HE SAVES LIVES

by Sara Prejean from a story by Jere Pollas

FADE IN:

Scene One – the Present, LA – Day

1. In front of a tagged wall belonging to the Jaguars (magenta), the tagger for the Scorpions (lime) starts to mark the wall with his gang's symbol and color.

1. A Jaguar comes around the corner and sees the Scorpion tagger. 

1. The boys push and threaten each other, then the gang leaders and members of both gangs show up.  They start to fight.

 - All ad-lib dialogue  -

1. Suddenly the action freezes, as a tall guy dressed all in black walks into the scene.

Scene Two  - the Present, LA – Day

1. X (the tall guy) wears a beret and a weird time piece on a chain around his neck.  He carries a red mirror ball.

1. X checks out the tagged walls, looks at the Jaguars and Scorpions in frozen fighting positions.  He tosses the red mirror ball from hand to hand, thinking about how he wants to handle this situation.

1. X decides the best thing to do is to take the situation back into the Past, so he presses his time meter and throws the red mirror ball into the Past.

Scene Three – the Past, LA – Day

1. The tagged walls are now blank.

1. X watches the Jaguars and the Scorpions, who were fighting each other in the Present.  Now, here in the Past, they are just kids hanging out together, messing around, having fun. 

- All ad-lib dialogue -

1. The two gang leaders (Ace and Tony) are best friends. 

ACE
                                    You finish geometry?

                                                            TONY
                                    Kidding me?

                                                            ACE
                                    Going to the dance?

                                                            TONY
                                    I don't know.  You?

                                                            ACE
                                    Maybe. 

                                                            TONY
                                    You taking somebody?

                                                            ACE
                                    Yeah.  Nobody.

                                                            TONY
                                    Maybe I'll go.  Or watch the game on TV.

                                                            ACE
                                    Maybe I'll come over for the game.

1. Tony and Ace sign off, go in opposite directions.

Scene Four – the Past, LA – Day

1. A pretty girl (Rita) flirts with Tony invites him to be with her at the dance. Tony doesn't commit to meeting her at the dance but we see he likes her. 

1. Since she's not sure about Tony coming to the dance, Rita asks Ace to be with her at the dance. Ace tells her right away that he'll meet her at the dance.

1. X sees the trouble brewing.

Scene Five – the Past, LA – Night

1. The dance hall is decorated with lime green and magenta colors – crepe paper streamers in those colors.

1.  A fast dance (everyone dancing) is ending.

1. A slow song plays as Ace asks Rita to dance with him.

1. They are dancing when Tony enters the room.  He sees them dancing close.  He gets mad because Ace didn't come over to watch the game with him on TV and now Ace is dancing with the girl Tony likes too.

1. Tony pushes Ace away from Rita.  The best friends spar around each other, saying things they can't take back.

- Ad-lib dialogue -

1. Tony grabs the lime green streamer; Ace grabs the Magenta streamer, they rattle the colors at each other, like sabers. 

1. As the other kids choose which gang they will follow, the Scorpions and the Jaguars are born. 

1. Everybody fights.  Rita runs away.

1. X punches the time meter and throws the red mirror ball back into the Present.

Scene Six – the Present, LA – Day

1. We are back to the present, in front of the Jaguar's tagged wall; the original fight is still frozen.

1. X tosses the red mirror ball from hand to hand, thinking about how he wants to proceed now.

1. X decides the best thing to do is take the situation forward into the Future, so he presses his time meter and throws the red mirror ball into the Future.

Scene Seven – the Future, LA – Day

1. X walks Tony and Ace around the corner into the Future.

1. The Jaguar's wall is still tagged, but a Scorpion symbol stands out.

1. Two young boys (a Jaguar and a Scorpion) are about to kill each other with guns.  Their faces and bodies are frozen in rage and hatred.

1. Curious, Tony and Ace look at these young gang members they don't know, who are about to kill each other.

X
                                                (pointing at one of the young boys)
                                    Tony, meet your son.
                                                (then to Ace, pointing at the other boy)
                                    Ace, meet your son.

1. Tony and Ace see the awful truth.  The killing and hatred will go on forever, unless they forgive each other.

Tony
                                    It's got to stop.

                                                            Ace
                                    Are we too late?

1. They both look to X for the answer.  He says nothing, and then tosses his red mirror ball to them.  They both catch it.

Scene Eight – the Present, LA – Day

1. Half-tagged walls are being painted over completely – a clean start for the neighborhood.

1. Festive music plays, Tony and Ace and Rita are collecting the bandanas, tying them together, lime green and magenta end to end, encircling all the friends together.

1. X watches the scene.  He smiles, and then mysteriously…disappears.

FADE OUT.
NOTES

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