Saturday, December 14, 2013

"The Game" by Kevin Stypulkoski




 The Game

by Kevin Stypulkoski












EXT. FIRESIDE BOULEVARD --- DUSK

          Downey.

          A piece of the gargantuan city that is Los Angeles. A home
          that has much diversity and history to it, but a town that
          can weed out its visitors with the flick of a hat.

          TOM and JARED, two men in their late-20's, are driving in a
          rental car. Both have strong New York accents. They
          immediately seem out of place in the localist setting.

                              TOM
                    I heard the first Taco Bell was
                    around here.

                              JARED
                    Ain't surprised. Something like
                    that would be started in LA.

                              TOM
                    What the fuck is that supposed to
                    mean?

                              JARED
                    Damn illegals.

          Tom laughs at the ridiculous of it.

                              TOM
                    You know Jared, Taco Bell was
                    founded by an American. Glen Bell.

                              JARED
                    Oh woopty fucking doo Tom. When did
                    you become the book of knowledge.

                              TOM
                    I'm just saying, why you gotta be
                    such an insensitive prick all the
                    time.

                              JARED
                    It comes with the territory.

          Tom shrugs it off.

                              JARED (CONT.)
                    Oh what the fuck is wrong now? You
                    gotta a soft spot for Taco Bell.

                              TOM
                    Yes I do. I happen to love Taco
                    Bell. I love every thing about the
                    Bell.

                              JARED
                    The Bell? Jesus Christ why don't
                    you just leave me back on the east
                    and stay out here in the middle of
                    the desert alright?

          Jared punches Tom in the shoulder, almost as if busting
          Tom's balls. Tom smirks and punches back.

                              TOM
                    You know sometimes I really don't
                    know why I'm friends with a bitch
                    like you, you know that?

                              JARED
                    I couldn't give two shits. The only
                    thing I care about right now is
                    watching the game which is on in
                         (looks at the car clock)
                    two minutes! Shit!

                              TOM
                    Well were quite a ways from the
                    hotel in Hollywood.

                              JARED
                    I think we need to stop.

          Tom appears hesitant.

                              TOM
                    Jared, we can't just stop around
                    here. We're playing the fucking
                    Dodgers for Christ's sake. You
                    can't just walk into a local pub
                    and start rooting for the other
                    team in Game 7 of the series.

                             

                              JARED
                    What are you scared or somethin?

                              TOM
                         (nodding)
                    Very much so, yeah.

                              JARED
                         (shaking his head)
                    Jesus Tom, you know people wouldn't
                    even know you're from the Bronx.

          Tom starts getting a little annoyed with constant agitation.

                              TOM
                         Oh yeah?
                   

          Tom swerves into another lane.

          INT. DOWNEY BREWING COMPANY --- NIGHT

          A local pub, swarming with people. The dress is very
          specific. LA Dodgers gear. Every TV in the entire
          establishment is showing the game.

          The atmosphere is quiet, but dedicated. When the pitch is
          thrown, there is but a whisper in the air. The bat connects
          with the ball and its flying high through the air. The crowd
          starts roaring, but the ball is caught. A collective awe is
          heard, but two guys at the front entrance cheer.

          Beat.

          The silence and stares from the bars patrons says it all.

          Tom and Jared take a seat at the crowded bar top. A man,
          LARRY, mid-30's and gruff, can't help but keep his demeaning
          eyes off the two of them.

                              LARRY
                    So where is it you boys come from?

                              TOM
                    The Bronx.

                              LARRY
                         (sarcastic)
                    Why did I even ask.

          It is the 3rd inning, 0-0.

          The bartender, HERB, slowly approaches Tom and Jared.

                              HERB
                    So what is it I can get you boys?

                              TOM
                    Bud Light.

          The crowd collectively laughs, Herb included.

                              HERB
                         (smirking)
                    Bud Light?! I think you should take
                    a look around buddy.

          Tom and Jared search their surroundings and see Miller and
          Miller High Life bottles spread throughout the bar.

                              TOM
                    Miller.

                              JARED
                    My friend wants a Bud.

                              HERB
                    Well quite frankly, as a Miller
                    brewery, we don't serve Annheuser
                    here. That isn't our product.

          Jared is clearly sensing the condescending tone. Tom senses
          the retaliation that's coming on and speaks up first.

                              TOM
                         (snirking)
                    I guess were having High Life.

          Herb motions to give them both a beer. Larry looks at his
          action with disbelief.

                              LARRY
                    You're not seriously going to serve
                    these fellows are you Herb?

          The crowd is obviously all thinking the same thing, but no
          one utters a word.

                              HERB
                    It's my bar Larry. I can do
                    whatever the hell I want.

