just go that way…weren’t you not wearing that…how did you…?”
I smile and say, “I told you. I’m from the future.”

Doll

“I’ve felt prettier,” she said as she curled her synthetic eyelashes—horsehair? vinyl? what was it? the texture was alien, even through her curler—and looked back into the mirror.
“This is what you requested…”
“No, I know, it’s just—I don’t know. It looks right, but I’ve felt prettier, you know?”
“I see.” With that, the surgeon turned his back and walked towards the door. “Well, I’ll leave you alone with it for a bit. Maybe you’ll get used to each other.”
She would have seen the door slam in the mirror if she hadn’t been so focused on the new plastic gloss of her cherub cheeks. The fingertips of her left hand rolled slowly, softly over the faux-porcelain curves of flesh and wiped across the rosy red blush, and when her gaze finally averted from the mirror, it took to her hand where not a trace of make-up could be seen. Looking back in the mirror, there wasn’t the slightest sign of smudging or fading on her second, painted face.
But she couldn’t see her first face, beneath the latex rubber plastic silicone polysomething artificial new one she’d paid quite handsomely for, in permanence, and she never would again.

(at least she knew she’d always be a doll)

Hammer Into Anvil

Calloused fingers softly traced the cutlass curves of a spine-
"Are ye right t'go to port?" he squawked
as grassy feathers floated like a snowfall overhead,
rising from the noose around his neck.
Meanwhile, my parallel eyes just fell paralyzed
(cold as steel, but stained nonetheless)
towards the wasted metal shavings that laid
waiting on that hard and heavy breast
that once had nourished me and forged
a life but ever since turned stiff and numb.

I'd have told him, "I don't know," right then,
but a weapon is never meant for words.

Sidekicks #2-See No Evil

PAGE 1

1/1 MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER-INT-TWITCH’S LIVING ROOM, 10 YEARS AGO-NIGHT

Years ago, a young Twitch looks up at John, who sits in an easy chair reading. We do not see John’s face. Young Twitch is covering his right eye with his hand.

CAPTION
Years ago...

TWITCH
John?

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Grown-ups lie.

1/2 MEDIUM-JOHN’S POV
Looking down on Twitch, we see him covering his right eye. He looks frightened.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
It’s in our best interest when we’re kids, of course.

JOHN
What is it?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
At least that’s what they tell themselves.

1/3 MEDIUM-CLOSE-JOHN’S POV
Twitch looks down at the ground; our angle is still looking down on him, and his eye is still covered with his hand.

TWITCH
It’s my eye. I think there’s something wrong with my eye.

1/4 MEDIUM-CLOSE-JOHN’S POV
Twitch uncovers his eye and looks up, pleading with John. In his eye we can faintly see something reflected in it.

TWITCH
It hurts.

PAGE 2

2/1-WIDE-EXT-SCHOOL CROSSWALK-PRESENT-DAY
Twitch looks away from Walker, trying in vain to find an exit or an excuse to leave or otherwise change the subject.

TWITCH
I don’t-I don’t know what you’re talking about. I should really go, I-

WALKER
Relax. I just want to talk. I’m not going to hurt you or anything.

2/2-MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Twitch turns to walk away from Walker. His right eye twitches. Visually, Twitch is in the foreground, and we see Walker over his shoulder.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
That’s what people who want to hurt you say.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
I really-I’ve got nothing to talk about. I’ll see you tomorrow...

WALKER
Twitch, please...

2/3 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Twitch continues to walk away.

WALKER
I know what you can do.

2/4-MEDIUM-CLOSE
Twitch turns back around, excitedly but still paranoid. He looks as if he wants to trust Walker, but is just as frightened as he is intrigued by this.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
I don’t even know what I can do.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Y-you do?

2/5-CLOSE-UP-WALKER’S FACE
A charismatic but scheming smile sneaks across Walker’s face.

WALKER
I want to help you.

PAGE 3

3/1-WIDE-INT-CHURCH-TEN YEARS AGO-NIGHT
A PRIEST squats down beside a young Twitch, who is once again covering his right eye. John and Cate stand behind him with their hands on his shoulders. The Priest gently reaches for Twitch’s hand.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Well, I mean, I’ve got an idea of what I can do.

PRIEST
Let me see.

3/2-CLOSE-UP
Twitch takes his hand away from his eye while the Priest, barely on panel, examines it.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
An inkling maybe.

PRIEST
When did this start?

TWITCH
I-I don’t know. It just kind of happens.

PRIEST
What does it feel like?

3/3-CLOSE-UP
Zoom in on Twitch’s eye, which reflects a lightning storm in the pupil, with storm clouds spilling out onto the iris.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“It feels like...like I’m getting hit by this big truck. Only...”

PRIEST (O.S.)(CAPTION)
And what do you see when this happens?

3/4-MEDIUM-INT-WALKER’S BEDROOM-TEN YEARS AGO-NIGHT
Walker holds onto his stuffed lion as he is being molested by his Uncle; this scene should be ambiguous, enough to think that perhaps it’s the Priest molesting a child, or beating a child, or that something else entirely is going on. The image is vague, obscured in shadows; it is difficult to tell what is happening, other than that is something that shouldn’t. This should be the kind of thing where, once the reader gets Walker’s back story, he’ll go back and re-read things and this will make sense then.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
(These things always start out innocently enough.)

UNCLE (SMALL)
Shh...

PAGE 4

4/1 MEDIUM-EXT-SCHOOL YARD-PRESENT-DAY
Walker and Twitch walking together around the football field or school parking lot.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“...it’s not a truck.”

TWITCH (CONT’D)
It’s the future. I guess.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Yep. The future.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
It’s different every time.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
The future truck.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Sometimes it’s people I know, and it happens like a minute or two later. Sometimes it’s total strangers and it’s already happened. Most of the time, I can’t even tell.

