Josh Becker: "Delirious" (page 1 of 2)

Feb. 15, 1987

"Delirious"

Josh Becker
&
Scott Spiegel

INT. LUNCH ROOM - DAY

This is the lunch room of Wylie E. Groves High School and is presently full of students in a large study hall. Some people are talking, some studying. The teacher is discussing tennis with two jocks.

In the seat beside he back door sits GERRIT REINHARDT, a tall 18 year old with short trim hair and sharply creased pants. He looks around anxiously, then ducks out the door.

INT. HALLWAY

Gerrit walks quickly up the empty hall, past cases and cases of sports trophies, to a door near the back of the school. He peers in through the small window in the door.

IN. GYM - GERRIT'S POV

In the gym 50 girls practice gymnastics. Gerrit scans the room, the balance beam, girls working out on the mats and stops on the uneven parallel bars where a beautiful lithe girl with long reddish blonde hair and wearing a tight sweaty gray leotard spins around with great dexterity. She is ANN DEBENHAM and Gerrit stares only at her, transfixed.

Ann spots Gerrit, pauses in her routine and smiles at him and waves. Gerrit smiles and waves back, then moves away from the window in embarrassment.

INT. HALLWAY

Gerrit turns from the window and there stands a pleasant, though exceedingly plain young lady with mildly thick glasses. She is CHERYL.

CHERYL
Hi, Gerrit. What are you doing down here?

GERRIT
Oh... just passing by, what's going on?

CHERYL
I'm having a party tonight, you wanna come?

GERRIT
A party, huh?

He turns and looks back through the window.

INT. GYM

Ann sees him again and starts to walk over.

INT. HALLWAY

Gerrit begins panicking.

                                                                 CHERYL
                                I'd really like it if you'd come, and I really enjoyed
                                that book you lent me.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                It wasn't even mine, it was my parents. Well, uh,
                                maybe I'll drop by, I don't know... I'll see you later,
                                Cheryl.

Gerrit starts to walk away slowly watching Cheryl to see her leave.

CHERYL
See ya, Gerrit.

She doesn't seem to be leaving, so Gerrit turns and stops.

GERRIT
Uh-huh, yep, bye bye...

Cheryl takes one step away and then door opens, Ann pops her head out, sees Cheryl, then Gerrit.

ANN
Oh, excuse me.

Ann pops her head back in and the door shuts. Gerrit makes a move for the door, stops, looks at Cheryl and moans.

GERRIT
Oh...

CHERYL
Who was that?

Gerrit shakes his head and walks away.

INT. ANOTHER HALLWAY

As Gerrit wanders up the hall, the bell rings and a million students engulf him.

Gerrit gets to his locker, does the combination and exchanges his books for some others. Three lockers down is a burnout named BRETT BUDSON with long blond hair. His locker is a mess, papers stick out of every crack.

BUDSON
Hey, dude, goin' to the X concert tonight?

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Sure, dude, right after I shoot up some horse
                                and smoke some of the big M. I'll fly there.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Yeah, but I bet I have more fun this weekend than
                                you.

GERRIT
Yeah, well... You probably will.

BUDSON
Later, dude.

Budson leaves. Gerrit shuts his locker, pauses for a moment of consideration, then takes off through the crowd.

INT. ANOTHER HALLWAY

Gerrit makes his way through the crowd and up to the side of Ann, whose hair is wet and pulled back.

GERRIT
Hi, Ann.

ANN
Gerrit, what a surprise.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (baffled)
                                What do you mean, I always talk to you before
                                fourth hour.

                                                                 ANN
                                I was kidding. I'll give you a break next time and
                                hold up my hand when I'm not serious.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                High School's almost over, Ann, this may well be
                                your last chance to go out with me.

                                                                 ANN
                                                           (smiling)
                                Well, I guess that'll just be my tough luck, now won't it.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (shaking his head)
                                I've been asking you to go out with me since seventh
                                grade, I'm beginning to get discouraged. Six years of
                                rejection starts to get to you after a while.

                                                                 ANN
                                                           (smiling warmly)
                                Give up.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                There's only seven weeks left of school, it's too late
                                to give up.

ANN
Okay, then don't.

Gerrit takes Ann's arm and stops her.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Look, now I'm being serious. Why won't you even
                                consider it?

ANN
I'd rather not go into it, okay?

GERRIT
No, uh-uh, it's too late. You have to tell me.

Ann pauses a moment to consider, then begins.

                                                                 ANN
                                Well... you're too dull. Your hair's always the
                                same, your clothes are always the same, you
                                say the same things day in and day out, year
                                after year, you go out with drippy boring girls...

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (cutting in)
                                What, are you talking about Cheryl, the girl you
                                just saw me with? I don't even know her...

At that very moment Cheryl happens by.

CHERYL
Hi, Gerrit, see you at my party.

Ann looks at Gerrit and he is totally embarrassed.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Really, she just invited me to her dumb party. I
                                don't really know her.

Cheryl reappears holding a book.

