The Human ConditionA Screenplay by D. C. Brooks A Tale of New Beginnings For a Guy Named Riley. The Human Condition D.C.Brooks
Mind I don’t actually know if I’m faking it anymore. I used to for sure. Two guys sit together in a car. One in the back seat, one in the front seat. Both against the closed doors of the car. Their names are Mind and Riley. Riley tries to be a cool guy. The dude you’ve known for a long time and then one day you start hanging out for some reason and it turns out you’re super close. Mind holds a bong in his hands. The Gourd it’s called. ***The Wu Tang Clan’s single Keep Watch plays here at low volume*** Mind (cont) It feels like I am sometimes. Hollow, you know? Fearing emptiness but hearing it when I get hit in the chest. Mind takes a huge gnarly hit. Riley You used to always talk like this when you get stoned. Mind (cont) I still do and I’m not even stoned yet. pause What was I saying? Riley There it is. Keep talking, man. Mind Oh, now I remember. F*****g… Riley Pass that real quick. Mind Huh? Oh, here you go. He passes the gourd. So, yeah, man. Has this fear become rational? Is it something I can count on. Will a million people say, “That’s only natural?” What kind of response is that, ya know? Like, “Okay, it’s only natural. It’s also a f****n’ problem I’m having, give me an answer… you f**k.” Riley stares for a moment Riley (Busts out laughing but in a stoner sort of way) Damn man. No, I agree though. Mind And is this all because I’m stoned? Riley No. Mind Yeah. F**k that. That’s the crazy part. You’ll walk away from this with a relaxed feeling due to your existential friend discussing his fears and that knocks cobwebs out of the mind but certainly doesn’t cause it to remember or give a s**t. Riley Should I? You’re giving yourself too much credit, dude. You’re going to walk away from this like you always walk away from these huge rants… Remember when you were going on in class about becoming a vegan? You gave the run about the distancing of animals and people and how that label is odd in and of itself? Mind (tapping head) That’s still up here man. Riley Yeah, you remember it. But you aren’t subscribed to the idea. And you won’t be. You’re more normal than you’re giving yourself credit for. You’re not a weird guy. You just think weird things and take them to seriously. Mind But I have subscribed to some of my theories. Riley That’s a failure in itself, the fact that you have to tell me you’ve subscribe to some. You should be able to believe in everything you think. You believe in nothing, Lebowski. Mind I draw the line at being accused of Nihilism. You know my feeling on that. Riley Tell me again, man. I’m feeling the poetry of prose right now. Mind I don’t want to say it if I have to, man. That’s exhausting. Riley You just said it. God damn. Beautiful, man. Mind My head is going at a million miles right now. Riley Continue your fears. Mind Nah. People have told you that you should be a psychologist I’m sure? Riley And a f*****g philosopher. Mind What do you want to do? Riley None of that s**t. I hate that. Like, I enjoy listening. I enjoy hashing s**t out like this. Not double entendre intended but surprisingly brilliant. That made me feel fantastic. Mind But, you don’t want to be labeled? Riley Labels are fucked. They’re too simple. You can’t just give things a name and a definition. Everything is so much more than that. Mind We agree on this point… Riley I want to go into advertising. Mind No s**t? Riley Yeah… haha. I f*****g hate advertising. It’s a beautiful science though. Mind You also hate capitalism. What an odd choice. Riley I don’t know. I guess I do. I hate women mostly but I’m a feminist supporter. Mind I don’t know if that makes sense contextually to what you were saying. Riley I’m just saying, I have my preferences and I have my beliefs and they’re mostly conflicting. Mind That’s sort of what I was saying. Riley So you think. You weren’t however. You were saying that you conflict with your beliefs and your actions follow suit. That’s got to be annoying. Mind It drives me insane. Riley I’m sorry man… Long silence. Mind Let’s make moves. It’s almost time. Riley Fair. Listen, man. I really appreciate you doing this s**t. We