Never Piss off Kids at School
A One-Act Screenplay by April Dominello
Copyright © 2002

Scene One

(Setting: A dark school, near a park. At rise: Summer and Lynn are at the school.)

SUMMER
Hey Seth? Spike? Nick? You guys there?

SETH (Walkie-Talkie ‘W.T.’)
What’s your name little girl?

(Lynn and Summer are not amused.)

LYNN
Oh very scary. Ooh, Aah, you scared me to death.

(Lynn laughs. She particularly found that amusing.)

SUMMER
Quit joking around and give us a clue

SPIKE (W.T.)
No.

SUMMER
Why not?

(Cut to: Seth, Spike and Nick peeping at Summer and Lynn, who are standing in the middle of the school. Seth, Spike and Nick are hiding behind the school walls.)

SPIKE
Cause.

LYNN
We gave you a clue. You said you’d give us a one. Why won’t you?

(Seth doesn’t press the button to talk.)

SPIKE
That’s because you’ll believe anything we’ll say.

(The boys laugh, but Nick just rolls his eyes. The girls hear the laugh and they begin to run in their direction.)

SETH
We’ve been spotted. Run!

(The boys run in different directions. Seth and Nick in one area and Spike in the other. Cut to: the girls reach the spot.)

LYNN
I could have sworn they were here.

SUMMER
They aren’t being fair! Come on!

(They continue to run around the corner. Cut to: Spike who is all by himself. A mysterious whisper voice is in the walkie-talkie.)

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
Five people stand… Four people left.

SETH (W.T.)
Knock it off Spike.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
Who will it be? Who will it be?

(Cut to: Summer and Lynn.)

SUMMER
Who was that?

LYNN
(Into walkie-talkie.)
Hello?

SETH (W.T.)
(Loud.)
Hello!

(Lynn Screams.)

SUMMER
Was that you?

SETH (W.T.)
No. I thought it was you.

LYNN
Uh huh! Like I could make “that noise.”

ALL EXCEPT SPIKE
Spike?

(Cut to: Spike.)

SPIKE
Wasn’t me. Where are you guys?

SETH (W.T.)
I’m not giving up my position.

(Spike has managed to wander into the park. He walks around, turning constantly, hoping not to get tagged.)

LYNN
Come on guys! Who did that?

ALL EXCEPT LYNN
Not me.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
In the shadows I will wait. Hope you get found before it’s too late.

SUMMER (W.T.)
Shut up!

LYNN (W.T.)
Its one of you guys, I know it.

SETH (W.T.)
No, it’s not!

(Spike is in the park. A tree rustles near him.)

SPIKE
Nick? Is that you?

(A figure drops out of the tree.)

SPIKE
Oh S…

(Cut to: Summer and Lynn hear Spike’s scream. Cut to: Seth and Nick.)

SETH
Spike!

(Into walkie-talkie.)
Spike!

LYNN (W.T.)
Ow! My ears!

(Cut to: Summer and Lynn.)

SUMMER
We heard you the first time! Geez! Don’t worry, he’s just faking.

SETH
Let’s go find him.

(Cut to: the beginning of the gym bars. The kids have all gathered into one spot. Spike is missing.)

SUMMER
Okay! So I say, we all just go over to the park, in a group and tell him were not playing anymore.

LYNN
Great plan! Let’s all get killed.

SUMMER
There is no killer, you ditz.

LYNN
I’m not a ditz!

SETH
Stop fighting! Lynn, there is no killer. Summer, that is a good plan. He’s ruined our fun anyway.

LYNN
(Turns her head.)
Why are you siding with her?

(No one has noticed her, because they have huddled together.)

LYNN
Hey!

(She goes into the huddle.)

SETH
Alright. So let’s split up. Summer, you and Lynn go past the houses and into the school again. And we’ll go into the park.

(He points for the girls to go ahead. While he points for them to go to the park.)

SUMMER
Okay.

(The girls walk off.)

