LOOPED

Written by
Cole Groth
BLACK

Ambient noise of a CLASSROOM. A clock ticks.

ALEX (OFF-SCREEN)
You're in a what?

JAKE (OFF-SCREEN)
A time loop.

INT. MATH CLASSROOM - DAY

People chattering, scribbles on a whiteboard, math posters

litter the walls of a math class. In the middle, JAKE
THOMPSON (18) and ALEX HERNANDEZ (18). Jake is dressed in
some cutesy pajamas that he's way too old to be wearing,
while Alex is trendily dressed, like the other students.

ALEX
What do you mean?

JAKE
I'm living the same day over and
over again.

Alex shakes his head quickly in bewilderment and scoffs.

ALEX
Jake, you're an idiot.

Jake scoffs. Alex goes back to doing his work. After a

second, he looks up. When Alex speaks, Jake mouths along.

ALEX
Okay, let's say you are in a time
loop. How ca-

JAKE
Can I prove it?

Jake smiles cheekily. He reaches into his backpack and pulls

out a large map. On the back of it is a connected string of
dialogue, like an enormous choose your own video game in real
life. On the top, it’s titled ‘The Alex Hernandez Dialogue
Tree™.’
NOTE: Reference the dialogue tree used in Nathan Fielder’s
The Rehearsal.

JAKE
This is the 'Alex Hernandez
Dialogue Tree.' It took me a few
hundred loops to construct it, but
here's how it works.
 2.

While explaining the dialogue tree, he points to various

lines of dialogue.

JAKE
I've mapped out a few different
paths of dialogue that show how
you'll react if I tell you about
certain things. Think of an NPC in
a video game.

ALEX
(sarcastically)
Thanks, Jake.
(normal)
How do I know that you didn't just
make this up?

Jake points to a box with Alex's question. He traces it along

a line that says, "If I explain the map."

JAKE
That's the thing! You might think
that I've just made it up. I
haven't. I've sat through too many
conversations about how your
cheetah print underwear is just a
bit too tight on you and how you
pissed yourself a few nights ago
for this to have been “made up”

Alex shoots a dirty look to Jake.

ALEX
(whispering)
Dude, shut up!

The math professor, MRS. HYNES (50s) chimes in.

MRS. HYNES
(stern)
Mr. Thompson, since you've been
paying so much attention, could you
please tell us what happens as x
approaches two?

Jake doesn't initially turn around to face her, instead

tracing his finger along a line that says, "When Mrs. Hynes
assumes I don't know the answer." Alex looks on in amusement.

JAKE
(turning around to face
Mrs. Hynes)
(MORE)
 3.
JAKE (CONT’D)
As x approaches two from the
negative side, y goes to infinity,
and when x approaches two from the
positive side, it goes to negative
infinity.

Jake turns back around. Mrs. Hynes is a impressed.

MRS. HYNES
Alright, thank you, Jake. Pay a bit
more attention, please!

Jake gives a goofy look to Alex, like, "see? look how awesome
I am!" Alex rolls his eyes. He looks over and traces Jake's
dialogue line to a box that says, "Alex will trace the
dialogue line to this box." He then scrolls around the tree
to a line that says "confess my love," but the box is empty.

ALEX
(playfully)
Oooh, you’re finally saying that
you love Sarah? It’s taken long
enough.

Jake looks down at the map and quickly folds it up. Alex
wasn't supposed to see that. Alex squints inquisitively.

ALEX
Speaking of, where is she anyways?

Alex points to an empty desk, presumably where she sits. Jake

doesn’t look over.

JAKE
She’s at some orchestra competition
and doesn’t get back until 6:00.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ve seen
her in a few... weeks? Months?

ALEX
Oh, that sucks.

Jake shrugs.

JAKE
It’s fine.

The bell RINGS. Students hurriedly pack up and leave.

MRS. HYNES
OK class! Remember that your limit
definitions project is due
tomorrow!
 4.

Jake and Alex pack up and step out of class.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER

Jake and Alex walk together down a hallway. Students litter

the halls in a stream of chaos.

JAKE
Here’s the thing, Alex: you’re
beginning to bore me.

ALEX
(scoffs, taken aback)
I’m sorry, what?

JAKE
Sorry, this whole loop has made me
more blunt. It's just - I've spent
so much time with you, and it's
just... not interesting anymore.
You just do the exact same thing
every day, and there's only so much
I can change in my life to change
what you do. You feel me?

ALEX
(offended)
No, Jake. I don't 'feel you.' You
sound like an asshole.

A girl, JENNA LEWIS (17, nerdy, carrying her books in a big

bunch type, big glasses) walks down the hallway before
tripping over her shoes. Jake stops her from falling.

JENNA
Oh, thank you!

JAKE
(indifferent)
Yup.

Jenna runs off to her class. Jake continues walking for a

moment.

JAKE
(turns to Alex and stops)
Are you familiar with Groundhog
Day, Alex? Don't answer that; I
know that you are.

ALEX
What about it?
 5.

JAKE
Okay, so I'm at that point where
Bill Murray realizes that
everything he does is meaningless
and starts killing himself
repeatedly. I haven't gotten the
balls to do it yet, but today I
think I'm going to do something
fun. Blow up a bridge or something;
I'm not sure yet.

ALEX
If you kill yourself, what if it
all ends there? What am I supposed
to do when I show up to class
tomorrow and everyone’s asking
where you are, and I have to sit
there with a smile telling people:
(mockingly)
“oh, Jake killed himself but he’s
in a time loop so he’s fine!”

JAKE
See, you won't have to live with
that though, ‘cuz I'm positive the
loop will continue.

ALEX
For you, yeah. But for me, you'll
be dead, and I won't have anybody
to cheat with for my exam tomorrow.
You're being very selfish.

JAKE
(feigning distress)
Wow, I’m gonna be dead and all you
care about is that you won’t be
able to cheat on your test?

Alex rolls his eyes, but chuckles.

ALEX
Think of it like this. For you,
yesterday happened... when? A few
weeks ago? A few months?

JAKE
(laughs)
I would say years, but honestly I
have no idea how many todays I’ve
had.

ALEX
Anyways, for me, yesterday was -
 6.

Alex looks at his watch.

ALEX
About ten hours ago. And in another
fourteen hours, it’ll be tomorrow
for me. If you kill yourself, will
this version of me have to live
with that?

Jake thinks hard about this.

JAKE
Maybe? I’m not sure.

ALEX
‘Maybe?’ Shouldn’t you know this
stuff by now?

Jake shrugs.

ALEX
It just seems like you haven’t
thought this out very much. Why
don’t you give yourself a few more
days to think it over before
killing yourself?

Jake gives up his argument, throwing his arms up.

JAKE
Fine. You've convinced me. During
the next loop, I’ll kill myself
before you can beg me not to,
though.

ALEX
(relieved)
Thank you!

The two of them stand in silence. Alex looks on, waiting for
Jake to do something interesting.

ALEX
Is that it? What's something cool
you can do with your ability?

JAKE
Well, I know something we can do.

I/E. GAS STATION - AFTERNOON

Jake and Alex step into a GAS STATION. Jake walks right up to
the GAS STATION ATTENDANT (20s), who's listening to music.
 7.

JAKE
Could I get a few lottery tickets?

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

(uninterested)
Which do you want?

On the counter is a colorful display of various lottery

tickets. Jake playfully traces his finger around as if he's
deciding on a ticket. He already knows which one he wants and
selects one of the more expensive ones.

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

How many?

JAKE
I’ll take the whole stack!

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

Uh, you sure? That’s a few thousand
dollars.

JAKE
(annoyed)
Do you not want my money?

The gas station attendant looks at Jake with some suspicion

before ringing him up. Alex looks on with amusement and a
little bit of infatuation with Jake. The attendant places the
tickets on the counter in a tall stack.

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

That’ll be...
(calculating total)
$2,160.

Jake opens up his wallet. He only has a twenty.

JAKE
On second thought, just give me...

Jake points to one of the tickets toward the bottom of the

stack.

JAKE (CONT'D)
That one.

The gas station attendant sighs before grabbing the card.

Jake hands him the twenty and gets to scratching. He’s won
$5,000!

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

(more interested)
Woah! Congrats.
 8.

JAKE
You want it? Here.

Jake flicks the card across the counter and begins to walk
out.

GAS STATION ATTENDANT

Wow, thank you!

JAKE
(to Alex)
One of those tickets has the
jackpot but I haven’t memorized it
yet.

Alex chuckles.

EXT. GAS STATION - CONTINUOUS

ALEX
Let’s say I hypothetically believe
this time loop nonsense for a
second...

JAKE
...which you don’t...

ALEX
You haven’t done a good job at
convincing me yet!

JAKE
Have you not seen my dialogue tree?
How could I create that if I was
lying?

Jake reaches for the dialogue tree.

ALEX
The creepy map is... interesting...
but I want you to detail a day in
your life for me. That would
convince me.

Jake gets back up without it.

JAKE
Fine, but this never convinces you,
either. Each day begins at -

BEGIN FLASHBACK:
 9.

NOTE: During the flashback, most actions will be repeated two

or three times to emphasize the time loop.

Flash to Jake's bedroom. It's a bit cluttered but not overly

messy. On his desk -- an Xbox, some games, a monitor, his
laptop, a copy of Dante's Inferno, some notes strewn about,
and movie posters. One of them is Groundhog Day. -- Ironic.

On a bookshelf -- assorted trophies from random sports and

ages, classic fantasy novels, and stacks of video games.

It isn't terribly messy, but looks lived in.

In his bed, Jake lies asleep in his pajamas. A slow push

reveals the ALARM CLOCK. It hits 6:07 AM on Monday, February
20th. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

JAKE (VO)
6:07 AM.

Jake's eyes suddenly open.

In one loop, he shouts in frustration. In another, he wakes

up with a smile. In another, he slams the clock. After
rolling out of bed, he walks to his closet.

In one loop, he puts normal clothes on. In another, he

dresses up in a full suit. Now, he doesn't even bother.

JAKE (VO)
At this point, I've given up
dressing for each day. Thankfully,
I wake up in these stylish pajamas
every day.

Cutting from the flashback, we see Jake showing off his

pajamas with some pizazz. Alex isn't impressed.

ALEX
Don't get distracted!

Back to the flashback.

JAKE (VO)
Right.

Jake steps out of his room into the upstairs hallway. He hops
onto the railing of the stairs and - BOOM - he misses and
crashes down the stairs. In another loop, he hops on and
slides all the way down. Success!
 10.

INT. JAKE'S KITCHEN - MORNING

In the kitchen, we see ROBERT (40's, tough yet thoughtful),

Jake's dad, preparing some scrambled eggs for breakfast.
Sitting on his phone at the counter top is LUCAS (15, angsty
and funny), Jake's younger brother.

Once he gets down the stairs, he SHOUTS. Robert and Lucas

suddenly turn.

JAKE
Good morning, bitches!

Robert whips around quickly.

ROBERT
Who the hell do you think you’re
talking to?

In another loop, Jake sneaks up behind his dad. He peers over

his shoulder at the eggs he's making.

JAKE
(loudly)
Great eggs, dad!

Robert is startled. He recovers quickly.

ROBERT
Good morning, J!

He ruffles Jake’s hair and continues cooking.

ROBERT
Your mom’s conference is running
late, she’s getting a later flight
and should be home by dinner
tonight.

JAKE
(mumbles)
I’d bet a thousand bucks she won’t
be!

Jake wasn’t that quiet.

ROBERT
Oh, don’t be ridiculous.
(beat)
Want some eggs?

Robert points to the scrambled eggs; they look great, but

Jake politely declines.
 11.

JAKE
No, thanks! I’ve got to go. Super
important project!

ROBERT
What project?

Jake is already walking out. On his way, he flicks Lucas on

the back of the head. Lucas tries to grab for him, but Jake
manages to get barely out of his reach. Lucas goes back on
his phone.

In another loop, Jake pops out from under Lucas and SHOVES
Lucas out of his chair.

In a third, he gives him a kiss on the head. Lucas swats at

Jake.

LUCAS
What the -?

Jake skips over to the living room and walks to the fire
place. Folded up is a TRAVEL MAP. Jake grabs that, then heads
over to his dad’s desk and grabs a pen. He puts both into his
pocket before skipping out of the door.

ROBERT
(to Lucas)
Why is your brother wearing pajamas
to school?

LUCAS
(on his phone)
How should I know?

Robert rolls his eyes. Typical teenage response. He goes back

to his eggs.

I/E JAKE’S CAR / HIGH SCHOOL / MATH CLASSROOM - DAY

As Jake drives, he UNFURLS the blank map he grabbed earlier

on his steering wheel and starts hurriedly writing on it. The
map covers up his vision completely.

ALEX (V.O.)
Okay, how many times have you
crashed doing that?

JAKE (V.O.)
Weirdly, I haven't.

Liar. Jake's writing is interrupted by a loud CRASH and the

airbag DEPLOYING.
 12.

In another loop, Jake pulls into a parking spot in front of

his school. His parking sucks.

We see a crowd of high school students flooding into WINTER

PARK HIGH SCHOOL. The camera rises above, and we see the sea
of students walking in from the left and right, with Jake
walking through the center. We quickly transition between the
same movement of the other students juxtaposed against:

Jake sprinting in with normal clothes.

Jake skipping in with a full suit.

Jake strolling in with Heelys and a bathing suit.

Jake walking in with his pajamas. Present day.

Jake walks into class and beelines over to Alex, who is

scribbling some math down. Alex looks up at Jake's ridiculous
pajamas.

ALEX
(while writing,
sarcastically)
Nice pajamas, Jake.

Jake goes to Alex's seat and SWIVELS him around.

ALEX
Hey! I'm still working!

JAKE
I need to tell you something.

ALEX
What is it?

JAKE
I'm stuck in a time loop.

ALEX
(laughing)
Okay...

Alex goes back to doing his work. Jake quickly grabs and
spins him around.

JAKE
(serious)
I've never been more serious about
something in my life. I've lived
this day hundreds of times before.
 13.

ALEX
(more serious)
I'm sorry, you're in a what?

JAKE
A time loop.

END FLASHBACK:

EXT. GAS STATION - SAME AS EARLIER

JAKE
I mean, that's an average day for
me, but, like, I'm not an idiot, so
I don't go to school every day. I
went through this period where I'd
watch movies all day long, and I
want to say I've seen, like, two
thousand movies. I can't really
track them because... you know, the
day loops.

ALEX
Two thousand movies? I never
thought of you as a movie person.

