Crane lives with his abusive uncle Tuck after losing his parents. One night, Tuck sexually assaults Crane again. The next day, Crane skips school and hangs out with his friend Peyton, getting high in a drainage pipe. They break into a church basement to drink communion wine, where Crane lashes out physically at Peyton after he tries to comfort him. Crane finds the house destroyed when he returns home, with a threatening note from Tuck. Distraught, Crane destroys the stool that his mother painted, then jumps out the window, appearing to take flight.

1. CRANE
written by
Kandace James

2. FADE IN:
INT. TUCK'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
A fork CLINKS against a plate. It's dark but light enough for
eyes to adjust. A SHADOW OF A BOY hunches over a table - If
he could disappear, he would. CRANE (15) a plain-looking
Black boy, plays with the meatloaf slopped on the dish. He
sits on a stool. One of the legs has a crack in it. He
pierces the meatloaf with his fork and blood seeps out.
Crane's uncle, TUCK (40's) Black, watches TV. A skirt of
yellow light is projected off the TV onto Tuck's sunken face.
TUCK
Eat the damn food.
CRANE
I'm not hungry.
TUCK
I made it. Eat it.
Crane picks up the clump and chews it.
TUCK (CONT’D)
How's it?
CRANE
Fine.
Crane notices Tuck smirking at him. Tuck rubs his lanky
fingers on his greasy lips. Everything about him's greasy.
TUCK
You like the taste of meat, huh?
Crane clinches his teeth. Tuck unbuckles his belt. His glossy
eyes stare into Cranes.
TUCK (CONT’D)
Come here.
Crane's body stiffens. A lump in Cranes throat forms.
CRANE
No.
Tuck mutes the TV. The yellow light projected on his face
fades into a faint orange, then red.
CRANE (CONT’D)
You said you were sorry, you said-–

3. 2.
TUCK
I say a lot of things.
CRANE
This is a sin! What you're doing--
TUCK
You go to church a few times and
you think you've found heaven? I'll
tell you what; once I'm done, I'll
make sure to repent. Get over here.
Crane fights back tears. His eyes are fixed to the floor. He
walks to Tuck's bare feet.
TUCK (CONT’D)
You know what to do.
Tuck lies back in the armchair as Crane fidgets with Tuck's
jeans. Tears escape and roll down Crane's cheeks. The sound
of a ZIPPER TEARING open.
INT. CRANE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
A PICTURE of young Crane and his mom painting a stool sits on
Cranes nightstand.
Crane's restless in bed. He opens a window. The bleached moon
gazes at him. Frogs and crickets chatter, like some story's
being told. A train whines in the distance.
EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - MORNING
Crane sits on the curb in front of the house. His legs bounce
as he looks back at the house.
PEYTON (16) a Black boy with gold gauges in his ears, pops a
wheelie on his bike while riding up to Crane.
PEYTON
Hey Big Bird! Where were you at
counseling this weekend?
CRANE
Stop calling me that.
PEYTON
Woah. Are you good?
CRANE
Just dandy.

4. 3.
PEYTON
Whatever. Get on.
Crane hops on the pegs on the back wheels of Peyton's bike.
CRANE
Where are we going?
PEYTON
School. It's Monday. You sure
you’re good?
CRANE
I just don't want to go to school.
PEYTON
Where you trying to go?
EXT. PIPE CULVERT - DAY
Crane and Peyton sit in the culvert underneath a road. Peyton
takes a hit of a blunt and passes it to Crane.
This scene acquires an unnatural echo as they talk.
CRANE
(coughs)
How do you do it?
PEYTON
Do what?
Crane hands the blunt back.
CRANE
Go about life without your parents?
Peyton takes a hit.
PEYTON
It’s different. Your parents are...
My parents are still...
Crane looks down the dark hole.
PEYTON (CONT’D)
What I’m saying is, your parents
loved you. Mine treated me like
shit, but they always knew how to
put on a good face... My
grandparents are better parents
than they ever were.
(MORE)