          Tom and Jared clearly appreciate notion, but Herb isn't
          finished.

                              HERB (CONT.)
                    Especially when we have foreigners
                    on our turf.

          The consideration dissipates.

          The two men drink their beers and look back to the screen.

          INT. DOWNEY BREWING COMPANY --- LATER

          It's the 5th inning now, the game is still 0-0. There have
          been no real chances for fans of either team to gloat, and
          it's obvious by the saggy body language of Tom and Jared as
          well as the bars constituents.

          Then! CRACK! The ball is hit by Matt Kemp to the outfield.
          It's going, it's going, it's....GONE! Home run Dodgers, 2-0.

                              LARRY
                         (to Tom and Jared)
                    Fuck you two!

          He continues clapping obnoxiously along with the other
          Angelinos.

          INT. DOWNEY BREWING COMPANY --- LATER

          It is now the 7th inning. The score is still 2-0 Dodgers.

          Larry, clearly more drunk now as the game has gone on, looks
          to Tom and Jerry, ready to lay on some insults.

                              LARRY
                         (slurring)
                    So you fucking guys, decided that
                    flying over here from New York, and
                    coming to this bar. Who do you guys
                    really think you are? The inferior
                    team always loses.

          Tom shakes his head thinking the man is just a waste of
          time. Jared isn't taking it though.

                              JARED
                    Inferior? (laughs)
                    In-fucking-ferior. I guess that's
                    what you call a team with 27 World
                    Series championships under their
                    belt. What the fuck you got? Six?
                    And only two of those were after
                    you moved out of Brooklyn.

          The bar is clearly not having any of it.

                              TOM
                    Yo Jared, how about we chill huh?

                              LARRY
                    Nah I think your friend here knows
                    perfectly well what he's getting
                    himself into. Because no matter
                    what statistics you throw in other
                    teams faces, it don't change the
                    fact that your team "buys" its wins
                    because of the budget they got.

          Jared is getting even more pissed than before.

                              JARED
                    You can't be fucking serious right?
                    Our salary cap is $228 mil. Yours
                    is $216. Aint much of a difference
                    pal.

                              LARRY
                    Yeah now. But it aint used to be
                    that way back in the day!

                              JARED
                    For real? Let's take Kevin Brown in
                    2000. Played for you with an annual
                    paycheck of 15. Sure A-Rod got 21
                    from the Yanks in 2004. Adjust for
                    inflation and its about even.

                              LARRY
                         (sarcastically)
                    Oh look a numbers man!

          CRACK! It's a wallop of a ball, line drive to the outfield!
          Jeter and Suzuki round third and bring it in. The game is
          2-2!

          Jared starts obnoxiously clapping in the face of Larry.

                              JARED
                    That's how its done.

          Larry knows he needs to shut his mouth for a bit.

          INT. DOWNEY BREWING COMPANY --- LATER

          It's finally toward the final minutes of the game.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Bottom of the 9th inning. It has
                    all come down to this. The score is
                    now 3-2 LA. You could not ask for a
                    more intense Game 7 and its all
                    left up to Yanks. The team has
                    bases loaded, two outs, and have
                    Robinson Cano at the plate.

                              JARED
                    Cano don't you know?

          Jared winks at Larry who at this point is a wasted mess.
          Larry is not pleased to say the least.

          Larry looks over to his other friends and pulls them close.

                              LARRY
                         (whispering)
                    If Cano hits a deep one and wins
                    the game, I wanna pull this asshole
                    outside and teach him a lesson.

          His two "bouncer-looking" friends nod.

          The silence across the bar is incredible. You could hear a
          needle drop. The only sound is the announcer's voice, which
          echoes through the room.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Cano steps up to the plate. A
                    winding curve ball Strike 1.

          Jared looks back to Larry who's smiling now.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Rodriguez winds up, and...Strike 2!

                              LARRY
                    Aint looking good for you either
                    way Mr. Bronx.

          Tom looks at Larry strange as he begins to suspect he is
          gearing up for no good.

                              TOM
                         (to Jared discretely)
                    Hey Jared, I'm thinking we should
                    get out of here man, I got a bad
                    feeling.

                              JARED
                    Shut up man, this is the game.

          Tom looks back to the TV nervously.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Rodriguez throws the pitch...Ball!

          Tom takes a sigh of relief, but he looks back to Larry in
          fear, who seems to have his buddies huddled up and ready.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (O.S)
                    This is looking like it folks.
                    Rodriguez winds up, the pitch is
                    fast...Cano strikes it and it's
                    going...

          Shot of Jared's face.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (O.S)
                    Going...

