Junior high is difficult for everyone



FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT

The typical bedroom of a child becoming a teenager. Stuffed animals sit on the dresser amid bottles of nail polish. The pink walls are covered with posters of favorite music groups. Clothes are strewn everywhere.

CHRISTA lies in her bed. Her long, wavy, brown hair is loose around her shoulders and her big blue glasses sit on the nightstand.

MOM, a tall, warm, elegant woman, sits on the edge of the bed.

MOM

Okay, are you all ready for school

tomorrow?

CHRISTA

(hesitates)

I guess.

MOM

Oh, sweetie, don’t be nervous. You’re

going to love it! You remember how to

open the lock to your locker, right?

CHRISTA’S P.O.V. – A COMBINATION LOCK

An open combination lock sits on the dresser.

BACK TO SCENE

CHRISTA

Yeah, I remember.

MOM

Okay. Sweet dreams.

INT. BEDROOM – NIGHT

The room is dark.

INSERT – THE CLOCK SHOWS 3:30

BACK TO SCENE

Christa lies awake in her dark room.

INT. FAMILY ROOM – DAY

A family room with two old but comfortable couches and a brick fireplace. Two cats lie sleeping on a couch. The room appears warm and cozy.

Christa stands surveying the room wearing new clothes, neat but certainly not fashionable, and a backpack.

MOM (O.S.)

(yells)

Christa, it’s time to go! Kelly’s

already waiting in the car!

CHRISTA

Okay, I’m coming.

Christa looks around the family room.

MONTAGE – HOME SCHOOLING (FLASHBACK)

-- Christa and Mom sitting on the couch together reading out of a book. A fire burns in the fireplace behind them.

-- Christa sitting at a table working on her math homework with Mom sitting next to her, helping her.

-- Christa working on a brightly colored time line taped to the wall next to the fireplace.

BACK TO SCENE

Christa turns and walks up the stairs.

INT. CAR – DAY

Christa and her younger sister KELLY sit in the back seat of the car. Christa sits with her head against the window looking out.

Although Kelly is only one year younger than Christa, the age difference appears much greater because Kelly hasn’t hit puberty yet. She wears her slightly wavy hair in pigtails and speaks with a slight lisp.

KELLY

I’m tho ethited! Do you think I’ll get

to have art clath? I hope my

teacher’th nith. I hope I make lotth

of new friendth and . . .

Kelly’s voice FADES into the background.

They pass a bus stop. A LITTLE GIRL of about five years old is screaming and clinging to her MOTHER, who leans down, gives the girl a hug, and gently pushes the still sobbing girl onto the school bus.

Christa looks away as she quickly wipes a tear from her cheek.

INT. CHURCH CLASSROOM – DAY (FLASHBACK)

A small Sunday school classroom. The walls are decorated with inspirational Christian posters. The room is filled with several tables covered with art supplies.

GWEN, a middle-aged woman wearing a colorful, flowing dress, sits on the floor surrounded by about fifteen students.

GWEN

All right, we’re going to work on our

self-portraits today. Remember what

we’ve learned so far about drawing faces.

There’s all sorts of materials out on

the tables. I’ll be coming around if you

need any help. Any questions? . . . Okay,

let’s get started!

The students jump up, talking and laughing as they sit down at the table and grab their supplies.

Christa talks with a GIRL next to her as she draws. Gwen walks over and leans down to talk to Christa.

GWEN

So, this is your last day with us,

Christa?

CHRISTA

Yeah, I’m sure going to miss you,

Gwen.

GWEN

The whole home schooling group is

going to miss you too!

FLASHBACK ENDS as Mom speaks.

MOM (O.S.)

All right, we’re here!

Christa looks out the window to see a huge light brick building outside. The letters on the side read:

KELLOGG MIDDLE SCHOOL

Mom turns to face Christa and Kelly in the back seat.

MOM

Okay, girls, I’ll be back to pick you

up at 2:30. Have a good day! . . .

(hesitant)

And remember, this first day might be

hard, but it will get easier, okay?

Christa and Kelly nod and climb out of the car.