JAKE
I mean, I guess I wasn't a movie
person yesterday.

Jake's phone RINGS, but he ignores it.

ALEX
You don't take your calls? I guess
you probably know who that's from.

JAKE
It's Sarah. She's in tears right
now and desperately needs me to
comfort her.
(mockingly)
Not today!

ALEX
You sound like a terrible
boyfriend.

JAKE
Alex, I have been the greatest
boyfriend in the world hundreds of
times to her. I proposed to her
once, did you know that?
 14.

Alex raises his eyebrows.

ALEX
Really?

Jake nods.

ALEX
(laughing)
What?! How’d that work out?

JAKE
(fake outrage)
She rejected me!

ALEX
(playing along)
No way!

JAKE
(shaking head)
Women...

Alex’s phone CHIMES. He pulls it out of his pocket to check

his text, but Jake interrupts him.

JAKE
Don’t go to the party. It sucks.
Actually, it’s pretty fun but after
so many loops it isn’t interesting
anymore.

Jake slides Alex’s phone to him slowly. As he’s dragging:

ALEX
Party?

Jake points down. Alex checks his text and sees: “PARTY @
STERLING’S TONIGHT. BYOB.”

ALEX
Well, even if you’ve had your share
of Sterling’s parties, I’ll still
be attending. Let’s go!

The two get in Jake’s car and drive off.

EXT. ALEX’S HOUSE - LATER

Jake pulls up to Alex’s house. Alex exits Jake’s car, then

turns around to face Jake through his window.
 15.

ALEX
So, I’m not gonna see you tonight?

Jake shakes his head.

JAKE
Not tonight, tonight. Another
tonight, definitely!

ALEX
Shame. I might be boring you, but
you’re more interesting than you’ve
ever been.

Alex turns away and starts to walk before quickly turning

around.

ALEX
Wait, so when I go to bed what’s
going to happen to you?

Jake shrugs.

JAKE
I suppose you’ll wake up with a new
version of me. Maybe a cooler one
from another universe.

ALEX
(crossing fingers)
Let’s hope for a better one!

The two share a prolonged glance at each other. Jake doesn’t

know what to say.

JAKE
(awkwardly)
See ya tomorrow.

Alex nods. Jake chuckles, then speeds off. Alex looks at the
ground for a second, thinking about the wild day he had. He
walks to his house.

INT. JAKE'S KITCHEN - EVENING

Jake enters the house and walks to the stairs, through the
kitchen. Robert’s been preparing dinner: glazed salmon,
broccoli, and rice. Robert starts speaking, and Jake mouths
along.

ROBERT
Dinner! I've made your favorite!
 16.

JAKE
(somewhat patronizing)
Salmon and day-old rice?

ROBERT
That's right! Good guess. Can you
get your brother down here?

Jake walks to the stairs and suddenly starts to shriek,

startling Robert:

JAKE
(fake panic)
LUCAS! GET DOWN NOW! SOMETHING
HORRIBLE HAS HAPPENED! DAD'S DYING!

Robert rolls his eyes, but eagerly looks up the stairs to see
how Lucas responds.

Lucas exits his room calmly with headphones on while texting.

LUCAS
(uninterested)
What's up?

Jake sighs, disappointed at Lucas’s lack of reaction.

JAKE
We're having dinner.

LUCAS
(texting)
What is it?

JAKE
Why, are you planning on not eating
it?

ROBERT
(to Lucas, singsongy)
I’ve made your favorite!

LUCAS
Let me guess: salmon and old rice?

ROBERT
Am I that predictable?

JAKE AND LUCAS

Yes.

LUCAS
Give me one second, dad.
 17.

Lucas walks back into his room.

Robert finishes setting up the table. He plops a scoop of

microwaved rice onto each plate and scoops some decent-
looking broiled salmon.

Jake grabs three water glasses and fills them up. After
placing them down, he sits down. Robert walks up to get
Lucas.

ROBERT
Where is that boy?

JAKE
(to Robert)
Don't bother, he'll open the
door...
(beat)
...now.

Right on cue, Lucas opens the door. He trudges down the

stairs, rocking to music and playing a video game.

As he comes down, Robert pulls the headphones off. They both

sit down with Jake. After eating for a moment:

ROBERT
So, Lucas, how are your classes?

Lucas's mouth is full of food, but he responds anyways.

LUCAS
(garbled)
They’re easy.

ROBERT
Chew your food.

Lucas swallows and continues.

LUCAS
I don't know, I like my art class a
lot because my teacher lets me play
on my phone.

ROBERT
(sarcastically)
Ah, a quality education!
(beat)
Jake, what about you?

Jake shrugs.
 18.

ROBERT
Nothing? What are you doing all
day, then?

JAKE
(matter-of-fact)
I’ve been in a time loop for the
last few years, and each day is the
same for me. In terms of education,
my film class is pretty good.

ROBERT
A time loop? Fun!

JAKE
(sarcastically)
Yeah, super fun.

LUCAS
I wish I could’ve been in film
class.

ROBERT
Why didn’t you pick it?

LUCAS
The teacher didn’t pick me. It’s a
bit competitive, I guess.

JAKE
You should see the kids in there.
Competitive, my ass.

Lucas goes onto his phone and texts. Jake pulls his phone
out, too. A beat.

ROBERT
You know, when I was in school, we
didn’t have these soul-sucking
devices to distract ourselves.
Every day, we’d have to do crazy
things like read or play outside.

Lucas rolls his eyes. Robert grabs his phone.

The family all sits together, eating in silence. Robert's

phone goes off, and he reads a text message.

LUCAS
Hypocrite!
 19.

ROBERT
Oh, hush. I’m an adult. Looks like
mom won’t be home until tomorrow
morning. Her flight got delayed.

Out of nowhere, Jake slams the table. Robert is confused at

the sudden burst.

ROBERT
What the hell is wrong with you?

Jake rolls his eyes.

JAKE
Nothing. I’m going upstairs.

As he exits, Robert and Lucas look at each other

uncomfortably. Jake walks up the stairs without any anger on
his face. After he’s upstairs:

ROBERT
So, Lucas, what else is going on?
Any new girls?

LUCAS
(laughs)
Dad, stop. You're ridiculous.

The two continue eating.

INT. JAKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT / MORNING

Jake walks into his room.

Jake opens his backpack and pulls out the dialogue tree from
earlier. The map's vastness is outstanding. He puts in
earbuds and bobs his head to music.

He traces through the day that he’s had, starting with a box
marked: “Mess with R + L @ breakfast,” then to “explain loop
to Alex.”

As he traces through his day, we see various lines that lead

to different outcomes. As he looks at the box marked “gas
station,” he has multiple lines drawn for the different
lottery tickets he receives, if he donates his ticket to the
attendant or gives it to Alex.

One line is marked “ARMED ROBBERY,” but no box exists from

that. Jake circles it with a pen.

JAKE
I’ll discover you tomorrow.
 20.

At the square marked “dinner w/ fam”, he draws a new line

“get rlly angry for no reason @ mom talk.” He draws a box
that says “no huge reaction, dad = mad.”

For a beat, he looks at what he’s created. Jake smiles.

He walks over to his computer, opens it up, and navigates to

a gambling website. A series of bets are about to finish.

JAKE
(to self)
In 3...2...

It’s a BIG WIN! Jake cashes out a few thousand dollars worth
of very specific sports bets.

He logs onto Twitch and finds a STREAMER (18, gamer dude)

without any viewers. He gives a donation of $25,000 with a
note “spend it all before the day ends, pls!”

The streamer reacts with shock.

STREAMER
(doesn’t believe it)
Wait... what?

He leans into his computer to verify.

STREAMER
Holy shit!! $25,000?! Is this
serious?! Thank you so much,
fartwarrior123!

Jake smiles faintly. It’s not enough, though. He looks at the

time and moves onto the next website.

After typing in the URL, he’s brought to a page:

Be our 100,000,000th account and win $1,000,000!

He spams the keyboard with account details and clicks submit.

He looks at the time: 10:01:23 PM

You are: User 99,999,999.

JAKE
Fuck!

He walks to the map and marks: Create account @ 10:01:24-26

PM.

He goes to a third tab, a PIZZA SHOP. He order 150 meat

lovers pizzas and places a generous tip. The note again:
“Spend all the money ASAP”
 21.

Later, Jake stands in the bathroom. He looks into the mirror

and tries on various facial expressions. He sprays the whole
thing down with shaving cream.

In the shower, Jake SCREAMS ALONG to music.

Lucas stands outside the door.

LUCAS
Dude! Shut up!!

Jake doesn’t listen. Suddenly, an electrical SHOCK runs

through his body, stunning him briefly. His earbuds are shot.

Back to the map, Jake puts a note: “DO NOT SHOWER WITH
EARBUDS IN”

He looks proudly at the map and TEARS IT UP. He walks to his

laptop and SNAPS IT IN HALF

After reminiscing over some of the previous experiences he's

had, he tears the map up and gets ready for it to reappear
tomorrow morning.

Jake hops into bed with a smile. Downstairs, he overhears:

ROBERT
(muffled)
WHICH ONE OF YOU ORDERED 150
PIZZAS?!

Jake smiles. We push into the clock: 11:32 P.M.

MATCH CUT TO:

6:07 A.M. Jake's eyes suddenly open, and he turns to his side
to rest for a moment.

JAKE
(to self)
Ready for another day, Jake?

Jake looks toward his closet. He puts on something plain

before exiting and walking down the stairs.

INT. JAKE'S KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Robert is cooking breakfast. Scrambled eggs, again.

JAKE
(cheerfully)
Morning, dad!
 22.

ROBERT
Good morning, J.

He ruffles Jake's hair and continues cooking.

ROBERT
Oh, your mother called: She'll be
home by dinner tonight.

JAKE
(sarcastically)
So excited!

ROBERT
Want some eggs?

Robert points to the eggs. Jake normally declines, but today:

JAKE
Sure. Thanks.

Jake goes over to the table and sits down. Jake is sitting on
his phone at the counter.

ROBERT
Lucas! Sit at the table and eat!

LUCAS
I'm not hungry.

ROBERT
Nonsense! Sit with us!

Lucas looks up and rolls his eyes.

LUCAS
Alright.

The three sit down at the table and eat.

ROBERT
So, Jake, what are you doing today?

JAKE
Oh, you know, the usual.

ROBERT
Which is?

JAKE
I dunno. There’s a party tonight. I
might go to that.
 23.

Lucas and Robert look at each other. Robert turns his

attention back to Jake.

ROBERT
Well, if you’re drinking tonight,
make sure you’re safe. Under no
circumstances do I want you driving
home, do you understand?

JAKE
(with obnoxious salute)
Sir, yes, sir!

LUCAS
Wait, since when is he allowed to
drink? Can I?

ROBERT
Absolutely not.

LUCAS
Ugh, you’re the worst!

Robert shoots a nasty look at Lucas. That shuts him up.

ROBERT
Eat your breakfast.

Lucas goes back to eating.

JAKE
Well, I’ve got to get going.

ROBERT
Wait, why are you leaving so early?

JAKE
I’ve got a project... remember?

Robert looks confused.

ROBERT
Remember what?

Jake gets up, grabs the map and a pen, then heads to his car
to go to school.

INT. MATH CLASSROOM - DAY

Jake walks into the classroom. Alex looks up at his pajamas.

 24.

ALEX
(while writing;
sarcastically)
Nice pajamas.

Jake SLAMS the map onto Alex’s desk.

JAKE
Ready to hear something crazy?

SKIP EXPLANATION
AND CUT TO:

Alex stares at Jake with his mouth slightly agape. After a

beat:

ALEX
Okay, well, let’s assume that you
are in this time loop. What number
am I thi-

JAKE
Alex, just quit it with the games
and believe me! I hate having to
explain this to you.

Alex throws his hands up in defeat.

ALEX
Alright. I believe you!

Jake gives Alex a smug look.

ALEX
So... what’s on the agenda for
today?

Jake looks around the room for something to do and overhears

a conversation between two students:

STUDENT #1
Are you going to Sterling's party
later?

Bingo! Jake turns back to Alex.

JAKE
Alex, you don’t know about
Sterling’s party yet, but that’s
what we’re doing tonight.

ALEX
It’s Monday.
 25.

JAKE
Even better! Let’s get the weekend
started with style.

Jake pokes Alex playfully.

ALEX
Are you even friends with him?

JAKE
We go way back!

Alex raises his eyebrow.

JAKE
(caving)
Okay, I don’t actually know him
know him, but his party will be
pretty fun.

ALEX
(suspicious)
You hate parties.

JAKE
It depends on how much I drink! Too
much, and... bleh. Being blacked
out with you is funny, though.

ALEX
(laughs, convinced)
Sounds like a blast.

The bell RINGS.

MRS. HYNES
OK class, remember that your limit
definitions project is due
tomorrow!

While Mrs. Hynes is speaking, Jake walks out.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

Jake walks through the crowded hallway with Alex. Jenna, the
girl from earlier, is walking far behind them.

JAKE
Quickly, turn around.

Jake and Alex turn around.

 26.

JAKE
See that girl?

ALEX
Oh, her? That’s, uh... who is she?

Jake shakes his head. If he did know who she was, he doesn’t
know anymore.

JAKE
Every day she forgets to tie her
damn shoes and... if I don’t catch
her from falling, she is going to
have a very painful day.

Jake pulls out a coin from his pocket.

JAKE
(showing heads)
Heads says I catch her, tails says
I let her hit the ground.

Jake gets ready to toss the coin, but Alex covers his hand
and gives him a mean look.

JAKE
What?

Alex continues to stare him down.

ALEX
Seriously, dude?

JAKE
Relax, she’ll be fine tomorrow.

ALEX
You’re an asshole.

Alex gives a hard stare to Jake. This convinces him. Jake

throws up his hands.

JAKE
Fine! I’ll save her today.
Tomorrow, though, she’s hitting the
ground.

Alex rolls his eyes. As soon as Jake finishes talking, she

begins to trip. Jake lunges forward and catches her, making
sure that none of her books fall.

JENNA
Thank you!
 27.

JAKE
Yup. See you tomorrow!

Jenna scurries ahead of them. Alex thinks about what her name
is as she walks away.

ALEX
Jamie!

JAKE
What?

ALEX
That’s her name!

JAKE
Her name doesn’t matter. I have
this theory I’m the main character
in a video game and saving her from
tripping is one of those fun side
quests.

ALEX
(dumbfounded)
What is wrong with you?

