THE FACULTY transcribed by Emily Brownlowe Outside on the football field Coach Willis screams at his football players as they do the plays he wrote up himself. However, on the field, nothing is going as he planned. Nothing is good for him. Nothing is perfect. He screams at them how they're going to die on Friday when they play the only team that can kick their ass. After the practice he yells at the star quarterback Stan on how he needs to open his eyes and play better. Stan's friend Gabe tells him to shake it off and the two head for the locker room. In a fit of rage, the coach heaves over the bench knocking down the huge tubs of water for the players. He kicks a sprinkler and it flickers on...he puts his foot over it and then kneels down and places his hand over it. A large shadow appears behind him. The coach turns around. COACH Yeah... what? A few hours after school ended, a few teachers including Principal Drake, Mr. Tate, Mrs. Olson, and Mrs. Brummel, get together in the principal's office to have a faculty meeting. DRAKE Let me finish this quickly so we can go home...it's late. Mrs. Brummel, with all sadness, no new computers. BRUMMEL Oh but- DRAKE But get the service guy down here and get the old ones juiced. Mr. Tate, you're dreaming. Absolutely no field trip to New York City. TATE Look I don't think you understand- DRAKE You're not getting out of Ohio, re-think it... and finally, Mrs. Olson. There's just no money for a musical this year. There's a moment of silence and all the teachers look sadly at each other. Mr. Tate lights up a cigarette. TATE But I bet the football team gets their new jerseys and their new equipment. DRAKE Have you seen the football stadium on a Friday night, Mr. Tate? The entire town is here. She starts to gather her things, ready to leave. DRAKE This is a football town, let me remind you, and yes, the team will get new jerseys, new knee pads, new jock straps, and everything else they want in the name of education because that is what the school board wants. As well as what the parents in this town want. My frustrated hands are tied. Outside the school Mr. Tate, Mrs. Brummel walk down the stairs and vent their frustration. BRUMMEL You know I don't see why we can't have a few new computers so the children can learn a little something... Mrs. Olson stands at the top of the stairs with Principal Drake as she searches her bag for her keys. OLSON Oh Ms. Drake, the Drama Club had their hearts set on ’Guys and Dolls’ this year. DRAKE Well... Maybe if they used last years set from ‘Our Town’... Shit, I forgot my keys. I gotta go back in. See you in the morning Mrs. Olson. Drake re-enters the pitch-dark school and walks towards her office, humming a little tune. She finds her keys and as she turns to leave she runs into Coach Willis, who blocked her exit from the office. DRAKE (startled) Coach Willis...what can I do for you? COACH (slurred voice) You look...very, very pretty tonight...Ms Drake. DRAKE Have you been drinking Coach? Willis, obviously looking for an excuse, sees a set of pencils on Drake’s desk. He’s master of the situation now. COACH I'm sorry to bother you but I... can't seem to find a... pencil. DRAKE You don't need a pencil Coach... you need a good night's sleep. Drake tries to walk past him. He blocks her path. COACH I really need a pencil. DRAKE (irritated) Sleep it off coach! Drake tries to move past him again, but again he blocks her path. COACH Do you have a pencil? DRAKE Jesus Christ! Yes I have a pencil! I have plenty of pencils! She walks towards her desk and grabs a long, sharp pencil and gives it to the coach. DRAKE Look. Why don't you and your pencil go home? It late. Drake tries to move past him, but yet again he blocks her. COACH You look very, very pretty tonight. Principal Drake is now, to say the least, upset. DRAKE (threatening) Harassment has a very fine line coach. Haven't you read your handbook? Suddenly, the coach grabs her hand and shoves the pencil all the way through. Drake cries out in pain. The coach rips the pencil from her hand and admires the blood on it. COACH (half to himself) I always wanted to do that.... Drake slaps her keys against his face, making two large cuts that instantly begin to bleed. She drops them, and runs out of the room. As she runs through the hallway the coach gets on the loud speaker. COACH Would Ms. Drake please report to the principal's office? Drake runs into a room trying to find a hiding spot. The coach quickly spots her and blowing his whistle he runs into the room and tries to grab her. Drake bashes him into the window, glass splintering his face. She then runs out of the room and towards the main door of the school. Mrs. Olson stands there wondering what the confusion is about. OLSON I forgot my grade book! DRAKE Open the door, god damnit! She tries to open the door, but notices the chain around the two handles. The door is locked. OLSON I don't have my keys! (panicking) Let me get help! DRAKE No, no! Don't leave me! OLSON Where are your keys? DRAKE In the office. Drake looks toward her office which is only a few yards away. DRAKE I need to get my keys. OLSON Please let me get help! DRAKE No, just talk to me, okay? She starts to walk towards her office cautiously, fully aware that a killer is in her vicinity, but not knowing where. OLSON Oh Ms. Drake, please be careful! Drake fetches her keys nervously humming a tune and grabs a pair of scissors for protection. She then hears Mrs. Olson screaming for her. OLSON Ms Drake! He's coming! Drake darts out of her office noticing the coach, who is at the end of the hallway picking pieces of glass from his skull. He gives Ms. Drake an admiring look. She races towards the front door fumbling with her keys. The coach starts to walk towards her, Mrs. Olson panics, warning Ms Drake. The coach then starts to run towards Drake. Drake drops the keys and the coach runs into the door. DRAKE Help me! She drops the scissors and kicks them through the front door before the coach can get to them. Mrs. Olson picks them up. Then Drake manages to fit through an opening in the door and closes it on the coach. DRAKE Prick! She looks at Mrs. Olson, who stares at her in a deadly trance. Mrs. Olson holds the scissors high in her hand and starts to slash Drake to the ground. Every cut gives birth to a new wound, each bleeding continuously. Drake falls down. Coach Willis looks at Mrs. Olson in an approving way. She smiles sarcastically. OLSON I always wanted to do that. Outside Herrington High School kids are just arriving to start the day. Friends meet up with friends, girls gossip on the latest news, buses arrive and are quickly emptied with kids; the typical morning madness. A girl carelessly slides her car into a parallel parking spot crashing into the person behind her. The girl who owns the now smashed car gets out quickly and pulls the girl in the other car from behind the wheel onto the ground. The other girl reacts by pushing the first onto the hood of her car. The fight continues. All of a sudden a black car with two broad, red stripes running over the hood, roof and trunk speeds into the school parking lot, making lots of noise, accompanied by some music, which can’t be heard clearly until Zeke, the high school bad boy, gets out. He pops open the trunk and takes a few pens filled with white powder. He quickly stuffs them in his pocket and walks toward the school. Casey, a nerdy photographer for the school paper, departs the school bus and almost immediately catches an elbow from some jock right in the nose. He falls. The frame freezes for a few seconds in the middle of his fall as the name “CASEY” is displayed. Then we see a loner gothic girl all dressed in black. STOKELY Crash and burn Casey. Again the frame freezes for a few seconds as the name “STOKELY” is displayed. Stokely walks towards the main entrance of the school trying to avoid the eyes that were upon her. She takes notice to a girl screaming vulgar language at her boyfriend to get out of the car. Without realizing it she bumps into Stan, the head quarterback of the school football team. Stan quickly makes sure she's okay but without listening Stokely gets cocky with him. STOKELY Walk much? Stan, half-surprised, reacts: STAN You ran into me, beast! Across the quad Stan's girlfriend, Delilah, chatters with her fellow cheerleader friends. DELILAH Okay, now listen up. Let’s all wear the same uniforms and keep the hair the same. Okay? No hair spray no teasing, just...elegant. Simple. Great. The frame again stops for a few seconds. The name “DELILAH” appears on screen. Stan approaches Delilah and tries to kiss her. Delilah pulls away. DELILAH Whoa! Stan, watch it. These are Estee Lauder lips. They take 72 minutes to apply. STAN Sorreee... Hey, can we talk? DELILAH Well, I can't right now. I need a new headline for the school paper. It's important. They start to walk into the school. STAN So is this. DELILAH Sure you think so honey. She tries to escape him. STAN In fact....it might be just the story you're looking for. DELILAH Do the words ‘editor in chief’ mean anything to you? Leave the news to me, okay? Later. Back outside the school the jocks that ganged up on Casey ram him into the flagpole, legs open. A blond girl in a flowered dress named Mary-Beth watches the act cautiously as she walks toward the main building. Today is her first day of school. She just moved into Herrington, Ohio from Atlanta. She approaches two nose pierced girls sitting by the main entrance of the school. One has a chain from her nose ring that connects to her earring. Both are staring into space from their last hit of a drug. MARY-BETH Excuse me? Could you please tell me where the office is? It’s my first day here. The girl with the chain doesn't answer for a moment but finally points her thumb into the school building. MARY-BETH Thank you. I'm Mary-Beth Louise Hutchinson. I love what you've done with you're nose ring. It really brings out the color in your eyes. Yet again, the frame stops for a minute as the name “MARY-BETH” appears on-screen. She quickly heads inside the school watching a girl cussing out her boyfriend, slapping him until they both leave the building. Inside the boys bathroom, Zeke is giving fake IDs to his two customers. CUSTOMER 1 Dude, that's not me. Doesn't even look like me. CUSTOMER 2 That's 50 bucks right? CUSTOMER 1 Does that look like me?! He shows both Zeke and his friend the fake ID which has a middle aged Chinese man on it. None of them looks even remotely Chinese. ZEKE Uh, it's the new you. CUSTOMER 1 (sighs) I don't know man, how do we know these things are really gonna work? ZEKE Trust me man, I'm