Episode 70 - "The Lake"
(Kevin is walking toward the camera, past a girl standing in the back of a pickup truck, looking at him. Behind her is a drive-in movie screen showing "Planet of the Apes".)
GIRL: Hey!
(Kevin turns around.)
GIRL: If you're around tomorrow night...I'll be here.
(Close shot of Kevin smiling.)
Some things change you life forever.
(The truck pulls past Kevin and he turns and looks at it off-screen.)
When I was fifteen, those were the things I went searching for.
(Fade to...)
OPENING SEQUENCE
Ext. Day - Lake Wennahatchee
(Wide shot of a calm lake, with a few hills in the distance on the opposite shore. A boat cruises slowly. The camera descends to include Jack and Alvin fishing off opposite sides of a small boat dock in the middleground.)
Lake Wennahatchee...For one week that summer of 1971, my family and Paul Pfeiffer's rented side-by-side cabins along its placid shores.
(Close shot of both fathers fishing on the dock. Jack is in the foreground, reeling in, and frowns.)
JACK: Dammit!
It was a place to get away from the aggravations of modern suburban life...
(Alvin smiles and reels in.)
ALVIN: I got one!
(Jack watches Alvin reel in a fish.)
Escape from the petty everyday competition.
ALVIN: Ha, ha, hahhhhh. Ha, ha.
(Alvin holds up a fish and shows it to Jack.)
(Jack smirks and growls at Alvin.)
NORMA (V/O): Jack...Honey?
(Jack turns toward Norma off-screen.)
(Shot of Norma, wearing sunglasses, at the dock gate. She is holding a pack of hotdogs.)
NORMA: Hotdogs or hamburgers for dinner?
(Shot of Jack looking over his shoulder as he reels in.)
JACK: We're gonna have fish, dammit!
(A clump of lake-plant swings past on the end of his line. Jack frowns.)
(Shot of Norma. She tilts her head and frowns.)
The kind of paradise that made you wish you could stay forever.
(Wide shot of the dock, and the lake behind it. The men continue to fish as Norma walks out of the shot.)
Cut to
Ext. Day - Pfeiffer's Cabin
(High wide shot of a cabin and trees. Kevin stands at the door. The camera zooms in slowly on Kevin, as he knocks.)
KEVIN: Paul, let's go!
PAUL (V/O): I'm coming! I'm putting on bugspray.
KEVIN: Well, hurry up!
That was me, Kevin Arnold. And that August, there was pretty much only one thing on my mind.
(Close shot of Kevin knocking again.)
KEVIN: Paul, come on, let's get outta here!
(Close shot of the door, as Debbie snatches it open. She beams at Kevin. Paul is putting on bugspray in the background.)
(Debbie moves into the doorway and smiles at Kevin.)
DEBBIE: Hi, Kevin...
(Shot past Debbie of Kevin. He glances quickly at her.)
KEVIN: Hi, Deb. Paul, come on.
(Kevin walks off.)
(Shot of Debbie in the doorway, as Paul hurries out.)
PAUL: Move!
(Paul barges past her arm.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul walking away from the cabin. Debbie walks out to the porch and leans on the rail.)
DEBBIE: Where you guys going?
PAUL: None of your business.
(The camera pans with them as they continue toward the lake.)
Where we went didn't matter. Getting away was all that counted.
(They walk down the slope toward the lake, and meet Jack coming up.)
JACK: Say...you boys want to do some fishing?
(Jack slows up. Kevin and Paul keep walking.)
KEVIN: No thanks, Dad!
(They continue toward the lake. Jack looks puzzled, but continues up the hill.)
After all, we had more important things to do.
PAUL: So, what do you want to do?
KEVIN: Got me...
(Sound of a clanging bell.)
Cut to
Ext. Day - Country Store Steps
(Kevin and Paul sit on steps of the store. Kevin has a soda. Paul is frowning.)
PAUL: I can't believe it. What happened to this place? Used to be great. Now look.
(Wide shot from across the road. A semi drives through the scene, blowing its airhorn.)
(Closer shot of Paul in the foreground, and Kevin in the background.)
PAUL: Snoresville.
Over the summer my best friend had gained two things - a new set of contact lenses...
(Paul fiddles with his eye.)
And a new set of hormones.
PAUL: You know, I could be home right now, making time with Julie Zeller.
KEVIN: Heh, you're dreaming, pal!
(Kevin frowns and looks away.)
(Close shot of Paul.)
PAUL: And I'd probably gotten to second base by now.
(Close shot of Kevin gesturing.)
KEVIN: Oh, right. Like you'd even know what to do.
(Shot of Paul nodding and looking away.)
PAUL: I know what to do.
(Kevin frowns and looks off.)
KEVIN: Gimme a break.
(Close shot of Paul looking at Kevin off-screen.)
PAUL: Yeah? (Nods.) Listen. It just so happens, I got a certain 25-cent little insurance policy, huh?
(Paul smiles and makes a face as he starts to get his wallet.)
(Shot of Kevin looking at Paul off-screen, then sighing and looking away.)
