A single cardboard box rests on the floor. Comic books, old T-
shirts, and other mementoes thrown in haphazardly.
A hand places a framed picture of a FATHER and SON sitting on
a picnic table. Broad smiles on their faces.
The son in the picture, CHARLIE DRUMHOUSE, 15, a thin,
disheveled teen, isn’t smiling now as he looks down at the
photo. It's more a look of despair.
A lid goes on top of the box.
A moving van sits in front of the house. MOVERS close the
doors to the van, finished with their packing.
MEG DRUMHOUSE, 40, stands next to a weathered car as the
moving van pulls away. Certainly a beauty in her time,
circumstances have her as beaten down as the car.
Charlie shoves the box into the back of the car. Handwritten
on the box's side: "CHARLIE'S STUFF - KEEP OUT".
MEG (O.C.)
Ready to go, Charlie?
Charlie takes a last look and climbs in. Not a happy moment.
CHARLIE
Not really.
MEG
I know. But we're going to make
this work. New town, new start.
CHARLIE
New town, new problems. And same
old me.
MEG
Hey, kiddo. There’s nothing wrong
with you. Nothing, understand?
(beat)
You know your dad would want us to
be happy. Both of us.
This isn't the idyllic neighborhoods from 50's TV shows.
Charlie watches the drab wood frame homes pass one after
another with disinterest, until:
MEG
We're here!
She wheels into a driveway. There's nothing to distinguish
this house from any of the others, really.
CHARLIE
How can you tell? They all look the
same to me.
MEG
I put directions to the most boring
house on the block in the GPS.
(no reaction)
C’mon, give it a chance, buddy.
This is hard for both of us.
CHARLIE
You keep saying that.
MEG
Only because it’s true.
Meg and Charlie stand in the den of his new home. He holds
his personal box, clearly unimpressed with the surroundings.
MEG
It'll look better when we get the
furniture in.
Charlie nods. It's all he can do at this point.
MEG (CONT’D)
Why don't you go pick your room?
(As he leaves)
But not the one with the bathroom
in it. That's mine... Charlie?
But Charlie is already down the hall.
The room he's picked out is small, but big enough for a guy
like Charlie. He places the box on the floor and pulls out
the photo. Places it on the floor.
Charlie sits, his back against a wall. Looks around.
CHARLIE
Well? What do you think?
He waits. Pretends to hear an answer.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Yeah. Me too.
Charlie sits at the breakfast table. Meg drops a plate of
waffles in front of him. He stares at the plate, fidgets.
MEG
First day of school jitters?
CHARLIE
Do I really have to go? Nothing
happens the first day anyway.
Meg smiles, giving Charlie the encouragement only a mom can.
MEG
We’ve talked about this, right? New
beginnings, new opportunities. Your
chance to start fresh. Can’t do
that watching TV here all day.
CHARLIE
I could read comic books instead.
Meg rolls her eyes, walks to the kitchen.
MEG
Eat up. Need to leave in five.
CHARLIE
I think I’m starting to come down
with something.
MEG
Eat!
LATER
Meg stands at the front doorway and sips coffee. She rubs
Charlie's head as he trudges past. Dead man walking.
MEG (CONT’D)
Have a good day, sweetie. I'll see
you when I get home from work.
(as he moves past)
Make new friends, okay?
Charlie waits at a corner with a hodgepodge of other odd
looking STUDENTS. It’s like the Star Wars Cantina. No one
speaks to the new kid. It's a rule.
A school bus pulls up. Charlie and the others step inside.
Charlie sits alone near the front. Loud, rambunctious
students joyously greet friends they haven't seen all summer.
A wave of self-consciousness comes over Charlie as the bus
rumbles away. Everyone but him seems connected here.
At the next stop, though, a girl takes the seat across from
Charlie: ISABEL "IZZY" BLOOM, 16. A sudden, singular ray of
sunshine in Charlie's bleak world.
Just as they look each other’s way, the bus door opens again,
and a series of bizarre looking characters step on.
GOTH GEEK, 16, dark and dreary, leads. Behind him is a
collection of nerd nobodies: JEDI, 17, TREKKIE, 17, PRINCESS,
16, the lone female, and HOBBIT, 16. It’s nerds on parade.
The students suddenly quiet down as the gang scours the seats
looking for a victim.
