WE FAMILY Written by Name of First Writer Based on, If Any Address Phone Number INT. DAVIS’ KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING ANTHONY DAVIS (10), on the spectrum, in pajamas, gives up trying to remove a screw from a 1960s radio. He grabs a hammer, raises it up, then remembers his safety goggles. He hoists it again and remembers to turn off his cochlear implants. He hoists it up again. INT. SHANDRA DAVIS’ BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING SHANDRA DAVIS (30s), watches a video on her laptop in bed. ON VIDEO: RICHIE DAVIS (30s), in his US Army uniform, records himself on his laptop. RICHIE (IN THE VIDEO) I know we just finished talking, but I just wanted to send you a quick video...baby, I’m missing you terribly. O.S. SFX BANG BANG BANG Shandra turns to the bedroom door. O.S. SFX BANG BANG BANG. Irritated, she shuts the laptop. SHANDRA (trying to convince herself) Children are a gift from the Lord. Children are a gift from the Lord. Shandra grabs her robe and heads out the bedroom. SHANDRA (CONT’D) Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. INT. JARED DAVIS' BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING JARED DAVIS (50s), in deep sleep. O.S. SFX BANG BANG BANG Jared startles awake, confused. JARED Huh? What’s going on? 2. O.S. SFX BANG BANG BANG JARED (CONT’D) Fire! Fire! Jared leaps up, puts his pants and boots on at the same time and trips. He crawls to the window, opens it and yells. JARED (CONT’D) Fire! Fire! Help! INT. DAVIS’ LIVING ROOM - EARLY MORNING Shandra BOLTS down the stairs-- INT. DAVIS KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS --SNATCHES up the hammer. SHANDRA Anthony Davis!!! What do you think you’re doing??!! Anthony turns on his cochlear implants. ANTHONY Reverse engineering, Mama. SHANDRA At four-thirty in the morning?! You know I’m starting a new job-- ANTHONY Where’s Grandpa? ON THE STAIRS / LIVING ROOM: Heavy THUMPS. Pinball trophies tumble down the stairs. JARED (O.S.) My trophies! Jared, arms full of trophies and clothes, CHASES after them. JARED (CONT’D) Fire! Everyone out! Hurry! He struggles to open the front door. Shandra and Anthony watch, dumbfounded. 2. 3. JARED (CONT’D) Help! Door won’t open! Jared SNIFFS the air. Hmm, no fire. He turns to see Shandra and Anthony with arms crossed. SHANDRA (re: the trophies) Guess we know the pecking order around here. Jared nervously laughs as he ditches the trophies on the couch. Shandra MOCKS his LAUGH. INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS Shandra makes bacon and eggs. Jared takes a seat. JARED You all making breakfast? Anthony holds up a vacuum tube. ANTHONY Look, Grandpa, a vacuum tube. The door OPENS, ERNIE WILSON (50s), eyes shut, army crawls. ERNIE Jared! I’m coming! I’m coming! SHANDRA Ernie-- Jared nudges Shandra. JARED (whispering) Let it play out. ERNIE Jared? (coughing) Smoke...so...thick... INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS Ernie makes it to the stairs. 3. 4. ERNIE I’m at the stairs! Hurry, throw down our two-thousand-ten pinball team championship trophy! Shandra flashes Jared an angry look. Jared rushes to Ernie. JARED Ernie! Ernie! It’s ok. We’re all good. Ernie hugs Jared. ERNIE Jared, you made it! You made it! Ernie spots the trophies on the couch. He grabs one. ERNIE (CONT’D) Oh, thank goodness! He notices Shandra and CHUCKLES. Shandra MOCKS his laugh. SHANDRA Go get ready for school, Anthony. School pictures are today. Anthony rushes up the stairs. SHANDRA (CONT’D) It’s not no trophy left behind, it’s NO man left behind. Jared takes a slice of bacon. Shandra rips it from Jared’s hand. SHANDRA (CONT’D) You don’t deserve it. INT. SHANDRA’S CAR - VA EMPLOYEE PARKING LOT - MORNING Shandra, places her coffee mug on the dashboard and waits for a Toyota to pull out of a spot. She listens to her self- recorded affirmations. SHANDRA (OVER SPEAKERS) You got this! SHANDRA (CONT’D) (faint) I got this. 4. 