grenadine

draft date: 11/02/18

by

corentin leroux

lerou101@mail.chapman.edu
714-749-7229
 CUT INTO:

1 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 1

A pale, round mouth. POP.

MILES (7) makes spit bubbles. POP. He sits in a RUSTY, half

empty BATHTUB. The dirty bathroom is half covered in scarlet
RED TILES.

TRISTAN (11) stands next to the SINK, strips into his

underwear. He bends down, opens a drawer, takes out a DIY
Hair Dye Kit.

He carefully steps into the tub, washes his hair. Water

dribbles down his chest. He clasps the hair kit, puts on
gloves. He combine the dye ingredients into a WHITE CUP,
mixes it with his finger.

Miles watches his brother, puts water in his mouth, gargles,

spits it out.

Tristan uses his gloved fingers to work the dye into his
hair, creating a THICK, OILY mess.

Miles laughs at him, and--

GUS (O.S.)
How long you guys been in here?

Miles turns to look at him. GUS (14) wears one of his dad's
dress shirts and a backpack. He looks tired.

Gus puts his backpack down, grabs Tristan's hair dye kit,
puts it back in the drawer.

TRISTAN
Hey!

Gus splashes some water onto Tristan's head.

GUS
It'll come off.

Tristan splashes Gus. Gus DUNKS Tristan's head under water.

Keeps it there. Miles inches forward-

Tristan grabs Gus's forearm and pulls him down. Gus HITS his
head on the tub liner.

(CONTINUED)

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 2.
CONTINUED: (2)

Tristan emerges, dripping with water.

He splashes Gus some more until he sees-

Gus lifts his head. His mouth is bloody. His tongue slides
down his front teeth. He frowns, brings his finger down to
into the gap now visible inside his mouth.

MILES
Can we glue it back in?

Gus feels the ground for his tooth.

TRISTAN
It's under your foot.

GUS
Fuck off.

Gus moves his foot over, bends down. The tooth sits in
between two marble tiles. He picks it up, rinses it, puts it
in his pocket.

GUS (CONT'D)
Turn the light off when you come
sleep..

Gus exits.

Tristan plays with the tub water, distressed. Miles watches

him, begins splashing him slowly. Tristan looks up, smiles,
splashes back.

2 EXT. HOUSE - THE NEXT DAY 2

A dilapidated HOUSE. White and yellow paint are coming off

the wood. A green CONSTRUCTION FENCE surrounds the house.
CONSTRUCTION TRUCKS are parked outside the house.

3 EXT. JUNKYARD - AT THE SAME TIME 3

Where old car parts, rotten wood, and abandoned BUSES go to

die.

Miles scavenges, evaluates various items. He moves past dried

up FLOWERS, walks through the mess with a certain agility,
picks up a SILVER NECKLACE.

(CONTINUED)

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 3.
CONTINUED: (2)

He looks up to a dingy GREEN SCHOOL BUS.

4 INT. BOYS' BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER 4

A crammed bedroom surrounded by BLUE WALLPAPER. There are

SCHOOL BOOKS and CANDY BAR WRAPPERS littered around the two
TWIN BEDS.

Tristan is shirtless. His hair is GELLED and RED. He jumps

around on the mattress, throwing small ROCKS at the window.

A drop of BLOOD on the CARPET. Tristan looks down at it,

covers his bloody nose. He wipes the blood with his foot. It
spreads on the carpet.

5 INT. CORNER STORE - AT THE SAME TIME 5

CLOSE UP ON

SWEET FRUIT. GREEN VEGETABLES. FRESH MEAT.

It all looks delicious.

Gus stands in a medium sized CORNER STORE. He hides behind an

aisle, contemplates the various meats on display.

A BUTCHER (40's) eyes him from behind the counter.

Gus turns around, walks through the aisles, putting various

NON PERISHABLE CANS in his COAT POCKETS. He walks to the
CONDIMENT & SNACKS aisle, reaches for the grenadine.

6 INT. CORNER STORE - MOMENTS LATER 6

THROUGH BOXES

In the back of the corner store, we see the boy, now empty
handed, being lectured by BUTCHER.

The butcher gives him the bottle of Grenadine and points to

the exit.

7 EXT. FRONT YARD - DUSK 7

Miles squeezes in between two chained parts of the fence,

walks through DEAD GRASS, enters--

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 4.

