

High School Experiment

by

Phil Wohl

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016 Phil Wohl

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EXT. BARNUM FIELD HANGERS

The old, abandoned Barnum Field Hangers had remained vacant since just after the Vietnam War, where they had been used during World War II as a training field for pilots. A former Air Force pilot tried to un-successfully convert the facilities to flight school but demand never met supply. He held on to the property rights for several years until he got an unexpected call one afternoon.

ARTHUR SHAW

Hello.

MARTIN SINGER

Hello, is this Captain Arthur Shaw?

ARTHUR SHAW

Yes, this is Captain Shaw? Who may I ask is calling?

MARTIN SINGER

Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Martin Singer.

Shaw was in his advanced years and didn't hear so well from years of being way too close to explosives.

ARTHUR SHAW

Stringer? (Shaw thought it was one of his old flying buddies from the service) How the hell are you?

MARTIN SINGER

I am fine. How are you, sir?

The Stringer that Shaw remembered was also a captain, so the reference to him as a 'sir' threw him off a bit.

ARTHUR SHAW

No need to be so formal, Captain Stringer. How long has it been since we got together?

Singer wasn't sure at first if he should burst the military bubble, or just continue on with the conversation and see where it took him. He tried not to act desperate, but this was the only location in a town that he wanted to stay with his wife and three kids either approaching or of high school age.

MARTIN SINGER

Too many years!

What Shaw didn't know was the real Captain Martin Stringer had died a few years earlier at an air show, while performing in a stunt plane.

ARTHUR SHAW

Have you been tasked with planning a reunion of the '57' again?

Singer used this question as an entry point to discuss what he really called for in the first place.

MARTIN SINGER

No, although we can talk about that. I called because I wanted to see if you would consider selling that property of yours in Bloomsburg?

ARTHUR SHAW

The Barnum Field?

No one had mentioned the hangers to him in years. He was now living in Florida, where the oranges were sweet and the gray-haired ladies were even juicier, and a service pension just didn't stretch as far as it used to.

MARTIN SINGER

Yes, that's the one.

ARTHUR SHAW

It's the perfect spot for a training field. (Thought he was selling the opportunity to a former pilot)

Singer didn't have the heart to tell Shaw that he would be bottling water in the location, not boarding planes. He probably wouldn't have been successful in his negotiations at that point if he had been truthful about anything.

MARTIN SINGER

Yes it is.

Shaw thought he had a fish on the line and didn't want to lose this catch of the day.

ARTHUR SHAW

Well, I paid $50,000 for the hangers and associated acreage back in '62. Used a G.I. loan and just paid it off last year. What's your best price? (He was hoping for six figures)

Singer knew what Shaw paid for the land, and he also knew that the land alone was being appraised for $500,000 and there were whispers of a group trying to build a mall on the location but Shaw wouldn't even talk to them. They would have paid the appraised value without even batting an eye.

Somewhere between the appraised value and Shaw's diluted target was exactly where the savvy Singer shot.

MARTIN SINGER

I want to give you a fair price without us having to negotiate, so how does $300,000 sound?

Shaw adjusted the hearing aid behind his left air and made sure that it was positioned properly.

ARTHUR SHAW

I'm sorry, could you repeat that number again?

MARTIN SINGER

I said, how does $300,000 sound?

If Shaw learned one thing in all of his years on the planet, it was to never assume what you heard. He would always say, "Assuming will damn nearly get you killed!" even if he was talking to the kid who bagged groceries at the local store.

ARTHUR SHAW

All those years of being near bombs has made me a little hard of hearing. Did you say $300,000?

MARTIN SINGER

Yes, $300,000. (He held his breath, not knowing what would come out of whacky Shaw's mouth next)

ARTHUR SHAW

You got a deal partner!

Singer was never one to dawdle.

MARTIN SINGER

I'll have this lawyer I know draw up some papers and come down with a check for $300,000 and a pen for you to sign the contracts.

Shaw paused for a second, partly out of age and mostly out of stunned euphoria.

ARTHUR SHAW

Make sure you get back to me about that reunion.

MARTIN SINGER

(Smiling) When I hammer out the details you will be the first to know.

ARTHUR SHAW

Isn't that great! (The phone was halfway between his ear and the base, and then he hung up)

Three days later, Jerry Grant was on a plane to the Tampa, Florida area with a contact in his briefcase and a check for $300,000. Shaw opened the door to his house and Grant flashed the check, which gained him instant admittance into Shaw's humble abode. Ten minutes later, the pages and pages of contracts were signed and Shaw had his cash windfall in hand and was no longer thinking about Long Island and the broken-down flight training facility he once cherished.

JERRY GRANT

It's done. (He told Singer on a huge brick that used to be a cell phone)

MARTIN SINGER

Good, now it's time to get to work.

The Steaming Springs Water Company was at the forefront of the bottled water revolution. By 1998, Martin Singer was persuaded by his group of investors to take the company public on Wall Street. He resisted the temptation of becoming an instant multi-millionaires for years because he knew the pressure he and his board would come under for having to answer to shareholders. But his minority partners were getting older and they wanted a larger payday to finance their retirements.

EXT. TRUMAN GOLF COURSE

MARTIN SINGER

Do we all need this added pressure? (He asked three of his board members at an impromptu meeting at Truman Park Golf Course.

HAROLD BAUMAN

(His oldest and dearest friend) Marty, one day it won't be our problem. The company is at its peak value.

GARY PHILLIPS

I agree. We might not have this opportunity again.

Singer looked at the other member of their foursome, David French, and he also nodded in agreement.

DAVID FRENCH

All valid points, but there is considerably more risk in opening our world up to the entire investment universe.

French had been a stockbroker on Wall Street since he graduated from NYU.

DAVID FRENCH

I value the company at $24 per share, which would make us all wealthy beyond our current means. We could always drive the stock price up into the $40's and then start liquidating our positions after the mandatory one-year waiting period.

MARTIN SINGER

You see, that's exactly what I am worrying about! I didn't start this business, and we didn't grow this business, for the short term. It was supposed to be something that we could pass down to our kids and their kids.