WALKER
How can you not really tell what you see?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Vroom vroom.

4/2 MEDIUM CLOSE
Focus on Twitch, with an image superimposed on his twitching right eye. He motions as if he is grasping for words, trying to explain something that he cannot articulate.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
How do you teach a blind man to see?

TWITCH (CONT’D)
It’s-it’s fragments of things. Flashes of scenes, and-It’s not all coherent. Just short clips or bursts.

4/3 MEDIUM CLOSE-TWITCH’S POV
Walker listening curiously and intently to Twitch’s explanation.

TWITCH (O.S.)
It’s kind of like a montage, I guess. Except it hurts a little more.

WALKER
I see...

TWITCH (CAPTION)
You really don’t.

4/4 SAME AS PREVIOUS PANEL
Walker looks down and to the side, hand on his chin, thinking hard.

4/5 MEDIUM CLOSE-TWITCH’S POV, NEW ANGLE
Walker raises his fist and throws it towards Twitch’s face.

PAGE 5

5/1 MEDIUM CLOSE-INT-TWITCH’S LIVING ROOM-TEN YEARS AGO-NIGHT
Recoiling, Twitch holds his face in pain, tears streaming down.

TWITCH
John? What are you...?

5/2 MEDIUM
John lifts his arm up, preparing to deliver another backhand to the young Twitch. He is holding Twitch off-panel with his other arm. It should be clear in John’s face that he is not enjoying this, but simply believes that it’s the only way.

JOHN
I’m sorry...

5/3 WIDE
In the foreground, Cate is on her knees, praying in front of a rosary. Behind her, we see John holding Twitch’s skinny arm in one of his hands, and Twitch falling back; John’s arm is holding him up and preventing him from actually falling over.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, so that sins may be forgiven. We ask you this...

CATE
In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit...

SFX
KRACK!

5/4 CLOSE UP
We see Cate’s face, flinching as she crosses herself.

TWITCH (O.S.)
Ah! Stop! Stop! It hurts! It hurts...

SFX
WHAM!

5/5 CLOSE UP
Twitch’s eye is superimposed with a present-day image of Walker winding up to punch him.

PAGE 6

6/1 CLOSE UP
In Twitch’s eye, we see John beating him.

TWITCH (O.S.)
Gah!

6/2 CLOSE UP
Twitch’s eye quickly closes.

6/3 WIDE-EXT-SCHOOL YARD-PRESENT-DAY
Twitch recoils, doubling over and covering his face in fear. Walker stands there, fist still pulled back, dumbfounded by Twitch’s extreme reaction.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
As we forgive those we trespass against us.

WALKER
Whoa.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You alright?

WALKER (CONT’D)
I was just kidding. I wasn’t-I wasn’t going to actually hit you...

6/4 MEDIUM CLOSE
Focus on Twitch, still doubled over, bringing his face out from behind his hand, still very frightened.

TWITCH
Y-you weren’t?

6/5 MEDIUM
Walker gives Twitch his arm and helps him stand back up. He shows genuine concern.

WALKER
No way, man. I just wanted to see how you reacted. If you could see it coming or not.

WALKER (CONT’D)
I wouldn’t just hit you like that.

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Well, not unless you deserved it.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
And lead us not into temptation.

PAGE 7

7/1 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Twitch is standing up by now, trying to collect himself. Walker makes sure he is okay.

WALKER
Which, you know, you don’t. I’m just saying.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You sure you’re alright?

TWITCH
Yeah. I just-I had a little scare, that’s all.

WALKER
So I take it that you didn’t see it coming, then?

7/2 MEDIUM CLOSE
With slitted, horizontal eyes, Twitch glares at Walker. His eye right eye twitches.

TWITCH
...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
No. I didn’t.

7/3 MEDIUM
Realizing that he just screwed up, Walker turns his face away from Twitch. His body retreats a bit.

WALKER
Sorry. Damn. Didn’t mean to freak you out that much.

7/4 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

WALKER
What do you see then?

WALKER (CONT’D)
Like lately, what has it been?

7/5 WIDE
Twitch turns to leave.

TWITCH
I really should get going. I don’t want to be late for dinner. Cate and John are probably worried...

PAGE 8

8/1 MEDIUM
Walker challenges Twitch’s reaction-still charismatic, of course.

WALKER
Dinner? It’s 3:00.

TWITCH (O.S.)
I’ve got a long walk home.

8/2 MEDIUM-WALKER’S POV
With his back turned to Walker, Twitch walks away.

8/3 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE
Behind Twitch, Walker rolls his eyes and head in frustration, realizing that he just pushed Twitch away.

WALKER
Twitch, wait.

8/4 MEDIUM-SAME ANGLE
Walker jogs to catch up with Twitch.

WALKER
Twi-Richard. Rich. Hold on. Just-just give me a chance. Please. I’m really sorry about that. Honest.

8/5 MEDIUM
This time, Twitch is in the foreground of the panel, looking very visibly perturbed. Walker stands behind him, pleading.

TWITCH (SMALL)
My name’s not Richard.

WALKER
What?

TWITCH
I said, my name’s not Richard. It’s my last name. Ritchie is my last name.

WALKER
Then what’s your first name?

TWITCH
Lionel.

PAGE 9

9/1 MEDIUM CLOSE
Focus on Walker, who’s face is blank as Twitch’s revelation registers itself in his head.

9/2 MEDIUM CLOSE-SAME ANGLE
Walker is almost double over in laughter.

SFX
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

9/3 MEDIUM
In the foreground, Twitch struggles to contain his anger. Walker is behind him, laughing.

WALKER
Your name is Lionel Ritchie? Haha!