8 INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS 8

--the house through the front door. He walks toward the

kitchen where we hear a MICROWAVE. Tristan stands by the
table, attempts to fix its side. He gives up, walks around
the table, sits. Gus puts a POT of mac and cheese on the
table, serves his brothers.

Miles settles into his seat at a WOODEN DINING TABLE.

The three brothers eat Mac and Cheese and drink Grenadine.
Tristan has a TISSUE stuck in his nose, he eats with his
hands. Miles laughs at him. He looks at Gus, who sits in
silence, not having it.

Miles puts the necklace on the table. Gus looks down at it.

GUS
Where'd you get that?

Miles shrugs.

TRISTAN
He stole it.

MILES
I didn't steal it.

GUS
Were you at the yard?

Miles shakes his head.

Gus hands him some CHANGE for the necklace. He stands, walks
to a small OPENING in the wall. He puts the necklace inside.

MILES
Did you break the window?

GUS
Your brother did.

Miles turns to Tristan, who keeps eating with his hands.

A calm meal, despite some dogs barking outside the house.

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9 INT. KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER 9

Miles puts the grenadine on the window sill, in front of a

DOZENS empty grenadine bottles turned into FLOWER VASES. The
flowers are dead. They look very dry.

10 INT. BOYS' BEDROOM - NIGHT 10

PLASTIC CUPS, MUGS lie on the floor. Miles reaches to grab at

them. They're all empty.

Miles sits up. Moonlight floods his side of the room. He

grabs a cup. Half awake, he walks out.

11 INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS 11

The bedroom door opens. Miles stares ahead. The hallway is

lit up. Miles walks to the parent's bedroom, where the light
omits from. He opens the door.

MILES
Tristan.

Tristan stops. They whisper to each other.

MILES (CONT'D)
What are you doing?

TRISTAN
Nothing.

MILES
Were you in mom and dad's room?

Tristan shakes his head. It's obvious he's lying.

Unfamiliar giggles and whispers are heard outside the house.

Tristan looks over at Miles, raises his eyebrows.

The front door opens. THIEF 1, THIEF 2 and THIEF 3 (early

20's) shine their FLASHLIGHTS into the living room. Two of
them hold a beer.

Eyes now wide open, Miles and Tristan flatten their backs
against the hallway so as not to be seen.

The thieves comment on the state of the house. One of them

makes their way to the kitchen, while the two others trash
the living room.

(CONTINUED)

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 6.
CONTINUED: (2)

MILES (CONT'D)
(whispers)
Tristan.

Tristan is frozen in fear.

MILES (CONT'D)
(whispers)
Tristan!

Tristan isn't reacting. Miles looks out to the living room,

before--

12 INT. BOYS' BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS 12

Miles hurries inside.

MILES
(whispers)
Gus!

He walks to Gus's bed, turns on the light. Gus's bed is

empty...

Broken glass and laughter is heard in the living room. Fear

settles in to Miles' eyes.

13 INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER 13

The teens are trashing out the place, making fun of the 60's
decor. Miles inches forward toward them, one step at a time.

Thief 1 turns, sees Miles. He pulls on Thief 2's sleeve.

Thief 2 looks at Miles.

Miles scans the room. Most cabinets and drawers are cleaned
out. A couple flower vases lie in pieces. Thief 3 munches on
a protein bar.

14 INT. CORNER STORE - MORNING 14

Miles puts his GROCERIES on top of the counter. Behind it

stands FRANCENA (40's, frizzy hair), who scans the items.

FRANCENA
I can't find the right bra. They just
hang. I'm not into Victoria's Secret
or lingerie crap. I mean I look
around. I go to thrift shops. I have
this one tank top that pulls them
up...

(CONTINUED)

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 7.
CONTINUED: (2)

Miles takes out some CHANGE, puts it on the counter. He tunes

Francena out to listen in on another conversation.

JOEY (O.S)
Mom, can we get the Twix?

JOEY (13) shops with his mom. She keeps browsing.

JOEY
Mom! They're doing a two for three
sale for the Twix.

MOM
No.

Miles watches, distressed.

JOEY
Please--

MOM
I said no.

JOEY
But mom!

Miles picks up his GROCERY BAG and exits.

15 INT. PARENT'S BEDROOM - AT THE SAME TIME 15

A clean room. Tristan sits awkwardly on the corner of the

bed, looking around the room as if it was the first time he
noticed its details.