INT. SCHOOL LOBBY – DAY

A typical junior high lobby crowded with students. The room is large, with gray tile floors and bleak white walls. The students stand in groups, laughing and talking. Christa and Kelly stand lost and alone.

The school counselor, MRS. LARSON, a warm, friendly, matronly woman, walks up to them.

MRS. LARSON

Good morning girls! Are you excited?

. . . All right, I’ve paired each of

you up with a buddy from your grade

to show you around today. Christa,

this is Alice. You will be going with

her to her most of her classes today.

You can start your own schedule

tomorrow.

ALICE steps forward. She is a slight girl wearing jeans and a pink sweat-shirt. She wears her hair in a smooth ponytail and carries a worn flute case. She stands straight and moves gracefully.

Alice smiles shyly at Christa, then quickly looks down.

MRS. LARSON

. . . And Kelly, this is Olivia. Now, I

want you girls to come see me if you

have any problems. Have a great first

day!

Mrs. Larson walks away, followed by Kelly and OLIVIA, who are already chatting.

Christa and Alice stand awkwardly.

ALICE

(softly)

Well, welcome to Kellogg.

INT. CLASSROOM – DAY

A world history classroom with rows of desks facing the chalkboard in the front of the room. The walls are covered with maps and pictures of historical sites. The teacher’s desk in the back of the room is empty.

Christa and Alice enter the room just as the BELL RINGS. Alice walks towards an empty desk in the back of the room, then hesitates and turns to Christa.

ALICE

I think all the desk are already taken.

You’ll have to wait until Mrs. Arends

gets here and ask her where to sit.

CHRISTA

Okay.

Alice sits in the empty seat and begins talking to a GIRL next to her while Christa stands against the wall. She scans the room as she waits.

MONTAGE – THE CLASSROOM

-- Two geeky looking boys are pounding away furiously on their calculators.

-- A girl in the front row paints her nails a bright pink.

-- A group of four or five students talks loudly.

-- A girl sits on her boyfriend’s lap as he whispers something in her ear.

BACK TO SCENE

Suddenly, the room grows quiet and the students scramble into their seats. Christa turns to see that MRS. ARENDS has entered the room.

MRS. ARENDS

(breathlessly)

Good morning, class. Sorry I’m late

again. Please take out your textbooks

and open them to page one oh three.

(to Christa)

Can I help you with something?

CHRISTA

Uh, yes, I’m a new student here.

MRS. ARENDS

Oh. In February? Well, let me get you

the textbook and some assignments.

Mrs. Arends hurries to her desk, sets down her beaten-up leather bag, and pulls a book out of the top desk drawer. She opens a file cabinet drawer and takes out several papers from various file folders. She hands the books and papers to Christa.

MRS. ARENDS

All right, here’s your book and all

the assignments from this unit. The

test is next Wednesday . . . I’d

like you to try to take it, okay?

Christa shuffles through the stack of papers.

CHRISTA

Uh, when do I need to have these done

by?

MRS. ARENDS

Oh, no rush. Just as soon as you can.

I’d recommend starting with the most

recent and working your way back so

you don’t get too behind. And try to

have them all done before the test.

Any other questions?

CHRISTA

Where should I sit?

Mrs. Arends places her hands on her hips and scans the room.

MRS. ARENDS

Hmmm, I guess there aren’t any open

seats, are there? Well . . . let’s

see . . .

She strides over to a table against a side wall about four feet away from all of the other students and pushes aside a stack of newspapers.

MRS. ARENDS

I guess this will have to do for now.

Christa sits down and pulls a plain blue notebook out of her backpack.

CHRISTA

Thanks.

MRS. ARENDS

All right, class, quiet down please!

We’re going to pick up today with the

Mesopotamians . . .

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY – DAY

Christa and Alice exit the classroom together.

ALICE

So, what did you think?

CHRISTA

It was okay. I mean, it was kind of

confusing, but it was. . . interesting,

I guess.

ALICE

Okay, I have band next and since you’re

not in band, I think you should go to

your own gym class instead.

CHRISTA

(hesitant)

Umm . . . okay.

ALICE

The gym is right down the hall. I’ll

meet you outside the gym doors after

class, okay?

