The Whale 2022

Opening credits over black.
As credits continue, we begin to hear:
CHARLIE (V.O.)
“There were many aspects to the
book The Great Gatsby. But I was
bored by it because it was about
people I don’t care about and they
do things I don’t understand. In
conclusion, The Great Gatsby wasn’t
so great, LOL.”
Pause. The sound of typing on a laptop, a mouse clicking.

Titles continue.
We begin to see images of rolling crop fields from the

Palouse region of northwestern Idaho.
CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

The problems here are painfully
obvious. No discernible thesis,
almost no analysis whatsoever...
I’m going to post the entire paper,
what I want from you is a three to
four paragraph response providing
concrete ideas for revision.
The sound of a computer chiming. The images of the hills

continue, beginning to vaguely resemble ocean waves.

Also, those of you who haven’t
given me paper four, I need it by
Friday, no exceptions.
TITLE: THE WHALE

And remember: the more revision you
do, the better. The more you
change, chances are the stronger
these papers will be. Alright?
TITLE: MONDAY
INT. - LIVING ROOM - DAY
A squalid, desolate one-bedroom apartment. Empty food

containers everywhere, nothing has been properly cleaned for
months if not years.
2.
Present in the apartment are: a television, a couch covered

with a soiled bedsheet, a recliner, a rolling desk with a
laptop on top, towels, various two-liter soda bottles, a mini-
fridge.
CHARLIE, a man in his 40s weighing around 600 pounds, is on

the couch in front of his laptop, masturbating to gay porn.
He struggles to reach his penis, bending over awkwardly. His

breathing becomes more shallow as he maneuvers his hand
around his stomach.
Suddenly, he has sharp pain in his chest. He doubles over.
He starts to reach for his cellphone but has another surge of

pain. He accidentally knocks the cellphone to the floor, it
bounces underneath the couch.
He leans back, struggling to calm himself down. The gay porn

continues to play in the background.
In his panic, he leans over toward the mini-fridge, grabbing

a folder off the top of it. Inside the folder is a well-worn
essay with a “D-” grade written on the cover page. The title
of the essay is “Moby Dick”. He looks at it.
A knock at the door. CHARLIE looks.
CHARLIE
Liz?!
Pause. Another knock at the door.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
It’s not locked, just come in! I
need help, I--!
The door opens and THOMAS, 19, appears. He wears a shirt and
tie, holds a few books.
THOMAS
Oh my God.
(pause)
Oh, gosh, are you--? Should I call
an ambulance?
THOMAS notices the gay porn, still playing. CHARLIE reaches

forward and shuts the laptop. THOMAS starts frantically
searching for a telephone. CHARLIE extends the essay to him.
CHARLIE
Read this to me.
THOMAS continues to search for the phone.

3.
THOMAS
I don’t have a cell phone, where’s
your--?
CHARLIE
Please just read it to me.
THOMAS looks at him, unsure of what to do.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
PLEASE JUST READ IT TO ME!
THOMAS grabs the essay from CHARLIE.
THOMAS
Okay, okay--!
(reading quickly)
“In the amazing book Moby Dick by
the author Herman Melville, the
author recounts his story of being
at sea. In the first part of his
book the author, calling himself
Ishmael, is in a small seaside town
and he is sharing a bed with a man
named Queequeg--” What is this,
why am I reading this?! I need to--
CHARLIE
Just read it, any of it!
THOMAS
(reads)
“I was very saddened by this book,
and I felt many emotions for the
characters. And I felt saddest of
all when I read the boring chapters
that were only descriptions of
whales, because I knew the author
was just trying to save us from his
own sad story, just for a little
while.”
CHARLIE’s breathing begins to return to normal. The pain

starts to slowly subside.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
(reading)
“This book made me think about my
own life, and then it made me feel
glad for my...”
(pause)
Did that--help?
4.
CHARLIE takes a few deep breaths, lies back on the couch. He

grabs a towel, wipes the sweat off his face.
CHARLIE
Yes. Yes, it--.
Pause.
THOMAS
Where’s your phone? I need to call
an ambulance.
CHARLIE
I don’t go to hospitals.
THOMAS
Look I can’t help you, I don’t--
CHARLIE
I don’t go to hospitals.
(pause)
Sorry. You can go, I’m sorry.
Thank you for reading that to me.
CHARLIE reaches for the essay, THOMAS gives it to him.

THOMAS eyes the door, then turns back to CHARLIE, unsure of
what to do.
THOMAS
Are you sure you’re okay?
CHARLIE nods, carefully putting the essay back into the

folder.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Okay.
THOMAS looks at CHARLIE for a moment longer, then heads

toward the door. He is almost out of the apartment when he
stops, looks back at CHARLIE. CHARLIE looks at him.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
(tentative)
Do you know the gospel of Jesus
Christ?
Pause.
CHARLIE
What?
5.
THOMAS
I represent New Life Church? I’m
sharing Christ’s message of love
and--...
THOMAS trails off. An awkward silence, THOMAS looks down.
CHARLIE
Listen, I should call my friend.
She’s a nurse, she--takes care of
me.
THOMAS looks up, takes a few steps toward CHARLIE.
THOMAS
Oh. Yeah, sure, do you have--?
CHARLIE
My cellphone fell under there, can
you--?
CHARLIE points under the couch. THOMAS goes to the couch,

bends down. He reaches under the couch, hesitates a bit when
he sees the old trash and wrappers stuffed underneath. He
finds the phone, gives it to CHARLIE.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Look I--. I don’t know what’s
gonna happen in the next few
minutes, if you don’t mind, could
you...?
Pause. THOMAS considers.
THOMAS
Yeah, of course.
CHARLIE
Thank you.
CHARLIE looks up a number on his cellphone. THOMAS closes

the door.
THOMAS
What was--? That thing you had me
read to you?
CHARLIE
It’s an essay. It’s my job, I
teach online classes on expository
writing.
6.
THOMAS
But why did you want me to read it
to you?
Pause. CHARLIE pushes send, puts the phone to his ear.
CHARLIE
Because I thought I was dying. And
I wanted to hear it one last time.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - SHORTLY LATER
CHARLIE, shirtless, sits on the couch as before. LIZ takes

his blood pressure with an oversized cuff. THOMAS stands in
a corner, trying not to look at CHARLIE.
LIZ
You should have called an
ambulance.
CHARLIE
With no health insurance?
LIZ
Being in debt is better than being
dead.
CHARLIE
I’m not--
LIZ
Sh.
CHARLIE takes a deep breath, sweat pouring down his face and
onto his chest. He grabs a towel, wipes his forehead.
LIZ listens for his blood pressure. She reads the high
number. Her eyes widen. CHARLIE looks at her.
CHARLIE
What?
LIZ
Sh.
LIZ reads the lower number. She looks at CHARLIE, then takes
off the cuff.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Tell me what you felt.
7.
CHARLIE
Pain, in my chest. It was hard to
breathe, I couldn’t intake air.
LIZ
How are you sleeping?
CHARLIE
I’m tired all the time. I’ve been
sleeping on the couch, I can
breathe better.
LIZ takes out a stethoscope. CHARLIE bends forward as best

as he can, LIZ listens to his breathing.
LIZ
You’re wheezing.
CHARLIE
I always wheeze, Liz.
LIZ
Deep breath.
CHARLIE takes a deep breath, it causes some pain in his

chest. He winces.
LIZ (CONT’D)
That hurt?
CHARLIE
What was my blood pressure?
LIZ takes the stethoscope out of her ears, grabs CHARLIE’s

shirt, putting it over CHARLIE’s head.
LIZ
238 over 134.
Pause. CHARLIE raises his arms, LIZ helps him put on the
shirt.
CHARLIE
Oh.
LIZ
Yeah. Oh.
LIZ pulls the shirt the rest of the way down CHARLIE’s torso.
THOMAS watches, uncomfortable.
CHARLIE reaches for his walker, unable to reach it.

8.
CHARLIE
Could you--? I haven’t been to the
bathroom all day, I’m ready to
explode.
LIZ hands CHARLIE his walker. She holds it to the floor,

putting all her weight on it, allowing CHARLIE to brace
himself on the walker and stand up. CHARLIE starts making
his way toward the bathroom, LIZ watches him.
LIZ
You need help?
CHARLIE
No, I’m fine, just--. Sorry.
LIZ
What are you sorry about?
CHARLIE
Sorry, I don’t know. Sorry.
CHARLIE makes his way down the hallway, wheezing heavily.

LIZ watches him, then turns to THOMAS. Awkward pause.
THOMAS
I should go.
LIZ
Thank you. For helping him.
THOMAS starts gathering his things, about to head toward the

door.
LIZ (CONT’D)
You out spreading the Word?
THOMAS stops.
THOMAS
What?
LIZ
You’re from New Life, right?
Pause. THOMAS nods, smiles slightly at her. LIZ goes to the

couch, takes the bedsheet off of it.
LIZ (CONT’D)
You know Doug, from the church
council?
9.
THOMAS
Oh, yeah, I think so? I mean I’m
sort of new so I don’t--
LIZ
He’s my dad.
LIZ throws the dirty bedsheet into a hamper, then goes to a

closet and gets a clean one.
THOMAS
Oh really? Oh that’s--that’s
really great, I didn’t realize
you--. I’ve never seen you there--
LIZ
I fucking hate New Life.
LIZ spreads the clean bedsheet over the couch.
THOMAS
Oh.
LIZ
My dad forced me to go when I was a
kid. It was awful, growing up with
all that end times bullshit...
You’re young, you really wanna
believe the world is gonna end?
THOMAS considers, wording his answer very carefully.
THOMAS
I think that when Christ comes
again, it’s going to be--a
wonderful thing.
LIZ finishes with the bedsheet, then goes to a window, opens

it. She pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one,
blowing smoke out of the window.
LIZ
Look, you can go. I know Charlie
appreciates the help.
THOMAS
I’d love to talk to him about the
church?
Pause.
LIZ
Listen, New Life Church has caused
him--caused us--a lot of pain.
(MORE)
10.
LIZ (CONT'D)
So he doesn’t need this.
Especially not now, not this week.
THOMAS
Why not this week?
LIZ
Because he’s probably not going to
be here next week.
THOMAS
Where is he going?
We begin to hear the sound of CHARLIE wheezing from down the

hall, the clank of his walker on the carpet. LIZ throws her
cigarette out the window, shuts it.
CHARLIE emerges from the hallway on his walker.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry you had to come over,
Liz.
LIZ
It’s okay.
CHARLIE
And I’m sorry I always think I’m
dying.
LIZ goes to CHARLIE, speaking to him as he heads back to the

couch.
LIZ
Charlie your blood pressure is 238
over 134.
CHARLIE arrives at the couch. He braces himself on his

walker and the arm of the couch, collapses down into a seated
position with a sharp pain in his chest. He hides it as best
he can.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry.
LIZ
Go to the hospital.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry--
LIZ
Stop saying you’re sorry, go to the
hospital.
11.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry--
LIZ
(firm)
You have congestive heart failure.
If you don’t go to the hospital,
you’re going to die. Probably
before the weekend. You. Will.
Die.
Silence. CHARLIE thinks, then reaches for his computer,

pulling it towards him.
CHARLIE
Then I should probably keep
working, I have a lot of essays
this week--
LIZ
Goddammit.
CHARLIE
I know, I’m an awful person. I
know. I’m sorry.
LIZ collapses onto a recliner, exasperated. CHARLIE looks at

her.
THOMAS takes a step toward CHARLIE.
LIZ glares at THOMAS. THOMAS backs away, gathers his things,

then heads toward the door. He stops, turns to CHARLIE.
THOMAS
I still don’t understand why you
wanted me to read that essay to
you.
CHARLIE
It’s a really good essay.
THOMAS
I actually thought it was pretty
bad.
CHARLIE
It got a bad grade. But it’s a
really, really good essay.
LIZ stands, moving toward THOMAS. THOMAS hurries outside,

LIZ shuts the door behind him. LIZ looks at CHARLIE.
Pause. They stare at one another.

12.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I think--I need to call Ellie.
LIZ
Ellie?
(pause)
Why?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Maybe just--. Say goodbye?
Pause.
LIZ
What, so you’re like--giving up?
CHARLIE
What else am I supposed to do?
LIZ
Go to the hospital!
CHARLIE
Okay, I could go to the hospital.
Rack up several hundred thousand
dollars of hospital bills, and then
last--what? A year? Maybe?
LIZ
Nice positive thinking, Charlie.
This affects me too, you know?
You’re my friend.
CHARLIE
I know. I’m sorry.
LIZ
You say you’re sorry one more time
I’m gonna shove a knife right into
you, I swear to God--
CHARLIE
Go ahead, what’s it gonna do? My
internal organs are two feet in at
least.
LIZ smiles despite herself. CHARLIE laughs, the laughter

causing some pain in his chest.
LIZ
Fuck you.
13.
Pause. LIZ relents, goes to the couch. She finds the

television remote, turns on the television. She sits next to
CHARLIE, putting her head on his shoulder. She flips through
the channels absent-mindedly.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I’ve been telling you this would
happen.
CHARLIE
I know.
LIZ
Haven’t I been telling--?
CHARLIE
You have.
LIZ continues to flip through channels.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Liz.
Silence apart from the television. LIZ continues to flip

through channels.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Liz.
More silence. LIZ flips a few more channels.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Please.
LIZ flips a few more channels, then stops. She gets up, goes
to the kitchen. She opens up a shopping bag, takes out a
large bucket of gas station fried chicken. She brings the
bucket to CHARLIE and gives it to him without looking him in
the eye.
She sits back down, continues to flip channels.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Thank you.
She flips another channel, lands on an episode of Judge Judy

(or something). CHARLIE starts to eat the chicken.
LIZ
I’ve seen this one, it’s good.
CHARLIE continues to eat the chicken, LIZ watches television.

14.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - LATE THAT NIGHT
CHARLIE, alone, in front of the television which plays a late-

night program. The chicken bucket is full of bones that have
been licked clean, he is eating the last piece.
He finishes the piece, throws the bone in the bucket with the
others and puts the bucket on the ground. The effort of
bending over causes pain in his chest.
CHARLIE
(softly, to himself)
In the first part of his book, the
author, calling himself Ishmael, is
in a small sea-side town and he is
sharing a bed with a man named
Queequeg.
The pain subsides. CHARLIE takes a couple of deep breaths.