They pass Charlie and zero in on another teenager: KOBY
"SNACKS" CONRAD, 15, who cowers in his seat. An odd nickname,
as there are stick bugs fatter than he is. An easy target.
Charlie turns to watch what is happening. Papers fly as Goth
Geek knocks away Snacks' binder and grabs his t-shirt.
GOTH GEEK
Well? You gonna join us or not?
Snacks nervously shakes his head.
JEDI
Benny ain't gonna like this.
GOTH GEEK
(to Snacks)
Listen, punk, you need to know
something. Like the Dark Lord Skulk
and his clan of vampires...
A collective GROAN fills the bus.
GOTH GEEK (CONT’D)
... we nerds stick together here at
Pinkley High.
(to the gang)
What?
TREKKIE
Why are we always vampires?
JEDI
Technically, vampires are loners.
They wouldn't even be in a gang.
Goth Geek is not amused. He focuses on Trekkie, Snacks' shirt
still in his grasp.
GOTH GEEK
You saying that J.J. Blinks, author
of the greatest vampire series ever
written, got it wrong?
Charlie quietly seeths over Snacks' treatment.
GOTH GEEK (CONT’D)
You all think he got it wrong?
When no one rises to his challenge, he notices the new guy.
Goth Geek hones in on an unamused Charlie.
The bus stops at the entrance to VERNON PINKLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
A sign welcomes students back to the new year.
GOTH GEEK
(to Charlie)
What do you think? Did J.J. Blinks
get it wrong?
Charlie slips on his backpack as the bus door opens.
CHARLIE
I've always thought vampire books
were for girls.
(regarding his makeup)
Nice eyeliner, by the way.
Izzy stifles a laugh.
Furious, Goth Geek lunges for Charlie, who slips under his
grasp. He slides around students exiting the bus, does a
parallel vault over a bus seat, and zips out the door.
Goth Geek and the other nerds are in hot pursuit, knocking
down students who block the aisle.
Charlie makes a beeline for the front door of the school. So
much for making new friends.
Charlie races through the halls, the geeks not far behind. He
slides down a bannister and right through a "WELCOME BACK"
banner two FEMALE STUDENTS are preparing to hang.
As he rounds a corner, he passes PRINCIPAL CARL DUGGAN, 38.
Duggan is a beanpole, dressed like a computer store salesman.
Basically a grown up school nerd.
Charlie knocks a cup of coffee out of Duggan's hand and the
liquid flies all over his poofy-haired assistant, APRIL.
Charlie doesn't stop. The nerds are right on his tail. Duggan
nods his appreciation at the spectacle as April soaks.
PRINCIPAL DUGGAN
First day of school tomfoolery.
Some things never change, do they?
Charlie spots several banks of lockers and races toward them.
Rounding one long bank, he throws open a locker door right
into Goth Geek’s face, who bends over in pain.
Just as Hobbit is about to snag his shirt, Charlie
springboards off the back of a student bending over to tie
his shoe, and leaps to the top of the locker bank.
He runs down the locker bank, the Jets snapping at his heels.
Charlie reaches the end of the bank and leaps over a group of
stunned students. The nerds knock them over in their pursuit.
As Charlie moves down a hallway, he approaches TOOTS HANSON,
15. A laid-back guy who loves to experiment with fire.
Toots, watches Charlie's dilemma, reaches into a bag, lighter
in hand. He pulls out a cherry smoke bomb, lights the wick,
then tosses it towards the oncoming nerds.
A large plume of cherry red smoke fills the hallway and halts
the Jets in their tracks. They hesitate, conflicted, until:
GOTH GEEK
C’mon, you losers!
Goth Geek leads the charge into the smoke.
As they emerge on the other side, they once again skid to a
halt as they come face to face not with Charlie, but with--
KEVIN "KILLER" MANKINS, 38, straight out of 'Guns and Ammo'
magazine. Tall, hard body, straggly beard. He GROWLS at the
nerds, who scatter back into the smoke.
Confidant they are gone, Charlie peaks from behind Killer.
CHARLIE
Thanks for the help, uh...
KILLER
(holds out his hand)
Killer Mankins, head of security.
CHARLIE
Charlie Drumhouse.
Charlie limply shakes Killer's hand.
KILLER
You're Jack's kid.