The other two men looked at French for guidance and strength, so he naturally took the lead.

DAVID FRENCH

Look Marty, the money we make off this deal will finance any needs are descendants have for generations. Plus, there is no guarantee that we will be able to keep our market share while this industry continues to expand. Look at IBM and Microsoft. Shit happens!

That final point was the one that resonated with Marty Singer.

MARTIN SINGER

Yes. Shit does indeed happen. (He looked at the other three men) If we do this, they should name the town after us.

Phillips, who was one of the most influential men in the town and was best friends with the mayor interjected.

GARY PHILLIPS

Marty, if you do this, I can guarantee that we will rename the town Steaming Springs! Hell, 70% of the people in the town have ties to the company!

Marty's pride definitely got the best of him on that day as he agreed to take the company public under the ticker WATR on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. And then, in the following week, Truman was officially renamed Steaming Springs, New York, and Mayor Harry Reese gave Singer a key to the city in an official ceremony attended by all of the townspeople.

The company continued to prosper during the dot-com bubble of 2001 after the introduction of a line of sports and energy drinks. The stock rose to new highs in 2007, hitting $100 per share. And then everything changed on afternoon when Singer was watching CNBC.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS WATER COMPANY CEO OFFICE

WALL STREET ANALYST

This rally has legs. Frankly, we don't see anything that would impede the bull market continuing for a few more years.

The crooked man worked for an investment bank that was the most exposed to the impending credit crisis through mortgage-backed securities that held a bunch of really bad loans.

Marty looked deep into the snake's eyes and turned to his chief financial officer, who happened to be his son Bruce.

MARTIN SINGER

I don't trust this guy. Something bad is about to happen, I can just feel it!

BRUCE SINGER

(He was more of an optimist and was counting on the stock price continuing to $120 a share so he could buy a beach house on Dune Road in Southampton) Sales are breaking all kinds of records and our margins have never been better.

MARTIN SINGER

Are people paying on time?

BRUCE SINGER

Yes. Cash flow has never been better. In fact, we should think about doing something with all of this cash, like making an acquisition or something.

MARTIN SINGER

(Poison to Marty's ears) No acquisitions! I don't trust anything that we haven't built our-selves. We should think about instituting a dividend once sales growth slows a bit, and maybe buy back shares on a dip.

BRUCE SINGER

Okay, but I really think an acquisition is the way to go.

MARTIN SINGER

(Losing his patience) Well, when you run the company you can buy all of the companies you want.

Bruce nodded in agreement, because his father had been his meal ticket for some time and questioning such success would be foolish. But he always knew there would come a day when he would be in charge.

Marty had convinced a few of the board members to sell some shares only weeks before the financial crisis took flight in 2008. As the stock price rose from the $80's to an all-time high of $117, Marty had been selling shares in advance, in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission rules, and had reduced his ownership from 50% to a mere 7%, but he maintained the dominant share of voting rights in the company.

CNBC REPORTER

(Asks Marty on the air) If the CEO is selling most of his shares, why should investors still believe in the company?

MARTIN SINGER

(In charming mode) Have you seen our sales lately? I decided to sell my shares in order to make more available for others to buy into our success.

While that was true in theory, Marty was leaning on the advice he received years earlier from a fellow business man who ran a small camera store in town.

CAMERA STORE OWNER

You must always diversify. If you're too dependent on one thing then there is nowhere to hide once things start turning against you. My business flourished in the days of film, but now it is a fraction of the size since everything went digital. We went from four locations to barely holding on to one. And the changed happened almost overnight.

INT. COMPANY GYM

Singer was now 71 years old and went to the gym he built for his employees almost every day. He was chugging along on an elliptical machine one morning and watching the morning programming on CNBC. And as the calm of the foreign markets slowly transitioned from negative information, to concern, to all-out panic, his heart began racing from statements like "a potential credit market crisis" and "we have seen the end of the bull market as we know it."

Shares of WATR went from $117.50 to $100.00 per share before the market even opened, propelling him to visit his son in his office down the hallway at 8:45 a.m., 45 minutes before the market opened.

INT. CFO BRUCE SINGER"S OFFICE

MARTIN SINGER

Did you see what's happening this morning?

Bruce looked over at the TV in his office and ESPN Sportcenter was showing highlights of the previous night's action. Marty jumped in after he could see that his oblivious son was obviously focused on much more important matters.

MARTIN SINGER

The market is collapsing! (He reached for the clicker and changed the channel to CNBC) The stock is under $100! You can still get out if you file to sell now!

Bruce needed $120 a share to get what he wanted, so the thought of cashing out below $100 met with great emotional resistance.

BRUCE SINGER

No can do, dad! I got my eye on this beach house in Southampton.

Bruce's rampant stupidity and associated ignorance must have been too much for even Marty's body to contain.

MARTIN SINGER

You have to sell, Brucie! This is the big one!

And, just as he said the word "one" the pain in his chest made all of the air in his body look for a quick exit. Bruce heard his father yelling but he was focused on the paralyzing panic on the TV screen in front of him. It wasn't until Marty hit the floor after suffering a massive heart attack that Bruce even realized that something was wrong. He looked over and both the noise and his father were now out of sight, so he stood up and saw his father on the ground clutching his chest

BRUCE SINGER

CALL 9-1-1!

It was two months before Marty Singer was strong enough to get out of bed and leave the hospital, and another six months before he decided to step down from his positions as chairman and CEO of the company. The stock was now at $50 a share and sinking with the unstable markets and no visible captain steering the Steaming Springs ship.

DELIA SINGER

You have to name Bruce CEO. (She said to her husband and he glared back as if he was Sampson and she was Delilah)

Marty couldn't watch his company be flushed down the drain, so he suggested the first thing that came to mind in order to avoid additional stress that could prove fatal.

MARTIN SINGER

I'll only agree to that if you agree to move.

It was one of the few times in fast-talking Delia's life that she was at a loss for words.

