NORMAL
Written by
Jesson Kinder
jessonkinder@[Link]
INT. BASEMENT - DAY
JANE, 30s, cool mom, whistles, tapes a moving box. Hands it
off to JACK, 14, socially awkward.
JANE
You got it?
JACK
Yeah.
JANE
Hercules, Hercules!
Jack looks at us a beat, shakes his head. Mom... Not in front
of people.
JANE (CONT’D)
That's Grandma's fine China. Drop
it and you're dead.
Jane laughs, kisses Jack on the cheek. Jack gives us a quick
glance, carefully treads up the stairs.
She looks at us, sits in a folding chair.
JANE (CONT’D)
We're moving. Obviously. I'm
scared. No, worried. He's not like
other boys. My Jack.
(FLASHBACK) INT. JACK'S ROOM - NIGHT
Strangely devoid of personality. Simple bed, sheets, and a
pillow. Jack wakes in a cold sweat. Throws the covers back.
He didn't... He did. Pissed the bed again...
JANE (V.O.)
Fourteen, still wetting the bed.
Unless he sleeps in mine.
Jack hops out, scoops up the sheets before Jane... Too late.
Jane leans in and we notice that there are no doors.
Jack hangs his head. Jane hugs him.
JANE (CONT’D)
It's okay.
2.
INT. JANE'S ROOM - NIGHT
Jane gently rocks Jack to sleep.
INT. BASEMENT - PRESENT DAY
Jane recoils, wags a finger at us.
JANE
Don't give me that look. I'm doing
the best I can! Things haven't been
the same since his father John...
passed.
(FLASHBACK) INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
JOHN, 30s, face covered by a pillow, screams muffled swears
as someone smothers then stabs him to death.
INT. BASEMENT - PRESENT DAY
Jane wipes tears from her eyes.
JANE
John and I were trying to work
things out, but... Yeah. Anyway,
Jack's been distant.
(FLASHBACK) INT. DINER - DAY
Jane tries to make small talk, but Jack just draws something
like a man possessed at the booth, occasionally staring at
his food, watching people chat/tweet/eat. Jane smiles
politely as people gawk back.
JANE (V.O.)
I just want things to go back to
normal.
EXT. PARKING LOT / INT. CAR - DAY
Wee hours of the morning. No one else around. Jack at the
wheel, Jane in the passenger seat, teaching him how to drive.
He's starting to get the hang of it, but still green.
JANE
Now hit the brakes. Hit the brakes!
Jack hits the gas pedal instead.
3.
JANE (CONT’D)
The other one!
Jack hits the brakes inches from a street light.
Jane gives him a thumb's up. Yay! We didn’t die!
INT. BASEMENT - PRESENT DAY
Jane smiles at the memory, turns back to us.
JANE
He just got his driver's license.
I'm so proud of him, but now he has
a little freedom and that's what
scares me.
(FLASHBACK) INT. JACK'S ROOM - DAY
Jane's tidying up. She fluffs the pillows, finds drawings of
murder. She looks through them. Each one more sinister and
disturbing than the last. And oh damn. Is that Snoopy?!
EXT. ROAD - DAY
A lone woman trudges ahead, pelted by rain.
HOPE, 20s, drenched and miserable, wearing a backpack with
everything she owns, trying and mostly failing not to look
waifish, thumbs a ride.
A car pulls alongside her. We don't see the driver as the
window lowers and Hope peers in.
INT. TRUNK - DAY
Hope, mouth and hands duct taped, belts out a muffled scream
as the trunk slams shut and the world goes dark.
INT. JACK'S ROOM - DAY
Rattled, Jane lets the drawings fall to the floor.
We focus on the one of Hope... Bound and terrified.
Jane doesn't notice Jack standing in the doorway behind her.
4.
INT. BASEMENT - PRESENT DAY
Jack, tears in his eyes, holds a bloody hammer. Looks at us.
JACK
Hope. That’s a... pretty name.
You’re pretty. Is that okay?
Muffled screaming. Jack walks over to Hope. She’s on the
floor, mouth and limbs duct taped. He removes the tape from
her mouth. She looks at the hammer, fear in her teary eyes.
HOPE
Please. Just let me go. I-I won’t
tell anyone! I promise!
JACK
I can’t take that chance. I’m
sorry. You really are pretty.
Jack raises the hammer.
HOPE
Please! Don’t! Please! No!
LATER
Jack’s smashing Hope’s teeth. He looks sick to his stomach.
He tosses the hammer aside. Someone ruffles his hair.
JANE
How many times have I told you to
clean that hammer? And next time
leave the duct tape on otherwise
they never stop yapping.
Jack nods, can’t take his eyes off of Hope’s ghastly corpse.
JANE (CONT’D)
You know what to do now.
JACK
Light it up.
JANE
(smiling)
That’s my boy.
INT. CAR - DAY
Jack, behind the wheel, staring at the flaming house in the
rearview mirror. Jane whistles, squeezes his hand.
5.
JANE
I’m so proud of you.
Jack smiles ever so slightly, whistles along.
The car cruises away from the scene.
EXT. ROAD - NIGHT
A MAN slams the hood of his car, kicks a tire. Jack and Jane
pull up beside him. Look at him/us.
JANE
(smiling)
Hi. Need a ride?
CUT TO BLACK