brilliant. CUSTOMER 1 Then why are you repeating your senior year? Zeke knows he’s ‘losing his audience’. ZEKE Alright, look man...I'll throw in a couple hits of this. He pulls out a pen-like container of white powder. ZEKE Scat. My own recipe. Guaranteed to jack you up. As he gives them the pens, the image freezes again. The name “ZEKE” is displayed. The two customers take the drug and give Zeke his money. They exit the bathroom. Inside the handicap stall Casey nurses the bloody nose the jocks had givenhim. He lets out a swear word as the first bell rings. Inside the faculty lounge, the faculty is preparing for another long, hard day at school. Nurse Harper wraps up a custodian's wounded finger. HARPER You’ve got to remember: the projector’s got teeth. (coughs) Sharp ones. She coughs again and blows her nose. She obviously has a cold. She reaches into her purse and pulls out some medication. CUSTODIAN We should get hazard pay for this sort of faulty equipment. HARPER Yeah right. Mr. Furlong, the biology teacher, walks into the office. FURLONG Well good morning Nurse Harper...how's your cold? HARPER (blows her nose) I can't get rid of it... A young teacher named Ms. Burke is sitting at the table. She talks with another much older teacher named Mrs. Brummel. Brummel drops her book, and Ms.Burke helpfully reaches for it. Mr. Tate walks in, witnesses the scene and mutters: TATE Can we say ‘retirement’? Tate nods his head and sips from his coffee to which he has added some whisky. Ms. Burke gives Mr. Tate the evil eye for making such a snide remark. FURLONG Maybe you should just go home? HARPER No thank you. I'm saving my sick days for when I feel better. She takes some medicine. Furlong, who was coming on to Nurse Harper the whole time, realises the uselessness of his attempts and says to himself: FURLONG Why don’t I just stick a fucking pen in my eye? Every one is suffering from the heat. The gym coach walks in, takes a cup and starts drinking from the water dispenser. Mr. Tate looks at the air conditioner with a sign saying "Don't Turn On, Ever" on it. TATE Why won't that bitch turn the air conditioning on?! FURLONG Hey, speaking of which, has anybody seen Principal Drake? TATE Maybe she had a sunstroke and died. Mr. Furlong takes notice of how the coach is drinking so much water, cup after cup, and quietly whispers to Mr. Tate. FURLONG What's up with the coach? He thirsty... TATE Probably some pre-game ritual. FURLONG Just looking at him makes me want to take a piss. Mrs. Olson walks in, with a completely new hairstyle. The coach takes a break from his water drinking and takes notice of her. COACH Well hello Mrs. Olson, you look very, very pretty today. She smiles devilishly. Inside a classroom, a Ms. Burke tries desperately for her class to participate in the learning discussion. She writes the name Crusoe on the blackboard. BURKE (very silently) Now, what was Crusoe’s greatest fear? It is quiet in the classroom for about ten seconds. BURKE (hesitating) Anyone... ? Ms. Burke asked the question without expecting an answer, and she doesn’t get one. Finally, Zeke smiles and raises his hand to answer. BURKE Yes? ZEKE Crusoe was afraid he'd be stuck on that island forever...with nothing but calluses. He grins and his fellow classmates giggle. BURKE That's not correct Zeke.... Isolation was his greatest fear. ZEKE Yes, but, his external existence in no way compared to his internal agony of the loneliness he felt. Ms. Burke is somewhat surprised to receive such an intelligent answer. BURKE (gently) That’s very good, Zeke. Zeke waits a moment, puts a pen in his mouth and grins. ZEKE Like I said...calluses. The class laughs. In the hall, Delilah is talking with a fellow member of the school paper, dodging people slamming their lockers as she walks to her next class. GIRL So Kathy gets one thing, then Melissa gets cover, and Jenny has her own story. So which one do you want me to print? DELILAH Print them all, he's a jerk. Stan approaches Delilah and pulls her aside the chaos. STAN Hey, we need to talk. DELILAH No Stan, baby... I'm in a crisis... not now. STAN I'm quitting football. DELILAH You’re not playing tomorrow? STAN No, I'm not playing this year. Would you listen to me? I'm quitting the team, I'm not playing ball anymore. Delilah is shocked, angry, and full of disbelief. DELILAH What brought this on? STAN Well, I've been weighing the importance of being a jock with my impending future and decided- DELILAH You just...decided?! Stan, what about college? Football scholarship is your only shot! STAN If I quit now I can work harder at studying...Maybe raise my grades a little? I'd rather go to college based on my brain. DELILAH You're not good at studying! Stan, you're good at football. You should stick with what you're good at! STAN Yeah, I've always been good at football, and basketball, and every other sport I’ve tried. Maybe I should try something I'm not so good at, something different. DELILAH Yeah and what am I supposed to do while you're on a yellow book quest for a brain? STAN (disgusted) What?! DELILAH The excepted social order is that head cheerleader dates star quarterbacks, not academic wannabes! STAN Don't be so superficial... DELILAH Superficial...four syllables...that's really good Stan, you're on your way. Let me know how the cancer cure goes. She rolls her eyes and walks away, leaving Stan standing alone in the now empty hallway. STAN (sighs) I was hoping you'd be with me on this... The second bell rings and he walks to his second class. Inside Mr. Tate's history class. He takes a sip from his spiked coffee and wearily opens up the textbook. TATE Now if everyone would turn to Chapter 4: The Nation of the State. (reads from the book) Only through the conformity among the masses can the unified state offer the benefits of power, order and security- Mr. Tate is interrupted by new-found academic Stan. STAN Actually, we covered that last week, Mr. Tate. We're on chapter 5. TATE (sighs) Whatever. Now if you can all please join Stan on chapter 5: Individual Action in Society... Stokely, who is also in the class, looks at Stan and runs her hand through her short hair, pushing it behind her ear. She then looks behind her at some girls including the new Mary-Beth and then turns her head back to the front of the class. During lunch Mary-Beth approaches Stokely who sits alone at a table reading a book. MARY-BETH (happily) Whatcha reading? Surprised, Stokely looks up from her book, pushing her hair behind her ear once again. She doesn't answer Mary-Beth so Mary-Beth takes a seat across from her and looks at the title of the book* MARY-BETH Double Star by Robert Heinlein... (smiles) Are you one of those science fiction people? Y'all believe in multiple universes and alien beings and stuff? Stokely still doesn't answer. Instead she just looks down, avoiding Mary-Beth who won't give up. MARY-BETH I'm feeling very alien myself today. I'm Mary-Beth Louise Hutchinson. I just moved from Atlanta. I'm new here. STOKELY No shit. MARY-BETH What's your name? STOKELY Why do you want to know my name? MARY-BETH Cause I've got no friends. And correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to have one less that that. I just thought- She is interrupted by Delilah who approaches them and puts her arm around Stokely, who quickly pushes it off her back. DELILAH Aww....Stokleeeey...Are you seducing the new students again? Her attention goes to Mary-Beth. DELILAH Hi! I'm Delilah! Happy to have you at Herrington! MARY-BETH Thank you! (chipper) DELILAH Hey, don't you just love the way Stokely accessorizes all the different shades of black in her outfit? Stokely cringes at the put down Delilah just fired at her and turns her head towards her. STOKELY Fuck you, gutter slut. DELILAH Now I don't know why you insist on being such a bad example for your people... MARY-BETH What people? DELILAH Well I hope you're not a violent lesbian like your newfound friend here. MARY-BETH Uh, no...I'm not aware of any lesbianism in my leanage. DELILAH Aww, that's too bad...guess you'll just have to keep looking for Miss Right, Stokely! Stokely quickly gathers up her bag and book and leaves the table. STOKELY Bi-poid bitch! She gives Delilah the finger as she walks away. DELILAH (to Mary-Beth, with an I-told-you-so-look) Violent… MARY-BETH Yeah... Delilah walks away. Casey sits eating his lunch alone and far away from people in the top of the bleachers facing the football field. When he finishes he walks down the tall white bleachers and onto the football field, eyes to the ground. He notices a flesh-colored bug-like creature that appears dead on the ground and picks it up. He has never seen this type of insect before. A loud voice behind him makes him jump and he almost drops the insect. He turns around the face the coach. COACH What are you doing here? CASEY (nervously) I was just eating my lunch, sir COACH Well, this ain't the cafeteria, son. CASEY I know, sir...sorry ‘bout that, sir. Casey starts to walk away the Coach calls back to him and he turns back around to face him. COACH You're uh... I forget your name. CASEY Casey. COACH Right... I’ve seen ya around. You're not really into sports? CASEY I don't believe a person should run unless he's being chased. COACH Being chased eh? I like that. He eyes Casey meanly. Casey is afraid. COACH Get outta here! Casey turns and runs away. Stokely walks quickly into the school. She’s embarrassed from what had just happened with Delilah. She walks up to the water fountain just opposite the faculty lounge. Mrs. Olson enters the faculty lounge and asks Mrs. Brummel a question. OLSON Could I have a word with you, Mrs. Brummel? Stokely and Mrs. Olson make eye contact. Mrs. Olson glared at Stokely in a "it’s-non-of-your-business" type of way and closed the door. Stokely takes a sip from the water fountain. She turns to walk further down the hall, but she bumps into Stan. STOKELY Man... get a fucking eye dog! She pushes him aside and continues to stomp down the hallway. STAN Maybe if you didn't paint your fuckin’ eyes shut... He too takes a sip of water. Casey walks in his biology classroom a few minutes after Stokely. CASEY Mr. Furlong! FURLONG Present... CASEY I found something down on the football field. I thought you might like to take a look. FURLONG What is it? He takes the body from Casey. CASEY I was hoping you could tell me. Mary-Beth walks in, sees Stokely and sits beside her. MARY-BETH (eagerly) Wanna be lab partners? Stokely doesn't answer Mary-Beth and pushes her hair behind her ear like she always does. MARY-BETH I didn't know you were a lesbian. I don't think I've ever met one