CHRISTA

Yeah, see you after class.

Christa walks towards the large double doors at the end of the hall.

She reaches the doors and pulls them open to find a large empty gym. She looks around for other students, then pulls a plastic bag out of her backpack and begins to wait.

The BELL RINGS. Christa looks around nervously.

CHRISTA

(to herself)

Am I in the right place?

She begins to hear voices. They grow louder and louder until finally, two GIRLS burst through a door in the far corner of the gym. They see Christa and stop suddenly.

CHRISTA

(with a sigh of relief)

Hi, I’m a new student here.

She holds up her bag.

CHRISTA

Could you show me to change into my gym

clothes?

One girl, JULIA, steps forward. She wears her long, dark hair in pigtails and wears knee-high socks with her gym shorts.

JULIA

Hi, I’m Julia! I’ll take you down to

the locker room.

CHRISTA

Thank you.

Julia leads Christa through the doors, down a cement staircase, and into a room lined with lockers. Other girls are pulling on their t-shirts, tying their tennis shoes, or fixing their hair in the mirror.

JULIA

Here we are!

Julia plops down on a bench.

CHRISTA

Oh, no, you don’t have to wait for me.

JULIA

Oh, no, that’s okay. So, did you just

move here?

Christa pulls her gym clothes out of her bag and begins to change. By now, the room is completely empty. Christa anxiously watches the clock as she changes.

CHRISTA

No, I was home schooled.

JULIA

Ohhh. So this is, like, your first day

in a real school?

CHRISTA

(uncomfortably)

Yeah, I guess.

JULIA

Weird . . . Well, are you ready to go?

CHRISTA

Yeah.

They leave the room and begin walking up the stairs.

CHRISTA

Are we going to get in trouble for

being late to class?

JULIA

(laughs)

No, it’s only gym anyways.

They open the door to the gym

TEACHER

All right, that’s our last stretch for

today. Now, I . . . Oh, I see we have

some stragglers.

All eyes turn to Christa and Julia. Julia seems unfazed, but Christa blushes.

TEACHER

As I was saying, I want everybody to

do at least eight laps of the room.

Go!

JULIA

(mutters)

Well, here we go.

EXT. GYM – DAY

Christa stands outside the doors to the gym. The halls are full of students.

Alice walks up with her flute case.

ALICE

Hi . . . uh, how was gym?

CHRISTA

It was okay.

ALICE

Uh, good. Well, we have lunch next,

But I have to go to my locker first.

Christa holds up her plastic bags of gym clothes.

CHRISTA

Yeah, me too.

Christa and Alice walk down the hall and stop at a row of lockers.

Christa turns the combination to her locker, sighs, and starts over again.

ALICE

Do you need help?

Christa nods.

CHRISTA

Thanks.

Alice walks over and begins turning the combination.

ALICE

What’s the combination?

CHRISTA

It’s forty-eight, twenty-five,

thirty-seven.

Alice gives the locker a kick and pulls it open.

ALICE

You have to kind of kick the bottom to

get it to open.

CHRISTA

Thanks.

Christa kneels, opens her backpack, and pushes some books into her completely empty locker.

A wad of paper flies towards her, hitting her on the back of the head.

She jumps, then whirls around to see DEREK standing behind her with a smirk on his face. He is short and stocky and he wears holey jeans and a gray hoodie sweatshirt.

DEREK

(sarcastically)

Hey, New Girl.

Christa stands, surprised. She opens her mouth as if to say something, but no words come out.

Alice approaches.

ALICE

Christa, are you ready to go?

CHRISTA

Yeah.

Christa slams her locker shut and the girls walk away.

ALICE

That’s Derek. He’s mean – you should

stay away from him.

Christa looks over her shoulder to see Derek opening the locker next to hers.

CHRISTA

I don’t think that’ll be possible.

INT. CAFETERIA – DAY

A cafeteria full of noisy students eating and socializing. Rows of tables filled with kids line the walls. Students stand in the lunch line on the far side of the room.

The room is so noisy, it is impossible to carry on a conversation without yelling.

Christa and Alice enter and walk to the lunch line.

ALICE

I’m getting a sub sandwich – what

are you getting?

