Lemonade Mouth Puckers Up (24 page)

CHARLIE (V.O.)

It was a time of intense spiritual upheaval. It felt like things were coming to an end, and music, which had always been the central calming force in my life, had now become a source of turmoil and sadness. And under it all, that vague imbalance that’d been simmering in me, that feeling that there was something important I was missing and needed to find, wasn’t going away. Which was why I’d been stepping up my search a notch or two. I tried everything I could think of that might help me uncover the answers I was looking for.

INTERIOR. HINDU TEMPLE—MORNING

Charlie kneels alongside Mo and her family as a skinny old man in white chants in Sanskrit. A service is under way, and the place is decorated with fruits and flowers. As other worshipers chant responses, Charlie does his best to follow along.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

I went with Mo and her family to their temple. It was very cool, with lots of statues and burning incense and altars to different Hindu gods. I didn’t understand most of what was going on, but everybody made me feel welcome. Mo’s dad, especially, seemed happy that I wanted to come. It was an amazing experience but, sad to say, whatever I was searching for, I didn’t find it there.

Dissolve to …

INTERIOR. STELLA’S BASEMENT—EVENING

Charlie is seated in the middle of a crowded sofa with Stella, Rajeev and Stella’s older sister, Clea. Stella and Rajeev are sharing popcorn, while Clea is painting her nails. They’re all watching television together. There’s thunder and eerie music as the light flickers across their faces. Charlie stares at the screen, a look of terror in his eyes.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

Stella tried to help me. She knew I liked watching TV and she said that sometimes when she feels like her life is on shaky ground, it helps her to stay at home and watch vampire movies all day. So that’s what we did. I think I saw more fangs that afternoon than a dentist sees teeth in a whole week. Some of the movies were okay, but I wouldn’t say any of them actually
helped
me much.

Dissolve to …

EXTERIOR. CHARLIE’S FRONT PORCH—AFTERNOON

Charlie is on his front steps reading an old, ragged book.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

Olivia called what I was going through an “existential crisis,” and she loaned me this book called
New Perspectives: A History of People and Ideas That Changed the World
. She said it might give me new ideas for my search.

REVERSE ON: A page of the book. Lots of words and a black-and-white image of an olden-days dude with an enormous bushy mustache.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

I read about this one philosopher guy in the eighteen hundreds named Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche had this idea that there’s a big difference between how people
want
the world to work, like being fair and stuff, and how it
really
works, and he figured that because of this difference, human existence must be meaningless. It was kind of a downer idea. I spent a long time trying to wrap my head around it.

REVERSE ON: Charlie. He lowers the book from his face, sets it on his lap, and gazes thoughtfully across the street. Little kids are playing with a dog. There’s pop music coming from somewhere in the distance. A car drives past.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

I tried to imagine everyone in the world, all the zillions of people on this huge planet, living their lives and doing their own stuff every day, while all the time there’s other stuff happening, some of it good and some not so good, and sometimes we’re happy and sometimes we’re not, and none of it, not one tiny bit of it, will ever matter in the grand scheme of the Universe. Wow. Did I really want to believe such a depressing thing? Could I believe it?

Dissolve to …

EXTERIOR. OPEQUONSETT TOWN CENTER—LATE MORNING

A wide shot of the storefronts at the north end of Wampanoag Road. At one end of the screen we see Charlie ambling along the sidewalk toward Wen, who is half a block away, near the center of the frame. Wen is in his wiener outfit but he isn’t jumping around or anything. In fact, he isn’t moving at all. He’s staring into space looking depressed.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

We’d finished our recordings in Lyle’s garage, but now the days felt bleaker than ever because our brief moment
of relief was over. The project had at least been something to work on, and now Lemonade Mouth’s future seemed nothing but empty. The weight on all of us was starting to show. Especially on Wen. A few hours after the five of us met at Bruno’s, I decided to take a walk into town to catch him before he finished his wiener shift.

Charlie is near Wen now, and the camera has been slowly closing in on them. They exchange nods of greeting, but otherwise Wen hardly moves and his cheerless expression remains. Charlie remains silent. The two friends gaze across the traffic together, a picture of quiet sadness.

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

It was pretty obvious to me that something was up with him and Olivia, and being the only other guy in the band, I wanted to let him know I was there for him if he wanted to talk about … you know … anything.

WEN

(softly, almost to himself, still not looking at Charlie)

What does it mean when a girl keeps so many secrets? Sometimes I don’t even know what to think. I have no idea where I stand with her.

CHARLIE

Dude, you’re nuts. She’s crazy about you. Anybody can see that.

WEN

Oh yeah? Then why did she stand me up last night? We were supposed to go to the movies together, but she didn’t show. She never answered my calls either. Or my texts.

CHARLIE

(takes this in)

Um, I don’t know. I really don’t. But I’m sure there was a reason. Something must have happened.