5. 4.
PEYTON (CONT’D)
It's not so hard to go about life
without people who didn’t want you
in theirs in the first place.
CRANE
At least you got out. I'm stuck
with my uncle. I wish he would just
die already.
The pipe tremors as a car goes by.
PEYTON
That's harsh, man.
Crane shuts his eyes. Peyton smokes and stares at Crane
amorously. The silence's broken when Peyton yells...
PEYTON (CONT’D)
What the hell!
Crane opens his eyes. A lizard crawls up Peyton’s leg.
CRANE
You’re afraid of a little lizard?
PEYTON
When it crawls on me, yes!
Crane plucks the lizard up by its tail and watches it dangle.
CRANE
You’re in Florida, get used to it.
The lizard’s tail pops off and it scrambles away. Peyton
squirms and dusts off his pants frantically.
CRANE (CONT’D)
Isn’t it cool, how a lizard can
drop a tail and grow it back?
PEYTON
I wouldn’t say cool.
CRANE
Nothing can hold it back.
PEYTON
Yeah, until the next person traps
it, and it no longer has a tail to
snap off.
Crane creeps out to the edge of the pipe.
Peyton pops his head out.

6. 5.
PEYTON (CONT’D)
What are we looking at?
Crane doesn't break his gaze.
CRANE
I don't know what it is but leaving
this dark tunnel into this… all of
this, it's like everything around
us is yawning.
PEYTON
That's me yawning. It’s too early.
CRANE
There's something sacred about
being up this early while the earth
is still waking up.
Peyton exits the pipe.
PEYTON
Let's ride!
EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - MOMENTS LATER
Crane's arms are wrapped around Peyton’s neck as they ride
the bike. Peyton increases his peddling.
PEYTON
Tighter.
Crane grips tighter. He leans his head on Peyton's shoulder,
marvels at the sky; pink and yellow bleeds into one another.
CRANE
The sky looks like pink lemonade
and orange juice. Like God spilled
His drink.
PEYTON
I don’t know about God but I'm
thirsty now.
CRANE
Isn’t it weird, the moon and sun in
the sky at the same time?
PEYTON
They don’t have a name for it, the
sun and moon in the sky at the same
time.
(MORE)

7. 6.
PEYTON (CONT’D)
There's a name for the tip of a
shoelace, but not this. There
should be a name for this.
CRANE
(nervously)
It looks like eyes peering down at
us.
EXT. CHURCH - LATER
A wooden cross rest on top. Crane scans the empty parking
lot. He hops off the bike and walks to the door. It's locked.
CRANE
It’s closed. Why are we here?
PEYTON
I know another way in.
Crane follows Peyton to the back. A window’s open.
CRANE
I’m not breaking into the church.
PEYTON
Isn’t God supposed to welcome you
with open arms?
CRANE
Don’t play with God.
Peyton hoists himself into the window. He reaches for Crane's
hand. Crane reluctantly takes it and climbs inside.
INT. CHURCH - CONTINUOUS
Peyton leads Crane downstairs to the--
BASEMENT
CRANE
What're we doing here?
Peyton pulls out a box labeled ‘Communion Wine’. He takes out
a communion cup filled with wine and peels back the seal.
PEYTON
Getting lit.
He tosses it back like a shot.

8. 7.
PEYTON (CONT’D)
Want one?
CRANE
This is why I’m here?
PEYTON
If you want some crackers, they
have a buttload!
CRANE
I want to go, it’s creepy in here.
Peyton holds four cups and drinks them simultaneously.
PEYTON
I'm trying to show you a good time.
CRANE
This just... feels wrong.
PEYTON
Take a couple of shots with me and
it'll start to feel right.
CRANE
Do those even have alcohol in them?
Peyton tosses one to Crane.
PEYTON
Find out.
Crane drinks one.
INT. CHURCH, BASEMENT - LATER
Crane's and Peyton's faces are just inches away. They sit
cross-legged, staring into each other's eyes. Crane leans in
closer until... Peyton blinks.
CRANE
You blinked!
Crane and Peyton are sitting on the floor, covered in empty
communion cups and cracker crumbs.
PEYTON
Why weren't you at counseling?
CRANE
I'm tired of crying.

