T O

H I S

M E M O R Y

written by
Moses Hershberger

MUSIC ON: Take Me Home Country Roads by Toots and the Maytals.
FADE IN:
EXT. CALIFORNIA BEACH, BONFIRE - NIGHT
The song is playing from someones phone, hence the quality. We
find four friends sitting down around a bonfire, drinking beer
and dressed in nice Sunday clothes. Theres JEFF: (20s, messy
sun-scorched hair). SAM: (20s; face is covered black horn-rimmed
glasses). MATTY: (20s; big, burly frat-boy type of guy). And
theres ALAN: (20s, theres nothing too unique about him. Except
that he uses animated hand gestures). Were in the middle of his
story.
ALAN
Hunter made an ass of himself. So
this chick has been supposedly
according to him, been eyeing him
the whole night. He keeps telling
me, Dude, that girl just cant
stop! Woo! She cant stop looking
at me!! Feck yea, bruh!
The guys laugh at his childish impersonation.
SAM
Dude! I remember that!

JEFF
I cant believe he did that!

ALAN
No, wait! Hold on! So this goes on
for like eight minutes and theres
a big guy who keeps, like, bumping
up against her. It kind of looked
like he was bothering her. Anyway,
so Hunter builds his momentum to go
over and talk to this girl. And he
walks over to the bar, bobs his
head like this and starts talking
to her. She is just looking at him
like, Who is this ginger prick?
He says something to her, and then
she like, I dont know, tells him
to fuck off, because Hunter walks
back ashamed, and his tail between
his legs.
(MORE)
ALAN (CONTD)
So I asked what happened and he
goes, Oh, I just told her, Yeah,
that guy was kind of asking for it
because it looked like he was
bothering you and I could tell you
were bothered. And she said--" oh
shit! You gonna- listen to this,
she says, Uh, yeah he has a right
to bother me. Hes my husband!
HAHA!
The boys burst out laughing. They know this is a thing Hunter
would do, but for us, we just enjoy them laughing it up.
ALAN
It like completely shattered him!
Like fucked his swag or whatever!
Oh, God! Is this speaking ill of
him or what?

SAM
Nah, dude. Its all good.

MATTY
A little bit. Even though I feel
kinda bad and might go to hell for
this, but he was such a prick.

JEFF
I told you the one time he hit on
Lindsey, right?

MATTY
Oh, yeah! That was a cock move on
him.

ALAN
He was really a nice guy and all,
but down the line he got all needy
and just acted like a total bitch.

MATTY
Dude, he asked me, one time if he
could borrow five bucks for gas!
Like, what the hell is five bucks
of gas gonna do? Come on!
JEFF

I think I was there for that.

ALAN
Where?

JEFF
When Hunter asked you if he could
borrow five dollars for gas and--

SAM
God. I felt so embarrassed for him.

JEFF
And I remember thinking to myself,
You asshole! Youre driving an FJ
Cruiser. Calm the hell down. God.

MATTY
(laughs)
Every time we parked, hed put a
wheel lock on it on the steering
wheel--

ALAN
What?!

MATTY
Yeah, in little Thousand Oaks and I
was, Man, I really dont think you
need it.

JEFF
Not in Thousand Oaks.

SAM
Yeah. Not there.

ALAN
Like, whats gonna happen? I mean,
what the fuck is gonna happen?

MATTY
And then one time, Zac had asked me
if, because we were going to
Staples Center.
(MORE)
MATTY (CONTD)
And he was driving his dads Jeep.
So Zac asked, Its my dads jeep
and I dont want to leave it here
and people see it parked here. so,
Im like, okay. Whatever. So Ill
ask Hunter if we can use his
steering wheel lock.

SAM
Oh, God.

MATTY
And then I asked him and hes
looking at me and the expression on
his face he gave me was like, You
fucking asshole! What person asks
that?! So, Im like, I dont know,
man. I just need it for night. I
mean, do you use all the time you
park? And hes like, Yeah!?

