THE SOCIETY Jenn Mayo & Patrick Rose 9/18/00 EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - MORNING SUPER: BLOCH UNIVERSITY, MASSACHUSETS EXT. CAMPUS DORMITORY (begin opening credits) INT. DORM ROOM Twenty-year-old ZACH is frantically getting ready for class as he waits for his printer to spit out the final pages of a class report. He stares closely at the printer hoping to see a way of speeding the process. ZACH Come on... Zach looks at the clock. Good. Just in time. He grabs his toothbrush, applies some toothpaste, and heads to the dorm bathroom. INT. BATHROOM Zach finishes his brushing and runs out. INT. HALLWAY He finds his door locked. ZACH (WITH SURPRISE) What the...!?? He quickly looks around. ZACH (CONT'D) (YELLING) I know I did not just lock that! Tell me I did not just lock that! CUT TO: An RA letting Zach into his room. The RA is not affected by Zach's sense of urgency. Zach is practically bouncing as he watches the door finally open. ZACH (HASTILY) Thanks. Sorry. He rushes in, grabs his paper, and is gone. EXT. CAMPUS - FULL OF STUDENTS Zach disrupts the scene as he hurries to class. He dodges students left and right. Many do not have time to react. EXT. CAMPUS BUILDING BOOM! He slamms into some poor GIRL. Papers fly everywhere. Zach's paper, in a folder, lands on the ground without any damage or disruption. The girl wasn't as lucky. ZACH (GETTING UP and LOOKING at the MESS he made) Sorry. He grabs his folder and heads inside the building. The girl watches in horror; she will receive no help. OFF HER REACTION: INT. LECTURE HALL PROFESSOR KELLER is interrupted by the noise of the door. PROFESSOR Reading the newspaper in my class says to me that.... The professor's head swings around, his gaze focused on this new object of enmity. PROFESSOR (CON'T) (awaiting a response) Mr. ... ZACH Edwards. PROFESSOR Ahh. Mr. Edwards. A little early in the semester to be making such a bad presentation of yourself. Another disruption as DANA WOODS also enters the room. PROFESSOR (CON'T) But I expected more from you, Miss Woods. I suppose you two would like to turn in your papers now. ZACH AND DANA Yes sir. PROFESSOR I don't suppose either of you have a valid excuse for your tardiness. DANA I don't think you would believe it, Professor Keller. PROFESSOR Fair enough. And you Mr. Edwards? ZACH (LOOKING AT DANA) Something tells me mine would be about the same. CUT TO: EXT. BUILDING - AFTER CLASS Dana and Zach exit the building. ZACH Thanks. You really saved me in there. DANA (A little puzzled) No problem. (smiles) Anytime. They walk off in different directions. FADE TO BLACK EXT. RURAL ROAD A car travels past. INT. ZACH'S CAR Zach is singing along loudly to the music on the radio when he is interrupted by a strange knocking noise from under the hood. ZACH (muttering) Now what? EXT. ZACH's CAR - CONTINUOUS He pulls off to the side of the road and the car immediately cuts off. EXT. RURAL ROAD He pops the hood and steps out of the car to look, but can find nothing wrong. He sighs and leans against the car to wait for help. Another car comes along shortly and pulls off the road to park behind Zach's abandoned vehicle. JOSHUA steps out of his car and looks at Zach through his sunglasses. JOSHUA (re: car) Need some help? ZACH It sure looks that way. I don't suppose you have a phone. JOSHUA No, but do you mind if I take a look? Joshua begins to walk around to the front of Zach's car. Once he reaches it, he stoops and peers under the hood as if looking for something. JOSHUA (without looking up) Doesn't look like you're going anywhere. ZACH Damn. I have to go pick up some supplies for my class tomorrow. JOSHUA (looking up) Well, I can't really leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, so I suppose I'll have to give you a ride. ZACH Uh, thanks. JOSHUA (walking back around to his car) Don't mention it. You can call a tow truck from the gas station up the road. By the way, my name's Joshua. Joshua Coulter. He holds out his hand. Zach gives him a slightly puzzled look. ZACH I'm Zachary Edwards. Call me Zach. (THEY SHAKE HANDS) You know, your name sounds really familiar. JOSHUA Yeah.... Are you from Massachusets? ZACH Yeah, I grew up here... Did you go to Greenwood Elementary? JOSHUA (realizing) Yes! With Mrs. Taylor in the second grade! ZACH I knew it! Man, I haven't seen you in forever! So what are you doing here? JOSHUA Going to school. Bloch University. ZACH Hey me too. Cool. Zach walks back around to the front of his car and begins closing up the hood and locking the doors. JOSHUA We'll have to get together and catch up