The famous Pfeiffer condom.
(Kevin looks toward Paul.)
(Close shot of Paul smiling and winking as he starts to rise.)
Paul had been bragging about it ever since he got it in July.
(Wider shot of both as Paul rises.)
KEVIN: Paul, not again...(Frowns.)
It was kind of his rabbit's foot.
PAUL: You know Douggie Sherman?
(Paul is starting to open his wallet, as a pickup truck slowly drives past them with a loud radio. Two boys and a girl (Cara) are sitting in back.)
PAUL: Well...
(Shot from Kevin's perspective of the truck, as it pulls into the gas pumps at a neighboring store.)
PAUL (V/O): He picked up about two dozen of these things in a men's room near St. Louis.
(Shot of Kevin looking past Paul at the truck off-screen. Paul's torso and wallet are in the foreground as he opens the wallet. Kevin starts to sip from his soda bottle.)
PAUL (V/O): I got mine off him for fifty cents...
(Shot past Paul and his wallet of Kevin sipping his drink.)
But suddenly, I wasn't listening anymore.
PAUL (V/O): Which is a pretty good deal, considering the...
("Mannish Boy" - Muddy Waters starts.)
(Close shot of Cara in the back of the pickup. She sips a bottle of soda.)
"Oh Yeah..."
(Headshot of Cara slowly running her hand through her hair. She sips again.)
"Oh yeahahahaha"
(Close shot of Kevin looking at her off-screen, and sipping.)
"Everything gonna be alright this morning!"
(Close shot of Cara as she finishes a sip, turns a bit, and makes eye-contact with Kevin. She holds eye-contact and smiles.)
"Now when I was a young boy..."
(Kevin sips and looks.)
"At the age of five"
(She sips and looks.)
"My mother said I'd be"
(Kevin looks.)
"The greatest man alive"
PAUL (V/O): Here it is!
(The music grinds down as Paul holds up a red condom package in Kevin's line of sight, about a foot in front of Kevin's face.)
PAUL: The Red Chief Special!
(Shot of Paul grinning and holding "Red Chief" straight out toward the camera.)
(Close shot of Kevin frowning and pushing Paul's hand away.)
KEVIN: Paul, you don't have to rub it in my nose!
(Kevin looks toward the truck off-screen.)
(Shot of Cara looking at him as the truck is pulling away. One of the boys in the truck yells "Whooo!")
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Come on. Let's get out of here.
(Kevin starts to rise.)
(Shot of the steps as Kevin and Paul stand up, and start to walk away.)
Fact.
PAUL: Sorry...
(Wide shot of the store and gas pumps as Kevin and Paul walk along the side of the road.)
After three-and-a-half days of hanging out, even my best friend was startin' to get on my nerves.
(Final blast of music.)
Cut to
Ext. Day - Camp Picnic Area
(Shot of Norma and Jack at a picnic table. Norma is trying to open a large jar.)
NORMA: I wish you wouldn't put the top on so tight, honey!
Not to mention my folks.
(The camera pulls back slightly to barely include Kevin looking at them.)
JACK: You rather have pickle juice on your back seat, Norma?
That summer...
(Close shot of Kevin looking at Jack and Norma off-screen, then down, and back again.)
I'd had the profound revelation that my parents had suddenly become blithering idiots.
(Shot from the end of the table of Kevin, the Pfeiffer's, and Jack and Norma. Jack takes the jar from Norma, and tries unsuccessfully to open it.)
JACK: Thing's on tighter than I thought.
(Shot of Norma and Jack, as Norma takes the jar.)
NORMA: Maybe if we beat it against the table.
(Norma bangs the jar upside down on the table. Jack frowns and flinches, then glances off and sighs.)
Sometimes it was as if they were speaking a whole different language.
(Jack and Norma have a conversation of several lines, apparently about the pickle jar - "Norma, you're gonna crack the jar." "I'm not going to crack the jar", etc., over-dubbed in a foreign language.)
(Kevin frowns as he looks at his parents.)
(Shot of Jack and Norma as they talk and frown.)
(Shot of Alvin past Jack and Norma. His flip-up shades are up.)
ALVIN: Eh, you sure you don't want some of my trout, Jack? Plenty of it.
(Alvin smiles and holds the plate of fish he caught earlier.)
(Shot past Alvin of Jack frowning.)
JACK: Hamburger's fine, thank you...
(Shot of Alvin smiling.)
JACK: Tomorrow, I'll show you how to catch some real fish. (Gestures.)
(Alvin smiles again, and gestures as he sets the plate down.)
(Close shot of Jack smiling, and looking at Kevin off-screen.)
JACK: Right, Kev?
(Shot of Kevin looking up suddenly from his plate, and glancing around.)
KEVIN: Whatever.
(Shot of Norma smiling at Kevin off-screen as Jack works on the jar.)
(Close shot of Kevin looking off.)
All this family togetherness was more than my adolescent soul could take. What I needed was...
(Sound of a honking horn in the distance.)
(Wide shot from the end of the table as everyone turns toward the sound as the car backfires.)