ALAN
(mocking Hunter)
Yeah!

MATTY
So, you know. Oh, God.

ALAN
Remember that thing: What?!
(nods his head awkwardly)

MATTY
Yeah! What?!

JEFF
What?!

SAM
Yeah. I remember that.

ALAN
Yeah.
They sit in silence, like they have nothing else to say.
JEFF
(to Alan)
What time are we supposed to be
there?

ALAN
I think they said we should be
there by 10.

MATTY
Who?

JEFF
Rebecca and Sara. You know... the
couple.

MATTY
Oh, the two--

JEFF
Yeah. This is the Sara; the same
girl that Hunter tried to get with
and fucking failed miserably.

MATTY
(laughing)
Haha! He failed!

SAM
Oh, shit. Dont bring that up.

JEFF
She probably ended up a lesbian
because of Hunter. Thats-(laughs)

ALAN
Oh, man!

MATTY
Jesus!

JEFF
Okay. That was a little harsh. But
Im just saying. He did.
As the laughing settles down, theres a long pause.
ALAN
Feckin Hunter.

SAM
Feckin Hunter.

MATTY
You know where that came from?

ALAN
What?

MATTY
Feck yea!

ALAN
That was Hunters thing.

MATTY

No.

SAM
No, thats your thing.

MATTY
He did it, but I used to make fun
of this kid, no, it wasnt making
fun of him but it was, like, how he
said stuff. It was Chase Bradley.
And hed be, like, Dude, I got
fecked last nah-ght.
The boys laugh at Mattys impression.
MATTY
So I just made fun of him for it.
And every time Id see him, Id be
like, What the feck, man! and
then Hunter took that and made it
really weird.

JEFF
He took it way too far.

MATTY
Yeah. He said it all the time.
The boys acknowledge each other and it goes quiet again. As if
entranced by the fire, they each stare at it, captivated and not
saying anything. By their looks, it says everything. They miss
their friend.
ALAN

I thought today went pretty well.

JEFF
Yeah. It did.

ALAN
I mean, as far as funerals go, it
wasnt bad.

SAM
Yeah.

MATTY
It was a lot of people.

ALAN
Yeah.

JEFF
I liked what his Uncle Jesse said.

MATTY
Oh, about the deer story?

JEFF
I really liked that. No. The sailor
at the dock and was waiting for his
dog. I just remember what he said.
(pause)
Most people leave without saying
goodbye. A few get to say goodbye
without leaving. I dont know...
Long pause.
MATTY
It is weird that I didnt cry?

JEFF
I didnt.

ALAN
I cried a little.

JEFF
You did?

ALAN
Yeah. But because Hunters sister,
Ashley was right next to me, yeah,
I couldnt help it.

MATTY

Dude, that was really fucking sad.

ALAN
Yeah.

SAM
Going back to what Jeff said, about
the goodbye and all; thats really
the worse part. Like, for me, right
know, its still really, kind of...
(pause; laughs)
Honestly, if you think about it, it
doesnt matter anymore. I mean, yes
it kind of does right now, but its
just... we go away and thats okay.
(pause)
Doesnt seem like it right now cos
we dont want to think about it. We
dont want to talk about it because
sure, why do that to yourself? Its
a waste of time doing that than the
doing it part. And once that road
is ready to be crossed, and theres
nothing more up ahead... doing this
means... its way better than okay.
I realize how reprehensibly cheesy,
how inexcusably pretentious and how
exaggerated that really sounds, but
they left us with all these moments
and experiences so that we could do
this. Truly, I dont think anyone
could ask for anything more. Truly.
Long pause.
ALAN

Like, when you were around him and

then talked about him, it was just
normal. Like, you didnt even have
to think about it. Seeing him that
way... it didnt feel right. Well,
you know, obviously. But still...
Long pause. It becomes apparently, the night has gone stale and
its time to head on out and not overdue this moment.
MATTY
Well. You guys ready to go?