WEN

Right … well … maybe I’d feel better about it if she just told me what it was. Or maybe I could laugh it off if weird stuff didn’t keep happening all the time with her. But it does, Charlie. When something’s wrong she won’t admit it. She bottles herself up and won’t let me in. I don’t know if she’s mad at me or … or what.

CHARLIE

Listen to you. You’re driving yourself crazy. Wen, whatever this is, I’m sure she’ll tell you eventually. She’s just one of those people who has a hard time opening up about certain things. You know that. It’s how she is. It’s how she’s always been.

WEN

(unconvinced)

Yeah, I know. I know …

(sighs)

 … and I get it, I do. She doesn’t have to tell me what’s going on. Why should she? It’s not like I’m even her boyfriend or anything. To her I’m just another friend, I guess. A regular friend, and that’s better than nothing, right? Why should we have to be more than that? It’s no big deal.…

CHARLIE (V.O.)

This was even worse than I thought. Wen was a complete mess, and it was hard to watch. It was obvious he was hurting.

A passing car honks and somebody calls a greeting to them as they continue driving past. Wen dutifully holds up the
WIENERS ON WHEELS
sign and waves his huge rubber hand, but the effect is nothing less than pathetic. Through the wiener costume’s face hole we can see his expression. There’s no joy in him right now. As he continues to stare blankly ahead, Charlie looks on in dismay.

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

I wanted to help him. I wanted to fix this somehow, but I knew there was nothing I could say or do to make him feel any better at that moment. He wasn’t going to listen.

Wen’s cell phone alarm goes off, a short, complicated trumpet solo.

CHARLIE

What was that?

WEN

(yanking one of his gloves off)

“Salt Peanuts.” Dizzy Gillespie. It means my shift is finally over and I can go home.

As Wen starts taking off his other glove, we see Charlie’s mind working, still searching for a way to help.

CHARLIE

Hey, I know—why don’t we head over to Goldy Records and look through their old LPs? We both love that, and it’ll get our minds off … well, everything else.

Wen looks over at him. His expression changes. For the first time in the whole conversation he looks almost excited about something.

WEN

That’s actually a good idea, Charlie. Let’s do it.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

But it was not to be, because just at that moment, like an untimely grenade tossed at us by the fickle hand of fate, who was to appear over his shoulder but Olivia. She was rushing toward us with her accordion case gripped in her hand.

Wen notices the direction of Charlie’s gaze. Now he sees her too. His distant expression returns.

OLIVIA

(still approaching, a little out of breath)

Looks like I just made it in time! Guys, I have a new riff idea I want to play for you. Can you stick around a little longer and work on it with me?

CHARLIE

Hey, Olivia.

Olivia sets down her case and, crouching, starts to open it. Wen’s face is stony.

WEN

So are you going to tell me what happened last night?

(off her blank look)

The movies? Remember?

By her expression it’s clear that she’s only now remembering and feels terrible about it. She stands up again.

OLIVIA

Oh no. Wen. I’m so sorry. I completely forgot.

WEN

And the messages I left for you? You didn’t get those?

Olivia appears confused at first, and then suddenly realizes …

OLIVIA

Oh no. I’d turned my phone off …

(checks it)

 … and look, it’s still off. Oh … hey, you must be mad. I get that. I deserve it. Listen, I really am sorry. I never meant—

WEN

(holds up his hand to cut her off)

It’s no big deal, Olivia. It’s okay. You don’t have to explain what happened or where you were. Now or ever. It’s not like I have any special claim to your trust or your time. You were busy, that’s all. The details are none of my business. I don’t want to pry.

OLIVIA

What? No, Wen … I—

WEN

Look, I gotta go. There’s a bunch of stuff I gotta do. See you guys later.

He spins his still-costumed body around and stalks away.

OLIVIA

Wen …

CHARLIE

Come on, Wen. Don’t.

But he’s still going. Olivia’s frozen, staring at his back.

CHARLIE (CONT’D)

Are you okay, Olivia?

OLIVIA

(quiet, looking away from him)

Yeah, I’ll be fine. I … I have to go now, though. Bye, Charlie.

She snatches up her accordion, and before Charlie can stop her she’s already disappearing down the sidewalk, head low, rushing back the way she came.

CHARLIE (V.O.)

There I was, stuck in the middle as two of the closest friends I’d ever had stormed off in opposite directions, furious with each other. I wanted to shout, “Wen! Olivia! Stop! Please don’t fight!” But it was no use.

The camera backs slowly away as the distance between Wen and Olivia widens.

CHARLIE (V.O.) (CONT’D)

Sometimes you can be right there watching while your friends, who you know care deeply about each other, make a big mistake, but there’s nothing you can do to fix the situation. Stuff happens. That’s just the way life is. I was sad not only for them, but for all of us. This was bigger than any lost contract. Before my eyes, Lemonade Mouth was falling apart.