He lifts his shirt up, barely managing to pull it off of his
body.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
The author and Queequeg go to
church and later set out on a ship
captained by the pirate named Ahab
who is missing a leg, and very much
wants to kill the whale, which is
named Moby Dick, and which is
white.
CHARLIE bends over, reaching under the coffee table. He

barely reaches a half-full bucket of water with a sponge
floating in it. He puts the bucket in his lap, squeezes the
water out of the sponge, and starts to clean himself, taking
special care to clean in between the flaps of flesh.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
In the course of the book, the
pirate Ahab encounters many
hardships. His entire life is set
around trying to kill a certain
whale. I think this is sad because
the whale doesn’t have any
emotions, and doesn’t know how bad
Ahab wants to kill him.
CHARLIE wets the sponge, then sticks his hand into his pants,
cleaning his crotch and in between his legs.
15.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
He’s just a poor big animal. And I
feel bad for Ahab as well, because
he thinks that his life will be
better if he can kill this whale,
but in reality it won’t help him at
all.
CHARLIE reaches behind the couch, taking out a broom handle

with a towel tied to the end of it. He wets the towel in the
bucket, leans forward on the couch, and then reaches the
towel around to his back. The effort of lifting his arms
causes pain in his chest. He squints.
INT. - HALLWAY - SHORTLY LATER
CHARLIE moves down the hallway on his walker, breathing

heavily. He goes to the end of the hallway, opens a door and
barely manages to fit through the doorway.
INT. - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
A soiled, uncovered king-sized mattress lies in the middle of

the floor, surrounded by empty food containers and empty and
half-full two liter soda bottles. Bracing himself on the
walker, CHARLIE manages to slowly lower himself down onto the
mattress. His knees and chest ache as he descends. He
buries his head in his chest, struggling to breathe.
Finally, he is able to lay flat on the mattress. He stares

up to the ceiling, wheezing, taking a few deep breaths.
He reaches for a bottle of soda. He opens it, takes a long

drink, then continues to stare up at the ceiling.
CHARLIE
And I feel bad for Ahab as well,
because he thinks that his life
will be better if he can kill this
whale, but in reality it won’t help
him at all.
CHARLIE puts the soda bottle on the floor, leaving the cap
off. He closes his eyes, listening to the sound of his heart
beating, struggling to pump blood throughout his body.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
This book made me think about my
own life. This book made me think
about my own life. This book made
me--
16.
EXT. - PALOUSE LANDSCAPE
Shots of rolling hills of the Palouse, wind rushing over

them. As the images continue, the wind begins to vaguely
sound like the sound of waves lapping against the shore.
TITLE: TUESDAY
INT. - HALLWAY - MORNING
CHARLIE is making his way down the hallway toward the

bathroom. It takes a large amount of effort for him to move,
he puts all of his weight onto his walker as he slowly moves
forward.
CHARLIE hears a soft cooing, he looks at an open window. A

bird is perched on the sill. He looks at it for a moment,
expressionless.
CHARLIE looks away from the window, then goes toward the
bathroom. He finally makes his way to the bathroom door,
opening it.
INT. - BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
A series of shots of CHARLIE getting ready for the day.

Using mouthwash, struggling to take his shirt off, wiping
down his body with a wet cloth, brushing his teeth, applying
deodorant all over his torso as best as he can, a meager
attempt at smoothing over his hair.
INT. - KITCHEN - MORNING
CHARLIE opens up a kitchen drawer, there are several loaves

of sliced bread inside. He grabs one of them.
As he removes the loaf of bread, he sees an old stash of

candy bars hidden in the back of the drawer. He takes a few
of the candy bars, having forgotten he put them there. He
opens one, examining the label. It’s obviously a few years
old.
He puts the candy bar back into the drawer.
INT. - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER
CHARLIE, breathing heavily, stands at the counter tearing off

tiny pieces of bread and putting them on a small plate.
17.
As he puts the pieces of bread onto the plate, his eyes

continually drift to the drawer with the candy bar stash.
CHARLIE opens the drawer with the candy stash, grabbing a

candy bar. He opens the wrapping, eats half of it with two
quick, large bites. He then wraps up the remaining half, and
begins to put it back in the drawer.
He re-opens the drawer, is about to place the half-eaten

candy bar inside, then stops. He looks at the candy bar for
a moment.
CHARLIE stares at the kitchen counter where at least half a

dozen candy bar wrappers sit in a pile. He stares at them
for a moment.
Scooping up all the wrappers with his hand, he opens the

cabinet under the sink and shoves them to the bottom of the
trash can, hiding them. He shuts the cabinet, then grabs the
plate of bread crumbs.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
CHARLIE places the plates of bread crumbs on the window sill.
CHARLIE, covered with sweat from the move to the living room,
collapses on his couch with his walker. He takes his
computer, opens it.
He types “congestive heart failure” into Google.
He scans the Wikipedia article. His heart rate begins to

increase.
He goes back, does another search: “congestive heart failure

obesity”.
He scans through a few results. Sweat builds on his

forehead, his pulse quickens.
He goes back, does another search: “congestive heart failure

obesity prognosis”.
18.
As his heart rate spikes, he has a sudden pain in his chest.

He grabs his chest, breathing heavily, wheezing. He shuts
the computer, slowly calming himself down.
He thinks for a moment, then looks at his cell phone.
The sound of flapping wings. CHARLIE looks to the window,

the bird is back, tentatively eating the bread off the plate.
CHARLIE looks at it, smiling slightly.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - THAT AFTERNOON
ELLIE, 17, holding a backpack, stands in the open doorway

looking at CHARLIE, who sits on the couch.
A silence between them.
ELLIE
Does this mean I’m gonna get fat?
CHARLIE
No, it doesn’t. I was always big,
but I just--let it get out of
control.
ELLIE shuts the door, moving inside a bit. She scans the
room, not looking at CHARLIE.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Was your mom okay with you coming
here?
ELLIE
I didn’t tell her, she would’ve
freaked out. Why don’t you just go
to the hospital?
CHARLIE
It’s not worth it.
CHARLIE shifts a little on the couch, the movement causing

some pain in his chest. He takes a breath in. ELLIE watches
him.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
It’s really good to see you, you
look--beautiful. How’s school?
You’re a senior, right?
ELLIE looks at him.
ELLIE
Since when did you care?
19.
CHARLIE
I pester your mom for information
as often as she’ll give it to me.
(pause)
So why aren’t...? Don’t you have
school?
ELLIE
Got suspended this morning.
CHARLIE
Oh. Why?
ELLIE
I sent a text to my stupid bitch
lab partner that the vice-principal
said was “vaguely threatening”.
ELLIE moves inside a little more, eyeing the room. She keeps
her distance from CHARLIE.
CHARLIE
You don’t like school?
ELLIE
Only retards like high school.
CHARLIE
But--you’re gonna pass, right?
ELLIE
Failing most of my classes,
counselor says I might not
graduate. I’m a smart person, I
never forget anything, but high
school is such bullshit. Busywork.
CHARLIE
It’s important.
ELLIE glares at him. Pause.
ELLIE
So, listen, if you called me
because you need help going to the
bathroom or something--
CHARLIE
No, that’s not why I...
ELLIE wanders into the kitchen. She looks around, opens

drawers. One drawer is packed almost entirely with cereal
bars, another is packed almost entirely full of canned pasta.
20.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I didn’t call you over to do
anything disgusting, I just--
ELLIE
Just being around you is
disgusting. You smell disgusting.
Your apartment is disgusting. You
look disgusting. The last time I
saw you, you were disgusting.
CHARLIE
There’s no way you could remember
that, you were four years old.
ELLIE comes out of the kitchen, faces CHARLIE.
ELLIE
I’m a smart person, I never forget
anything. In the living room, with
that old red couch and the TV with
the wood frame. Mom was screaming
at you and you were just
apologizing over and over. I
remember that. Can I have one of
those donuts?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Yeah, sure.
ELLIE goes back to the kitchen, opens a drawer. She takes

out a box of donuts, opens it up and takes one out. She
comes out of the kitchen, nibbling on the donut.
CHARLIE looks at her, thinking. Pause.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I’d like for us to spend some time
together this week.
ELLIE
Why?
CHARLIE
Maybe we could get to know one
another a little bit--
ELLIE
I already know you, and I don’t
want to get to know you any better.
21.
CHARLIE
C’mon, we don’t even--
ELLIE
I know that you left me and my mom
so you could be gay. And now I know
that since then you’ve become--
this.
ELLIE indicates CHARLIE’s body.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Why the fuck would I want to get to
know you any better?
Pause. ELLIE looks at him for a moment, then heads toward

the door.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I don’t even know why I’m here.
ELLIE opens the door, about to leave.
CHARLIE
I have money, Ellie.
ELLIE stops, looking at him.
ELLIE
You were serious about that?
CHARLIE
Yes. And I can help you with your
work. It’s what I do for my job.
ELLIE
What?
CHARLIE grabs his laptop, opens it up. His web browser is

open to an online university message board for one of his
courses. He shows it to ELLIE.
ELLIE glances at the screen.
CHARLIE
I can help you pass your classes.
ELLIE
You teach online?
CHARLIE
Yeah.
22.
ELLIE
Your students know what you look
like?
CHARLIE closes the laptop.
CHARLIE
I don’t use a camera. Just a
microphone.
ELLIE
That’s probably a good idea.
ELLIE considers for a moment, then opens up her backpack,

takes a few steps toward CHARLIE. She rummages around in her
backpack, looking for something.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
If I show a lot of improvement in
one subject, my counselor says I
might be able to pass. You can
rewrite these essays for English,
and they have to be really good.
ELLIE takes couple essays out of her backpack, hands them to

CHARLIE. CHARLIE takes them, looks at them.
CHARLIE
I don’t know if I should write them
for you, I can work with you on--
ELLIE
How much can you pay me?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Everything I have, all the money I
have in the bank.
ELLIE stares at him. Pause. CHARLIE relents.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
A hundred and twenty thousand.
Pause. ELLIE looks at him, doubtful.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I never go out, all I pay for is
food, internet, rent... And I work
all the time.
23.
ELLIE
And you’d give that all to me? Not
to my mom, to me?
CHARLIE
Yes, just--. Don’t tell your mom,
okay?
(pause)
And maybe you could do some
writing. For me.
ELLIE
Why?
CHARLIE
You’re a smart person. I bet
you’re a strong writer. Plus I’m a
teacher, I want to make sure you’re
getting something out of this.
Pause.
ELLIE
Fuck this, I don’t believe you.
ELLIE heads toward the door, about to leave. She stops,

turns back to CHARLIE.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Stand up and walk over to me.
CHARLIE
What?
ELLIE
Come over here. Walk toward me.
CHARLIE pauses, then reaches for his walker.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Without that thing. Just stand up
and come over here.
CHARLIE
Ellie, I can’t really--
ELLIE
Shut up. Come over here.
Pause. CHARLIE looks around, trying to find something to

brace himself on. Finally, he puts one hand on the arm of
the couch. He struggles to roll forward so he can put his
weight onto his legs. ELLIE watches him silently.
24.
The effort of bending forward produces chest pain, but he

doesn’t stop. He is almost able to get on his feet, but a
surge of pain brings him back to the couch.
He looks at ELLIE. She stares back at him, motionless.
He grabs the edge of an end table, bracing himself. He puts

all his effort into it, and manages to rise a few inches off
the couch. He keeps his eyes locked on ELLIE.
Just as it looks like he might be able to stand, the end

table gives way, two of the legs cracking in half. It takes
a lamp with it, along with a stack of papers and a half-empty
two-liter soda.
CHARLIE falls back onto the couch, the impact causing him a
lot of pain. He rolls back, dizzy with pain and lack of
oxygen.
He breathes for a moment, managing to calm himself down. He

opens his eyes, then looks back at ELLIE.
ELLIE stares back at him, unmoved.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT AFTERNOON
CHARLIE is sitting on the couch on his laptop, looking at

ELLIE’s Facebook page, scrolling through pictures. Most of
the pictures are of ELLIE alone, brooding.
He looks at her friend list, sees that she has a total of 17

friends.
A knock at the door.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Gambino’s.
CHARLIE shuts the laptop.
CHARLIE
Yeah, you can--. I put a twenty in
the mail box?
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Sure.
CHARLIE
You can just leave it at the door.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Yeah, I--. I remember.
25.
Pause. CHARLIE looks at the door, not hearing anything.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.) (CONT’D)

Everything okay in there?
CHARLIE
Yeah.
Pause.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

You sure?
CHARLIE
Yeah, I’m fine.
(pause)
Thank you.
Pause. CHARLIE listens, finally we hear the sound of the

mailbox opening and shutting, the DELIVERY BOY walking down
the steps and leaving. CHARLIE waits for a moment, then
moves toward the door.
INT. - FRONT DOORWAY - CONTINUOUS
CHARLIE opens up the door, there is a large box sitting on

the floor in front of his door. The sound of a car door
shutting, a car driving off is heard in the parking lot.
CHARLIE looks down to the parking lot, sees the DELIVERY BOY
driving away. He watches the car leave the parking lot and
disappear down the street.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - THAT EVENING
CHARLIE sits on the couch. LIZ sits next to him, holding a

small machine with some electrodes attached to it. As
CHARLIE breathes in and out, we see that the electrodes are
attached to CHARLIE’s palm.
LIZ
Breathe slowly, relax.
LIZ watches the number on the machine. Silence. She

breathes in and out, CHARLIE does as well.
CHARLIE
What’s it supposed to--?
LIZ
It measures perspiration, it’s an
indicator of stress.
(MORE)
26.
LIZ (CONT'D)
It’s about establishing a
relationship between your brain and
your body. If you know how to make
yourself calm, then your blood
pressure’ll... Here.
LIZ shows him the number on the machine, which is going down
slowly.
CHARLIE
I don’t need a little machine to
tell me how to take a few deep
breaths and stop sweating.
LIZ
Yes. You did.
LIZ puts the machine in CHARLIE’s lap and goes to the

kitchen. She starts to unpack groceries: frozen fish sticks,
potato chips, sub sandwiches, frozen wings, ice cream,
instant ramen noodles, two-liter sodas, etc.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I’m not saying it’s a solution, I’m
just saying it could help.
LIZ finds a very large, empty box of ice-cream sandwiches on

the counter. She exhales, holds the box up to CHARLIE.
CHARLIE looks at her, apologetic. LIZ throws the box in the

trash, looks away, continues to unpack groceries.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Look we’re just gonna try some
different methods or whatever, if
you refuse to go to the hospital
then you--
LIZ sees an essay on the counter. She sees the name on the
top of the page, recognizes it. She takes the essay and
leaves the kitchen, showing it to CHARLIE.
LIZ (CONT’D)
She wasn’t here, was she?
CHARLIE looks at LIZ, apologetic.
LIZ throws the essay in his lap, goes back to the kitchen,
angry.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry, I just wanted to see
her, I’m... I’m sorry.
(MORE)
27.
CHARLIE (CONT'D)
(pause)
She’s--amazing.
Pause. LIZ continues to stock the kitchen.
LIZ
Well she’s not coming back, right?
CHARLIE doesn’t say anything. LIZ stops putting away

groceries, goes to him, glaring at him.
CHARLIE
It’ll be fine.
LIZ
Goddammit, Charlie--
CHARLIE
Look, Liz, I wasn’t planning on it,
but she just--. She’s--really
angry, you know.
LIZ
Which is why she shouldn’t be
coming over here, stressing you
out--
CHARLIE
She needs some help in school, so
I’m just going to help her with
some essays.
LIZ
You haven’t seen this girl since
she was four, and you wanna
reconnect with her by doing her
homework for her?
LIZ notices the number on the machine, which is going back

up.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Charlie, calm down--
Frustrated, CHARLIE takes the electrodes off, puts the

machine on the couch next to him.
LIZ glares at him, then grabs the machine and takes it to a

chest of drawers, opening a drawer. Inside is an entire
universe of medical supplies: lotions, clean towels,
deodorants, over-the-counter medications, ointments, etc.
She tosses the machine inside the drawer and closes it.
28.
CHARLIE
I’m worried about her.
LIZ
Why?
CHARLIE opens up his laptop, still open to ELLIE’s Facebook

page. He scrolls through it a bit.
CHARLIE
I don’t think she has any friends,
I don’t think she’s...
(pause)
I’m worried she’s forgotten what an
amazing person she is.
LIZ
You haven’t seen her since she was
four, how would you know she--?
(seeing the computer)
Dammit Charlie, are you on her
fucking Facebook page again?
LIZ goes to CHARLIE, looking at the computer. CHARLIE

scrolls through her profile.
CHARLIE
I’m just trying to--
CHARLIE lands on a specific photo, stops. The photo is of