(off Charlie's look)
Yeah, I knew your father. Good man.
Charlie hangs his head.
KILLER (CONT’D)
Sorry about what happened, kid.
Tough business, losing your dad at
your age. But it'll get better.
(beat)
Looks like you're off to a good
start here. Those guys try to get
you to join their little "gang?"
Toots walks through the smoke and joins them.
CHARLIE
They tried to get some other kid to
join. I sort of deflected their
fire, and they went after me
instead. Who are they?
TOOTS
The Jets. Junior Engineering
Technical Society.
KILLER
A bunch of punk know it alls. You
need to get you to your first
class. Who do you start with?
Charlie looks at the palm of his hand. His course schedule is
written there in ink.
CHARLIE
Room 141. Ms. Cooper. English.
KILLER
(to Toots)
Get him down there, will ya?
Killer sticks an unlit half-cigar in his mouth. As Charlie
and Toots walk away, Killer calls after Charlie:
KILLER (CONT’D)
Hey, kid. You want to survive in
this school? Don't be the prey.
Charlie stops and turns, a quizzical look on his face.
CHARLIE
The what?
KILLER
The prey. In the high school
jungle, there's the predators and
the prey. The Jets. Athletes.
Senior girls. All predators. They
eat up weak freshmen like you and
spit their bones into the hallways
for other predators to feast on.
CHARLIE
Doesn't sound very nice.
KILLER
The jungle isn't supposed to be
nice. It's cruel and unforgiving.
(MORE)
KILLER (CONT’D)
Survival of the fittest. That's why
runts like you need to form packs.
TOOTS
Because we're stronger as a group?
KILLER
No, because it increases the odds
someone other than you will get
picked off by the predators.
Charlie's shoulders sag as he watches Killer walk away.
— ①
INT. RESIDENCE - BEDROOM - DAY
A single cardboard box rests on the floor. Comic books, old T-
shirts, and other mementoes thrown in haphazardly.
A hand places a framed picture of a FATHER and SON sitting on
a picnic table. Broad smiles on their faces.
The son in the picture, CHARLIE DRUMHOUSE, 15, a thin,
disheveled teen, isn’t smiling now as he looks down at the
photo. It's more a look of despair.
A lid goes on top of the box.
EXT. RESIDENCE - DRIVEWAY - DAY
A moving van sits in front of the house. MOVERS close the
doors to the van, finished with their packing.
MEG DRUMHOUSE, 40, stands next to a weathered car as the
moving van pulls away. Certainly a beauty in her time,
circumstances have her as beaten down as the car.
Charlie shoves the box into the back of the car. Handwritten
on the box's side: "CHARLIE'S STUFF - KEEP OUT".
MEG (O.C.)
Ready to go, Charlie?
Charlie takes a last look and climbs in. Not a happy moment.
CHARLIE
Not really.
MEG
I know. But we're going to make
this work. New town, new start.
CHARLIE
New town, new problems. And same
old me.
MEG
Hey, kiddo. There’s nothing wrong
with you. Nothing, understand?
(beat)
You know your dad would want us to
be happy. Both of us.
INT./EXT. AUTOMOBILE - SUBURBAN STREET - DAY (MOVING)
This isn't the idyllic neighborhoods from 50's TV shows.
Charlie watches the drab wood frame homes pass one after
another with disinterest, until:
MEG
We're here!
She wheels into a driveway. There's nothing to distinguish
this house from any of the others, really.
CHARLIE
How can you tell? They all look the
same to me.
MEG
I put directions to the most boring
house on the block in the GPS.
(no reaction)
C’mon, give it a chance, buddy.
This is hard for both of us.
CHARLIE
You keep saying that.
MEG
Only because it’s true.
INT. CHARLIE'S RESIDENCE - DEN - DAY
Meg and Charlie stand in the den of his new home. He holds
his personal box, clearly unimpressed with the surroundings.
MEG
It'll look better when we get the
furniture in.
Charlie nods. It's all he can do at this point.
MEG (CONT’D)
Why don't you go pick your room?
(As he leaves)
But not the one with the bathroom
in it. That's mine... Charlie?
But Charlie is already down the hall.
INT. CHARLIE'S RESIDENCE - BEDROOM - DAY
The room he's picked out is small, but big enough for a guy
like Charlie. He places the box on the floor and pulls out
the photo. Places it on the floor.