SETH
He better be joking around.

(Nick shrugs.)

SETH
Better yet, why doesn’t he just end up being dead.

(Nick looks stunned.)

SETH
I hate it when he laughs in my face about this stuff.

(Nick rolls his eyes. The girls have walked out of view. Seth and Nick walk.)

SETH
How come you never say anything?

(Nick tips his head.)

SETH
Phz. Never mind.

(They have gotten to the park. Nick points to the tree.)

SETH
What?

(Cut to: A figure is in the tree.)

SETH
Is that him?

(Yelling.)
Hey Spike?

(Scared. To Nick.)
He’s not moving. I’m not going up there.

(Nick phz’s and begins to climb the tree. He reaches to where the body is and taps it a few times. He recoils back.)

SETH
Is it him?

(Nick comes back down. He shakes his head ‘yes’ and shows Seth his hand. It is covered in blood. Cut to: the girls. They have managed to get to the other side of the school.)

LYNN
I hope he’s okay.

SUMMER
You’re too gullible. He’s fine.

LYNN
(Sarcastic.)
I’m too gullible. I’m too gullible. Egh! I’m tired of everyone saying that.

SUMMER
You know. It is true.

LYNN
It’s because I was born a blonde. I can’t help it. But for once, like actually like people to be nice.

SUMMER
We are nice. It’s just everyone messed around with you, that’s all.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T)
Four people stand… One down… Three people left.

(They hadn’t realized the walkie-talkie was on. Lynn jumps.)

LYNN
Knock it off.

SUMMER
I’m getting bored.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
Who will it be? Who will it be?

SUMMER
(Makes snore sound.)
Zzz. Zzz. We’ve heard this all before. Spike!

SETH (W.T.)
It’s not Spike.

SUMMER
What?

SETH (W.T.)
I mean, that wasn’t Spike.

LYNN
Where do you get off saying that?

SETH (W.T.)
Nick found his body in the tree.

(Cut to: Seth and Nick. Nick is wiping his hand off on the grass.)

SETH
(To Nick.)
I guess I shouldn’t have said that I wished he was dead.

(Nick looks up and gives a ‘Duh’ look. Cut to: the girls.)

LYNN
I told you something’s happened.

SUMMER
He’s not dead. He’s messing with us.

SETH (W.T.)
No he’s not. Nick found him, tapped him, and he seemed pretty dead to us. He’s been murdered.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
Where am I now? At the park? At the school? Can you find me in the dark?

(With that, Lynn turns around and is facing the killer. Before Lynn can warn Summer, the killer hits her in the head with a baseball bat. Cut to: Summer, who hears a thud sound, and then the pounding of something hard.)

SUMMER
What now? Lynn are you messing around?

(Summer turns to look at Lynn, who is lying on her back, eyes open, head and stomach covered in blood. Summer looks up, sees the killer, screams and takes off. Cut to: A young kid, Eddie, who has stayed at an all night party, now just on his way home. Summer runs past Eddie.)

EDDIE
Man, there’s only white people in this movie!

(Eddie sees the killer coming toward him. He gets wide-eyed.)

Peace out! Stay black!

(He takes off running, but trips and falls. Before he can get up, the killer runs over to him and beats him with the bat. When it’s done, the killer skips and twiddles away, like nothing happened. Cut to: Summer running through the school, screaming. Seth and Nick run into the middle of the school, hoping to see her there, but she isn’t.

SETH
(Yelling.)
Summer?

(Into walkie-talkie.)
Where are you?

SUMMER (W.T.)
She’s dead. Spike and Lynn have been murdered.

SETH
We should tell someone. Like an adult.

SUMMER
No. We have to confront the killer ourselves. If we come back, he might be gone.

SETH
Come out from hiding. The killers not here.

SUMMER
I’m not so positive. Are you sure?

SETH
Yes.

(As he says that, the killer runs past the camera, and picks up Nick.)

SETH
(Yelling.)
Hey!