9/4 MEDIUM-SAME ANGLE
Twitch is gone. Walker’s laughter ends abruptly as he notices and realizes what he’s done.

9/5 MEDIUM-SAME ANGLE
Walker stands up, hits himself in the head or otherwise acknowledges his own foolishness.

WALKER
You are such an asshole.

9/6 MEDIUM-SAME ANGLE
Once again, Walker hustles to catch up with Twitch.

WALKER
Twitch-Lionel-please. I didn’t meant it. Honest. I’m sorry.

WALKER (CONT’D)
Also, you know, for the punching fake out.

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
And for not knowing your name after all these years.

PAGE 10

10/1 MEDIUM-INT-TWITCH’S BEDROOM-TEN YEARS AGO-NIGHT
A door creaks open, letting the only light into the room. Cate, visible in silhouette, slips in.

CATE
Are you awake, dear?

10/2 MEDIUM-CATE’S POV
There is a lump of person--young Twitch--hidden beneath the covers of a child’s bed in the middle of the room; Cate reaches her hand towards the bed.

CATE
Lionel? Sweetie? Are you alright?

TWITCH (O.C.)
*Sniff*...leave me alone *sniff*

10/3 CLOSE-UP
Cate’s hand pulls the sheets away from Twitch.


TWITCH
Don’t touch me!

10/4 MEDIUM
Cate looks back at John, who has come in the door behind her.

10/5 MEDIUM CLOSE
John and Cate at the edge of the bed, showing affection through the covers; Twitch still refuses to come out.

JOHN
Lionel, listen. We did what we had to do to make things better for you.

JOHN (CONT’D)
It was the only way to get the Devil out.

CATE
But he’s gone now, darling. Everything’s going to be alright...

PAGE 11

11/1 WIDE-INT-WALKER’S LIVING ROOM--PRESENT-EVENING
Walker’s father, CARL, sits in a reclining chair, drinking a can of beer. At first glance he immediately calls to mind images of alcoholism and negligence, although he is dressed in khakis and a sweater and could easily just be a middle-class father after work. We see Walker in the background, coming through the kitchen, looking longingly at his father.

CATE (O.S.)
“...everything’s going to be fine.”

11/2 OVER-THE-SHOULDER-WALKER’S POV
From Walker’s Point-of-View, we see him looking at his father in the living room, watching the news.

NEWS REPORTER
...meanwhile, startling developments in the Hoffstein trial reveals new evidence. Police were unable to find fingerprints on what appears to be the murder weapon used by...

11/3 MEDIUM CLOSE
Walker turns away from the living room and hangs his head in shame.

11/4 MEDIUM CLOSE
Finally, something has caught Carl’s attention; though still looking at the TV, his eyes shift focus towards Walker behind.

CARL
Walker?

11/5 SAME AS 11/3
Walker looks up to the ceiling, leaning the door frame that divides the living room and the kitchen.

WALKER
Yeah, Dad.

CARL
Where the hell have you been? It’s nearly 5:30.

WALKER
I was at practice, Dad.

CARL
Practice? On a Wednesday?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Who protects the parents when their lies have gone too far?

PAGE 12

12/1 WIDE
LISA, Walker’s mother, enters the room. She is dressed well in business attire. Walker is almost off-panel himself.

LISA
Walker, your report card came in today.

LISA (CONT’D)
Ms. Eliot seems to have taken a real liking to you.

WALKER
Yeah.

12/2 DIFFERENT ANGLE
Lisa watches silently as Walker ascends the stairs up to his room.

12/3 WIDE
Lisa stands hear Carl, addressing him with disappointment.

LISA
You know, you shouldn’t be so hard on him.

CARL
Hrm.

12/4 CLOSE UP-INSET
Carl takes a drink of beer.

CARL (SMALL)
It’s not him I’m being hard on.

PAGE 13

13/1 WIDE-INT-HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA-PRESENT-DAY
The next day, Twitch is eating lunch alone, reading a thick book. Like any other day.

13/2 WIDE
Walker comes up to the table with his tray of food, wearing his letterman’s jacket.

WALKER
Hey.

WALKER (CONT’D)
Mind if I take a seat?

TWITCH
Sure.

13/3 WIDE
Walker sits down next to Twitch, who is clearly not enthusiastic about it.

WALKER
I wanted to apologize again. For yesterday.

TWITCH
It’s alright.

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Most conversation I’ve had all year.

13/4 WIDE
Twitch continues eating, paying Walker no mind. This is awkward.

PAGE 14

14/1 WIDE
Walker man’s up and finally asks Twitch a question.

WALKER
Listen...

WALKER (CONT’D)
I’ve got a game after school today, but...

WALKER (CONT’D)
I was wondering what you were doing later.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You know, if maybe you wanted to hang out or whatever.

14/2 WIDE
Twitch looks up at Walker, trying to judge his sincerity.

14/3 WIDE
Twitch continues eating food casually, with a slight smile on his face.

TWITCH
Yeah. Okay.

WALKER
Okay.

WALKER (CONT’D)
Okay, cool.

14/4 WIDE
Twitch looks up, smiling; we see his right eye twitch and notice something in it, but it should be difficult for the reader to make out.

TWITCH
Hnh.

WALKER
What? What was it, what do you see?

TWITCH
Heh. Nothing.

PAGE 15

15/1 WIDE
Twitch and Walker eat lunch together in comfortable silence.

15/2 MEDIUM
Walker takes a break from eating and looks up at Twitch.

WALKER
So what kind of stuff are you into? You know, like do you play video games, or whatever. Maybe you’re into-

15/3 MEDIUM
Profile shot of Walker, freezing mid-sentence. His eyes look towards the reader, or to an invisible viewer; he’s been caught.

WALKER
...