Jake and Alex keep going. After arriving in front of a

classroom door adorned with various film elements. Jake looks
at the door, but doesn’t go in.

ALEX
Not going to class today?

JAKE
Nah. Remember that big film project
I was working on?

ALEX
Yeah, why?

JAKE
Well, if I go in, Mrs. Washington
is going to tell me that I didn’t
even place at competition.
(beat)
I haven’t been to class for months
now. It’s too big of a hit to my
ego.

ALEX
You and your ego. I couldn’t name a
more inseparable duo.

We hold on a two shot of our second-most inseparable duo.

 28.

JAKE
Oh, by the way, you’re about to
BOMB a history test.

ALEX
Wow, reassuring! Thanks.

Jake pulls out a pen and grabs Alex’s hand. While talking,
Alex looks into Jake’s eyes momentarily.

JAKE
(while writing, a bit
distracted)
Fortunately... I’ve got the answers
for you. Wait a few minutes before
checking your hand, otherwise Mrs.
Molina catches you cheating and
will call you out in front of
everybody. Talk about an ego
killer.

ALEX
Got it. Thanks, Jake. I gotta go
now.

Jake nods at Alex. Jake watches Alex walk away before turning
his own way and walking down the hallway.

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. JAKE'S BEDROOM - EARLY EVENING

Jake walks into his room. He starts rummaging through his

clothes to get ready. He pulls up his dialogue tree and looks
over at the “STERLING’S PARTY” section. On it, we start at a
box labeled: “What outfit?,” and as he looks at his different
outfits, we see lines connecting them to different outcomes.

JAKE
(while flicking through
clothes)
Already done... did that...
check...

Once he looks through most of his clothing, it appears that

he’s gone in almost every outfit he owns...

...except for a full suit.

JAKE
Full suit? Let’s do it.
 29.

Jake gets into the suit. After most of the clothes are on, he
starts putting on his shoes. Suddenly, a KNOCK.

JAKE
Come in, Lucas!

Lucas, dressed in a childish Fortnite shirt and basketball

shorts, walks into the room timidly.

JAKE
What’s up, buddy?

LUCAS
Can I come to Sterling’s party? My
friends are going and dude, you owe
this to me after what you did
yesterday.

JAKE
What’d I do yesterday?
(a beat, thinking)
It doesn’t matter. No.

Lucas puffs with rage storms out of the room. Jake shrugs.
Whatever. He continues putting on his shoes. He looks over at
the dialogue tree.

On the dialogue tree, we see that on a box marked “Lucas asks

me to go to the party,” there’s only one line connecting it:
“Absolutely not.”

While looking at it, Jake scoffs.

JAKE
(to self)
Why would I invite him? He’d just
make everything worse.

He goes back to tying his shoes, but after a beat he GROANS.

He finishes tying his shoes and quickly gets up before
leaving the room.

INT. LUCAS’S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

Jake opens Lucas’s bedroom. His room is substantially more

messy than Jake’s.

Lucas is sitting on his bed, scrolling through his phone. He

notices Jake, but keeps looking at his phone.

LUCAS
Get out, Jake.
 30.

Jake looks like he’s about to say something mean, but takes a
deep breath and readjusts.

JAKE
Look, Lucas, I’m sorry. I really
am.

LUCAS
I don’t care.

JAKE
Lucas, I promise I’ll change in the
future.
(beat)
But... since that’s not coming any
time soon, I suppose I can be nicer
to you now. That being said, do you
want to go to the party with me?

Lucas looks up from his phone.

LUCAS
(hopeful)
Wait, really?

JAKE
Of course! It’s the least I can do
for you.

Lucas hops out of bed quickly.

LUCAS
(rushing Jake)
Let’s go!

JAKE
Woah, you’ve gotta change before we
can leave.

Lucas looks down at his ridiculous outfit.

LUCAS
(overconfident)
I’m a stud already. Why would I
need to change to impress the
ladies when they already love me?

Lucas walks over and smugly spritzes some cologne onto

himself.

LUCAS
(confidently)
Let’s go get some girls.
 31.

JAKE
(laughs)
You’re ridiculous. Let’s go.

INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Jake and Lucas walk down the stairs. Robert is watching a

move in the living room.

JAKE
Bye, dad! We’ll be back later!

ROBERT
That’s great, just don’t do
anything stupid!
(realizing that he said
“we”)
Wait, we?!

LUCAS
I’m heading out, too!

The two walk out of the house.

I/E STERLING’S HOUSE - EVENING

Jake and Lucas arrive at a nice house. A few teenagers loiter

around the outside, but loud THUMPING of party music can be
heard, and the windows flash multi-colored lights.

Jake and Lucas turn to each other.

JAKE
Ready?

LUCAS
Let’s go.

Jake and Lucas flip down shades and walk in. Cool guys.

As they walk into the house, they’re bombarded with loud

music and a crowd of people moving.

Lucas looks overwhelmed, but Jake grabs him by the arm and
leads him through the crowd to his kitchen.

On the table in front of the two we see a smorgasbord of

alcohol. Handles of half-empty vodka containers are scattered
amongst an array of colorful liquors.
 32.

JAKE
See that?
(points to some tequila)
Don’t drink that one, it tastes
like shit. This one, on the other
hand -
(points to a plain looking
vodka handle)
Will get you fuuucked.

He gives himself a hefty pour of the vodka and hands the

handle to Lucas.

JAKE
Here you go!

LUCAS
Am I supposed to pour it myself? I
don’t even know how much I’m
supposed to drink.

Jake shrugs.

JAKE
(shouting over the music)
Just drink until your head starts
feeling funny!

Horrible advice. Lucas takes it anyways, gives himself a nice

pour, and clinks cups with Jake. The night is off!

After downing the alcohol, Lucas starts to violently cough.

Jake finds an open gallon of lemonade.

JAKE
Here, use this as a chaser!

LUCAS
Would’ve been nice to know that
before...

Jake is pulled aside by somebody. It’s Alex, who is very

drunk. He leans against the hallway.

ALEX
Oh my god! You made it, Jake!

Lucas awkwardly looks around before locking eyes on a PRETTY

GIRL, at least a few years his senior.

LUCAS
(shouting)
Hey, there! Are you looking for a
bit of young love tonight?
 33.

The girl looks at Lucas’s outfit and laughs to her friend,

Lucas walks over anyways.

Back to Jake and Alex, who are walking through the house.
Well, Jake is walking; Alex is stumbling.

ALEX
How are you doing, buddy?

Jake gives a ridiculous smile. No matter how many times he

sees Alex like this he still finds it hilarious.

JAKE
(amused)
I’m fine. How much have you had to
drink?

Alex tries to count on his fingers.

ALEX
Well, I had one shot, then another,
then shotgunned a beer, then
another shot, and I just took one
more. That’s... what? Three shots?

JAKE
(chuckles)
I don’t think your math is adding
up.

ALEX
I think that you haven’t had enough
to drink. Take a few more shots.

JAKE
Alright, big man! Pour me!

Alex goes to pour a couple more shots for Jake. He spills

alcohol all over. Jake downs all the shots in a row without
any reaction while Alex looks on in dopey astonishment.

Jake pulls Alex into the living room and to the center of the
mob. It’s a colorful mess of loud party music and sweaty
teenagers jumping senselessly.

We see Jake progress through the night, switching between

more shots and partying throughout the house.

Jake slows down and collapses in a seat in the foyer. After a

moment, the front door opens.

For the first time, we see SARAH WELLS (17, gorgeous, closed
off) walk through the door. Oh shit. Jake hops out of his
seat and tries to look confident.
 34.

JAKE
Looking good, babe.

SARAH
(disgusted)
Oh... hey, Jake.

Jake goes in for a big kiss. She’s not having it.

JAKE
What’s wrong? Oh, let me guess,
you’re PMSing again?

Ew. Jake immediately cringes at himself.

SARAH
(convictive)
Funny. You wanna apologize for that
one?

JAKE
Yeah, probably shouldn’t have said
that.

An uncomfortable beat. For a high school couple, these two

are especially awkward.

SARAH
Look, Jake. I came here to talk to
you. Mind if we move somewhere
separately?

Jake knows what’s coming next. Ugh. He drunkenly walks over

to the kitchen.

JAKE
Let me guess: you’re mad because
you failed your orchestra
performance?

SARAH
I - how did you know that? I didn’t
tell you.

Jake shrugs.

SARAH
Whatever.

Jake and Sarah sit down next to each other.

SARAH
I’m not sure how to say this, Jake.
We just... don’t connect anymore.
(MORE)
 35.
SARAH (CONT’D)
For the last few weeks you’ve been
so distant and I’m not sure if
you’re just pulling away because of
something else or if it’s my fault.

JAKE
It’s something else.

She figured.

SARAH
Is it someone else?

JAKE
God, no!

Is it? Jake doesn’t seem so sure on a second thought.

SARAH
(getting up)
Right. Um, I have to go.

Sarah gets up. She balls her fists up and works up some
courage.

SARAH
I... we should take a break. This
isn’t working.

JAKE
You know, you’ve broken up with me
a thousand times. I just don’t get
it, is there no way you’ll change
your mind?

Sarah has no idea what the hell Jake is talking about.

SARAH
I... what? I don’t know what you’re
talking about, J.

JAKE
Forget it. It’s fine, we’ll go our
own direction. We’re mature adults.

The two occupy the same space for a moment. Mature adults.
Sarah leaves.

Jake lays at the table before looking across the house at the
outside porch. Alex is walking to sit outside. Jake follows.

As he leaves, we catch up with Lucas. In the kitchen, he’s

sitting with the girl from earlier and her friend, wrapped
around his arms. The little guy’s got serious pull.
 36.

LUCAS
So, ladies. What do you say we take
this upstairs?

PRETTY GIRL
You’re cute.

Both girls give him a kiss on the cheek at the same time.
Does he get with them? Probably not. We don’t stick around to
find out.

EXT. STERLING'S BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

Jake slides open the door and steps out. The sound of the
party is drowned as he makes his way down to the backyard.
Alex is sitting on a lawn chair facing the lake. Jake
stumbles to a seat next to Alex.

While Jake is clearly too drunk to fully comprehend how

beautiful the night is, he stares out into the lake for a
moment and relaxes.

The two are still clearly a bit drunk but coming off of it
slightly.

A beat. At the same time:

ALEX JAKE
How’s the night been? Sarah just broke up with me.

Alex sits up.

ALEX
Wait, what?

JAKE
Yeah, she does this every night.

ALEX
I thought -

JAKE
I lied. I never break up with her.
I don’t have the heart to do it. No
matter what I do, she walks in to
this party and breaks up with me.
That’s why I don’t usually go.

ALEX
I’m sorry to hear that. I’m always
here for you, dude.
 37.

The two sit in silence. Jake sits and thinks about what he’s
going to say next. After a beat:

JAKE
I -

He decides not to say it.

ALEX
What?

Fuck it.

JAKE
I’ve been thinking about this for a
long time.

ALEX
Thinking about what?

JAKE
Can you keep a secret?

Alex nods.

JAKE (CONT'D)
Do you know what the worst part of
being trapped in this loop is? It’s
not that I get dumped by my
girlfriend every single time I see
her without fail. It’s not the fact
that I wake up in this stupid city
in the middle of February and I
can’t do anything to change it.
It’s not the knowing that my life
can’t add up to anything because
there are literally no consequences
for my actions. You want to know
what it is?
(beat)
It’s the fact that I have sat here
on this day for my entire life
knowing that I am in love with you.

Alex coughs violently. Jake continues rambling.

JAKE (CONT'D)
I’ve wasted the last few years
dating Sarah when I knew that the
person who I really belong with is
you. I know everything there is to
know about you, but I’ve never been
able to work up the courage to just
tell you how I feel. But...
(MORE)
 38.
JAKE (CONT'D)
(he chokes up)
...even though I’m telling you this
now, I won’t get to live with this.
You are the one constant in my life
that I’ll never get to have.

Alex looks on into the distance; the foundation of his

closest friendship has just been shattered.

ALEX
I...

Jake puts on a wry smile.

JAKE
It’s okay, you won’t remember
anyways.

Suddenly, Lucas pulls the patio door open. He’s still drunk,
but a phone call with his dad has sobered him up a bit.

LUCAS
(yelling across the
backyard)
Jake! It’s 11:00 and we haven’t
left yet. Dad is pissed.

JAKE
(not facing Lucas)
Whooo cares about dad?

LUCAS
(shouting, cups ear to
hear better)
What?

JAKE
(to Alex)
This fuckin’ guy.

Alex nods his head softly. He’s still focused on Jake’s

confession. Lucas is frustrated.

LUCAS
Jake?!

Lucas starts to jog over to Jake, but trips on the way over
in his drunkenness. He gets back up and walks to Jake.

LUCAS
Get up! We’ve got to go.
(to Alex)
Hey, Alex.
 39.

ALEX
(quietly)
Hey, Lucas.

LUCAS
How are you?

ALEX
(staring forward)
Uh...

JAKE
Let’s go!

Jake rockets out of his seat and stares at Alex for a second.
Alex doesn’t look up.

As Jake walks away, we hold on Alex, who looks emotionally

devastated. After a beat, he quickly gets out of his chair.

ALEX
Jake, wait!

He’s already inside. Alex sits back down slowly and looks out
to the lake again.

INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - THAT NIGHT

Jake and Lucas STUMBLE into their house. Robert is still

watching a movie in the living room. Jake tries to sneak
through, though his attempts are feeble.

ROBERT
Jake! Come here...

Fuck. Jake tries to shake himself sober for a second, before

looking in a mirror and shrugging. He doesn’t care.

Jake drunkenly walks over to Robert, who pauses the movie.

Lucas hugs the corner and stays out of sight. Jake
desperately tries to seem sober.

JAKE
Hello, dad.

Robert gestures for Jake to sit on the couch with him.

ROBERT
(sternly)
Jake. You're drunk.
 40.

JAKE
(slowly)
No. You are drunk.

Robert gives Jake a stern look for a second before bursting

into laughter. This somewhat surprises Jake.

ROBERT
Look. I was a teenager once, too.
I'd hate it when my parents would
reprimand me for drinking too much.
Tonight, it's fine. Just... don't
make it a habit. The road to
addiction is a dark place and I
don't want to see you end up like
my father.

Jake nods his head for a second before starting to sob

quietly. This surprises Robert.