don’t get to hang out a lot like we used to. Mind True. The two exit the car. Mind (cont) Next time we do this, however, lets not do it in the school parking lot. Indeed the two had just smoked a ton of weed in the parking lot of a local technical college. They exit the car and stand. People are pulling into park far off. Riley (laughing) We’re you freaked out? Mind Haha, f**k yeah. For a minute. Riley Tis the nature of s**t. Mind I’ve got to get to class, man. Riley No, you don’t. Mind looks at Riley for a moment. It’s a look that’s filled with 200 different emotion and statement combinations. He’s saying. I do. I guess I don’t but I do. Are you that serious? I don’t know you enough to decide. I hope you’re okay. I’m normal. I’m trying very hard to be. BUT I GUESS I’M NOT. Unsubscribe. Mind Don’t you have to go to class as well? Riley doesn’t say anything. Riley Nah, mane. Not today. Mind (looking… smirking) Alright, man. Riley Listen. Thanks. We’re too similar. It’s been good. Mind I’d say we can hang out more… for some reason that feels wrong. Riley It all feels wrong. See you, Mind. Mind walks towards the school. Mind Bye, Riley. ***Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Henry Belafonte plays here*** The camera blurs to reveal Riley, still sitting in the car, which is now sitting in a different parking lot. Riley sits through the whole song. When it ends he picks up his phone and looks at the next song as it begins playing as though he needs to know. Anybody by Bad Things begins playing. He quickly hits the next button. He puts his hands on his face and places it on the steering wheel. ***Do Not Be Alarmed by Official Secrets Act plays here*** He rolls up his windows. He begins violently screaming and hitting s**t in the car. He punches the rear view mirror off. He stops… Riley F**k! He grabs the rear view and looks at himself. The looks up at where it was. Rolls down the window. He throws it out. He pulls out onto the highway. The world blurs out again. We see Riley walking into a McDonalds. He stands at the front and inaudibly (to us of course) orders something terrible for him. He waits. Gets. Sits. A girl he knows walks in. Hot but inaccessible girl (from now on just Girl) Riley! Hey! Riley waves. So distant from her. She sits down. She begins talking inaudibly. Her voice keeps popping in and out saying mundane, normal, and otherwise stereotypical s**t. White noise… ***Out of Gas by Modest Mouse slips in softly*** Riley places a hand lightly, cupping her breast. She’s surprised but a friend enough or maybe a fan of promiscuity enough not to make a scene. Riley I’m about to run away. Let get profound on you for a moment. I’m going to leave. I’m going to swim or fly or drive wherever the f**k and land somewhere and die there. I’m going to live there and then die there silently. I’m going to find a s****y job, live in a s****y house, and f*****g die. You should come die with me. We’ll live, f**k, feed each other, laugh about people who worry about trivial s**t and don’t think for themselves. We’ll leave and die. I don’t care who you are. I don’t give a s**t about your interests or hopes. I just want a partner. She is shocked. He takes his hand off. Pause Girl Okay. ***Don’t Get Lost In Heaven by Gorillaz plays here*** Riley stares at her. The look transmits all of the warning and thanks he needs. S**t blurs again. The two now ride away in the car. They occasionally look over at each other and smile sometimes. They’ve now stopped outside of her house. The door to the house is wide open begging to be closed and keep her. Riley sits in the car looking around and making passing glances at the house. He turns his radio down. ***Kiara by Bonobo begins playing*** He gets out of the car and begins making a journey for the door. He walks in and she stands in front of a mirror. She was writing on it with a red marker. “I Love You, Mom. We’ll see eac…” She looks at him in the mirror. She smiles a melancholy smile. He looks at the writing then at her. He walks over to her. They kiss once with passion. They continue. They continue some more. They get incredibly passionate and fueled by uncertainty. She sits on the couch. He gets on one knee and begins kissing