CHRISTA

Spaghetti. I love pasta!

ALICE

Okay, I’ll meet you on the other side.

Christa grabs a tray and moves through the line. A dollop of sticky, unappetizing spaghetti is placed on her plate. She wrinkles her nose and continues moving past stands of chips, cookies, and candy.

She reaches the register, where the CLERK looks at her expectantly. Christa stares back, confused, then jumps.

CHRISTA

Oh!

She digs in her pocket and pulls out a slip of paper, handing it to the clerk.

CHRISTA

Here’s my number.

CLERK

(exasperated)

Enter it in the number pad.

Christa looks around.

CHRISTA

Where –

The clerk points to a box next to the register.

By this time, a line of students has formed. Their angry mumbles are audible.

Christa punches in her number.

CLERK

Press enter.

CHRISTA

Oh! I’m sorry, this is my first --

CLERK

Move along.

Christa moves out of the line to meet Alice, who is already waiting for her. They head to a table where two girls, EMILY and HEATHER, are already waiting.

EMILY

Hey Alice, how was your weekend?

Christa and Alice sit down. Christa begins poking at her spaghetti with her fork.

ALICE

Pretty good. I placed fourth in the

floor exercises at the Lakeville

tournament.

Emily and Heather stare pointedly at Christa.

ALICE

Oh, uh, this is Christa. Christa, this

is Heather and Emily. Christa’s a new

student here.

HEATHER

Oh, where did you move from?

CHRISTA

Actually, I used to be home schooled.

HEATHER

Oh, uh . . . huh.

EMILY

What music are you in?

CHRISTA

Choir. I have Mr. Sherman.

HEATHER

You’re lucky. I have Old Sag-Boobs

Blenkush.

The other girls all laugh. Christa chuckles nervously.

EMILY

So anyways, like I was saying, I was

talking to Josh on IM last night . . .

The GIRLS’ VOICES FADE into the background.

Christa looks around the cafeteria. The other voices in the room grow louder. Nothing particularly stands out, just a lot of activity throughout the cafeteria.

INT. KITCHEN – DAY (FLASHBACK)

A cozy family kitchen decorated warmly with country décor. Christa and Kelly sit at the kitchen table. Mom stands at the counter.

Mom carries over two plates, each with a sandwich, some baby carrots, and a sliced apple, and sets them in front of Christa and Kelly.

MOM

Here you go, girls.

Mom walks over to the stereo and turns on some soft CLASSICAL MUSIC.

Mom returns to the kitchen and sits down at the table.

CHRISTA

Mom, tell us again about your kittens

on the farm when you were little!

MOM

(smiles)

Well, okay. When I was very small,

my family lived on a farm that didn’t

even have electricity yet. My favorite

thing to do was play with my two

kittens, Telephone and Seesaw --

FLASHBACK ENDS as Alice speaks.

ALICE (O.S.)

-- Christa? . . . Christa, are you

ready to go?

Christa pokes her sticky lump of spaghetti with her fork one last time and stands up.

CHRISTA

Yeah, let’s go.

INT. CLASSROOM – DAY

A math classroom. The walls are decorated with colorful posters of Albert Einstein quotes and calculator functions.

A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER sits in the teacher’s desk in the front of the room.

Christa and Alice enter the room. Alice moves to her seat at a desk in the center of the room, while Christa approaches the sub.

CHRISTA

Hi . . . Ms. Kuiper?

SUB

No, I’m Mrs. Richards. Ms. Kuiper is

out today for a conference.

CHRISTA

Oh . . . well, thanks anyways.

Christa turns slowly and walks to the back of the room, where she sits down in an empty seat.

The BELL RINGS.

MRS. RICHARDS

Hello class, my name is Mrs. Richards.

Ms. Kuiper is at a conference in the

Twin Cities today.

Mrs. Richards stands with a stack of papers in her hands. She begins passing them out to the students.

MRS. RICHARDS

As Ms. Kuiper told you on Friday, you

have a quiz today.

A few scattered groans from the students. Christa looks up suddenly, panicked, and raises her hand.

Mrs. Richards reaches Christa’s desk.