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Hey, Josie.

15/4 MEDIUM CLOSE-WALKER’S POV
We see Josie, hands her lips, looking down condescendingly, judging Walker and mostly ignoring Twitch beside him.

WALKER (SMALL) (O.S.)
Hey.

WALKER (SMALL) (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Cough.

15/5 MEDIUM CLOSE-WALKER’S POV
Josie turns profile and walks away.

JOSIE
Tt.

PAGE 16/17

16-17/1-SPLASH
Walker’s lacrosse game, in full glory. Across the bottom of the pages are a few panels.

16/1
Walker scores a goal

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it--”

16/2
Walker’s teammates congratulate him

17/1
Walker looks up at the bleachers amidst the celebration

17/2
There is an obvious hole in the bleachers where Walker looks. However, Ms. Eliot is seated inconspicuously in the bleachers.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“--namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain.”-Mark Twain

PAGE 18

18/1 MEDIUM-INT-HIGH SCHOOL LOCKER ROOM-EVENING-PROFILE SHOT
Walker is at his locker after the game.

18/2 SAME AS ABOVE
Off-panel, a twisted wet towel smacks Walker in the butt. We see his body at his locker contort. Chris is barely visible past Walker.

SFX
WHACK!

WALKER
Ah!

18/3 MEDIUM WIDE
With the locker open beside him, Walker recovers from the hit, rubbing his backside, while Chris, still armed with the towel, cackles like a hyena. In the top compartment of Walker’s locker, there is a stuffed lion visible, but attention should not be drawn to it.

WALKER
What the hell, dude...

CHRIS
Aw, lighten up, hot shot. You’re the star of the game.

CHRIS (CONT’D)
Figure it’s the least I can do to you for totally showing me up.

18/4 MEDIUM CLOSE-CHRIS’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Walker goes back to getting changed after the game while Chris talks to him.

CHRIS
The rest of the guys are headin’ over to the diner in a few. You in?

WALKER
Nah, sorry man. I got plans.

18/5 MEDIUM WIDE
Chris walks away, blowing Walker off.

CHRIS
Alright. Whatever. Later faggot.

TWITCH (CAPTION)(O.S.)
“How did you know?”

PAGE 19

19/1 MEDIUM WIDE-EXT-SCHOOL YARD-EVENING
Chris and Walker sit together, hanging out.

TWITCH
I mean, it’s not like I talk about it or anything.

TWITCH (SMALL) (CONT’D)
Or talk. Period.

WALKER
Yeah, but you’re kind of obvious about it when it happens.

TWITCH
So much for carefully calculated cultural irrelevance...

19/2 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

WALKER
...?

WALKER (CONT’D)
Well when you get all flustered and nervous and shift your chair, it’s hard not to notice.

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
All the bars on those desks make it hard to cross your legs.

WALKER (REGULAR) (CONT’D)
But most of us have figured out how to control it by now...

WALKER (SMALL) (CONT’D)
or at least how to do the tuck.

19/3 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

TWITCH
How’d you know about my visions then?

WALKER
Pretty much the same thing. You’re not very good at covering up your awkwardness, man.

TWITCH
Yeah...

19/4 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

WALKER
It’s kind of like when you’re falling asleep in class-not you personally, but like, you generally-and you suddenly shoot up in your seat, wide awake in a panic and everyone notices.

WALKER (CONT’D)
But then you’re always just...there. The you you, not the general you.

WALKER (CONT’D)
Like the other day, with Josie. It’s too...

19/5 WIDE-INT-TWITCH’S KITCHEN-EVENING-TEN YEARS AGO-TWITCH’S POV
Around the dinner table, Cate and John question young Twitch.

WALKER (CAPTION) (O.S.)
“...convenient.”

JOHN
Have the headaches stopped yet, Lionel?

TWITCH
...

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Yes. They have.

WALKER (O.S.)(CAPTION)
“But I guess what I’m still wondering is...”

PAGE 20

20/1 MEDIUM-INT-TWITCH’S KITCHEN-EVENING-TEN YEARS AGO
Dinner conversation continues

WALKER (CAPTION)(O.S.)
“...how do you make it happen?”

JOHN
Good.

JOHN (CONT’D)
You know we never meant to hurt you, right?

JOHN (CONT’D)
I want to make sure you understand that...

20/3 MEDIUM-EXT-SCHOOL YARD-EVENING-PRESENT

JOHN (CAPTION) (O.S.)
“...we would never deliberately hurt you.”

TWITCH
That’s the thing-I don’t. It just...it just kind of happens, you know? There’s no rhyme or reason to it. They just come, bam, when they’re least expected.

20/4 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

WALKER
There’s got to be some kind of pattern to it. Like, when you’re stressed, or hunger, or...horny, I don’t know.

TWITCH
No. It’s nothing like that.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Trust me, I’ve tried to make some sense of it. It’s entirely random.

20/5 MEDIUM-INT-TWITCH’S KITCHEN-EVENING-TEN YEARS AGO-JOHN’S POV
Young Twitch’s right eye twitches, and Cate notices.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (O.S.)
“...The chaotic, twisted humor of the universe.”

CATE
Sweetie...? Are you sure you’re alright? Your eye, it’s-

TWITCH
Yeah. I’m fine.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Really.

JOHN
Sometimes, after something terrible happens, God leaves a mark on us. A scar to remind us what we’ve been through.

JOHN (CONT’D)
That’s all it is.

20/6 CLOSE UP-INSET
John holds Cate’s hand tight.

PAGE 21

21/1-MEDIUM-EXT-SCHOOL YARD-DAY-PRESENT

WALKER
So you can’t control it, or predict it?

TWITCH
I’ve never really tried. I’ve tried to ignore it more than anything else.