MARY, a woman in her mid-forties but who looks considerably
older. The photo is unflattering: she’s sitting on a couch
in dowdy clothes, scowling at the camera.
CHARLIE and LIZ look at the photo for a moment. LIZ looks at
CHARLIE, then shuts the laptop.
LIZ
She’s just a teenager, everyone’s
insane when they’re a teenager.
When I was that age, when my dad
would really piss me off?
LIZ goes back into the kitchen, putting the rest of the
groceries away.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I’m just lucky I didn’t get
arrested, I’ll say that much.
CHARLIE doesn’t respond, opens the laptop a little, just so

much that he can barely look at the screen. The photo of
MARY comes back up. He looks at it. LIZ goes back to
unpacking groceries.
29.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Point is, bringing her over here is
a bad idea.
LIZ grabs a meatball sub, brings it to CHARLIE. CHARLIE

shuts the laptop.
CHARLIE
It’ll be fine--
LIZ
Charlie.
LIZ looks straight into his eyes.
LIZ (CONT’D)
You’ve got enough to deal with
right now, you hear me? Do not
bring her over here again.
CHARLIE looks at the meatball sub in LIZ’s hand. LIZ

continues to stare at him.
CHARLIE
Okay.
LIZ hands CHARLIE the meatball sub, then heads back into the
kitchen. CHARLIE unwraps the sub and begins eating it,
fairly quickly.
LIZ
It’s not like she’s alone, you
know. She has her mom.
CHARLIE takes a big bite of the sub, accidentally inhaling a

large chunk of meat. His windpipe is blocked.
LIZ has her back turned to him, washing her hands in the
kitchen sink.
LIZ (CONT’D)
If she comes over here she’s just
gonna stress you out, which you do
not need right now. And promise me
you will stop looking at her
Facebook page?
CHARLIE has begun to panic. He reaches into his mouth,

trying to pull out the piece of meat. It doesn’t work.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Charlie?
LIZ finally turns around, sees CHARLIE. She goes to him.

30.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Are you choking? Oh God, are you
choking?!
LIZ, not knowing what to do, pushes CHARLIE forward. She

hits his back a couple of times, it doesn’t work.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Okay, okay--lean over the arm!
LIZ helps CHARLIE move so that the base of his stomach is

over the arm of the couch. She circles the couch, climbs on
top of him. Putting all her weight into it, she attempts to
give him the Heimlich Maneuver.
The first few attempts don’t work, but finally on the third
or fourth attempt CHARLIE spits the chunk of meatball out
onto the carpet.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Shit. Oh shit, Charlie.
CHARLIE leans back on the couch, in an immense amount of

pain. He takes a few deep breaths.
CHARLIE
I’m okay. I’m okay.
Silence. CHARLIE breathes. LIZ stares at him.
LIZ
GODDAMMIT CHARLIE, WHAT IS WRONG
WITH YOU?
CHARLIE
I’m sorry--
LIZ
Chew your food like a normal human
being! You could have just died
right in front of me, you--!
Silence. LIZ looks away, struggles to calm down.
Finally she goes to the kitchen, grabs a wad of paper towels.

She goes back to the couch, cleaning up the piece of sub that
CHARLIE coughed up.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry, Liz.
LIZ throws away the piece of sub, then goes back to CHARLIE.
She sees the partially eaten meatball sub on the floor. She
considers, then picks it up, looking at it.
31.
LIZ
It’s fine.
LIZ brushes it off a bit, then extends it to CHARLIE.

CHARLIE looks at it, then her. He takes the sub. LIZ looks
away, grabbing the remote.
LIZ (CONT’D)
House is on. The one about the guy
whose arm has a mind of its own,
something like that.
LIZ finds the channel, puts the remote down, not looking at
CHARLIE. She goes back to the kitchen, starts washing her
hands.
LIZ (CONT’D)
You want a Dr. Pepper?
Pause.
CHARLIE
(quiet)
I’m sorry.
LIZ
I asked if you want a Dr. Pepper.
Pause.
CHARLIE
(quieter)
I’m sorry.
CHARLIE looks at the meatball sub.
Shots of rolling hills in the Palouse, wind rushing over

them. The sound of the wind now starts to fold more
distinctly into the sound of waves, the hills move in way
that begins to resemble an ocean landscape.
TITLE: WEDNESDAY
INT. - BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING
A cellphone alarm rings. CHARLIE, asleep on the mattress on

the floor of his bedroom, jolts awake. He is covered in
sweat, his heart is pounding.
32.
He stares up at the ceiling, wheezing. His cellphone alarm

continues to ring, he reaches across the mattress to where
his phone is resting, turning off the alarm. He breathes.
INT. - KITCHEN - LATER THAT AFTERNOON
CHARLIE is in the kitchen, looking for food. The television

is on in the background playing daytime TV.
He searches through a few drawers, finds an old box of

Slimfast breakfast bars that are at least two years old. He
opens up the box, takes out a couple bars and starts eating
them.
He turns to the fridge and opens it, discovers there is very

little food. He takes out the pizza box from before, looks
inside--only a few crusts remain. He takes them out, starts
eating them. He looks around the fridge, sees a large jar of
mayonnaise that is about half-empty. He looks at it for a
second, considers, then takes it.
He takes the remaining crusts, dips them in mayonnaise and

eats them.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - LATER
Leaning on his walker and breathing heavily, CHARLIE is at a

bookcase looking through several old notebooks. Most of them
are old and well-worn.
Finally he finds what he was looking for--a blank notebook

with a purple cover. He grabs it, tries to pull it off the
shelf. The notebook is wedged in well, he keeps tugging at
it.
Finally the notebook gives way. As he pulls it off the

shelf, a few pieces of paper that were stuck beside the
notebook fall to the ground. CHARLIE looks at them.
CHARLIE see that the papers are an old essay, somewhere

around fifteen years old, on Faulkner’s The Sound and the
Fury. CHARLIE stares at it.
INT. - BEDROOM - SHORTLY LATER
CHARLIE leans against his walker, facing some shelves on his

bedroom wall. He is staring at an old, worn box underneath
some papers on the top shelf. He breathes in and out.
33.
Leaning against his walker, he reaches for the box with one
hand. He can barely reach the box, but is unable to get a
decent grip on it.
He reaches up again, his knees buckle and he nearly falls to

the ground. He catches himself on his walker, wheezing.
He looks back up at the box.
INT. - BEDROOM - SHORTLY LATER
CHARLIE has retrieved his reaching claw, he is leaning on his

walker, reaching up toward the box.
With the claw he’s finally able to get a grip on the box. He
pulls it off the shelf, it falls to the ground. He looks at
it.
INT. - BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER
CHARLIE collapses down onto his mattress from his walker,

wheezing heavily. He reaches over, pulling the box toward
him.
He reaches into his pocket, pulling out the essay from before
on The Sound and the Fury.
He holds the essay in his hand, looking at the box,

hesitating.
Finally, he opens up the box.
Inside are a few framed photos, a Bible, some small trinkets

including a seashell.
CHARLIE looks into the box for a moment, considering taking

the photos out to look at.
He stares at the open box for a moment, becoming upset. He

holds back a wave of tears, gasping slightly. He has a sharp
pain in his chest, he winces.
He quickly throws the essay inside the box, shutting it. He

puts the box on the ground, shoving it a few feet away from
him. He looks away, breathing heavily.
ELLIE sits in a corner, typing on her iPhone. CHARLIE is on

the couch reading an essay. ELLIE continues to type.
34.
CHARLIE steals a few glances at ELLIE. ELLIE doesn’t look up

from her phone.
ELLIE, sensing him look at her, finally puts her phone down
and glares at him. CHARLIE smiles at her, she stares at him
stone-faced.
CHARLIE
Sorry.
ELLIE goes back to typing on her phone. CHARLIE looks at the

essay for a moment.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
(reading)
“In the poem ‘Song of Myself’ by
Walt Whitman, the author tells us
how amazing he is. He tells us
that he is better than everyone
else, and that people should listen
to what he says, because he is so
wonderful.”
He looks to ELLIE, she is unmoved. She continues to type on

her phone.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
You know, this--... This isn’t
what the poem is about.
ELLIE
Yes it is. I read it.
CHARLIE
But he’s not really talking about
himself, he’s using the metaphor of
“I” to explode the entire
definition of self to--
ELLIE
Oh my God I don’t care.
Pause. ELLIE continues to type, not looking at CHARLIE.
CHARLIE
You know I actually think you might
like it if you actually read it--
ELLIE finally looks up from her iPhone, looks at CHARLIE.

35.
ELLIE
You’re just like my teachers, you
think that just because I don’t
like it, that means I didn’t read
it.
CHARLIE
I didn’t say that--
ELLIE
I did read it, which is how I know
it’s bullshit. He thinks his
“metaphor of I” is deep and shit,
but actually it doesn’t mean
anything and he’s just some
worthless 19th century faggot.
Pause. ELLIE stares at him for a moment. CHARLIE looks back

at her, unhurt, a hint of a smile on his face. ELLIE waits
for a response, doesn’t get one, then goes back to her phone.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Just write down what you were
saying, my English teacher will
love that.
CHARLIE looks at the essay again, reads a few more sentences.

His eyes drift back to ELLIE.
CHARLIE puts his hand on the edge of the couch, nervously

teasing a loose thread.
CHARLIE
How’s your mom doing?
ELLIE
Oh my God.
ELLIE grabs her backpack, stands up.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
If you’re not gonna write these
essays for me--
CHARLIE
Look, Ellie, I don’t need you here
to write this for you. If you want
to go, you can go. You can still
have the money.
Pause.
ELLIE
Really?
36.
CHARLIE nods.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I thought you wanted to get to know
me.
CHARLIE
I do, but I don’t want to force you
to be here.
Pause. ELLIE considers. Finally she puts her backpack down.

She goes to the box of donuts on the coffee table in front of
CHARLIE, takes one, and sits down.
ELLIE
She’s fine. Mom. I guess.
ELLIE picks at the donut. CHARLIE smiles at her.
CHARLIE
Is she--happy?
ELLIE
When she drinks.
CHARLIE
Oh.
(pause)
You guys still live over in that
duplex over on Orchard?
ELLIE
You don’t even know where we live?
How did you get my cell phone
number?
CHARLIE
Facebook.
Pause.
ELLIE
You don’t stay in touch with mom?
CHARLIE
Sometimes. She really only tells
me things about you.
ELLIE
Why?
CHARLIE
Because that’s all I ask about.
37.
Pause. ELLIE gets up, starts wandering around the room,

examining things. She looks through a bookshelf, glances
around the kitchen.
ELLIE
When I was little we moved to the
other side of town, near the Circle
K.
CHARLIE
Is your mother--with anyone right
now?
ELLIE
No. Why, you interested?
CHARLIE
Oh, no, I just--
ELLIE
I’m kidding. How could you be with
anyone?
ELLIE looks at a bookshelf, spots a framed photo shoved

toward the back of the shelf, face down. She grabs it,
looking at the photo. The photo is roughly ten years old,
it’s a picture of CHARLIE in his 30s. He is standing on the
beach of the Oregon coast next to a thinner man, a few years
younger than him. They both look bright, happy, young.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Why did you gain all that weight?
ELLIE takes the framed photo in her hands, looking at it.
CHARLIE
Oh, that’s not--
ELLIE
If you’re gonna interrogate me I’m
gonna do the same thing. Why did
you gain all that weight?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Someone close to me passed away,
and it--... It had an effect on
me.
ELLIE turns to CHARLIE, holds up the framed photo. CHARLIE

looks at the photo, nodding slightly.
38.
CHARLIE continues to play with the loose thread on the couch,

his heartbeat rising a bit.
ELLIE looks at the photo again.
ELLIE
Your boyfriend.
CHARLIE
My partner.
Pause.
ELLIE
How did you meet him?
CHARLIE
At the U of I, he was a student of
mine.
ELLIE
Ew.
CHARLIE
He was only a few years younger
than me. He took a few years off
before going to school--
ELLIE
How did he die?
Pause.
CHARLIE
You know, I--. I’d really rather
not talk about this right now, if
that’s alright.
ELLIE rolls her eyes, puts the framed photo on the shelf,
facing out. She goes back to her seat, takes out her iPhone
again.
CHARLIE reaches behind the couch, takes out the purple

notebook.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I’ll write these essays for you,
but I’d like you to do some
writing, just for me?
ELLIE
You were serious about that?
39.
CHARLIE extends the notebook to ELLIE. She looks up from her

iPhone, doesn’t take the notebook.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I hate writing essays.
CHARLIE
Just think about the poem for a
while, and write something. Be
honest, tell me what you really
think.
ELLIE
You want me to write what I really
think?
CHARLIE
Yes. Really.
CHARLIE keeps the notebook extended toward ELLIE. ELLIE

stares at him for a second, then grabs the notebook. She
opens it up, grabs a pen, starts writing.
CHARLIE reaches for his walker.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I’m going to go to the bathroom,
but when I’m done I’ll work on--
ELLIE
I’m not helping you to the
bathroom.
CHARLIE
I didn’t ask you to help.
With a lot of effort and pain, CHARLIE manages to brace

himself on the walker and stand up. He slowly heads down the
hall toward the bathroom, ELLIE continues to type on her
phone, watching him from the corner of her eye.
CHARLIE continues down the hall into the bathroom.
INT. - BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
CHARLIE barely manages to make his way through the bathroom

door. He flicks on the light switch.
Around the toilet there are some cinder blocks that CHARLIE
uses for bracing and for lifting himself on and off the
toilet.
40.
CHARLIE looks at himself in the mirror for a moment,

breathing heavily. He fights a wave of tears.
He looks away from himself, then goes to the toilet, wanting

to sit down for a moment to calm himself down.
He braces himself on the cinder blocks, then slowly lowers

himself down onto the toilet seat. He finally manages to
sit.
The wave of tears comes back, nearly overtaking him. He

stifles it as best he can.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Unless you’re dying, I’m not coming
in there.
CHARLIE
No, it’s... I’m fine.
CHARLIE breathes in and out, struggling to calm down.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
ELLIE is standing halfway down the hall, holding the

notebook. She looks at the bedroom door silently.
Suddenly we hear the sound of flapping wings near the window,

ELLIE looks and sees the bird from before.
ELLIE approaches the window, sees the plate with bread crumbs
on it.
A knock at the front door. ELLIE looks toward the front

door, then at the bedroom, considering calling out for
CHARLIE.
Another knock.
Finally, she goes to the front door. THOMAS stands in the

doorway.
THOMAS
Oh. Hi.
ELLIE doesn’t respond, staring at him silently.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
I was--looking for Charlie?
ELLIE
He’s in the bathroom.
41.
THOMAS
Oh. I can come back if--
ELLIE opens the door wider, beckons him inside.
THOMAS pauses, then cautiously makes his way inside. ELLIE

shuts the door behind him, takes a seat, stares at him.
THOMAS awkwardly smiles at her.
Pause.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Are you his--friend?
ELLIE
I’m his daughter.
Pause.
THOMAS
Oh, I didn’t know that.
ELLIE
Are you surprised?
THOMAS
Well, yeah, I guess.
ELLIE
What’s more surprising? That a gay
guy has a daughter, or that someone
found his penis?
Pause. THOMAS makes a move toward the front door.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I’m kidding, Jesus.
THOMAS stops, looks at her.
An awkward silence.
THOMAS
I, uh. I’m with New Life Church, I
was just here to talk to Charlie
about--
ELLIE
Oh.
ELLIE smiles, having figured out something about him. THOMAS

awkwardly stays standing, unsure of what to do.
42.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I’ll tell you one thing I like
about religion.
THOMAS looks at her, unsure of how to respond. He gives her

a slight smile, a slight shrug.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
What I like about religion is that
it assumes everyone is an idiot and
that they’re incapable of saving
themselves. I think they got
something right with that.
THOMAS
Well I don’t really--
ELLIE glares at him, THOMAS stops. Short pause.
ELLIE
But what I don’t like about
religion is that when people accept
Jesus or whatever, they suddenly
think they’re better than everyone
else. That by accepting the fact
that they’re stupid sinners they’ve
somehow become better, and they
turn into assholes.
ELLIE stares at THOMAS. Pause.
THOMAS
I--don’t really know what to say--
ELLIE takes out her iPhone, snaps a picture of THOMAS.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Why did you just do that?
ELLIE
Are you coming back tomorrow?
THOMAS
I’m--. I’m not sure?
ELLIE
Come back tomorrow, I’ll be here
around the same time.
ELLIE smiles at him, THOMAS stares back at her, baffled.
CHARLIE appears in the hallway, he sees THOMAS.

