Where Is My Mind? By Frank Peralta

2011

Sun Valley High School

EXT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA - NOON DAVRON, 16, slightly built and decent looking, stares at LILLIAN, 18, unkempt and sleep depraved, who had just murdered eight students around them with a handgun. LILLIAN Take a good at all of this, Davron. It would have never happened if you had only kept your mouth shut. Davron breaks eye contact with Lillian. LILLIAN (CONT’D) Don’t act like you couldn’t have avoided it. This wasn’t destiny. These kids weren’t supposed to die today. DAVRON Lillian.....don’t....... Davron sheds a tear that hits the ground LILLIAN I’m going to enjoy this. Lillian aims the gun at Davron DAVRON (V.O.) To think this all could have been avoided if I had been a better person. I let her down when she had no one else. This is all my fault. CUT TO: INT. LILLIAN’S ROOM - NIGHT Lillian is writing on her notebook while Davron puts a "God Is In Here" sticker on the side of Lillian’s television. LILLIAN Have you been practicing your mandolin solo, lately? If we’re ever gonna become famous rock stars and leave this hick town, you need to improve on your technique. DAVRON I’ll start improving my skills when you come up with lyrics that don’t suck. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

As Lillian sticks her tongue out at a giggling Davron, her mother ROSE walks into the room. ROSE Lillian, I need you to- oh, hi Davron! Davron responds with a smile and a wave ROSE (CONT’D) I need you to take the car for an oil change tomorrow. LILLIAN Sure, mom. Whatever. ROSE And after that, I need you to stop by your grandmother’s house to check up on her. Lillian’s frustration begins to rise. ROSE Once you’re done with that, head down to the CommuLILLIAN (interrupts) Jesus H. Christ, Rose! Can you stop putting so much crap on my shoulders? I’m not your damn lackey! Get the Hell out of my room! Rose walks out of the room, shouting while descending the stairs. ROSE (fading) You better get those things done, young lady! Or else you’ll have to deal with your father! Davron, noticing the anger in Lillian’s eyes, sits on her bed and wraps his arms around her. DAVRON No reason to get all mad like that. Parents like to abuse their kids with tedious stuff.

(CONTINUED)

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3.

LILLIAN You don’t get it, Davron. They throw all of their crap at me. Who picks up the dry cleaning? Me. Who waits for the delivery guy? Me. Who fills up the gas for every single car in the house? Me. It pisses me off so much. DAVRON It’s kind of like....their job to do that. Just relax and focus on writing lyrics that don’t suck. Lillian punches Davron on the shoulder, and hugs him with a large grin on her face. DAVRON (V.O.) I can’t believe I cuddled with that psychopath. If only I had known that she was off her frickin’ rocker. I should have noticed the signs at this point. CUT TO: INT. HOME DEPOT - MORNING Davron goes to the local Home Depot to pick up a new fan for his brother’s office. While there, he sees Lillian with a shopping cart full of bottles. Curious, he walks towards her to inspect the cart. DAVRON Hey, Lil. What brings you here? Shocked by Davron’s presence, Lillian becomes nervous. LILLIAN Just browsing. They’re having a special on practically everything. DAVRON Cool, cool. Awkward silence DAVRON So.....what’s in the cart?

(CONTINUED)

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4.

LILLIAN Nothing. Just some junk for the garage. As Lillian tries to push the cart away, Davron jumps in front of the cart and grabs one of the bottles. He begins to read it out loud. DAVRON Warning: Handle with care. The contents of this container are extremely flammable. Carelessness will result in.......Lillian, why are you buying petrol? LILLIAN I already told you. It’s just junk that we’re gonna store in our garage. DAVRON Okay, let me rephrase the question: Why are you buying....3,6,9......17 bottles of petrol? With sweat dripping from her forehead, Lillian realizes she can’t lie to her best friend. LILLIAN Look, Davron. I want to tell you why. I really do. I just can’t. DAVRON You can tell me anything. We’ve been close to each other our whole lives. You know I won’t judge you. Trust me on this, Lil. LILLIAN Okay. Well, to keep it simple, I’m going to burn my house down while my parents are sleeping. Davron is shocked by the sudden news. DAVRON What the......you’re joking, right? LILLIAN Of course not. I can’t deal with their abuse anymore. If I skip town, they’ll just drag me back to do their chores again. They don’t (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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5.

