normalsville – season 01

episode 01 – secrets in the wind...

act 02 – buncha' punks.

Over the hills and into the ditches, the wind flies over blades of grass that swoon and stalks of wheat (and other unidentifiable crops) that bend as it makes it's journey across the world.

Moments before, it had brushed the cold towers and buildings of a great big, bustling city, where the soul of a lonely twenty-something year old guy cried out to be heard; one in a sea of oh-so-many cries that had been picked up by the wisps of it's many flowing torrents.

Now, it's off to carry those voices away, some to their intended recipients, others to deaf ears. Luckily for us, Taylor's words are on their way to Normalsville, the place of his former friends, family, life, and love. However, it is going to take a while. The town, you see, isn't exactly close to much of anything. Hell, Taylor's city is the closest thing to it, and it's a good three-hour drive away. So, rest assured, there is a great deal of time before the breeze finds the town limits.

We, have some time to kill.

"No, we fucking don’t," Jason fumes, pointing forwards, "Drive my little bitch, drive!"

Andrew smiles casually as his compact little rust bucket-y tin can of a car maintains it's sputtery, leisurely pace through the streets of Normalsville. Jason glares at him angrily from the passenger seat of the car.

He throws his hands in the air and yells, "Fuck it. Go your fucking slow speed. See if I give a shit anymore."

"You still give a shit," Andrew states with amusement.

"Fuck you," Jason grumbles, crossing his arms.

"You know, you really should look into expanding your vocabulary," Andrew tells him, "Because you know what they say: swearing is the sign of an uneducated mind. Means you can't think of any more... 'well-spoken' words."

Jason raises an eyebrow.

"It's what they say," Andrew grins.

"You want more words from me?" Jason asks, "Fine. Fuck you lots. Up the ass. With a freakin' pool cue. And note I used the word freakin' that time, and not fucking."

"Congratulations," Andrew says, rounding a corner, "You're growing."

"Damn fucking rights I'm growing," Jason tells him, "It's like 'Hooked-On-Phonics worked for me' kind of shit right there."

"...yeah, right," Andrew pushes on the clutch and the break, "Well. We're here. And ahead of schedule, mind you."

"Ahead of schedule?" Jason growls, "You think this is ahead of fucking schedule? I have ten minutes until I have to be at work!"

"And if you carry out this plan the way you want to, you have to wait until Mr. Johnson here locks up his drug store for the night, so... you'll be here for fifteen minutes," Andrew explains.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I didn't think about that."

"Obviously."

"Hey, you know what else I didn't think about/"

"What?"

"Fuck you."

"Actually, I think you already did think about that."

"Fuck you twice."

The car falls silent for a few moments as Andrew just lets it idle.

"So... how much time do we have now?"

"Fourteen-and-a-half minutes."

"Dammit! What the fuck am I suppose to do for fourteen-and-a-half minutes?"

"I don't know," Andrew shrugs, "Maybe I should've taken more time getting here."

"Fuh-"

"Don't finish that thought, I already know what it is."

"It's about fucking time," Jason mumbles.

Andrew shakes his head and smiles with amusement. He puts the car in neutral and pops on the e-brake so that he doesn't have to continue to push his foot on the break.

"You know, after all this time, you haven't changed at all, you know that?"

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"I mean, ever since I met your sorry ass five years ago, you have not changed at all. The swearing... the impatience... the whole... looking out for yourself and getting way too worked up about stupid, stupid things that only you care about... you haven't changed one little bit."

Jason blinks, "And why the fuck are you bringing this up now?"

Andrew shrugs.

"I don't know. Just feeling nostalgic, I guess."

"What the fuck are you looking at, skid mark?"

Jason glared angrily at Andrew from the table across from his own down at Squeezies. It was five years ago, and Jason's brother had taken him there and abandoned him for some pretty tart that he was about to break up with, and damn, was he incredibly, irrevocably pissed right the hell off.

"Nothing," Andrew muttered somewhat incoherently, looking down at the table.

"Damn fucking rights you're looking at nothing," he growled.

Andrew smiled a little bit.

"You do realize you just insulted yourself, right?" Andrew told him.

"...what the fuck do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"Fuck, kid, you're just full of nothing today, aren't you?"

"Maybe just a little."

"Well fuck," Jason muttered looking around, "Fuck. Well, I guess that'll just have to do. See, I was looking for someone full of tit and/or boob, but everyone here is either too old, too preppy, or too damn full of shit to talk to, so... fu ck, your nothing will have to do."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't mention it," Jason growled, pulling his chair away from his table, bringing it close to Andrew's, "And really. I fucking mean it. Don't tell anyone about this."