5. SHANDRA (OVER SPEAKERS) (CONT’D) Mean it! SHANDRA (CONT’D) I got this! SHANDRA (OVER SPEAKERS) (CONT’D) Own it! Shandra BANGS the steering wheel for emphasis. SHANDRA (CONT’D) I got this! I got this! I got this! SHANDRA (OVER SPEAKERS) (CONT’D) Now, close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Shandra closes her eyes, takes three BREATHES. The Toyota pulls out of the parking spot. Shandra opens her eyes, accelerates, just as an Acura aggressively swerves around her and takes the spot. SHANDRA (CONT’D) What the...!!! Coffee mug bounces off the windshield and explodes all over her blouse, pants and windshield. SHANDRA (OVER SPEAKERS) (CONT’D) Now go in there and show them what you got! BRIENNA (30s) in business attire hops out, fake smiles and waves at Shandra as she heads for the building. Shandra releases a frustrated SIGH. Just as she steps out of her car, a downpour and thunder. SHANDRA (CONT’D) Well, of course, why wouldn’t it? Another SIGH. INT. VA OUTPATIENT CLINIC RECEPTION - MOMENTS LATER Folding chairs, TV on a news channel and cheap coffee maker. VIETNAM VETERAN (70s), reads a newspaper. 5. 6. Caffeinated, intuitive Receptionist TANYA (50) smiles at a drenched Shandra. TANYA Mondays....amirite? Tanya sips from her gargantuan coffee travel mug. TANYA (CONT’D) I won’t cry over spilled milk, but OMG, I’d go bananas if I spilled my coffee. Ba-nan-as. SHANDRA (trying not to flip out) Hello, I’m-- TANYA Shandra Davis. Our new mental health clinical coordinator. SHANDRA Yes, and I’m supposed to meet-- TANYA Your workplace buddy, Brienna. Brienna appears, stifles a smile off of Shandra’s appearance. INT. VA OFFICE HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER They pass an office with Shandra’s name on the door. SHANDRA That’s my office-- BRIENNA We need to hurry and get your ID done, afternoon meeting has been rescheduled to first thing this morning. SHANDRA I wasn’t notified-- BRIENNA I just moved it up...so you’ll have the rest of the day uninterrupted. INT. VA HR OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER Brienna adjusts a webcam. 6. 7. SHANDRA You think anyone has extra clothes I can borrow, before-- BRIENNA Smile! CAMERA CLICKS. SHANDRA (defeated) ...you take my photo? Brienna hands Shandra her ID: dripping wet, coffee stain and in mid-blink. She hands Shandra a box labeled Lost & Found. BRIENNA Wardrobe problem solved. Better hurry, don’t want to be late your first day. Shandra grimaces at the limited clothing options in the box. SHANDRA Oh, boy. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - MORNING FRANK FRYE (50s), and STAFF scrutinize sheets of paper in front of them. FRANK Times New Roman. How do we feel about it? I read an article about it being outdated-- Brienna SPITS out coffee. Staffers GASP. Shandra, self-conscious, stands in the doorway, in a loud Hawaiian shirt, emerald corduroy pants held up with a necktie. SHANDRA Your lost and found has SHOCKINGLY bad clothes. BRIENNA Anyone have a pair of sunglasses? GIGGLES all around. 7. 8. FRANK Everyone, meet Shandra Davis, our new mental health clinical coordinator. Would you like to say a few words? SHANDRA I just want to say, how much I’m-- BRIENNA I got it! Helvetica! It’s sleek AND modern. FRANK My thoughts exactly! Brienna is pleased with herself. Shandra crumples into a chair. INT. JARED’S TRUCK - MOVING - MORNING Jared drives, while Ernie works a crossword puzzle, both in coveralls and orange safety vests. Anthony sits between them, wearing suspenders and shirt and tie. Jared points to an old television on the side of the road. JARED What about that one? Anthony shakes his head no, then notices Ernie. ANTHONY Grandpa, Ernie’s using a pen. JARED He should know better. ERNIE Don’t worry yourselves. No mistakes today, I’m on a roll. Anthony glances at the crossword puzzle. ANTHONY But you only have one answered. ERNIE Like I said, I’m on a roll. We gonna get paid, Jared! Jared and Ernie fist bump. 8. 