MARTIN SINGER

Because, if we stay here, I'm not going to be able to live beyond what is going to happen next with my company.

DELIA SINGER

(With a heavy heart because she would have to be away from her kids and grandkids) Where?

MARTIN SINGER

Well, we have a summer house in the Hampton's, but I put that on the market and sold it just before the meltdown.

DELIA SINGER

Why didn't you tell me that we were selling the house?

MARTIN SINGER

Because you would have acted emotionally and tried to block the sale. (He popped a nitro glycerin pill as a preventative measure)

She normally would have fought back and talked about all of the good times and how it would have been better to simply pass the property down to the next generation. But, Delia loved her husband more than anything and did not want to see him suffer. Questioning him about his business was always a pointless pursuit - all she had to do was look around to know that his decisions had created a life for them that she never could have imagined.

MARTIN SINGER

We can afford to go just about anywhere you want. I just have to stay about as far away from CNBC and the financial news as I can.

She thought about what he said.

DELIA SINGER

I really don't want to leave the country, and we shouldn't have the kind of plane ride that would completely deter us from coming back or them coming to see us.

MARTIN SINGER

(Smiling) Remember that vacation we took..."

And they both were jetted off to a place where time stood still, and that place was Hawaii.

DELIA SINGER

(Also smiles) I have a few friends that already retired there.

MARTIN SINGER

Best beaches in the world! (Thinking to himself) I'm getting a dog and a Jeep, not necessarily in that order.

The next day, the company's communications department drafted a press release that stated Bruce Singer would take over the reigns as chief executive officer, in addition to his chief financial officer role. The position of de-facto chairman was filled by board member David French, because Harold Bauman and Gary Phillips did not want the added responsibility. Bauman was Singer's best friend and knew that if Marty was walking away from the business there was probably a good reason for it. He resigned from the board two months after Bruce Singer took over, because his job now felt like work with never-before-seen problems cropping up.

HAROLD BAUMAN

(Harold reminding Bruce) It's not easy being the boss.

Three months later, with the financial markets still unsteady, Bruce became aware of a small energy drink maker called LavaForce that was on the verge of bankruptcy and was "ripe for the picking," as he coined it. LavaForce had taken the performance drink world by storm the previous year, as teenagers and 20-somethings appeared captivated by its potent caffeine/jalapeño pepper blend that kept the user awake and opened every pour, orifice and passageway of their bodies.

Sales weren't the problem for the company, whose coke-sniffing founder, Brandon Gonzalez, was into more white powder than Frosty the Snowman. The private company was under his control and he had to answer to no one about where all the money went. Other mainstream beverage companies wouldn't take the bait and touch LavaForce with a 10-foot coke spoon, because Gonzalez not only insisted on being paid for the company but also receive a significant annual retainer as a consultant. It wasn't until he got a call from an intrigued Bruce Singer, who was dying to make his first acquisition despite sage advice from his father in days gone by, that the pieces started coming together.

The simple reason why Marty Singer stayed clear of purchasing other companies was because of baggage. And since this baggage was not his own, the level of unknown dysfunction was basically "someone else's problem and not worth taking the chance."

LavaForce was worth about $500 million at its peak but Bruce was able to snatch up the company for only $50 million and provide Gonzalez with an annual salary of $250,000 as long as the product line remained in existence.

The transaction closed within a month, probably because Gonzalez had to either continue to support his habit or be dragged kicking and screaming into rehab. Bruce Singer was always motivated to show his father that he could be better than him. It was obviously the path that every first born ventured on to give the illusion of superiority, while actually achieving very little.

As CFO, he estimated that the inclusion of LavaForce would boost the company's sales in the coming quarter and year by more than 35%. Projecting the acquisition to be so accretive to the company's revenues made Wall Street analysts tingle, and the stock shot back up to $77 from its low of $45. The markets were turning around in 2009 after taking a considerable and historic beating the previous year. Most companies had streamlined operations and were cutting costs to the bone in case the apocalypse reared its ugly head again. Every company with the exception of Steaming Springs Water of course, who was adding bodies at a record pace, pushing the town toward a zero unemployment rate.

Shares of WATR reached a post-crisis high of $98 near the middle of 2010.

BRUCE SINGER

(Alone in his office) I'm gonna' get back to $120 if it kills me!

This was about the time when the lava really started to flow. The truth is that when a volcano erupts the lava it produces destroys everything in its path, and this funky discharge definitely held true to form.

The price on the Hampton's house Bruce coveted came down dramatically during the financial meltdown, yet Bruce Singer's net worth rose, so he was able to pounce on the property even before the company's stock rose to $120 per share. He was sitting on the deck after closing, enjoying the radiant sunshine while facing the ocean, when his cell phone rang. Bruce looked at the Caller ID and it read 'Sammy B', who was the company's General Counsel Sammy Braun, his friend and fraternity brother.

BRUCE SINGER

Sammy B! What's shaking, brother?

SAMUEL BRAUN

Brucie! It's been an interesting day! You're not going to believe this!

The tone of his voice suggested that something good had happened, so Bruce was eager to hear some more.

BRUCE SINGER

Hit me with it! (He sat back in his white Adirondack chair and stretched his long legs across the ottoman in front of him)

SAMUEL BRAUN

Get this! Gonzalez was arrested on a cocaine drug charge and the cops hauled him off to jail!

The two guys had been friends for the past 25 years.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Which violates the terms of our consulting deal, which is now null and void!

Bruce yelled in excitement in typical New York fashion, showing no compassion while benefiting from someone else's misfortune.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Exactly! The bad news is that he also dies of an apparent drug overdose while in jail.

BRUCE SINGER

How do we plan on spinning it?

SAMUEL BRAUN

The police are going to bury the arrest and say that they found him unresponsive in his residence, and dead of an apparent heart attack. Doctors are also going to say that he had a heart condition that was hereditary in nature.

BRUCE SINGER

No mention of drugs?

SAMUEL BRAUN

None.

BRUCE SINGER

Good. Send his family a nice fruit basket.

