THE BRIAR'S PROJECTS EPISODE TWO

A boy and his adopted father get into an argument.

INT HALL-DAY

ANNABELLE and TYLER appear in the middle of the HALL after a suspenseful beat. ANNABELLE looks around in total awe.

ANNABELLE

What just happened?

TYLER is clearly pleased to see that ANNABELLE is so easily impressed.

TYLER

Oh. Sorry I forgot to explain my personal potentiality. My molecular structure doesn't endure on the same plane of reality that yours do. They exist in every available spot in the universe. I have the ability to transfer my physical essence to these points in kinetic reality and therefore let my physical self by manifested in them.

ANNABELLE

You never did well in English, did you?

TYLER

In lamense terms, "teleportation" is what my potentiality is normally referred to. I just think "molecular transfer through kinetic reality" sounds more interesting.

ANNABELLE

Cool.

TYLER

Very. Now if you come with me I'll introduce you to the other students. It's almost time for the daily meeting.

ANNABELLE follows TYLER down the HALL.

CUT TO:

INT MATTHEW AND JACK'S ROOM-DAY

MATTHEW sits in a corner by a desk. The room is sparsely furnished, only two cots and a desk with two uncomfortable looking chairs. MATTHEW is a very tortured looking individual. He sits and stares blankly at a digital alrm clock that rests on a corner of the desk. The time reads 11:59. MATTHEW stares a little harder. As soon as it changes to 12:00 he quickly opens a small journal on his desk and begins to feverishly write. We hear what he is writing with a VO of his voice as he writes. His voice is a tortured whisper.

MATTHEW VO

It has been one year, twenty-six days, six hours, and approximately fifteen seconds since the transfusion. I. Am not. Well. Something just isn't right. My abilities no longer make up for the hell I face. The days never end and the nights are even longer. Something is wrong. I no longer sleep. I barely eat. I constantly long for a release. One year, twenty-six days, six hours, approximately forty-five seconds now.

MATTHEW drops his pencil and holds his face in his hands.

MATTHEW VO

That's exactly how long it's been. I know because I've been counting every. Single. Second.

ANNABELLE and TYLER walk past the door to MATTHEW's room. TYLER adds insult to injury with the bright tone of his voice.

TYLER

Come on, Matthew! Time for the daily meeting!

TYLER and ANNABELLE continue down the hall. MATTHEW stays completely still. He sighs.

CUT TO:

INT MEETING ROOM-DAY

The MEETING ROOM looks like any ordinary conference room, but with a ring of chairs at its center. SASHA sits alone on one side of the circle while SHANE and MOLLY sit at the other, chatting nonchalantly.

TYLER

Annabelle this is my roommate, Shane, and my sister, Molly. Guys this is Annabelle Cutter.

SHANE

What's up, new kid?

ANNABELLE

Nothing much. Just figured out I'm some kind of superhero. What can these two do?

TYLER

Shane's hyper evolved ocular functions and muscular reflexes-

SHANE

Tyler, I love you. But shut up with the science talk. I'm a sharpshooter, new kid. Most accurate shot in the world so far.

SHANE makes a gun with his fingers and pretends to shoot ANNABELLE. ANNABELLE is clearly not amused.

TYLER

My sister's molecules exist like mine do, but instead of being able to transfer them, she can mutate them to mimic the molecules of inorganic matter whilst still retaining her obviously organic properties.

MOLLY acknowledges ANNABELLE with an upward jerk of her chin.

TYLER

Now if you'll follow me over here I will introduce you to your roommate, Sasha.

TYLER walks ANNABELLE to the other side of the room where SASHA sits.

TYLER

Sasha, this is Annabelle, our newest student. You two chat for a moment. I'm going to go see where Doctor Dante is.

TYLER exits. There is a slight awkward pause. ANNABELLE notices a LAPTOP under SASHA'S CHAIR.

ANNABELLE

Mind if I borrow that?

SASHA

No, go ahead. They'll probably give you one in a day or two.

ANNABELLE retrieves the LAPTOP and turns it on.

ANNABELLE

Standard issue, huh? Pretty cool. This place have wifi?

SASHA

Sort of. You can access virtually all the information in the world, but there is no email, social networking, blog sites, or anything else that might let us have contact with the world outside of Briars.

ANNABELLE closes the LAPTOP and puts it down.

ANNABELLE

Let me guess, no phones either?

SASHA

Nope.

ANNABELLE

What if I want to talk to my parent's or my friends? Do they expect me to jst drop my life completely!?

SASHA

Yes.

ANNABELLE

How did you manage that?

SASHA

I don't really like talking about it- Matthew!

The camera pans out a little and reveals MATTHEW sitting just a few seats down from SASHA. His attention completely on a comic book.

SASHA

What's up, bud?

MATTHEW says nothing. SASHA sighs.

SHANE

Hey, where's Doctor D at? The meeting was supposed to start like five minutes ago.

MATTHEW does not look up from his book.

MATTHEW

Doctor Dante is having another argument with Jack. It might be awhile.

CUT TO:

INT DANTE'S OFFICE-DAY

DOCTOR DANTE sits at his desk. He glares at JACK with utter indifference on his face. JACK is enraged with teenage angst.

JACK

I never wanted to be a part of your little superhero support group, dad! I don't want to talk to any of them! I'm just!- ... Antisocial!

DANTE

It would be good for you to make friends, Jack. You know it would be. Deep down I know you do.

JACK

No I don't, Dad. I just want things to be how they used to be before this freakshow of a project came into existance.

DANTE

Jack, this "freakshow" helped you in ways that you could not even imagine. Just give it time, Jack. You'll see.

JACK

I'm not going to try to make nice with any of them.

DANTE

I juat want you to be happy! Talking to people that are you're age and in your situation would be very healthy for you. Not sitting in your dorm all day, writing in those notebooks.

JACK

Those notebooks keep me from going crazy!

DANTE

If you would just open up a little, it would do such marvelous thins for you. It might even assist you in controlling your abilities-

JACK

I knew that's what this was about! You don't want me to be happy, Dad! You just want to see improvements in my powers!

DANTE

Working towards improving your powers is better than wasting them by doing nothing with them! Which is exactly what you are doing!

JACK glares at his father angrily. The two of them sit in complete silence. We see TYLER looking very awlward in the back of the room behind DANTE. DANTE can't see him but he feels his presence.

DANTE

Damn it, Tyler, how many times have I told you not to teleport into my office!?

TYLER is clearly terrified of DANTE

TYLER

I'm sorry, sir. It's time for the daily meeting, and we have the new student today.

DANTE composes himself.

DANTE

Then we will go out to greet her. And we will not do so grudgingly.

DANTE and JACK exchange hateful looks before leaving the OFFICE.

Author's Note

A friend of mine asked me to help her revise a screenplay for the first two episodes of a web series she was working on and I ended up totally rewriting the entire thing. I'm not proud of it, but it is better than the original.