A savior.
(Sound of car backfiring.)
(Wide shot of Wayne and Wart approaching in Wayne's car. Music "I Fought the Law" plays.)
(Close shot of a squirrel by the side of the road, which jumps away as Wayne whizzes past it.)
(High shot of the table area as Wayne drives through the shot, circling around the tables.)
(Close shot of Jack looking over his shoulder at the car as it goes past. The camera pans with the car as Wayne squeals to a stop, and turns off the blasting radio.)
(Shot of Jack and Norma looking toward Wayne off-screen.)
(Shot of Wayne and Wart. Wayne turns off the radio and hops out, and his car emits a big backfire as he lands. Wart climbs out. Wayne perfunctorily straightens his clothes and hair, and they approach the camera.)
WAYNE: Sorry we're late.
(Wayne grabs a hamburger.)
(Shot of Jack and Norma.)
JACK: You guys were supposed to be here three hours ago.
(Shot of Wayne and Wart.)
WAYNE: Yeah, well, we uh...took the scenic route, hnnn. Tell him, Wart!
(Wayne smiles and looks at his hamburger.)
WART: Hehehe, we took the scenic route.
(Wayne frowns and looks at Wart as Wart takes a bite of hamburger and sits down next to Jack. Jack frowns at Wart, while still trying to get the jar open.)
That was Wayne's buddy Dave Wirtshafter.
(Wart fills a glass from the pitcher.)
Everybody called him "Wart". Hard guy to look at.
(Wart drinks a gulp.)
(Shot of Ida smiling, and Debbie eating a hamburger.)
IDA: Say, I have a fun thought for tonight. How about a campfire!
(Debbie looks at Kevin off-screen and smiles.)
DEBBIE: Sounds good to me, Mom!
Oh, no...
(Close shot of Kevin frowning.)
(Close shot of Wayne.)
WAYNE: Sorry we're...going to be at the drive-in tonight.
(Shot of Kevin and Paul looking at each other, then at Wayne off-screen.)
But hang on! Did he say...?
(Shot of Wart, and Jack straining with the jar.)
WART: Yeah. At the drive-in.
(Wart elbows Jack and smiles.)
WART: "Planet of the Apes".
(Jack jerks in surprise and frowns at Wart. Wart looks down.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul looking at each other.)
PAUL: Great!
(Paul turns toward Wayne and smiles.)
PAUL: We'll come with you.
(Close shot of Wayne frowning, and shaking his head.)
WAYNE: You must be joking.
(Shot of Kevin and Paul as their smiles fade. Paul looks at Kevin. Sound of a car backfire.)
Cut to
Ext. Dusk - The Drive-in Lot
(Shot of the four boys in Wayne's beat-up Corvair, going over the humps of the lot. A scattering of people are starting to find places.)
OK, so it cost us fifteen bucks. Plus gas. At least we'd found a place to hide out for the night.
(Shot from the back seat of Wayne and Wart. Wayne sneers as he turns around to Kevin and Paul.)
WAYNE: Get out!
(Shot of Kevin and Paul looking puzzled.)
(Shot of Wayne and Wart.)
WAYNE: Tell 'em, Wart!
WART: Get out! (Gestures.)
(Wide shot of Kevin and Paul hopping out of the car. Wayne and Wart laugh as they drive out of the scene.)
And there you had it. We'd hit bottom.
(Sound of a big car backfire.)
Fade to
Ext. Night - Drive-in Lot
(Kevin and Paul are walking out of the snack shop toward the camera.)
We were stranded. At a drive-in - with no car, fifty cents in our pockets, and no place to go but..."Planet of the Apes".
(Shot of the same pickup truck in the foreground, and movie screen filling the background. The same girl is sitting on the truck roof, facing away from Kevin and Paul.)
(Shot of Kevin looking toward the truck. The camera moves in slightly.)
And then it happened...
(Shot of the girl as she turns, and looks toward Kevin and Paul.)
(Shot of Kevin recognizing her.)
I knew that truck.
(Close shot of the girl looking at Kevin off-screen, then turning forward.)
I knew that girl.
(Close shot of Kevin. The camera moves in slightly, then stops.)
And I knew what I had to do.
KEVIN: Let's go talk to her.
(Close shot of Paul glancing toward Kevin, then the truck.)
PAUL: Are you crazy?
(Paul looks at Kevin off-screen.)
(Wide shot of the truck and movie screen.)
PAUL (V/O): We don't even know her!
(Close shot of Kevin looking at Paul off-screen.)
Great. Mr. Condom-in-his-wallet was afraid of locals.
KEVIN: Look, Paul - you're the one who said you wanted to meet girls.
(Shot of Kevin and Paul. Paul looks toward the girl, swallows, and nods.)
PAUL: OK.
(Kevin and Paul walk past the camera.)
(Shot of the truck and movie screen. The characters in the movie have paddled their raft to the barren edge of the lake they crashed in.)
(Kevin and Paul walk past the camera into the shot and pause next to the truck.)
(Close shot of the girl smoking a cigarette, watching the movie.)
