High school was hard enough as the resident scholarship student, but when an unfortunate incident with a scalpel gets Drake labeled as the resident psychopath as well, he reluctantly embraces his new bad reputation.
Problem Cases
Copyright by Briana Cox.
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Award Category
Logline or Premise
High school was hard enough as the resident scholarship student, but when an unfortunate incident with a scalpel gets Drake labeled as the resident psychopath as well, he reluctantly embraces his new bad reputation.
Summary:
DRAKE CALDERA (15) is a bright kid on a scholarship at a high school in a privileged suburb. He is from the wrong side of the tracks, a single child of a
single-parent CC (34). Lacrosse jock JUSTIN BRANDEN (16) is out for Drake’s blood. And, to make things worse, the high school band tweet thread nominates Drake as the boy most likely to become the next school shooter after police killed a potential shooter at their rival high school. His overachieving, rich-bitch, half-sister NANCY NAKAMURA (16) threatens two of his friends with her lacrosse stick for ruining her speech at a morning pep rally. Drake takes the stick from her and wails on chain link to vent his morning’s frustrations. They must go to the office of the school psychologist, MR. LAJORDIN, where Nancy reveals that she's already posted the video of Drake having a melt-down, further cementing him as the school's resident psychopath. Mr. LaJordin appeals to their sibling ties to sort things out. Nancy denies familial ties entirely. She calls Drake’s mother a whore. Drake responds by playing a recording of their imprisoned father begging Drake for cigarettes so he can burn his sleeping cellmate. Nancy mouths off, so Mr. LaJordin dismisses her. Drake’s world gets worse for the rest of the day.
CC works late so the neighbors invite him to dinner. The family eats while Katessa (21) ruins his hairstyle practicing. Jay (24), the son, smokes crack and tries to be a father to his son over the phone because he missed his time with his boy. When CC finally comes home, she tells Drake that the money he got from his friend Z (15) for the class fees for an extra class is only a loan. He will pay Z and Z’s dad back plus interest. Jay drives Drake to the prison to see Jonathan. Johnathan tries to be paternal to Drake, but it is wasted breath. Drake asks for advice after outlining his new reputation as the next school shooter. Johnathan is blunt. He can tell him how
to extort his peers, then go to prison for fifteen years with a chance of parole after six. Avoiding that last part is on Drake.