          Shot of Larry's face.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (O.S)
                    Going...

          Shot of Tom's face.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (O.S)
                    ...and it's gone!

                              JARED
                    YES!!!!!

          Jared hugs Tom who gives him a light hug back.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Grand Slam wins the series for New
                    York and everyone in the Bronx will
                    be sleeping tightly tonight...

                              LARRY
                    I beg to differ.

          Beat.

                              LARRY (CONT.)
                    Boys, I think we need to take this
                    outside.

          Everyone at the bar is silent, most people quivering at the
          sight, but too afraid to step in, including Herb.

          Larry and his friends get up in Jared's face. The two
          henchmen grab Jared and Tom by their shirts and begin to
          throw them outside.

          EXT. DOWNEY BREWING COMPANY --- PARKING LOT --- CONTINUOUS

          Tom and Jared hit the ground hard. Jared is struggling to
          get up, but Tom is able to help him. Larry and his friends
          surround them.

          Larry and Jared are still considerably drunk, but its quite
          obvious that the 3-on-2 fight against his burly friends
          won't be quite the match for them.

                              LARRY
                    Winning the World Series! Can you
                    hear the sounds boys? The cheering?

          Larry cups his hand around his ear.

                              LARRY (CONT.)
                    I don't hear shit. You know why?
                    Cuz you two are in the wrong
                    fucking place! That's why!

          Tom gets defensive and slowly approaches Larry.

                              TOM
                    Look, Larry right? We just wanted
                    to watch the game, scratch that, HE
                    just wanted to watch the game. Our
                    flight from LAX got in late and we
                    didn't have a chance to get to the
                    hotel before the game started. It's
                    Game 7 man. You don't miss that,
                    especially if you're a nitwit like
                    my friend here.

                              LARRY
                    I don't really give two shits about
                    your sob story ass wipe.

          Jared gets pissed off.

                              JARED
                    What the fuck did you call him?!

          Jared starts charging Larry, but Tom restrains him.

                              TOM
                    Just let us go man. Let us just
                    leave with our victory.

                              LARRY
                    You aint leaving with your victory,
                    cuz you came to the wrong place my
                    friend. You don't come to LA, on
                    the eve of the biggest game of the
                    year, order a Bud Light and root
                    for the other team. This aint
                    bumblefuck man. This is Downey! And
                    in Downey, we don't like east
                    coasters.

          Jared's face gets mean.

                              JARED
                    I had enough of this shit...

          Jared charges after Larry and pushes him to the ground. Tom
          tries to go in after him, but Larry's two guys hold him back
          to let the fight play out.

                              TOM
                    Jared!

          Larry and Jared both squabble around drunk, but Larry seems
          to have the upper hand, decking Jared a good dozen times.

          Tom keeps squirming to get out unsuccessfully.

          (Video clips from the baseball game intercut with the
          announcer's voice overlaying)

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV
                    Cano steps up to the plate.

          Tom's eyes open wide.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (CONT.)
                    He looks determined to hit this
                    ball deep.

          Jared is laying on the ground bloody and incoherent.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (CONT.)
                    It all comes down to this.

          Jared breaks free of the hold, punches the one guy then lays
          a wallop into the second.

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (CONT.)
                    The pitch is up...

          Jared leaps towards Larry about to punch him when Larry lays
          one on him first sending to him the ground.

          But...

          Larry is hit from behind with one knockout blow!

                              ANNOUNCER ON TV (CONT.)
                    The ball is smacked to the
                    outfield! It's gone!

          The man standing above Larry's body is none other than Herb.

                              HERB
                    Jackass.

          Herb helps up Tom and Jared to their feet. Both of them are
          speechless and the only thing that seems to come from their
          mouth is...

                              TOM AND JARED
                    Thank you.

                              HERB
                    Hey, he's got one thing right. What
                    you boys did was downright stupid
                    and the furthest thing from
                    courageous.

          The two hang their heads a bit.

                              HERB (CONT.)
                    But it sure as hell was a good way
                    to end the series. In Downey, we
                    fall with our team, whoever that
                    is.

          Herb puts his hand out to shake. The two of them shake it.

                              TOM
                    Thank you...Herb right?

                              HERB
                    Yeah, Herb.

                              JARED
                    Yeah thank you Herb.

                              HERB
                    Now you guys get out here before
                    more angry fans pour out. These 3
                    will come around.

          The two of them start heading to the car to leave. Just
          before they open the door, Herb turns around.

                              HERB (CONT.)
                    By the way...don't tell anyone
                    but...I root for America's team.

          Tom and Jared smirk and drive off.

                             

                                           
                   
KEVIN STYPULKOSKI

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