CHERYL
Thanks for lending me the book, I really loved it.

Gerrit takes the book entirely at a loss for words and Cheryl leaves.

GERRIT
It's my parents' book.

ANN
It doesn't matter.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (getting defensive)
                                Well, hey, I've seen you go out with some real
                                winners over the years. Tim Quill? Eric Swanson??

It's now Ann's turn to get a little embarrassed.

                                                                 ANN
                                Yeah, but they're different. They're not the
                                same dull drippy people every time.

Gerrit shakes his head in defeat.

GERRIT
Ann, you're driving me crazy.

                                                                 ANN
                                                           (smiling)
                                Good.

INT. YET ANOTHER HALLWAY

The amount of people in the halls has diminished considerably. MR. BLACKWELL, the Principal, walks up the hall alert and ready for trouble. He arrives at the Men's Room door and is just about to open it when a fight breaks out further down the hall.

BLACKWELL
Hey! Let's just knock that off right now!

Blackwell starts after the fighters and the bathroom door opens and a giant cloud of smoke billows out. Three burnouts stagger out, amongst them Brett Budson. They see Blackwell and quickly head in the other direction.

INT. HALLWAY WITH CLASSROOM

As Ann and Gerrit arrive at their next class they find the teacher, MR. MALL, a tall man with a black beard, standing in the doorway with his finger to his lips.

MR. MALL
Shhhh...

                                                                 ANN
                                                           (whispering)
                                What is it?

Mr. Mall points into the classroom.

INT. CLASSROOM

In the far back corner seat near the window reposes a fellow with long stringy blond hair who is dead out asleep with his face on the desk. He breathes slowly and regularly flapping the edge of the test sheet his face rests on. He is JOHN QUADERER.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                                           (whispering)
                                We wouldn't want to wake Mr. Quaderer now,
                                would we?

The students file past all being informed to keep quiet. Just as Mr. Mall is shutting the door Brett Budson arrives.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                                           (still whispering)
                                Very kind of you to make it, Mr. Budson.
                                Please take your seat. The final exam is
                                worth fifty percent of your total grade for
                                the semester. That means for some of
                                you a good grade is critical to passing
                                this class.

Mr. Mall hands a pile of test forms to the first person in each row. They each take one and pass them back.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                You have as much time as you need. There
                                will be no questions and no talking. Any hint
                                of cheating and you've got an automatic F.
                                Please use a number two pencil and you can
                                begin at any time.

With a few coughs and the rattling of paper the test begins. Gerrit reads the first question, poises his pencil over the test but makes no attempt to write anything. He glances over at Ann and she's not writing either.

MR. MALL
No wandering eyes, if you please.

Three seats behind Gerrit sits Budson who is trying to communicate with the fellow in the row next to him without attracting the teacher's attention.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                                           (whispering)
                                Matt...
                                                           (no response)
                                Matt...

Matt looks up annoyed and snaps loudly.

MATT
WHAT?

Everyone in the class turns to look and Budson tries to shrink out of sight.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                Something important you had to discuss with Matt,
                                Mr. Budson?

                                                                 BUDSON
                                                           (small voice)
                                No, it can wait.

MR. MALL
That's fine.

A guy near the back wearing glasses looks down at the palm of his hand where the answers are written. He writes an answer on the test, refers back to his hand. Suddenly there is Mr. Mall looming over him crumbling up his test.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                That's an F on the final, Mr. Samara and you
                                can go to the bathroom and wash your hand.

Mr. Mall pulls up Samara's sleeve.

MR. MALL
And arm.

Samara slides up his pant leg.

SAMARA
And leg.

Samara leaves and when he shuts the door the sound awakens the sleeping burnout in the corner. He sits up and his test paper is stuck to his face.

QUADERER
Wha--

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                                           (Smiling)
                                Good morning, Mr. Quaderer. Would you care to
                                turn in your test now, or, if you'd like you can have
                                this class period to work on it, too.

QUADERER
What day is it?

MR. MALL
It's Friday, John.

                                                                 QUADERER
                                                           (grins)
                                Cool.

John Quaderer comes forward and hands in his test and starts to leave.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                Excuse me, could you put your last name on it,
                                too. I have a number of Johns in my classes.

Quaderer puts his last name on the test and leaves. Mr. Mall holds John Quaderer's test out to his side.

MR. MALL
Let me file this.

He drops it in the trash can.

A creepy egghead in the front row picks up his books and hands in his test.

EGGHEAD
I thought you said this was supposed to be difficult.

The class looks up at the creepy Egghead with deep hatred on their faces.

SOMEONE
He's gonna ruin the curve.

MR. MALL
Quiet if you please.

CLOSE UP - CLOCK

The hands travel around from 11:15 to 12:05.

INT. CLASSROOM

One student after another hands in their tests and leaves. Finally, all that remain are Gerrit, Ann and Budson. All three appear to be having difficulty with the exam.

Mr. Mall sits at his desk eating his lunch from a bag.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                No need to rush. You can take the whole lunch
                                hour if you'd like.