9. ANTHONY But it’s wrong. JARED What you mean, wrong? ERNIE How so? ANTHONY Three down, poetic genius. It’s Eliot, not Tupac. That sets up Eisenhower, louse, idiosyncrasy-- ERNIE This Eliot cat ever write anything as powerful as Fallen Star??? Not Tupac, my ass. JARED He doesn’t know, Ernie. It’s before his time. ERNIE You best teach him-- Anthony, excitedly points out the window. ANTHONY That one, Grandpa! That one! Truck comes to a SCREECHING halt. EXT. BUSY DOWNTOWN SIDEWALK - MOMENTS LATER Jared and Ernie pick up a printer on the side of the road, while Anthony inspects a pile of toner cartridges. Jared and Ernie wait for the other to move first. JARED You go backwards, I’ll go forwards. ERNIE Backwards? What am I, a crab? ANTHONY (O.S.) (nervous) Uh, Grandpa... Reveal, Anthony is covered in toner powder. INT. SCHOOL GYMNASIUM - MORNING SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER looks through the viewfinder. He SIGHS. 9. 10. SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER Alright...big smile. SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER’S POV: Anthony poses, wearing an orange safety vest over his stained shirt, and smeared ink face. CAMERA CLICKS. INT. TRASH-B-GONE OFFICE - MORNING FOREMAN IKE reads off the job assignments to his GARBAGEMEN, including BROWN (20s) and WALKER (20s). FOREMAN IKE Brown and Walker, truck nine. Jared and Ernie strut in. FOREMAN IKE (CONT’D) Well, well, well, look who decided to grace us with their presence, the gruesome twosome. ERNIE Only gruesome thing in here is the beatdown you’re all about to get. Ernie holds up the crossword puzzle high in the air. ERNIE (CONT’D) Read it and weep! Every single one answered. JARED (proud) AND written in pen. Workers gather around. BROWN What the...they got them all! Garbagemen throw their crosswords to the floor. Ernie picks one up. ERNIE (condescending) Tupac. JARED Amateurs. 10. 11. Foreman Ike dangles a key attached to an 8 ball keychain. A HUSH. Jared and Ernie stand tall, puff out their chests. FOREMAN IKE To the victors, go the spoils. Twin electric motors, four hundred and forty-eight continuous horsepower and over four thousand foot-pounds of torque. Our finest truck. Garbagemen WHISTLE in awe. Jared takes the key. FOREMAN IKE (CONT’D) And most importantly, no garbage stank. Garbagemen hand over their betting money to Jared and Ernie. Money collected, Jared and Ernie do their pinball machine dance: mime pulling back the plunger, tapping the flipper buttons and bumping hips twice. PINBALL SOUNDS. INT. ANTHONY’S FIFTH GRADE CLASSROOM - MORNING STUDENTS, in groups of two, work on fractions. Anthony now wearing a school mascot t-shirt, is paired up with FINN Calloway (10). SCHOOL SECRETARY MISS TROMBINO enters with a new student, JORGE (10, but looks 13), and introduces him to the teacher, MISS VELA. FINN Whoa, look at this kid. Nice mustache. What do you think he eats for breakfast? ANTHONY Judging by his build, I’d say he eats a great deal of protein, complex carbohydrates and hopefully an equal mix of the three dietary fats. FINN Dude, you need to get a life. MISS VELA Class, may I have your attention? Students put down their pencils. 11. 