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The Lunchroom
Episode 2x13
"Trouble in Mind"
Written by
Bruce Snyder
Created by
Bruce Snyder
OPENING CREDIT SEQUENCE:
Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" plays over the
credits.
TITLE CARD:
"Saturday, April 24"
EXT. WILL'S HOUSE – EARLY EVENING
A Red Jeep pulls up against the sidewalk. The door
opens, and JOEL comes out of the back. He is wearing a
sweater and suit pants. He walks up the path and knocks
at the door. After a few seconds the door opens and Joel
steps in.
INT. WILL'S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS
Will is sitting on the couch. He is slowly putting some
medicine in his eyes. We notice that he is wearing a
very fine black suit. Joel comes in.
JOEL
Hey man. Nice suit.
NOTE: Will's voice sounds very gravely and stuffed up.
WILL
Thanks.
JOEL
What are you doing? And what's
wrong with your voice?
WILL
I've got to admit something, Joel.
My allegories are acting up.
JOEL
How bad?
WILL
My eyes are watering, red, and I
can barely see through. My throat
is swore. And I have muscle pains
all over.
Will applies some more medicine to his eyes. Joel seems confused.
JOEL
Then why on God's green earth are
you still dressed in a suit?
WILL
Because I'm going to the dance.
JOEL
Why?! You can barely see, you can
barely talk, and can barely move.
Will, I don't it's a very good idea
to go to the dance. Now, I'm not a
medical expert or anything but it
just seems like it would be hard
for you to do anything there.
Will gets up.
WILL
So your parked in front, right?
JOEL
You really want to go that bad?
WILL
C'mon, Joel. How often do I get a
chance with a good looking girl
like Meadow?
He takes it in consideration.
JOEL
I guess you've got a point.
WILL
Plus I spent a 120 on this suit and
then 60 on his special flower for
her dress. Even if I had AIDS, I
would get my dying ass out of bed,
rip those AV hooks out of my arms,
hitch a ride with a bunch of incest
hillbillies...just so I wouldn't
waste my money.
Joel gives him a look.
WILL
Let's hit the fucking road.
INT. RED JEEP – MINUTES LATER
Joel and Will are in the back, while Joel's brother,
ZACH is driving.
JOEL
Did you take any medicine before we
left?
WILL
Ten steps ahead of you.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out four medicine
bottles.
JOEL
You can't take drugs into school.
WILL
Oh, calm down negative Nancy.
They're prescribed drugs.
Joel shrugs.
INT. DANCE – SAME
The place is packed. There's about two hundred students.
Some are on the dance floor dancing. A few are against
the wall, just standing. On the side, there's about
fifteen tables.
AT A TABLE –
Casey is sitting at the table by himself. He is wearing
a sweater. Suddenly, Chris walks up and takes a seat. He
is wearing a black suit with a red undershirt.
CASEY
Wow. Very slick.
CHRIS
Just like a wet floor.
Casey gives him a look.
CASEY
Okay. You ready to do this?
CHRIS
Yep. Let's find some girls.
He leaves. Casey gets up and does the same.
Casey quickly grabs a pack of sugar and gets up and
walks over to a BLONDE GIRL.
CASEY
Excuse me.
BLONDE GIRL
Yes?
CASEY
You dropped this.
He hands it to her. She looks and notices it's sugar.
BLONDE GIRL
What is this?
CASEY
You're nametag.
A big cheesy smile comes across his face. She sighs and
keeps on walking. Casey turns and begins to walk back to
the table. Chris is laughing hard.
INT. DANCE – CONTINUOUS
People are now slow dancing. In the corner, Chris
approaches BONNIE, a small girl with dark red hair.
CHRIS
Pardon me, are you an interior
decorator?
She smiles.
BONNIE
No, why?
CHRIS
Because I saw you and the room got
more beautiful.
She laughs at him.
BONNIE
Well, I haven't heard that one.
CHRIS
I'm sorry for sounding like a
horse's ass.
BONNIE
Well, you're a very charming
horse's ass.
A beat.
CHRIS
Will you dance with me?
BONNIE
Okay.
They walk onto the dance floor and begin to slow dance.
OTHER PART OF THE ROOM –
Casey is talking to a GIRL.
CASEY
Hi, I'm Mr. Right. Someone said you
were looking for me.
She rolls her eyes and slaps him.
CASEY
(Big fake smile)
That hurt my dignity more then my
face.
She leaves. Casey sighs and put his hands in his
pockets. He looks around.
CASEY'S POV: He sees Chris slow dancing with Bonnie.
Casey begins to look around.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE – SAME
We can see the RED JEEP parked in front of the store.
INT. CONVENIENCE STORE – SAME
Will and Joel are in a section scoping out the gummy
candy. Will is holding his head.
WILL
What are we doing here?
JOEL
Zach needs his special "Wild Zebra"
cologne for the dance.