JAKE
Dad, I love you so much, and I know
I don't say it very much, but even
if you don't remember today I will.
It's been such a long time since
I've seen mom, and you're always
the one here for me; I don't always
show my appreciation, but it's nice
that I can wake up every morning
and you're making breakfast even
though I get sick of eggs after so
long.

Jake leans into his dad's chest and gives him a hug. Robert
is a bit taken aback by his speech but returns the hug
anyways.

ROBERT
I love you, too, J.
(beat)
Alright. It’s time for bed!

Robert picks Jake up and gives him a little push. Jake

stumbles upstairs to his bed. Robert resumes his movie. Lucas
tries to sneak past.

ROBERT
Lucas... not so fast!

Lucas turns toward Robert.

 41.

ROBERT
Dude, you’re fifteen. Cool it on
the partying until you’re a senior
or something, alright?

Lucas gives a stupid thumbs up and walks up to his room.

Robert sits on the couch and looks at the mantle. Resting on
top is a photo of a MUCH YOUNGER ROBERT, at a party with his
friends.

Robert gets up and picks up the image. The younger version of

him looks a lot like Jake. He smiles and puts it down.

INT. JAKE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT / DAY

After getting back in his bedroom, Jake looks at the alarm

clock. 11:59 PM, FEBRUARY 20th.

JAKE
(pointing at clock)
You. I hate you.

He walks to his bed and plops down. After a few seconds, he

falls asleep.

We watch the alarm clock as the colon between the hours and
minutes flash. 11:59 PM. We slowly push in to obscure the
date as the seconds past until 12:00 AM.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! It’s 6:07 AM once again. Jake groans. He

went overboard last night and now has a raging hangover.

Jake goes to his closet to switch out of the pajamas he

usually wakes up in, only to find that they’re on the floor.
He looks down at his own outfit, which is the same one he
wore last night. Odd.

Jake walks out of his room and down the stairs.

INT. JAKE’S KITCHEN - MORNING

He sees Robert making eggs, as per usual.

ROBERT
Good morning, J!

JAKE
Good morning, dad.

Jake fills up a glass of water and chugs all of it.

 42.

ROBERT
(while cooking, to Jake)
Oh, your mother called -

JAKE
Yeah, I know. She’ll be here later
today. I’ve got to go, there’s a
big project due.

Jake walks over to the living room to grab the map to

construct his dialogue tree, but it's not there. Jake sees
another map on the floor and grabs that, then steps out of
the house.

Lucas bursts out of his room and makes his way down the
stairs.

Once in the kitchen, Lucas groans loudly and puts his head
down.

ROBERT
Not so fun the day after, is it?

LUCAS
I need some peace and quiet.

ROBERT
Oh, your mom will be here in about
thirty minutes! You can say hi to
her. Jake left really early.

Lucas nods his head, and puts in earbuds.

INT. MATH CLASSROOM - DAY

Jake walks into class, holding his head in his hands. Alex
notices him walking in, but doesn't say anything. Jake sits
down.

After a moment, he puts the newly constructed dialogue tree

onto Alex's desk.

ALEX
What’s this?
(notices the map)
Oh, God. Not this agin.

Jake suddenly looks at Alex, seemingly snapping out of his

hangover.

JAKE
Again? What do you mean, again?
 43.

ALEX
Let me guess... you’re in a time
loop, and you know exactly what I’m
going to say.

Jake stares at the map. Mrs. Hynes walks up behind him.

MRS. HYNES
Jake, I noticed you didn’t turn in
your project. It’s due today, do
you have it with you?

Jake’s world is spiraling out of control. What. Is.

Happening?! He looks up at Mrs. Hynes.

JAKE
Uh... I have to go.

Jake begins to stumble out of class. Mrs. Hynes and Alex look
at each other.

MRS. HYNES
Is he alright?

ALEX
He partied a bit too hard last
night; it made him a bit...
(makes the Cuckoo signal)

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - LATER

In a panic, Jake runs down the hallways before finding a

water fountain. He turns it on and runs his face through the
water.

The girl from before who dropped her books, Jenna, stops in
her footsteps and stares at him.

JENNA
Are you alright?

JAKE
This?
(gestures to everything)
This isn’t happening right now. You
aren’t supposed to be here right
now! In -
(checks watch)
fifteen minutes, you’re going to
trip over your shoelaces and if I’m
not in this hallway you’ll bash
your head on the floor. Not fun for
you, right?
 44.

Jenna raises her eyebrow at him.

JENNA
Um, that happened yesterday. I got
new shoes, see?

She points to her new velcro shoes. Jake manically laughs. He

slides against the locker to the floor.

Jenna looks concerned and puts her books down.

JENNA
Look. I’m not sure what’s going on
in your life, but I really
appreciated you helping me out
yesterday.

She sits next to Jake.

JENNA
What’s going on with you?

JAKE
(deep breath)
Alright, to make a long story
short: I was stuck in a time loop.
I can try to prove it to you later.
Today, for the first time in...
years? I’m out of it.

Jenna looks on with concern.

JAKE
(laughs)
You know, it’s kinda funny! In this
whole loop, I never learned your
name.

Jenna thinks he’s joking.

JENNA
(awkwardly)
Oh, it’s Jenna. Jenna Lewis.

She offers her hand for a shake. Jake accepts it.

JAKE
Nice to finally meet you, Jenna.
I’m Jake.

The bell RINGS. Students begin to flood out of their

classrooms, but Jenna and Jake stay together.
 45.

JENNA
You’re joking, right?

Jake looks on with a confused stare.

JENNA
You’re Jake Thompson. We literally
have a class together this ye-
(after seeing Jake shaking
his head)
Okay, whatever. You want some
wisdom? Say you were in a time
loop, like in -

JAKE JENNA
Groundhog Day. Groundhog Day.

Jenna smiles a bit at this.

JENNA
Right. Well, in a time loop, your
life is pointless. You can’t make
any real change in your life
because every day resets. Now that
you’re out of that loop, there’s
real purpose to every decision you
make. I think that’s worth
celebrating, right?

Jake nods his head. She checks her phone.

JENNA
I’ve gotta get to class.
(beat)
Again, thanks for helping me out
yesterday. I hope you get this
sorted out.

JAKE
Wow, thanks, Jenna! Sorry I forgot
your name.

Jenna laughs, gets up, and walks off to class. Jake doesn’t
get up. He sees a shadow walk by him and looks up. It’s Alex.
Jake stands up to walk over to his locker.

JAKE
Hey, Alex.

ALEX
(uninterested)
Hi, Jake.
 46.

JAKE
This is the first time in years
that I have no idea what to say to
you.

ALEX
Really? No way.

JAKE
You do believe me, right?

Alex closes his locker and looks at Jake.

ALEX
All that stuff you showed me
yesterday is... impossible. I
believe there’s some truth to what
you think happened, but... a time
loop?

JAKE
I know it sounds insane but I SWEAR
that I can prove it to you.

ALEX
It’s not the time loop that’s the
issue.

JAKE
What is?

Alex shakes his head angrily.

ALEX
Do you seriously not have any idea
what you said to me last night?

JAKE
Alex, last night means a lot more
to me than it means to you. I’ve
had a thousand last nights and at
this point they all blur together.

ALEX
(exasperated)
Great. So you don’t even remember
what you said.

JAKE
Wait, what did I say?

Jake looks genuinely forgetful. Alex looks at him with pity.

 47.

ALEX
You... forget it.

JAKE
Wait, I think I remember.
(beat, Alex looks hopeful)
Did I tell you about the lottery
numbers?

ALEX
(is disappointed)
What lottery numbers? Ugh. You’re
ridiculous.

JAKE
(laughs)
Look, if it’s something I said, can
you just tell me?

Jake isn’t taking this seriously. Alex isn’t impressed.

ALEX
You can’t fuck with my feelings
like this, Jake. It’s not fair to
me.

Jake suddenly realizes what he told Alex last night.

JAKE
Oh, shit.

ALEX
Right. I have to go.

Alex storms off. Jake feels defeated by this conversation.

After a beat, Jake begins to walk down the hallway, peeking

into various classrooms, until he sees a room adorned with
film posters.

INT. FILM CLASSROOM - LATER

Jake slowly cracks open the door of the film classroom. In

the classroom we see MRS. WASHINGTON (40s, seems way younger
than she is) teaching a class of uninterested students.

MRS. WASHINGTON
So, can anybody tell me why we
should shoot horizontally if we’re
using our phones to film something?

She stands and waits for a second before sighing.

 48.

JAKE
(from behind her)
Because vertical video looks
ridiculous?

MRS. WASHINGTON
Oh, Jake! That’s right! Thanks for
deciding to show up today.

Nobody seems to care. In the back of the classroom, we see

Jenna looking up and taking notes. Mrs. Washington sits back
down at her desk, and Jake sits next to her.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Oh, Jake. I have some bad news. You
didn’t place at the festival.

JAKE
Yeah, I know.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Well, if you wanted to re-edit the
video, you could probably send it
off to another competition and see
if you could place! I know you put
a lot of work into that; I’m sorry.

JAKE
It’s alright.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Also, since you weren’t here
yesterday to sort through my
paperwork, I have a lot of stuff
for you to do.

Mrs. Washington grabs an enormous stack of various

assignments and places them on his desk.

JAKE
(to self)
No wonder I stopped coming.
(mockingly)
Being a teacher’s assistant will be
so easy!

While flipping through papers, he sees a shiny poster for a

film competition that reads: “CENTRAL FLORIDA TEEN FILM
SLAM.” Jake shows it to Mrs. Washington.

JAKE
What’s this?
 49.

MRS. WASHINGTON
When my students cared about the
class, we’d win awards there every
year! I wouldn’t even bother
applying now.

JAKE
How does it work?

MRS. WASHINGTON
You have seven days to plan, shoot,
and edit a film with a certain
prompt.

JAKE
What’s the prompt?

MRS. WASHINGTON
Are you sure you want to apply?
It’s a lot of work!

JAKE
(overdramatic)
Yeah, might as well distract myself
from the eternal pain of losing.

A beat.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Last time you worked alone, so
maybe you should get a crew
together this time. The prompt is
on the website.

Mrs. Washington gets out of her chair and scans the room. Her
students sit on their phones and screw around on their
computers. Why are they even in this course?

That is, except for Jenna, who’s diligently editing something

on her computer.

MRS. WASHINGTON
(to Jake)
At least I have one other student
who gives a shit.
(across the room,
searching)
Jenna! Where are you?

Jake looks up, and is surprised to see Jenna, who quickly

hops out of her chair. He points to herself, confused.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Could you come here, please?
 50.

JAKE
Wait, why are you in this class?

Jenna raises her eyebrow at his hostility.

JENNA
What? I’ve been in here all year.

Jake looks confused.

JENNA

Remember? We worked on a project

together.

Jake shakes his head.

JENNA
(sarcastically)
Oh... right. You were stuck in the
time loop. What’s up, Mrs.
Washington?

MRS. WASHINGTON
I’m assembling a team to
participate in an elite film
competition!

Jenna looks down at the poster.

JENNA
The Central Florida Film Slam?
Isn’t that for middle schoolers?

MRS. WASHINGTON
They have a very distinguished
jury.

JAKE
‘Distinguished’ meaning the local
librarians.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Oh, hush. You two will need a third
to round out the team.

Mrs. Washington randomly picks a name from the attendance

sheet.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Sterling! Get over here.

STERLING KNIGHT (17, handsome, jocky and somewhat dumb

looking) quickly looks up from his phone and walks over.
 51.

STERLING
What’d I do this time?

MRS. WASHINGTON
You’re going to help Jake and Jenna
on this film project.
(to group)
I already told Jake here, but
you’ll have seven days to make a
film with a certain prompt.

STERLING
I’m sorry, what is this? I don’t
want to participate in this.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Mr. Knight, I am creating a 1,000
point assignment and will give you
a zero if you don’t participate.

STERLING
Okay, geez. I’ll do it.

JAKE
Oh, wait, we should probably check
the prompt before entering.

Jake Googles the film festival. On the page, a ghost flies up

and reveals the prompt: “IN THE DARK.”

STERLING
So, is this, like, a horror thing?

JENNA
Looks like it.

JAKE
Before we start planning, could we
assign roles? I can write and
direct, Jenna can shoot and act,
and Sterling can be an assistant.
Does that work?

Jenna doesn’t like that Jake is taking control immediately,

but reluctantly nods.

JAKE
Alright. I’ll look for ideas
tonight and present them tomorrow.
 52.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Jake arrives home from school and throws his backpack across
the living room.

JAKE
(loudly and sing-songy)
I’m hooome!

MELISSA (O.S.)
What’s that, sweetie?

Just then: MELISSA (40s, long black hair, in business suit),

Jake’s mom, steps into the kitchen. Jake looks at her with
shock, since he hasn’t seen her since the loop.

JAKE
(in shock)
Mom!!!

Jake runs over to Melissa in tears. She doesn’t quite

understand why he’s so happy to see her, but appreciates the
love.

MELISSA
(caressing his shoulder)
It’s great to see you again, J.

JAKE
(through tears, laughing)
You have no idea.

The two hold in their embrace for a moment. Robert and Lucas
walk in from the living room.

ROBERT
What’s all this ruckus?

JAKE
Dad! Lucas! Mom’s home!

ROBERT
Yeah, buddy. I told you her flight
was delayed.

Robert sees Jakes tears and looks at Melissa. She doesn’t

know why he’s crying, either. He walks in and hugs the two of
them.
 53.

INT. JAKE'S KITCHEN - THAT EVENING

After their touching reunion, the family all gets together

for dinner. Each member has their own role in preparing the
meal.

After finishing cooking, they sit down with a delicious

looking dinner and begin to dig in.

MELISSA
So, Jake, what have you been up to
recently?

Jake laughs, not even knowing where to begin. Melissa smiles

at his laugh.

MELISSA
What’s so funny?

Jake begins to laugh even harder.

JAKE
(through laughter)
It’s just - haha - I don’t even
know where to begin.

Melissa looks to Robert and Lucas to find out what he’s been
up to.

LUCAS
What? This dude has been up to jack
shit; I have no clue what he’s
talking about.

MELISSA
Lucas, language.

JAKE
Alright, if I told you guys that I
was in a time loop and lived the
same yesterday over and over again,
would you believe me?

ROBERT
(while eating)
No.

Jake realizes the absurdity of the time loop situation and

abandons trying to explain it.

JAKE
Okay, well, I’ve been digging into
my own character and I’m now
dedicated to being a better person.
 54.

ROBERT
(to Lucas)
See? It looks like you could learn
a thing or two from your brother.

