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GIRL
well she was running toward that billboard before he hit the ground.
and when she got there, she took his head in her hands.
and he whispered something to her.
and she put her face close to his.
and he kissed her.
real gently. right on the lips.
and then he closed his eyes and went wherever it is you go at the end of things.
the girl sends the skateboard back out into the darkness. the sound of wind subsides.
GIRL
no one gave that kiss much thought. it was a sweet, strange goodbye, that was all.
until the summer began, that is.
and something happened in the alley behind saint marys presbyterian church,
that made us think there might be more to that kiss after all.
from somewhere else, the sound of churchbells.
a time shift. now we’re in the alley behind saint marys’ presbyterian church.
where six kids are staring at the ground like it’s got something to say.
QUISP
okay okay, so here’s how the whole thing went down. it’s just after church right,
and i’m in the courtyard, when all of a sudden stewart grainey runs past me, and then
frankenstein flinney runs after him, and then cripple jenny sorta hunkers by which seals
the deal for me ‘cause if jenny’s moving her short leg as fast as her long one then you
KNOW somethin’ important’s going on. so i follow ‘em into this very alley and dude.
what i saw here might’ve scarred me for LIFE.
GIRL
before we keep going, i should... well i’ve skipped some introductions.
see it used to be that the kids in saint marys, ohio ran in packs. like wolves.
and like wolves, everyone had two r’s: a rank and a role.
quisp drucker -
QUISP
honestly man – seriously ya’ll – scarred me for LIFE –
GIRL
is this pack’s front man.
meaning he’s oldest, in years anyway, and he’s got the biggest mouth.
the real leader, however, is becky ray voss.
BECKY RAY
anybody here wanna tell me, what’s the goddamn point?
GIRL
becky ray was an “early bloomer.”
when she was ten she looked fifteen.
when she was fifteen she looked twenty.
and when she turns twenty she’ll stop aging all together ‘til she turns forty-five and it all
crashes in on her like the wrath of god.
but at this point she’s only fifteen and the wrath’s all her own.
BRETT
what’s that s’posed to mean, quisp? while he was alive?
QUISP
means i been thinking... when jaime was hit by that car...
well he flew that day, he did. the little guy...
TRENT
he just flew.
QUISP
right. so if a kid like jamie were to die and come back...
STEFFI
ooh and he could, yeah?
like just cause a person’s dead you guys?
don’t mean he ain’t coming back.
QUISP
right, and i been keeping my eyes open round here, and i’ll tell you what...
there’s a bird on our lake that i ain’t never seen before.
it’s a big long gray thing, swoops out over the water.
from somewhere above them, the sound of a bird call, mournful and low.
the sense of six kids, looking to the sky and wondering.
BRETT
that’s just a heron. right you guys? that’s just a heron?
QUISP
whatever, i’m just saying.
if i were a kid like jamie, who died flying...
well i’d come back flyin’. wouldn’t you?
from somewhere else, the sound of wind.
GIRL
this is the thing about legends.
if you tell ‘em right, they can keep a person breathing.
‘cause in a legend if a boy gets hit by a rusty blue dodge?
it might be he finds a way outta this god-forsaken place.
but it might be he comes back.
the sound of wind subsides.
Script Excerpt #3:
GIRL
there were a few other things nobody planned for that night.
nobody planned for charlotte to be woken up by laughter in the trees.
nobody planned for her to follow that laughter to johnny whistler’s front yard.
and nobody planned for her to be standing there in the shadows, taking it all in.
JOHNNY
that you, little girl?
you got something you wanna tell me?
i bet you do.
you’re real quiet, but i bet, if we spent some time together,
i just bet i could get you to talk...
johnny reaches out to touch charlotte.
trent hoffman surfaces.
he produces a pistol and aims it at the sky.
TRENT
you keep away from her. you got that.
you listening? i said -
GIRL
in the years that came after, trent hoffman would remember this night.
he’d remember taking his daddy’s pistol from the piano bench.
he’d remember how light it was in his hands.
and he’d remember a voice, a small voice, just ringing in his head –
“do it trent. do it now trent. shoot him clean through the heart-”
trent aims the gun at johnny’s chest.
TRENT
i said. you keep away...
JOHNNY (approaching trent)
i’ll tell you what, champion...
TRENT
i said. you. keep. away...
JOHNNY (approaching closer)
you got the grip of a ten year old girl, and at least she’d be something to watch.
TRENT
i said...
i said...
a moment of what could be.
then trent releases the gun. and johnny retrieves it.
JOHNNY
now listen up champion. i’m gonna teach you something about following through.
johnny aims the gun at trent.
from above them, the sound of a bird call.
JOHNNY
the next time you pick up a gun, you take a breath. first.
from above them, the sound of beating wings, which grows louder...
JOHNNY
you steady your arm. first.
and louder...
JOHNNY
and you wait ‘til your target’s in sight.
johnny aims at the sky and pulls the trigger. the sound of a gunshot.
something soft and white falls from the sky.
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