SAMUEL BRAUN

(Chuckling) The poor son of a bitch doesn't have any family and he basically left the planet without a dime to his name, unless you consider the high-priced powder in his nose as collateral.

BRUCE SINGER

This day keeps getting better and better!

In the category of karma is indeed a bitch once things swing back around, events started occurring that might not have been significant, at least at first, on a case by case basis, but were becoming potent as an undeniable and destructive pattern.

The county coroner performed an autopsy on Gonzalez.

COUNTY CORONER

This body presents the appearance of busting, similar to an explosion. In all my 35 years of analyzing the deceased, I have never seen a heart in such dis-tress.

Bruce Singer got only a few excerpts of the report and he and everyone else inside and outside of the company wrote it of as Gonzalez being totally out of control with drugs. While an exploding heart was nothing to laugh at, it was quickly thought of a non-repeating event and forgotten. That was, until, it happened again two months later and was reported as an item at the end of a newscast of a local station in Tallahassee, Florida.

LOCAL MALE NEWS ANCHOR

And to end the news tonight, there was a report from a Windcrest Truck Stop in Tallahassee where a driver was found in dead in the cab of his truck with... (He turned to his female co-anchor, a male sports guy and the weatherwoman) And, get this, his heart propelled from his chest and was throbbing on the dash-board. Local authorities are checking into the cause of the exploding heart.

The original copy that night called for Frank Martin to also disclose that the driver was still clutching an oil can-sized container of LavaForce, but the station's lawyers removed the reference in fear of being sued through the inference that the product might be related to the man's death.

A week later, a report was aired by a local station in Portland, Oregon, where a log trucker died in a similar incident. Again, the trucker had a can of LavaForce clutched in the Kung-Fu grip of his left hand, and the reference in the copy was removed by the station manager. It wasn't until a few weeks later when a student was found dead in a similar fashion at his desk in his dorm room on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, that the story gained national attention.

NBC Nightly News was the first to report the story at the end of broadcast.

NATIONAL MALE NEWS ANCHOR

And finally, a bizarre story at the University of New Mexico, where a student was found dead in his dorm room while studying for finals. Sophomore Jared Perkinson had a yellow highlighter in one hand, a can of LavaForce in the other, and the heart that exploded from his chest was resting on a Business Management text book in front of him. We send our condolences out to the young man's family.

This was the first time that exploding hearts were linked to LavaForce, but it definitely wasn't the last. By the time the show 60 Minutes launched an investigation and then filed a report a few months later, the isolated occurrences spread to a group of related deaths and the an international matter where the FBI and Interpol became involved.

While the drink was less dangerous when consumed by itself, with only a few deaths reported, if it was ingested in combination with a number of over-the-counter drugs and illegal contraband, it became lethal and similar to lighting the fuse of an M-80 firecracker. In fact, many of the ingredients used in LavaForce were also present in fireworks, but were excluded from the ingredients list on the side of the can.

Over a four-month period, the company's stock went from $98 per share to $23, as the company struggled to recall the beverage and fight a myriad of wrongful death suits. Bruce Singer appeared on 60 Minutes.

BRUCE SINGER

While I cannot comment on the specifics of the cases against us, I'm confident the truth will come out that LavaForce is a safe beverage that only becomes deadly when used in conjunction with certain chemicals.

The company actually looked better after the report than it did going in, which was a rarity for the program, and the stock rallied to $30 per share briefly before law enforcement put out its report on the actual ingredients of the beverage.

FBI Agent Lawrence Hightower announced the findings at a press conference that was covered by all of the major stations a month after the 60 Minutes report.

LAWRENCE HIGHTOWER

We have tested the beverage in all of its packaging - oil can, glass bottle and sippy box - and have come to the following conclusion: the drink is basically a packaged rocket launcher waiting to be ignited. Not only has LavaForce and Steaming Springs distributed a dangerous product, it has also misled consumers on the drink's actual ingredients.

Bruce Singer was watching the press conference with one eye, and focusing on the company's stock chart on his computer screen with the other eye. He had been selling shares all morning after he was tipped off that the news would not be positive for the company. Once he heard the words "rocket launcher" he hit the refresh button and watched as the value of his company began plummeting back down to earth. But, Singer had a smirk on his face in the warmth of the knowledge that he had saved his family's personal net worth and they would be fine with or without the company.

The shares dropped from $30 per share to a scant $2 in a matter of weeks, and Bruce's dreams of producing an effective escape route came crashing down when the SEC filed insider trading charges against him for selling on information that was not yet available to the public. The legal fees from all of the lawsuits crushed the company and forced Bruce to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The shares eroded to under $1 a share, which prompted it to be dropped from the NASDAQ and become a speculative 'penny' stock.

The unemployment rate in Steaming Springs, New York was the lowest of any town in the nation before the LavaForce blowup occurred, at just under 2%. However, following the steady stream of bad news and then the bankruptcy, the town's unemployment rate jumped to 5% then 7%, then 15% and then 30%.

And, just when it appeared that the worst was over and the company was going to exit bankruptcy, a fresh round of class action lawsuits were filed by groups of people that had been either injured or permanently damaged by the drink. The company shut down and effectively closed its doors, and Bruce Singer defaulted on his house in the Hampton's and was faced with many other difficult decisions about his personal life.

INT. SINGER RESIDENCE - KITCHEN TABLE

BRUCE SINGER

They want to make a deal with me.

LISA SINGER

(Irritated) What do you have to do now?

The lifelong Long Islander was the very definition of a front-runner, and was out of patience for all of this backtracking. She would have left him months earlier and taken half of his money - when he actually had money - but gave in to the pleas of from Bruce's mother for her to stay. Lisa figured that Marty and Rita Singer still had money and she could probably get her hands on enough of it when they eventually left the planet.

BRUCE SINGER

We have to give up everything. It's either that, or I go to jail.

Lisa thought for a moment about her husband in an orange jumpsuit with a pair of laceless sneakers, but then she would have to sponge off somebody else after the divorce.