Lucas looks up at Jake and scoffs. Melissa gives him a light

smack.

MELISSA
I’m happy to hear that you’ve had a
productive few days, Jake.

The family continues to eat. They look happy.

INT. JAKE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT/DAY

Jake walks into his room with a smile on his face. He puts
his backpack on his desk, and pulls out his computer, a
charger, and plugs it in.

He grabs the dialogue tree out of his backpack and sets it

down. Jake reminisces over the dialogue tree, looking through
the various paths he was able to construct each morning.

He crumples it up and gets ready to toss it into his trash

can, but ultimately decides to uncrumple it and lay it back
out on his desk.

JAKE
(to self)
It doesn’t hurt to keep a few
memories...

He turns his attention to his computer and goes back to the

website where the film festival was announced. He pulls out a
piece of paper and scribbles down ideas.

These ideas suck. He crosses them out and turns to YouTube to

ideas. After typing in “Short film in the dark,” he scrolls
through a few videos before landing on David F. Sandberg’s
Lights Out short. Promising.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Jake’s alarm goes off, jolting him awake. He looks at his

computer, surrounded by the notes he took last night.

Jake gets out of bed.

JAKE
(to self)
Alright, Jake. Today is the first
day of the rest of your life.
 55.

He gets dressed, packs up his bag, and looks at the dialogue

tree.

INT. FILM CLASSROOM - THE NEXT DAY

Jake walks into class and goes to his desk. Jenna is already
sitting on the other side, ready to go. Sterling is on his
phone.

JAKE
Guys, I have a great idea!

Jake pulls out his computer and flips it around to show them
the short film. After a few moments:

JENNA
Why are you showing us this?

JAKE
This is what we’re going to make!

STERLING
Why don’t we come up with something
original?

JENNA
(to Sterling’s remark)
Yeah, I agree with him.

STERLING
(continuing thought)
Let’s have ChatGPT write it for us.

JENNA
(frustrated)
Wait, no. That’s worse.

JAKE
As long as we change things up a
bit, it’s not technically copying!
Also, we only have four days so we
don’t have time to plan something
else out.

Jenna doesn’t look impressed. Sterling stares at his phone.

On Jenna’s disapproving stare:

JAKE
C’mon guys... we’ve got this!

Jake’s optimism makes her smile.

 56.

JENNA
Whatever you say, Jake.

And with that, we’re off!

BEGIN MONTAGE

As the upbeat JR JR song As Time Goes plays, we begin a

montage of the next week of Jake’s life:

Jake, Jenna, and Sterling going into the back closet of the
film room and grabbing film supplies.

The trio trying on various costumes for their film and having
a generally good time.

Jake runs home and hugs his parents.

The Thompson’s all eat dinner together, laughing.

Jake stays up late studying for exams and working on

storyboarding for the short film.

The next morning, Jake is a bit tired, but happy. 3 days

left.

Jake in math class the next morning, struggling to answer the

question.

In film class, Jake in a group with Jenna and Sterling

talking about ideas.

Back to dinner, with Jake just as jovial as he was the night

before.

Jake stays up late again studying for math.

The next morning, Jake looks happy. 2 days left.

The next day, Jake raises his hand in class and gets the
question right. Alex is happy he got the question right.

Later that night at Sterling’s house, Jake is working on

filming his short film with Sterling and Jenna. Jake stands
behind Sterling, who’s filming, while Jenna peers around a
corner as the leading actress. She looks scared.

Jake comes home too late for dinner, with the dishes already
put up. It’s fine, he goes upstairs and starts editing
together the footage.

Jake wakes up and hops out of bed the next morning. 1 day
left.
 57.

In math class the next day, Jake pulls out his computer and
works on editing instead of answering questions. Alex looks
on in the distance.

Jake shows Jenna and Sterling the progress he’s made.

That night, he stays up until midnight. We see the clock turn

from 11:59 PM to 12:00 AM over his shoulder.

At the end of the song, Jake finishes editing the short film
and after exporting his film, he clicks on a large “SUBMIT
FILM” button. It’s 2:57 AM. He leans back in his chair, proud
of his accomplishments.

INT. MATH CLASSROOM - THE NEXT WEEK

Jake struts into math class. Alex scribbles down notes.

JAKE
(sing-song-y)
Guess what happens today?

ALEX
(not having it)
What?

JAKE
(still happy)
Oh, don’t give me that attitude.
Today the results for the a very
fancy film competition come out.
Guess who’s going to be coming home
with a shiny trophy?

ALEX
Congrats.

Jake pauses. He gives a weird look to Alex, who continues

taking notes.

JAKE
You know, it’d be nice if you
showed me some support whenever I
worked on a big project.

ALEX
(angrily, not looking
back)
Go to hell, Jake.

JAKE
Dude, what’s your problem?
 58.

ALEX
(snaps)
Give me some fucking space! Holy
shit, you are so insufferable
sometimes.

Jake scoffs.

Alex quickly picks up his stuff and storms out of class.

JAKE
(loudly)
Alex, wait! I’m sorry!

Alex doesn’t listen.

MRS. HYNES
Mr. Thompson, please keep your
voice down.

JAKE
Can I go to the bathroom?

MRS. HYNES
(sternly)
No. Finish your work.

Jake sighs, and after a beat, goes back to his work.

INT. FILM CLASSROOM - LATER

Jake walks into class, and sees Sterling and Jenna sitting at
his desk. They look like they’ve just gotten some bad news.

JAKE
What’s wrong, guys?

MRS. WASHINGTON
Oh, Jake. Come here.

Mrs. Washington pulls Jake aside.

MRS. WASHINGTON
I just want to preface this with
saying that I loved the work that
you put together.

Jake looks confused.

JAKE
Uh, okay?
 59.

MRS. WASHINGTON
But, it didn’t place at the
festival.

JAKE
What do you mean it didn’t place?
We didn’t even get into the top
three?

Mrs. Washington nods. Jake stares forward, devastated. After

a beat, he walks to his desk and sits down. Jenna goes to
comfort him, but he doesn’t react.

JENNA
Look, this isn’t all bad! We can re-
edit it for a future competition
and try again.

Jake sighs and puts his head in his hands.

INT. JAKE'S HOUSE - EVENING

Jake steps in the house and gives his mother a big, sad hug.
He doesn’t say anything to her.

At dinner, the family eats and while Robert, Lucas, and

Melissa are talking, Jake keeps his eyes focused on the food.

In his bedroom, Jake slowly walks in and sits on his laptop.

He pulls out a large math textbook and begins to study.

After writing down a few notes, he looks over at the dialogue

tree, resting on his desk. He picks it up and covers his
mouth with it before letting out a muffled SCREAM. He rips
the map up and scatters the pieces on his desk.

After destroying the dialogue tree, he rests for a second

before picking up his pencil and returning to studying.

A little bit after midnight, Jake goes to bed.

BEGIN MONTAGE

A new cycle begins in Jake’s life, consisting of the exact

same routine.
NOTE: In each new scene, we match cut on Jake’s
bored/depressed face.

In the morning, Jake drives to school.

In class, Jake stares forward and silently takes notes.

 60.

In DVP, he watches Mrs. Washington as she teaches to a class

of uninterested students.

After school, Jake walks into the house and eats dinner with
his family.

He studies before going to bed late.

He waves to Alex in the hallway, who doesn’t seem to notice

him.

Each day, Jake looks a bit more tired.

Jake wakes up. He sits in math. Alex talks to other friends.

He longingly looks forward in his film class. He eats dinner
without saying a word.

This cycle repeats several times. Jake looks increasingly

jaded and depressed as the cuts grow quicker.

One night, Jake skips the studying and scrolls through his
phone instead. He opens up Instagram and swipes through
photos of his friends, liking their photos that seem much
more interesting than his life.

He sees a photo of Alex hanging out with a group of new

friends. Jake turns off his phone and goes to bed.

INT. FILM CLASSROOM - THE NEXT DAY

Jake looks jaded, as usual, as Mrs. Washington teaches.

MRS. WASHINGTON
(droning on)
So, in essence, the tighter the
aperture is, the more stuff will be
in focus of the camera... which
matters why?

She desperately looks around for an answer. Upon seeing

nobody:

MRS. WASHINGTON
(to self)
Remind me why I left ESPN for this?

Jake quietly chuckles at her comment. The bell RINGS. While

packing up his stuff, Sterling walks up to his desk.

STERLING
Hey, Jake. I’m throwing tonight.
You should come.
 61.

JAKE
(scratching neck)
I don’t know.

STERLING
Dude! Snap out of this attitude! I
know you’re upset about losing this
competition but that’s no reason to
be such a downer.

JAKE
(mumbles)
That’s not what it’s about...

STERLING
Then what is it?
(beat)
Anyways, I have all the drinks you
could want. Please, I am BEGGING
you to get shit faced with me
tonight.

Mrs. Washington raises her eyebrow at this comment.

MRS. WASHINGTON
I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear
that.

STERLING
You’ve been looking a bit upset,
too, Mrs. Washington. Wanna come
and get a few brewskis with us?

MRS. WASHINGTON
(not having it, but not in
a mean way)
Oh get the hell out, Sterling.

She points the two out of the room and they quickly leave.

STERLING
(while leaving)
So, are you coming?

Jake sighs, thinking it over.

JAKE
(giving in)
Uh... sure, I guess.

STERLING
Great! See you there!
(walks away then turns
back)
(MORE)
 62.
STERLING (CONT’D)
Oh, and don’t forget to wear all
neon!

Jake cracks a smile.

I/E. STERLING'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Jake walks up to Sterling’s lawn, dressed in a bright neon

outfit. He looks like a little kid dressing himself.

JAKE
(to self)
I look ridiculous.

He takes a deep breath and walks into the house. The peace of
the night is interrupted by the loud music and bright colors
streaming from inside the house.

Once inside, Jake takes a moment to adjust to the loudness of

it all. Teenagers flood the halls and sway back and forth in
the living room in a sea of chaos.

Sterling sees Jake standing by himself and walks over to dap

him up. He’s very drunk.

STERLING
You made it!

JAKE
(unenthusiastic)
Yeah. Thanks for hosting.

Sterling hands him a handle of vodka that was sitting on a

little table next to him.

STERLING
Drink this! Talk to me after you’ve
had a few shots!

JAKE
(reluctantly)
Alright.

Sterling walks away. Jake awkwardly sits in the corner. He

puts the handle down and pours a shot, downing it by himself.
Yuck.

After looking into the crowd and seeing how happy everybody
looks, he takes the handle into Sterling’s kitchen and gets a
large plastic cup. He pours far too much vodka into the cup
and mixes it with equal parts lemonade.
 63.

Jake peers into the monstrous concoction he’s just made, and
begins to chug. He slams the cup down after he’s finished.

JAKE
(to self)
And... we’re off.

He looks down at his watch.

MATCH CUT TO:

15 minutes later. Jake decides to get in on the action and

moves to the living room. He joins the crowd of dancing drunk
teenagers and begins to dance.

We slow down and for the first time in a while, Jake looks
completely happy. It’s almost a euphoric moment for him.

After a moment, Jake sees Jenna drinking in the corner. He

stumbles out to her.

JAKE
(loudly)
Hey, Jenna!

JENNA
Oh, hey Jake! How are you?!

The noise around them is too loud for either of them to hear.
Jake gestures to his ear that he can’t hear her.

JAKE
(shouting)
What?

JENNA
I said ‘how are you?’!

He shakes his head once again.

JAKE
I can’t hear you! Follow me!

The two walk out to the backyard.

EXT. STERLING'S BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

Jake and Jenna stumble on their way to grab seats and look
out toward the lake. Jake isn’t quite as drunk as he was
before but it’s safe to say neither one is level headed.
 64.

JAKE
This -
(gesturing to the lake)
This is nice.

Jenna nods her head in agreement. They sit for a beat.

JAKE
So, what’s going on with you? Any
new lovers in your life?

Yeah, right. Jenna laughs to herself.

JENNA
You know, I thought that by senior
I’d have somebody in my life. But
for now...

JAKE
..you’re bitchless.

JENNA
(laughs)
Sure, that’s one way of putting it.

Another beat.

JAKE
Seriously, though, are there are
romantic contenders in your life?

Jenna is hesitant to reveal information this early.

JAKE
(seeing her hesitation)
I get it. Don’t tell me if you
aren’t comfortable.

JENNA
It’s not like that. The last time I
told somebody I had a crush on, the
whole school knew about it in a
week.

Jake mimics a key locking his mouth.

JENNA
(checks around her)
Alright, you have to promise to
keep it a secret.

JAKE
Alright. Promise.
 65.

The two share a pinky promise.

JENNA
Okay, so do you know Alex
Hernandez?

JAKE
(laughs loudly)
Oh... I know Alex. Is that a joke?

Jenna shakes her head.

JAKE
We’re literally best friends; I’ve
known him since I was, like, eight.
Well, I guess I’m not his best
friend anymore. What about him?
(realizing)
Wait, you have a crush on him?

JENNA
Well, he’s cute is all, and I’ve
been thinking about asking him out.

Jake can’t let this happen. Even though his relationship is

strained with Alex, Jake has to be with Alex. Somehow. He
thinks of a lie.

JAKE
Awe, I’m sure he’d appreciate that
but... he definitely isn’t into
you.

JENNA
(hurt)
Oh... really? Why not?

JAKE
I mean, he isn’t into girls.
He’s...

JENNA
Oh!
(disappointed)
Oh.

JAKE
Yeah.

Jenna frowns.

JENNA
Truer words have not been spoken.
 66.

The two laugh and look at each other. After a beat:

JENNA
(upset)
Well, I’m going to get back to the
party.

JAKE
Good talk, Jenna. Oh, and Alex he’s
not out yet... so don’t -

JENNA
Oh God, I would never. Don’t worry.

Jake gives a thumbs up. Jenna struggles to get up for a

second and walks back into the house. Jake looks off and
ponders his actions. He smiles slightly.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Jake stumbles into the house and tries to quietly move up to

his room. From the living room:

MELISSA
Jake? Is that you?

JAKE
(drunk)
Uh... no?

Shit. Jake facepalms. He grabs onto something to hold his

balance. Melissa walks into the hallway, while Robert stays
behind.

JAKE
I mean, yes!

MELISSA
It’s almost two in the morning,
where on Earth were you?

JAKE
I was at Sterling’s house. We were,
uh, working on a project.

Melissa gets up and walks into the hallway that Jake is in.
He tries to stand up straight but continually sways as he
fights the effect of alcohol.