WALKER
Well, then, why don’t you?

21/2 MEDIUM-DIFFERENT ANGLE

TWITCH
Why don’t I what?

WALKER
Try to control it. Learn to use it. Think of all the good you can do.

TWITCH
You’re crazy. I can’t change the future. I can barely get to school on time.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
There it is again. The Future Truck.

21/3 MEDIUM

WALKER
Just give it a shot.

TWITCH
How?

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Do you think it’s automatic, or a stick shift?

WALKER
I don’t know...you know more about than I do!

TWITCH
That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Walker. I don’t know anything about it! I can’t control it.

21/4 MEDIUM CLOSE-TWITCH’S POV
Walker contemplates this latest revelation and tries to strategize a new approach.

WALKER (SMALL)
Hrm.

21/5 WIDE
Twitch sits up straight, eyes wide, almost like he’s possessed, snapping Walker out of his thought. Twitch is having another vision.

WALKER
Twitch? Lionel?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Guess we’ll find out sooner or later.

PAGE 22

SPLASH
Twitch’s face takes up half the page and bleeds into an image of MRS. HENDERSON, an elderly history teacher, sprawled on the floor behind her desk, clearly struggling and in pain and pleading desperately with the reader or an invisible viewer. An inconspicuous analog clock reads 1:47pm

WALKER (CAPTION) (O.S.)
“What is it?”

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Beep Beep. Future truck, coming through.

Credits:
SEE NO EVIL
Created by Paul Cantillon, Thom Dunn, and Dmitry Milkin

Sidekick #1-Time and Time Again

PAGE 1

1/1 EXT-CITY ALLEYWAY-NIGHT-CLOSE UP
Focus on a pair of eyes (Twitch’s), bloody and swollen.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.”

1/2 CU
Pull back slightly to reveal more of twitch’s face, still focused on the eyes; the right eye, however, has twitched a bit.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Sun Tzu wrote that in “The Art of War,” the timeless text of wartime strategy. Well, except it was in Chinese. Whatever.

1/3 CU
Pulled back only slightly more.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
I read it once in eighth grade I think.

PAGE 2/3

FULL SPLASH
TWITCH lays half (maybe even three-quarters) dead in an alley, sprawled across trash and trash cans. He is a feeble bodied boy, about age 16; even if he weren’t beat up, his hair would be messy. His body is scrawny, almost mousy. He might even be thrown in a dumpster. Regardless, he is bruised and bleeding and probably has some visibly broken bones.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
I probably should have paid better attention to that one.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Still, this is an improvement. It could be worse than just a broken shoulder.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
And a broken rib.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Two ribs. Ow.

Credits
“Time and Time Again”
Created by Paul Cantillon, Thom Dunn, and Dmitry Milkin

PAGE 4
Four rows of wide panels; 3 and 4 should be adjacent on one line, each one taking up half the page in that row.

4/1 INT.-HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY-DAY-WIDE SHOT
Twitch is at his locker at school; he is poorly dressed, clearly communicating his social standing. CHRIS, in his letterman’s jacket, knocks Twitch’s books and lunch to the floor while JOSIE, his girlfriend-a cheerleader-looks disgustedly at Twitch. An apple rolls away

CAPTION
Six Weeks Ago...

CHRIS
Watch where you’re going, Twitch!

JOSIE
Ugh! Creep!

4/2 WIDE
Chris and Josie walk away from Twitch, rejoining their posse across the hall. Chris flips Twitch the bird behind his back. Amongst their posse of athletes, we get our first glimpse of WALKER, an attractive senior, who looks back towards Twitch with subtle sympathy.

CHRIS
C’mon, babe. You don’t look at him too long.

CHRIS (CONT’D)
You might break out in hives or somethin’.

4/3 MEDIUM
Twitch, defeated, looks towards his book, splattered across the ground. His eye twitches.

4/4 MEDIUM
Twitch bends down and gathers up his belongings. He scoops the apple back into the bag.

4/5 WIDE
From behind, we see Twitch holding his books to chest and looking on longingly down the hall towards Chris.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Things could be much, much worse.

PAGE 5

5/1 MEDIUM
We see Twitch from the front this time, his right eye twitching.

SFX-LATE BELL
BRRRRRIIING

5/2 MEDIUM
Twitch drops his head.

5/3 WIDE
MS. ELIOT teaching in front of the class, writing “Slaughterhouse Five” on the board.

MS. ELIOT
I hope that everyone read last night. This one’s one of my favorites.

MS. ELIOT (CONT’D)
Plus its going on the midterm.

CHRIS (SMALL)
Ah, shit.

5/4 WIDE
Twitch opens the classroom door slowly and nervously sticks his head in, disrupting the entire class and averting their attention towards him. Students are seated at desks, and the teacher, MS. ELIOT, stands in front of them.

TWITCH
S-s-sorry, I just--um, I dropped my, um-I had-

MS. ELIOT
It’s fine, Twitch. Just take a seat. We’re discussing Chapter 2.

5/5 MEDIUM
Twitch takes his seat. Walker sits to his right.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Even the teachers call me ‘Twitch.’

MS. ELIOT
Now, when Billy Pilgrim says that, “when a person dies he only appears to die,” that, “All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist,” what idea is he trying to express?

MS. ELIOT (CONT’D)
Walker?

PAGE 6

6/1 MEDIUM
Walker answers the question; his desk is clear. Twitch’s focus is trained on him and his desk is covered in books and notebooks and pens. He is eating his bagged lunch.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
“Twitchie Ritchie.” Get it?

WALKER
He’s referring to the idea that time is actually the fourth spatial dimension, beyond the three dimensional plane that we’re used to seeing. He makes a comment later on about seeing people like millipedes and viewing time like the Rocky Mountains.