The couple's two kids, Steven (17) and Amy (16), were away for the summer to get away from the tension, and both looked forward to going to college and never coming back.

BRUCE SINGER

We'll have to move into a smaller place.

LISA SINGER

Are you saying that we have live in your parents' house? I'm not sure why they didn't sell it when they moved? (Then she remembered that Julie Singer, Bruce's younger sister, had remained in the house and was an administrative assistant - for lack of a better title - with the company until the end) We have to live with Julie? (Then she finally broke character) Fuck that! I'm out of here!

She stood up and walked out of the kitchen, and Bruce followed her.

BRUCE SINGER

Where are you going?

LISA SINGER

(She turned around in an almost-threatening manner as he instinctively backed away) I'm going down to Boca to live with my mother! She's been begging me to live with her ever since I married you!

BRUCE SINGER

When are you coming back?

LISA SINGER

If you ever get this mess cleaned up. (She then disappeared up the long staircase)

The pain of the corporate discord was taking its toll on the Singer family. While Marty Singer was able to process all of the bad news through his new-age routine of tai chi and meditation, his wife Rachel was not so lucky. She suffered a mild stroke and was hospitalized in order to reduce the risk of a more severe episode. She had to be constantly sedated and remained in the hospital for several months without anyone knowing.

It was a brutally-hot New York summer, almost a year after the fall of the Steaming Springs company. The town had slipped into a deep depression, bordering on a coma, and was on the verge of being wiped off the map entirely. City government had relied on funds received from the company and was now approaching bankruptcy itself. The school budget had failed to pass and the district was near closing because it couldn't pay teachers and support staff.

Ex-employees of the company were either too down to leave the house or, in most cases, had just grabbed whatever they could from their houses and left town to stay elsewhere with family. Bills and mortgages remained unpaid because the job market was tight and jobs were hard to come by.

A population that was once 144,000 strong had been reduced to fewer than 20,000 people, the majority of which had lived in the town since houses were first built in the 1960s, and had fully paid for their properties. These senior citizens were living on social security, pensions and retirement savings and were basically unaffected by the ghost town around them. Major grocery chains were pulling out of town and other retailers had plans to leave, creating an open lane for the rebirth of 'mom and pop' shops if the town ever turned around.

Bruce Singer hadn't spoken to his father in years, partially out of stress avoidance, but mostly because he didn't want to hear an "I told you so!" from the old man. But a letter he received in the mail and flyers plastered everywhere around town spurred him to find out if his father was behind the action. The sheet of paper read, "IMPORTANT MEETING AT STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL! ABLE-BODIED TOWNSPEOPLE MUST ATTEND! HUGE OPPORTUNITY!"

The enthusiasm of the all-caps message had Marty Singer written all over it, and it honed the available 'able-bodied' participants to about a hundred people ranging in age from pre-school to seniors. So Bruce decided to pick up the phone and call his father after more modern social media methods went unnoticed.

MARTIN SINGER

Hello.

BRUCE SINGER

Dad, its' Bruce.

Marty knew who was calling even before the phone rang. His son was that predictable.

MARTIN SINGER

Bruce, who?

BRUCE SINGER

Your son, Bruce.

MARTIN SINGER

Oh, that Bruce. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?

While confronting the big bear was never a good idea, trying to go around him and disorient him was equally bad.

BRUCE SINGER

There's a meeting taking place at the high school.

MARTIN SINGER

That's great, Brucie! How is the company doing?" (Tried to sound sincere)

Bruce wasn't sure how to answer the question because just about everyone in the free world knew the company had crashed and burned in the most dramatic of fashions and no longer existed. But, he didn't want to excite his father and risk stopping his heart.

BRUCE SINGER

Everything is fine.

MARTIN SINGER

How are Lisa and the kids?

BRUCE SINGER

(Rolling his eyes)

(Bruce rolled his eyes) They're just great!

MARTIN SINGER

It doesn't sound like it's so great. Is there something that you're not telling me?

Bruce looked up to the heavens and wished he could ask his father the identical question, but that would have to wait for another time and place.

BRUCE SINGER

No, dad. Everything is fine. It's been a while and I just wanted to hear your voice.

MARTIN SINGER

I hope you can find your own space, Brucie. That was always my wish for you. It's not about anyone else. It's got to be about you and where you best fit in the world.

BRUCE SINGER

Okay, dad.

Marty was done with the bullshit part of the conversation.

MARTIN SINGER

Be open to new experiences, Bruce. You never know when the wind may shift from front to back again.

Son understood father on that one and knew his choices in life had narrowed to living with his off-center sister for the rest of his life, or taking a chance and making whatever came next his own.

BRUCE SINGER

All right, dad. I will. Love you.

Bruce said professed his love for his father for the first time to since he was too young to know what love really was.

MARTIN SINGER

(Smiling) Love you too, Brucie! (As they both hung up)

The big meeting was taking place in the Steaming Springs High School auditorium that Saturday night, which had a seating capacity of more than 500 people. Some of the more anxious people started trickling in for the 7:15 pm meeting at 6:30 pm into the fairly airy space. But, as more and more sweaty people showed up, the room increased in temperature.

The official start to the school year was only days away, but no students had bothered to get supplies. The district had not sent any notices to parents and students via email or snail mail, and its website was about as out of date as the town itself.

Bruce waited until seven o'clock to leave his house despite repeated protests from his sister, who had the attention span of a first-grader.

JULIE SINGER

We have to get there early to get a good seat!

She kept yelling, as Bruce continued to ignore her. But, after the fifth time she invaded his ear space, he finally shot back.

BRUCE SINGER

A good seat for what?

JULIE SINGER

For the... thing! (Her mind briefly stalled)

BRUCE SINGER

What is this thing about?

JULIE SINGER

I don't know, but it's important!

Bruce's initial hesitation came because he knew his father and his friends must be behind the drama, but then he remembered what his father said about "keeping an open mind," so he acquiesced.

BRUCE SINGER

All right, let's go!

JULIE SINGER

(Delighted) Finally!