All three students dislike being treated like idiots.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                The three of you are not doing all that well in this
                                class. I haven't tallied the grades yet, but I'd say
                                all of you are in bad shape if you don't pass this
                                final.

The three slackers attempt to work on through the teacher's harangue.

                                                                 MR. MALL
                                The three of you are so lazy and apathetic that
                                you couldn't even dredge up the effort to cheat.

He shakes his head in disgust and goes back to his tuna sandwich.

Budson smells the food and his stomach begins to growl. That's it for him. He stands and suddenly Ann and Gerrit stand too and they all hand in their tests.

MR. MALL
See you in summer school.

INT. HALLWAY WITH CLASSROOM

When Ann, Gerrit and Budson get out into the hall they are pissed off.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Maybe if he'd shut the fuck up I could get an
                                answer.

ANN
Really! And I'm supposed to go away this summer.

GERRIT
Summer school sounds horrifying.

They stand in silence contemplating the dismal future.

BUDSON
Well, at least X is playing in Ann Arbor this weekend.

ANN
Oh, really? I wish I had tickets.

BUDSON
Me, too. I'm gonna go anyway and get 'em there.

Ann turns to Gerrit.

ANN
What about you, Reinhardt, you going to see X?

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (Smiling)
                                X is a band, right? No, I wasn't planning on it.

                                                                 ANN
                                                           (Maliciously)
                                Have you ever been to a rock concert?

Gerrit looks from Budson to Ann and puts his hands in his pockets.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Come on, you've got to have been to a concert,
                                dude, this is the 80's.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Just cool out, I've been to a rock concert. Gimme
                                a break.

Ann shoves her face directly into Gerrit's..

ANN
Which one?

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Which one? My parents and I saw Anne Murray
                                at Pine Knob a couple of years ago.

Budson and Ann look at each other and burst out laughing and both say at the same time.

BOTH
Anne Murray

BUDSON
This isn't the 1880's.

ANN
Face it, Reinhardt, you're a loser.

She walks away still laughing.

Gerrit shakes his head and blinks.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                I can't believe how unbelievably cruel she is to
                                me. I've had a crush on her for six years and
                                she won't even give me a chance.

BUDSON
I went out with her.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (In total shock)
                                What? She went out with you? I'm gonna shoot
                                myself.

BUDSON
Thanks a lot, that was really nice.

GERRIT
Sorry. I didn't mean it that way.

BUDSON
That's all right. Just chill out, smoke a joint.

This is a novel idea.

GERRIT
A joint... ? You mean of Marijuana?

BUDSON
No, a joint of heroin.

GERRIT
All right, let's smoke one.

BUDSON
Cool. You got any?

GERRIT
Me? No, don't you?

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Uh-uh, I'm all out. I know where you could get
                                some though.

GERRIT
Okay.

BUDSON
Let's do it.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - DAY

Gerrit and Budson drive up the sunny suburban street in Gerrit's black '66 mustang.

BUDSON
Great car dude. You're not a total loser.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Hey thanks. So ah, what's this guy, like a
                                dope dealer or something?

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Yeah, a dope dealer. Haven't you ever bought
                                any dope before?"

                                                                 GERRIT
                                No, but I've smoked it a couple of times and
                                nothing's happened.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                                           (Amazed)
                                Man, how did we grow up three blocks from one
                                another? It's like we're from different planets.

Gerrit's mind has wandered.

GERRIT
Ann went out with you? I'm goin' crazy.

Budson points up ahead.

BUDSON
The guy lives up around that curve.

EXT. DEALER'S HOUSE - DAY

The mustang comes around the curve and comes upon four police cars with their flashers on. Gerrit panics.

GERRIT
Oh, shit!

He slams it into reverse.

BUDSON
Don't panic, man, we didn't do anything.

GERRIT
Yeah, but we intended to.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                Go back, it might not be him. It could be the
                                guy next door.

GERRIT
What kind of neighborhood is this?

They slowly cruise past the house with police cars as the cops are bringing a guy out.

                                                                 BUDSON
                                That's him, the poor sonuvabitch. It's okay
                                though I know another guy.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Well, maybe we should just forget it. I mean,
                                who really cares anyway?

                                                                 BUDSON
                                I can see why Ann's been turnin' you down for
                                six years, you're a bore.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                Now I'm a bore? I've been called everything in
                                the damn book today: dull, stupid, boring. Maybe
                                I should find a hole somewhere and climb into it.

BUDSON
Dude, you gotta climb out of it, not into it.

                                                                 GERRIT
                                                           (Relenting)
                                All right. Okay. Let's go see this buddy of yours.
                                Where does he live?

BUDSON
Ann Arbor.

GERRIT
Ann Arbor? That's 25 miles away.

BUDSON
Then forget it.

GERRIT
All right, Ann Arbor it is.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

It's a warm sunny spring day on a woodsy stretch of I-275. Gerrit drives along at the speed limit and Budson goes through his wallet.

BUDSON
How much money you got?