Joel takes notice of Will holding his head.
JOEL
What's wrong?
WILL
I've got headache.
JOEL
Oh Jesus, Will. Give it up. You've
got to go home. Seriously.
WILL
I'm fine. I just need to put more
medicine in my eyes.
JOEL
Why?
WILL
Because my vision's just a little
blurry.
Joel sighs.
WILL
What? I said "a little."
Will then walks into a shelf holding small snake foods..
WILL
Sorry.
(to Joel)
Just when we get to the dance, find
Meadow, bring her here to me, and
I'll just have her guide me around.
JOEL
All right, Stevey Wonder.
Joel walks off. Will stands. After a second he puts his
hand out and puts it on the nearby wall. He leans for a
second before slipping and falling.
INT. HALLWAY – LITTLE LATER
The hallway is empty. Casey emerges from the bathroom.
Before he begins to walk, he fixes his pants. He takes a
few steps forward before POP! There's FOUR MORE POPS!
CASEY
Oh God! Gunshots!
Casey looks around and jumps into the Janitor's closet.
DOWN THE HALLWAY –
We see TWO STUDENT playing with some BLUE and WHITE
balloons.
STUDENT #1
Man I love playing with balloons.
STUDENT #2
Do you think we should be popping
these?
STUDENT #1
Less talky, more poppy.
They continue to pop them.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE – SAME
Zach, Joel, and Will come out of the store. Joel carries
a grocery bag. The all hop into the jeep.
INT. JEEP – CONTINUOUS
Zach drives, Joel rides shotgun, and Will sits in the
back.
WILL
Joel, did you my "stuff"?
JOEL
Yeah. Hold on.
Joel reaches in and pulls out a bag of 300 cough drops.
JOEL
Here you go.
He hands them to him. Will opens it and quickly puts
twenty in his mouth. Zach and Joel watch in shock.
WILL
What? Don't judge me. Just drive.
Zach shrugs. He starts the car.
ZACH
All right. Here we go.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE – CONTINUOUS
The RED JEEP slowly pulls out. Just as it's about to
drive away we hear a loud POPPING sound. The Jeep stops.
INT. JEEP – CONTINUOUS
Will looks worried.
WILL
What's the matter?
ZACH
Don't worry just a flat. I can fix
it.
EXT. JEEP – CONTINUOUS
The Jeep sits with the flat when suddenly we hear an
explosion sound coming from the engine. Smoke quickly
fills up and comes out.
ZACH
Okay, I'm not sure I can fix that.
INT. DANCE – LATER
There's another slow dance playing We can see Chris is
again slow dancing with Bonnie. He whispers something
into her ear. She giggles. He signals for the door. They
leave into:
INT. HALLWAY, OUTSIDE THE DANCE – CONTINUOUS
Chris and Bonnie enter, laughing.
BONNIE
God, I've never danced that long.
CHRIS
I know. I'm dying of thirst.
They reach the food table. Chris gets two cups of punch
and hands one to Bonnie.
CHRIS
Man, I know I've only know you for
about hour but it seems like I know
everything about you.
BONNIE
Oh yeah. What's my last name?
Chris thinks.
CHRIS
What's it matter what are last
names are?
BONNIE
Don't know, do you?
CHRIS
Correctomondo.
BONNIE
It's Sindell.
CHRIS
Got it.
Chris takes a drink.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE – LATER
The Jeep sits, broken down. Will and Joel are sitting on
the sidewalk. Will is putting more cough drops in his
mouth.
WILL
You know what this is?
JOEL
You mean the broken down car and
your sickness?
WILL
Yeah. I think, the gods are testing
me.
JOEL
Testing you?
WILL
Yeah. I mean when you look at it,
something always happens when I try
to start a relationship.
JOEL
You know. Usually I'm the voice of
reason. But I think your right.
Either they're testing you or
someone is playing a really, really
shitty trick.
WILL
First, I had that panic attack with
Rene. All this shit with Meadow.
Well, I've got to prove them wrong.
I'm going to the motherfucking dance.
Will gets up and begins to walk away.
JOEL
What the hell are you doing?
WILL
I'm walking to the dance.
JOEL
It's five miles from here!
WILL
I don't care. I've got to do it.
They're not stopping me now.
A VAN almost runs into Will but only bumps him.
WILL
NOTHING!!!
He continues to walk.
INT. HALLWAY – LATER
We focus on the Janitor's door.
INT. JANITOR'S CLOSET - CONTINUOUS
It's pitch black. We can see a thing. We can hear
something moving around.
CASEY (O.C.)
I wonder if they killed everyone
already because I'm tired of
waiting.
We hear him fiddling with the door but it's not opening.
There's a long, deep sigh.
CASEY (O.C.)
Well, at least I won't be murdered.
EXT. SCHOOL – LITTLE LATER
Chris and Bonnie are walking outside the school.
BONNIE
It's because I take drawing instead
of Art History.