43.
CHARLIE
Oh.
THOMAS
Hi, um. I was just--
ELLIE takes a picture of CHARLIE with her iPhone, then grabs

her backpack, starts gathering her things. She leaves the
notebook behind.
ELLIE
(to CHARLIE)
You’ll have that one done by
tomorrow?
CHARLIE
Sure.
ELLIE
Five page minimum.
CHARLIE
It’ll be good, I promise.
ELLIE turns to THOMAS.
ELLIE
I’m Ellie.
Pause.
THOMAS
Thomas.
Pause, ELLIE studies him. THOMAS smiles at her awkwardly.

Finally, ELLIE leaves.
CHARLIE notices the framed photo of himself and his partner

on the shelf, looks at it briefly. He reaches up and turns
it over, putting it face down.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
So!
CHARLIE turns to THOMAS.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
I’d love to share God’s word with
you.
CHARLIE looks at him.

44.
CHARLIE is on the couch, looking through some pamphlets

absent-mindedly. THOMAS holds a Bible.
THOMAS
I mean the Bible says that no one
will know the precise day or hour,
but the signs are there. God’s
sending us warning that it’s
coming.
CHARLIE looks turns a page in the pamphlet. There is an

illustration of hundreds of people floating up to heaven from
out of a hellish city landscape.
CHARLIE flips a page, the phrase “THE DAY IS COMING” appears

in bold letters.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
What’s going on in Israel right
now, I mean really what’s happening
all over the Middle East, it’s all
there in Revelation, you just have
to--
CHARLIE
You really think the world is gonna
end soon?
THOMAS
I mean I think there’s really good
reason to believe that we’re living
in end times--
CHARLIE
And that doesn’t... Bother you?
CHARLIE flips another page in the pamphlet. There is an

illustration of a thoroughly Caucasian Jesus, his arms open
wide.
THOMAS
No, it--. I think it’s a great
gift. I think it’s...
CHARLIE turns to THOMAS. THOMAS thinks, looking at his

hands.
45.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
The idea that there’s a better
world coming to replace this one,
that we can be released from this
life, from our worldly desires and
faults, and--. It’s just...
CHARLIE looks at him. THOMAS continues to look at his hands.
CHARLIE
Oh.
THOMAS quickly regains himself.
THOMAS
So the restoration of the state of
Israel is probably the biggest sign
of Christ’s coming, so we probably--
CHARLIE puts down the pamphlet.
CHARLIE
Look, I--. I’m sorry, I don’t mean
to be rude, but... I know all
this.
THOMAS
What do you mean?
CHARLIE
I’ve probably read just about
everything written about New Life
Church, probably every pamphlet
they’ve ever published--
THOMAS
Oh well--. I mean that’s great,
but if you actually read
Revelation, you’ll see that--
CHARLIE
I’ve read the Bible.
Pause. THOMAS looks at him, smiling.
THOMAS
Oh yeah?
CHARLIE
Sure. Couple times.
THOMAS
Did you... Like it?
46.
Pause.
CHARLIE
I thought it was... Devastating.
God creates us, expels us from
paradise, then we wander around for
thousands of years killing each
other before he comes back and
sends most of us to hell.
Pause. THOMAS thumbs through his Bible a bit.
THOMAS
Yeah, I never really thought about
it like that, but.
Finally, THOMAS sighs, puts down the Bible. He sits next to

CHARLIE.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
You have to understand--when God
comes again? It’s going to be
amazing. If you accept him, he’s
going to release you from this,
he’s going to take your soul out of
this body and give you a new body,
one made of pure light.
CHARLIE sighs, looking away from him. He glances out the

window.
CHARLIE
Thomas, I’m not interested in
converting. I appreciate you
helping me out yesterday, but you
can go, this doesn’t--
THOMAS
Did you used to go to New Life or
something?
Pause. CHARLIE looks at him.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Sorry it’s just--. Your friend,
Liz, she told me that New Life has--
caused you a lot of pain?
Pause.
CHARLIE
No, I--. I never went to New Life.
But I...
47.
Pause. CHARLIE looks at THOMAS. His eyes glaze over, he

begins to grow upset. He struggles to hold back tears.
THOMAS
Are you okay?
CHARLIE
I’m fine, I just--.
Pause. CHARLIE looks at THOMAS, smiling a little.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
You remind me of someone.
THOMAS looks at him. He is about to say something when the

front door opens.
LIZ comes in pulling a folded up wheelchair behind her.

THOMAS jumps up off the couch.
LIZ
Alright, I got you this. I did
some asking around and--
LIZ sees THOMAS. THOMAS tenses up, unsure of what to do.
LIZ (CONT’D)
What the hell, Charlie?
THOMAS
I was just--
CHARLIE
It’s fine--
LIZ
(to THOMAS)
Get out.
CHARLIE
Liz.
LIZ
(to THOMAS)
Go home.
THOMAS grabs his backpack, moves toward the door. He knocks

over a floor lamp in his haste.
THOMAS
Crap, sorry--
LIZ
Leave it.
48.
THOMAS bends down, grabs the lamp.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I said leave it!
CHARLIE
Liz, would you stop?
LIZ glares at CHARLIE. THOMAS awkwardly puts the lamp right

side up, then goes to the door. He opens it, about to exit.
LIZ goes to THOMAS, blocking him. She shuts the front door,
glaring at him.
LIZ
Actually, stay. We’ll have a chat.
LIZ brings the wheelchair to CHARLIE. THOMAS stands near the

front door, not knowing what to do.
CHARLIE
What is it?
LIZ unfolds the wheelchair.
LIZ
What the fuck does it look like?
It’s a fat guy wheelchair.
CHARLIE
Why do I need this?
LIZ
I was talking with one of the E.R.
doctors, he said that moderate
activity would be a good idea.
Sense of independence might help
you out.
CHARLIE
How much did you pay for this
thing?
LIZ
Nothing. We ordered it for a
patient a few months ago, it’s just
been sitting around.
CHARLIE
What happened to the patient?
LIZ doesn’t respond. She moves the coffee table away from
the couch to clear some space, then moves the wheelchair next
to CHARLIE. She grabs his walker, brings it to him.
49.
LIZ
Try it out.
CHARLIE reluctantly braces himself on his walker, slowly

manages to stand up. LIZ locks the wheels on the wheelchair,
bracing the back of it by putting all her weight onto it.
CHARLIE stands up, then slowly backs toward the wheelchair.
LIZ (CONT’D)
(a la a truck backing up)
Beep. Beep. Beep.
CHARLIE looks back at her. LIZ smiles.
THOMAS stays in the corner, watching CHARLIE. He sees stains

on the back of CHARLIE’s pants, looks away.
CHARLIE keeps moving backward, reaching the wheelchair. He

collapses down into it, breathing heavily, sweat running down
his face, squinting through the pain.
LIZ unlocks the wheels of the wheelchair, moves some trash

and other items out of his way, clearing a path to the
hallway.
CHARLIE wheels himself forward a little bit, using both his

arms and his legs to help himself move. CHARLIE smiles a
bit, unexpectedly pleased.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Good?
CHARLIE
Yeah, it--it’s actually really
nice.
CHARLIE wheels himself a few more feet. He smiles wider.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Thank you, Liz, this is really--
LIZ
Why don’t you see if it fits
through the bedroom door?
LIZ moves to the back of the wheelchair, starts wheeling him

down the hall. CHARLIE looks at THOMAS.
THOMAS
I should go.
LIZ
Not before we have our little chat.
50.
THOMAS stays near the door. CHARLIE looks up to LIZ.
CHARLIE
Liz, don’t--
LIZ
Just gimme a minute.
She pushes CHARLIE most of the way down the hallway. CHARLIE
finally relents, moves toward the bedroom.
LIZ looks at THOMAS.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Take a seat.
The door swings open and CHARLIE enters. The wheelchair just
barely fits through the door. He wheels inside, wheezing,
turns on the light.
He looks at the mattress on his floor where he sleeps. There

is a distinct sweat outline of his body, taking up most of
the mattress.
His eyes drift to the only window in the room. The window
looks over rolling wheat fields. Wind lightly rustles
through the wheat.
He wheels himself closer to the window, looking outside.
After a moment, he reaches up and manages to slide the window

open. As best he can, he leans forward, trying to stick his
head outside.
He breathes in deeply, closes his eyes, feeling the wind rush

by his face.
LIZ sits on a chair smoking a cigarette. THOMAS sits

awkwardly on the couch. LIZ stares at him.
LIZ
Where you from?
THOMAS
What?
51.
LIZ
You said you’ve only been here for
a little while. Your whole family
move out here?
Pause. THOMAS tenses up a bit.
THOMAS
No, I--. It’s just me.
LIZ
Really?
THOMAS
I’m doing some missionary work
before I go to school.
LIZ
So you came to Idaho? Why not go
to Africa or something?
THOMAS
Idaho needs the word just as much
as anyone else.
LIZ moves to a window, cracking it. She smokes out of it as

she talks.
LIZ
Okay listen. You’re just some kid,
you don’t know anything, so I’m
gonna be very direct. I want you
to stay away from Charlie, you
understand? He doesn’t need this
shit right now.
Pause.
THOMAS
I disagree.
LIZ looks at him. She puts out her cigarette, moves toward
THOMAS, standing over him.
LIZ
Excuse me?
THOMAS
Sorry, I just--. He’s refusing to
go to the hospital, he’s dying.
What he needs is spiritual
guidance.
52.
LIZ
And you’re gonna give him that?
THOMAS
No. God will.
LIZ
I see.
LIZ sits down next to THOMAS on the couch. THOMAS tenses up

but doesn’t move away from her.
LIZ (CONT’D)
My big brother did some missionary
work. Went to Switzerland.
THOMAS
Oh.
LIZ
Yeah. I was the black sheep, I
refused to go to church ever since
I was twelve. But not my brother,
he loved New Life.
(pause)
He wrote me a letter a few months
into his mission, told me he was
cold all the time. That he was
cold, and lonely, but he didn’t
want to come home and get married.
THOMAS
He didn’t want to--?
LIZ
Dad had set it all up, pushed him
into getting married to this girl
from New Life he barely knew. When
he came back, he refused to go
through with the wedding, fell in
love with somebody else. And dad--
kicked him out of the church.
LIZ leans into THOMAS, growing angry. THOMAS grows more and
more nervous.
THOMAS
Look, I’m not trying to--
LIZ
But that church and my dad had
fucked him up so bad that he
couldn’t get over it.
(MORE)
53.
LIZ (CONT'D)
He started caving in on himself,
stopped eating, stopped bathing,
just--wasted away. Few months
later, he was gone.
(pause)
That was Alan. My brother, Alan.
My sweet, sensitive brother who was
crushed under the church that you
think can save Charlie.
LIZ stares at him. Finally, THOMAS stands up, gathering his

things. LIZ stands up, bearing down on him.
LIZ (CONT’D)
So you listen to me. He doesn’t
need “saving”. What he needs is
for you to fucking leave him alone.
I am the only one who can help him,
you understand me? I am the only
one who can save him!
CHARLIE
Liz.
LIZ turns around. CHARLIE is behind her, sitting in the

wheelchair, staring at her.
THOMAS quickly opens the door and leaves.
A silence between CHARLIE and LIZ.
Finally, LIZ moves to the couch, searching for the remote.
LIZ
Everything go alright in there?
No response. LIZ finds the remote, sits on the couch. She

turns on the television, flips through a few channels.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I’ve got a while before I need to
get back. We can watch some Maury.
LIZ finds the right channel, puts the remote down. She
watches the television for a few moments. CHARLIE remains
motionless.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Wheel yourself over here, c’mon.
CHARLIE doesn’t move.

54.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - THAT NIGHT
CHARLIE is on his wheelchair in the kitchen, making several

sandwiches. The television is on in the background playing a
late-night show.
CHARLIE finishes the last sandwich, puts them on his lap,

then starts to wheel himself back toward the couch and
television, wheezing heavily.
He has a pain in his chest and winces. Most of the

sandwiches fall off his lap and onto the floor.
He stares at the sandwiches for a moment.
In a moment of rage, CHARLIE grabs a nearby book and throws

it across the room. It hits a lamp in the corner of the
room, shattering it.
A dog from a nearby apartment is heard barking.
CHARLIE stares at the broken lamp, immediately ashamed. He

takes a few deep breaths, calming down.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT
CHARLIE is on his wheelchair, not far from where he was hours

ago. He is scanning through channels on the television
absent-mindedly.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Gambino’s.
CHARLIE turns off the television.
CHARLIE
Hi, yeah. You can--
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Money in the mailbox, leave it at
the front door?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Yeah, uh. Thank you.
CHARLIE pauses, waiting for the DELIVERY BOY to take the

money and leave the pizza. He doesn’t hear anything.
Another moment passes.
55.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

I’m Danny.
CHARLIE
What?
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

I just--. My name, it’s Danny.
(pause)
I’ve been coming here for a while
now. Just thought you’d wanna know
my name.
Pause.
CHARLIE
Charlie.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Hey Charlie.
We hear the sound of the mailbox opening and shutting,

CHARLIE sees the shadow of the pizza box underneath the door.

