Heart of Clouds
by Adrienne Wilson
*adaptation of my novel to go to FILM
(for Walter Halsey Davis, of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference)
Book is registered at WGA, and I will reformat this script for the WGA as well. I’m at page 154.
INT. CHRISTINA BEDROOM. PINK LIGHT.
Teenie sits holding her mothers hand, glad she is awake and alive. She describes Mr. Honeygarten and Claire in childhood.
TEENIE
Mom I met a boy on the beach. His name is Devlin Underwood and he moved here because his mom died last year. He lives with his grandparents now. He wants to be friends Mom.
CHRISTINA
Oh honey, I’m so glad you met a friend like that, Teenie
TEENIE
He’s really nice Mom
CHRISTINA
Tell me something about him
TEENIE
Well he left me this shell
CHRISTINA
He did?
TEENIE
He built a total castle on the beach, Mom
CHRISTINA
A castle?
TEENIE
It is Mom
He took all these pieces of driftwood and just stacked them all together into a structure – I found it the other day
CHRISTINA
Wow
TEENIE
Mom I think he saw me crying and it’s like totally embarrassing
CHRISTINA
What were you crying about?
TEENIE
Dad. Sometimes I really miss him Mom
CHRISTINA
I know you do honey
TEENIE
I really wish he would call Mom
CHRISTINA
Tell me about the castle again
TEENIE
Well that first day I saw him he ran away. I saw him up on the dunes and I called out to him but he ran away
CHRISTINA
(smiles)
Your father ran away from me like that
Teenie I never told you about Delos did I?
TEENIE
(looking at her Mom with wonder)
Who was Delos?
CHRISTINA
(nodding and smiling)
He was the first boy who ever held my hand Teenie
TEENIE
How old were you
CHRISTINA
I was fourteen and so was he
TEENIE
Mom you never told me
CHRISTINA
Maybe I was saving it for today
Delos. Puppy Love
TEENIE
What’s puppy love Mom?
CHRISTINA
Well it’s kind of hard to explain, but sometimes it happens when you are about fourteen or so
TEENIE
It does?
CHRISTINA
Once he took me up to some caves by a creek, and he held my hand as we climbed over the rocks. It was the first time a boy held my hand
TEENIE
You were my age Mom
CHRISTINA
A little bit older
TEENIE
What was he like?
CHRISTINA
He was the nicest boy, he really was
There was another boy too, Teenie
TEENIE
(raises eyebrows, close in on surprised look)
Another boy?
CHRISTINA
His name was Charles
TEENIE
Mom you never told me any of this
CHRISTINA
I guess I didn’t did I?
TEENIE
Mom!
CHRISTINA
Well I guess you weren’t going to turn fourteen before
TEENIE
Mom!
CHRISTINA
Now that you’re going on fourteen I guess it’s time we had a talk about boys
TEENIE
(very surprised that she and her mother are talking this way)
Mom!
CHRISTINA
Charles made a ring for me once
TEENIE
He did?
CHRISTINA
We better have some breakfast. I want to hear all about Devlin and his castle
INT. CHRISTINA KITCHEN. PINK LIGHT
Christina making two bowls of cereal with bananas, and Teenie’s first cup of coffee.
CHRISTINA
I put a lot of cream and sugar in this
TEENIE
(amazed, her first cup of what adults drink)
CHRISTINA
Teenie Alexander I think my little girl is growing up
TEENIE
I am Mom
CHRISTINA
Tell me about Devlin
TEENIE
Only if you tell me about Delos and Charles
CHRISTINA
You go first
TEENIE
First he left me a shell, and then I left him a note. I hid it Mom. Then he left me a note back.
Mom was Delos your friend?
CHRISTINA
He was honey, that summer
Now that I think of it Teenie, he asked me to kiss him but I didn’t
TEENIE
He did?
CHRISTINA
He told me our friends, Susie and Paul had kissed, and he wanted to do what Paul did, but I didn’t want to so I didn’t
TEENIE
Did you kiss Charles?
CHRISTINA
Yes, honey I did
TEENIE
Was it when he gave you that ring?
CHRISTINA
It might have been – he designed the ring himself because we were both taking a jewelry class together
TEENIE
Did he like you?
CHRISTINA
I think he did. We were reading a book called The Hobbit when we took that class and he designed the ring that looked like it came right out of the book
TEENIE
Did you wear it?
CHRISTINA
Well it seemed like if I wore it it would mean something so I kept it in my jewelry box instead. I wasn’t sure why he gave it to me, to be honest
TEENIE
What did it look like?
CHRISTINA
It was silver with a dragon swirling all around it
TEENIE
Mom what was kissing like?
CHRISTINA
When I was fourteen I didn’t kiss boys often Teenie – Charles and I might have just kissed each other on the cheek when he gave me that ring
(pauses)
I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea about me
TEENIE
(thinking of invisible kiss she left for Devlin)
Mom can a boy and girl be friends without kissing?
CHRISTINA
(smiles warmly at her daughter)
A kiss is a really special thing Teenie. A boy and a girl should be really good friends
before they try and have a first kiss
Never kiss a boy if you don’t want to Teenie
TEENIE
I won’t Mom
Adrienne Wilson 