Bruce called on his memory of the school's parking lots to devise a strategy where they wouldn't be entering with the rest of the people. While the town's sensitivity to Bruce's acquisition of LavaForce was past its crescendo, that didn't mean that people still weren't really pissed off!

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

What Bruce didn't count on was that things had changed since he had last been in the school 25 years ago. He took one wrong left turn once inside and they wound up backstage in the auditorium. The person that was going to give the talk had just come on stage to a stunned silence, which was broken by a chorus of boos from the sight of Bruce emerging from the right side of the stage and then scurrying down the stairs to find a seat in the empty front row.

Most of the crowd had taken seats near the back of the room out of apprehension.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Steps up to the microphone) We had fewer people than anticipated, so could you all move down to the first few rows?

Craig Brothers was the figurehead standing up on the stage in front of the crowd, but his association to the town was one of monetary attachment only. The struggling actor, turned waiter, was about to give up on his dreams before he booked the gig. At 45 years old, Brothers was living off a combination of food stamps and restaurant throwaways and had benefited from the kindness of friends and strangers for a couch to sleep on.

Playing the part of the stern yet understanding principal of Steaming Springs High School was definitely a test for this son of flower children, who spent a lifetime fighting the establishment until they became the establishment. Rex Brothers, Craig's father, was chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and his mother was a college dean. Steven was long gone by the time his parents stopped taking drugs and turned their attention from protesting to saving adequately for retirement.

The 6'4" Brothers was a significant figure as he firmed the vest of his three-piece seat while taking a deep breath as he began the part of a lifetime.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I'm sure you're all wondering why you were called here today.

Grumblings could be heard throughout the crowd.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

My name is Principal Brothers and I am here to tell you that school will definitely be in session this year.

People again voiced concern about the viability of such a plan, this time through actual words and sentences that were mixed with feelings of confusion.

Bruce immediately had questions, but he didn't dare raise his hand. Instead, the night foreman of his former bottling operations stood up and voiced his concern. Terry German felt very comfortable within the walls of the high school where he was a star quarterback. A knee injury derailed his promising college career, but he had come to coach the team before quitting and taking a higher paying job at the Steaming Springs Bottling Company.

TERRY GERMAN

How is the school going to operate with the town on the verge of bankruptcy?

Bruce almost broke his neck doing a double-take at German, who asked the exact question he was going to ask.

German glared at Bruce with a "Not everybody has job handed to them" look.

Brothers' had been schooled by a quartet of men in a week-long retreat that was all-expenses paid.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I want to thank you for bringing me out here! I haven't been to Hawaii since I was a kid.

Martin Singer looked over at his best friend, Harold Bauman, and the two had an unspoken language all of their own. Being that SEC head Rex Brothers was Craig's dad, it made it easier for Marty and Rex to broker a deal that involved their two troubled sons.

MARTIN SINGER

Is there anything that I can say, without making an illegal proposal, that could lessen the burden on my son?

Marty had asked Rex a few weeks earlier as the two leaders spoke over landline phones in order to protect the conversation.

Rex didn't have to think very long about the question, because he also had a son that was a royal pain in the ass in need of a break.

REX BROTHERS

My son has been trying to become an actor for the past 20 years, but he still hasn't found that one part that will launch his career. I cut him off last year because of his refusal to get a real job, but I am having second thoughts because he's really struggling.

It was a good thing that Marty had a solution on the ready.

MARTIN SINGER

Well, it just so happens that I'm working on a special project to re-vitalize Steaming Springs.

REX BROTHERS

(Brought his guard up)

(Rex instantly brought his guard up) You're not thinking about doing anything with that company?

MARTIN SINGER

(His eyes widened) No! As much as it pains me, the company is no more. The town has gone through some tough times recently, and my partners and I are interested in a private venture that we hope will make things better. And, I think we have the perfect leadership role available for your son. I won't let him fail, Rex.

Rex took a moment in an attempt to separate his personal and professional mind.

REX BROTHERS

Then, we do have a deal, Marty.

Meanwhile, back in the auditorium, Steven remained calm and composed as he answered Terry German's question. Marty and his partners marveled at how quickly Steven took to the role.

MARTIN SINGER

You are doing a great job, Steven!

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I must be channeling my father.

Marty again looked at Bauman in a "Hope not!" eye-rolling, because Rex Brothers was one of the toughest men he had ever crossed paths with.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(On stage at the high school) The benefactors of this project have assured me of the solvency of our government, town and school, and have also set up an account that will pay all of your bills and mortgages over the school year. All you have to do is register today.

The room turned from hostile and defensive to relief and elation, as everyone cheered. If Bruce had any lingering doubts about his father's participation, they were all swept from the board with the force of a thousand erasers.

Steven waited for the crowd to settle down before lowering the boom.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

But, there is a major stipulation to all of this communal goodwill.

Sammy Braun, resident attorney at law, was sitting a few rows behind Bruce.

SAMUEL BRAUN

There are always stipulations. You never get something for nothing.

Bruce looked back at his college roommate and rolled his eyes from the stress and utter predictability of the situation.

The crowd again grew rowdy, as it didn't take much to get them going.

TERRY GERMAN

(Yelling) What do we have to do?

JULIE SINGER

(Says to her brother) I like doing things.

BRUCE SINGER

Yes, you do.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Since the town is going through a period of transition it would behoove our citizens to go through a kind of retraining.

ROBERT COSGROVE

(Angry and sitting next to his former teammate Terry German) Behoove? What does that mean?

TERRY GERMAN

(Trying to sound like ge didn't sleep through the SATs) It means it's a suggestion.

ROBERT COSGROVE

Oh.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

That is why I have taken the liberty of enrolling all of you in our school.

KATHY NELSON

(Former cheerleader about to relive the best days of her life) What?

BRUCE SINGER

(Under his breath) No fuckin' way! Bruce grunted under his breath.

His father had pushed him over the years, but this was way too much. He looked over at German, who had fire in his eyes as he nodded with an evil grin.

TERRY GERMAN

Way!