before. Been out long? You know I think it's very impressive that- STOKELY Look, I'm not a lesbian alright? MARY-BETH Be one...please - feel free. STOKELY You know, you were right about me. I don't have any friends and I like it that way. Being a lesbian is just my sense of security. (looks down at the desk) MARY-BETH Security against what? STOKELY People like you. MARY-BETH (smiles) Complex! FURLONG It certainly has a zone that only exists in the kidney of certain squid and octupi. (examining the insect under a microscope as more students fill the room) Which doesn't make sense because... CASEY This is Ohio. The students pile around Mr. Furlong trying to get a glimpse. FURLONG Right. It's a pelagic organism. STUDENT What's pelagic? ZEKE Sea-dwelling organism. Zeke had just walked in, dropped his stuff off and walked over to the microscope to take a look. FURLONG Exactly. Zeke, I don't recognize this surface tissue at all. Casey I don't want to blow smoke but I think you found a new species here. GABE Yeah right! FURLONG Hey it could happen, new species are found every day! Zeke states something about how scientists didn't find very many new species until the late 20th century. Mary-Beth overhears him and approaches him. MARY-BETH Wow you just know everything! (smiles) ZEKE (looks up from microscope) I'm a contradiction. FURLONG Check the follicles on its underbelly... Zeke takes a look. CASEY What does that mean? FURLONG It means we need to call the university. Let them take a look. Maybe even get in on some of their federal grant money. Our secret alright? Gabe takes a look at it and then at Stokely. GABE Hey Stokely, maybe it's from your planet. (laughs) STOKELY Oh blow me you fucker! She pushes him knocking over a beaker full of water. Some water gets on the body and it flickers alive. CASEY Whoa! Did you see that? The specimen pulsates. GABE What's it doing? Furlong grabs the creature and brings it over to an aquarium on the other side of the room. ZEKE So you think it's amphibian? FURLONG Well, the water resuscitated it... Furlong picks it up and holds it above the water tank about to drop it in CASEY Hey couldn't that kill it? GABE Yeah you don't wanna drown it. FURLONG Only one way to find out... He gently lets it fall into the water tank. It sinks a little bit then begins to swim. Long red feelers extend from its body. It makes a quick swerve. Some of the students gasp. FURLONG It's alright. It’s okay. He puts on a glove and dips his hand into the tank. GABE Mr. Furlong, what are you doing? FURLONG Just gonna check his prostate. Actually, the surface texture changed so...I wanna feel it. He reaches in about to touch it. The creature makes a swift turn and produced another one like itself, exactly the same. FURLONG Jesus! It can replicate! As Furlong’s hand gets closer to one of the creatures, teeth emerge from its front and bites him in the finger. FURLONG Ah! Fuck! Furlong pulls his hand out sharply. His finger is bleeding fiercely. FURLONG God Damnit! Aware that he is in the presence of students he calms down. FURLONG I'm okay. CASEY It has teeth...where did it get teeth? FURLONG I don't know...I'm gonna call the university right now. Stokely presses her hand against the glass of the tank and gazed at the creature, mesmerized. Inside the poolroom a whistle blows. Guys dive off the side of the pool and swim laps. Stan stands with the Coach. STAN You know, Coach, I've just been thinking ahead and...I've decided to quit the team to concentrate on my academics... COACH (calmly) Okay. Stan, we'll miss you. STAN That's it? COACH Well what do you want me to say? My star quarterback comes to me the day before we play the only team in the district that can kick our ass telling me he doesn't want to play. There's something up with that. You seem to be going through some life defining turning point and I'm not going to stand in the way of the human condition. You do what you have to do. STAN Thanks for hearing, me coach. COACH What kind of human being would I be if I didn't? Stan walks away and heads toward the boys' locker room. Inside the boys' locker room Gabe and another jock run through the aisles making the lives of various people miserable. Including Casey. Gabe bumps into him on purpose. GABE Hey yo piss wad, you're in my way. CASEY (face to his locker) I'm sorry...I was breathing here. GABE Yeah that's the problem, you're occupying my air, anal probe. He and his friend start laughing. Just as they were about to smash Casey, Stan walks in. Their attention quickly turns to him. GABE Hey yo Stan! Tomorrow night right?! He gives him a high five. GABE That's right! We're gonna kill 'em! WOO HOO! He and his friend run out of the locker room. Casey turns to Stan who is getting ready for a shower. CASEY It must really blow being you. STAN (walking to shower) You have no idea. Stan turns on the shower and lets the warm water drip over his body. There's a noise and Stan jumps. Ignoring it he rubs soap over his face and his eyes. Someone steps into the shower. STAN Yo Casey is that you? There’s no answer. He can’t see because there was soap in his eyes. He washes the soap off his face and turns around to see Mrs. Brummel, half naked, walking towards him. STAN Mrs. Brummel, what the fuck?! She peels off her shirt revealing her naked sagging breasts, gasping for air. BRUMMEL Help me I...can't....breathe! I don't know what's happening! They want everyone! Casey enters to see what the yelling is about. Stan looks at Casey. STAN Get help! He holds Mrs. Brummel against him and touched her matted hair. As he took his hand away a big clump of hair and flesh stuck to his hand. Disgusted he pushed her away and let the clot of hair fall to the ground. Casey and Stan find themselves in the office telling Mrs. Olson what happened to Mrs. Brummel. STAN Is she gonna be okay? OLSON Stan, Mrs. Brummel was diagnosed with cancer and she's on a lot of medication at the moment and it causes disorientation. We were hoping she could make it through the school year but unfortunately... Casey is looking at the window. He notices the sprinklers are running on the football field and the Coach is right in the middle of the spraying water arms crossed with a strangely enjoying expression on his face. Something weird is going on no doubt. Casey takes out his camera and zoomed in to make sure it’s him. OLSON You can understand the sensitive nature of the situation... STAN Yeah. OLSON Casey, you understand? There is no answer as Casey is still fixated on the Coach. OLSON Casey, you understand? (louder) Casey? CASEY (finally realizing she was talking to him) Um yeah, sure... He takes one last glance at the coach. Outside in the student parking lot Zeke is doing business. He pulls two videotapes out of the trunk of his car and hands them to two guys. They pay him. GUY 1 It's Neve Campbell? GUY 2 ...and Jennifer Love Hewitt right? ZEKE Yep...Party of Prettiness. GUY 1 And they're naked? ZEKE Full frontal... The two students scatter away. Ms Burke approaches him. BURKE Zeke. You cannot conduct personal business on school property. Zeke sits down on the trunk of his car. ZEKE Well you see Ms Burke, we have a problem because I'm sitting on my car...which is my property. BURKE Well um, I've have complaints from several students who say you've sold them mind-altering substances. Now do you want to tell me about it or take it up with Principal Drake? ZEKE You're too tense, Ms Burke. Zeke hops off his car and opens the trunk. ZEKE But I’ve got just the thing for ya. BURKE You know Zeke, I'm the authority figure here! It's time you realized that! Zeke holds up a small container. ZEKE (playing commercial guy) For gentle relief of blockage... caused by stress. Chocolate flavored Laxedox. BURKE Ya know...If you applied just 5 percent of that intellect to your studies - ZEKE Not a chocolate lover huh? He throws the container back into his trunk and searches for something else. BURKE You could have made up your finals last summer instead of repeating your senior year. ZEKE (showing another box) How ‘bout these? Condoms. Magnum sized. And they're cherry flavored. He holds them out for her to take. She doesn't. ZEKE Oh come on Ms Burke. They're on me. Ms. Burke is obviously shocked by Zeke’s actions. BURKE That's so rude. She walks away swiftly. Delilah and Casey walk through the halls. DELILAH I need a lead story. I have no page one. CASEY We found a weird thing in biology today. Bizarre ... really bizarre. Mr. Furlong thinks it might be a new species! DELILAH (not impressed) Oh, let’s just race to the stands for that issue. CASEY (hurt) Why do you rag on me so much? What did I do? DELILAH Nothing! It's just your fate. You're just the geeky Stephen King kid. There's one in every school. She starts to open the door to the faculty lounge, but Casey pulls her back. CASEY We can't go in here. DELILAH (sighs) Come on, Casey you're with me...be brave. The two of them enter the lounge. CASEY Okay...so...what are we looking for? DELILAH Anything. She looks through someone's bag. DELILAH Hmm...Nurse Harper’s medicated. Big surprise. Casey looks into one teacher’s bag and pulls out a bottle of alcohol and shows it to Delilah. DELILAH No...I exposed Mr. Tate's alcohol problem last year....nobody cares. And his wife certainly didn't when she ran off with the baby-sitter. CASEY God you can be such a.... DELILAH What?! CASEY Pretty cool human being when you're not being a first class, grade A bitch. DELILAH (smiles) Are you hitting on me Casey? Casey quickly looks down. CASEY No... no... I just think you can be cool... sometimes... This not being one of them. They look at each other longingly for a moment, until they hear Mrs. Olson and Coach Willis entering the office. They quickly rush into the faculty closet to hide, looking through the blinds to see what was going on. The two teachers head directly to the water dispenser. The Coach fills a paper cup and drinks from it. Mrs. Olson fills a cup also but just splashes it onto her face, hard. OLSON What happened to Mrs. Brummel? COACH (heartless) She didn't make it...her body was too old. The heat got to her. OLSON Oh yeah, it can make your nerve system... pulsive. COACH Has the entire faculty been commuted? OLSON Almost. COACH what about the students? OLSON Soon. The door opens and the two teachers turn to see Nurse Harper walk in. She blows her nose for what seems like the millionth time today and feels her head. Warm. When is this terrible cold going to pass? She goes to her bag to get some Tylenol. HARPER What are you two still doing here? I thought I was the only one left? She takes some pills out out of