Have a good night, okay?
We hear the sound of the DELIVERY BOY going down the stairs.
CHARLIE looks at the door.
CHARLIE is on his wheelchair, in front of the television. A

pizza box sits on the couch with one piece uneaten and a few
crusts here and there. CHARLIE is finishing the next-to-last
slice when he notices ELLIE’s notebook sitting near the
couch. Grabbing his reaching claw, he takes Ellie’s
notebook.
He takes the remote, turns off the television. He opens the

notebook to the first page.
Written in the notebook are three separate lines: “This

apartment smells. This notebook is retarded. I hate
everyone.”
CHARLIE looks at it for a moment, then smiles broadly.
CHARLIE
(reading softly, to
himself)
“This apartment smells.
(MORE)
56.
CHARLIE (CONT'D)
This notebook is retarded. I hate
everyone.”
CHARLIE smiles wider. He begins to laugh a little. The

laughter grows and soon it causes a sudden pain in his chest,
the most severe he’s had so far. He grabs his chest,
speaking softly to himself.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I felt saddest of all when I read
the boring chapters that were only
descriptions of whales because I
knew that the author was just
trying to save us from his own sad
story, just for a little while.
This apartment smells.
The pain in his chest starts to slowly subside. He takes a

few deep breaths, starts to smile again.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
This apartment smells. This
notebook is retarded. I hate
everyone. The author was just
trying to save us from his own sad
story. I hate everyone. The
author was just trying to--
More shots of rolling hills in the Palouse, wind rushing over

them. The images of the hills, as well as the sound of the
wind, now distinctly resemble ocean waves. This time, the
waves are more aggressive, more distinct.
TITLE: THURSDAY
INT. - LIVING ROOM - THE NEXT DAY
CHARLIE in his wheelchair, with his laptop on his lap,

speaking into a microphone.
CHARLIE
I read a recent post on the
discussion forum about strategies
for coming up with a good thesis.
CHARLIE pulls up the discussion forum in a window on his

computer.
57.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
It says that I want you to--
(reads)
“Pick a sentence from the book and
say it’s good or some shit.”
Pause. CHARLIE sighs, closes the window on the computer.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
You don’t have any true reaction to
these books, because I’ve taught
you to edit your reactions, to
reconfigure them so many times that
you don’t--...
CHARLIE stops, at a loss. He moves the microphone away from

his mouth, is about to shut the computer.
He has a thought, then stops. He thinks for a moment, then

picks the microphone back up.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
How about this? Don’t write about
the book. Forget the assignment,
forget the readings. Hell, forget
everything I’ve taught you about
what makes a good essay and just--
write me something honest. Okay?
ELLIE stands near the doorway, holding her backpack.
ELLIE
You have it?
CHARLIE
It’s almost done. You can wait
while I finish it?
ELLIE looks at the door, annoyed. Finally she relents, comes

inside and sits on the recliner. She pulls out her phone.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
While you’re here, maybe you could
write a little more in your
notebook?
CHARLIE pulls out ELLIE’s notebook, extends it to her.

58.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
You’ve only written a couple
sentences so far, can you write
more?
ELLIE turns to him, looks him straight in the eye.
ELLIE
I kind of hate you.
CHARLIE
Yeah, but you hate everyone.
CHARLIE smiles broadly at her, ELLIE rolls her eyes and looks
away.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Look just keep going, forget the
poem, just write whatever you want,
whatever you’re thinking--
ELLIE
Shut up, just--.
ELLIE fumes, then grabs the notebook out of CHARLIE’s hand.

She finds a pen, plops down into a chair and opens it up.
She stares at the blank page. Finally, she starts to write a
little.
CHARLIE looks at her lovingly. Pause. After a moment he

wheels himself a little closer to her, speaking tentatively.
CHARLIE
You know, I... I was in a strange
place in my life when I married
your mom--
ELLIE
Did I fucking ask?
CHARLIE
Sorry, I just--
(pause)
Look, I understand that you’re
angry.
ELLIE slams the notebook onto the floor, buries her face in
her hands.
ELLIE
Oh my God.
59.
CHARLIE
But you don’t need to be angry at
the whole world, just be angry at
me--
ELLIE
You know what?! You can’t throw me
away like a piece of garbage and
then suddenly want to be my dad
thirteen years later just because
you’re dying.
CHARLIE
I’ve always wanted to be your dad--
ELLIE
But you know what? I’m glad,
because you taught me something
very important: people are
assholes. Most people learn that
way too late, you taught me that
when I was four. Thank you for
that.
ELLIE takes the notebook off the ground, starts writing

again. Silence.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
You know you could’ve...
CHARLIE
What?
Pause.
ELLIE
You could’ve been sending us money.
If you have all that money and
wanted to be a part of my life so
bad, you could have been sending
money to my mom.
CHARLIE
I did.
ELLIE
I mean more than just child
support.
Pause. ELLIE continues to write in the notebook. CHARLIE

moves toward her in the wheelchair. He reaches out, puts a
hand on the notebook. ELLIE stops writing.
60.
CHARLIE
I did.
(pause)
I’ve wanted to see you for so long,
Ellie. I wanted to be a part of
your life, I wanted to reach out.
Pause. ELLIE stares down, not looking at him.
ELLIE
So why didn’t you?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Look at me, Ellie, I don’t--. Who
would want me to be a part of their
life?
Pause. ELLIE finally looks at him.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
When I lost him, I started to think
I ruined everything I touched. I
know that’s a terrible excuse.
CHARLIE turns away, growing upset. ELLIE watches him.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
(softly)
I’m just sorry, Ellie. I’m so, so
sorry.
CHARLIE looks up at her, ELLIE stares back at him. It’s the

closest they’ve been to one another yet. After a moment,
ELLIE looks back down, CHARLIE takes his hand back.
ELLIE writes a few more words, then closes the notebook.
ELLIE
I’m hungry.
Pause.
CHARLIE
There’s stuff for sandwiches in the
kitchen.
ELLIE gets up, goes to the kitchen. She is about to open the
fridge when she stops, turns around, and goes back to
CHARLIE.
61.
ELLIE
I’ll make you one, but it’s gonna
be small. And I’m only using
turkey or chicken, and no
mayonnaise.
CHARLIE
(smiling)
Thank you.
ELLIE turns around, goes back to the kitchen. She opens up

the fridge, takes out cold cuts, mustard, bread.
She opens a jar of mustard, finds a breadknife. CHARLIE

looks at her, smiling.
ELLIE looks at him, stops.
ELLIE
What?
CHARLIE
No, it’s just--.
(pause)
You’re an amazing person, Ellie.
Silence. CHARLIE smiles broadly at her, ELLIE stares back at

him.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I’ll work on the essay now. Have
it done soon.
CHARLIE pulls up his computer, opens a blank document, starts

typing. ELLIE looks down at the breadknife in her hand.
As CHARLIE types, ELLIE silently digs the knife into the

kitchen counter, gouging the surface of the counter.
After a moment, we hear the sound of flapping wings. ELLIE

looks at the window, sees the bird from before eating bread
crumbs off the plate. She stares at it.
CHARLIE is asleep in the wheelchair, with a mostly eaten

sandwich in his lap. ELLIE sits on the couch, a plate with a
half-eaten sandwich sits on the coffee table in front of her.
ELLIE stares at CHARLIE, who is snoring lightly.

62.
ELLIE lifts her hands to her mouth. She’s holding a small

marijuana pipe and a lighter. She takes a hit, blowing it in
CHARLIE’s direction.
A knock at the door. ELLIE freezes, not knowing what to do.
Another knock. Finally, ELLIE stands up.
ELLIE
Yeah?!
THOMAS
(calling out)
I, uh... Hello?
ELLIE pauses, recognizing the voice. She moves to the door

and swings it open. THOMAS stands in the doorway.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Oh, hi.
THOMAS sees the pipe in ELLIE’s hand.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Are you--?
ELLIE
Come in.
THOMAS cautiously makes his way inside, ELLIE shuts the door
behind him. THOMAS sees CHARLIE.
THOMAS
Is he--?
THOMAS goes to CHARLIE, looking at him.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Is he okay?
ELLIE
I don’t know. I ground up some
Ambien and put it in his sandwich.
THOMAS
Wait, what?
ELLIE
I only gave him a couple, he’s
fine. I can take three at a time.
ELLIE moves to the couch, sits down.

63.
THOMAS
You have--? Where did you get
Ambien?
ELLIE
I had sex with a pharmacist.
THOMAS looks at her.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Just kidding, gross. My mom pops
them like tic-tacs.
THOMAS
I don’t know if he should be
taking...
ELLIE takes a hit from the pipe. THOMAS watches her.
ELLIE
(exhaling)
Does this make you nervous?
THOMAS looks away.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
It’s just pot. It’s not like I’m
smoking crack or anything.
THOMAS
I know what--. I know what pot is.
ELLIE
You only think you know what pot is
because your parents told you a
bunch of lies about it.
THOMAS
I’m not an idiot, I’ve smoked pot
before.
ELLIE
Really?
THOMAS is about to respond, then stops himself. He moves

toward the door.
THOMAS
Okay, look just tell him I was here
and I’ll--
ELLIE
If you leave I’ll feed him the rest
of the pills I have in the bottle.
64.
THOMAS stops, turns to ELLIE.
THOMAS
What?
ELLIE takes her backpack, reaches inside, pulls out a bottle

of prescription pills. She examines the bottle.
ELLIE
There’s like twenty or thirty more,
I’ll crush them up and put them in
some water and pour it down his
throat.
THOMAS goes to ELLIE.
THOMAS
Why would you say that?
ELLIE
Sit down.
THOMAS
You wouldn’t actually do that,
would you?
ELLIE
Sit down.
THOMAS looks at her for a moment, then sits down on the couch
next to her, maintaining his distance.
ELLIE looks at him, THOMAS looks away.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Why do you keep coming back here?
THOMAS
He needs help, he needs God in his
life right now.
ELLIE
That’s a stupid reason. Do you
think he wants to have sex with
you? That’s so gross, oh my God,
take a hit.
ELLIE extends the pipe to THOMAS.
THOMAS
He doesn’t--! I don’t want to--!
65.
ELLIE
If you don’t take a hit I’m gonna
call the police and tell them you
tried to rape me. Take a hit.
THOMAS stares at her, incredulous.
THOMAS
I don’t understand you at all.
ELLIE
Oh my God.
They stare at each other for a moment. Finally, THOMAS

relents and takes the pipe.
THOMAS
Is there a carb on this?
ELLIE
Oo, I’m so impressed.
THOMAS
I wasn’t trying to--
ELLIE
There isn’t a carb.
THOMAS pauses, then tentatively lights the pipe and takes a

hit. Before he’s done inhaling, ELLIE takes out her iPhone
and takes a picture of him.
THOMAS coughs violently, almost drops the pipe.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Calm down.
THOMAS
What are you gonna do with that
picture?!
ELLIE
I’m gonna masturbate to it. Is
that what you want me to say?
You’re a pervert, take another hit.
THOMAS stares at her. Pause. ELLIE sighs, buries her face

in her hands.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Look, I’m just fucking with you,
alright? I’m not gonna kill
anyone, I’m not gonna tell anyone
you raped me.
66.
Pause.
THOMAS
You’re not going to give him more
Ambien?
ELLIE rolls her eyes, shakes her head.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Why do you keep coming back here?
ELLIE
I don’t know.
THOMAS
Seriously, if you hate him so much--
ELLIE
I’m done answering questions now.
Pause. THOMAS looks at the pipe in his hand for a moment.
THOMAS
Can I...?
THOMAS indicates the pipe. ELLIE gives him a smile, nods.
THOMAS considers for a moment, then takes another hit--a

larger one than before. He exhales.
ELLIE takes another photo of him with her iPhone.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
I really wish you wouldn’t do that--
ELLIE
Do you find me attractive?
Pause. THOMAS looks at her, caught off-guard.
THOMAS
I--
ELLIE
Because I’m not attracted to you at
all, just to let you know.
Pause. ELLIE looks at THOMAS, who is a little hurt. She

rolls her eyes, gets up, goes into the kitchen, looking for
food.
67.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Oh my God grow up, maybe someone
else finds you attractive, just not
me. Maybe my dad finds you
attractive.
THOMAS
I really wish you wouldn’t--
ELLIE
It’s so easy to make you
uncomfortable. You can cash that
out.
Pause.
THOMAS
You don’t mind?
ELLIE shakes her head. THOMAS takes another large hit. He’s
pretty high by this point. ELLIE finds a bag of potato
chips, comes back into the main room. She eats the chips as
she talks.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
If my parents knew that I was
getting high, that I was getting
high while I was out witnessing for
the church--
ELLIE
You’re not from that church.
Pause.
THOMAS
What?
Pause. ELLIE continues to eat potato chips, moves back to

the couch and sits next to THOMAS.
ELLIE
There’s a kid a grade below me who
goes to New Life. He said they
stopped doing door-to-door stuff
last year when a lady was out
preaching or whatever and some guy
invited her into his apartment and
showed her his penis.
(pause)
I called the church, and they said
they’ve never heard of you.
68.
Pause. THOMAS stares at ELLIE for a second, then starts to

stand up.
THOMAS
I need to--
ELLIE
What are you doing here, really?
THOMAS gathers his things, shaky on his feet. He goes to the

door.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
Wait--
THOMAS heads to the door, ELLIE jumps up from the couch,

getting between THOMAS and the door.
THOMAS
Please--
ELLIE
Just tell me!
THOMAS turns around, dazed and panicked. He looks around the

room, looks at the window, then heads down the hall. ELLIE
follows him.
THOMAS, panicked and unsure of what to do, goes into

CHARLIE’s bedroom and shuts the door on ELLIE.
ELLIE tries the door, THOMAS has locked it.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
C’mon, just tell me!
THOMAS (O.S.)
Why do you care?!
ELLIE
Because I think we have a
blossoming friendship.
Pause.
THOMAS stands a few feet away from the door, looking at it.
He pauses.
THOMAS
You’re just messing with me.
69.
ELLIE (O.S.)
No I’m not.
Pause. THOMAS exhales, considers opening the door. He

stops, then sits down on the ground, leaning up against the
door.
He looks at CHARLIE’s mattress, then out the window at the

fields of wheat, lightly rustling in the wind.
THOMAS
You won’t tell anyone?
ELLIE (O.S.)
Who am I gonna tell?
Pause.
THOMAS
I’m from Oregon, from Pendleton.
My family goes to this church
there, Living Bible Fellowship,
it’s a sister church to New Life.
Like three months ago, I... I left.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Why?
THOMAS
I just...
(pause)
My whole family, all my friends,
they’re like so--sure that Christ
is coming again soon. But
sometimes, I’m like--really? God’s
going to come back in a few years
and kill us all? Sometimes it just
seems so... I don’t know.
ELLIE (O.S.)
“Stupid”. You’re looking for the
word “stupid.”
THOMAS stands up, moving across the room. He looks out the
window at the wheat fields.
THOMAS
Yeah. Maybe.
70.
INT. - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
ELLIE listens at the door. She tries the knob one more time,
it still won’t work. She thinks for a moment, then pulls out
her iPhone.
ELLIE
So why did you leave?
THOMAS (O.S.)
Because I think I was about to be
excommunicated.
ELLIE scrolls through her iPhone, opening up a voice memo

app.
ELLIE
I don’t know what that means.
THOMAS (O.S.)
Like kicked out. Of the church.
ELLIE presses record, places her iPhone at the base of the

door, pointing the microphone inside the bedroom.
THOMAS (O.S.) (CONT’D)