different parts of her body. He begins eating her out. She places her hands on his hand. Bites her lip. Eyes roll back into her head. Eyes close. Blur Her hair is messy and satisfied. She finishes the writing. It now says… “I Love You, Mom. Forever.” Riley sits in the car. He whips his mouth. He subtly rubs in palm with his fingers repeatedly. She steps out and walks to the car. They kiss. Girl So, let’s go. Riley Do you smoke pot? Girl I never have. Riley So you will then? Girl Sure. Riley pulls out of the driveway. The two now sit in the car in the middle of the woods. They have no destination and no hurry because of it. They sit in the familiar position: Riley in the front seat; Girl in the backseat. Silence as he packs the bowl and pours water from a water bottle into the Gourd. Girl (cont) I’ve never seen this done. Riles smiles Riley It probably looks really impressive then. It’s not haha. I enjoy the ritual though. Pause Girl You don’t know my name, do you? Riley I’m afraid I do not. Let me show you how to hit this. Put your mouth on the hole here. Now. I’m going to like the weed in the bowl. You’re going to drag the fire in the weed so it burns by inhaling. Then, when you’ve made enough smoke, I’ll pull the bowl here. Then you inhale hard. Easy enough, right? She looks at him. ***The Go Round by Inf plays here*** They lock eyes for a moment. She smiles, puts her mouth on the pipe and inhales accordingly. She coughs near to death. Riley laughs. Like an actual laugh with the relief of normal laughter. This beautiful girl, one that any dude would love to just have around, contains her coughing. ***You by Gold Panda plays here*** Girl F**k. I feel nice already. Riley What were your plans? Before this? Girl Teaching. Riley Oh, yeah? Girl Mmhmm. Teaching. I wanted to teach high school history. Riley Ah. Interesting. Why high school? But first, what grade? Girl I’d want to teach 12th grade. Riley You’ve just revealed some obscene facts about yourself. Girl Have I? Riley You have. You’re a sexual deviant. Well, you might not be. But that’s in you. It’s a desire you have. Pause… Riley Your silence confirms my suspicion. You want to bang a high school kid when you’re older. Girl The Valedictorian. Riley Ah. That’s different. Not the quarterback or what the f**k ever. Girl I want to be a story. I want that kid to go to college and tell whatever lame frat he’s in about his sexy teacher back home. I want him to come home and sneak to my home while my husband is gone. Riley It got real too quickly. What if I told you I was the valedictorian. Girl Haha. Shut up. You’re lying but I wouldn’t doubt that you could be. Riley takes another hit I’m sure you have sexual fantasies. Riley Who doesn’t? Girl Boring people. Riley So you’ve been sheltered your whole life. It wasn’t someone else that did it. It either just happened that way, or it was of your own design. Girl Yes. How are you doing this? Riley I’m simply working on easy assumptions. People think they’re much more complicated they actually are. People are intrinsically simple and generally boring. Girl Am I boring? Riley Yep. Me too. Girl I don’t think so. Riley I know you don’t, dear. Pause Girl You should be a psychologist. Riley looks over at her with a look that she can’t understand, but the rest of us do. Blur. ***Endless Fantasy by Anamanguchi plays here*** The car rolls down the highway. Passing the Welcome to Myrtle Beach sign. Several billboards spit out destinations for travellers. Houses look beautiful. People look beautiful. Resorts and waterparks and go cart tracks look amazing. Then the music suddenly scratches out. ***Hive by Earl Sweatshirt plays here*** The two pull into a parking complex. Girl is already sleeping. Riley parks and gets out of the car. He walks down to the beach leaving the girl behind. He sits on the beach. He takes a baggy out. In this baggy is a collection of shrooms. He eats WAY too many. Level 5 time. Blur. Music ends. - - - - - - -
