TEEN STUFF

by

George Dobrev
 FADE IN:

EXT. STREET - DAY

MARK is on his way to meet his best friend - THOMAS. He has

earphones and listens to music.

CUT TO:

EXT. END OF THE SAME STREET

Mark is walking on the sidewalk, listening to the music and

closes his eyes for a moment to fully enjoy it. He bumps
into GREG, who is older, taller and almost twice as heavy.
Opening his eyes, Mark sees Greg right in front of him, RICK
and SLATER on Greg's sides.

GREG
Well, well... What do we have here?

Mark attempts to turn around and start running but Greg

catches him by the backpack and pulls him back causing Mark
to fall on the ground.

Greg steps with one foot on Mark's chest and transfers most
of his weight on it.

Mark screams in pain, holding Greg's foot while he speaks.

GREG
Little Mark County. Wait, it was a
silent 'o'.

Rick and Slater laugh. Mark aggravates from that and tries
to remove Greg's foot but he leans on it even more, pressing
Mark's chest harder.

Mark screams in pain again but is still angry.

GREG
What's wrong Cunty? You're too
skinny to lift my foot? Your
parents don't have enough money for
food?

Mark, with a lot of effort ignores the pain, so he can

speak.

MARK
At least they don't feed me at the
pig sty in the backyard.

Rick and Slater bite their fists in gesture of fascination

to Mark's response and then start laughing even harder.

Greg turns to them and gives them a sharp, threatening look

and they shut up.

GREG
You think you're clever, huh?
Stupid little nerd!
 2.

Greg steps for a moment only on Mark's chest, lifting his

other foot and kicking Mark in the shoulder.

Greg removes his foot from the chest and Mark hurries to
stand up but Greg kicks him in the abdominal three times.
Mark pukes on the ground on the third time but manages to
avoid puking on his own clothes.

Greg and his friends get disgusted by that and step back.

GREG
Come on guys! We'll finish this
nerd at school!

They leave and Mark stands up. Walking in pain and looking
at the puke, mainly in the abdominal, he keeps on the
direction for meeting Thomas.

EXT. MARK AND THOMAS'S MEETING POINT

Mark approaches Thomas, now walking slightly bended and

holding his lower belly.

THOMAS
What is wrong man? You didn't go to
the WC this morning?

Thomas gives him a giggle.

MARK
Good morning, to you too...

Mark replies with a slightly painful expression, but mainly

he tries to be cheerful.

THOMAS
What's wrong dude?

Thomas looks a bit worried. They both start walking.

MARK
Greg.

THOMAS
Greg what?

MARK
Well, the usual shit from school.

THOMAS
No! They beat you again?

They take a few steps without saying anything.

MARK
Did you know that Greg made it to
high school?
 3.

THOMAS
What? No, how is that even
possible? His brain is the size of
a bean.

Both share a laugh.

MARK
I know, right? I hope he's not in
our class again.

THOMAS
Yeah, I'm really tired of their
cowardly aggression. Greg, alone,
is equal to both of us.

MARK
I know... I'm getting pissed off
already!

THOMAS
Well, we have to figure out how to
stop this already. It's been two
years.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE HIGH SCHOOL

Mark and Thomas are headed to the front doors of the high
school when GREG, RICK and SLATER stand on their way.

GREG
Well, well... Look who's arrived.
The Cunty and Dickens together
again.
THOMAS
My surname is Smithens.

Greg steps forward.

GREG
What are you going to do about it?

Greg steps forward but LILITH, a girl at the age of Mark and
Thomas, stands on his way, looking at him with a critical
expression, with her back to Thomas and Mark.

LILITH
Hold! What do you think you're
doing?

Greg stops and looks at her for a couple of seconds without

saying anything. He replies with the same question.

GREG
And what do you think you're
doing?!
 4.

Lilith keeps looking at him with the same expression.

LILITH
I'm trying to resolve a conflict
before it escalates to something
more violent and uncivilized.

Greg looks at her with misunderstanding for a few seconds,

taking time to make his sentence.

GREG
This conflict will end as I wish!

Greg tries to go around her but Lilith makes a step in front

of him and yells at him.

LILITH
No, this conflict will not begin at
all!

Greg looks at her for a moment and then looks around. Lilith
gathers the eyes of everyone around them, standing or
passing by.

Greg takes another short moment, staring into Lilith, before

turning around and walking away.

She turns to Mark and Thomas.

LILITH
Sorry about that. These people just
don't know how to deal with
personal issues.

Mark remains silent for a while, looking at Lilith with a

glimpse in his eyes. He enjoys her beauty and tries to find
words to describe it.
Thomas, on the other hand, immediately starts a
conversation.

THOMAS
Yeah, we know. They've been
bullying us for two years.

As he hears that, Mark instinctively defends himself.

MARK
Bullying you, not us.

THOMAS
Wha...

Mark interrupts him, whispering.

MARK
Shut up...
 5.

LILITH
So, I'm Lilith.

She stretches out her hand towards Mark.

MARK
I'm Mark. This is Thomas, my best
friend.

Thomas grabs Lilith's hand for a handshake.

THOMAS
Nice to meet you, Lilith.

LILITH
So, what is your first class in
high school?

Thomas opens his mouth to reply but Mark interrupts him

before he could make a sound.

MARK
Physics.

LILITH
Really? Seems like we're in the
same class!

Mark and Thomas glance at each other and smile wide.

LILITH
Do you know where the classroom is?

MARK
I have no idea..

THOMAS
I do!

The bell rings.

MARK
Shame on us if we're late for our
first class!

