🎵 Boyhood: Age 11 // by Richard Linklater

1 ContributorBoyhood: Age 11 Lyrics EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET - DAY Mason and Randy ride their bikes, while the Neighborhood Boy skateboards alongside them. NEIGHBORHOOD BOY There ' s a bump right there. Neighborhood Boy skates off in a different direction. NEIGHBORHOOD BOY (CONT'D) Alright, I'll see y'all later, guys. RANDY Yeah. INT. GARAGE - DAY Mason and Randy pull up to a half open garage and drop their bikes outside. Mom can be seen laying on the floor of the garage, crying. MASON Mom, are you okay? RANDY What happened? MOM No — Go in the house! Go! Go in the house! Go in the house! BILL Your mother had a little accident. Now she's being dramatic. Mom is still crying as the boys exit. Bill enters the garage with a drink in his hand. BILL (CONT'D) Get off the fucking floor Olivia, for Christ's sake! Mom continues to cry. INT. DINING AREA - MOMENTS LATER Bill walks in angrily, carrying a bottle. He loudly bangs things on the table, and pours himself a drink. BILL I'm having a drink with my dinner. Anybody else have a problem with that? Hm? Samantha? The family is seated at the dinner table, practically frozen. Samantha No. BILL Mindy? MINDY No. BILL I didn't think so. He drinks the entire glass, and slowly zeros in on Mason. BILL (CONT'D) You don't like me much, do you Mason? That's okay, I don't like me either. Think that's funny, huh? You think that's fuckin' funny? Bill throws his empty glass at Mason's plate, shattering it. MOM Oh! BILL (O.S.) (to Randy) What's the matter, you feeling a little left out? Bill throws the empty whiskey bottle past Randy. It shatters on the floor. MOM Oh! BILL Clean it up, goddamnit! Clean it up! MOM Bill! Bill! BILL Clean it up, goddamnit! I hate squash! Bill walks away, leaving the shocked family at the table. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT Mason watches THE LANDLORD web video on his laptop. The other kids lounge about the room, listening to the audio. SAMANTHA How many times can you watch that, Mason? MASON It's funny. A moment passes as Mason watches his video. MASON (CONT'D) Has he ever gotten this bad before? RANDY No, but he's yelled a lot. MINDY Yeah, but he hasn't thrown and broken stuff. INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY Bill sits on the coffee table, facing all four kids in a row on the sofa. BILL Give me your cell phones. So nobody talked to her, huh? The girls shake their heads no. Bill is checking their phone call histories. BILL (CONT'D) Mason? MASON No. BILL Mindy? MINDY No. BILL I'll believe you... Samantha? SAMANTHA No. Bill holds her phone screen out, as if to prove her wrong. SAMANTHA (CONT'D) I didn't talk to her. She left a message. BILL What'd she say? SAMANTHA Nothing much. BILL What did she say? SAMANTHA She said she'd be back later. BILL And that's all? "I'll be back later," click? SAMANTHA She said, "Stay in your rooms. I'll be back later. " BILL (O.S.) I'll be back later, stay in your rooms. And that's all? Hm? SAMANTHA Yeah. BILL Where is she? SAMANTHA I don't know. BILL Where is she? SAMANTHA She didn't say! BILL Alright, everybody get in the car. Hurry up! Get in the car! EXT. LIQUOR STORE PARKING LOT - DAY Mindy stands at the ATM. The screen first reads: PLEASE TAKE YOUR RECEIPT. Then: INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. She walks over to Bill's car window. MINDY It's still not working. BILL Ohh, bullshit. She took it all. INT. DRIVER'S SEAT - CONTINUOUS Bill sloppily writes out a check. It's obvious that he has been drinking. BILL Alright, Randy, go cash this. Uh...Tell him I'm not feeling well or something. I don't know. Mason, go with him. Here. Here's my ID. Mindy gets back into the car, as Mason and Randy exit. INT. LIQUOR STORE - CONTINUOUS Mason and Randy enter the liquor store. CLERK Hi, good afternoon, fellas. What can I do for you today? Randy lays the check and driver's license down on the counter, for the Clerk to examine. CLERK (O.S.) (CONT'D) Now what's this? Can't read this. Hey! This isn't you, who is this? RANDY (pointing outside) It's our...dad. Bill waves from the car. RANDY (CONT'D) He's not feeling well. CLERK Oh! Hey! Yeah, I know him. Okay, here we go. Five hundred bucks. One, two, three, four... Five hundred bucks. Alright? Don't forget your dad's ID. The boys leave the store, while the Clerk calls after them. CLERK (CONT'D) Alright, take care of your dad now, son. You've only got the one. INT. CAR - DAY Bill is impatiently stuck behind a slow-moving car. BILL Damnit. Get outta the way! Jesus Christ. God! The children SCREAM as Bill weaves in and out of traffic trying to pass the car. BILL (CONT'D) Calm down! MASON What the hell?! INT. HOUSE - DAY Mom walks into the front entry, but stops there. She has friend, CAROL, waiting behind her. MOM (shouting) Samantha! Mason! Samantha! Samantha is a the top of the stairs observing the scene. Bill approaches the front entry. BILL Where the hell have you been? MOM I'm leaving