He sits on the beach. He stares out waves. He hears bass every time one crashes. He looks down at his hands. He walks to the waves. He grabs the water. He now holds a glass full of the water. He looks at it. He drinks it. He stands. He hears an explosion. He throws up violently. He looks at the stomach contents. He grabs it. A voice over “What Have I lost!? Why!? How Could I lose!?” He stands on the top of a building. He sits down on the very edge. He hears ***King Krule - Bleak Bake*** He stares into the sky. He hears the dog barking. He gets up. He runs away. He now runs across the beach. The ocean is purple. The clouds are green. The sky is orange. The sun is now rising. Girl wakes up. She looks over. Riley sits next to her. He’s sipping coffee and staring out. Girl Hi. What’s our plan for today? Riley Shut it about a plan. We don’t have one. At all. One exists in no form. Girl Wow. I’m sorry. What’s wrong. Riley You can’t commit. Girl I’ve committed. Riley I did mushrooms last night. I’ve never had a bad trip. I think it was. It didn’t feel that way though. Girl You did mushrooms? Riley What the f**k did I just tell you? Yes. Pause You’re afraid. I know you are. I can read people. And you’re ready to give up already. God damn it. Girl Let’s go get something to eat. Riley Oh, yeah. Maybe an omelette will repair my f*****g insanity. I kidnapped a f*****g genius. Hard cut to resturaunt. Riley eats an omelette. Girl eats a waffle The two sit and eat. They now sit in the car. Riley Let’s go to a hotel. Girl Okay. Hard cut to them sitting in a different parking lot. The two get out and walk into the motel. Girl stands. She traces the tile floor in her mind like she used to do in high school. She’d use the bathroom and stay for way too long, imagining leaving, being independant, travelling. One bad decision and the future becomes a burnt portrait with the corners still colored. Riley What the f**k are you doing? Girl I’m sorry. Riley stares at her. He smirks at her response. He’s now oddly gentle. Riley Come on. The two walk to their room. They enter and Riley walks to the bathroom. The girl stands. Riley (from bathroom) Take your clothes off. She hesitates and then gets into only her underwear. I’m going to assume you’ve done this. Riley walks out with four belts. Get on the bed. ***Very Large Green Triangles by Matmos begins here*** She does. He bounds her with the belts. He stares at her from the other side of the room. Riley Why the f**k would you do this? Girl I haven’t done anything. Riley Yes! You f*****g have. You decided to give your life to a stranger. Why? Girl I don’t know. Riley Oh what the f**k, woman. You’ve been pretty receptive this whole time. Now you want to bullshit me now that you know I’m going to kill you. Pause Your life has been a disappointment. Didn’t get your nut out during high school enough. Strange goal to have, to be a bigger s**t than you were. You just weren’t enough. And why? Because you were afraid. Afraid to do anything with your own time. Then a person you hardly know offers you another chance to be a worthless w***e with no real goals or responsibilities. Girl Are you a serial killer? Riley Don’t be so f*****g simple. So, you’ve made the wrong choice. But surely you know what that’s like. You’ve been doing that your whole life. It’s what landed you here. You never had the free will. So, you and I are millennials. The question stands, do you know what happens when you fail? Girl No. Riley Exactly. He rapes her. He then murders her with a pillow. He perches above her dead body. Riley Control. He spits in her face. He stands up. He gets dressed. He leaves. We follow Riley down to his car. He opens his trunk. He carries a gasoline container and an old school camera. He enters the room again. He takes a picture of her. He then covers her and the remainder of the room in gasoline. He walks back outside and looks into the door. He delicately closes the door until it’s cracked a small amount. He sparks the match. It burns. ***Satellite Flight by KiD CuDi plays to takes us to…*** Credits. The end. © 2014 D. C. BrooksAuthor's Note
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1 Review Added on April 25, 2014 Last Updated on April 25, 2014 Tags: twist, horror, love, romance, travel, fiction, new beginnings, music, screenplay, script, movie, young writer, teen writer, Riley, Suspense, Serial Killer, Sorry if the tags spoiled the en |
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