Charlie sits, his back against a wall. Looks around.
CHARLIE
Well? What do you think?
He waits. Pretends to hear an answer.
CHARLIE (CONT’D)
Yeah. Me too.
EXT. CHARLIE'S RESIDENCE - MORNING
Charlie sits at the breakfast table. Meg drops a plate of
waffles in front of him. He stares at the plate, fidgets.
MEG
First day of school jitters?
CHARLIE
Do I really have to go? Nothing
happens the first day anyway.
Meg smiles, giving Charlie the encouragement only a mom can.
MEG
We’ve talked about this, right? New
beginnings, new opportunities. Your
chance to start fresh. Can’t do
that watching TV here all day.
CHARLIE
I could read comic books instead.
Meg rolls her eyes, walks to the kitchen.
MEG
Eat up. Need to leave in five.
CHARLIE
I think I’m starting to come down
with something.
MEG
Eat!
LATER
Meg stands at the front doorway and sips coffee. She rubs
Charlie's head as he trudges past. Dead man walking.
MEG (CONT’D)
Have a good day, sweetie. I'll see
you when I get home from work.
(as he moves past)
Make new friends, okay?
EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - MORNING
Charlie waits at a corner with a hodgepodge of other odd
looking STUDENTS. It’s like the Star Wars Cantina. No one
speaks to the new kid. It's a rule.
A school bus pulls up. Charlie and the others step inside.
INT. SCHOOL BUS - MORNING
Charlie sits alone near the front. Loud, rambunctious
students joyously greet friends they haven't seen all summer.
A wave of self-consciousness comes over Charlie as the bus
rumbles away. Everyone but him seems connected here.
At the next stop, though, a girl takes the seat across from
Charlie: ISABEL "IZZY" BLOOM, 16. A sudden, singular ray of
sunshine in Charlie's bleak world.
Just as they look each other’s way, the bus door opens again,
and a series of bizarre looking characters step on.
GOTH GEEK, 16, dark and dreary, leads. Behind him is a
collection of nerd nobodies: JEDI, 17, TREKKIE, 17, PRINCESS,
16, the lone female, and HOBBIT, 16. It’s nerds on parade.
The students suddenly quiet down as the gang scours the seats
looking for a victim.
They pass Charlie and zero in on another teenager: KOBY
"SNACKS" CONRAD, 15, who cowers in his seat. An odd nickname,
as there are stick bugs fatter than he is. An easy target.
Charlie turns to watch what is happening. Papers fly as Goth
Geek knocks away Snacks' binder and grabs his t-shirt.
GOTH GEEK
Well? You gonna join us or not?
Snacks nervously shakes his head.
JEDI
Benny ain't gonna like this.
GOTH GEEK
(to Snacks)
Listen, punk, you need to know
something. Like the Dark Lord Skulk
and his clan of vampires...
A collective GROAN fills the bus.
GOTH GEEK (CONT’D)
... we nerds stick together here at
Pinkley High.
(to the gang)
What?
TREKKIE
Why are we always vampires?
JEDI
Technically, vampires are loners.
They wouldn't even be in a gang.
Goth Geek is not amused. He focuses on Trekkie, Snacks' shirt
still in his grasp.
GOTH GEEK
You saying that J.J. Blinks, author
of the greatest vampire series ever
written, got it wrong?
Charlie quietly seeths over Snacks' treatment.
GOTH GEEK (CONT’D)
You all think he got it wrong?
When no one rises to his challenge, he notices the new guy.
Goth Geek hones in on an unamused Charlie.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - MAIN ENTRANCE - MORNING
The bus stops at the entrance to VERNON PINKLEY HIGH SCHOOL.
A sign welcomes students back to the new year.
INT. SCHOOL BUS - MORNING
GOTH GEEK
(to Charlie)
What do you think? Did J.J. Blinks
get it wrong?
Charlie slips on his backpack as the bus door opens.
CHARLIE
I've always thought vampire books
were for girls.
(regarding his makeup)
Nice eyeliner, by the way.
Izzy stifles a laugh.
Furious, Goth Geek lunges for Charlie, who slips under his
grasp. He slides around students exiting the bus, does a
parallel vault over a bus seat, and zips out the door.
