When it Rains By Daniel Perry

Feb. 2012

Daniel Perry E-Mail: DPerry1289@GMail.com

FADE IN: EXT - DREARY BEACH - AFTERNOON - WINTER Its empty, less the silhouette of a MAN standing beside the frozen waters. His jacket is blowing in the distance. The only sound heard is that of the wind. NARRATOR It wasnt always this cold. The man presses a cigarette between his lips. He cups his hands in front of his face as he lights it with his ZIPPO with a king of hearts design on the side of it. BACK TO SCENE He takes a deep drag. NARRATOR I wasnt always this miserable. But I have been for a while. DISSOLVE TO: INT - APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING An ashtray full of cigarette butts sits on the ragged coffee table. the Television was left on all night, some infomercial plays on in the background. The only light is that resonating from the t.v. Beside the ashtray is a CELLPHONE the screen lights up and begins to scream some annoying tune with the image of an alarm clock. A hand crashes down upon it in an attempt to silence it. It doesnt. Instead it continues to screech, only now its on the floor. BACK TO SCENE On the used couch is DAN. A young man, average looking, fully dressed, his head pressed into the couch cushions. His hand jostles around the ground looking for the phone. He finally grabs a hold of it and silences it. His head rises from within the couch. Clearing his eyes he peers at the time

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DAN Aah shit. He forces himself up. Already dressed in dirty jeans and a dirty shirt, he walks through his small apartment, walls void of any decorations or sense of existence, and stumbles into the KITCHEN and grabs a coffee cup from the cupboard and pours the already made coffee into it. He slaps a top on it. Dan heads back into the LIVING ROOM where he grabs his coat that was hanging on the arm of his chair and puts it on. This young man walks to the front door, and on his way grabs his keys from the coffee table and exits. EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING - EARLY MORNING Dan walks to the passenger side of what can only be described as a piece of shit car. The weather is clearly cold, as given away by the sight of the mans breath. He reaches through the cracked window and opens the door from the inside. The car screeches to life as he put the key into the ignition. The door on the drivers side is pushed open. Dan walks around the car, attempting to warm his hands in the process. He gets in and drives off. DISSOLVE TO: EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON The same piece of shit car pulls into the same parking space, and the same man stumbles out of the car and into the apartment building. INT - APARTMENT - LATE AFTERNOON Dan walks in and throws his keys back on the coffee table and plops back down on the couch. He hesitates before forcing himself up and walks over to his computer. He turns on the monitor and begins typing and clicking away. On the

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SCREEN a job search website pops up. He looks through the graphic design postings only to read such things as 1. Minimum 2 years experience 2. Bachelors degree required 3. Unpaid internship BACK TO SCENE He takes a deep breath only to begin a new search for general labor. He sees such postings as 1. Pay negotiable 2. $9-10/hr. 3. No experience necessary Glancing between the multiple listings, Dans eyes begin to water. His motions freeze as he stares blankly into the screen. As his eyes turn red he begins thrashing his arm about, trashing all that was on the desk, in the process standing up and hurling his chair. He flips his desk and heads back over to the couch where he sits down and lights a cigarette. He ignores the tears that fall down his face as if they werent there. His phone begins to ring and he answers it. DAN Hey mom(sniffling)...Im fine, just tired...No ma Im fine. Whats up?...Im okay. He gets up, walks over the mess he just made, and into his kitchen and peers into the FRIDGE wherein lies a few almost empty condiments, a jug of water, and a handful of tupperware containers. BACK TO SCENE DAN(CONTD) ...Yes Im still coming over Sunday for dinner...Thats fine.

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He grabs one of the plastic containers, opens the lid to take a whiff only to gag. Clearly repulsed, he closes the lid and throws it back into the fridge. DAN(CONTD) ...Yes I have food mom...Mom, mom, Im twenty-five years old, I think I can take care of myself. Thanks for your concern though...I know mom...I know you do mom...I love you too...Alright, Ill see ya Sunday...Okay...Alright...Yes mom...Okay...Love you too...Bye. He hangs up the phone and tosses it on the kitchen counter. DAN Jesus. DISSOLVE TO: INT - APARTMENT - EARLY MORNING The running water can be heard throughout the apartment. Steam fills the empty rooms. In the BATHROOM The water shuts off as Dan steps out of the shower. He wraps a towel around his waist and walks to the mirror, its fogged up, only an obscured outline of his upper body visible. He swipes his hand across his image. For a moment he stares blankly at himself, then begins to rub his face and hair, almost as if hes attempting to reconfigure the image before him. INT - DANS CAR - MORNING - DRIVING Dan mumbles along to whatever song happens to be on the radio at the time. His left arm is resting out the window as he pulls up to a house and stops in the driveway. He HONKS his horn and sips from his coffee mug that was in the cup holder. He HONKS again, this time followed by lighting a cigarette. Another young man JUSTIN, walks in front of the car to the passenger side. Hes tall, with an athletic build. Dan reaches across to open the door and Justin gets in. DAN Yo.