her purse. HARPER There's not enough drugs in this world. Mrs. Olson nods to the Coach as Nurse Harper walks over to the fridge and gets her tomato juice and takes a sip. The coach walks up to Nurse Harper. He stands behind her, very close. When she turns around she bumps into him and is startled. She gives him a scared, avoiding smile. NURSE What? COACH I have a pain. (looks over to Mrs. Olson and back to Nurse Harper) I have a pain... right here. He points to his temple then grabs the Nurse and flings her onto the sofa and gets on top of her. The Coach’s eyes turn totally white, and his face is covered by what look like very thick veins. He moves his face close to Nurse Harper’s ear. Casey and Delilah watch from behind the door of the closet in horror as something comes out of the coach's mouth and squirmed into the Nurse's ear. Some blood is sprayed onto Nurse Harper’s cheeck, and her face is now also covered by the same ‘veins’ as the Coach’s. Mrs. Olson doesn't even try to help the Nurse. In the closet, Delilah backs into something causing the corpse of Mrs. Brummel to fall over on her. She yelps as she struggles to get the stinking body off her. The Coach looks up at the closet. Mrs. Olson motions for him to check the closet. As he opens the door Casey plunges a broom into the Coach's groin causing him to fall down. Delilah pushes Mrs. Olson onto the table and they both run out of the room and into the hallway. DELILAH What the hell is going on? In the hallway, Casey and Delilah nearly run into Principal Drake and Mr. Tate. PRINCIPAL DRAKE Hey, slow down there! DELILAH They killed Mrs. Brummel and they're after us! DRAKE (calmly) Hey, hey, hey. Who killed who? TATE What's going on? CASEY The Coach and Mrs. Olson just attacked the Nurse! DELILAH Look, just ask Nurse Harper! Th-They attacked her. TATE Who attacked who? Mrs. Drake, what's going on? DRAKE (calmly) I have no idea. I came in right in the middle of it. CASEY Mrs. Brummel wigged out in the shower and then we found her body in the faculty closet. TATE What were you doing in the faculty closet? CASEY (clearly thinking ‘That’s not important’!) Look, the coach and Mrs. Olson attacked the Nurse! DRAKE Why would they do that? Delilah spots the Nurse come out of the lounge along with the coach and Mrs. Olson, unscratched. DELILAH There’s Nurse Harper. You can just ask her... uh oh. Drake eyes the two students evilly. DRAKE Now we can get to the bottom of this. DELILAH Oh fuck... CASEY Delilah run! They both take off down the hallway to the nearest exit. Casey falls down and calls for Delilah's help but she keeps going out the door. He gets up and runs all the way home to call his parents and the police. A few minutes later Casey is back in the school with his parents and two cops. Principal Drake, Mrs. Olson and Coach Willis are also there, pretending to be innocence itself. COP 1 In here? CASEY Yes. The body was in the closet. DRAKE And why would Mrs. Brummel be in the closet? CASEY (looking toward the coach and Mrs. Olson) Because they killed her! DRAKE (perkily) Oh, that's right. COACH Hey Casey! Sorry about that mix up today... didn't mean to scare you! DRAKE (to cops) Apparently there's been a misunderstanding. CASEY’S DAD Still if we could just see inside the closet... DRAKE Certainly. Principal Drake opens the closet for the cops to examine. Their flashlights search the closet and come across a life like doll face. Drake pulls out the life size doll and puts it on the table. Casey's eyes dart form the closet and back to the doll, confused. COP 2 It's a doll... DRAKE Meet Resuscitation Annie. We use her to teach the kids CPR. Although I guess she does resemble Mrs. Brummel slightly. (laughs) COP 1 You dialed 911 for a dead doll?! CASEY That wasn't there! They put that there! Casey looks to the cops and his parents for help. CASEY Look, I'm not makin' this up! Call Delilah... she'll tell you! COP 1 We called her. She isn't home. CASEY She was here with me, she saw it too. They attacked Nurse Harper! DRAKE Nurse Harper is epileptic. She's prone to go off. COACH She was having an attack. OLSON Luckily she carries her medicine in her bag so we were able to help her! Casey remembers Delilah finding medication in the nurses bag and replacing it. DRAKE We think it was brought on by this terrible cold she's had. I took her home myself, you can call her if you like. COP 1 Well, it is procedure... DRAKE You can use the phone in my office. Drake leads him into her office and shuts the door. COACH That was some fast running you did down the hall, son. We could sure use your speed. There's a lot of chasin' on the field. CASEY’S DAD Hear that Case? He said you got speed. CASEY (quietly) Thank you. CASEY’S DAD Have a good game tomorrow Coach. The coach leaves the room. CASEY’S MOM Evelyn knows someone downtown, a professional. I’m going to make an appointment. CASEY’S DAD He's a straight A student and now he needs a professional? Christ sakes... CASEY I don't need a shrink... I know what I saw. There is a jolt from inside the principal's office and then the Cop and Drake come out. "They got him", Casey thinks to himself. DRAKE We've just spoken with both Mrs. Brummel and Nurse Harper. CASEY (stares at cop and whispers) They got 'em... The cop smiles. Casey’s parents interpret it as plain friendlyness but Casey knows what it is: an evil grin that says “I know it, you know it. But what’re ya gonna do about it?” COP 1 Nothing here. Just some kid looking for some attention. (glares at Casey) Let's go. COP 2 Alright. Both cops leave the office. CASEY’S MOM I am... so sorry, Ms. Drake. DRAKE (motioning to Casey's mom) Maybe if we spoke privately in my office we could... CASEY No! No...Mom...uh, maybe you're right. Maybe I should she this woman, this doctor. Can we just go? Casey’s mother looks at Casey then at the Principal. CASEY’S MOM We'll handle this at home Ms. Drake, and again, sorry for all this trouble. DRAKE I can see how it all got out of hand. It’s a pretty bizarre series of events. CASEY’S DAD Well it’s our fault and it won’t happen again. The family starts to leave the room. DRAKE See ya tomorrow Casey. She winks to him. Back at Casey’s house his mom and dad are destroying his room looking for drugs. His mom is standing at the door as his father rummages all around the room. CASEY’S MOM Check his school book. They hind the drugs in the spine of the book...I saw it on Dateline. CASEY’S DAD What are you on, son!? CASEY I’m not doing drugs... Casey’s dad rips the book to shreds. CASEY Hey! That’s government property, dad! CASEY’S DAD Shit! (calms down) We love you son. We're only trying to help you. CASEY Then believe me. I’m telling the truth...look something weird is happening at school. The teachers - something's happened to them. CASEY’S DAD Don't push it! Alright? I’m bending this as far as I can but if you push it- CASEY Just let me call Delilah. Please! Casey looks towards his wall dedicated to her with pictures of her all over. CASEY’S DAD Okay. That's it. Your privileges are now over. No phone... (he rips the phone jack out of the wall) Sorry, over! (he walks over to Casey’s computer) No Internet... (bashes the Internet box in) You'll go to school, straight to school, and you'll come straight home. Got it? CASEY I’m not going back to that school. They're waiting for me. CASEY’S DAD Oh you'll go...if I have to tie you to the desk myself, you'll go. Casey’s dad takes a stereo off a shelf. CASEY’S DAD No music. CASEY’S MOM (whispering and pointing to under the bed mattress) His porno. CASEY’S DAD His porno? Oh ho ho ho... Casey’s Dad looks at him and then goes to get the magazines. CASEY’S DAD Sorry pal...no more floggin’ the ol’ bishop. CASEY’S MOM We're gonna get you help. Don’t worry. CASEY’S DAD Get your room cleaned up. They both leave... after a moment Casey messes with his computer to make some noise then sneaks out the window to go to Delilah. As soon as he's on the roof he sees Mrs. Olson and the Coach outside on the sidewalk. Losing his balance, Casey falls off the roof and into a bush. The two teachers swarm around him. Getting to his feet he runs into his dad. CASEY’S DAD What the hell do you think you're doing? CASEY Dad! They're here! The faculty! He turns around seeing no one. CASEY’S DAD Get in the house. He bops Casey in the head with the porn magazines he was still holding. The next morning Casey’s Dad drives him to school. CASEY’S DAD Go on, son. CASEY Dad, I’m begging you. Please. CASEY’S DAD Come home right after school, your mom's looking into a doctor. Casey slowly gets out of the car and walks towards the school. He notices the coach talking to his dad. The coach waves to him and Casey keeps walking. He walks through the busy halls and runs into Delilah who's normally styled hair is up in a pony tail and isn't hair-sprayed at all today...and she actually has glasses on. CASEY Whoa! Delilah! Wow, you look... DELILAH Don't. Come on... She leads him into the bathroom and into a stall. They listen to an announcement calling for three students, including Delilah to report to the office. DELILAH This is all your fault! Do you think I am used to being called to the office?! She pulls off her glasses and takes her hair out of the ponytail. They're after me. CASEY Did you tell your parents? DELILAH My mom...didn't believe me. She drinks...it’s a nightmare. Look, we've got to go to the police. CASEY No, I'm telling you they got the police! DELILAH We don't know what they've got. CASEY Look, you saw it. Mrs. Brummel was dead. They attacked Nurse Harper! DELILAH They? Who are THEY, Casey? We don't even know who THEY are! I'm gonna check if everything's okay. CASEY Its a devil's cult or something. Maybe they worship comets. Who the fuck knows? DELILAH Well I’m not going to stay in the handicapped bathroom for the rest of my life. Delilah walks out. CASEY Where are you going? DELILAH I'm going to find Stan. CASEY Stan?! Why Stan?! He follows her. In the faculty lounge every one is drinking water. The usual coffee isn’t brewing. The custodian is bringing in dozens of large water dispensers. The cabinets once filled with files are now filled with hundreds of bottles of water. In history class, students are gathering to their seats. Mary-Beth and Stokely walk together. Stokely gazes at Stan who was getting his assignments out, ready for class. MARY-BETH You should just go talk to him. STOKELY No way. As they pass him, Mary-Beth pushes Stokely lightly causing her to fall into Stan's lap. She quickly gets up, embarrassed. STOKELY Um, sorry. So you, are you uh, ready for the big game? STAN Quit the team. STOKELY Are you serious?! STAN