JEFF
Yep.

ALAN
Mkay.
Matty, Jeff and Alan stand up and start packing up their stuff.
Sam, however, doesnt get up. He just looks at them. Why? As they
finish up, Matty, Jeff and Alan grabs their beer bottles.
JEFF
Well. Lets do this. Matty.
For Matty, this is him stepping up to the plate. Its an honor.
MATTY
Ill keep it brief, cos honestly,
what else is there left to say and
its fuckin In-N-Out, so lets go
and end this. Hunter Dowdy. He was
the quintessence, the most perfect
example of who and what an asshole
truly is. When youre that kind of
person, you tend to stay away from
them. But no. Not you. You brought

us into your overwhelming abyss of

a world, in which a friendship was
born with the three men that stand
here. Weve endured and strived in
this goddamn corner you pushed us
in. We did what we could... but to
no avail, we were there and stuck.
(MORE)
MATTY (CONTD)
But, brother, because you are our
one and only brother, despite all
this prattling Im going on about
and more, you were a true friend.
(pause)
Yes, he was indeed. And now, if I
may quote Whitman, cos what kind
of a farewell would it be without
quoting a college required poet?!
(pause)
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the
Open road... Henceforth I ask not goodFortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no
More, need nothing...
I believe you are not all that is here,
I believe that much unseen is also here.
(pause)
And thus, Brother Hunter, while it
doesnt make any sense, considering
how much of a disaster you were to
us, you gave us all seven wonderful
years to know you. With that said,
we simply say: thanks. To Hunter!!!

ALL OF THEM
To Hunter!
They down their drinks and throw the bottles in the fire. Matty,
Alan and Jeff start leaving. Sam doesnt get up. Instead, he
watches them leave. Then... smiling, Sam waves good-bye to them.
SAM
Thank you, boys. Thank you.
And then suddenly, Sam fades into thin air. Yes. We come to
realize who truly that was. The fire keeps burning, alone.
Think where man's glory most
Begins and ends. And say my
Glory was I had such friends.
-

W.B. Yeats

FADE TO BLACK:

T H E

E N D

He was so awkward about it. You

could just tell he was just so
pissed.

Yeah, no its cool, its uh, what?!

I could just spend so much time

about that asshole and--

Yeah, if it was, like, for a road

trip, then I would obviously pitch
in. But from here to eight miles,
hell no.

ALAN
Also, that time he wanted us to go
and pick him up--

JEFF
Dude, he made such a big deal about
that. He was pleading a case!

ALAN
Why would we drive all the way to
Santa Monica, pick him up and then
drive all the way back here, and
then back to drop him off?

JEFF
It was that time! Remember he told
me, Hey, do you think we can take
your car? Been driving all day and
put too many miles on it.
What an asshole!
INT. CLARKS CAR NIGHT (LATER)

http://vk.com/video191740236_163833175

tracking #: 15-4037-SH

Fuck, man.

In Bruges scene where Ray and Ken are talking about being good
men.
Insert
Hey! Im back!

Dude? How long did it take you to

find your jacket?! Were about to
head out to In-N-Out.

sdgsdgs

What was that place we were gonna

go two semesters ago when we were
in Marina Levinas Dracula class?

What place?

The bar, man. right by the campus.

Whats up man? Nothing much. Were

just broing out tonight.

Dude. You remember what Noah Mason

would do in Ms. Rays class? Like,
every time it got quiet, hed just
say out loud, Huh?!

Oh, yeah!!

And then right after that, Id make

turkey noises, like, right in front
of her. And she always blamed it on
Ricky.

She HATED Ricky.

always

Yeah. but its too much of a hassle

to be thinking about.

Make turkey noises

I remember when, I dont know if it

was you Sam, but one of you made me
laugh so hard she was like, Why
are you laughing? And Id say it
was nothing and then she would turn
to y
ou guys and ask why they were
laughing and they said because hes
laughing so they totally threw me
under the bus.