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JUSTIN Mornin sunshine. Dan pulls out of the driveway. DAN Yes it is. He drives off. JUSTIN So remember how I was tellin you I had to leave early tomorrow cause I got that dentist appointment? DAN Yeah? JUSTIN Well I get home yesterday, and they call me up,(impersonates woman on the phone) "Hi, Im calling to confirm your appointment for a root canal tomorrow!" DAN What? I thought you were just going for a cleaning? JUSTIN Yeah! Me too! DAN Oh my God, thats funny. JUSTIN Yeah well I tell her, um, no. Im just suppose to be getting a cleaning and shes like, (impersonates lady) "oh, can you hold on for a moment?" And she gets back on the phone and tells me the woman who does the cleanings is booked tomorrow and I have to reschedule. And, get this, they tried charging me a rescheduling fee! DAN What? Thats ridiculous.

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JUSTIN Yeah. So needless to say I didnt reschedule. DAN I cant believe that man. That sucks. JUSTIN Yeah. DAN Oh hey, you get the battery for your truck. JUSTIN No. I called Midas and they said it was gonna cost like five something, with installation and all that... DAN Yeah. JUSTIN Then I tried calling Sears and they told me like two something. So I gave them all my info and stuff and they said if I brought it anytime Saturday they could do it then. DAN How you gonna get it there? Is it holding a charge at all or no? JUSTIN I had my little battery charger on it all day yesterday, and when I got home I tried starting it, and it started up fine, but right after it started dying, the gauges instantly dropped, the lights went dim as fuck. I tried gassing it, nothing. DAN That sucks man. JUSTIN Yeah, Im probably gonna have to have it towed.

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DAN Well if you need a ride or anything just let me know. JUSTIN Thanks man. DAN Like you havent done it for me when my car was shot. JUSTIN We talking about when it was leaking gas or power steering fluid? DAN Ha. Ha. Dick. Speaking of dicks. A young kid, around their age, drives up beside them in a brand new Dodge Challenger. Dan and the kid make eye contact for a brief moment, then the Challenger roars off ahead of them. JUSTIN What an asshole. DAN I know right. Daddy probably bought it for him. Jackass. JUSTIN Probably pays the insurance too. DAN And his cellphone. DAN & JUSTIN Dick. EXT - PARKING LOT OF LARGE WAREHOUSE - MORNING The junk car pulls up and parks next to a shiny, red Audi. The two get out of the car and walk towards the building, both glaring at the nice car beside them. DAN (grunts) Four thirty today?

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JUSTIN At the latest. They head inside the building. INT - WAREHOUSE - DAY Dan is standing beside a skid of random materials with a scanner gun in his hand. The constant repetition of the BEEPING noise made from the gun overpowers the sound of forklifts, trucks, and various other warehouse equipment. An older gentlemen whose only distinguishable feature is a mustache, TOM, walks up to him. TOM Mister Dan. DAN Mister Tom. How can I help you today? TOM Dave said you received this in yesterday. He hands Dan an order form. He looks at it. DAN Should be in location. TOM Should be, but isnt. Dan drops him hands to his side and walks through the warehouse, pass various WORKERS either pushing around shopping carts or on various warehouse equipment. Tom follows behind him. He heads up a set of stairs and walks through a series of aisles, each overflowing with product. He turns the corner to see DAVE grabbing items from the shelf. DAVE Whats up dirtbag. DAN Hey Dave. DAVE Youre slippin. Whatd you do with the faucet?