"Wow, you're a giver."

"See, here's the thing you aren't fucking getting," Jason said, "Now, listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once: I don't care about the words coming out of your mouth, okay skid mark? I'm just looking for someone to vent to."

"Well, then by all means."

"Okay," Jason said, leaning forward quickly, "See, here's the thing. I got this brother, right? And fuck, what the hell am I talking about, you probably know him, right?"

"Actually, I don't know much of anybody here," Andrew muttered, "We just... moved here a few months ago, and I don't get out much. My brother actually dragged me into this place. Said it'd be nice to meet some people."

"So where the fuck is you're brother?"

"I don't know," Andrew shrugged, "Around. Mingling. He's good at that stuff."

"Well, isn't this just a small fucking world," Jason muttered.

"What. Don't tell me you don't have a lot of friends."

"Be smart like that again, and you'll earn yourself a shiny new 'fuck you' to park up your ass," Jason warned, pointing his finger.

Andrew held his arms up in a 'no harm meant' kind of way.

"And no, I don't really have a lot of friends," Jason explained, "A lot of the seniors think I need to ride in a trash can every other day."

"Because of your sweet disposition, rig—"

"—ht up the ass, you little bitch..."

"Sorry."

"So yeah. Anyway, my brother is like... the fucking man in this town," Jason attempted to explain, "And everyone... everyone looks up to him, you know? So, what does he do? Fuck. Well first, he goes and gets himself attached to this crazy bitch who takes up most of time and shit, and then... now, he's got this crazy, stupid, fucking idea to move out to the fucking city, for God sake. Fuck. It's like he doesn't care about this town at all."

Andrew blinked.

"Right..."

Andrew laughs.

"Not at all," he whispers to himself.

"Hey, man look. There he is!"

Andrew turns his head slowly," Well would you look at that? He's locking her up. Imagine that."

Jason stares at Andrew for a few seconds before slugging him in the arm.

"Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Step on the gas!" Jason exclaims.

"Relax, relax, we've got lots of time," Andrew mutters, placing his right arm up in a 'just wait your pretty little ass down' kind of fashion, "He hasn't even got his keys out of his pocket yet."

"Dude, you really have to stop fucking with me like this," Jason snaps.

"You know, the more and more you say that, the more and more I enjoy doing this," Andrew smiles.

Mr. Johnson pulls the keys out of his pocket and busily tried to fit it into the lock.

"Oh, you fucker, move!"

Andrew leans back in his chair and exhales a sigh of relaxation.

"He can't drive if his hand is up his ass, he can't drive if his hand is up his ass..." Jason whispers mantra-like.

Mr. Johnson pulls the keys out of the lock and begins to make his way to the car.

Andrew smiles, "Hang on kids."

He grabs the wheel of the car, presses down the clutch and revs the engine as Mr. Johnson starts to make his way to his car parked near the front door of the drug store. He releases the clutch and his tires squeal for a few seconds before jerking the car forwards. A quick twist of the wheel later, and the car swerves its way around to face the other direction. Mr. Johnson turns his head to look at the oncoming car.

"Fuck yeah, now this is what I'm talking about," Jason yells, grinning like a maniac. He turns in his seat and extends his hand into a large pasta bowl, and grabs a large ball of congealed pasta. Soon after, he begins to lower the window.

"Best hurry, Jase," Andrew smiles, "because I'm not slowing down."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Jason explains.

Attached to the door, about halfway up the sides of the open window, there is a huge slingshot like devise attached with two bolts and a lot of duct tape. In the middle of this slingshot, is a small bowl, ready to be loaded.

And loaded it is.

"Kick me out of the store for trying to buy tampons for my heavy days?" Jason growls, pulling back "I don't think so!"

He releases the glob and it flew through the air. Mr. Johnson, realizing what is taking place, ducks.

Fwap!

It sails over his head and slaps itself upon the drug store window.

"Oh shit," Jason yells.

"Nice shot, buddy," Andrew smiles.

"Shut up, just drive the fuck away, man, drive!" Jason yells.

"Damn you kids!" Mr. Johnson curses, arm shaking ruefully as Andrew slips into second gear and continues to press hard on the gas, "Damn you!"

Jason looks back through the window, "Fuck, man, I can't believe I missed."

"Yeah," Andrew grins, "Who would've thought this had a chance to fail when you never practiced shooting spaghetti out of a speeding car before?"

"Fuck you," Jason says.

Andrew smiles, popping into third.

Hadn't changed one bit.

end act 02