sometime. I'm going out tomorrow, you wanna come? ZACH Well, that depends. JOSHUA (puzzled) On what? EXT. ZACH'S CAR - ZACH BEHIND THE HOOD ZACH (he SLAMS DOWN the HOOD and grins) Are you driving? NEW ANGLE ON JOSH Joshua stares at him for a moment, and then laughs. JOSHUA Sure, man, whatever. Come on. EXT. ROAD They climb into Joshua's car and drive off. FADE TO BLACK EXT. CAMPUS - DAY - ESTABLISHING SUPER: A FEW WEEKS LATER INT. A CAMPUS BENCH Joshua is sitting on the bench with a notebook and a pen out, alternating between scribbling furiously and reading carefully over what he's written. Zach comes up behind him and peers over his shoulder at the notebook. ZACH Hey, what'cha doing? Joshua jumps and slams the notebook closed, whirling around to face a startled Zach. JOSHUA (snaps) Don't sneak up on me like that! He shoves the notebook into his backpack. ZACH Sorry! Sorry! So what was that anyway? JOSHUA None of your buisness. ZACH Oh, come on, you can tell me. What was it, like a love poem or something? Joshua glances at Zach. It is evident that he is very curious and probably won't give up so easily. JOSHUA (reluctantly) Well....... ZACH Well what? Zach comes around to the front of the bench and sits down next to Joshua. JOSHUA Well, I suppose.... since I was going to tell you eventualy anyway..... it might as well be now. (He pauses) ZACH Tell me what? Joshua folds his hand and looks away from Zach, across the campus. He appears to be lost in thought. Eventually he looks back. JOSHUA What I was writing... well, it's for a kind of a ... club, I guess you would say. Or maybe society would be a better word. He stops. There is a pause. Zach is obviously becoming impatient and obviously trying to hide it. Finally he breaks down and speaks. ZACH Society? What kind of society? What do you do? JOSHUA We watch people, mostly. Sometimes we do things, small things. But with big consequences. ZACH Dude, you aren't making any sense. Stop messing around and just spit it out. JOSHUA Alright! I'm in a secret society, okay? We have meetings and we have symbols and secret codes and secret knocks and all that kind of crap. We keep tabs on everybody on campus and mess with their lives. ZACH (obviously not believing him) Right. You mess with everybody's lives. Mind telling me why? JOSHUA Well, we have this master plan, see.... ZACH (laughs) Master plan? To do what? Does everyone in the society graduate with a 4.0? JOSHUA (a little defensively) Well, I don't know what the master plan is exactly. I've only been a member for like half a year now. They still haven't told me everything. ZACH So you want me to believe that you're a member of some crazy club that has you going around spying on people and you don't even know why? Man, I just can't see you falling for something like that. JOSHUA I'm not falling for anything. We do real stuff. Haven't you read the papers? I mean, look at some of the weird stuff that's been going on and tell me someone isn't responsible for it. ZACH Well..... JOSHUA Besides, don't you think it's a little strange the way we ran into each other? Your car didn't have to up and die in the middle of nowhere. The first person along that road didn't have to be someone you just happened to know from years ago. Didn't you think that was a bit strange to be coincidence? ZACH Alright, it was strange. But what are you saying, that you planned that? That you were watching me? JOSHUA (super-mysterious, playing it up a little) We've been watching you for some time now. We think you have what it takes to be a member. Our meeting was engineered so I could contact you. There is a long pause. They stare at each other. Zach laughs. ZACH Whatever, man. You're just full of crap. Nice one, though. JOSHUA (shrugs) Don't believe me, then. Just think about it for a while. Take a few days to really watch what goes on on this campus and you'll see for yourself. ZACH Right. Sure I will. Dude, all I know is, if there was a "secret society" controlling everyone on campus, they wouldn't want losers like you going around giving them a bad name. Joshua rolls his eyes at Zach, then stands up and picks up his backpack. JOSHUA Anyway. I've got to get to class. Just think about what I said. You'll understand. (He turns and starts to walk off, then waves back over his shoulder at Zach). Later. ZACH (still looking amused at Joshua's wild story) Later, man. CUT TO: CAMPUS WALKWAY - NIGHT We pick up on Zach walking alone. We hear multiple sets of footsteps. ZACH'S FACE - LOOKING AROUND CAMPUS WALKWAY CONINUOUS Zach stops for a second to tie his shoelace. The footsteps