(Shot of Kevin from the girl's perspective. Kevin looks up hesitantly, over his shoulder, then forward.)
OK...All I needed was a snappy opening.
(Kevin turns and looks up.)
KEVIN: You, uh...got another cigarette?
(Close shot of the girl looking down at Kevin off-screen.)
GIRL: Sorry. Bummed this one myself.
(Shot from the girl's perspective of Paul and Kevin.)
KEVIN: Oh.
(Shot of the girl.)
GIRL: You can have a drag on mine if you want.
(She holds out the cigarette for Kevin.)
(Shot of Paul watching Kevin take the cigarette.)
(Shot of the girl sitting up, and looking at the movie.)
(Shot of Paul watching as Kevin takes a puff.)
My goal was to appear like I'd been doing this my whole life.
(Kevin hands the cigarette back.)
(Shot of Cara bending down and taking it back.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul. Kevin exhales and coughs. Paul grimaces and fans the smoke.)
(Close shot of the girl looking at Kevin off-screen.)
GIRL: You don't smoke, do you?
(Shot of Kevin and Paul.)
KEVIN: Oh, uh, sometimes. (Nods.)
(Close shot of the girl.)
GIRL: You shouldn't. (Smiles.) It doesn't flatter you.
(Shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Oh?...What about you?
(Close shot of the girl looking off.)
GIRL: I shouldn't either.
The thing is, for some reason...
(Close shot of Kevin.)
I couldn't breathe.
KEVIN: So...where're you from?
(Close shot of the girl.)
GIRL: Here.
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Where, the drive-in?
GIRL: (Smiles.) About a half-mile from here.
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: I'm Kevin.
(Shot of Paul and Kevin as Paul nudges him expectantly.)
KEVIN: And...this is Paul. (Gestures.)
PAUL: Hi. (Waves.)
(Shot of Cara smiling.)
GIRL: Hey. Cara.
BILLY (V/O): Hey, Cara!
(Shot past Paul and Kevin as Billy walks up to the truck.)
BILLY: You wanna hang out, or you want to go?
(He puts his hands on the tailgate.)
(Close shot of Cara.)
CARA: Whatever.
(Shot of Paul, Kevin, and Billy.)
(Billy glances at Kevin and Paul, then walks off-screen to get in the truck.)
(Close shot of Cara.)
CARA: I think my brother wants to split.
(Shot of Paul and Kevin.)
KEVIN: Well, it was nice talking to you, Cara. (Nods.)
PAUL: Yeah.
KEVIN: And maybe we'll see you around. (Gestures.)
(Close shot of Cara.)
CARA: Yeah. Maybe.
(Shot of Kevin and Paul looking at Cara off-screen.)
And that was it.
(Paul walks out of the shot.)
Except, that in that brief wrinkle of time, I knew beyond a doubt...
(Shot of Kevin and the truck as Kevin walks toward the camera.)
That something had happened...something big.
(Cara stands up in the back of the truck looking toward Kevin.)
CARA: Hey!
(Kevin turns around.)
CARA: If you're around tomorrow night...I'll be here.
(Close shot of Kevin smiling.)
I guess she knew it, too.
(Shot past Kevin as truck drives past him. He turns and watches Cara leave off-screen. The camera moves in slightly.)
Fade to
Ext. Day - Lakeside
(Shot of the fathers on the dock. The camera pulls back behind Kevin and Paul sitting at the edge of the lake.)
The next day seemed to last about eleven centuries.
JACK: Kev? You want me to bait a hook for ya?
(Shot from Jack's perspective of Kevin and Paul.)
KEVIN: No thanks, Dad.
(Shot from Kevin's perspective of Jack. Jack gestures, then returns to fishing.)
(Closer shot of Kevin and Paul, as Paul skips a rock.)
No matter how I tried, I couldn't get that girl off my mind.
KEVIN: We're going back tonight.
PAUL: What? You don't think I'm actually gonna go back there, do you?
(Closer shot of Kevin and Paul.)
KEVIN: Come on...(gestures)...we'll all hang out!
PAUL: Yeah, right.
(Paul frowns and skips another rock.)
KEVIN: Maybe she has a friend. (Smiles.)
(Closer shot of Paul pausing, then looking at Kevin off-screen and smiling.)
PAUL: A friend?
Sure, it was underhanded.
(Close shot of Kevin smiling.)
But absolutely necessary.
Cut to
Ext. Day - Drive-In Lot
(Shot of Cara as she slides off the hood of the pickup truck.)
Considering the circumstances.
(The camera rolls up to her as she smiles.)
CARA: Hey!
(Shot of Kevin and Paul approaching.)
PAUL: Hi, Cara! (Waves.)
KEVIN: How's it goin'?
CARA (V/O): Awright.
(Shot from behind Kevin and Paul of Cara.)
CARA: Uh....
(She gestures behind her.)
CARA: My brother and a bunch of us were thinking about going down to the lake...
(Close shot of Kevin.)
CARA (V/O): To hang out.
(Close shot of Cara. She raises her eye-brows.)