They quickly walk inside the school.

CUT TO:

INT. CLASSROOM, THE HIGH SCHOOL

We can hear the teacher explaining something as a background

audio.
Mark is drawing hearts and the letter L in his notebook.
Thomas glances at it and smiles.

THOMAS
So, you like her?
 6.

Mark looks at him and quickly closes his notebook.

MARK
What? Who?

THOMAS
Come on! Lilith, of course.

MARK
No!

Mark blushes.

THOMAS
Mark likes Lilith! Mark likes
Lilith!

MARK
Shut up! She'll hear you..

They both glance at Lilith, who's writing down everything

the teacher says.

The teacher notices Mark is not writing.

TEACHER
Mark! Why is your notebook closed?

MARK
Uhm...

Mark takes a second to think, while Thomas is whispering.

THOMAS
Mark likes Lilith!

Mark gets aggravated by that and lies to the teacher.

MARK
Thomas is talking to me and drawing
my attention away, sir. I'm sorry.

The teacher looks at Thomas, who is surprised by Mark's

words.

THOMAS
I wasn't...

The teacher interrupts him.

TEACHER
Thomas! I expect to see you in
front of the principle's office
after class.
THOMAS
But...
 7.

TEACHER
No 'but'! Now start paying
attention because this will be on
the test at the end of the month!

Thomas lowers his head.

THOMAS
Yes, sir..

Thomas gives Mark a disappointed look.

CUT TO:

EXT. PARK - AFTERNOON, SAME DAY

Mark is swinging slowly and drawing something in the dirt

with a stick.

Thomas approaches the swings and takes on the one next to

Mark. They just glance at each other.

Both remain silent for a moment then Mark speaks.

MARK
I'm sorry for what I did earlier...
It was stupid.

THOMAS
Yes it was!

Mark glances at Thomas who looks angry and then keeps on

drawing in the dirt.

THOMAS
But I forgive you.
Mark looks at him again.

MARK
Do you?

THOMAS
Of course I do! You're my best
friend.

They both smile at each other.

MARK
I really like her, you know..

THOMAS
Yeah, I can see that.
MARK
She's so beautiful...

THOMAS
And smart...
 8.

MARK
You like her too, don't you?

THOMAS
Is it that obvious?

MARK
Yeah.

THOMAS
Well... What matters is which one
of us she likes.

MARK
I don't want to lose my best friend
because of a girl.

THOMAS
Me neither! Promise that whoever
she chooses it won't change our
friendship.

MARK
I promise.

THOMAS
I promise, too. Want to go get the
bikes and race?

MARK
Sure!

They get up from the swings and start walking.

CUT TO:

EXT. NEAR THE PARK EXIT

As Mark and Thomas approach the park's exit they see Greg
and his friends.

The bullies are passing a backpack at each other, throwing

it high in the air. Between them, trying to catch her
backpack is Lilith.

LILITH
No! Don't throw it like that, my
tablet is in it!

GREG
You think you can shame me and my
friends, huh?

LILITH
Stop it!

GREG
Where's your cleverness now?
 9.

Mark and Thomas look at each other for a moment and both
start running towards Greg, who is with his back to them.
Mark drops his backpack on the way.

When Mark comes close, Rick and Slater notice him and both
stop passing the backpack and look at Mark.

Greg turns around because he sees his friends are looking at

something. At that moment Mark is already close to Greg and
jumps at him, hitting him with a fist.

Greg falls on the ground and Mark starts hitting him in the
face. Rick and Slater drop Lilith's backpack and start
hitting Mark.

Thomas gets Lilith's backpack and passes it to her.

LILITH
Thanks but...

She glances at Rick and Slater kicking Mark, who keeps on

beating Greg without paying any attention to the kicks.

Thomas storms in and takes Rick on the ground. Slater hits

Thomas and he falls next to Rick. Rick and Slater start
beating Thomas.

Lilith takes a look around and sees Slater's baseball bat

lying on the grass. She picks it up and approaches Rick from
the back.

Swinging the bat with all of her strength, Lilith hits Rick
in the head and he falls down unconscious. Slater sees that
and walks towards Lilith who's walking backwards, scared.

Mark notices that Lilith is in trouble and leaves Greg.

Reaching Lilith, Mark grabs the bat from her and strikes
Slater in the head. He falls down, conscious but screaming
from pain.

Thomas gets up from the ground with blood running down his
nostrils.

MARK
(to Lilith)
Are you alright?

LILITH
Yes... Thank you! You're my hero!

She hugs him tightly. Mark blushes and hugs her back,
dropping the bat on the ground. They hold each other for a
while.
Thomas approaches Greg.

THOMAS
Take your stupid friends and never
stand on our way again!
 10.

Thomas kicks Greg in the abdominal. He turns around to see

what's going on with Mark and Lilith and he sees them
kissing. Thomas smiles wide and picks up his and Mark's
backpacks.

Approaching the couple, he hands Mark his backpack.

THOMAS
Well, I guess we now know who she
likes.

Mark smiles and Lilith takes a look both of them in a bit of

confusion.

LILITH
You now know?

MARK
Yeah... We both like you and were
wondering if you like one of us and
who.

LILITH
How sweet! Well, I like you both.
You as a friend, Thomas. I'm sorry
if you were hoping for something
else.

THOMAS
Don't worry about it. We can't
always have what we want. I'm happy
for you two.

They all smile.

THOMAS
(to Mark)
You still down for a ride?

MARK
Sure!

Mark puts on his backpack, hugs Lilith and all three start
walking.

FADE TO BLACK

END.