SNOWBALL

an original short screenplay by

Ana Brown

EXT. BOSTON – HOUSE – SUMMER TIME — MORNING

Three 12-year-old BOYS sit on the front stoop of a house in
a working class Boston.
Everyone’s in tank top. Everyone
has a buzz cut. It’s Boston hot. And they’re bored to tears.

RICKY, a kid with a square jaw, offers some suggestions.

RICKY
Say we ride bikes.  Around.

TIMMY, an extra short kid, smartens him up.

TIMMY
We ain’t riding bikes.  Too hot.

JOHN JUNIOR, the ring leader, shuts them both down.

JOHN JUNIOR
We do too much of that riding bikes
and whatever for no reason.

The front door opens, out walks John Junior’s mother LINDA,
a striking woman dressed in a nurses uniform.

LINDA
I don’t want any phone calls today.
I’ll be home for supper. Be good.

Ricky and Timmy watch her go, adoringly.

TIMMY
They got AC in Mass General I bet.

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE — LATER

The three boys sit on the stoop.  Different positions now.
Still hot as hell.

TWO PRETTY GIRLS, JESSE and KENDAL from the neighborhood,
stop in front of the house. The girls look up at the boys.

KENDAL
Hey John Junior.

John Junior nods, working a cool response.

They all look at each other, and anywhere else, for a few
painful seconds.

Then the girls keep walking.

The front door SLAMS open and a large DOG, ZEUS, runs out on
to the porch and straight to John Junior.

John Junior’s sister, MARY, darkens the doorway in a pair of
yoga pants, ankle weights and a jog bra.

MARY
(to John Junior)
I’m trying to do my work out!

The door SLAMS shut.

MOMENTS LATER

John Junior holds a hose.
John Junior pets Zeus.
He BARKS twice.
Zeus laps at the water.
He BARKS again.

From behind the fence, a GRUFF MALE VOICE coated in a thick
BOSTON accent.

MR. SULLIVAN (O.S.)
John Junior put that dog on a chain
and shut it up.

JOHN JUNIOR

Yes sir.

RICKY
Yes sir Mr. Sullivan!

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE — LATER

The boys are all repositioned on the front stoop.

JOHN JUNIOR
Old man Sully ‘come over here and
we’re dead.

Suddenly, John Junior looks quickly around the porch,
something’s missing.

EXT.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD — MOMENTS LATER

John Junior, Timmy and Ricky all on small bikes ridding around
the neighborhood, SHOUTING.

TIMMY

Zeus!

JOHN JUNIOR

Zeus!

Up ahead, an ice cream truck idles by the side of the road.
Jesse and Kendal stand at the back of a LINE OF NEIGHBORHOOD
KIDS.

John Junior spots Kendal and Jesse and gestures for everyone
to slow and zip it.

The boys coast silently past the girls.
The girls watch them float by.

The boys stare dead ahead, casual..then round the corner…

And start pedaling furiously..

They fly down the street on their bikes, SHOUTING for the
dog.

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE — LATER

Defeated, the boys roll their bikes towards the house.

Zeus is on the porch.

Ricky dumps his bike and runs up the steps.
He stops next to Zeus.

He’s got something in his mouth..

RICKY
(smiling to John Junior)
You’re dead!

INSERT: In Zeus’s mouth, a dirty, dead, WHITE RABBIT.

INT. BATHROOM — MOMENTS LATER

The three boys are crowded into a small bathroom, hovering
over a sink, washing the dead rabbit, GIGGLING.

BANG BANG BANG!

MARY (O.S.)
John Junior get the fuck out of the
bathroom. I need to shave my legs.

The boys try to contain their laughter. John Junior hits
Timmy. Timmy hits Ricky. Ricky hits Timmy back.

The door handle jiggles.

The boys muffle hysterical laughter.

MARY (O.S.) (CONT’D)
John Junior! I know you boys are
doing something. I’m calling mom!

Ricky GAGS, holding the rabbit, as John points a pink hair
dryer at it. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Timmy watches, roaring.

Mary stands outside the door listening to the hair dryer.
She SCREAMS at the door.

MARY (CONT’D)
You don’t got no hair John Junior!
That’s it! John Junior that’s it!

Mary kicks the door twice and storms off.

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE — LATER

The boys stand outside the house on the sidewalk.
is holding a paper bag, looking around, nervous.