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
Very good, Walker.

6/2 WIDE
We see the backs of students heads, focused on Ms. Eliot. Walker and Twitch can be seen in the bottom corner of the panel; Walker looks at Twitch and smirks. Twitch turns his head slightly towards Walker.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
‘Cause, ya know, my eye...

CHRIS
That doesn’t even make sense. How can there be more than three dimensions?

MS. ELIOT
Well, clearly you’re not a Tralfamadorian. Just suspend your disbelief, okay?

CHRIS (SMALL)
Trafalma-what?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
...twitches. It’s funny, right?

PAGE 7

7/1 INSET
Twitch’s eye twitches.
The bulk of this page is framed by a giant eye, and the panels take place within the frame.

7/2 EXT-CROSSWALK IN FRONT OF HIGH SCHOOL-DAY-WIDE
Walker starts to cross the street, despite the fact the sign says Do Not Cross.

7/3 INT-DRIVER’S SIDE OF CAR-DAY-WIDE
From behind the driver and through the windshield, we see Walker turning his head around frightened, noticing the car...

7/4 EXT-CROSSWALK IN FRONT OF HIGH SCHOOL-DAY-WIDE
...too late. The car runs into Walker, and we see him roll across the hood and windshield.

7/5 INT-DRIVER’S SIDE OF CAR-DAY-WIDE
Walker rolls across the windshield, shattering it and bloodying it up.

7/6 EXT-CROSSWALK IN FRONT OF HIGH SCHOOL-DAY-WIDE
Walker lays sprawled on the road in a puddle of his own blood.

7/7 WIDE-INT-HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM-DAY-CLOSE UP
Separate from and below the large eye spread above, we see Twitch’s eyes, wide in fright.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Yeah. Effin’ hilarious.

PAGE 8

8/1-WIDE
Twitch looks nervously at Walker beside him, who is listening intently to Ms. Eliot. INSET of Twitch’s eye twitching?

MS. ELIOT
...and this conceit, of course, explores the notion of free will versus pre-destination. If everything that will happen has already happened, or is currently happening, do we have any control over our decisions?

8/2-MEDIUM
Walker feels Twitch looking at him and turns; Twitch quickly and awkwardly looks down and writes in his notebook.

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
Can we change what has happened, or what will?

8/3-INT-HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA-DAY-WIDE
Walker sits alone at a table, eating his lunch and reading a comic book or book.

8/4-5-CLOSE UP
Twitch looks up abruptly, startled; reflected in his right eye, we see Josie laying on the ground, with food spilled all over her and strewn across the floor.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Most days, I was barely noticed.

PAGE 9

9/1-MEDIUM
Josie, carrying her tray of food, walking confidently.

9/2-MEDIUM
Viewing the scene from behind Twitch, he notices Josie walking and he starts to stand up.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Ignored.

9/3-MEDIUM
Twitch sets himself up behind Josie, right as she begins to slip and lose her balance.

9/4-MEDIUM
Twitch catches Josie in his arms before she falls.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Unacknowledged.

9/5-WIDE-OVER THE SHOULDER-TWITCH’S POV
Chris is helping Josie, taking her tray from her; she looks at Twitch in disgust.

9/6-CLOSE UP
Walker looks suspiciously at Twitch after this encounter.

PAGE 10

10/1-INT-TWITCH’S HOME-EVENING-WIDE
Twitch,morose as ever, sits at the dinner table, poking at his food. JOHN, Twitch’s Foster Father, sits next to him, eating. CATE, his Foster Mother, brings the last dish of food to the table. There are extra seats and places at the table left vacant.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Invisible.

10/2-WIDE-TWITCH’S POV
Cate, John, and Twitch eating dinner; there are religious art and symbols clearly visible on the walls. Over the next few panels, dinner progresses, silently.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
John and Cate are my foster parents. I guess that’s the best thing to call them.

CATE
Bless us, O Lord for these, thy gifts...

10/3-WIDE-DIFFERENT ANGLE

CATE
...which we are about to receive.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
They bring in orphaned children and give them a temporary home, until someone else adopts them.

10/4-WIDE-DIFFERENT ANGLE

TWITCH (CAPTION)
It’s more like a halfway house than an orphanage. Most of the kids get picked up within six months, maybe a year.

CATE
...from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord, we pray.

PAGE 11

11/1-CLOSE UP
Religious icons/imagery on the wall.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Me? I’ve been here my whole life. At least as far back as I can remember.

CATE
Amen.

JOHN
Amen.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
It’s the only home I know.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
Amen.

11/2 WIDE
Dinner; Cate looks up, smiling.

CATE
Well? Should we share the good news?

JOHN
I thought we were going to wait until after dinner, dear.

TWITCH
What good news?

11/3 WIDE-JOHN AND CATE’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
This should be an isolating shot of Twitch, sitting alone on his side or end of the table.

TWITCH
What good news?

CATE
I’m just too excited, John. I can’t wait.

JOHN
Well, alright.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
As far as they’re concerned, it’s only temporary.

11/4 MEDIUM
More religious iconography.

11/5 MEDIUM
Cate and John look to Twitch.

CATE
Marissa was picked up by a family in Pennsylvania today. They’re a part of the Church network.

JOHN
It was rather sudden, but the family is perfect for her. It’s the kind of home environment she needs right now.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Sixteen temporary years.

11/6 MEDIUM CLOSE
More religious iconography.

PAGE 12
Twitch’s eye is lightly superimposed on each panel. Initially, it should go almost unnoticed until the final, all-white panel, but after looking up at the previous panels again, readers should be able to identify it in the same position.