Yeah. Stokely takes a seat in the chair in front of Stan, while asking him: STOKELY Why? STAN Just tired of everyone kissing my ass cause I’m captain of the football team. Ya know? The coach, the students, even the teachers. Last year after we won the two way conference... STOKELY That was thanks to you and your competent passes. STAN You follow our games? (smiles) I wouldn't have guessed that... Stokely smiles back. STAN I made a D on a biology test, right, and the Furlong changed it to an A. He said I deserved it for having such a strong arm. That really bugged me ya know? I worked hard for that D, that was my D, I deserved that D. I just wish people would let me be... STOKELY (slightly sceptic but supportive all the same) A D student? STAN Yeah. (smiles) The bell ring and Mr. Tate walks in. He looked tired and it’s obvious he won’t to take any shit. Seeing a student listen to music through head phones, he yanked them out of his ear and smashed a large file of papers onto his desk. The students gasp, turn around, and pay close attention. TATE Okay, class. Listen up! Today we are going to write a living family history. Students wonder what’s going on. Everybody take out a piece of paper and write down every name of every living member of your family. Begin with your immediate family, those living with you, then include the name of your nearest living relatives. Tate takes a noisy swig from a bottle of water that has replaced his usual drink. A STUDENT Is this going to be on the test? TATE (smiles) This is the test! During passing period Mary-Beth sees Zeke get pen looking containers of white powder out of his locker and putting them into his pant pocket. Curious, she approaches him. MARY-BETH What is that? ZEKE It's magic dust. Want some? MARY-BETH Nah. I have low tolerance, but thank you. ZEKE You sure? MARY-BETH I'm allergic to Aspirin so that (she points to the white powder) would probably kill me. (laughs) ZEKE Well we don't want to do that then. MARY-BETH No... I'm Mary-Beth Louise Hutchinson I'm from- ZEKE Atlanta. I know. MARY-BETH That's right... (smiles) you know everything... ZEKE I'm Zeke. MARY-BETH I know. ZEKE It's a pleasure. MARY-BETH Pleasure's all mine! Stan and Stokely walk out of their class and look at the long line of students leading into the Nurse's office. STAN Weird, isn't it? STOKELY What do you think it is? STAN Locker search, maybe? STOKELY Something weird's going on here. Gabe, dressed in his football gear, sees Stan and greets him. GABE Whoa! Stan! STAN Hey Gabe. GABE Hey you're not pissed are ya? STAN No, why? GABE Well, I’m the new team captain. They start to walk down the hall, the line grows. STAN What's going on here? GABE Nurse Harper is giving an ear exam or some shit like that. They look into the office where Nurse Harper inserts a strange-looking instrument into a student’s ears. Before we see the effect, Principal Drake shuts the door. Stan notices a couple of police officers following Ms. Olson into the school halls. STAN And that takes the police? Delilah finally spots Stan and grabs a hold of him. DELILAH Stan, I need to talk to you. STAN I didn't know you wear glasses... DELILAH Contacts...Come on it's important. They walk away, leaving Stokely alone. Casey sees her and approaches her. CASEY Stokely...got a second? I need your help. Outside, Mary-Beth and Zeke walk the quad dodging people. MARY-BETH So after the accident I came to live here with relatives, my cousins and well, here I am. They spot a girl and her boyfriend sitting on a bench. The girl is yelling and smacking her boyfriend. He does absolutely nothing. Just sits there as she smacks the shit out of him. Zeke notices that a lot of students are acting weird. There is a large line for the water fountain and everyone seems zonked out. ZEKE Yeah, my mom and dad are dead too. MARY-BETH Really? ZEKE Yeah, they're still breathing but for all intents and purposes they're very much dead. MARY-BETH Well you and I have a lot in common then. ZEKE Yeah...you notice anything off here today at school? MARY-BETH I’m from the South, you’re all off. The two guys that Zeke sold fake IDs to come up to the two of them. CUSTOMER 1 Dude we need some scat. CUSTOMER 2 We man can’t deal, there’s some weird shit going down here. ZEKE (routined) Five bucks a pop. They pay him and he gives them each three pen-like containers. ZEKE Hey man how's the new you workin' out? CUSTOMER 1 Workin' out just fine. Hey, ya got any more? ZEKE Sure, man. CUSTOMER 1 Really? Why don't you just give us all you got? He hands out the money and Zeke gives him another handful of pens. ZEKE Alright. Dope. CUSTOMER 2 Got any more? ZEKE Not on me, man. CUSTOMER 1 What about in your locker? CUSTOMER 2 Or your car? Got any in there? ZEKE Use with moderation, boys... CUSTOMER 1 Come on Zeke, hook us up.... STUDENT Whoa! Check out Ms. Burke! Ms. Burke strolls up to Zeke looking like a super model instead of the dorky teacher she normally was. ZEKE Ahh man...I'm really not in the mood Ms. Burke... I'm clean. Ms. Burke pushes him and students circle around them to see the action. ZEKE Not today. It's too damn hot and I’ve got zero fucking tolerance. BURKE Eat me you asshole! I’m the one with no tolerance, you pathetic little runt! CUSTOMER 1 Ouch... good comeback... Both Zeke’s customers walk away. ZEKE What are you going to do, call my mother? (laughs) BURKE Now how am I supposed to do that little Zekey boy? Do you even know where she is? Europe? Sri Lanka? Japan? I wonder what remote location she went to this week to hide from her great big bastard mistake. I’ve taken your shit for too fuckin' long! Dickless, drugged induced excuse for a human being! ZEKE Oh, woman, what are you on?! BURKE Woman?! She pushes him. BURKE Did you just say woman?! I’m sick of you, little boy. And if I have to see you peddling your little wonder dust again, I’m gonna shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be sucking my toes till graduation. She pushes him aside and stomps off. Every student makes sure not to get in her way. ZEKE She's got some bad shit... Casey and Stokely are sitting at a table in the library. CASEY And then they chased us but we got away. STOKELY So all of this started when Mrs. Brummel did a wet and wild in the boys' locker room? CASEY I think so. Everybody's been acting really strange. Especially the faculty. STOKELY Tell me about it. It's like they all turned us into fuckin pod people or something. CASEY To what people? STOKELY Invasion of the Body Snatchers... a small town gets taken over by aliens... that was a joke. CASEY Well, what if it really happened? STOKELY What if what really happened? CASEY Maybe something’s taken over our school. STOKELY The Body Snatchers is just a story somebody made up dingus... It’s located in the fiction section of the library. CASEY Yeah and so is Schindler's List... look, all fiction is based on some sort of truth right? What does Ms. Burke teach us in English 101? Write what you know. How do you know this writer guy... STOKELY Jack Finney. CASEY Didn't encounter aliens in high school, which led him to write a story about an alien invasion? STOKELY Your conspiracy theory is flawed. CASEY How so? STOKELY Well Jack Finney's Body Snatchers is a blatant rip off of The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein, so you can completely disregard your statement... CASEY Whatever...the point is they're here, they've been here, and they'll be here again. STOKELY You know Casey, I think you’ve been racked into the flag pole one too many times. CASEY How do you know there’s not a conspiracy?! Like maybe the X-Files is right. Where do all these movies come from anyway? How do we know Spielberg, Lucas, Sonnenfeld, Emmerich haven't been visited by aliens? Maybe they're aliens themselves...maybe they’re simply preparing us for what’s to come. STOKELY You know Casey, it's fiction. Okay? It's science fiction. CASEY Exactly! Everyone is getting hung up on the science part which has nothing to do with it - they’re really getting us with the fiction. STOKELY So...aliens just have been setting us up over the years, creating this happy, make-believe, little existence with their E.T. and their Men in Black movies just so nobody would believe it if it really happened? CASEY I think so. Yeah....you're not buying this are you? STOKELY No. I'm not. But... (smiles) it's kinda cool. CASEY Okay, so what's missing? STOKELY Well in the Body Snatchers they were pods but where are they? Where are the pods? CASEY There are no pods... There’s got to be something else... STOKELY In Puppet Masters they were... parasites... They both look at each other and know what they’ve got to do. In the hall Stokely and Casey meet up with Delilah and Stan. DELILAH I filled Stan in. CASEY Come with us... Stokely is on to something. DELILAH (crosses arms over chest and glares at Stokely) Really? They enter Mr. Furlong's biology lab where the creature Casey had found was. Unfortunately the water tank is now empty. There’s still water, but no creature. STOKELY Furlong must have sent it up to the university... CASEY Doubtful. STOKELY Where else could it be? DELILAH What? What is it? STAN Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here? CASEY Okay it all started yesterday when I found this thing, this new species... STOKELY ...which is now missing. CASEY We think aliens are taking over our school. STAN (laughs) What? Come on... CASEY You saw what Brummel did in the shower. DELILAH And I saw her dead body in the closet. STOKELY They've been calling students into the office all day. Students with the most influence on them. Including the new team captain. DELILAH Looks like you chose the right time to quit football. STAN You think aliens have infested our school? DELILAH That would explain their weird behavior, wouldn't it? STAN Give me a fucking break! Meanwhile Mary-Beth and Zeke sneak into a room. The door they enter has a sign that says ‘Storage Room’ hanging above it. MARY-BETH So what are we doing here? ZEKE Shopping. I’ve got a very large grocery list MARY-BETH What are ya talkin' about? ZEKE This is where I get my equipment. MARY-BETH You borrow it from science labs? ZEKE I like to think of it as stealing actually. Zeke takes some tubes and other stuff he needs. ZEKE I'm just doing my part in the deconstruction of America. Zeke walks towards Mary-Beth and touches her chin lightly. ZEKE So if anybody finds us in here...just grab a hold of me and pretend we're making out. Punishment will be less severe. Their lips meet into a soft kiss. Zeke hears voices through the vent to the next room. VOICE 1 You have a better explanation