also stop. ZACH'S POV Zach looks around. No one is there. ANGLE ON ZACH He stands up and begins walking again. The footsteps pick up with him. ZACH'S FACE - LISTENING He pauses, listening. The footsteps stop. ANGLE ON ZACH He begins moving, and once again they start up behind him. Zach ducks behind a nearby wall and freezes, peering out around the corner. Silence. There is no one there. ZACH'S FACE - RELIEVED He begins walking again. Soon the footsteps can be heard. Zach stops. ZACH's POV - LOOKING BEHIND HIM Once again no one is there, but it is quite dark and visibility is low. The footsteps, instead of stopping, pick up in speed. They are getting closer. INT. SMALL ALLEY Zach bolts from the path and runs down an erie grass passageway between two buildings. When he exits the path he freezes. ZACH'S POV - FIELD He emerges in a dark field. No one is around. ANGLE ON ZACH He waits. Eventually he looks down at the gound. ZACH'S POV - GROUND The grass appears to be burnt in some configuration. We can't see for sure because it is so dark outside. Zach picks up some of the grass which is, in fact, burnt. CLOSE-UP ON BURNT GRASS The grass resembles a symbol of some sort. ANGLE ON ZACH He decides not to wait any longer and begins to walk through the field on his way home. Apparently it was nothing. CUT TO: CAMPUS LUNCH TABLE - DAY Zach is sitting outside eating his lunch and reading the newspaper. A student passes in front of him and stops at a planter, removing a loose brick and carefully placing it three feet to the left before walking off. ZACHS'S FACE He looks around to see if anyone else noticed this strange behavior. ZACH AT LUNCH TABLE - CONTINUOUS No one seems to have seen anything. He goes back to his paper. ZACH'S POV - NEWSPAPER ARTICLE The article Zach is reading deals with the start of the football season. There is a picture of the quarterback, along with several inspiring quotes about how he intends to improve upon last year's sorry showing and lead the team on to new heights. Zach is not impressed. Suddenly there is a thud and a yell of pain. ZACH AT LUNCH TABLE - CONTINUOUS Zach looks up, amused to see that someone else is as clumsy as he, but his look turns to surprise and then disbelief. PATH IN FRONT OF LUNCH TABLE We see QUARTERBACK lying on the ground, clutching his ankle as a crowd gathers. He has apparently tripped over that exact brick that Zach just saw being moved. OFF ZACH'S REACTION: CAMPUS - DAY As Zach is walking Joshua catches up with him. JOSHUA (out of breath) Wait up, man! Hey, did you go to the game yesterday? ZACH No, what game? JOSHUA The football game! Didn't you hear? ZACH Hear what? JOSHUA We won man. It was incredible. The replacement quarterback totally kicked ass. I always suspected that other guy was way too hyped up to be any good, but still I was surprised.... NEW ANGLE Zach stops walking and Joshua does the same. ZACH (interrupting) What?! JOSHUA (puzzled) What? ZACH What did you just say? JOSHUA It's all about the new quarterback, man. Jesus, don't you read the paper? ZACH Ok, tell me what the hell is going on. JOSHUA What are you talking about? ZACH I saw how it happened. I was there. You are in a secret society and you're responsible for what happened. JOSHUA Huh? ZACH Don't lie to me! And tell your "friends" to stop following me around. Play your little games with someone else. ANGLE ON JOSHUA Josh starts laughing like crazy. JOSHUA (still laughing) Are you for real? I can't believe you fell for that. I totally made all that stuff up. God, that's hilarious. I've fooled a few people with that story but no one has ever fallen for it like that! How gullible can you be? ZACH What do you mean you made it up? JOSHUA (shrugs) I dunno, you wouldn't leave me alone, so I just fed you the standard "secret society" routine. I just thought it would be funny; I never dreamed you'd believe it. (bragging) I suppose I have perfected the story, and I'm actually pretty good at... ZACH (interrupting) What I saw really happened! NEW ANGLE ON JOSH AND ZACH - STUDENTS ARE WALKING BY A GIRL gives Zach a look due to all of the yelling. Zach notices and pulls Josh into the grass away from the crowd of passers-by. JOSHUA (re: being pushed around) Hey! ZACH (quieter) Look. The old quarterback. Someone set that up. JOSHUA Well the newspaper did say he tripped somewhere on campus. I'm sure someone could have tripped him. So what? It looks like it was for the better anyway. ZACH No. That's not what I'm saying. I saw someone move a brick, and then a few minutes later the football guy had tripped over it! They knew