CARA: You want to come?
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Sure, sounds great! (Smiles.)
(Close shot of Cara smiling.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul.)
PAUL: Ahem!
(He nudges Kevin.)
KEVIN: Oh. You think you have a...a friend or someone who maybe wants to come along?
(Close shot of Cara looking off in thought.)
CARA: Yeah. (Frowns.) Maybe...Lori!
(Shot of Kevin and Paul.)
PAUL: Lori? That's great!(Smiles.)
Cut to
Int. Night - Snack Bar
(Close shot of Lori - a plump, made-up, blonde, gum-smacking girl, looking at Cara off-screen.)
LORI: Sure. Love to go.
(She looks at Paul.)
ANNOUNCER (V/O): Well, folks, only five minutes till showtime!
(The camera pulls back to include Paul and Kevin.)
ANNOUNCER (V/O): Let one of our friendly snack-bar personnel service you...
(Shot of Kevin and Paul. Paul smiles.)
PAUL: Fantastic!
(Shot of Lori and Cara.)
LORI: Meet ya out back. (Smiles.)
(Shot of Paul and Kevin.)
PAUL: If I can just grab my associate for one quick second here.
(Paul tugs Kevin's sleeve. Kevin smiles at the girls. They start walking a few steps away.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul approaching the camera. The girls wait behind them.)
KEVIN: So, what do you think?
PAUL: I'm not going! No way on Earth. Kev - I'm your best friend.
(Shot past Kevin of Paul.)
PAUL: I'll do anything you want me to do. But please, don't ask me to do this for you.
(Shot of Kevin looking toward the girls off-screen.)
(Shot of Kevin and Paul looking toward the girls in the background. Lori pops her gum and wiggles her fingers at Paul.)
(Close shot of Kevin looking at Paul off-screen.)
(Close shot of Paul looking back toward Kevin off-screen.)
It was the heartfelt cry of a dear and trusted friend.
(Shot of Kevin looking from Paul toward the girls off-screen, then back to Paul.)
So I really had no choice.
Cut to
Ext. Night - Drive-In Lot
(Kevin and Cara are sitting in the back of the pickup facing the camera.)
KEVIN: Seeya! (Waves.)
CARA: G'night, Paul.
(The truck starts to drive off.)
(Shot of Paul forlornly holding a plain hotdog, with cars and the movie screen behind him, as the camera pulls away from him.)
(Shot from behind Paul of the truck driving off, as the camera rises.)
It was true I hardly knew these kids, and I'd just met this girl. And I had no idea where I was going. Seemed to me, that was exactly the point.
Fade to
Ext. Night - Lakeside
(In the foreground, Kevin and Cara sit on the truck hood, leaning against the windshield. Lights are on the boatdocks in the background.)
KEVIN: Nice night.
CARA: Yeah...
(Close shot of them sitting side-by-side, with their arms folded, looking at the sky.)
That night I felt a million miles from everything I'd known before.
(Cara turns her head and looks at Kevin.)
CARA: I'm starting high school in the fall.
KEVIN: Me, too.
(Cara looks off.)
CARA: Stinks.
KEVIN: Yeah.
(Cara turns toward Kevin.)
CARA: Maybe things'll pick up when I get my license.
KEVIN: That's what I'm hoping. (Smiles.) A little mobility. You should come up and visit me.
(Cara looks at Kevin, then turns back and smiles.)
CARA: I'd like that.
The thing is, even though I'd just met this woman, I felt like I'd known her my whole life.
BILLY (V/O, in the distance): Hey, Cara!
(Shot past Kevin of Cara, as he turns in Billy's direction.)
BILLY (V/O, in the distance): You want to go, or you want to hang out awhile?
CARA (Loudly.): Leave us alone, Billy!
(Cara looks down.)
(Kevin turns around in mild surprise, then relaxes.)
KEVIN: He watches out for you, huh?
CARA: The guys around here are idiots, you know?
(Cara looks at Kevin.)
(Shot past Cara of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Yeah.
(Close shot of Cara looking off.)
CARA: And the summer guys...
(She looks at Kevin.)
CARA: They're pretty much to stay away from.
(Close shot of Kevin hesitating.)
KEVIN: Oh...
(Kevin looks off.)
(Shot past Kevin as Cara sits up to get a cigarette from her jeans jacket.)
(Kevin sits up with his elbow on his knee, and looks down.)
(Cara looks at Kevin.)
CARA: My brother hates that I smoke.
(Shot past Cara as Kevin turns toward her.)
KEVIN: Do your parents know?
(Cara is looking down. She shakes her head faintly.)
(Close shot of Cara looking off.)
CARA: Sometimes it's like they're speaking a different language.
(Cara looks at Kevin.)
CARA: You know?
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Yeah...
(He smiles in thought.)
KEVIN: I know.
We were so much like each other.
(Kevin looks back to Cara off-screen.)
I could feel myself missing her.
(Shot past Kevin of Cara. She is looking off.)
Even while I was with her.
(Cara looks at Kevin.)
CARA: I'm not supposed to trust you, you know...