12/1-INT-MARISSA’S FOSTER HOME-NIGHT-WIDE
The only source of light comes from a door that opens into an otherwise dark room. Two female figures stand in the doorway-MARISSA, young and attractive with short hair, dressed in ripped jeans, and a black t-shirt adorned with a rainbow, mid-riff cut, and her new FOSTER MOTHER. They should be obscured in silhouettes, or Marissa’s face should be cut off.

FOSTER MOTHER
And this will be your room. I know it isn’t much, but it’s your own little space.

FOSTER MOTHER (CONT’D)
Feel free to decorate or paint the walls or whatever else you do. They told us you were, ah, “artsy” and “self expressive.”

MARISSA
Right...

12/2 SPLASH
A smoking gun, pointed directly at the reader.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Real parents don’t pity you.

12/3 BLACK
A white panel.

SFX
BANG!

PAGE 13

13/1-MEDIUM
John, with a concerned look on his face, addressing Twitch. He and Cate join hands on top of the table in plain sight. She, too, is frightened.

JOHN
Is everything alright?

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Make that three ribs.

13/2-MEDIUM
Recovering from the shock of the gunshot vision, Twitch tries in vain to act calm and casual and pretend like nothing is wrong; he’s clearly still a bit shaken up.

TWITCH
What? Yeah, I’m-I’m fine. Just-I had a-I was going to sneeze, but-I’m fine.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Cough.

13/3-MEDIUM
John and Cate exchange a knowing look.

13/4-MEDIUM
John and Cate look back at Twitch.

JOHN
Just making sure.

CATE
We don’t want you to be lonely, dear. We just want you to be happy.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
One broken shoulder, three broken ribs, and what feels like a punctured lung.

13/5-ABOVE
Looking down on the dinner table as the meal continues.

TWITCH
Everything’s fine. Really.

TWITCH (CONT’D)
I think it just went down the wrong pipe.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Like I said, things could be a whole lot worse.

13/6-INSET-CLOSE UP
A relief painting of the crucifixion hanging on the wall in the kitchen.

PAGE 14

14/1-EXT-HIGH SCHOOL-DAY
Establishing shot.

14/2-INT-HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL COURT-DAY-MEDIUM
Twitch, Chris, Walker, and the other boys play basketball at school.

14/3-MEDIUM
Josie sits on the bleachers, doing her nails.

14/4-MEDIUM
Twitch, decked out in full protective gym gear and short shorts, stares dumbfounded in Josie’s direction.

14/5-MEDIUM
The basketball hits Twitch in the face, hard enough to knock him over. Motion lines show Twitch falling.

SFX
WHOOOMPH

SFX (CONT’D)
THUD

PAGE 15

SPLASH
Twitch is sprawled out on the ground, bottom of the page, and Chris stands menacingly above him face, looking down and pointing.

CHRIS
Don’t look at my girlfriend ever again, you fucking faggot. You got that?

TWITCH
Unghh...

PAGE 16

16/1-CLOSE UP-WIDE
Black Panel, with words:

WALKER
Are you alright?

16/2-CLOSE UP
Twitch struggles to open his eyes. The right one twitches again.

16/3-MEDIUM
Twitch sits up, and Walker squats beside him.

WALKER
That ball hit you pretty hard.

TWITCH
Good to know. Is that why I can’t feel my face?

16/4-CLOSE UP
Walker grabs Twitch’s arm and helps him to his feet.

WALKER
C’mon. On your feet. We’re down 4 points now, and I’m not losing this one.

TWITCH
I’m not really sure if I can help you with that.

16/5-MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV
Walker smirks charismatically at Twitch.

WALKER
Don’t worry so much. Just try to see the ball before it comes to you.

PAGE 17

17/1-WIDE
The boys exit the locker room. Most are changed back into normal clothes and have nothing more but a towel around their necks and maybe a few books; Twitch has a huge backpack on. Walker is on the ground tying his shoe.

TWITCH
Hey! Walker!

17/2-MEDIUM-OVER-THE-SHOULDER-TWITCH’S POV
Walker turns to respond to Twitch.

TWITCH
Thanks. You know, for helping me up and whatever.

WALKER
No problem. Good sportsmanship’s a key part of the game. Chris has yet to fully grasp the concept of teamwork.

TWITCH (SMALL)
He’s got a heck of a right arm, though.

17/3-MEDIUM
Walker puts his hand on Twitch’s shoulder affectionately.

WALKER
Don’t let him get to you. Everyone knows the kid’s a prick.

TWITCH (SMALL)
Well, Josie...

17/4-WIDE
Different Angle

WALKER
Oh, she knows he’s a prick. She doesn’t care.

WALKER (CONT’D)
You finish reading for Ms. Eliot’s class?

TWITCH
Yeah.

17/5-WIDE
Walker starts heading to class, smirking suspiciously. Twitch stands behind him.

WALKER
Good.

17/6-MEDIUM-TWITCH’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Twitch looks after Walker, perplexed.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
...

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
And then suddenly, it hits me.

PAGE 18
The left half of the page shows us the right side of Twitch’s face, which, in turn, bleeds into the four panels detailed below.

18/1 WIDE

DETECTIVE DUGGAN reading his denial letter from the state licensure private investigator’s board.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
More of those...visions...

18/2 CLOSE UP
Ms. Eliot conversing in private with Walker in a dark room; it is a bar, but unrecognizable as one. Walker looks remarkably older and different, possibly even unrecognizable.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
I guess that’s what you’d call them. They’re really more of a distraction than anything else.

18/3 WIDE
Marissa and LAUREN, her girlfriend, fight; Marissa in tears, looking over her shoulder as she screams.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
...Usually.

18/4 WIDE

UNCLE, Walker’s Uncle, bleeding on the street; his body is littered with bullet holes as four gang members run away.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Why can't I see movies before they come out, or tropical islands, or something like that?