Nelson was also German's girlfriend in high school before their dramatic break-up following his ACL tear/crushing knee injury after graduation ruined his college scholarship and limited German to a series of blue-collar jobs, including being the foreman of the STEAMING Springs Water Bottling plant.

She had always wondered what would have been, but the two had only spoken sparingly since the split. Nelson also worked at the company, like almost everyone else in the town, as a senior marketing manager.

Bruce looked past German and saw a familiar face in them crowd. He then flashed back to an afternoon when his parents' house was empty and his next-door neighbor removed the barrier between their facing windows.

There was always sexual tension between Melissa Franklin and Bruce, but the two were never mature or bold enough to make it happen. That was, until the warmth of a sparring afternoon their junior year opened the flood gates to an on-again, off-again, private relationship.

Franklin was sitting next to her husband Brian, and their daughter. The kid was now a teenager and had no further use for her other than buying and cleaning their clothes and getting them food. She was on the verge of divorcing Brian after a trial separation. She smirked and nodded at Bruce and he smirked back, which meant the extended off-again period had the potential to be coming to a close.

School supplies were delivered to the doors of all the people that were registered, with the exception being the group of people who signed up but were going to be denied access. An age limit of 60 years old was placed on the participants, with the people of advanced age given positions within the school so they could remain involved and impart their vast wisdom.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY

DENNIS FOYLE

(64-year old attorney) Why are you discriminating based on age?

This question met with some relief from Principal Brothers, who was expecting a race-related inquiry from the African-American activist.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Do you want to run suicides?

DENNIS FOYLE

What's a suicide?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Sprints, burners. Basically, a lot of running

DENNIS FOYLE

(Looks around at his peers) Never mind. I'm good.

So, these people went through a bit of training while the students endured some orientation/re-orientation: one session for the current school-age students and another for people ages 19-59.

Two days before the doors of Steaming Springs High School opened for business for grades Pre-K through 12, Bruce's kids, Steven and Amy returned home from their summer excursion to less-than-satisfactory conditions.

EXT. SINGER RESIDENCE

AMY SINGER

(Bitchy, which was her normal tone of voice) Where's mom?

BRUCE SINGER

She's living with Nana in Boca.

Amy still had the handle of her rolling bag in her right hand.

AMY SINGER

Hell, no! I'm going to live with mom!

And then she turned around and rolled past her brother without saying anything to him until she stopped at the curb. Amy then called a cab to take her to the airport and then her mother, who was happy to be reunited with her alter ego.

INT. SINGER RESIDENCE

STEVEN SINGER

What crawled up her ass?

He lifted a large, stuffed green duffle bag from his shoulder and placed it on the floor.

BRUCE SINGER

Whatever is up there has been up there since she was born.

The two men hugged and Steven noticed that his dad was a little more off than usual.

STEVEN SINGER

What's going on? What's wrong?

Steven followed his father into the den and they sat down on the L-shaped sectional couch so they could face each and the TV as Bruce turned on the entertainment.

BRUCE SINGER

Where do you want me to start?

STEVEN SINGER

(Ignores his father's words for a moment) Cool! College football season has started.

BRUCE SINGER

Yeah, that's probably the only positive thing that has happened around here for months.

STEVEN SINGER

That bad?

BRUCE SINGER

Well, your mother left me because the government took basically all of our money. And that's not even the bad news. (He got up from the couch) You want some soda and chips?

STEVEN SINGER

Sure! Thanks!

He was not as materialistic as the female members of the household, but he was especially interested in how losing all of your money and most of your family did not qualify as bad news.

STEVEN SINGER

What could be worse than all of that?

Bruce handed Steven a bag of tortilla chips and a can of Mountain Dew, and then he kept a bag for himself with a cold Budweiser.

STEVEN SINGER

Wow! I haven't seen you drink a beer in years! (As he eyes the brown tall-neck bottle)

BRUCE SINGER

(Bruce looks at his under-aged son) What the fuck!You want one?

STEVEN SINGER

(Smiling) If you're offering.

Steven handed the can of rocket fuel back to his father, which was soon replaced by another cold beer. They unscrewed their tops as Bruce offered a toast.

BRUCE SINGER

Here's to new adventures.

Steven raised his bottle and then took a long swig like he had done on a few previous occasions.

STEVEN SINGER

I'm game for anything!

BRUCE SINGER

(Smirking) Hold that thought, because I know we will enjoy going to school together.

While Steven was able to fully comprehend the words "school" and "together" with ease, his capacity to make sense of the words when used together was amiss.

STEVEN SINGER

(Takes another swig of beer) Did you just say that we're going to school together, or was that just the beer talking?

BRUCE SINGER

Yeah, you heard right. I'm going back to school and we're going to be classmates.

Steven stared blankly at the screen so his father continued.

BRUCE SINGER

Drink a few more beers and I'll explain it to you over pizza later.

STEVEN SINGER

Deal!

Steven dove back into the chips to try and eat his way out of what he had just heard. While he could handle the money thing and absence of his sister and especially his mother \- because the two of them just never got along - it was losing the unrestrained freedom of his senior year of high school that was problematic. Steven had big plans for the year, including who and what he was going to do, and this only muddied the already cloudy waters.

Since families would be going to school together, the consortium saved money by resorting to carpooling people that lived close instead of chartering buses to pick everyone up. While the buses would have provided more a sense of community and togetherness, it was thought there would be more than enough togetherness found within the walls of the the school.

Motivations definitely varied on this first day, the reporting day if you will. People that enjoyed high school and lived their best years during that time, generally were excited to be back. And then there were people like Bruce Singer, who never fully reached their potential within the halls of Steaming Springs High School. And part of the reason that he didn't excel was because he really didn't have to. Daddy had a cushy job waiting for him after college whether he finished first or last in his class.

EXT. BRUCE'S CAR IN HIS SISTER's DRIVEWAY

BRUCE SINGER

(Driving) This really blows!

STEVEN SINGER

(Sitting in the passenger seat) You have no idea.

Julie bounded out of the house because she loved high school the first time around. Although it was in debatable whether high school actually loved her back as much.

