Twenty Minutes In

TWENTY MINUTES IN

Written by Christopher Michael Carter

FADE IN

INT. HOUSE – MORNING (CONTINUOUS)

BEDROOM

A window opened about an inch – sun shining, birds chirping.

The German Sheppard’s peacefully asleep on the floor.

A young man’s naked feet peek out of a blanket at the edge of the bed.

The clock on the bedside table says 6:29.

6:30. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The dog barks at the alarm.

The young man grunts and groans under the covers. An arm reaches out at the alarm clock pushing buttons at random before shutting it off.

He sits up, dead-tired with bedhead. ZACH - a teenager in high school. He yawns and scratches his head.

ZACH

Hi, I’m Zach. Every night ends with an unfinished dream and every morning begins with that startling beeping. That dreaded alarm.

(Shakes head)

But that’s my life: I wake up…

MOM (O.S.)

Zach, honey, wake up!

ZACH

My bad, I’m woken up.

(Pointing off screen)

Credit where credit is due, I guess. I go to school and hope for the best. I leave school and fit in my time at the hardware store.

(Sighs)

Eh, I hate Mondays…

The dog gets up and leaves the room.

HALLWAY

The dog trots down the hall to the…

BATHROOM

Zack stands, brushing his teeth in the mirror.

He spits in the sink and looks into the mirror at the camera.

ZACK

You know, I’d compare high school life to a nice furnished wooden chair. It looks nicer than it feels.

HALLWAY

He steps out of the bathroom and pets the dog.

MOM (O.S.)

Zachary, you awake!?

ZACH

Yeah, mom, I’m up!

(To camera)

I fear this is gonna be my mornings every morning for the rest of time.

(Echoes)

INT. HOME - FUTURE

Same exact scenario. Zack’s old with gray hair and beard, wrinkly and baggy eyes.

OLD ZACH

Yeah, ma, I’m comin’! Lemme get muh tee’t.

INT. HOUSE, HALLWAY - PRESENT

Zach comes back to.

ZACH

(Dry)

Frightening, I know.

(Original demeanor)

But the good news is it’s my senior year and it’s January. So it’s almost over. And then off to college where I’ll hopefully get more morning sleep… Yeah, fat chance.

KITCHEN

Zach comes downstairs. His little brother, MICHAEL, has breakfast at the table.

Michael pours soda in his cereal instead of milk. Zach stops, looking at this.

ZACH

Breakfast of champions?

MICHAEL

Yup, yup.

Their MOM struggles to get a fork out of his sister LUCY’s hair.

MOM

Well, Lucy, how in the world did you get it stuck in there?

LUCY

I don’t knooooow.

She tugs at Lucy’s hair when she notices…

Michael dipping his pop tart in his soda and cereal.

MOM

Eww, Michael, don’t eat that.

Zach steps back to center frame.

ZACH

And that’s what it’s like in this household. My parents split up a couple of years ago and it’s been this way ever since. My dad went to Vegas on a trip and while he was there he fell in love with a stripper named Candy. …They now run a farm just outside of Nevada.

LUCY

Mommy, what’s a stripper?

MOM

(Glaring at Zach)

I’ll tell you when you’re older.

KATY – high schooler – enters the back door.

LUCY

Katy!

MOM

Morning, Katy.

KATY

Morning, Miss Jones.

MICHAEL

Hey, goober.

Katy rustles Michael’s hair.

KATY

Yeah, yeah, hey turd.

ZACH

(To camera)

That’s my girlfriend, Katy; my only real reason for staying in school.

(To Katy)

Hey, baby.

KATY

Good morning.

They kiss.

MICHAEL

Ugh.

LUCY

Ew, hehe.

ZACH

(To the kids)

Shuuuut uuuup.

KATY

You almost ready?

ZACH

Yeah, just let me get my stuff.

KATY

Oh, and Daddy needs you to stay late.

Zach nods to her before turning back to the camera.

ZACH

Oh, by the way, my boss is her dad… Yeah, I know.

Zach exits.

BEDROOM

He puts his books in his backpack.

ZACH

Every day starts off with the same twenty minutes. Some of my friends get up an hour before me and some get up an hour afterwards. I wake up, get my stuff together, and come down to the same greeting every morning. And every night I think maybe the next day will bring something epic. Hopefully your morning rituals don’t seem this bland. And that’s it – twenty minutes into the day and it’s off to the locker clad jungles of school.

(Shrugging)

A lot of hurry up and wait. Well, I guess I’ll catch some Z’s in study hall & wait for something epic to occur…

(Sigh)

There’s always tomorrow.

KITCHEN

Zach comes back downstairs. Katy waits for him alone.

KATY

Ready?

ZACH

Yep.

They take each other’s hand.

KATY

Then let’s hit it.

They exit.

Dirty dishes sit in the sink.

A fork with a chunk of hair on it sits on the table.

The stairs are vacant. The house is quiet.

The dog sleeps in Zach’s bed.

The bedroom window still barely open. Birds chirp.

ZACH (V.O.)

Ya know, my morning rant may have seemed a bit dramatic, but you’re probably not in high school or you’ve forgotten. …You wouldn’t understand…

FADE OUT

END