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DAN Actually, I wasnt the one who put this stuff away. It was Jeff. DAVE Well that answers that question. Now we just have to think like a retard and well know exactly where he put it. DAN The location calls for eighty two eff, so my guess is... He walks further up the aisle. He stops and counts the shelves from the bottom up. He grabs a box from a rack. DAN(CONTD) He put it in twenty eight eff. Here yah go Tom. He hands the box over to Tom, and Dave snatches it from his hands. Dan walks off. DAVE Youre still a dirtbag DAN(O.S.) I know Dave! EXT - WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT - AFTERNOON Dan and Justin are sitting on the trunk of the car. Justin eats a sandwich while Dan just smokes another cigarette. JSUTIN Hey, Julia wants to know if you wanna stay for dinner tonight. Think were goin to just order a pizza. DAN Sure. Thanks man. JUSTIN Yea. They both go back to their "lunch". JUSTIN So have you heard from her or no?

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CONTINUED: DAN No. But I think I found out who the guy is. JUSTIN Yeah? DAN Yeah. I may or may not have been semi-facebook-stalking her. And I knew the guy was a friend of her friend Chris. And she recently befriended a guy, and when I looked on his profile, we had two mutual friends... JUSTIN Kate and Chris. DAN Yep, and there was a picture of them from new years on there too. JUSTIN That sucks man, Im sorry. DAN I got no one to blame but myself. Besides shes right. Been right, about everything. Weve been broken up for almost six months. Dont get me wrong it was fucked up how she decided to tell me but, is there a good time to tell your ex youre seeing someone else? JUSTIN Yeah but she could of at least waited until after dinner, not while you were cooking it! He starts to laugh and Dan cracks a half-smile. DAN I know right? It just sucks because, I know what she wanted from me, and I didnt do it. And its not like she wanted me to change who I was, she was trying to help me better myself. Tried to get me to quit smoking. Tried to get me to go back to school. Tried to get me to fix up my car. I was lazy.

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JUSTIN You think shed take you back now if you did all that? Dan looks down at his feet. DAN Nah, its too late. I screwed up so many times. She gave me too many chances already. JUSTIN What you need to do is tell her you dont wanna be friends with her. That its hard to move on if shes still in your life. DAN I did, kinda. When she told me she was seeing someone else. I dont remember exactly what I said. Besides its hard. Im scared to lose her completely, even though I know its over between us, I still feel like there might be this chance. But I know there isnt one, you know what I mean? JUSTIN I think someones watched too many romantic comedies. DAN Thats beside the point. And yeah, so maybe I want my life to play out like a movie, where the guy redeems himself and the girl realizes how much she truly loves him, faults and all, and they race through a crowd of strangers to embrace one another in the pouring rain, and they kiss again but it feels like the first time and they live happily ever after. Justin stares at him. DAN It could happen! Shut-up. They both laugh. Dan throws his cigarette away.

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CONTINUED: DAN(CONTD) Alright. Time to go back into the seventh layer of hell. JUSTIN No, I dont wanna. DAN I dont want to either, but you depressed the shit outta me in the half hour a day I get to not be miserable so the least you can do is go back to work with me. They start walking back towards the warehouse. JUSTIN Thats cruel. DAN Yeah well, so was poking at an open wound, dick. JUSTIN I was just asking a question, ass! Trying to be a good friend. DAN Well you failed.

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Their friendly banter stops as JOHN, a man in his early thirties, dressed like he was born and raised in the streets, walks up to them. JOHN Yo, you better get your asses back in there, Charlotte just pulled up, I need you two to unload the pipe. DAN Come on man, what about Dewey? He can drive the forklift too. John looks as if every word out of his mouth is a joke, with a small smile on his face. JOHN I didnt ask Dewey, Im telling you two. Oh, and I talked with Scott and he agrees with me, just because you come in early doesnt mean you can leave early. Your hours are your hours. Comin in early is a perk. (CONTINUED)

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Dan tries not to react, but the muscles in his face cant help themselves. JOHN(CONTD) Something wrong? If you want to talk to Scott go ahead, but hes on my side on this one. But either way unload Charlotte first. John walks off. DAN Was it just me or did it seem like he was just talking to me about the hours? JUSTIN I didnt wanna say anything but he came up to me earlier to warn me. He said it wasnt going to be directed at me. DAN Are you fucking kidding me! We drive in together every day. JUSTIN I know right. DAN Man, what a dick. God! I wanna run him over right now. What an ass! JUSTIN I know. DAN Its not my fault hes a high school drop out wholl never amount to anything more than a warehouse worker. Dick! They both walk back into the warehouse.