Stan? Great. Mary-Beth giggles. VOICE 2 I mean, just listen to yourselves... Teachers are aliens? ZEKE Shh... They get closer to the vent to listen realizing the voices belonged to Casey and Stan. STAN That's not just idiotic, that’s fuckin psychotic! Back in the biology lab. STAN Come on guys...this is nuts! DELILAH Then why don’t you leave Stan? Why are you hanging around? Go to study hall or something. STAN Oh blow me, Delilah, cause I’m sick of your shit! DELILAH Well then get the fuck out of here and take your little freak dyke here (points to Stokely) with you! STOKELY Fuck you, tit bags! CASEY Will everybody calm down?! Please? STAN (mocking) Alright Casey...lets go alien for a second...Why here? Why Ohio? CASEY If you were going to take over the world, would you blow up the White House, Independence Day style, or sneak in through the back door? Suddenly there’s a scream causing the 4 students to jump as Zeke staggers in holding his chest. Then he laughs followed by Mary-Beth and swaggers over to Casey. ZEKE Casey. Man the only person in this school that’s an alien... is you. CASEY Fuck you, Zeke. Zeke pretends to look hurt. Mr. Furlong walks in. FURLONG What’s going on here? Shouldn't you people be in class? ZEKE Well, its like this Mr. Ferlone... Casey, here, thinks you’re an alien. FURLONG (laughs) Is that true Casey? STAN The whole faculty actually. Mr. Furlong goes from amused to grim and closes the blinds to the door. FURLONG Is that true... Casey? CASEY The uh - the thing I found yesterday...where is it? FURLONG I sent it to the university. STOKELY do they know what it is? FURLONG No. ZEKE Look, sorry to impose and disrupt, Mr. Furlong Zeke walks toward the door but science teacher takes his arm and pushes him back lightly. FURLONG If you would kindly take your seats, this will be over quite quickly. Now sit down! Furlong pushes Zeke to the ground and starts to get the other people. When he tries to get Delilah, Casey runs up to push the science teacher but instead he grabs Casey by the throat with one hand, in a strangle-hold. Zeke rushes to the paper cutter, puts his foot on it and pulls the blade off, sending bolts flying around the room. Holding it like a baseball bat he approaches the teacher who still has Casey by the throat. ZEKE Put him the fuck down, Furlong! FURLONG (still holding Casey) This is for the best, Zeke. Casey escapes from his hold and Zeke swings the blade cutting off the teacher's fingers. The teacher screams in pain as the fingers start to move on the ground and chase the remaining students. Stokely and Delilah scream as the fingers squirm up their legs. The science teacher starts to fight Zeke, who dropped the large blade after he realised what he had done. Furlong heaves Zeke into the water tank, shattering it to a million pieces. Thinking quick, Zeke reached into his pocket and got out the pen full of his home-made drug, scat and plunges it deep into the eye of the teacher. White foam squirts out of the eye and eventually the teacher falls down, dead. The students gather around him, to confirm what they’ve just seen and to make sure he’s really dead. STOKELY Isn’t this usually the point where someone says 'Let's get the fuck outta here’? STAN Let’s get the fuck outta here! They head to the door and Casey gets a jar and puts one of Mr. Ferlone's fingers inside which now looked morelike the thing he found the day before. STAN Aliens are takin' over the fucking school. CASEY Gotta have proof. STAN Alright everybody, here's the deal: Run straight to the parking lot. We'll all go together and try to stay calm. They open the science door and walk out into the hallway. The kids all stare at them oddly whispering their names. They are all drinking water bottle after bottle. They get to the parking lot and to Zeke's car. ZEKE My car. CASEY Where are we going? DELILAH Anywhere but here. They all get in and just as Stan hops in, Gabe and some other members of the football team call to him. GABE Hey Stan! Where ya going to buddy? STAN We're uh... ZEKE Come on Stan. Jesus Christ, just get in the fucking car. GABE You sure you don't want to play with us? STAN Nah, Gabe... Stan gets in the car and Zeke starts to peel away. STAN ...but thanks. What the fuck is going on? ZEKE (lights a cigarette) I dunno. Let’s see if anyone's talkin’. Zeke turns on the radio and tries to find a channel. There is only static. STAN Who the fuck are these guys? (points to construction workers blocking their path) ZEKE Fuck this shit! Zeke tosses the cigarette out the window, takes a right turn and speeds towards his house. They speed down the road and arrive at Zeke's house. They walk into a shack next to the house, Zeke’s laboratory. There's a table covered with experiment tubes full of gold-colored and green liquid. Next to it are a few dozen capsules of Scat. Beside that is a cage with a white experiment rat named Oscar. On the table is a gun. CASEY Where's your mom and dad? ZEKE Europe... I think. He starts to mess with the test tubes. The others admire the hundreds of test tubes, full of experimental fluids. STAN This is some serious shit. Mary-Beth takes notice to the capsules of scat and some boxes. On the boxes are the words “NO SLEEP” and an image of a truck. They’re caffeine pills. MARY-BETH Is this your big secret? Caffiene pills? ZEKE (covers up the pills) You didn't see that. DELILAH What are we going to do? (looks to Stan) With the police not being an option? STAN I can call my dad, he'd know what to do. CASEY Yeah, if he's even your dad anymore. Stan looks down. Casey spots the gun and looks at it suspiciously. ZEKE It's called a gun, man... Zeke takes the bottle that Casey put one of the teacher’s fingers in. Now it looked more like the thing Casey found on the field, instead of a finger. CASEY What is it? ZEKE We're gonna find out. He then places it in the rat's cage. ZEKE Hey, come here, Oscar... He drips a bit of water on it. The rat approaches it and the thing sucks itself into the rats ear. The rat squeals, is fazed for a minute and then proceeds to the other side of its cage to drink water. ZEKE Geez! Zeke puts his hand in the cage and grabs the rat. ZEKE I'm sorry buddy... Zeke uses two fingers to break the rat’s neck, killing it. A few minutes later, the rat is cut open. Zeke takes the creature out of its stomach and places it under a microscope. ZEKE See it’s a parasite. It attaches itself to a host and then it controls it. He slits the side of the creature open with a scalpel revealing body parts. ZEKE It's incomplete... STOKELY What do you mean? ZEKE It can survive on its own, but it’s really part of a greater organism. It has the ability to replicate but it needs a host.... something moist. (pointing to the rat) See what it did to Oscar's insides? It dried them out. STAN Isn't a human's body composed mainly of water? STOKELY They're using us...drying us out. STAN Like Mrs. Brummel- CASEY I heard the coach say her body was too old - she couldn't take it... ZEKE See this partially explains what happened to Furlong. Zeke takes a capsule of scat and covers the creature with it. It shrivels up to nothing. ZEKE The drugs are diuretic. Dries it out. Kills it. STOKELY They're using us as hosts. They're just turning us into mindless slaves they can control. ZEKE How do you know that? DELILAH She doesn't! She's a trekky sci-fi freak. STAN Yeah, who's been right so far. MARY-BETH How can we stop it? She looks to Stokely for answers. CASEY Yeah Stokely....this is your area. STOKELY In theory they're all connected. If we kill the master we can get them all. DELILAH In theory... STAN What happens to everybody else? The ones that have been taken over. Do they just die? STOKELY No. They don't. They'd all, th-they'd become human again. But that is in theory so... (glares at Delilah) CASEY So if we found the leader, and killed it, we'd beat it. DELILAH What are we even talking about? I say we get the fuck out of town. CASEY And go where?! Don't you see? We gotta stop it or its gonna spread. It took the high school in a day and a half - give it a week and we'll never outrun it...we have to fight. STAN Fight what?! We don't even know who's alien and who's not. What if one of us was an alien right now? How would we know? STOKELY He's right. How do I really know you're really Casey? CASEY How do I really know you're you? STOKELY Well, in Body Snatchers humans became emotionless. They completely lost their identities. STAN The coach had emotion. I mean he's usually a real hard ass but he's different somehow. His behavior's slightly odd. DELILAH Like a star quarterback who mysteriously quits the football team? STAN What are you doing Delilah? DELILAH I'm just pointing out your slightly odd behavior Stan, you've been acting really weird the past couple of days. STAN I'm not an alien. I'm discontent. DELILAH There's another big word. STAN You wanna talk slightly odd?! What about you?! You haven't been without your contacts or hair spray since... birth?! DELILAH I'm incognito. STOKELY We just have to trust each other. DELILAH And I'm supposed to trust you? (evilly eyes her) Tell me something Miss Lesbian, when did you start liking boys? STOKELY What the fuck are you talkin about? DELILAH I’ve seen the way you look at Stan? So when did you stop muff diving? MARY-BETH She's not a lesbian alright? That was a hoax. DELILAH (wondering about Mary-Beth) Really? MARY-BETH Yeah. DELILAH And what about you, Miss Atlanta? It’s just really convenient you showed up the second all these things started happening... what are you doing in Ohio anyway? MARY-BETH It’s not my fault. ZEKE (glaring at Delilah) Hey, shut up! CASEY She's got a point, Zeke. STAN Yeah, Zeke! Professor. I mean you seem to know an awful lot about this stuff. No offense but you're not exactly known for your academic achievements. ZEKE Neither are you, man. DELILAH Casey, when did you become Sigourney Weaver? CASEY What? STAN Alright, this is getting us nowhere. ZEKE I’ve got a solution. He grabs a capsule of scat. ZEKE We know this stuff harms 'em right? He hands one to Stan. ZEKE Take a hit. Stan doesn’t take it. STAN No way man...I don't do drugs. ZEKE Aw, come on man. If you're not an alien you got nothin' to worry about. CASEY Zeke’s right. This is the only way to know for sure. ZEKE Yeah come on Stan what are you afraid of man? Look, we all do it. Zeke takes more capsules of scat and hands one to Casey. ZEKE Casey... CASEY Why me first? ZEKE It’s your birthright, man. Just fucking take it. Casey looks at it for a moment, holds the capsule to his nose and sniffs it. He doesn’t shrivel up. STAN Now you, Zeke! How do we know