I got caught--smoking pot. My best
friend and I got caught smoking
pot.
ELLIE
You’re getting kicked out of the
church for that?
THOMAS (O.S.)
For smoking pot, and--doing other
stuff.
ELLIE thinks for a moment, realizing. She smiles, nearly

laughs out loud, stifles it.
ELLIE
So you and your boyfriend--
THOMAS (O.S.)
He isn’t my--
ELLIE
That’s why you left?
71.
THOMAS stands at the window, staring outside. He starts to

wander around the room aimlessly.
THOMAS
He told his parents I had pressured
him into it. That I got him high
and pressured him into it. It
wasn’t even my pot, it--...
ELLIE laughs a little.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Are you laughing at me?
ELLIE (O.S.)
Well, yeah.
Pause.
THOMAS
I’m really fucked up.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Yes, you are.
THOMAS
I think my parents were about to
kick me out of the house. My dad
can barely even look at me now.
THOMAS looks down, sees the box that CHARLIE had before. The
lid is slightly ajar, THOMAS opens the box slightly further
with his toe.
ELLIE (O.S.)
So why’d you come here?
THOMAS sits down on the floor, looking in the box. He takes

out a framed photo, looks at it. The photo is of CHARLIE’s
partner, younger than the picture of him and CHARLIE on the
coast. The photo appears to be from a church confirmation
ceremony.
THOMAS
I’ve always heard about New Life,
the way they built up their
congregation by door-to-door
proselytizing, it just sounded so
inspiring, it... I just thought if
I could see God working in people’s
lives, then maybe it’d--help me?
72.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Turn you straight?
THOMAS puts the photo back in the box, takes out another
photo. It’s about ten years old, a photo of CHARLIE with his
arms around his partner. THOMAS looks at it for a moment.
THOMAS
Save my soul.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Same thing?
Pause. THOMAS puts the photo back in the box, picking up the
essay on The Sound and the Fury that CHARLIE placed in there
before. He looks at the name at the top of the paper: “Alan
Grant”.
He thinks for a moment, then picks up the Bible. He looks at

it, opens it to the first page. There is a large stamp
reading “New Life Church”, and the name “Alan Grant” written
on the top right hand corner of the page.
THOMAS stares at it, realizing. He flips through the Bible,

which has obviously been meticulously studied--nearly every
page has highlights, notes, or underlines.
INT. - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
ELLIE stands at the door, looking down at her iPhone, which

is still recording.
ELLIE
So that’s why you wanna save my
dad.
The bedroom door unlocks, ELLIE quickly grabs her iPhone,

shuts off the recording. She puts it in her pocket.
The door slowly opens, THOMAS stands looking at her.

Silence.
ELLIE takes her iPhone out and takes a picture of THOMAS.

She smiles at him.
Suddenly, the front door opens and LIZ enters, followed by

MARY, a woman of about 40 but who looks considerably older.
ELLIE sees MARY, goes to her.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
(to MARY)
Mom--
73.
MARY
Shut up.
LIZ looks at THOMAS and ELLIE.
LIZ
What the fuck is going on here?
LIZ turns and sees CHARLIE, still asleep in his wheelchair.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Charlie.
LIZ goes to CHARLIE. MARY turns and finally gets a look at

CHARLIE. She freezes for a moment, shocked.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Charlie?
LIZ shakes CHARLIE a bit, trying to wake him up. She checks
his breathing.
MARY goes to CHARLIE as he wheezes loudly in his sleep. She

looks at him closely.
MARY
Charlie...
MARY gets closer, examining his body in disbelief. She looks

him up and down as ELLIE moves into the living room.
MARY looks away, upset. LIZ continues to shake CHARLIE.
LIZ
Charlie.
Pause. MARY and LIZ both look at ELLIE. ELLIE stares back
at them, defiant.
LIZ is hooking CHARLIE up to an oxygen tank, threading a

plastic tube over his ears and under his nose. CHARLIE is
noticeably weaker than before, and is wheezing more heavily.
ELLIE sits on a chair, THOMAS cowers in a corner. MARY sits

on the couch watching CHARLIE, smoking a cigarette.
CHARLIE looks at MARY. He smiles a little, MARY stares back

at him.
74.
CHARLIE
(to MARY)
Ellie told you that she was coming
over here?
MARY looks away from him, smokes.
LIZ
No, I did. And just in time, looks
like. You having more pain?
CHARLIE nods.
LIZ (CONT’D)
How easy is it to move?
CHARLIE
Not very.
LIZ
Any confusion? Have you felt
disoriented, forgotten where you
are or what you’re doing?
CHARLIE shakes his head. LIZ finishes hooking him up to the

oxygen tank, looks at him.
CHARLIE
Am I--okay?
LIZ
No, you’re not okay. But as far as
the sleeping pills, you’re fine. I
think she only gave you a couple.
ELLIE
Yeah, that’s what I told you.
LIZ goes to ELLIE, standing over her.
LIZ
You know I was a very angry, very
stupid little girl once too, but if
you would have given him more pills
than that, you could have--
ELLIE
Yeah except I didn’t give him more
than that, I gave him two pills.
MARY
Ellie, how much money did he offer
you?
75.
CHARLIE looks at MARY, pleading.
MARY (CONT’D)
All of it?
ELLIE
How do you know about--?
MARY
(to ELLIE)
You think I’m an idiot? You think
I would believe that you were
coming over here out of the
kindness of your heart?
Pause. MARY stares at her. ELLIE stares back, defiant.
ELLIE
(to MARY)
I’m not giving you any of my money.
LIZ
Charlie doesn’t have any money.
MARY looks at LIZ. LIZ goes back to CHARLIE, attaching the

oxygen tank to the back of his wheelchair.
MARY
(to CHARLIE)
She doesn’t know?
CHARLIE
Mary--
MARY
(to LIZ)
Where do you think all the money
from his teaching has been going?
The account for Ellie, by now it
has to be huge.
(to CHARLIE)
Over a hundred thousand at least,
right?
LIZ circles the wheelchair, faces CHARLIE.
LIZ
That’s not true, is it?
CHARLIE looks away from LIZ. Silence.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Charlie, we could have gotten you
anything you needed.
(MORE)
76.
LIZ (CONT’D)
Special beds, physical therapists,
fucking health insurance.
(pause)
Last winter when my pickup broke
down and I had to walk through the
snow to get your groceries--
CHARLIE
I offered to get your truck fixed--
LIZ
Yeah and I refused because I
thought you had seven hundred
dollars in your bank account.
LIZ looks at him, deeply hurt. CHARLIE reaches out to her,

trying to take her hand, she backs away from him.
CHARLIE
It’s--for Ellie. It’s always been
for Ellie.
(pause)
If there was ever any type of
emergency, I would have given you
the money--
LIZ
Would you?
Pause. LIZ stares at him for a moment, then looks away. She
fights the instinct to cry. Finally she looks around the
room, then grabs her bag and heads to the door.
CHARLIE
Wait--
LIZ exits, slamming the door behind her. MARY stares at

CHARLIE. Silence.
ELLIE
Mom, you’re not getting any of my
money.
MARY
Oh shut up, Ellie.
MARY stands up. She looks at ELLIE and then at THOMAS, who
continues to cower in the corner.
MARY (CONT’D)
Both of you leave, right now.
ELLIE looks at MARY, then angrily grabs her bag and heads
toward the door.
77.
CHARLIE
Wait--
CHARLIE tries to wheel himself toward ELLIE, the effort

causing a sharp pain in his chest. He doubles over.
MARY
Charlie--
CHARLIE
Ellie please don’t go--
ELLIE stops, turning to CHARLIE.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,
I know you--
ELLIE
Okay, you know what? Listen to me.
ELLIE goes to CHARLIE, leans down to him, looking him

straight in the eye.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
I don’t care about you. Try to get
that through your fat fucking
skull.
CHARLIE looks at her, pleading. He reaches out toward her.
CHARLIE
Ellie, please--
ELLIE swats his hand away.
ELLIE
Just fucking die already.
MARY
Enough.
ELLIE stares at CHARLIE for a moment longer, then goes to the

door, opening it. Just before she leaves:
CHARLIE
Ellie, your--.
(pause)
Your essay.
ELLIE stops. CHARLIE reaches over to the coffee table,

grabbing a folded up essay from underneath a pile of papers.
He extends it to ELLIE. ELLIE doesn’t look at him.
78.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
It’s a really good essay.
ELLIE pauses for a moment, then grabs the essay out of

CHARLIE’s hand without looking at him. CHARLIE watches her
go.
THOMAS creeps out of the corner, heads toward the door. He

hesitates for a moment, looks at CHARLIE. CHARLIE looks back
at him.
THOMAS is about to say something to CHARLIE when MARY glares

at him. THOMAS stops himself, exits. MARY shuts the door
behind him.
MARY turns to CHARLIE, looking at him. Silence apart from

CHARLIE’s wheezing.
MARY stands, looking at him. Very slowly, she approaches

him, looking at his body. CHARLIE looks away.
MARY circles his wheelchair, looking at him from all sides, a

mix of fascination and horror on her face.
She finally stops, looks at him. CHARLIE, ashamed, looks

away.
Finally MARY looks away, sighing, rubbing her face with her
hands.
MARY
Do you--have anything?
CHARLIE looks at her, unsure of what she means.
MARY looks at him. CHARLIE realizes.
CHARLIE
Maybe in the kitchen. Cabinet
above the sink, on the left.
MARY goes into the kitchen, opening a cabinet above the sink.
She finds an aging half-empty bottle of vodka. She takes the
bottle, then opens other cabinets, looking for a glass.
MARY
Our deal was we wait until she was
out of the house to give her the
money.
CHARLIE
What’s the difference?
79.
MARY
The difference is she’s seventeen
and in high school. She’s gonna
spend it on ponies or marijuana or
something.
MARY finds a glass, goes to the sink. It’s filled with

dishes caked with food residue. She moves the dishes around,
making room for her to be able to wash the cup out. She
turns the water on.
CHARLIE
I think she’s a little smarter than
that.
MARY
I really wish you hadn’t have done
this, this is the last thing I need
right now.
MARY turns off the water, shakes the glass dry, then fills it
almost entirely with vodka. She takes a long drink,
steadying herself, then moves back into the main room,
looking at CHARLIE.
She takes a deep breath, relaxing a little.
MARY (CONT’D)
So, how has it been? Getting to
know her.
CHARLIE
She’s... Amazing.
MARY chuckles.
MARY
You still do that.
CHARLIE
What?
MARY
That positivity. It’s so annoying.
CHARLIE
Well you’re a complete cynic, I was
just trying to balance us out.
MARY smiles a bit. She looks for a place to sit, sees the
couch, the large sag in the middle. She approaches the couch
slowly, sitting on the edge of it.
80.
MARY
Well, I guess I do miss that. That
one thing.
CHARLIE
Just that?
MARY
That and the cooking. Last month I
tried to make a stir-fry thing,
almost set the entire apartment
building on fire.
CHARLIE laughs a little, the laughter causing some pain in

his chest. MARY looks at him. CHARLIE covers the pain as
best as he can.
She opens up her purse, takes out a pack of cigarettes. She

takes one out, lights it, begins to smoke.
MARY (CONT’D)
You still cook?
CHARLIE
Not for years now, it’s... Hard
for me to get into the kitchen.
MARY looks away from CHARLIE. She gets up, going to a

window. She cracks the window, blowing the smoke outside.
MARY
I never knew you were doing this to
yourself.
CHARLIE
Well you never asked how I was
doing.
MARY looks at him, annoyed.
MARY
Well you never asked how I was
doing either. Every month it’s
just, “how much money do you
need?”, and “how’s Ellie?”
CHARLIE
You didn’t tell me she was flunking
out of school.
MARY
I guess I just didn’t need the
lecture about my involvement in her
education.
81.
CHARLIE
That’s not what I...
CHARLIE exhales. He reaches down, laboriously wheeling his

chair over to MARY at the window. He looks up at her.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
How’re you doing, Mary?
Pause. MARY continues to look out the window. She smokes.
MARY
Fine.
CHARLIE
Are you working?
Pause. MARY shakes her head.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Do you need me to send more money?
MARY turns and glares at him. CHARLIE backs down.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
It’s good to see you.
(pause)
I know I’m not supposed to be
around her, you could call the
police if you wanted to--
MARY
Christ, you really think I’d do
that?
CHARLIE
You fought me pretty hard for full
custody.
MARY moves away from the window with her cigarette,

exasperated. CHARLIE pivots his wheelchair to face her.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
I don’t blame you, after what I
did.
(pause)
But I just want to see her--I’ve
always just wanted to see her. Is
it really so bad that she has a gay
father?
MARY
No, actually it’s not.
82.
MARY grabs her glass of vodka, taking a drink.
MARY (CONT’D)
She’s... Awful. Isn’t she?
CHARLIE
What?
MARY
Ellie. She’s awful, she’s a
terror. And you think it’s my
fault.
Pause.
CHARLIE
Wait, is that why you’ve been
keeping her from me all this time?
You thought I’d think you were a
bad mother?
MARY
At first. But later, when she was
fifteen, sixteen... I was worried
she would hurt you.
CHARLIE
Hurt me? That’s ridiculous--
MARY
I don’t take any pleasure in
admitting it, I’m her mother for
Christ’s sake. I spent way too
much time telling myself, she’s
just rebellious, she’s just
difficult. Charlie, she’s evil.
CHARLIE
She is not evil.
MARY looks at him for a moment, then goes to the couch. She
opens up CHARLIE’s laptop.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
What’re you doing?
MARY opens up a web browser, starts typing. With some

difficulty, CHARLIE wheels himself over to MARY.
MARY shows CHARLIE the laptop, which is open to ELLIE’s

Facebook page. Displayed prominently is the photo of CHARLIE
that ELLIE took before. CHARLIE examines the photo.
CHARLIE scrolls down a bit, finds a caption to the photo.