MELISSA
(to Robert)
Honey! Jake’s drunk.
 67.

ROBERT
Good for him! Make sure he drinks a
lot of water so he avoids a
hangover!

Jake smiles at his dad’s support. Melissa frowns. The two

lock eyes, and Jake starts to cackle, breaking his mom’s
frown.

MELISSA
Alright, you’re safe tonight, J.
Get up to your bed and let’s not
make this a habit! Senioritis will
beat your ass..

Jake nods and makes his way upstairs.

INT. JAKE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT / MORNING

After walking into his room, Jake plops down into his chair
and spins around. He gets up, but the combination of his
inebriation and the dizziness makes him fall flat on his
face. He laughs to himself.

JAKE
(drawn out)
I feel good.

Jake falls asleep on the floor.

The next morning, Jake gets himself off the floor. He yawns
and slogs to get his clothes on. He’s clearly hungover,
groaning as he slowly gets ready.

INT. JAKE'S KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Jake walks down the stairs and plops himself at the table.
Melissa and Robert are busy in the kitchen, making food for
the family. Lucas is sitting on his phone at the table, as
per usual. Jake puts his head down and moans at his pain.

MELISSA
Rough night, huh?

Jake gives a muffled “yeah.”

LUCAS
Hah! You’re hungover.

Robert hands Jake an ice-cold glass of water.

 68.

ROBERT
Drink as much as you can right now
and throughout the day to alleviate
the symptoms.

Jake reluctantly pulls his head up and starts to sip at the

water.

JAKE
Thanks, dad.

Robert and Melissa put plates down for everybody, and begin
to eat.

MELISSA
Eat up!

JAKE
Ugh -- why is it so bright in here?

Melissa looks around. She closes one of the curtains

LUCAS
Since y’all are so chill with Jake
getting drunk whenever he wants,
can I have some friends here to
drink this weekend?

MELISSA
(stern)
Absolutely not!

LUCAS
That’s not fair! Dad let me go out
to a party a few weeks ago.

Robert widens his eyes to Lucas, signaling that it was

supposed to be a secret.

MELISSA
Oh... is that true?

Melissa turns with a suspicious glance to Robert, who puts

his hands up like he’s innocent.

JAKE
Wait, yeah, why are you guys so
fine with me drinking?

ROBERT
It’s senior year! That’s when I
started drinking, too.
(MORE)
 69.
ROBERT (CONT’D)
You’ve already gotten your
applications in, so there’s not
much that could change. Speaking
of, when do you hear back from your
schools?

Jake hasn’t thought of college applications since before the

loop.

JAKE
Uh, honestly... I forgot what
college I even I applied to. I
think I sent something in to
Florida and FSU but I’m not sure if
I applied anywhere out of state.

MELISSA
Let’s hope that you submitted an
application at all! You’ve been so
all over the place recently.

JAKE
Yeah. I know.

MELISSA
Can you drop Lucas off at cross
country practice?

JAKE
Ugh -- no.

MELISSA
(angrily)
What’s that?

JAKE
(backing down)
I meant yes! This hangover’s got me
all confused.

Jake goes back to eating his food, then grabs his stuff and
walks out the door with Lucas.

INT. JAKE’S CAR - CONTINUOUS

While driving, Jake cranks up the music while Lucas stays on

his phone. Jake is bored of driving and looks over to Lucas
for conversation. He turns down the music.

JAKE
So... what’s going on in your life,
Lucas?
 70.

Lucas is confused as to why Jake’s asking him this.

LUCAS
Huh? My life?

JAKE
Yeah.

LUCAS
Why do you care?

JAKE
(scoffs)
Uh, because I’m your brother?

LUCAS
I dunno.

JAKE
‘I dunno’? You’re ridiculous.

Lucas looks up from his phone and thinks long and hard about
what’s going on.

LUCAS
I’ve been thinking about joining
film club, but I don’t really know
where to start.

JAKE
Oh, I’m actually an officer, did
you want me to reach out to Mrs.
Washington to get you in?

LUCAS
Wait, could you really do that?

JAKE
Of course!
(beat)
Come to think of it, I haven’t been
to a meeting in a while.

LUCAS
Oh.

JAKE
Don’t worry! I could get you in,
probably.

LUCAS
Thanks!

Jake forces a smile. He still feels like shit.

 71.

He eventually pulls the car to a stop at a park. Lucas gets

out and jogs over to a group of RUNNERS, who are getting
ready to leave.

INT. JAKE’S BEDROOM - DAY/NIGHT

Jake walks into his bedroom. We see multiple copies of him

living out the weekend.

One sits on the computer, watching a movie, occasionally

scrolling through his phone instead of paying attention.

Another sits on his Xbox, playing games with his friends.

A third sits in bed, playing on his phone.

Multiple copies pace around the room, tossing a ball up and

down.

The times of day change quickly in the window.

The camera eventually moves to his bed, and we see a match

cut to:

6:37 AM. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Jake GROANS and gets up.

I/E. SCHOOL / MATH CLASSROOM / FILM CLASSROOM - DAY

Jake pulls into his parking spot and looks at the school
ahead of him.

After some internal debate, he gets out and walks in.

Jake walks into math class and sits down. Alex is sitting
behind him.

JAKE
Hey, Alex.

Alex ignores him, turns around, and starts talking to one of

his friends.

Mrs. Hynes begins teaching about integrals and derivatives,

and Jake puts his head down.

Later, Jake walks into film class and is handed an enormous

stack of papers by Mrs. Washington.
 72.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Hey, Jake. Can you get these sorted
for me by the end of class?

Jake looks at the size of the stack.

JAKE
Uh... sure.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Great, thanks!

Jake gets to work sorting through the series of papers,

putting them into different piles based on their grades.

After sorting papers for a bit, Sterling walks up to Jake.

STERLING
Yo, Jake! My parents are leaving on
Friday for a party, ready to run it
back?

JAKE
Seriously? How many parties can one
man have?

Sterling looks forward with a stupid stare.

STERLING
Is that a serious question?

JAKE
Yeah.

The gears in Sterling’s head start to crank really hard. He

squints hard at Jake, before coming to the decision that he’s
making a joke.

STERLING
(laughs)
Good one! I’ll see you then.

The bell RINGS.

INT. JAKE’S KITCHEN - NIGHT

The Thompsons all eat Chinese takeout around their table.

Robert slurps up some soup noisily.
 73.

JAKE
(while on phone)
Oh, I forgot to tell you guys, I’m
going to Sterling’s tonight.

Robert looks up from his soup and exchanges a concerned look

with Melissa.

MELISSA
Again? Weren’t you just there last
weekend?

JAKE
Yeah.

ROBERT
I know we’re usually pretty
accepting, but come on.

JAKE
(still on phone)
Relax, dad. I’m working on a film
project, not getting drunk. I’m not
an alcoholic.

LUCAS
Sure...

Jake stares down Lucas. Lucas backs down. Jake backs out of
his seat.

JAKE
Alright, I’m going to head out now.

MELISSA
Already?

JAKE
Yup. Gotta get going.

Melissa looks sad to see her son going, but Jake doesn’t look
back.

INT. STERLING'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Jake walks into the house. As per usual, it’s filled to the
brim with high school kids. Sterling stumbles over to Jake
with a Solo cup full of some sort of liquid.

Jake smiles at the drunkenness of his friend. He looks into

the cup and shrugs. Bottoms up!
 74.

He chugs down the drink and throws the cup to the ground,
navigating his way to the center.

Jake checks his phone. On it -- multiple texts to Alex “Hey,

how are you?”, “wanna hang later?”, “what’s up?”. All
ignored. He puts his phone up.

Jake dances in the center of the dance floor for a bit.

Amongst the crowd he sees Alex, vibing by himself. The

alcohol coursing through Jake’s veins gets the best of him.
He walks over to Alex.

JAKE
(loudly, drunk)
Hey, Alex!

ALEX
(uninterested)
Hey, Jake.

JAKE
Why are you here?

Alex doesn’t make eye contact with Jake.

ALEX
Why do you care? Why are you here?

JAKE
I’m here... to confront you for
being a shitty friend.

ALEX
Jake, go home. You’re drunk.

Alex starts to walk away, but Jake grabs him.

JAKE
(stumbling over words)
No, you need to leave. Sterling
says that, uh, all losers need
to... to leave.

Alex gives a profound eye roll and stares at Jake.

ALEX
Is this how you handle things? Are
you this pathetic that as soon as
you face any sort of problem you
devolve into... this?

He gestures to Jake, who’s inebriation has him slightly

wobbling while trying to maintain serious eye contact.
 75.

ALEX
I mean, you lose one film
competition and this is how you
cope with it? Jake, come on. Look
at what you’ve become.

JAKE
At least I care about something in
my life. You’re passionless.

Jake laughs maniacally.

JAKE (CONT'D)
You are so complacent with doing
nothing. I pity you.

Alex sits with a straight face and collects his thoughts for
a beat.

ALEX
Remember how you told me you were
stuck in that time loop or
whatever?

Jake nods.

ALEX
Right. Did you learn absolutely
nothing from that? Let me assume
that you’re not making up some
psychotic lie and that you were
actually living the same day
repeatedly.

JAKE
It’s not a lie.
(smugly)
Go on.

ALEX
(sighs)
How the hell did you get out? You
are one of the shittiest friends I
know, and even after God himself
told you to change by putting you
in that loop, you left without
making any real change.

JAKE
I actually made a lot -

ALEX
(snaps)
Don’t interrupt me!
(MORE)
 76.
ALEX (CONT’D)
(backing out)
You know what? I’m not even going
to bother. You don’t deserve my
time.

Alex storms off. Jake stares at the wall, trying to regain

some sort of sobriety. After standing still for a moment, he
turns around and begins to storm out the house.

On the way out, Jake grabs his car keys and walks to his car.

I/E. JAKE’S CAR - CONTINUOUS

Jake turns on the engine and starts blasting some music. He

reaches for something in the back seat, but accidentally puts
the car into neutral. It starts to roll backwards.

Moments before, inside the cop car:

COP #1
(speaking into radio)
Pulling into Tangerine Place,
checking out this noise complaint.

The car continues to pull forward before suddenly stopping.

Inches in front of them, Jake’s car rolls all the way back
across the street and CRASHES into another car.

Two COPS look at each other.

COP #1
What the hell?

COP #2
From the party, maybe?

They flip on the siren.

INT. JAIL - NIGHT

FLASH!

Jake gets his mugshot taken at his local jail.

Later in a cell, Jake sits with a two other inmates, who look
hardened by their time in prison. One is MARCO, and the other
FRANKLIN. Both are in their late 30s or 40s, and look
hardened by previous times spent in jail. They speak gruffly.
There’s a strong juxtaposition between Jake and the others.

MARCO
What are you in for?
 77.

JAKE
(hesitant)
Uh - I got wasted and drove into a
pole.

FRANKLIN
Drunk driving? That’s a huge no-no.
Got my buddy in for thirty-five
years.

JAKE
(suddenly scared)
thirty-five years?! What?!

Franklin nods his head.

MARCO
Oh, don’t let Franklin scare ya.
His bud was also smuggling drugs
‘cross the border.

JAKE
(relieved)
Oh. Why wouldn’t you tell me that?

Franklin shrugs. They sit there for a moment. Jake looks

around the cold interior of his cell.

JAKE
Well, what are y’all in here for?

FRANKLIN MARCO
None of your business. Bank robbery.

JAKE
Wait, y’all were the ones robbing
the Bank of America off of Corrine?

Marco and Franklin side eye each other. After a moment:

MARCO
Joking! Franklin over here thought
it’d be a good idea to hit a police
officer.

Franklin looks angry and Marco and smacks him.

FRANKLIN
You were the one who ran the red
light! I was protecting you from
that asshole cop.

Marco takes the hits and accepts that it’s his fault.
 78.

MARCO
Relax. My lawyer friend said that
if I say I was trying to swat a bug
and accidentally hit him, I would
be fine.

FRANKLIN
What?! You need a better lawyer.

MARCO
Fine, but how did scrawny over here
know about it?

JAKE
Y’all are familiar with Groundhog
Day, right?

Franklin shakes his head.

JAKE
Right. Well, the premise is that
this total loser gets stuck in a
time loop where he repeats the same
day over and over. At one point, he
sees when a bank truck is doing a
delivery and uses that window to
take the bag of money for the day.
That’s what I was doing with y’all.

FRANKLIN
(sarcastically)
Oh, sure. How did you actually find
out?

JAKE
I know it doesn’t make sense, but
that’s the truth.

While Franklin looks understandably confused by this, Marco

looks on with understanding.

MARCO
Wait, I understand. So you were
stuck in this loop thingy?

Jake is surprised that Marco understands his situation.

JAKE
(cautiously)
Yeah...

MARCO
Why?
 79.

JAKE
I’m sorry?

MARCO
Why were you stuck in this loop?

JAKE
I’m not sure. I spent a lot of time
trying to figure out but it
wouldn’t work.

MARCO
Well, in Groundhog Day, Phil can’t
get out until he accepts his fate
and becomes a better person. One of
the things that helps him get there
is the girl - what’s her name?

Jake looks on in astonishment at Marco’s knowledge of

Groundhog Day (comparatively to Franklin’s total lack of
understanding) and his understanding of his situation.

JAKE
(boggled)
Uh, Rita.

MARCO
Right. Once Phil falls in love with
Rita, he escapes the loop. Did that
happen to you?

JAKE
Now that you mention it, the last
thing that happened was I confessed
my love to my best friend.

MARCO
Well, there you have it! What
happened to her?

JAKE
‘She’ is a ‘he’ and I don’t think
he’s into dudes.

MARCO
Oh! That’s fine! Franklin’s also...
you know.

JAKE
Really?

Jake laughs. Franklin, who wasn’t paying much attention

either now perks up.
 80.

FRANKLIN
Sorry, what’s Marco telling you
now?

MARCO
(playfully)
We’re just talking about how much
of a fruit you are!

FRANKLIN
(gruffly)
Funny.

MARCO
Also, scrawny here has a crush on
his best friend and he doesn’t like
him back.

FRANKLIN
(mockingly)
Oh, boo-hoo. If I had a dollar for
every time I’d gotten rejected by
another guy I wouldn’t have had to
rob that bank in the first place.

JAKE
(sarcastically)
Thanks, Franklin. You’re such a
bundle of sunshine, I wonder how
you aren’t taken yet.

The three sit for a moment.