to put the brick right there. JOSHUA Ok...A little odd maybe but no reason to believe... ZACH (interrupting) Dude! They've been following me, too. And I saw this weird symbol the other day. JOSHUA Ok, man. You're officially insane. Give me a call when you've finished losing it. ZACH'S FACE - REACTION Josh begins to walk off. Zach grabs him by the arm. ZACH AND JOSH ZACH (angrily) So you have no idea what I'm talking about. JOSHUA (perturbed) No, man. Let go! He swings his arm free of Zach's grasp and walks off. ZACH'S FACE - REACTION ANGLE ON ZACH He walks to a nearby bench and sits down, thinking. Suddenly he rushes off. INT. CAMPUS BUILDING - A PHONE Zach enters and picks up the phone and dials something. ZACH (quickly) Yes. I mean hello. Could I have the number for Dana Woods, please? He listens. ZACH (CON'T) Got it. Thanks. He hangs up and rapidly dials again. INT. DANA'S ROOM - A PHONE A PHONE RINGS. We see DANA'S HAND and then her FACE as she picks up the phone. DANA Hello? (beat) Yes, I remember you Zach. (another beat while she listens to Zach) How about now? I'm not doing anthing. INT. CAMPUS BUILDING - CONTINUOUS ZACH (surprised) Now? Ok, how about the benches outside the English building. (beat) Great! See you soon! CUT TO: EXT. CAMPUS BENCH - ZACH AND DANA Zach points. ZACH That's where it happened. I saw the guy trip and fall right there. DANA Poor guy. That's so sad. ZACH (sympathetic) Yeah. Actually, speaking of that, there's something I've been meaning to ask you. DANA (interested) Really? What's that? ZACH When you were late that morning, why was that? DANA (laughing a bit) Ok...Well I got locked out of my room. ZACH'S FACE - REACTS DANA (CON'T) It was really weird, too. My door would never just lock like that. Oh well, it's a good thing I had gone to see the professor a few times because if not he probably would have...Why are you looking at me like that? ZACH Dana, I think we're being manipulated by some sort of secret organization. DANA - DANA (excited) Really? I love conspiracy theories! Why? DANA AND ZACH ZACH Well my friend Joshua was the one that really convinced me just a little while ago. (pauses) I guess I should start from the beginning. First I was late for class that day.... Zach's voice trails off as the camera moves away. Time passes. COFFEE SHOP - LATER THAT DAY - ESTABLISHING ZACH (V.O.) So what do you think? INT. COFFEE SHOP - ZACH AND DANA DANA Well, I'm not convinced. ZACH You're not? DANA Obviously your friend Joshua cannot be trusted. ZACH I suppose... DANA And you being paranoid about what he told you led you to believe you were being followed. ZACH Ok, maybe. What about the brick, though? That all but proves it. DANA That is interesting, but did it ever occur to you that someone could have simply picked up the brick to look at it? ZACH No, he moved it. I saw him do it. DANA Yes, but how? ZACH Well, he picked it up and put it back down. DANA I see. Well if his intent was to move the brick, wouldn't it be less conspicuous if he slid it with is foot? ZACH I guess, but why else would he pick it up? DANA Who can say? Because it was loose, or interesting. Haven't you ever found yourself compelled to interact with objects around you? ZACH I guess I have picked up stuff without thinking about it, if that's what you mean. DANA Exactly. Look at that guy in line. COFFEE SHOP - NEW ANGLE Patrons standing in line. One guy is playing with a coffee ring used to prevent hand burns from hot paper cups. ZACH AND DANA ZACH Ok, I guess you're right. It is a pretty crazy idea. I don't see how could they have known where to place the brick anyway. DANA (looking at watch) Well, I better get going. It was fun talking to you and thanks for the coffee. ZACH Yeah, thanks for listening. Zach watches as Dana leaves. He lets out a sigh of relief. FADE TO BLACK MUSIC BEGINS Sounds like a dorm stereo because we soon hear the PHONE RINGING. FADE IN ON ZACH He is enjoying the music but disappointed that he will now have to answer the phone. INT. ZACH'S ROOM Zach turns off the music and answers the phone. ZACH Hello? JOSHUA (through phone, afraid) Dude! You were right! They're after me! ZACH Huh? Or sure Joshua. It just keeps getting funnier. (mockingly) Ha ha. JOSHUA No! Please listen to me. You've got to help me, man. Zach can hear genuine distress in Josh's voice. He sits down. ZACH Ok, calm down Josh. What is going on? JOSHUA Zach I...You were right. Dude, something's going on. ZACH Look, can you meet me where we were talking today? Now? JOSHUA Ok, ok. Hurry. Zach hangs up the phone and heads out. THIRD ACT TO FOLLOW 17