Chris nods.
CHRIS
Bonnie...
BONNIE
Yeah?
CHRIS
I would like to...date you.
BONNIE
Date me?
CHRIS
Going steady, having a relationship,
boyfriend and girlfriend, whatever
you want to call it.
BONNIE
Oh Chris...
She begins to think.
BONNIE
Yes! I will!
She reaches in and kisses Chris. After kissing for a few
seconds, they stop but continue to hug each other.
CHRIS
Interesting night, huh?
BONNIE
Yeah. I never thought I would have
a boyfriend especially a black one.
Chris smiles fades to shock.
CHRIS
Wh-Wh...What?
BONNIE
Well that was the whole reason I
danced with you. I'd never been a
black guy before and I wanted to
give it a shot.
While Bonnie is smiling, Chris can't believe what he's
hearing. He lets go of her. He grabs his chest.
CHRIS
Ow...My Pride.
BONNIE
What's the matter, Chris?
CHRIS
Come to think about it I think we
should reconsider this whole
"dating."
Bonnie seems confused.
EXT. SIDEWALK – SAME
Will is staggering along the sidewalk. He seems ready to
fall. The Red Jeep pulls up and drives along with him.
The window rolls down.
JOEL
Wow, Will. Your really walking.
You're a regular Lance Armstrong.
WILL
He was a biker, stupid.
JOEL
You mean like Harleys and leather
jackets kind of biker?
Will rolls his eyes.
JOEL
Okay, get in Will.
WILL
No...I've made this far, I'm going
to make it on my own.
JOEL
Far? Will, look behind you. You've
walked two blocks.
Will looks behind him. He has indeed walked only two
short blocks. In fact we can see the convenience store.
WILL
(into the sky)
DAMN YOU!!!
He shakes his head and gets into the jeep.
INT. HALLWAY – LITTLE LATER
The hallway is dark. It's obvious that everyone has
left. The Janitor's door is rattling.
CASEY (O.S.)
Someone let me out! Anyone! Hell,
even the killers!
Chris appears and opens the door. Casey falls out onto
the floor.
CHRIS
You know, I always think the worst
of you, hoping you will prove me
wrong. So please, prove me wrong...
why were you locked in the closet?
CASEY
Because I heard gunshots and
figured there was some loon with a
gun.
CHRIS
(sarcastically)
I stand corrected.
EXT. SIDEWALK – MINUTES LATER
Casey and Chris are walking along the sidewalk. The Red
Jeep pulls up and stops. Joel steps out.
JOEL
Hey, where are you going? I thought
you guys were at the dance.
CHRIS
It ended.
CASEY
Where were you?
JOEL
We had a flat and some engine
problems. So ended up waiting a
long time for the Tow people.
Casey and Chris nod.
JOEL
So how was it?
CASEY
Crappy.
CHRIS
Racist.
Beat.
JOEL
You guys want to do something?
CASEY
Sure.
Casey and Chris get into the back.
INT. JEEP – CONTINUOUS
Casey and Chris sit in the back. Will seems to be gone.
CHRIS
I guess Will went home?
JOEL
Nope. We just put him in the back.
Casey and Chris turn around.
CASEY'S POV: Will has his arms and legs bent in weird
ways to fit in the very cramp back.
Casey turns to Joel.
CASEY
What happened?
JOEL
He took some drowsy medicine and is
getting some medicine.
Will begins to snore.
EXT. BRIAN'S HOUSE – BACKYARD – MINUTES LATER
Brian, Brock, and Stacy are standing in the yard. Stacy
has a bb gun and is shooting off cans from a nearby box.
She hits it, dead on.
BRIAN
Pretty good.
STACY
Good? I'm better then Annie Oakley.
Suddenly Joel, Casey, and Chris appear still dressed for
the dance.
JOEL
Guess who's here.
BROCK
Hey, it's them.
BRIAN
What are you guys doing here? I
thought you were doing to the
dance.
JOEL
Well, I missed it.
BROCK
Where's Zach?
CASEY
He's out front hitting on that
Marilyn girl.
STACY
(quietly)
Yeah, good luck.
BROCK
Well, where's Will?
JOEL
Hey what is this? Twenty questions.
Let's just shoot some shit.
CHRIS
Amen.
Stacy tosses Joel the gun. He cocks it and takes aim.
MONTAGE:
INT. JEEP – BACK – SAME
Will is still sleeping in the weird position. Snoring
like a baby.
INT. REICTHER'S ROOM – SAME
It's still pitch black. We can barely make out Reicther
on his bed. He is sleeping with an ARMY HELMET on.
EXT. BRIAN'S HOUSE – BACKYARD – MINUTES LATER
Joel, Brian, Chris, Brock, and Stacy are standing around
while Casey takes shots. We SLOWLY LIFT UP and FOCUS on
the stars.
FADE OUT.
END OF EPISODE
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