He stands, walks to the dresser. A dusty photograph of baby

Gus and his parents rests on the top. Next to it, another
photograph showing an older Gus with Tristan, Miles and the
same parents.

Tristan eyes the two photographs. Back and forth.

16 EXT. FIELDS - MOMENTS LATER 16

Miles meanders through dense vegetation, debris. He sits on

the side of a demolished house, puts his bag down.

He takes out a candy bar, begins munching on it.

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17 FLASHBACK - EXT. POOL - AFTERNOON 17

Miles, Gus and Tristan run the world. They're inside an EMPTY
POOL. It's twelve feet deep.

They share a GALLON JUG of water. They spray each other.

Miles sits on Gus's shoulders. He screams at Tristan, who

laughs.

18 INT. KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER 18

Empty cupboards. A GROSS counter top with dirty dishes. Down

the brown tiled floor, Tristan finishes making a sweet
concoction with grenadine, blue POWERADE, orange JUICE. He
drinks it, it spills on his shirt.

Gus walks in as Tristan adds more grenadine to the mix,

almost finishing the bottle.

The front door opens. Tristan turns his head to the living
room.

19 INT. LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON 19

Gus stands in the center of the room.

There is broken glass on the STAINED FLOOR, holes in the

walls. The wallpaper folds in on itself. A mix of NEWSPAPERS,
EVICTION LETTERS, and COUPONS lie on the floor.

Gus tiptoes around the mess, not quite sure what to pick up
first.

Tristan walks in, burps.

20 EXT. JUNKYARD - AT THE SAME TIME 20

Miles jumps in a puddle, walks down a dirt path into a

greenery. He walks through the greenery, steps above a fence.

Miles walks down a row of abandoned BUSES with his groceries.

He stops at the green bus, walks up into it through the front
door.

21 INT. DINGY GREEN SCHOOL BUS - CONTINUOUS 21

There are CARTOON chalk drawings alongside the metallic

interior. RIRI (10) sits in the driver's seat.

(CONTINUED)

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 9.
CONTINUED: (2)

She takes a bite of an MINT ICE CREAM SANDWICH. Rainbow

colored BRACELET slide down her forearm.

RIRI
You want some?

Miles sits in the PASSENGER SEAT next to her, shakes his

head. They look ahead past the dirty WINDSHIELD.

Riri grabs the steering wheel, pretends to steer the bus.

MILES
Take a right here.

RIRI
I can't!

MILES
It's a highway.

REVERSE: An abandoned yard filled with trash.

RIRI (O.S.)
It's a lava pit! I'm backing up. Beep,
beep.

She turns around, reaches into her backpack. She grabs a

CASSETTE TAPE, comes back to the drivers' seat.

She puts the tape in the stereo. Miles sits up. The ancient
system bursts out incomprehensible noises before cutting into
a soft BALLAD.

22 INT. LIVING ROOM - AT THE SAME TIME 22

Gus and Tristan kneel on the ground, they clean up the mess.
It takes a while.

TRISTAN
Where have you been?

Gus puts pieces of GLASS into the bag.

GUS
We can't stay here.

Tristan stops.

(CONTINUED)

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 10.
CONTINUED: (2)

TRISTAN
What?

GUS
We can't stay here. Your brother could
have been hurt bad.

TRISTAN
He's your brother too.

GUS
I didn't choose to watch over you two.

Tristan jumps up on the table.

GUS (CONT'D)
Get down.

Tristan dances around the table.

GUS (CONT'D)
I'm serious.

TRISTAN
You can't tell me what to do.

Tristan keeps dancing. Gus grabs his legs.

TRISTAN (CONT'D)
I'm gonna kick you!

Gus lets go. Tristan stops dancing, points to the opening in

the wall.

TRISTAN (CONT'D)
They took the secret stash.

Gus turns to it.

GUS
We can't stay here.

Off his look--

23 INT. DINGY GREEN SCHOOL BUS - AT THE SAME TIME 23

Miles skips down the center aisle, propelling himself off

each row of leather seats.

(CONTINUED)

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 11.
CONTINUED: (2)

Riri looks through Miles' grocery bag, finds a Grenadine

bottle.

RIRI
What's this red thing you guys are
always drinking?

MILES
Our parents used to buy it for us. I
like it cause it's sweet - you put
water in it.