9. 8.
PEYTON
You're allowed to cry.
CRANE
I have bigger shit to worry about.
PEYTON
That's what counseling's for.
CRANE
Maybe I'm not trying to hear the it
gets better bullshit anymore.
PEYTON
But it does.
CRANE
You're not going through what I'm
going through!
PEYTON
I understand the loss of parents--
Crane jumps to his feet.
CRANE
It's not about that--
PEYTON
What is it about?
CRANE
Can you shut the fuck up for once?
Stop investigating, Sherlock.
Peyton stands.
PEYTON
Damn, I see the wine got to you.
I’m looking out. I care about you.
CRANE
Don't act like you give a fuck. You
don't care about me!
Peyton grabs Cranes' shoulders.
PEYTON
Fuck, Crane, I do! I––
Crane shoves Peyton off.
CRANE
Don't touch me!!

10. 9.
Peyton's shocked.
PEYTON
Dude, I'm just--
CRANE
Don't ever touch me!!!
Crane continues shoving Peyton, each one harder than the
next. Peyton isn't fighting back, he's crushed.
Crane rams Peyton into a wall and starts swinging on him.
Peyton snaps, he gets one good punch in-
A RINGING SOUND oozes in...
Crane's sprawled out on the floor.
PEYTON
(muffled)
Why'd you have to-- I'm sorry.
Peyton exits. Blood from Crane's nose freckles his cheeks.
EXT. CHURCH - DAY
Crane sits on the curb. Remanence of blood's smeared on his
face. Crane folds his hands to pray, almost squeezing the
circulation out of his fingers.
CRANE
I'm beginning to think Tuck was
right. Are you real? I mean I think
you are but–– why did you take my
parents, and why did you put me
here? I was doing fine before–– I
feel too dirty to be around people
after what Tuck did, like people
can smell it on me, and you just
let it happen... If you wanted to
help, you would've done it already.
Crane blinks his eyes open. He hears nothing.
EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - LATER
Crane's walking down a vacant street. Several birds sit in a
nearby tree, one takes flight and weaves through the ripples
in the sky. A lizard scurries up to Crane. Crane glares at
it, then... squashes it under his foot.

11. 10.
Only the sun's in the sky. Now the sky has one eye visible as
if winking at Crane. Feeling bothered by this, he runs home.
INT. TUCK'S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY
The house is in disarray. The armchair’s on its side, the
TV’s shattered, and there are raw hamburger meat and mashed
potatoes splattered on the carpet.
Crane starts to clean up. There's a NOTE on the refrigerator:
TUCK (TEXT)
Why the Hell did I get a call
saying you weren't at school today?
Making me look bad. When I get
home, I'm fucking you up.
Crane crumbles the note.
Crane notices his stool has only one leg. He is visibly
distraught. Crane steps over the mess and picks up the stool.
He searches through the mess to find the other two legs.
INT. CRANE'S BEDROOM - LATER
Crane tries to reattach the leg onto the seat. The legs are
smashed in; there’s no way to fix it now. Crane forcefully
beats the chair on the floor. The third leg breaks off.
Crane swings the window open. The air’s quiet. The sky’s
still winking at him. Crane picks up the fragmented stool. He
hurls the seat out the window and watches it hit the ground.
He hurls the three legs out the window one-by-one and watches
it hit the ground...
... He sits in the window, his feet hang out. Crane HEAVES
himself off and tumbles down, then... freezes in mid-air.
He's catching flight.
FADE TO BLACK.