12. MISS VELA (CONT’D) Please help me welcome, Jorge, who comes to us all the way from Texas. STUDENTS Hi, Jorge. Jorge gives the class a slight head nod. Awkward silence. MISS VELA Would you like to share any-- JORGE No. FINN Smooth talker, this kid. You both have that in common. Anthony returns to the math problems. Finn gets nervous when Jorge sits next to him. Jorge looks over his fractions worksheet, lost. He notices Anthony breezing through the problems and copies from him. Anthony pulls his worksheet away from Jorge’s view. ANTHONY That’s cheating! Jorge snatches Anthony’s worksheet and copies the answers. Finn nudges Anthony. FINN Are you nuts? Finn points to Anthony’s worksheet. FINN (CONT’D) (to Jorge) That’s a nine, not a seven. Fractions, ugh...amirite??? Jorge corrects his error. INT. ANTHONY’S SCHOOL CAFETERIA - AFTERNOON All of Anthony’s food is evenly spaced out. Finn pulls a sandwich out of his lunch bag. The boys trade sandwiches. 12. 13. FINN Crunchy peanut butter, get in my mouth. ANTHONY (mimicking Finn) Creamy peanut butter, get in my mouth. The boys are about to eat when a hand slides a perfect score math worksheet on the table. The hand belongs to Jorge. JORGE (to Anthony) I’m sitting next to you for Friday’s quiz. FINN It’s great that after everything, we can all be friends. What great memories we’re going to be-- JORGE Make sure you write big enough for me to read your answers. ANTHONY You have to do your own work. Miss Vela doesn’t like cheaters. She likes for students to try their best. JORGE You like sandwiches? ANTHONY Peanut butter. FINN Who doesn’t? Jorge makes two fists and shakes them menacingly. JORGE I got two of the knuckle kind, one for each of you. FINN Thanks, but we’re all set with these. Jorge pours their milk cartons over their lunches. JORGE Remember, write big, or we’ll all meet up after school. 13. 14. Jorge leaves Anthony and Finn with their soggy lunches. INT. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA’S OFFICE - DAY PRINCIPAL ZAVALA (30s), sits behind his desk. Photos of him standing under theater marquees of various musicals, litter his office. KNOCK ON DOOR. Finn opens the door and peeks in. FINN Principal Zavala, you wanted to see me? PRINCIPAL ZAVALA Mister Calloway, have a seat. Finn grows uneasy when he sees Anthony sitting in the office and reluctantly sits next to him. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA (CONT’D) Mister Davis was telling me about your run in with the new student-- FINN Could you be more vague, Principal Zavala? As you well know, we receive an influx of new students, almost on a daily basis, thanks to our low cost of living and favorable tax laws. (grabs Anthony and heads for the door) Anyways, we’ll stop by later, see if you have a name-- PRINCIPAL ZAVALA The new student who poured his milk on your lunch. ANTHONY Peanut butter sandwiches. I had creamy and Finn, crunchy. FINN Oh, that student. Jorge. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA Yes, that student. Tell me, what happened. Finn stumbles for a response, when he notices the musical marquee photos. 14. 15. FINN Well...see, we, Jorge and I, are doing a musical scene for the talent show. Principal Zavala perks up. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA You are? Which one? Finn eyeballs the marquee photos. FINN West Side Story...you know, the Jets and the Sharks. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA I don’t recall any milk pouring scenes in West Side Story. FINN Method actors, what can I tell you? Always taking it too far. So, you see, Principal Zavala, it’s all a misunderstanding. I’ll make sure Jorge takes it down a notch. Finn grabs Anthony and heads for the door. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA I’m looking forward to your performance at the talent show. FINN (under his breath) Don’t hold your breath. PRINCIPAL ZAVALA Say again? Finn spins around, walks backwards through the door, SNAPPING his fingers. Anthony copies Finn and SNAPS. Principal Zavala joins in the SNAPPING. INT. OUTSIDE OF PRINCIPAL ZAVALA’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS Finn SHUTS the door. FINN Are you nuts? You’ve seen this kid, Jorge, he’s HUGE. I heard he’s been to jail. 15. 