RIRI
Nice.

Miles stops jumping around. Riri turns to him.

RIRI (CONT'D)
My mom told me we might be moving to
Denver. Up north. My dad's being
relocated there.

MILES
For his job?

Riri nods.

MILES (CONT'D)
Is he coming back here after?

Riri shrugs. Miles looks down.

RIRI
What's wrong?

MILES
Nothing.

RIRI
You look sad.

Beat. Miles puts on a brave face.

MILES
Gus broke his tooth.

Riri raises her eyebrows.

(CONTINUED)

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 12.
CONTINUED: (3)

RIRI
Does he use toothpaste?

Miles shakes his head. She shrugs.

24 INT. BATHROOM - NIGHT 24

Gus opens his mouth, looks at his teeth. He digs inside his
pockets, takes out his broken tooth.

Gus faces a greasy MIRROR. Miles sits in the bathtub,

watching him.

Gus touches his eyebrows, his cheekbones.

He bends down to the bottom DRAWER, takes out a SHAVING KIT.

He palms a razor, holds it besides his face.

A soft sizzle cuts through the silence. Gus fights back

tears.

25 INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT 25

The three boys sit at the dining table, drink soup.

GUS
Do you like it?

Miles nods. He pours himself a glass of grenadine. Tristan

sits quietly.

GUS (CONT'D)
I'm sorry I wasn't there last night...

Miles sponges the soup with a piece of BREAD.

GUS (CONT'D)
... I went to Eastvale. I was gonna
talk to Protective Services.

Tristan looks up at him.

MILES
Traitor!

GUS
I didn't go in, I just - I can't take
care of you guys like I should.

(CONTINUED)

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 13.
CONTINUED: (2)

MILES
Traitor! TRAITOR!

Tristan sits, frozen.

GUS
I'm sorry.

He knocks over Grenadine bottle. The red syrup spreads on the

tiled floor. Miles is reflected in the viscous liquid.

26 INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 26

Miles is awake. He watches Tristan sleep next to him. Across

the room, Gus sleeps in his bed. He is turned away from them,
curled up in a ball.

Miles looks at his brothers. Up to the ceiling.

27 DREAM SEQUENCE - INT. DINGY GREEN BUS - DAY FOR NIGHT 27

The bus is full of RED tinted WATER. Riri's possessions float

around. Slowed down by the water resistance, Miles ambles
around the bus. He blinks slowly, opens his mouth, and-

28 EXT. FRONT YARD - DAY 28

Tristan steps out onto the front PORCH. He looks out past the
fence. He steps through the tall GRASS.

Riri is behind the fence, watching him. She wears a Colorado

themed T-Shirt.

TRISTAN
Hi.

RIRI
I heard your brother broke his tooth.

TRISTAN
He did.
(beat)
I threw him down, he hit his mouth on
the tub.

Riri nods slowly, enters the front yard through the fence.

(CONTINUED)

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 14.
CONTINUED: (2)

RIRI
Nice. Did it hurt?

TRISTAN
I think so.

29 INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS 29

LOOKING INTO THE WINDOW FROM EXTERIOR

Half disappearing behind the reflected trees, Gus stands

still, looking out to the backyard.

30 EXT. BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS 30

RIRI
What are you doing out here? Miles
says you don't go outside anymore.

TRISTAN
I'm trying it.

RIRI
Is he here?

Tristan shakes his head.

IN A WIDE SHOT, SEEING THE ENVIRONMENT

RIRI (CONT'D)
Tell everyone I said hello.

TRISTAN
Okay.

Riri leaves. Tristan grabs a knock off SOCCER BALL, begins

playing with it.

31 INT. CORNER STORE - AT THE SAME TIME 31

Miles stands behind an aisle, observes the butcher. He waits

for an opportune moment, cruises down the shopping aisle. He
grabs a bottle of grenadine, runs out of the store unnoticed.

32 EXT. FIELDS - MOMENTS LATER 32

Miles keeps running and running, a clear blue sky above him.

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 15.

33 EXT. HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER 33

Miles stops dead in his tracks.

The BLADE of a BULLDOZER impales the kitchen wall. One by

one, the sides of the house get torn down. Construction
employees crawl around the house.

Miles steps forward, joins Tristan and Gus. They stand next
to each other, and we--

CUT TO BLACK

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