you're not one of those fucking things? ZEKE I don’t get high on my own stash, man. STAN Fuck that, man, you're takin' it! There's a giggle behind him. Casey is high off his hit. CASEY (high slurred voice) Hehehe... You're takin' it! Hahaha! STAN What the hell's wrong with you?! Stan sees the gun on the table, grabs it and points it to Casey. Casey doesn’t take notice to the weapon and keeps cracking up. ZEKE Nothing’s wrong with him, you asshole! He's tripping, now let him fucking trip! CASEY Trip, trip, hahahaha! Stan points the gun towards Zeke. STAN Now you. Zeke sniffs some of the drug up. Nothing happens to him. He hands one to Stan, who takes it. Zeke snatches the gun, still pointed at him, from Stan’s hand. Stan sniffs the scat. Zeke hands one to Stokely. ZEKE Stokely... STOKELY No, I’m not putting that, that hack drug up my nose...its so....80's. ZEKE Aliens are taking over the earth... weigh it. Stokely takes the drug and studies it. STOKELY What's in it? ZEKE Mostly caffeine... and some other hustled shit. Stokely sniffs it cautiously... Stan and Casey are cracking up on the couch. Stokely sits with her head in her hands, but aside from the high, nothing happens to her. Zeke approaches Delilah. ZEKE Now you Delilah. DELILAH No. (pointing to Mary-Beth) Her first. MARY-BETH I’m allergic. DELILAH Yeah and I’m Portuguese. Who cares? Zeke cracks up laughing. It took a while, but he’s also high. ZEKE Is she always this much fun, man?! STAN Sometimes she can be a real bitch! (laughs) Casey bursts into laughter, Stokely still has her head in her hands. STAN You know what I’m saying? Hahaha! CASEY Total bitch....hahaha....geez... ZEKE You both take it. Zeke hands one to each of them. Mary-Beth pushes it away. MARY-BETH Zeke, I can’t, you know I can’t! ZEKE (slightly desperate) You have to take it. He hands it back to her. Both of the girls raise it to their nose. CASEY Mmmmmm...showdown....ehehehehe. They both close one nostril... and sniff. Delilah flies back in her chair. When she gets up, her face is crawling underneath the skin. She was an alien. STAN Oh shit.... Delilah convulses... Casey grabs the gun. ZEKE Shoot her...shoot her in the head, Casey! Casey doesn’t move. DELILAH (panicking) I don’t know what's happening! ZEKE Shoot her, Casey! STAN Don’t shoot her Case! ZEKE Shoot her! She's fuckin' one of them man! DELILAH (menacing) There’s nowhere to go... She approaches the group. DELILAH ...no where to hide... She comes even closer. DELILAH ...we're everywhere! Stokely grabs the gun from Casey. STOKELY I'll fuckin' shoot her! Stokely fires the gun a few times, but never hits Delilah. Delilah throws herself into the laboratory, dodging the bullets, she pushes the glass tubes off the table and destroys all the scat. She then runs out of the lab, out of the house. Stokely follows her. STAN Jesus! The rest of them follow Stokely. Outside Stokely keeps firing at Delilah. A car with one of the teachers pulls up and Delilah hops in and they speed away. STOKELY I should've know that crazy bitch was one of 'em! (pants) CASEY We can get them back, Zeke. We can get them all back! ZEKE She destroyed most of my supply. CASEY If we can kill the queen we can get them all back! ZEKE (frustrated) Fuck! Mary-Beth walks out, laughing. It appears she too has gotten high. They get into Zeke’s car and drive off. ZEKE How much do we have left? STAN Not much. ZEKE Well, we only need enough to get the queen. We get her, we get them all, right? STOKELY I think so. MARY-BETH Well, where are we gonna find her? STAN Friday night? There’s only one place she can be. They drive to the school, which is lit up. The football game is going on and the whole town is there. There is no doubt Delilah is there. They get out of the car and head to the gymnasium so they can be alone. Stan and Stokely go off together to check the football stadium. Their school team is kicking the other team's ass. Everytime a member of the Chango’s gets vertical, a Herrington player drops an alien creature in his ear, turning him. STAN Do you think it’s Principal Drake? STOKELY Who else? She's in charge! It makes perfect sense. They're getting everybody. I mean, the whole town is here! STAN By morning, there won’t be a human left! They spot Principal Drake, Mrs. Olson, and Mr. Tate in the stands. The Coach is out on the field, guiding the team telling them how to beat the shit out of the other team. Stan and Stokely walk into the gym. STAN Where are you guys? STOKELY We found Drake, she's at the game. Suddenly the principal walks by and sees them. DRAKE What are you kids doing in here? She walks into the gym. DRAKE The gym is closed. All of you come with me. CASEY We can’t do that, Ms. Drake. DRAKE And why is that? She is punched down by Stan and Zeke as they wrap her up in volleyball nets. She struggles to get loose. DRAKE Get off!!! You're all expelled! CASEY Stop the act. No one’s buying it. STOKELY We know who you are. Stan hands Casey a tube of scat and gets himself ready by loading the gun. DRAKE You're all in a lot of trouble! She sees the gun and gets scared. DRAKE What are you doing? STAN You ready? CASEY Yep. He hands her a capsule of scat. CASEY Sniff this. DRAKE No. CASEY Sniff it, or he shoots you! (gestures to Stan) DRAKE (quivering voice) I will not! STAN Now what? CASEY Okay, we'll do it the hard way. He holds the principles chin steady. CASEY We punched it into the science teacher’s eye and the reaction was instant. STAN Okay, you stick her and then I'll shoot her, before it erupts all over the place. DRAKE Casey! Are you on drugs? Casey hesitates. STOKELY What’s wrong?! CASEY Are we sure? DRAKE Please don’t! No, Casey! STAN Don’t wuss out Casey, just do it! Casey still doesn’t do anything so Zeke grabs the gun from Stan and shoots Drake in the head. She falls back and blood puddles around her. No movement. MARY-BETH What if we were wrong? STOKELY Stab her... and find out. Casey hesitates and looks at the body. Blood pours from Drake’s head. CASEY I think we made a mistake guys...she's dead- Drake darts up reaching for them. They all scream. Mary-Beth pours the main supply of scat on the principal causing her to convulse and shrivel up in a disgusting sucking noise. She was an alien. STAN Is that it? Well, let’s see if it worked. Stan heads towards the window to look outside the gym. He noticed it had started to rain and that everyone but the team had left for home. Stokely stands beside him. STOKELY Better it worked - or there’s gonna be a lot of infected people going home. CASEY We're right at ground zero. STAN Hey guys, stay here. I’m gonna go check it out. I’m gonna need some scat. Zeke hands him two pens filled with scat. ZEKE Use it wisely, man. CASEY What if it wasn't Drake? ZEKE Then we're fucked. Stokely gazes into Stan's eyes and just as he was about to leave she pulls him back in and kisses him. He looks surprised. Then he smiles. STOKELY I just didn’t want to never have done that. Stan leaves and every one stares at Stokely in utter disbelief. STOKELY What are you lookin' at? Casey and Zeke crack up...still getting over their hit of scat. Outside in the pouring rain Stan runs to the football field. The team and the Coach look up to the sky and red feelers extend from their faces catching the falling rain. The Coach smiles, thoroughly enjoying the weather. STAN Coach! The coach wakes up from his rain trance. The feelers go back into his face. Coach Willis looks at him, and gives signals to the team. Stan's eyes go wide in horror. Back inside the gym. MARY-BETH Jesus I wish I'd never come here. I don't like this place... CASEY Any sight of him? STOKELY (looking out window) I can’t tell. Can barely see anything. Suddenly Stan rushes to the door. He tries to get in but realises it's locked. STAN Okay, Stokely, open the door! CASEY No! Stokely, we don’t know if its still him. STAN No, it's me. Listen it isn’t Drake, it’s the coach! And he's right after me! Open the door! ZEKE Don't do it Stoke... Prove it, Stan. Where's the drug? STAN I lost it! The coach was too fast for me! Zeke takes a scat-pen out of his pocket and gives it to Casey. ZEKE Last one, man. STAN Please I'm begging you! Don't leave me out here! Come on Stokely open the door! Casey shoves the drug underneath the door to Stan. CASEY There. Try it. STAN Okay, I'll do it! Just let me do it inside! ZEKE No, you'll do it right now man. CASEY Take the test, Stan... ZEKE Stan, take the drug man... prove it to us. Stan reaches for the hit of scat, raises it to his nose, waits for a moment and deliberately spills it on the ground, with a demonic smile on his face. ZEKE Fuck! CASEY Shit! STAN Open... the door. Stan is trying to get to Stokely. Tears roll down her face because she wants to let him in but knows he was already taken over. STAN It is so much better. There's no fear. No pain. It's beautiful. And you will be beautiful. Stan touches the glass where Stokely's face is. STAN You'll be beautiful. No problems or worries. We want you. And I want you. I... want... you. (yelling) Now open the fucking door! Open the door! Marybeth escorts Stokely away from the window. CASEY Go a-fucking-way Stan! STAN It's too late, Stokely. We've already won. ZEKE No pain, Stan? (holds gun to glass and YELLS) If you come in here I'll show you some fucking pain! Stan runs away from the window and towards the field. The students sit together on the bleachers inside the gym trying to think what to do. CASEY I say we go for the coach. He turned Stan... He's the one. Or do you want to wait for them to come to us? MARY-BETH Either way we're completely unarmed. ZEKE Maybe not. I might have some more scat...in my trunk. CASEY In your trunk. In your car. Amongst the aliens. Ah that’s convenient. ZEKE You got a better idea? Casey and Zeke leave the gym, well aware they’re risking their lives. They need to reach Zeke's car. CASEY (cautious) Stan? You out there buddy? They race towards the buses where the team is marching through. They crawl under a bus to hide from the football players. All suited up, Stan leads the team. Zeke and Casey hide underneath a bus until they pass. CASEY Does it really take two of us to get to your car? ZEKE Nope. One of us is the decoy. Casey gets up from under the bus and bolts leading the troops behind him so Zeke could get to his car. To hide Casey gets inside a bus. Its windows are plastered with slogans like ‘Changos Suck’ so it has to be a Herrington bus. Casey heads towards the back. The players don’t notice him. Suddenly Delilah appears out of the dark at the back of the bus. DELILAH Hello Casey. Where ya gonna go, huh? The class wuss... eternal little loser