(Close shot of Kevin looking off, then at Cara off-screen.)
KEVIN: So...do you?
(Shot past Kevin of Cara. She smiles faintly, then glances off, then back to Kevin.)
CARA: Yeah.
(Close shot of Kevin as he smiles.)
(Shot of both, past Kevin, as Cara starts to light her cigarette. Kevin reaches for the lighter.)
(Shot past Cara of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Lemme.
(Kevin takes the lighter. Cara bends over for him to light her cigarette.)
(Closer shot past Kevin as he moves in and kissesd her. Cara looks at Kevin as he pulls back.)
(Close shot past Cara of Kevin looking at her.)
(Close shot past Kevin of Cara. He waits for a reaction, while she develops one. She looks at him for a few seconds, then smiles.)
CARA: I thought you were gonna light my cigarette.
(They look at each other a second.)
(Close shot of Kevin looking relieved.)
(Close shot of Cara as she smiles again. She bends down as they light her cigarette.)
(Shot of past Cara as they look at each other a moment.)
(Shot of the truck, and lake in the background. Cara lies back against the windshield.)
(Music "So Happy Together" - The Turtles starts and plays through the next several scenes.)
CARA: Nice night.
(Kevin leans back.)
KEVIN: Yeah.
And it was.
(They lie back for several seconds.)
"Imagine me and you, I do"
"I think about you day and night"
Cut to
Ext. Day - Lakeside
(Shot of Jack and Kevin's legs as they walk away from the camera toward lake.)
"It's only right"
(Jack is loaded up with hip boots, nets and pails, and is whistling. The camera pans up.)
Over the next few days, I did my best to be a good son to my dad. To my family.
"So happy together"
CARA: (V/O): Hey, Kevin!
(Jack and Kevin turn to profile, and look toward her voice.)
(Wide shot of Cara standing in front of the truck, dressed in a red top, cut-offs, and hiking boots.)
(Shot of Kevin and Jack. Jack looks at Kevin. Kevin looks at Jack, then toward Cara.)
"If I should call you up, invest a dime"
But somehow, something kept calling me away.
(Kevin looks at Jack.)
"And you say you belong to me"
KEVIN: I gotta go, Dad.
(Kevin tries handing his fishing pole to Jack, who is puzzled, but leans it against him instead.)
"And ease my mind"
(Kevin runs up past the camera to Cara.)
"Imagine how the world could be"
"So very fine"
(Jack looks on, then starts to say something, but stops in futility.)
"So happy together"
Fade to
Ext. Day - Rural Road
(Kevin and Cara are riding in the back of the pickup, engaged in casual conversation.)
"I can't see me loving nobody but you"
Cara and I had found something no two people had ever found before.
(They snuggle a little closer, and Kevin puts his arm around her.)
Each other.
"For all my life"
(The truck pulls away.)
"When you're with me, baby, the skies will be blue"
"For all my life"
Fade to
Ext. Day - Dock on the Lake
(Long shot past cat-tails of Kevin and Cara standing on a dock in the distance. Two people and a dog are swimming nearby.)
"Me and you"
We talked about everything.
"And you and me"
Almost everything.
(Closer shot of them on the dock. Cara is looking toward Kevin, who is looking toward the water.)
"No matter how they tossed the dice"
CARA: Will I see you tomorrow night?
KEVIN: Sure!
"It had to be"
(He looks at her and smiles.)
(Close shot of Kevin and Cara looking toward the water, throwing stones.)
"The only one for me is you"
(Kevin looks at Cara.)
"And you for me"
KEVIN: Of course. (Nods.)
(Cara looks toward Kevin, then back to the water.)
"So happy together"
(He looks down at her hand and takes it.)
"So happy together"
(Wider shot of them, and the swimmers, as they swing their joined hands.)
Trouble was, I was running out of nights - and fast.
"And how is the weather?"
Fade to
Ext. Day - Lakeside
(Shot from behind Kevin and Paul as they sit on the boat ramp with their feet in the water. In the distance between them is Jack, fishing in his hip boots. The camera zooms in slowly.)
"So happy together..."
I guess somehow, I just kept hoping something would happen.
(Music fades.)
IDA (V/O): Ahhhhhh!
(Kevin and Paul quickly turn to see Ida and Debbie half-running out of the cabin.)
And then, it did.
IDA: Look. Alvin...
(Ida holds up something in her hand.)
IDA: Alvin, look at this.
(Shot of Kevin and Paul.)
(Shot of Debbie standing next to Ida as Ida holds up the condom, and Alvin approaches them.)
IDA: What is this?
(Shot of Kevin and Paul as Paul reaches for his wallet, concerned.)
IDA (V/O): What is this? Look what my son has.
PAUL: Oh my Gosh! My wallet!
IDA (V/O:) Where'd he get this from?
(They look toward Ida with concern.)
(Echo of "What is this?!", and the sound of Jack reeling in, as the camera zooms in very close on the condom package Ida holds out at arm's length.)
JACK (V/O): I got one! I got one!
(Shot of Paul and Kevin as they turn forward and look at Jack.)