(Seth starts to run after him, but the killer bops him with the bat, leaving Seth’s arm injured.)

Ow! My arm!

(Seth goes down on his knees, cradling his wounded arm.)

SUMMER
No!

(Summer runs out from behind the dodge ball court. She was there the whole time. Cut to: the killer holding Nick. Nick struggles to get free. He does and starts to run. The killer catches up to him and hits Nick in the side. He falls. Cut to: Summer and Seth.)

SETH
I think it’s broken.

SUMMER
Let me see!

(She lifts up his arm. He closes his eyes in pain. She puts down his arm. They then hear Nick fall to the floor.)

SUMMER
We have to save him!

(Cut to: Nick is on the floor, blood is on his shirt. He speaks for the very first time in the movie.)

NICK
As I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to take.

(The killer looks at Nick, and hits him in the head, killing him. Cut to: Summer staring at the two. The killer begins to drag Nick across the ground.)

SUMMER
No! Now Nick is dead!

SETH
We should have gotten someone! I’ll never make it with my damaged arm alone. You go though. Go get your mom. Call the police.

SUMMER
I won’t leave you!

SETH
Don’t worry. I can defend myself.

SUMMER
I’ll be right back.

(Summer takes off. Cut to: A bedroom. Summer runs into her mom’s room. She turns on the light.)

SUMMER
Mom! Mom! There’s a killer at our school and he killed my friends!

MOM
(Droopy.)
What time is it?

SUMMER
(Guilty.)
Four a.m.

MOM
Go back to bed. You had a bad dream.

SUMMER
Mom, it wasn’t a dream. My friends and I sn…

MOM
Shhh. Turn off the light, go back to your room, and go to bed.

SUMMER
But M…

MOM
(Mad.)
Go!

(Cut to: The school. Summer is running down the street. She gets to the school. Seth is gone. She talks in her walkie-talkie.)

SUMMER (W.T.)
Seth? Oh please don’t tell me your dead.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE (W.T.)
At the sand your friends will be. There in time, we shall meet.

SUMMER
You jerk!

(Cut to: Summer has snuck up to the park, using the back way, with the houses. She sees bodies on the equipment.)

SUMMER
Oh God!

(She feels like she is going to throw up. The camera pans over to Spike, covered in blood, he is lying on the swing set; Lynne, still covered in blood, is sprawled across the playground set; Eddie is buried part way into the sand, head and chest covered in blood; and Nick is hanging upside down, also covered in blood. Cut to: Seth has been tied up to a light pole. There seems to be no killer, but he emerges out of the shadows.)

SUMMER
I hate you!

(Summer comes forward at the killer and starts to beat him up. She takes a few good punches at him and kicks him. He drops the bat. Summer sees this, picks it up, and with no mercy, hits him. He falls down.)

SUMMER
Seth! Seth! You okay?

SETH
I’m good.

(Seth has blood trickling down his forehead. She unties him. Cut to: the two survivors stare at the killer.)

SUMMER
Let’s see who our murderer is.

(They unmasked him. He is unconscious.)

SUMMER
Mike? It was Mike?

SETH
Mike?

(Cut to: The school at morning. The sun has just risen. Summer and Seth have been staring at the killer, Mike for a while.)

SUMMER
I still can’t believe that it was geeky nerdy Mike. And all this time, I thought it was someone else.

SETH
Like who?

SUMMER
An ex boyfriend? I don’t know. Just anyone but him.

SETH
We should have been nicer to him. Let him join our little cliché.

SUMMER
I think your right. I should have guessed it was him when he threatened us.

SETH
Well, I guess that’s it. We should go tell someone.

SUMMER
I’m going to miss our friends.

SETH
Yea, me too.

(They get up and begin to walk off.)

SUMMER
Won’t my mom be surprised. All this time, she thought it was a bad dream.

(They exit. Cut to: Mike. He opens his eyes and gets up. He smiles, picks up his mask and bat and runs off in the opposite direction.)

…The End…?