who comes to school everyday knowing this is it. She inches towards him. Casey notices that the football team know he’s inside the bus and were trying to get in through the emergency exit in the back. DELILAH You've been labeled 'pathetic' since first grade and you're afraid it's going to bleed over for the rest of your life. Well we can stop it Casey. We can help you belong. Isn’t that what you really want? CASEY Please don't do this Delilah. DELILAH I havent been this happy since... since... before my dad died. (getting closer to him) I know you want me Casey. (practically breathing on him) Come on. Let's do it together. A football player smashes through one of the back windows. Casey pushes past Delilah and climbs through the port hole on the top of the bus, jumps off the bus and ran as fast as he could with a trail of football players behind him. In the parking lot Zeke opens the trunk of his car frantically searching for scat. Ms Burke walks up to him in a sexy, red dress. Zeke looks up. ZEKE Hello Ms. Burke. BURKO Hello sweetie pie. Whatcha looking for? ZEKE Ah nothin important. I take it you’ve changed your mind about the chocolate laxedox? BURKE Actually I had my heart set on something cherry flavored... (smiles) ...if you know what I mean. ZEKE Sorry, I’m all out of those. Zeke spots a few capsules of scat inside his car between the seats. ZEKE I got something else for you though. BURKE Yeah? ZEKE Oh yeah. BURKE Something... tasty? ZEKE (whispers) Lemme hook ya up. Quickly, Zeke darts into the drivers seat of the car. Somehow, Ms Burke gets in as well. She tries to turn him into an alien and Zeke swerves back and forth trying to throw her off. He frantically searches for the capsules. Once he has them he puts his seat belt on and drives as fast as he can into a bus causing the unprotected teacher to fly out the window. The engine catches on fire but Zeke manages to squirm out. He then saw Ms Burke’s head slithering towards her searching body. Confused and bewildered, Zeke gives up. ZEKE Fuck this, I’m outta here. He slowly jogs back towards the gym. Back in the gym, Stokely and Mary-Beth talk quietly. STOKELY I always thought the only alien in this high school was me. MARY-BETH Not the case. Who do you think it is, the master alien, the queen bee? STOKELY It really could be anyone. MARY-BETH What happens at the end of these stories Stokely? How does Invasion of the Bodies Snatchers turn out? STOKELY They get us. They win, we lose. MARY-BETH Do we? Maybe we really win. Look at Stan, he didn’t look unhappy. STOKELY That’s cause it wasn’t Stan. They took away who he was. MARY-BETH Maybe they just bettered who he was. Cleared away his confusion. I know you pride yourself upon being the outsider, Stokely. But aren’t you tired of being something you’re not? Stokely looks at her. MARY-BETH I know I am. She smacks Stokely with a large tentacle for an arm. Stokely falls off the bleachers. STOKELY No... fucking... way! She starts to run as Mary-Beth morphs into a large octopus like beast with sharp teeth. She sees Casey and they both run into the pool room. The creature follows them. It dives into the pool and chases them as they run along the side. It gets to the end of the pool near Stokely. CASEY Look out, Stokes!!! One tentacle grabs Stokely’s legs, tripping her. Her chin smashes on the ground, blood spurting everywhere. she is then dragged into the pool with the creature. CASEY Stokes! He gets a pool cleaner net and runs to the side of the pool trying to throw it to Stokely. Underwater Stokely tries to get away from the beast that is dominating her. She manages to get to the surface and grabs a hold of the net Casey had thrown in and he pulls her to safety. They both run into the boys locker room. The creature slowly morphs back into the form of Mary-Beth who swims to the end of the pool, naked. Casey and Stokley separate to hide better. Zeke walks in. ZEKE Hello? STOKELY (sees Zeke) Zeke! I'm over here. MARY-BETH (from behind a dark corner, still naked) Watch out, it’s her! STOKELY Zeke, don't believe her. (pointing to Mary-Beth) It's her! Zeke twirls around, confused. MARY-BETH She attacked me, please Zeke. ZEKE What's going on here, Mary-Beth? STOKELY (voice cracks) Zeke, it’s her. MARY-BETH She's lyin', she's trying to fake you out. We don't know what she is. Gay? Straight? Alien? ZEKE First of all, answer me this, Mary-Beth... Why are you naked? Marybeth starts to walk closer to Zeak, revealing her breasts. MARY-BETH Does it bother you, Zeke? My body? I'm getting used to it myself. ZEKE I saw you take the test. MARY-BETH Oh Zeke. How the hell can you be sure what you saw? It was sweet of you to bond with me... We see a flashback of how she fooled him and the others. A film covers her nostrils, then her finger slithers over the bottom of the capsule knocking all the scat out onto the floor. She then pretends to sniff the scat. MARY-BETH ... to be nice to me...was sweet. Will it work again baby? Do you like what you see? Suddenly, Stokely grabs Zeke. Her face is crawling underneath. She tries to bite him, to infest him with the alien. Luckily, Casey grabs her and throws her into a cage-like thing which stored the football equipment. Zeke throws Casey some scat. ZEKE Take this! CASEY Now Mary-Beth! ZEKE Take it! CASEY You're out of your fuckin mind! ZEKE I'm not taking your shit. I leave for five minutes and when I come back everyone’s a fucking alien. Don’t make me fucking Men-In-Black your ass, you're gonna fuckin sniff it! Casey sniffs it, nothing happens to him. CASEY Happy now? They run away from the creatured Mary-Beth. Casey tries to keep up with Zeke, but he’s having harmful effects from the scat. He sits against a locker. CASEY Fuck, I’m seeing two of everything! Suddenly there’s a scream and Zeak flies over some aisles, is thrown head-first into a locker and falls to the floor unconsious. Casey rushes over to him and when Zeke doesn’t wake up, he runs away to hide. He stops briefly by the cage Stokely is in. She grabs his hair from inside the bars holding him. STOKELY He's over here! Casey rips away from her grasp leaving her with a handful of hair. The creature morphs back into the form of Marybeth. MARY-BETH (evilly playful) Caaaassseeey...Come out, come out where ever you are. She walks through the aisles as she talks very calmly. MARY-BETH You know in my world Casey there were limitless oceans as far as the eye can see. Beautiful huh? Till it started to dry out. So I escaped, came here, and I met you, all of you, and all of you were different from the others. Casey makes his way to Zeke and grabs some scat. CASEY (to unconscious Zeke) Thanks,buddy. MARY-BETH You were lost and lonely, just like me. And I thought that maybe I could give you a taste of my world. A world without anger, without fear, without attitude. Where the underachiever goes home at night to parents that care. The jock can be smart, the ugly duckling beautiful, and the class wuss doesn’t have to live in terror. The new girl - well - the new girl she can just fit right in with anybody. people who are just like her. You see Casey, even Mary-Beth's feelings can be hurt by a bunch of pathetic, lost, little outcasts who truly believe that their disaffected lonely life is the only way they can survive. I can make you a part of something so special Casey, so perfect, so fearless....Don't you want that, Casey? CASEY (shouts from somewhere) I'd rather be afraid. MARY-BETH Fine. Alright. Have it your way. Cause this is where your land of fiction gets it right. We win. End of story. She turns back into the large creature and starts to knock down locker by locker. Casey runs out into the gym, waits for the creature to show up and then pushes the button that pushes the bleachers into the wall. He then runs through the bleachers as they close, the creature following. He gets to the end but the creature doesnt make it. The bleachers close on it. Only its head is out right in front of Casey. Casey gets the scat out of his pocket, and holds it up, preparing to strike. CASEY Guaranteed to jack you up. He plunges the scat into the creatures eye. It squeals in pain, releasing leech-like things into Casey's face as a last act. They squirm into his face as he screams. Finally the creature dies and the leech-like creatures fall from his face and onto the ground. He sinks to the ground. CASEY You wouldn’t have liked it here anyway. Casey gets up and walks back into the locker room leaving the creature to dry up. He walks past the cage Stokely is in. The leech-like things that were beside her, dry up. He shakes her awake and they hug. CASEY Stokes... Stokely... are you... you? STOKELY I think so. I hope so. Suddenly, they’re startled as Zeke crashes into the chain-link fence that makes up the cage. ZEKE Is it over? CASEY Yeah. They all get out of the locker room. ONE MONTH LATER Life has turned back to normal at Herrington High. On the field, during practice, Coach Willis is the usual hard ass he always was and all the students are back to normal. Well almost... We see a football player take off his helmet. It’s Zeke. He lights a cigarette. COACH Hey, Zeke, move your ass! Just because you’re the new kid doesn’t mean we’re gonna cut you any slack, you hear me?! Now put out that fag and get on the pitch! Stan stands looking over towards the football team. Stokely walks up to him and puts her arm around him. Her normally gothic outfit has transformed into a flowered dress. STOKELY When do you think they're gonna find a new story? Haven’t they milked our little high school invasion to death? She stares over to a reporter who is doing probably the millionth news cast of the event. STAN I don’t know. (he smiles) STOKELY No regrets? STAN None whatsoever. He smiles and they kiss. Meanwhile, Delilah approaches Casey who is busy taking a picture of a butterfly. She drops a bunch of magazines with his picture on the cover onto the ground in front of him, including the school paper that she wrote with an article on him...front cover. DELILAH So how does it feel to be a hero? CASEY It's alright... He stands up. CASEY ...I guess. I dunno, its... different. They both notice news reporters heading their way. DELILAH You fan club's here again. CASEY Network or local? DELILAH Both... You know, you can be pretty cool sometimes. CASEY Things sure have changed, haven’t they? He puts his arms around her and they kiss. School has turned back to normal, and the jocks have found a new victim for the flagpole. The movie ends with reporters interviewing Casey about his experience. Extra formatting by Nathan Wright Scripts Galore (http://www.scriptsg.cjb.net)