LILLIAN (cont’d) deserve to treat me, or anyone, like a slave. DAVRON Lillian, you’re talking crazy. You are not going to burn down your house and kill your parents because they make you do chores. Ruining your life over something so trivial is retarded. C’mon, let’s put the petrol back. Lillian suddenly becomes hysterical. LILLIAN I knew you wouldn’t understand! You’re all talk, Davron! I told you that they make my life a living Hell, and you don’t give a shit! Who are you to call yourself my "best friend"?! You’re nothing but a goddamn faker! Lillian violently pulls Davron to her face. LILLIAN (whispering) Listen to me, you bastard. If you tell anyone about what I’m going to do, I will kill myself and blame you on my suicide note. I’ve never felt so right about something, and you want to come along and ruin it for me. Keep your mouth shut, and don’t screw this up for me. Lillian releases Davron from her grasp, and pushes the cart towards the nearest cash register. Davron stands in the same spot, dazed and confused, thinking about what had just happened. DAVRON (V.O.) I shouldn’t have stood there like an idiot. I should have ran to tell someone. The authorities. The overweight security guard at the entrance. The fragile old woman filling her cart with flowers. Anyone. I’ve known Lillian long enough to know that she wasn’t screwing around. I bought the stupid fan, took it to my stupid (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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6. DAVRON (V.O.) (cont’d) house, and gave it to my stupid brother. Nothing mattered. My friend was about to destroy her life, and only I knew it. CUT TO:

EXT. FRONT LAWN OF LILLIAN’S HOUSE - NIGHT Davron races towards Lillian’s house, hoping to stop his best friend from ruining her life. As he arrives, he spots Lillian sitting calmly on her front lawn. DAVRON (panting) Lil....Thank God you didn’t go through with it.....I was so scared...... LILLIAN Hey, Davron. Come look at the stars with me. Davron falls next to Lillian, who is smiling. His worries begin to ease. LILLIAN I hope we can shine that bright one day. On the big stage, playing for the world. What a life that would be. Getting away from all of this. DAVRON You’re already shining that bright in my eyes, Lil. Lillian stares at Davron with heartfelt eyes, who replies with a smile. As the two lean in for a kiss, sirens begin to appear. Lillian’s intimacy quickly turns into rage. LILLIAN I knew it. I knew you would rat me out. You’ve always been a little squealer. To think I was falling in love with you. DAVRON (panicking) I swear I didn’t call the cops! Oh God, oh God.....We have to get out of here!

(CONTINUED)

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7.

LILLIAN I already told you: I’m not leaving this town until my house burns down. Lillian walks towards the house and pulls out a lighter. DAVRON Don’t mess around! We have to leave before the both of us go to jail! A tiny lighter isn’t going to ignite an entire house! Lillian lights the lighter, and tosses it at the bush next to her front door. She slowly backs away. DAVRON (CONT’D) LILLIAN! STOP SCREWING AROUThe house bursts into a ball of flames. Lillian backs up until she’s standing next to Davron, both in shock. The police pull into the driveway, and proceed to restrain both Lillian and Davron. While they are being handcuffed, Lillian’s parents drive into the lawn, terrified but safe. DAVRON (V.O.) Turns out that Lillian’s neighbor tipped the police on what was going to happen. Apparently, dousing a house with petrol is suspicious enough for a 911 call. The cops only told me about the tipoff, so Lillian still thought that I ratted her out. I wasn’t allowed to talk to her, and received some advice from one of the cops: "Forget about her. She’s gonna be out of your hair for a long time." I finally made a good choice by taking that man’s advice. CUT TO: EXT. DAVRON’S ROOM - NIGHT Davron lays on his bed flicking through channels on his television, wondering what Lillian would do now that she has been released from prison. As his eyes begin to shutter from lack of sleep, his cellphone rings. Without checking the Caller ID, he answers it.

(CONTINUED)

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8.