MARCO
Have you tried talking to your
friend since you left your little
loop?

JAKE
Yeah. We just didn’t click.

FRANKLIN
If I had sat around my entire life
without going after the people I
love, I wouldn’t be with the love
of my life.

Franklin scoots over and gives Marco a kiss on the cheek.

It’s cute. Jake is shocked. Marco looks at Jake’s reaction.

MARCO
What? Do you have a problem with
this?
 81.

JAKE
Oh shut up. You two are ridiculous.

Jake laughs, and the other two join in. A guard walks from
the hallway.

GUARD
Thompson! You’re free to go.

JAKE
Really?

The guard starts unlocking the cell and opens it up. Jake
looks around and gets up.

JAKE
(to Marco and Franklin)
Thanks for your advice, guys.

MARCO
Of course. Now get the hell out of
here! If we see you again...

Franklin punches into his fist. He looks serious and a little

playful about it. Jake awkwardly smiles. He waves and walks
down the hallway.

As Jake makes his way to the front, he sees Alex waiting in

the lobby for him. Jake quickly stops.

JAKE
(to guard)
Wait, who made my bail?

GUARD
They did.

The guard points to a VERY ANGRY Melissa and Robert.

JAKE
Oh... shit.

The guard walks away. The two cross their arms. Jake puts his
hands in his pockets.

JAKE
(slow and awkwardly)
What’s up, guys?

INT. MELISSA’S CAR - CONTINUOUS

Jake sits in the back of his mom’s car. Robert sits in the
passenger side seat. After a beat:
 82.

JAKE
I can explain, guys -

MELISSA
(curt)
I don’t want to hear it.

Jake awkwardly twiddles his thumbs. Another beat.

MELISSA
Jail?! I mean - after everything
we’ve done for you? Was it not
enough to send you to a good school
and to raise you in a good house?
What are you supposed to do for
college now? All of our years of
effort - GONE. It’s gone!
(weak laugh)
What did we do wrong, Jake? Why did
you think this was a good decision?
Should we have been stricter and
forced you to stay home every
night? We gave you everything you
wanted and you still blew it! What
a waste. What a waste!

Melissa groans. Robert rubs her shoulder.

ROBERT
(quietly to Melissa)
Sweetheart, calm down. It seems
like it was an accident, at least
he wasn’t trying to drive the car.

MELISSA
(quietly back, angrily)
This wouldn’t have happened if you
didn’t let him go out all the time.

ROBERT
Shh... would you rather have a
child who resents us or one who
makes a few mistakes?

Melissa sighs; Robert’s words helped her. Jake stares

forward, sadly.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - LATER

With his head held low, Jake trudges into his house. He sees
his parents whispering about something - definitely him - at
the kitchen table. Melissa looks over and sees Jake, ending
the conversation and walking over to him.
 83.

MELISSA
(concerned)
Jake...

JAKE
(dismissive)
I know... I know!

Jake tries walking straight to his room, but she stops him.

MELISSA
(snapping)
After what you’ve put me through
tonight, Jake, don’t you DARE walk
past me. I am your mother.

JAKE
(spiraling)
I’m sorry, okay! I’m a fuck-up!
What else can I say? I messed up.
I’m sorry! Is that what you want to
hear? It doesn’t even matter if
that’s what you wanted to hear,
because no matter what I tell you,
you will never believe that my life
has been destroyed because of
something that nobody else has
experienced before. You can only
judge me for what -

After seeing Jake’s disarray, Melissa pulls him in for a

tight hug, which gets him to stop.

MELISSA
(comforting)
Jake... stop it. I’m sorry. Every
teenager -
(quietly)
“fucks up” -
(normally)
At least once. Granted, they don’t
usually go to jail, but we’ll
figure this out together.

Robert joins in for the hug. Jake hasn’t gotten this sort of
physical attention in a long time. He needed it.

After a beat:

MELISSA
(to Jake)
Alright, off to bed with you.
 84.

JAKE
Wait, that’s it? No grounding, I
get to keep my phone?

ROBERT
We’ve decided to let you off the
hook for it this once. Don’t tell
your brother.

Jake is happy that they haven’t decided to punish him.

JAKE
I love you, guys.

ROBERT
We love you, too.

Jake walks up to his room.

I/E. JAKE'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

In his room, Jake walks over to his desk and plops himself
into his chair. After spinning around, he looks at the
scattered pieces of the dialogue tree he destroyed earlier on
top of his desk.

One of the many pieces has a box labeled with “confess my

love”. He connects it to another piece of the map that has a
line with a question mark above it.

After putting the two pieces together, Jake sighs and puts
his head down.

After a beat, he picks his head up and fetches a piece of

lined paper from his backpack and starts writing on it.

“Alex,” he inscribes at the top. He ponders what to right

next.

Nope. Jake crumples up the paper and throws it away. He puts

his pencil down and walks over to his bed.

Jake stares at his ceiling, pondering what he could do

differently.

On his phone, Jake views a completed version of one of his

old films. Jake and Alex, here a few years younger, are
messing around in a low-quality, yet fun looking murder
mystery.

Jake smiles while watching the two poorly act. He turns off
his phone and goes to bed.
 85.

INT. FILM CLASSROOM - THE NEXT DAY

Jake stares distantly across the room, thinking about

something.

Jenna paces back and forth, building up the courage to say

something to Jake. She confidently walks up to him. He
continues staring off.

JENNA
Mrs. Washington said that a new
competition was opening up, and I
want to be the director this time.

JAKE
Mhm.

JENNA
What? Jake, did you hear me?

JAKE
Yeah.

Jenna shakes her head in frustration at Jake’s lack of

attention.

JENNA
I want to be the director of our
next film. Are you okay with that?

Jake tilts his head up at Jenna.

JAKE
Yeah.

Jenna stands there, looking at Jake. After determining that

he’s serious, she begins to walk away. Before taking a few
steps, she turns back around and walks up to him.

JENNA
What, no arguing? Since when are
you so willing to give up the role
as director?

JAKE
Jenna, have you ever experienced a
singular event in your life that
makes you rethink everything you’ve
done and everything you will do?

Jenna squints her eyes in concern.

 86.

JAKE (CONT'D)
Well, that happened to me last
night when I was in jail.

JENNA
Arrested?!

JAKE
Doesn’t matter. How should I tell
Alex I’m in love with him?

Jenna has no idea what’s happening.

JENNA
What the hell are you talking
about?

Jenna looks back to Jake. She slowly grabs a chair and sits
next to him.

JENNA
Well, are you two even on speaking
terms again? I thought y’all were
having a rough time.

JAKE
That’s what I’m trying to fix,
Jenna! Help me out here.

Jenna stares in deep thought for a second. She pulls out a

completed script for her short film from her backpack. She
flips through it quickly, takes a pen out, and writes
something down.

JENNA
I’ve already written the script.
It’s a love story. I can cast you
two as actors in it. That way, you
can reconnect with him under the
guise of just making a short film.

JAKE
Wait, you’d do that for me?
(beat, narrows eyes
suspiciously)
Why?

Jenna sighs.

JENNA
Clearly, you two have a bond that I
could never match. I’ll find
somebody someday, but for now let’s
get you your man.
 87.

Jake smiles goofily and nods his head. Jenna rolls her eyes,
wanting him to take it seriously.

JENNA
(semi-seriously)
Stop that.

He continues smiling. After a second, Jake stretches his arms

out and gives Jenna a big hug. It’s cute.

JAKE
Thank you, thank you, thank you!

JENNA
Yeah, yeah. Thank me when we get
this award!

BEGIN MONTAGE

Jake walks into his bedroom, satisfied with the day he’s had.

He approaches his desk, opens his computer, and looks at his

grades. Not good. C’s and D’s litter the page. Jake sighs,
and gets to work on studying.

A printer whirs, printing out stacks of study packets for

Jake’s classes. He picks up the papers, goes to his desk, and
lays them down.

He looks at the first question and... shit. He has no clue

where to even start. He googles, “how to factor binomials.”

In math class, Jake sits up straight and focuses on the

board, taking notes along the way.

After school, Jake walks through the hallways with Lucas.

Right outside of his film class is a poster that says “FILM
CLUB MEETING HERE.” The two step in.

A group of students sit while Mrs. Washington finishes a

short presentation.

The students separate into groups. Jake brings Lucas up to

the podium.

JAKE
This is my little brother, Lucas.

MRS. WASHINGTON
Oh, I remember! You were telling me
about him. Hi, Lucas!
 88.

LUCAS
Hi!

JAKE
I know he hasn’t been to any of the
meetings, and he didn’t watch the
films for this week, but would he
be able to participate?

MRS. WASHINGTON
Of course.
(to Lucas)
Why don’t you join him in the first
group?

Lucas walks off.

At home, Jake has dinner with his family. Lucas looks happy,
and Jake smiles at his brother’s happiness.

In his bedroom, Jake looks back at his problems. This time,

he’s not entirely stumped. He looks proud of himself as he
writes down an answer. He’s able to get the second one, too.

When he sees the third, he has no clue. He googles, “how to

factor trinomials.”

In math the next day, he takes more notes.

In film class, Jake holds a script in front of his face and

practices lines from Jenna’s script.

JAKE
(reading)
I knew it was you, you rotten
bastard! You’re going to rot in
jail.
(squints at script)
What is this? Did you do rewrites?

Jenna nods her head.

JAKE
Well, is it still romantic?

JENNA
Of course!

JAKE
(doesn’t trust her)
Okay...

At the dinner table, Jake reads the script while the family
is eating. He looks really into it.
 89.

In his room, Jake paces around the room while practicing the
script. He leans in for a kiss in the air. His alarm goes
off.

He walks to the desk, gets on his computer, and goes back to

studying.

In math class, he gets a paper back: A. He smiles at his

accomplishment.

END MONTAGE

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY - DAY

In the hallway outside of film class, he looks confident as

he practices lines from his script in front of Jenna and
Sterling.

JAKE
(boldly)
I knew you were innocent from the
moment I met you. Now that you’re
free, I can finally say... I love
you.

STERLING
(stilted, reading off
script)
I love you too, Joel. Give me a
kiss!

Jake approaches Sterling and goes in for a kiss. Sterling is

afraid that he’ll actually kiss him.

JENNA
And... cut! Jake, you aren’t
actually kissing Sterling.

JAKE
I knew that!

Jake winks at Sterling.

STERLING
Ew. Save that for Alex.

JENNA
I think it’s looking good! Great
work, Jake.

JAKE
Has Alex been practicing this on
his own?
 90.

JENNA
I don’t know. I told him to, but
nobody ever listens to me. Anyways,
we’ll meet at the stage after
school and try to get it all done.
Guys, please be prepared! I don’t
want to stay until midnight
shooting.

JAKE
Got it.

INT. SCHOOL AUDITORIUM - AFTERNOON

Jake, Jenna, and Sterling stand on the stage of a large

auditorium. On the set, Sterling stands behind the camera and
has a boom mic, while Jenna has a director’s chair that she’s
sitting on.

In lieu of actual set pieces, the set is comprised of a large

green screen. Jake has a prison warden outfit on, and has a
baton in his hand.

JAKE
(gesturing to green
screen)
What’s up with all this?

JENNA
Well, we were planning on building
out this intricate jail set, but
time constraints came up and I
couldn’t find anybody to help me.

JAKE
This looks nothing like jail. Trust
me, I’d know.

JENNA
This is the fifth time you’ve
mentioned jail. You shouldn’t be
bragging about it. We’ll just green
screen the jail later and it’ll
look real.

STERLING
(laughs)
Fix it in post, right?

Across the auditorium, the doors open. Dressed in a

prisoner’s uniform is Alex, looking down at his script.
 91.

ALEX
(shouting across
auditorium while walking)
Sorry I’m a bit late, it took me
longer than I thought to get dre-

Alex stops talking after looking up at Jake.

ALEX
(to Jenna)
What’s he doing here?

JENNA
Oh, it turns out Sterling doesn’t
know how to act, so we brought in
Jake to do it instead!

JAKE
(whispering to Jenna)
Wait, he didn’t know I would be
doing this?

JENNA
(to Jake)
Surprise! I thought it’d be good
for the romantic tension on screen.

JAKE
(whispering)
You’re ridiculous.
(to Alex)
Hey, Alex!

Alex hops onto the stage. He looks a little bit upset.

ALEX
What’s up with all the green
screen?

JENNA
Budget issues.

ALEX
That’s gonna make it hard to act.

JAKE
(excitedly)
That’s what I was saying!

Alex eyes Jake, signaling him to shut up. Jake continues

smiling.
 92.

JENNA
Don’t worry guys! If all goes
right, we should be out of here by
3:00.

A slow dolly to a clock. 1:55 turns into...

MATCH CUT TO:

5:03. Leaning against the green screen are a clearly

exhausted Jake and Alex. Jenna leans all the way forward in
her chair.

JENNA
(exasperated)
And... cut!

STERLING
(overjoyed)
We did it!

JAKE
Wait, that’s it?

Jake and Alex look eager to be completed. They’re

disappointed to hear:

JENNA
Not so fast. We have one more scene
to shoot. The climax.

Jake and Alex throw their hands up.

JENNA
I want to get out of here as much
as y’all, but come on! This is what
we’ve been building to! Let’s get
this on the first take and we’ll be
done.

ALEX
(gesturing to Jake)
Tell this asshole to get his lines
right the first time and maybe we’d
be done by... 3 hours ago!

JAKE
(sarcastically)
It’s my fault that I have a hard
time acting like I’m attracted to
you! Us, romantically? Ew.

Alex rolls his eyes. It’s a bit playful.

 93.

ALEX
Oh, shut up.

The auditorium falls quiet. After an awkward silence.

STERLING
By the way, my parents are out of
the house again. Do y’all wanna
come over and drink to celebrate
once we wrap?

JAKE
Dude, are your parents ever home?

Sterling shrugs.

JENNA
Less talking, more filming! Get
into position.

Jake flips through the script to the end. Alex has his own
script. They both memorize their lines for a second, before
getting into position. Jake, in his warden outfit, puts
handcuffs on Alex and gets ready to remove them.

JENNA
And... action!

Jake fumbles with the keys as he tries to unlock Alex’s

handcuffs. Neither of them are very good at acting.

JAKE
(weak, kinda cheesy
acting)
Jordan, I knew you were innocent
from the moment you stepped into
this jail. I can’t believe you’re
finally getting out of here!