16. ANTHONY But it’s wrong for him to cheat off my work. FINN Dude, what do you think’s going to happen when everyone hears you were going to tell on him? Everyone will call you a tattletale. ANTHONY But it’s the truth. FINN And since I’m your all time best friend, they’ll think I was in on it. No one will talk to us, ever! Which means I’ll never get a date, go to prom or get married and I’ll end up living in the basement with my older brother. And he’s all pale and smells like onions. Don’t do that to me, bro, I don’t wanna smell like onions. ANTHONY That wouldn’t be nice. FINN Come on, let’s get out of here. Finn leads Anthony out by the shirtsleeve. INT. DAVIS’ LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON Jared and Ernie happily enter. JARED Truck handles like a dream. ERNIE You ain’t lying. JARED If that collectible store was open today, it’d be a perfect day! ERNIE Boy, ain’t that the truth! Ernie spots a pile of banana bread on the kitchen table. 16. 17. ERNIE (CONT’D) Hmm. Someone’s been baking! Ernie makes a beeline for the kitchen. INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS JARED What?! Jared GASPS at the loaves and recipe cards on the counter. JARED (CONT’D) Banana bread AND Grandma’s recipes! (counts the loaves) One, two, three... (realization) She’s been baking all afternoon! Ernie CHOMPS bread. ERNIE Who? JARED Shandra. Just like her Mama when she was upset. We need to scram! Now! Jared rushes for the door, when Shandra comes down the stairs and heads to the kitchen. SHANDRA Hey. Jared is petrified. JARED Hey. ERNIE Hey. Jared tries to gauge Shandra’s mood. JARED (CONT’D) (overly curious) How was your first day? SHANDRA Ok. ERNIE (between bites) Ok, ain’t bad. Ain’t that right, Jared? 17. 18. JARED (guarded) Ok, is good. I mean, it ain’t great, but, it’s... ERNIE Ok. Shandra resumes baking. Jared cautiously takes a slice. SHANDRA (to herself) You steal my parking space. I can let that go. I can turn the other cheek. Shandra cracks eggs angrily. JARED Oh, no. (whispers) Storm’s brewing... ERNIE Huh? SHANDRA (to herself) Take my ID photo, drenched, looking like a drowned rat. I can let that go too. And Helvetica?! Everyone knows it’s cold and impersonal! ERNIE (to Jared) What’s happening right now? JARED Thanks to you, it’s too late for a getaway. SHANDRA You know what? Brienna and I are going to become friends. No, BEST FRIENDS! I can guarantee you that! (looks at all the bread) Like they say, nothing brings people together like breaking bread. Am I right? Jared and Ernie nod yes as they eat. 18. 19. SHANDRA (CONT’D) Wait! Your basic banana bread isn’t gonna cut it. (flips through recipes) I need something....something above and beyond...what do you think? Jared quickly stuffs his mouth and MUMBLES for a few seconds. SHANDRA (CONT’D) Uh-huh. Hmmm. (to Ernie) What do you think? Ernie, with a deer in the headlights look, snaps to and fills his mouth with bread. He MUMBLES a response. SHANDRA (CONT’D) Yeah. When you’re right, you’re right. I’m gonna need more baking supplies. Make sure Anthony does his homework when he gets home. Shandra grabs her jacket and heads out the door. Jared and Ernie, relieved, SIGH. INT. DAVIS' LIVING ROOM - LATER Jared shows Ernie both sides of a coin. JARED Heads, I get the pinball table first. Tails, you get it first. Call it. Jared flips the coin in the air. ERNIE Tails never fails. Coins LANDS on the coffee table. Heads. JARED It just did. Which means I get it first. Anthony enters and heads straight for the kitchen. JARED (CONT’D) (preoccupied) Hey, Anthony, how was school? 19.