CHRISTA

Uh, I’m a new student here. This is my

first day.

MRS. RICHARDS

Hmm, Ms. Kuiper didn’t say anything

about a new student.

CHRISTA

Well, this is my first day here. I

didn’t know about the quiz.

MRS. RICHARDS

I’m sorry, Dear. You’re going to have

to take it and talk to Mrs. Kuiper

about it when she gets back tomorrow.

Christa sighs and takes the quiz from Mrs. Richards’ hand. She looks down.

INSERT – THE QUIZ

1. Explain the “FOIL” rule as we learned it in

class.

2. Solve the following problem using the FOIL rule. Make sure to write out every step.

(X+3)(X-2X)

3. Name two practical applications of Chapter Nine.

BACK TO SCENE

CHRISTA

(whispers)

The foil rule?

INSERT – THE CLOCK

The minute hand speeds through the next thirty minutes.

BACK TO SCENE

The students are whispering quietly. Christa sits miserably with her head in her hands, staring at her quiz.

Mrs. Richards approaches her desk.

MRS. RICHARDS

I’m sorry, Dear, but class is almost

over. I have to collect your quiz.

Christa sighs and hands her quiz to Mrs. Richards, who shakes her head.

MRS. RICHARDS

You should have at least tried instead

of just leaving every answer blank.

The BELL RINGS.

MONTAGE – THE REST OF THE DAY

-- Christa is handed a thick textbook by a science teacher.

-- Christa takes a typing test. The teacher writes the highest and lowest scores on the board; Christa’s is the lowest.

-- Alice opens Christa’s locker while Christa watches.

INT. HALLWAY – DAY

The closed door of a classroom. The BELL RINGS and students immediately begin pouring out. Christa and Alice are the last two to exit the classroom. They pause just outside the door.

ALICE

Well, I have to hurry to catch the bus.

CHRISTA

Okay. Um, thanks . . . for showing me

around today.

ALICE

Yeah, no problem. Bye.

Alice walks off hurriedly. Christa crosses the hall to her locker and sets down her backpack.

She turns the combination, gives it a feeble kick, and tries to open it, to no avail. She repeats the process again unsuccessfully.

She kicks the locker repeatedly, harder and harder.

DEREK (O.S.)

Having some trouble, New Girl?

Christa stops kicking her locker and turns to see Derek standing behind her.

DEREK

Even fifth graders know how to open

their own lockers.

Christa looks from Derek to the locker, then picks up her backpack and walks quickly away.

INT. SCHOOL LOBBY – DAY

The dark and drab school lobby. Across the room, the warm glow of sunlight is visible through the small glass windows in the doors.

Christa walks rapidly down the stairs into the lobby. She hurries towards the door, picking up speed as she goes.

Mrs. Larson stands against the wall.

MRS. LARSON

Christa! How was your first day?

Christa ignores her, pretending not to hear.

By now, she is almost running. She bursts through the doors into the light.

EXT. SCHOOL – DAY

Christa walks briskly towards the waiting car.

JULIA (O.S.)

Hey, Christa!

Christa stops and turns.

JULIA

See you tomorrow in gym, right?

CHRISTA

(with a smile)

Yeah. See you tomorrow.

Christa, still smiling, climbs into the car.

INT. CAR – DAY

Christa sits in the back seat next to Kelly.

KELLY

. . . and then we had math clath and

I’ve already learned almotht to the

end of the book! I got my math

homework done and then I helped

Thtathy and Thtephanie with theirth.

And then . . .

Mom holds up her hand, signaling Kelly to be quiet.

MOM

Christa, how was your day?

Christa looks out the window, where she sees Julia climbing onto a school bus.

CHRISTA

It was . . . I think it’s going to

be okay.

They drive away as Christa continues watching other students boarding their buses or getting into cars with their parents.

Kelly begins talking again in the background.

OLDER CHRISTA (V.O.)

And I knew that it was true – I was

going to be okay, even though I still

had a lot of adjusting to do. Because

I had made it through that first day –

with some help, sure, but for the most

part, I did it on my own. And for the

first time in my life, I was

independent.

FADE OUT.

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