John Junior

TIMMY
I’m not doing it.

No.

JOHN JUNIOR

Do it!

John Junior holds up the bag.

EXT. ALLEY WAY / BACKYARD — LATER

CRACKLING branches.

Timmy squeezes past a bush and a bunch of trash cans.

Across the yard he spots an open, empty rabbit cage, on a
low picnic table. He scurries quickly across the lawn, the
paper bag tucked under his arm.

MOMENTS LATER

Timmy sets the dead super fluffy rabbit in the cage.

The rabbit falls over.

He rights it.

The rabbit falls over again.

TIMMY
(whispers)
Come on. You can’t look dead yet.

EXT. / INT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE – LATER

Ricky holds a lighter to the edge of the paper bag.

The bag floats to the pavement. The boys watch it burn.

John Junior stomps it out.

LATER

The boys all sit on the porch.

Kendal and Jesse stop in front of the house.

JESSE
We had an idea. Because we’re bored.

KENDAL
For a dollar. One of you can feel
our boobs.

Ricky and Timmy look to John Junior for guidance.
Everyone waits. Sweat beads on the boy’s foreheads.

JOHN JUNIOR
A dollar?

INT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE – MOMENTS LATER

…BAM!

A kitchen drawer flies open. Knickknacks scatter in every
direction across the linoleum.

Timmy is ripping out couch cushions.

Ricky swings open the front hall closet and starts riffling
through coat pockets. He hits on something and pulls out..

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE – MOMENTS LATER

..A FIVE DOLLAR BILL pulled taught between a set of grubby
twelve year old fingers.

JOHN JUNIOR
Do you have change?

JESSE
No.

JOHN JUNIOR
Then we’re gonna have to work
something out.

Just then, from behind the fence, a CHIRP from a little GIRL.

LITTLE GIRL (O.S.)
Daddy look. It’s Snow Ball! He’s
back, and he smells like pie!

The boys freeze.

Kendal keeps working her agenda..

KENDAL
Fine.  You can also touch my butt.

But the boys can barely hear her, consumed with what is
unfolding just on the other side of the fence.

MR. SULLIVAN (O.S.)
Some one is dead! Dead!

A LOUD CRASH next door. The boys jump. The five dollar
bill curls into John Junior’s clenched fist.

KENDAL

So?

Just then, Mary steps out onto the porch. She clocks the
boys. The girls. No one’s moving. Something’s up.

MARY

What?

From the other side of the fence..

MR. SULLIVAN (O.S.)
Somebody digs up a dead rabbit and
gives it a perm! Who does that?!

John Junior glances at Zeus.

So does Mary.

MUDDY PAWS.

MARY
Five dollars. Or I’m telling Mr.
Sully and Mom.

John Junior slowly hands Mary the money.
Ricky and Timmy watch, crestfallen.

MARY (CONT’D)
The house looks like a bomb went
off. Get inside and clean it up.
(to the girls)
Go home.

LATER

The boys vacuuming. Putting couches back together.
Arranging pillows. Righting the fan.

INT. DINNING ROOM — LATER

The three boys, Mary, and Linda sit around the table eating
dinner.

LINDA
House looks nice.
Someone straighten up?

TIMMY
We did Ms. O’Mahony.

LINDA
Good boys.  How come I got a call?

MARY
‘Cause they were in the bathroom.
Using my hair dryer on something.

JOHN JUNIOR
Like a fan type of thing mom.

LINDA
(to Mary)
You gave them that five for ice cream
right?

Mary is silent.

LINDA (CONT’D)
Mary.  Well.  Give it to them already.

EXT. STREET — LATER

The boys run toward an ice cream truck.
Zeus runs next to them. The sun sets behind the truck.

EXT. JOHN JUNIOR’S HOUSE – EVENING

The boys sit on the stoop licking ice cream cones.

TIMMY
It’s like it didn’t make a difference
the sun went down.

RICKY
Everything got hot, and remembered.

TIMMY
Did you hear what she said?

JOHN JUNIOR
Boobs and butt.

TIMMY

Man.

JOHN JUNIOR

Yeah.

RICKY
You wanna do all that?

JOHN JUNIOR
I don’t really wanna do something
for no reason. You know?

TIMMY
Might be cool someday though.

JOHN JUNIOR
Yeah.  Someday.

The boys lick their ice cream cones.

FADE OUT