(Shot from the water of Kevin and Paul looking toward Jack off-screen. Paul looks over his shoulder toward Ida.)
Guess you could call it a red-letter day.
(Close shot of Jack holding up a fish.)
JACK: Hah?
Cut to
Int. Night - Dinner Table
(Close shot of a cooked fish on a tray as Jack places it on the table.)
JACK (V/O): Here we go!
(The camera pans up to Jack's face.)
JACK: Eat up. (Smiles.)
(Wide shot from behind Norma of the Arnold's, and Wart, seated at the table, as Jack sits down.)
NORMA: Fish turned out great, honey.
(Norma glances around the guys off-screen.)
NORMA: Aren't you all proud of your father?
(Shot of Wart and Wayne. Wayne smiles.)
WAYNE: Yeah, we've got fish for days, hehehh.
WART: Yeah, we've got fish for days.
(Close shot of Jack smiling.)
(Close shot of Kevin glancing from Wart to Jack off-screen.)
Of course I was more than glad to be there for Dad's moment of triumph.
(Kevin puts his napkin on his plate and glances around.)
KEVIN: Well, I gotta run.
(Wide shot of all from behind Norma.)
NORMA: Honey? Run where?
KEVIN: To the drive-in.
(Close shot of Kevin as he looks around.)
KEVIN: You know, with Paul.
WAYNE (V/O): 'Fraid not, honeybunch.
(Close shot of Wayne frowning.)
WAYNE: The Pfeiffster's not going anywhere. Mr. Rubberhead's grounded for life. Hahahahah.
(Close shot of Norma frowning.)
NORMA: Wayne!
(Close shot of Wayne.)
WAYNE: Hnnnn...
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Look, Mom, I just have somethin' I have to do, OK?
(Kevin starts to rise.)
(Sound of Jack dropping his fork.)
JACK (V/O): Wait a minute.
(Close shot of Jack past Kevin.)
JACK: You know why I brought the whole family up here?
(Close shot of Kevin looking at Jack off-screen.)
JACK (V/O): Because I thought it might be nice...
(Close shot of Jack.)
JACK: For the whole family to spend a little time. Together. (Gestures.) I caught that fish...
(Close shot of Kevin looking toward the fish.)
JACK (V/O): So we could all enjoy it.
(Close shot of Jack.)
JACK: Together.
(Close shot of Kevin looking from the fish toward Jack off-screen.)
(Close shot of Jack looking toward Norma off-screen.)
JACK: And since this is our last night...
(Close shot of Norma smiling.)
(Shot of Jack looking back to Kevin.)
(Close shot of Jack looking at Kevin off-screen.)
JACK: I thought we'd...spend it with each other.
JACK (V/O): Together.
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: But, Dad...
JACK (V/O): Kev!
(Shot of Jack.)
JACK: I mean it. (Nods.)
(Close shot of Norma looking from Jack toward Kevin off-screen.)
(Close shot of Kevin glancing around.)
Part of me knew he was right. But another part of me knew something more.
(Kevin stands up.)
KEVIN: I can't stay, Dad.
(Close shot of Jack frowning.)
JACK: Kevin! Sit down!
(Close shot of Kevin.)
KEVIN: Why?
(Close shot of Jack.)
JACK: Because I say so. And I'm your father.
(Close shot of Wayne looking down.)
(Close shot of Norma glancing from Jack to Kevin off-screen.)
(Close shot of Kevin.)
There it was.
(Close shot of Jack looking at Kevin off-screen.)
My whole life, they'd been his final words.
(Shot of Kevin looking at Jack off-screen.)
KEVIN: I'm sorry. I'm goin'.
(Kevin pauses, then turns to leave.)
(Close shot of Jack frowning.)
(Shot of Kevin walking toward the front door, and glancing over his shoulder. Kevin picks up his jacket and exits.)
(Wide shot from the doorway of the silent group at the table.)
(Sound of the door spring squeaking, then of the screen-door banging closed.)
Fade to
Ext. Night - Drive-In Lot
(The movie screen fills the background, and the truck fills the foreground. Kevin and Cara sit in front of the truck, facing away from the movie. Charlton Heston's character and the woman, Nova, have just gotten on the horse on the beach and smile at each other.)
("Jamaica, Say You Will" starts to play on truck radio.)
That night, huddled in that cab, we put the whole world behind us.
(Shot from the driver's side of Cara and Kevin. He has his arm around her shoulder.)
(Cara leans forward and adjusts the radio.)
I didn't know what would happen when I got home. It didn't matter.
"Jamaica was the lovely one I played her well"
(Cara leans back.)
CARA: You like this?
KEVIN: Sure...
"As we lay in the tall grass where the shadows fell"
(Cara snuggles closer.)
KEVIN: Whatever. (Smiles.)
"Hiding from the children so they would not tell"
I had to be with Cara. I had to hold her.
"Hiding from the children so they would not tell"
(Kevin looks forward uncomfortably.)
I just couldn't bring myself to tell her...
(Kevin glances at Cara, then off.)