DAVRON Hello? LILLIAN Hey, Davron. How’s everything going? Noticing that Lillian is on the other line, Davron becomes apprehensive about responding. DAVRON ....Fine. Couldn’t be better. LILLIAN Really? That’s great. Silence. Davron contemplates about hanging up and throwing his phone down the garbage disposal. LILLIAN You know, I’ve been thinking about everything that happened. It was terrible of me to burn down my parent’s house. It’s not their fault that I have personal problems. DAVRON (relieved) Wow. Lillian, I....If only you could see the smile onLILLIAN It’s not my parent’s fault; it’s everyone else’s. Teachers, friends, and even strangers look at me like I’m a waste of a life. And for what? Are they all in some secret Anti-Lillian group, with the only motive being to make my life a living Hell? It pisses me off knowing that I can’t do anything about it. Silence. Davron’s head is spinning, filled with nothing but fear. LILLIAN Or maybe I can. Maybe another act of violence will permanently do the trick. Nobody looked at me dirty when I was in the pin when they heard that I tried to burn my (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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9.

LILLIAN (cont’d) parents to death. I’ve already got ideas spinning in my head. DAVRON Stop it, Lillian. Just stop it. I can’t deal with this anymore. You are a psychotic freak. You didn’t learn anything in that loony house. I’m through with you. Find someone else to dump your stupid ideas onto. Davron throws his phone at the wall. When it collides, the speaker button is hit. As it lays on the floor, Lillian begins to cackle in delight. LILLIAN Oh Davron, you always want to be Mr. Morality. You have the worst coming your way, honey. I can’t think of anyone I hate more than you. I’ll take extra care to make sure that, by the end of everything, you’ll be begging me to kill you. Sweet dreams, doll. I’ll see you in school tomorrow. More cackling is heard, followed by silence. Davron picks up his phone, and deletes every text, picture, and video that reminds him of Lillian. He puts his phone on his night stand and falls asleep. DAVRON (V.O.) She could have gone back that night. I had enough evidence to make sure she would be in prison for years. And for some stupid reason, I didn’t do anything. I wanted to see what she had planned for me. Maybe some mild humiliation or revealing a secret only she knew about. But no; she stayed true to her word, and shocked the Hell out of everyone. One by one, I saw people around me die. It wasn’t Lillian’s parent’s fault, or anyone that unintentionally pissed her off. It was mine. Completely mine.

10.

EXT. SCHOOL CAFETERIA - NOON A series of still shots show Lillian exiting a motel, making her way to a gun store, and finally the school. DAVRON (V.O.) I’m to blame for all of this. Had I not shown up to her house and delayed her escape, she might have made it out of the city. Playing superhero killed these kids around me. It’s all my fault..... Suddenly, Davron comes to the realization that his actions had nothing to do with the outcome. DAVRON ....no, it’s not my fault. It’s your fault, Lillian. You’re a freakin’ nutjob for wanting to kill your parents, killing these innocent kids, and preparing to kill me. You blame everyone for the most trivial things, when you should really blame yourself. I’m not gonna stand here and feel guilty for preventing your parent’s death. You’re beyond help now, Lil. You can’t win this one. Davron raises his arms, spreading them away from his body. DAVRON (CONT’D) Or maybe you can. Go ahead. Kill me. This is what you came for. Have one last laugh. Lillian, with tears streaming from her eyes, begins to violently shake the gun as she aims for Davron’s head. LILLIAN I love you, Davron. Practice your mandolin in Heaven. I’ll be there with you soon. A gunshot goes off. Lillian falls to the floor, with a gaping black hole in the center of her forehead. An officer can be heard sighing with relief. Davron rushes to her body, and leans towards her ear. DAVRON (whispering) I love you, too. (CONTINUED)

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11.

Davron is pulled away by the police, who try to hide any visible signs of death. An officer places him in a patrol car, and signals the officer behind the wheel to drive. DAVRON (V.O.) The officers were confused when I told them I wasn’t scared of the situation. I’ve been living in fear for so long that it just kinda vanished. If I’m lucky, I’ll never feel it again. Davron begins to think of Lillian, and clutches his chest. DAVRON (V.O. CONT’D) I’ve always had this odd sensation in my chest when I was around her. Even after the burnings and killings, it’s still there. I can’t explain why it happens. It just does. I don’t mind it, though; at least I can remember the Lillian I’ve always known this way. Davron looks out of the window, and notices a cloud in the shape of a mandolin. DAVRON (V.O. CONT’D) I should practice the mandolin when I get home. It’s probably covered in dust by now. The End