you, Bill. We're moving out. BILL I doubt that. MOM Samantha and Mason! Come down! BILL No, mm-mm, don't think so. Oh, who's this? CAROL I'm not here for you! BILL Oh, really? Oh, I know, you're here to protect my wife from me. Well, thank you so much, you two. He reaches towards her. MOM Okay, stay back! Now behave! BILL Why don't you come inside here, huh? Come inside here. (To Samantha and Mason) Where the hell are you goin'? Get your ass upstairs, you're not goin' anywhere . MOM Stop! (to Samantha and Mason) Come on! BILL Where the hell do you think you're going? Bill notices Randy and Mindy listening. BILL (CONT'D) Get upstairs! What the hell — MOM Hey! BILL Nobody ' s going anywhere, goddamnit. MOM Stop it! BILL No, goddamnit! Bill moves to block them from leaving the house with his arm. MOM Don't touch my kids! BILL Alright, take 'em. Go on, go on. MOM Don't touch them! BILL Take 'em! CAROL Come on. It's okay, it's okay, it's okay. BILL Well take 'em then, just take 'em! Go! Bill turns back to Mindy and Randy. BILL (CONT'D) (to Randy and Mindy) Get upstairs! (calling down the street) Olivia! MOM Seat belts! Put your seat belts on. The car backs out of the driveway and leaves. INT. VAN - CONTINUOUS SAMANTHA Where are we going? MOM We're going to stay with Carol and her family for a while. Samantha and Mason look around. MOM (CONT'D) Don't look back. CAROL (O.S.) It's gonna be okay. INT. CAROL'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER Mason and Carol's son, LEE, play a boxing game on Nintendo Wii, while her daughter, ABBY, sings in the background. Mom brings the boys a snack. MOM Hey, Lee and Mason. Take a break. Here's a snack. Abby continues to sing. The room is tense. CAROL Hey, Abby, why don't you come help me with this, huh? SAMANTHA Why couldn't Randy and Mindy come with us? MOM I'm not their legal guardian, honey. That would be kidnapping. I can't just... SAMANTHA Well, what's gonna happen to them? What happens when their legal guardian is dangerous and abusive? MOM You know, I don't know honey. I called their mom. I called the Child Protective Services. You know, I have you and your brother. We were in a dangerous situation. You're my responsibility. SAMANTHA Are we ever gonna see them again? MOM I don't know. And I hope so. SAMANTHA How much longer are we gonna be here? Mom fights back tears. MOM Not long. We're... (starts crying) Oh, I don't — I don't know. I don't have the answer to everything. CAROL Hey, listen. We are happy to have you here as long as you want. As long as you need. This is fun for us, isn't it? ABBY Mm-hmm. CAROL Yeah, it's like having a big sister? Like having a brother. MOM We're gonna help out, right? You're not even gonna know we're here. CAROL Okay. EXT. SCHOOL - DAY Mom pulls up to drop Samantha off at the front doors of her new Junior High School. SAMANTHA Mom, this is awful. You're dumping me in some parking lot of this school where I don't even know anyone ! I'm leaving all my friends and I didn't even get to say goodbye! I don't know where to go! MOM Okay, Samantha. You go right through that door. The office is right there. They're expecting you, they're gonna give you your schedule. Here's your lunch money. I will pick you up right here at 3:30. SAMANTHA I'm wearing dirty clothes! Because you wouldn't even let us get our stuff! We don't even have a place to live! This sucks! Samantha gets out of the car, slamming the door behind her. Mom screams out of the window as she walks away. MOM Samantha...I'm doing the best I can! And you're right, it sucks! But it doesn't suck half as much as having a drunk fool slam your head against a wall! So cut your horseshit attitude. Mom turns to Mason in the back as he climbs toward the front seat. MOM (CONT'D) Put your seat belt on! INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY Mom is walking Mason to his class. MOM You know if you need anything I'm in room 112, right? Mason nods. MOM (CONT'D) Okay. This is Mrs. Darby's room. Oh, honey, it's gonna be okay. Okay? Mom leans in to kiss him. MASON Mom... Mason walks away, embarrassed at her public affection. INT. SCHOOL CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS The students all make small talk as they wait for class to begin. Mason enters and looks to MRS. DARBY for instruction. MRS. DARBY Hi! Are you Mason? MASON Yeah. MRS. DARBY Hi. I'm Mrs. Darby. I'm glad to meet you. Why don't you sit here? (to Kenny) Kenny! Off! Kenny climbs down from on top of his desk and takes his seat. KENNY Yes ma'am. MRS. DARBY Kenny. This is Mason and I want you to show him around today, okay? KENNY Got it. MRS. DARBY Okay. KENNY Hey dude. Welcome to the suck. The boys trade a casual low five and exchange a smile. MRS. DARBY (O.S.) Everybody, listen up. We have a new student joining us today. His name is Mason, he's sitting in the back row. Kenny's gonna be his buddy, but I want each one of you to take the time today, to introduce yourselves, and welcome him to school. Okay? Alright? Let's get started.