I was leaving.
KEVIN: So. What do you want to do tonight?
"We would stay there till her sister rang the evening bell"
"Jamaica, say you will"
(Cara looks up at him, then looks forward again. Kevin glances at her, then looks off.)
CARA: You're leaving, aren't you?
"Help me find"
KEVIN: Yeah.
"A way to fill"
(Kevin looks down.)
(Shot through the windshield as Cara sits up. Kevin pulls his arm back. She looks forward.)
"These empty hours"
CARA: That's too bad.
"And say you will"
(Kevin looks at her a moment.)
KEVIN: I'll miss you.
"Come again tomorrow"
(Cara continues to look down.)
(Shot from the driver's side.)
(Kevin looks over her face and frowns.)
KEVIN: What's wrong?
"The daughter of a captain on the rolling seas"
CARA: Nothing's wrong.
(She shakes her head faintly.)
(Shot from Kevin's side.)
CARA: I'll miss you too.
"She would stare across the water from the trees"
(Shot from Cara's side.)
KEVIN: Look...
"Last time he was home he held her on his knees"
(Kevin glances off, then looks back to Cara and smiles.)
KEVIN: We can still see each other.
(Kevin glances around.)
KEVIN: I mean...I get my license in a few months, I could...you know...(gestures)...drive up.
"And said next time they would sail away"
CARA (Unconvinced): Yeah.
"Just where they pleased"
KEVIN: On weekends. (Smiles.)
CARA: Yeah...
(Shot from Kevin's side. Cara looks off.)
"Jamaica, say you will"
CARA: I think I gotta hang out with my brother tonight.
"Help me find"
I was losing her.
(Closer shot from Cara's side.)
I guess I knew I had to, but...
(Kevin frowns.)
KEVIN: Don't be like that!
"A way to fill"
(Cara still looks off.)
"These lifeless sails"
CARA: Sorry.
(Kevin moves in a little closer, earnestly.)
"And stay until"
KEVIN: Look, I wanna stay. You know that.
"My ships can find the sea"
KEVIN: You've gotta know that, more than anything!
(Cara continues to look off, as Kevin looks at her.)
But there was nothing more I could say. Except...
KEVIN: I'm sorry.
(Cara turns toward Kevin.)
(Shot from Kevin's side. A tear rolls down Cara's cheek.)
CARA: I'm not.
(Shot from Cara's side as they look at each other a few moments.)
"Jamaica was a sweet one"
(Cara looks down.)
(Close shot of their hands as she takes his.)
"I loved her true"
(Shot past Cara as Kevin looks down.)
(Close shot of Cara's hands holding Kevin's fingers.)
(Shot past Cara of Kevin looking at her.)
(Close shot of Cara's, uh, chest, as she puts his hand on her heart.)
"She was a comfort and a mercy through and through"
(Shot past Cara as Kevin looks at her softly. The camera moves in slowly.)
"Hiding from this world together, next thing I knew"
(Shot past Kevin of Cara looking at him, stroking his hand gently. The camera moves in slowly. Note: ABC required 1-1/2 seconds be cut here :-(
"We’d brought her things down to the bay - what could I do"
(Shot past Cara of Kevin looking at her. The camera moves in slowly.)
"Jamaica, say you will"
(Close shot past Kevin of Cara looking at him a moment.)
"Help me find a way"
(Close shot past Cara of Kevin looking at her a moment, then slowly moving in to kiss her.)
"To fill these sails"
(Shot through the windshield as they kiss passionately.)
"And stay until""
I wanted to stay there...in that night.
"Our waters have run dry"
(Wider shot of the truck and movie-screen. On the movie screen, the couple rides along the beach.)
(The camera slowly pulls up and back as Kevin and Cara continue to kiss.)
More than anything I'd wanted before. But I knew I couldn't. I was fifteen.
"Jamaica say you will"
(On the screen, the movie changes to a very wide shot of the expansive beach and water. The couple on the horse is quite small as they ride across.)
I slept under a roof my father owned, in a bed my father bought.
"Help me find a way"
Nothing was mine. Except my heart. And my fears.
"To fill these sails"
And my growing knowledge...
(The frame freezes.)
"And we'll sail until"
That not every road was going to lead home, anymore.
"Our waters have run dry"
Fade to
CLOSING CREDITS
Supporting Cast
Alvin - John C. Moskoff
Debbie - Torrey Anne Cook
Cara - Lisa Gerber
Ida - Stephanie Satie
Wart - Scott Menville
Billy - Brad Hunt
Lori - Robin Lynn Heath
Music
"Mannish Boy" - Muddy Waters
"I Fought the Law (And the Law Won)" - Bobby Fuller Four
"Happy Together" - The Turtles
"Jamaica Say You Will" - Jackson Browne
Note: Some liberty was taken with the lyrics for "JSYW" by the producers. I transcribed them as used.
"The Lost World" - My fictional extension to "The Lake"
The other Cara episode - Ep 92 "Back to the Lake"
"Hey. Lisa."
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Episode Info
Wonder Years Menu
2/27/05 16:15