18/5 CLOSE UP
Twitch drops to his knees in pain, and spits up blood/vomits.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Instead, I see things that haven’t happened yet. Or maybe they have. I don’t know.

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
I can’t really describe it. Or, for that matter, control it...

PAGE 19

19/1 CLOSE UP
An analog clock; it has just struck 2:05pm

SFX
BBRRRRRIIIIIIIIING!

19/2 CLOSE UP-INT-HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM-DAY
Twitch sits up in his desk, startled, his right eye twitching.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
That is, if it’s something that can be controlled.

MS. ELIOT (O.S.)
Alright, class. Have a nice weekend. We’ll start with chapter five on Monday.

19/3 WIDE
The entire class leap out of their seats and dart for the door, except for Twitch, still recovering from his startling daydreams. Ms. Eliot sits on her desk. Chris affectionately punches Walker on the way out.

MS. ELIOT
Twitch? Is everything alright?

TWITCH
What? Yeah, I’m fine. Drifting off I guess.

MS. ELIOT
I’ve noticed that’s been happening a lot lately.

19/4 MEDIUM
Twitch gets up of his seat and collects his belongings, getting ready to leave.

MS. ELIOT
Are you sure there’s nothing you want to talk about?

TWITCH
Nope. Nothing. Nothing at all.

19/5 MEDIUM
Ms. Eliot looks at Twitch as he leaves the room, clearly concerned. Twitch looks at the ground, his back to her.

TWITCH
I just, you know, I drift. Sometimes.

19/6 MEDIUM
Ms. Eliot, alone in the classroom, still leaning on her desk. She stares curiously and suspiciously after Twitch.

PAGE 20

20/1 WIDE-EXT-HIGH SCHOOL FRONT STEPS-DAY
Students, en masse, run down the steps of the high school.

20/2 WIDE-SAME SHOT
Twitch is the last to leave the school.

20/3 MEDIUM
Students, including Chris, Josie, and Walker, heading towards the cross walk previously seen in Twitch’s flashback.

CHRIS
See you at practice tomorrow?

WALKER
Yeah I’ll be there. You goin’ to Al’s party?

CHRIS
Hell yeah, bro. You?

20/4 CLOSE UP-PULLED SLIGHTLY AWAY
Same perspective as before, looking at Walker’s back, as he walks away towards the crosswalk. He turns his head over his shoulder as he talks back to Chris. We see Walker’s face straight on, and can barely make out a car in the background.

WALKER
Eh, I’m not sure.

20/5 CLOSE UP
Eyes wide with fright, Twitch perks up, and we see the gears turning in his head as he realizes that this is the scene he saw in his vision.

20/6 CLOSE UP
Twitch runs down the rest of the steps to catch Walker

PAGE 21

21/1 MEDIUM
Walker standing in the crosswalk, still looking back to Chris.

WALKER
That scene’s totally dead.

21/2 WIDE-OVER THE SHOULDER-CAR’S POV
A car comes careening towards Walker; the driver is clearly not paying attention, perhaps speaking to the person in the passenger seat.

21/3 MEDIUM-CLOSE
Twitch’s jaw drops and his eyes go wide as he notices the car heading towards Walker off-panel.

TWITCH
Walker!

21/4 MEDIUM-TWO SHOT
The passenger notices Walker, and tries to warn the driver.

PASSENGER
Dude! Look out!

SFX
BEEEEEEEEEEEEP

21/5 CLOSE UP
Walker stares at the car in panic.

WALKER (SMALL)
Aw, sh-

21/6 CLOSE UP-INSET
Twitch’s hand grabs Walker’s shoulder.

WALKER (SMALL)
-it.

PAGE 22

22/1 MEDIUM-WIDE-2/3 PAGE
Twitch and Walker watch from the curb as the car flies by; the passenger yells out the window.

PASSENGER
Watch where you’re goin’, asshole!

22/2 MEDIUM
Twitch, in a flurry of panic-an adrenaline rush-checks with Walker, who looks like he is more riding the excitement and rush of a near-death encounter, though his ass probably hurts a bit.

TWITCH
Are you okay? That guy nearly killed you!

22/3 CLOSE UP
Close up on Walker’s face, smiling victoriously as he rubs the sore spot where he sat down, with Twitch visible over his shoulder.

TWITCH
Walker...? Are you-are you smiling? You’re in shock, you must be in shock, you-

WALKER
How’d you know that was going to happen, huh?

TWITCH
What?

PAGE 23

23/1 WIDE
Walker turns around and faces Twitch.

WALKER
How’d you know that car was going to hit me?

WALKER (CONT’D)
That thing must have been going 50 miles an hour, there’s no way you could have seen it coming and still reached me in time.

WALKER (CONT’D)
So how’d you know it was coming?

TWITCH
It was-you were standing there, and I-I just, I thought that-

23/2 MEDIUM-WALKER’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Focus on Twitch.

TWITCH
I...I...

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
Um, well, you see, apparently I have this ability-clairvoyance or something, I don’t know-and I actually saw this whole thing happen in a vision of some sort yesterday. I can’t quite explain it.

23/3 MEDIUM-WALKER’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Same shot as the previous panel, Twitch drops his head and looks to the ground.

TWITCH (CAPTION)
Oh. Well. I guess that does. Kind of explain it, I mean. Although it’s really more like-

23/4 MEDIUM-WALKER’S POV-OVER-THE-SHOULDER
Same shot as the previous two, Twitch looks up at Walker again.

TWITCH
Well...I-See, I just-I-

TWITCH (CAPTION) (CONT’D)
No, that sounds about right.

23/5 MEDIUM-PROFILE
Walker puts his hand on Twitch’s shoulder again.

WALKER
We should talk.

CAPTION
To be continued...