83.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
(reading)
“There’ll be a grease fire in hell
when he starts to burn.”
Pause. MARY shuts the laptop, putting it back on the

computer desk.
MARY
Don’t feel bad, I’ve made quite a
few appearances on that thing.
MARY gets up with her glass, finishing it in one gulp. She

goes back to the bottle in the kitchen, refills her glass.
CHARLIE is silent, staring forward.
MARY (CONT’D)
You okay?
Pause.
CHARLIE
She’s a strong writer.
MARY slams down the bottle of vodka.
MARY
That’s your response?
CHARLIE
This isn’t evil, this is honesty.
Do you know how much bullshit I’ve
read in my life?
MARY comes out of the kitchen with her drink, goes to

CHARLIE.
MARY
My God, things never change. I
don’t understand you, Charlie!
CHARLIE
Every time I would call and ask you
how she was doing, you said she was
fine, if she’s so evil then why--
MARY
What was I supposed to tell you?!
That she was off treating her
friends like dirt or slashing her
teachers’ tires? You didn’t want to
hear about that stuff!
84.
CHARLIE
I could have helped her!
MARY
She doesn’t want your help! She
doesn’t want anyone!
MARY, a little drunk by this point, starts wandering

aimlessly with her drink.
MARY (CONT’D)
You think I didn’t want her to have
a dad? She adored you. The only
reason you married me in the first
place was to have a kid, I know
that.
CHARLIE
Mary. Please.
MARY stops, looking at him. Silence.
Finally, she relents and goes into the kitchen. She pours
the remainder of her drink into the sink.
MARY
Well this brings back memories,
doesn’t it?
MARY comes back into the main room, sits back down on the
couch near CHARLIE. CHARLIE smiles at her.
MARY (CONT’D)
Listen, I... I never got to say
that I was sorry.
CHARLIE
What would you have to be sorry
about?
MARY
That’s not what I mean, I mean
about... Your friend.
CHARLIE
Oh.
(pause)
His name was Alan.
MARY
I know his fucking name, Charlie.
(pause)
I saw him once, in the K-mart
parking lot.
(MORE)
85.
MARY (CONT'D)
He was pretty sick, I could tell.
I had all these things I wanted to
say to him, hurl at him like
bricks, but I... Asked him if he
wanted some help. He let me carry
a couple of bags to his car for
him, he said thank you, and I left.
I never even told him who I was.
MARY looks at CHARLIE. CHARLIE reaches over and touches her

arm. MARY fights a wave of tears.
They look at one another. CHARLIE struggles for breath, his

wheezing particularly noticeable now that they are close.
MARY (CONT’D)
You’re wheezing.
CHARLIE
Yeah, it’s gotten worse.
MARY
Do you need help? Should I call
someone?
CHARLIE
No, I--
MARY
Let me hear.
CHARLIE looks at her. Pause. Then CHARLIE leans back in his

wheelchair, putting one arm in the air.
MARY gets up and goes to CHARLIE. She bends down, putting

her ear on his chest. She listens for a moment.
CHARLIE
How do I sound?
MARY doesn’t respond, she puts a hand on CHARLIE’s chest and

closes her eyes.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
That was the first time we’ve all
been together in thirteen years,
you realize that?
MARY buries her face in CHARLIE’s chest, struggling to

maintain herself. Pause.
86.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
When Ellie was little, when we did
that trip to the Oregon Coast
together... We laid on the beach,
Ellie played in the sand, later I
went swimming in the ocean... Last
time I ever went swimming,
actually. I kept cutting my legs
on the rocks, and the water was so
cold, and you were so mad that my
legs bled and stained the seats in
the minivan.
CHARLIE laughs a little, MARY laughs as well. Her laughs

quickly turn into heavy, silent sobs. She continues to bury
her face in his chest.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
And you said for days after that I
smelled like seawater. You
remember that?
CHARLIE lowers his arm, putting it on MARY’s back. They hold

one another for a moment.
MARY
You sound awful.
CHARLIE
I’m dying, Mary.
MARY remains for a moment longer before pushing herself off

of him, holding back tears.
MARY
Fuck you.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry.
MARY
Fuck you.
MARY backs away, not looking at CHARLIE. Pause.
MARY (CONT’D)
For sure?
CHARLIE
Yeah. For sure.
CHARLIE wheels himself over to MARY.

87.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Listen to me. I need to make
certain that Ellie’s going to be
okay. That she has someone who
won’t give up on her.
Pause. MARY looks at CHARLIE, her anger growing.
MARY
You already gave up on her. You
gave up on her when she was four
years old--
CHARLIE
I wanted to be a part of her life,
Mary, both of your lives--
MARY
I need to--. I have to go.
MARY grabs her purse, heading toward the door.
CHARLIE
(desperate)
I need to know I did one thing
right in my life.
MARY stops at the door. She waits for a moment, not looking
at CHARLIE.
MARY
Charlie, you’ve been in here eating
yourself to death for thirteen
years. How the hell could you help
her deal with her shit if this is
how you deal with your own?
MARY stands at the door, unmoving, still not looking at

CHARLIE. CHARLIE is at a loss.
MARY (CONT’D)
Do you need anything before I
leave? Water, or something?
Pause.
CHARLIE
No.
Pause.
MARY
Do you... Do you want me to help
you to the bathroom?
88.
CHARLIE doesn’t respond. MARY waits for a beat, then exits.
CHARLIE is left alone, wheezing. He closes his eyes, leaning

his head up, at a complete loss.
He takes a few breaths, trying to calm himself down. He

looks toward the window.
Fighting for air, he arduously wheels himself toward the

window. He reaches up and manages to open it. He leans
forward, sticking his head out the window, breathing in fresh
air with his eyes closed.
After a moment, CHARLIE opens his eyes, calming down a bit.

He looks out to the horizon.
Then, he notices something underneath the plate of bread

crumbs. He reaches to the plate, picking it up. Underneath
the plate is the bird from before, crushed to death.
He looks at the bird silently for a moment.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - THAT NIGHT
CHARLIE is sitting in his wheelchair, breathing heavily. He

is on his laptop, looking at ELLIE’s Facebook profile.
Above the photo of CHARLIE from before is a photo of the dead

bird, crushed underneath the plate on the windowsill.
CHARLIE stares at the photo.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Gambino’s.
CHARLIE doesn’t move, continues to stare at the computer

screen. A moment passes, then another knock at the door.
DELIVERY BOY (CONT’D)

Charlie?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Yeah.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

You okay?
89.
CHARLIE
Yeah.
(pause)
Money’s in the, uh.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Sure.
The sound of a mail box opening and shutting. The shadow of

a pizza box appears under the front door.

You doing okay in there?
Pause.
CHARLIE
Yeah, Danny.
(pause)
Thanks.
DELIVERY BOY (O.S.)

Have a good night, okay?
CHARLIE
Yeah. You too.
CHARLIE listens for a moment, we hear the sound of the

DELIVERY BOY walking away. CHARLIE waits one more moment,
then starts wheeling himself over to the door, the reaching
claw in his lap.
He approaches the door, reaching forward. Grasping the knob

takes quite a lot of effort, he feels pain as he rolls
himself forward in his wheelchair.
Finally, he turns the doorknob and pulls the door open. Two
large pizza boxes lay on the floor in front of him. CHARLIE
maneuvers the claw toward the pizza boxes, trying to grab an
edge of the box so he can drag them into his apartment.
DELIVERY BOY
Jesus.
CHARLIE looks up. The DELIVERY BOY is standing in the

stairwell, having only descended a step or two, staring at
CHARLIE. They look at one another for a moment in silence.
The DELIVERY BOY reaches into his pocket, pulls out a

cellphone. He takes a picture of CHARLIE. CHARLIE looks
away. He drags the two pizza boxes into his apartment, the
DELIVERY BOY watching him the entire time in amazement.
CHARLIE quickly shuts the door, wheezing heavily.

90.
CHARLIE, near the couch, is ravenously eating the pizza.

Sauce is getting everywhere, CHARLIE is struggling for breath
but continues to eat.
He eats furiously, angrily, chewing and swallowing

dangerously fast. Sweat pours down his face.
Still eating the pizza, CHARLIE opens up his laptop. He logs

on to his teaching software, then begins to write a post to
all of his students in all of his classes.
We see only bits and pieces of what he’s writing: “just give
me something fucking honest”, “fuck the readings”, and most
notably, “THIS CLASS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT”.
INT. - KITCHEN - SHORTLY LATER
CHARLIE is at the fridge, sweating and breathing heavily. He

opens the door, searching around inside. There is very
little food. He finds the jar of mayonnaise from before,
eats from it with his bare hands.
He searches around the kitchen, finds a few more bits of

food: some cereal bars, potato chips, various junk food.
A series of shots of CHARLIE eating, barely stopping to take

a breath.
Finally, unable to continue eating and breathing at the same

time, he stops for a moment, taking a breath. He looks up,
breathing in and out.
He has a pain in his chest, he doubles over in pain. Just

after the pain hits, he is overcome with a wave of nausea.
He reaches under the sink, grabbing a trash can. He holds
the can up to his head, vomiting into it.
Finally, he begins to calm down. His breathing slowly

returns to normal. He puts the trash can down on the floor.
He looks around the room, holding back tears.
INT. - KITCHEN - LATER THAT NIGHT
CHARLIE is asleep in his wheelchair, in the same position as

before. A loud knocking jolts him awake, producing pain in
his chest. Another knock.
91.
CHARLIE
Liz?!
THOMAS (O.S.)
Can I come inside?!
CHARLIE barely manages to wheel himself out of the kitchen

and into the living room, moving toward the door. A dog in a
nearby apartment starts barking.
CHARLIE
What’s wrong?!
THOMAS (O.S.)
I’m sorry, I just--. I had to come
over, right now.
CHARLIE approaches the door, opens it. THOMAS stands in the

doorway, disheveled and bristling with energy. A neighbor
bangs on the wall.
CHARLIE
Just--. Sh--
THOMAS
(lowering his voice)
I’m sorry. Sorry.
THOMAS makes his way inside, shutting the door behind him.
CHARLIE pivots, facing THOMAS.
CHARLIE
What’s wrong?
THOMAS
My parents found out where I am.
Pause.
CHARLIE
What?
THOMAS
Your daughter she took pictures of
me smoking pot, and made a
recording or something, and she
sent it to my parents’ church and
told them where I was.
CHARLIE
I don’t. Really understand.
92.
THOMAS sits down on the recliner.
THOMAS
My parents called me a few hours
ago, and you know what they said?
They said they were glad that they
heard me say those things. They
said they finally understood, and
that they loved me and cared about
me and wanted me to come home.
CHARLIE looks at THOMAS, confused.
CHARLIE
I don’t--
THOMAS
They’re coming to get me, tomorrow.
And I sort of can’t figure out if
your daughter was trying to help me
or hurt me, I really don’t know
what--
CHARLIE has a pain his in chest, he doubles over. THOMAS

goes to him.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
What’s wrong?
CHARLIE
Nothing, it just--. It just hurts.
THOMAS
I want to help you. I know I can
help you.
CHARLIE
I’m not going to the hospital--
THOMAS
I know. I won’t make you go, but I
can help you.
THOMAS finds a chair, drags it next to CHARLIE, sitting down.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Charlie, it’s not too late to know
God’s love.
CHARLIE sighs, looking away from THOMAS.

93.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
You don’t have to be in this kind
of pain anymore, you don’t have to
let your body hold your spirit
down.
CHARLIE
Okay, this doesn’t--
THOMAS gets up, excited.
THOMAS
I get it now! I finally realized
what God has been doing with me,
why he sent me here, why he sent me
to you.
The dog next door barks again. CHARLIE motions for THOMAS to
be silent.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
(lowering his voice)
Sorry, just--.
He gets closer to CHARLIE.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Charlie, one day soon God is going
to come again. And when he does,
he can remake you, he can--release
you from this body. But you have
to let him in. You have to open
your heart to him.
CHARLIE
Look, I know you’re trying to help,
but you... I shouldn’t have let
you keep coming over here, I should
have--
THOMAS
I know what happened to Alan.
Pause. CHARLIE stares at him. THOMAS jumps up, rushing into

the bedroom.
CHARLIE
What?
THOMAS returns holding Alan’s Bible. CHARLIE sees it

immediately. Pause.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
What are you doing?
94.
THOMAS
When you asked Alan to be with you,
you asked him to turn his back on
God--you asked him to be someone he
wasn’t. You forced him to make a
choice, like--to be with you he had
to let go of God.
THOMAS extends the Bible to CHARLIE, flipping through it,

showing him the well-worn pages, the notes, the highlights.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
But his love for God was too
important, too--essential, and
without it he couldn’t go on, he
just--.
(pause)
But it’s not too late for you.
Pause. THOMAS closes the Bible, hands it to CHARLIE.

CHARLIE slowly takes it, looks at THOMAS.
CHARLIE
You think Alan died because he
chose to be with me? You think God
turned his back on him because he
and I were in love?
Silence. THOMAS smiles at CHARLIE, taking his hand gently.
THOMAS
Yes.
Silence. CHARLIE takes his hand away and looks away from
THOMAS, wheezing, staring up at the ceiling. After a moment
he chuckles a little, then laughs; the laughter causes pain
in his chest.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Charlie?
CHARLIE looks to the other side of the room. He grabs the

wheels of his wheelchair, using all of his strength to move
across the room.
THOMAS (CONT’D)
Charlie, are you--? What is it?
THOMAS stands, watching him. CHARLIE approaches the framed

photo of himself and Alan, still face down on the shelf. He
reaches up, turning the photo right side up. He stares at it
for a moment in silence. THOMAS slowly approaches him.
95.
CHARLIE
You know, I wasn’t always this big.
Pause.
THOMAS
Yeah, I know.
CHARLIE
I mean I was never the best looking
guy in the room, but Alan still
loved me. He thought I was
beautiful.
THOMAS
Okay--
CHARLIE looks at THOMAS.
CHARLIE
Halfway through the semester he
started meeting me during my office
hours. We were both crazy about
one another, but we waited until
the course was over before we...
THOMAS
This isn’t--
CHARLIE
It was just after classes had ended
for the year, it was a perfect
temperature outside. We went for a
walk in the arboretum, and we
kissed--
THOMAS
Charlie, stop.
THOMAS turns, moves away from CHARLIE. CHARLIE follows him

in his wheelchair, the effort of moving causing him a lot of
pain. His breathing is increasingly shallow.
CHARLIE
(getting louder)
We would spend entire nights lying
next to one another, naked--
THOMAS
Stop.
The dog from before starts barking again. THOMAS motions for
CHARLIE to be quiet, CHARLIE continues to build in volume.
96.
CHARLIE
We would make love.
THOMAS
I don’t want to hear about-
CHARLIE
We would make love. Do you find
that disgusting?
The neighbor from before starts banging on the wall again.

THOMAS bends down to him, speaking softly and gently,
desperately trying to maintain a smile.
THOMAS
Charlie, God is ready to help you,
you don’t have to--
CHARLIE
I hope there isn’t a God.
(pause, then growing to a
shout)
I hope there isn’t a God because I
hate thinking that there’s an
afterlife, that Alan can see what
I’ve done to myself, that he can
see my swollen feet, the sores on
my skin, the patches of mold in
between the flaps--
THOMAS recoils, turning away from CHARLIE. The upstairs

neighbor starts banging on the floor, the dog continues to
bark.
NEIGHBOR #1 (O.S.)
Shut up!
THOMAS
Okay, stop!
CHARLIE
--the infected ulcers on my ass,
the sack of fat on my back that
turned brown last year--
THOMAS
Stop!
NEIGHBOR #2 (O.S.)
Shut the fuck up!
The banging on the wall and ceiling continue, the dog

continues to bark.
97.
CHARLIE
This is disgusting?! Tell me the
truth!
THOMAS
Charlie, stop!
CHARLIE
TELL ME THE TRUTH!
THOMAS turns to CHARLIE aggressively, shouting at him.
THOMAS
YES IT’S DISGUSTING, YOU’RE
DISGUSTING, YOU’RE--!
THOMAS stops himself. CHARLIE stares at him.
The dog continues to bark for a moment more, there are a few
last bangs on the floor and ceiling.
Finally the dog stops barking, the neighbors stop pounding.

CHARLIE and THOMAS are left in silence, staring at one
another. CHARLIE wheezes heavily, THOMAS is at a loss for
words. Finally:
CHARLIE
Go home to your family.
THOMAS looks at him for a moment, then turns and goes to the
door. He leaves, shutting the door behind him.
CHARLIE breathes heavily, trying to calm himself down,

shaking with pain.
More shots of the hills of the Palouse, which now seem

distorted, strange, aggressive. The sound of waves is very
distinct, loud. As the images continue, the hills turn into
what looks like an ocean in the middle of a storm.
TITLE: FRIDAY
INT. - BEDROOM - DAWN
Morning light barely begins to shine through the window.