Goth Geek and the other nerds are in hot pursuit, knocking
down students who block the aisle.
Charlie makes a beeline for the front door of the school. So
much for making new friends.
INT. HIGH SCHOOL - MORNING
Charlie races through the halls, the geeks not far behind. He
slides down a bannister and right through a "WELCOME BACK"
banner two FEMALE STUDENTS are preparing to hang.
As he rounds a corner, he passes PRINCIPAL CARL DUGGAN, 38.
Duggan is a beanpole, dressed like a computer store salesman.
Basically a grown up school nerd.
Charlie knocks a cup of coffee out of Duggan's hand and the
liquid flies all over his poofy-haired assistant, APRIL.
Charlie doesn't stop. The nerds are right on his tail. Duggan
nods his appreciation at the spectacle as April soaks.
PRINCIPAL DUGGAN
First day of school tomfoolery.
Some things never change, do they?
INT. HIGH SCHOOL - LOCKER AREA - MORNING
Charlie spots several banks of lockers and races toward them.
Rounding one long bank, he throws open a locker door right
into Goth Geek’s face, who bends over in pain.
Just as Hobbit is about to snag his shirt, Charlie
springboards off the back of a student bending over to tie
his shoe, and leaps to the top of the locker bank.
He runs down the locker bank, the Jets snapping at his heels.
Charlie reaches the end of the bank and leaps over a group of
stunned students. The nerds knock them over in their pursuit.
As Charlie moves down a hallway, he approaches TOOTS HANSON,
15. A laid-back guy who loves to experiment with fire.
Toots, watches Charlie's dilemma, reaches into a bag, lighter
in hand. He pulls out a cherry smoke bomb, lights the wick,
then tosses it towards the oncoming nerds.
A large plume of cherry red smoke fills the hallway and halts
the Jets in their tracks. They hesitate, conflicted, until:
GOTH GEEK
C’mon, you losers!
Goth Geek leads the charge into the smoke.
As they emerge on the other side, they once again skid to a
halt as they come face to face not with Charlie, but with--
KEVIN "KILLER" MANKINS, 38, straight out of 'Guns and Ammo'
magazine. Tall, hard body, straggly beard. He GROWLS at the
nerds, who scatter back into the smoke.
Confidant they are gone, Charlie peaks from behind Killer.
CHARLIE
Thanks for the help, uh...
KILLER
(holds out his hand)
Killer Mankins, head of security.
CHARLIE
Charlie Drumhouse.
Charlie limply shakes Killer's hand.
KILLER
You're Jack's kid.
(off Charlie's look)
Yeah, I knew your father. Good man.
Charlie hangs his head.
KILLER (CONT’D)
Sorry about what happened, kid.
Tough business, losing your dad at
your age. But it'll get better.
(beat)
Looks like you're off to a good
start here. Those guys try to get
you to join their little "gang?"
Toots walks through the smoke and joins them.
CHARLIE
They tried to get some other kid to
join. I sort of deflected their
fire, and they went after me
instead. Who are they?
TOOTS
The Jets. Junior Engineering
Technical Society.
KILLER
A bunch of punk know it alls. You
need to get you to your first
class. Who do you start with?
Charlie looks at the palm of his hand. His course schedule is
written there in ink.
CHARLIE
Room 141. Ms. Cooper. English.
KILLER
(to Toots)
Get him down there, will ya?
Killer sticks an unlit half-cigar in his mouth. As Charlie
and Toots walk away, Killer calls after Charlie:
KILLER (CONT’D)
Hey, kid. You want to survive in
this school? Don't be the prey.
Charlie stops and turns, a quizzical look on his face.
CHARLIE
The what?
KILLER
The prey. In the high school
jungle, there's the predators and
the prey. The Jets. Athletes.
Senior girls. All predators. They
eat up weak freshmen like you and
spit their bones into the hallways
for other predators to feast on.
CHARLIE
Doesn't sound very nice.
KILLER
The jungle isn't supposed to be
nice. It's cruel and unforgiving.
(MORE)
KILLER (CONT’D)
Survival of the fittest. That's why
runts like you need to form packs.
TOOTS
Because we're stronger as a group?
KILLER
No, because it increases the odds
someone other than you will get
picked off by the predators.
Charlie's shoulders sag as he watches Killer walk away.