ALEX
(stilted acting)
I can’t believe I’ve lost so much
of my life because I was framed by
somebody drunk driving. I would
never drive drunk, the D.A.R.E.
program taught me well!

Sterling looks over at Jenna, puzzled at this strange

writing.
 94.

JENNA
(sighs)
Mrs. Washington wanted me to
include something about stopping
drug addiction, so I wrote it in.

Sterling gets it. Back to Jake and Alex.

JAKE
Now that we’re out of the prison, I
have a confession. I am in love
with you, Alex.

JENNA
Cut!

Alex rolls his eyes. Jake is confused.

JAKE
What happened? I thought that was
great.

JENNA
Uh, Jake, his character is Jordan.

JAKE
Oops! Heh. Freudian slip.

ALEX
A freudian slip means you secretly
meant to say it, dumbass.

Jake stupidly looks at Alex.

ALEX
(realizing)
Oh. You probably did mean to say
it.

STERLING
Let’s keep this moving! And... act-

JENNA
What are you doing? That’s my line.

STERLING
Sorry, I’m just getting a bit
antsy.

Jenna eyes Sterling angrily. Jake and Alex get back into
position.

JENNA
Action!
 95.

JAKE
Now that we’re out of the prison, I
have a confession. I am in love
with you, Alex.

JENNA
Cut!

Sterling facepalms. Alex throws his hands up.

ALEX
Jesus Christ.

JAKE
I’m so sorry, guys! Freudian sl-

ALEX
STOP CALLING IT A FREUDIAN SLIP!

That shuts Jake up. They go back to positions.

JAKE
Now that we’re out of prison, I
have a confession. I am in love
with you,
(thinks hard about next
word, says it slowly)
Jordan.

Alex puts his finger on Jake’s lip.

ALEX
Joel, you don’t have to say
anything more. We’re on the same
page.

Alex slowly moves closer to Jake. He starts approaching for a

kiss...

...slowly...

...and gives him a quick peck on the cheek.

JENNA
Cut! What the hell was that? Look
at the script. What does it say? “A
passionate kiss is shared between
the two long-estranged lovers.
Juices drip down their faces like a
waterfall of pleasure.”

Jake and Alex collectively side-eye Jenna.

 96.

JAKE
Were you reading a Colleen Hoover
book while writing this? Why is it
so... descriptive.

Alex points at Jake in agreement.

ALEX
I thought that was weird, too.
“Waterfall of pleasure?” What the
hell does that even mean?

JENNA
Passion! PASSION!

JAKE
(mocking)
Passion, Alex.

That gets a smile out of Alex.

STERLING
Alex, think about this. When you’re
holding the Orange County Student
Media Festival award for Best Same
Sex Kiss, you’ll be thanking that
waterfall of pleasure.

ALEX
That’s an awfully specific
category. I just don’t want -

Alex stops to think about it.

STERLING
I’ll give you a hundred bucks.

Sterling reaches into his wallet and pulls out a few

twenties. Alex quickly grabs them.

ALEX
(enthusiastic about cash)
Passion? Oh, I’ve got tons of that.
Let’s do it again!

Cutting back to Alex’s line.

ALEX
Joel, you don’t have to say
anything more. We’re on the same
page.

Alex grabs Jake and pulls him in for a kiss. Instead of

taking his time, he goes right in for it.
 97.

Their kiss isn’t quite romantic, but it certainly has the

passion that Jenna wanted.

After a long, sloppy kiss, they pull apart. Jake looks

starstruck.

JENNA
And... that’s a wrap!

Jenna and Sterling clap for the two. Alex gives a little bow.
Jake doesn’t know what to do, he’s still smiling over the
kiss.

ALEX
(to Jake)
That’s how acting is done, asshole.

JAKE
Want to act some more, later?

Alex playfully hits Jake on the arm.

STERLING
Alright, remember: party at my
house tonight! One final
celebration!

I/E. STERLING'S HOUSE - NIGHT

That night, Jake, wearing his warden outfit from earlier,

stands in front of Sterling’s house. Like usual, the music is
pumping from the inside, juxtaposing the quiet outside.

JAKE
(to self)
Jake, you’re the star. You’ve got
this. Play it cool.

Jake shakes his nerves off and steps inside.

Inside, teenagers are littered throughout. Lots of

conversations are happening on the side, with a large crowd
in the middle of the living room. It looks the same as it
always does.

Jake scans the room and sees that nobody else is wearing a
costume.

He makes his way to the kitchen where the booze is laid out.
Sterling is in the middle, finishing up a conversation with
one of his friends. When done, Jake walks up.
 98.

JAKE
(over the music)
What the hell? I thought this was a
costume party!

STERLING
Huh? I literally never said that.

JAKE
Okay, well. Yeah, you didn’t say
it. Look at me! I look like an
idiot.

Sterling shrugs. Not his problem.

STERLING
(playfully)
So... are you going to tell Alex
about your feelings?

JAKE
Who told you that?

Sterling points in the other corner of the kitchen. Jenna,

drunk out of her mind, cheers loudly.

JAKE
Jenna! Get over here!

Jenna stumbles over to Jake and Sterling.

JAKE
Yo, why did you tell Sterling?

JENNA
(drunkenly)
Tell him what? I didn’t say
anything.

JAKE
Don’t play dumb, you told him about
(whispers)
Alex.

Jenna stupidly looks at Jake. She has no idea what’s

happening.

STERLING
Dude, I don’t think she has to play
dumb, look at her! And... come on.
It’s obvious.

Jenna sways under her drunkenness. Jake groans.

 99.

JAKE
You guys didn’t say anything to
him, right?

Jenna and Sterling sit in silence. Jake looks between the two
of the suspiciously. Under pressure:

JENNA
I... might have said something
about it.

Jake throws his arms up in frustration.

JAKE
I wanted this to be a surprise!
It’d be all cute and now it’s
ruined.
(beat)
Okay, not ‘ruined’ but c’mon.

JENNA
(sadly)
I’m sorry, Jake.

Jake, seeing Jenna’s genuine sadness calms down.

JAKE
It’s fine. Sterling, uh, give me
your strongest shot possible.

Sterling grabs a high APV bottle of vodka and pours Jake an

enormous shot.

STERLING
That’ll put hair on your chest.

JAKE
(points at both of them)
Fuck the both of you.

Jake downs the large shot. He pulls Jenna and Sterling in for
a hug.

JAKE
Wish me luck!

STERLING JENNA
You got this! Good luck!

Jake stumbles a little bit as he walks out of the kitchen and

into the backyard.
 100.

EXT. STERLING’S BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

Closing the door behind him, Jake steps onto the lawn and
walks to the dock. Alex is sitting on the steps, hitting his
vape.

Jake sits in the chair next to Alex and looks out at the
lake. The night is peaceful, and Jake doesn’t open his mouth
to speak just yet.

After a bit of silence:

JAKE
So, what’s up with you?

Alex scoffs.

ALEX
I’ll be honest with you, Jake. I’m
not doing well. I lost my closest
friend, my grades are failing, and
I just embarrassed myself on video
for a stupid short film.

JAKE
Embarrassed? I’m sorry if you
thought it was embarrassing, but in
my professional opinion it was
beautiful. Very profound.

ALEX
(laughs)
‘Professional opinion’? Come on.

JAKE
Hey, they don’t give out third
place at the Orange County District
Short Film Slam Festival to
anybody!

Alex lets out a brief laugh. After, they stare off into the
distance for a beat.

ALEX
Jake, tell me honestly. What’s up
with this story about the time
loop?

Jake doesn’t know how to explain it. He racks his brain for
an answer.

JAKE
The loop was my past. I’ve moved
onto my future.
 101.

ALEX
If I believe you, though, why
aren’t you more hung up on it?

JAKE
I dunno, man. It took me a long
time to realize this, but what I
was living in there wasn’t a life.
While it was my life, it wasn’t a
life. You know?

ALEX
(mockingly)
Woah. Deep.

JAKE
(playfully)
Shut up.

A beat.

ALEX
Did you really mean what you said
that night?

JAKE
Every word.

Another beat.

ALEX
I didn’t know you were... you know.

JAKE
Bisexual?

ALEX
Yeah.

JAKE
I wasn’t anything close to bisexual
before that loop.

ALEX
What made you realize?

JAKE
You did. I was happy with my
relationship with Sarah, but I
wasn’t entirely happy because I
knew my attention could never be on
her.
 102.

ALEX
I just don’t get it. How could you -
why me?

JAKE
Alex, I know you more than anybody
could possibly know you. I got more
information in that one practically
infinite day then I will ever learn
from you going forward.

ALEX
Is that not a problem, though? You
know everything about me. Even
though we’ve been friends forever,
you know... too much.

JAKE
Would you rather have me conceal my
feelings? I learned that life is
much easier when you’re completely
honest.

ALEX
I guess that’s fair.

Another dead-end to the conversation. From the patio:

STERLING
(yelling)
Have you told him yet?!

JAKE
(yelling back)
Told who what?

Jake turns around and signals for Sterling to shut the hell
up. He doesn’t recognize the signal.

STERLING
Tell Alex about y-

JAKE
Shut up, Sterling!

STERLING
Oh. Sorry!

Sterling turns around and goes back inside. After a moment,

Alex bursts out into laughter.

JAKE
What?
 103.

ALEX
Nothing. You’re ridiculous. You
never learned how to keep your
mouth shut, did you?

JAKE
When my actions have no
consequence, it makes it a bit
hard.

ALEX
How did you find out?

An abrupt change in tone from Alex. Jake is thrown off.

JAKE
Find out what?

ALEX
That I’m bi, too.

Jake stares into the distance, thinking hard. After a short

beat:

ALEX
Jake? C’mon, you can’t leave me
hanging.

JAKE
I... don’t remember. It was such a
long time ago.

ALEX
Bullshit.

JAKE
I’m serious.

ALEX
Oh.

Alex looks off into the distance. After a moment, he sits up

and looks at Jake. He grabs Jake’s hands.

ALEX
Jake. You -

Alex sighs. He doesn’t know how to say this. Jake reacts

nervously.

ALEX
You don’t know how long I’ve felt
this way about you. I’m just...
 104.

Alex takes a deep breath. Jake looks on in anticipation.

ALEX
I’m at such a tough time in my
life. My parents might accept me
for who I am, but what if they
don’t?

Alex looks away.

JAKE
Alex, look at me. I will always,
always be here for you. And I know
that this world is a judgmental
place but as long as we have each
other’s backs - who cares?

Jake looks deep into Alex’s eyes.

ALEX
I love you, Jake.

JAKE
I love you, too.

The two stare at each other for a moment. It’s cute.

ALEX
I would kiss you, but I think we
already got that out of the way.

Jake smiles, and doesn’t respond. He interlaces his fingers

with Alex’s, and leans back in his chair. The two of them
look into the lake.

ALEX
(chuckles)
I swear to God, if you got stuck in
another loop and just perfected
this day...

JAKE
I can prove that I didn’t.

Jake pulls out his phone, and Alex looks over. 11:59 PM turns
to 12:00 AM. Jake puts his phone away and looks back at the
lake. As we pull away:

ALEX
Wait, you’re telling me that at
midnight you just got flung back to
the next morning? What happened if
you were doing something?
 105.

JAKE
Don’t ask questions. It’s too
complicated.

Alex stares at Jake, digging for an answer.

JAKE
Okay, if you really need to know,
as soon as it hit 12:00, everything
would go black and I would wake up
at 6:07 AM.

ALEX
Why 6:07?

JAKE
Dude, stop asking questions. Let’s
enjoy the moment.

The two stare off at the lake.

I/E. AUDITORIUM - DAY

Weeks later, the school auditorium is packed with fancily-

dressed students.

A banner: “Orange County Student Media Festival 2023”.

Kids take photos holding small trophies in the hallway.

In the parking lot, Jake’s family pulls up in a minivan. A

FLORIDA GATORS sticker is on the back of the car, signaling
Jake’s end to his college admissions journey.

Melissa, Robert, Lucas, and Jake exit. Jake’s wearing a full

suit, while the rest of his family are dressed in church
clothes. Lucas plays on his phone.

Jake wears a crooked blue bow tie. Melissa sees it and fixes
it for him.

MELISSA
We’re running late, Jake! Why don’t
you run on ahead? I don’t want you
to miss your categories.

ROBERT
We’re going to be on the right side
of the theater. Come see us after
you get your award.

Melissa taps on Lucas’s phone, signaling him to get off.

 106.

LUCAS
Oh. Good luck, Jake!

Jake ruffles Lucas’s hair, and jogs off.

In the auditorium hallway, Alex taps his foot while waiting

for Jake. Running late. Jake whips open the door.

ALEX
There you are!

JAKE
What’d I miss?

ALEX
Jenna won an award for directing
and best screenplay?

JAKE
Best screenplay? What was she
against, The Room?

ALEX
Beats me. However, we’re up for
best in show... and I think we
could win.

JAKE
Oh, Alex. So optimistic.

Jake brushes through Alex’s hair. Alex pulls away, trying to

move ahead.

ALEX
Shut up.

Alex grabs Jake’s hands and drags him into the theater. They
find seats by Jenna and Sterling. Jenna holds multiple
awards.

JENNA
There you are! Look at all of these
awards! Of course, this is all
thanks to you two.

JAKE
Thanks, Jenna. You deserve it all.

STERLING
Hold up, they’re about to announce
it!

A screen on the stage projects: “BEST IN SHOW.” An ANNOUNCER

(50s) announces the contenders while the group waits.
 107.

ANNOUNCER
And now... for best in show!
Remember, here are the nominees:
Knightly Journeys.
Spaces, Places.
The Park Avenue Pack.
Murder Mayhem.
Finally, Jailbird: A Love Story.

After hearing their film, Jailbird, the group lets out a big
whoop.

Jake looks over to Alex, who is anticipating the results.

They lock hands.

Melissa walks up to them and takes a photo.

MELISSA
Get together, you two!

JAKE
Mom, go to your seat!

She waves him off, clicks a photo, and happily walks away.

ANNOUNCER
Drumroll, please!

A drumroll.

Time slows down. Everybody seems to move in slow motion. Jake

looks around the room.

Sterling and Jenna hug each other in nervousness.

Other teams of students lean in to hear the result.

Jake’s family looks on in anticipation.

Jake turns his attention back to Alex, and time seems to

resume.

ANNOUNCER
The winner, with a unanimous jury
decision...

Jake isn’t worried. While everybody else looks nervous, he

smiles. Before hearing the result:

CUT TO BLACK.

TITLE: “LOOPED”