CHARLIE--tired, wheezing, and in constant pain--is in the
middle of the room on his wheelchair looking down at the
cardboard box containing Alan’s things.
98.
He stares at it for a moment, then using his reaching claw,

manages to pick it up and put it in his lap. He drops the
claw on the ground.
He opens up the box, looking at the contents. He pulls out

the framed picture of Alan at his church confirmation, looks
at it briefly.
CHARLIE is in front of the framed photo of himself and Alan

at the coast. He reaches up to the shelf, puts the framed
photo of Alan at his confirmation next to it.
Next to the two photos he starts placing the items from the
box: the seashell, the Bible. He leans back, staring at the
photo.
He looks out the window. Morning light starts to creep into

the living room as he breathes in and out.
INT. - LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON
CHARLIE, tired and dazed, sweat pouring down his face, is

sitting in front of his laptop. He speaks into the
microphone.
CHARLIE
Well, your complaints have been
heard. I’ve been replaced by
someone who will no doubt have you
rewrite and rewrite and rewrite,
just like I did for seventeen
years, analyzing every word, every
punctuation mark for clarity and
precision of meaning, and...
(pause)
You all sent me your essays. Your
new essays, the ones you didn’t
rewrite. The ones you didn’t think
about, and...
CHARLIE leans over, pulling up a few essays on his computer.

He reads.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
KristyStar9, you wrote: “My parents
want me to be a pharmacist, but I
don’t even know what that is.”
CHARLIE smiles. He pulls up another essay, reads.

99.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
PeterUSD, you wrote “I’m sick of
people telling me that I have
promise.”
CHARLIE pulls up another essay, reads.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
AdamD567 you wrote, “I think I need
to accept that my life isn’t going
to be very exciting.”
CHARLIE leans back in his wheelchair, breathing. He smiles.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
You all wrote these... Amazing
things, I just...
(pause)
I want to be honest with you now.
I’ve been just a voice to all of
you all semester, and now you’ve
been so honest with me, I just...
CHARLIE pauses, then reaches to the side of the couch. He

fishes around for a moment, then pulls out a small webcam.
With some difficulty, he leans forward and plugs the camera
into the laptop.
A blank window appears on the computer screen. CHARLIE takes

a few breaths, steadying the camera in front of his face. He
reaches forward and hits the space bar, turning on the
camera.
The camera beeps to life and CHARLIE’s image appears in the

window on the computer. CHARLIE looks into the camera for a
moment. He smiles a bit, wheezing.
CHARLIE moves the camera away from his body, filming more of
himself. He tilts the camera down, filming his entire body.
After a moment he tilts the camera back up to his face. He
smiles gently.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
These assignments--they don’t
matter. This course doesn’t
matter. College doesn’t matter.
These beautiful, honest things you
wrote--they matter.
CHARLIE pauses for a second, then in one motion throws the

camera and laptop across the room. They crash against the
wall.
CHARLIE breathes in and out, wheezing.

100.
LIZ stands in the open doorway, staring at the broken

computer, holding a bag. CHARLIE is in the same position as
before.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry.
LIZ
Don’t.
LIZ makes her way inside, shutting the door.
CHARLIE
Liz--
LIZ
I said don’t.
LIZ takes the stethoscope off of CHARLIE, puts it back in her

bag. She moves away from CHARLIE.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I really hate you for putting me
through this again, you know that?
(pause)
Those last few months before
Alan... I’d come over here, scream
at him, shake him, just trying to
get him to fucking eat something.
God, that was awful.
CHARLIE
It was awful for me, too.
LIZ
Well you weren’t the one who found
him. In your bed, underneath the
covers, curled up like a fetus.
LIZ stands for a moment, then goes to her bag. She takes out
a plastic bag filled with two sub sandwiches. She drops the
sandwiches onto the couch, looking at CHARLIE, defeated.
LIZ (CONT’D)
I don’t know what I’m doing.
LIZ goes to CHARLIE, bending down to him, looking directly at

him.
CHARLIE
I’m not. Going to the hospital.
101.
LIZ looks at him.
LIZ
I’m not asking you to, Charlie.
(pause)
I can’t do this anymore.
CHARLIE reaches up, brushing her face with his hand gently.
He smiles at her.
CHARLIE’s breathing is very shallow, sweat pours down his

face. He struggles for breath.
CHARLIE looks out the window as LIZ begins to cry.
Very softly, we begin to the hear the sound of waves as

CHARLIE stares out the window. CHARLIE smiles, joy radiating
from underneath immense pain.
CHARLIE
She helped him.
Pause.
LIZ
What?
CHARLIE
She wasn’t trying to hurt him. She
was trying to help him.
LIZ finally looks at him.
LIZ
Who are you talking about?
CHARLIE
The kid from New Life. He’s going
home. She did that. She wasn’t
trying to hurt him.
LIZ goes to CHARLIE, putting her hands on his head.
LIZ
Charlie?
CHARLIE
She didn’t do it to hurt him, she
did it to send him home.
LIZ
Do you feel light-headed? Charlie,
look at me.
102.
CHARLIE
She was trying to help him.
LIZ
Who?
CHARLIE
Ellie. She was trying to help him,
she just wanted him to go home.
CHARLIE looks at LIZ lovingly. He takes her hands, smiling

at her.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Do you ever get the feeling. That
people. Are incapable. Of not
caring? People. Are. Amazing.
Suddenly the door opens and ELLIE charges inside, holding the
essay from before. She advances on CHARLIE, but then stops
when she sees the state he’s in.
ELLIE
What’s wrong with him?
LIZ
He’s dying.
Pause.
ELLIE
So call someone.
CHARLIE
No.
ELLIE
Call a fucking ambulance!
CHARLIE
Liz.
LIZ looks at CHARLIE, CHARLIE looks back at her.
ELLIE
I need to talk to him.
LIZ
I’m not leaving you alone with him.
ELLIE
I need to talk to him alone.
103.
CHARLIE
Liz. Please.
CHARLIE and LIZ continue to look at one another, silently.

Finally, LIZ smiles at him, nodding.
Pause.
LIZ
Okay.
(pause)
Okay, I’ll--. I’ll call someone,
and I’ll wait downstairs.
LIZ takes her cellphone out of her pocket, moving toward the
door.
Before she exits, LIZ stops, moves to CHARLIE, kissing him on

the top of his head. She stands over him, they give one
another one last look, and then LIZ exits.
EXT. - APARTMENT BUILDING STAIRS - CONTINUOUS
LIZ exits the apartment, the phone in her hand. She shuts
the door behind her, then stands in the hallway for a moment,
not moving.
She looks at the phone in her hand for a moment, then puts it
back in her pocket. She takes a deep breath, sitting down on
the stairs. Putting her head in her hands, she begins to
cry.
ELLIE stares at CHARLIE, struggling to maintain herself.
ELLIE
Why did you do that?!
CHARLIE
What?
ELLIE holds up the essay from before.
ELLIE
I failed.
CHARLIE
It’s. A really good essay.
The waves continue to increase in volume.

104.
ELLIE advances on CHARLIE, yelling at him, desperately trying

to keep herself together.
ELLIE
Are you just trying to screw me
over one last time? I don’t care
that you’re dying, I don’t care
about you! Do you want me to fail
out of high school, is that why you
did this?
CHARLIE
I didn’t. Write it.
ELLIE
This is the essay you gave me
yesterday.
CHARLIE
You didn’t. Read it.
ELLIE
I don’t need to read it--!
CHARLIE
Read it.
Pause. Finally ELLIE flips the cover page on the essay and
reads the opening.
She recognizes it immediately.
ELLIE
This is... I know what this is.
CHARLIE smiles at her.
CHARLIE
I knew you would. You never.
Forget anything.
ELLIE looks at him.
ELLIE
I wrote this.
(pause)
I wrote this in eighth grade for
English, why do you--?
CHARLIE
And I felt saddest of all. When I
read the boring chapters. That
were only descriptions of whales.
Because I knew.
(MORE)
105.
CHARLIE (CONT'D)
That the author was just trying to
save us. From his own sad story.
Just for a little while.
Pause.
ELLIE
Why do you have this?
CHARLIE
Your mother. She sent it to me.
Four years ago. I wanted to know
how you were doing in school. So
she sent it. And it’s the best
essay. I’ve ever read.
ELLIE is struggling to hold on to her anger, she looks away

from CHARLIE.
ELLIE
Why are you fucking with me like
this?
CHARLIE
I’m not.
(pause)
You’re so beautiful. Ellie, you’re
beautiful.
ELLIE
Stop.
CHARLIE
You’re amazing. This essay. Is
amazing. This essay. Is you.
ELLIE
Stop saying that.
CHARLIE
This essay. Is you.
ELLIE
Stop saying that!
CHARLIE
You’re the best thing. I’ve ever
done.
CHARLIE has a severe pain in his chest, he doubles over.

ELLIE is frantic, doesn’t know what to do. She moves a
little closer to him.
106.
ELLIE
What’s the matter?!
CHARLIE
Ellie.
ELLIE
I can’t be here right now, I have
to go, I can’t--
CHARLIE
You’re perfect. You’ll be happy.
You’ll care for people.
ELLIE
The ambulance is coming, they’ll
help you.
CHARLIE
No. They won’t.
Pause.
ELLIE
You’re going to the hospital.
CHARLIE
No.
ELLIE
You just need surgery or something!
CHARLIE
Read it to me.
ELLIE
What?!
CHARLIE
If you want to help. Read it to
me. You can help me. If you read
it.
ELLIE is holding back tears at this point.
ELLIE
You asshole. You fat fucking
asshole!
CHARLIE
You’ll help. If you read it.
ELLIE
Fuck you.
107.
CHARLIE
Please.
ELLIE
Fuck you!
CHARLIE
Ellie.
ELLIE can no longer hold her emotions back, she nearly

collapses into tears.
ELLIE
Dad, please.
ELLIE looks at CHARLIE, pleading. ELLIE and CHARLIE are in

almost the same position as they were at the end of their
first scene together. The sound of waves continues to grow
louder and louder.
ELLIE looks at the essay. She begins to read, fighting back

tears.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
(reading)
“In the amazing book Moby Dick by
the author Herman Melville, the
author recounts his story of being
at sea. In the first part of his
book, the author, calling himself
Ishmael, is in a small sea-side
town and he is sharing a bed with a
man named Queequeg.”
CHARLIE looks at ELLIE with joy, listening to her read. He

reaches up and takes the oxygen tube out of his nose. ELLIE
continues to read.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“The author and Queequeg go to
church and later set out on a ship
captained by the pirate named Ahab,
who is missing a leg, and very much
wants to kill the whale which is
named Moby Dick, and which is
white.”
CHARLIE braces himself on the wheelchair.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“In the course of the book, the
pirate Ahab encounters many
hardships.
(MORE)
108.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
His entire life is set around
trying to kill a certain whale.”
Wheezing heavily and with a huge amount of effort and pain,

CHARLIE manages to stand up.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“I think this is sad because this
whale doesn’t have any emotions,
and doesn’t know how bad Ahab wants
to kill him.”
CHARLIE, staring at ELLIE, manages to take one step toward

ELLIE. His breathing becomes quicker. The waves increase in
volume.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“He’s just a poor big animal. And
I feel bad for Ahab as well,
because he thinks that his life
will be better if he can kill this
whale, but in reality it won’t help
him at all.”
CHARLIE takes another step. His breathing is more and more

rapid.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“I was very saddened by this book,
and I felt many emotions for the
characters.”
CHARLIE takes another step.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“And I felt saddest of all when I
read the boring chapters that were
only descriptions of whales,
because I knew that the author was
just trying to save us from his own
sad story, just for a little
while.”
CHARLIE takes one last step toward ELLIE, his eyes on hers
the entire time. The waves reach their loudest level.
For the first time, ELLIE smiles at CHARLIE.
ELLIE (CONT’D)
“This book made me think about my
own life, and then it made me feel
glad for my--”
CHARLIE looks up. The waves cut off.

109.
A sharp intake of breath.
BLACK.
A long silence. Then:
END CREDITS

The Whale 2022

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Opening credits over black.

As credits continue, we begin to hear:

Pause. The sound of typing on a laptop, a mouse clicking.

We begin to see images of rolling crop fields from the

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

The sound of a computer chiming. The images of the hills

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

TITLE: THE WHALE

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

INT. - LIVING ROOM - DAY

A squalid, desolate one-bedroom apartment. Empty food

Present in the apartment are: a television, a couch covered

CHARLIE, a man in his 40s weighing around 600 pounds, is on

He struggles to reach his penis, bending over awkwardly. His

Suddenly, he has sharp pain in his chest. He doubles over.

He starts to reach for his cellphone but has another surge of

He leans back, struggling to calm himself down. The gay porn

In his panic, he leans over toward the mini-fridge, grabbing

A knock at the door. CHARLIE looks.

Pause. Another knock at the door.

THOMAS notices the gay porn, still playing. CHARLIE reaches

THOMAS continues to search for the phone.

THOMAS looks at him, unsure of what to do.

THOMAS grabs the essay from CHARLIE.

CHARLIE’s breathing begins to return to normal. The pain

CHARLIE takes a few deep breaths, lies back on the couch. He

CHARLIE reaches for the essay, THOMAS gives it to him.

CHARLIE nods, carefully putting the essay back into the

THOMAS looks at CHARLIE for a moment longer, then heads

THOMAS trails off. An awkward silence, THOMAS looks down.

THOMAS looks up, takes a few steps toward CHARLIE.

CHARLIE points under the couch. THOMAS goes to the couch,

Pause. THOMAS considers.

CHARLIE looks up a number on his cellphone. THOMAS closes

Pause. CHARLIE pushes send, puts the phone to his ear.

INT. - LIVING ROOM - SHORTLY LATER

CHARLIE, shirtless, sits on the couch as before. LIZ takes

LIZ takes out a stethoscope. CHARLIE bends forward as best

CHARLIE takes a deep breath, it causes some pain in his

LIZ takes the stethoscope out of her ears, grabs CHARLIE’s

CHARLIE reaches for his walker, unable to reach it.

LIZ hands CHARLIE his walker. She holds it to the floor,

CHARLIE makes his way down the hallway, wheezing heavily.

THOMAS starts gathering his things, about to head toward the

Pause. THOMAS nods, smiles slightly at her. LIZ goes to the

LIZ throws the dirty bedsheet into a hamper, then goes to a

LIZ spreads the clean bedsheet over the couch.

THOMAS considers, wording his answer very carefully.

LIZ finishes with the bedsheet, then goes to a window, opens

We begin to hear the sound of CHARLIE wheezing from down the

CHARLIE emerges from the hallway on his walker.

LIZ goes to CHARLIE, speaking to him as he heads back to the

CHARLIE arrives at the couch. He braces himself on his

Silence. CHARLIE thinks, then reaches for his computer,

LIZ collapses onto a recliner, exasperated. CHARLIE looks at

THOMAS takes a step toward CHARLIE.

LIZ glares at THOMAS. THOMAS backs away, gathers his things,

LIZ stands, moving toward THOMAS. THOMAS hurries outside,

Pause. They stare at one another.

LIZ smiles despite herself. CHARLIE laughs, the laughter