She tossed her backpack behind Bruce and then plopped down in the back seat, the reverberation making Steven recoil like a crab dummy.

JULIE SINGER

This is the best day of my life!

Both guys rolled their eyes and looked straight ahead.

JULIE SINGER

Not only am I going back to high school, I also get to go with the two of you! (Then she reassesses the situation) Hey, where are Lisa and Amy? Are they going to take your other car to get to school?

Since Bruce was never able to have a serious discussion with his delusional sister, the topic of marital discord and child emancipation had not come up.

BRUCE SINGER

They're gone.

JULIE SINGER

(Mystified) Gone? Where did they go?

BOTH GUYS

(Grunting) Boca!

JULIE SINGER

When are they coming back?

BRUCE SINGER

I don't know!

JULIE SINGER

What do you mean, you don't know?

BRUCE SINGER

Just what I fuckin' said! I don't know? My wife left me because the government took all of my money, and my daughter...

He stopped and looked at Steven, who thought about it and then looked over at him.

STEVEN SINGER

Pretty much the same reason.

And the two men laughed as they bumped fists.

JULIE SINGER

(Clueless) So, they're not going to school with us?

Bruce had no choice but to toss aside his role as a father for that of a pissed off older brother.

BRUCE SINGER

If I was back there I would smack you in the head!

He grunted and then actually smacked her in the back of the head after she relaxed her defenses. Steven gladly righted the ship as he momentarily took hold of the wheel like a good co-pilot.

JULIE SINGER

(Whining) Ow! Why did you do that?

BRUCE SINGER

Because!

JULIE SINGER

Because why?

BRUCE SINGER

Because you ask too many god-damn questions!

Bruce turned right and the school could now be seen in the distance.

BRUCE SINGER

Besides we're almost at the school and you'll be able to find a locker to put that Bionic Woman lunch box in.

JULIE SINGER

Do you think we'll be able to get the same lockers we had back in high school? I really liked the location of my locker...

Many married couples approached their return to school as the ultimate opportunity to chart a different course in life. Some had resorted to cheating, but most had been caught up in the misery of a loveless marriage and were resigned to the fact that they would die completely dry and unhappy.

Most of the people that remained in the town after the water company shut down were lifelong townspeople. So, a return to high school carried special meaning for most of these Steaming Springs High School graduates.

But, one of the people that did not attend the school seemed to be the most interested in this social experiment.

RHONDA BRAUN

(Sammy's wife) This is like being back in college and observing people in their natural setting.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Well, I'm glad you can actually get something from other people's misery.

While Rhonda did not make the trip to Hawaii like Steven Brothers, she did get to have a video conference with the men behind almost every intelligent idea in the formative history of the town. Martin Singer was at the wedding of Rhonda and Sammy Braun and was quite impressed with the bride after a conversation they had over dessert.

RHONDA BRAUN

Is there any hope for the next generation? (Standing next to the bar eating cake)

MARTIN SINGER

(Took a bite of cake) The key is to always stay one step ahead. My son and your husband always think they have it all figured out. (He digressed) This is really good cake. (He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her) Make sure you spend this on something worthwhile.

RHONDA BRAUN

(She took possession of the envelope and her curiosity got the best of her) Do you mind?

MARTIN SINGER

(Gracious) Please, be my guest.

RHONDA BRAUN

(She spies the $10,000 check) Well, that was exceedingly generous. If I didn't know any better, I would consider this a down payment for I service I will have to provide at some point in the future.

MARTIN SINGER

(Shoved the last hunk of cake in his mouth and then washed it down with some coffee) You see, that's why I like you, Rhonda. You're honest and extremely perceptive. I hope we never have to engage in that conversation. Consider this like paying a premium for insurance.

And then, 20 years later, they had "that" conversation.

RHONDA BRAUN

I'm still amazed that you foresaw all of this at my wedding.

MARTIN SINGER

(Laughs) To be honest, I was just hedging my bets and protecting my interests.

Marty spoke to his partners in advance of the the start of school about collecting data and recording the entirety of the high school experience.

INT. VIDEOCONFERENCE

MARTIN SINGER

I have just the person who can put down what is happening in there in a professional manner, so that others can gain access to our experiment. Dr. Rhonda Braun, these are my partners.

HAROLD BAUMAN

Now, we're not going to be part of this book, are we?

RHONDA BRAUN

(Gave it some thought) I'm not sure how complete my observations will be without disclosing the origin of the driving forces of such an operation?

HAROLD BAUMAN

I suppose we can live with that as long as we can approve the text before it goes to print.

Rhonda had not told her husband about her role in the social experiment, but she did realize that her actual participation had the potential to compromise her objectivity.

The initial stage of the experiment was to see if groups would develop following the initial interaction. Rhonda surmised that age-specific groups would form right out of the gate, and she was pleased to see that her prognosis was on target.

Classes were organized with the school-aged kids in mind, because they had to complete the state-mandated curriculum in order to graduate. But, instead of separating older and younger students, Marty and his group chose to integrate all of the students. The only difference being that the older students would participate in the classes, but be given a different curriculum that would focus more on life skills than the boring shit they teach you in high school.

There were only 100 high school students of all ages, as Principal Brothers explained the differences between the grades at the opening day orientation session for the older people, while the younger people attended classes.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE THEATER

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I thought it was important to break things down for all of you on this first morning of school. The majority of the children - 65 - are in grades nine and 10, while there are only 35 children in grades 11 and 12. This gives us a total of 100 students that must meet the New York State curriculum standards.

The meeting was taking place in the little theater where the chorus and drama club met in days gone by, and the 44 older students were spread out over the 80-seat room.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You have all been assigned to grades and classes, but this is no reflection on your background and/or educational and professional achievement. We have devised a system in which you will rotate between the grades each quarter so you'll have exposure to all of the students. However, you will be assigned a group of 11 people who will stay together for the entire school year.

INT. VIDEOCONFERENCE

Part of Rhonda Braun's video conference with the four men was spent splitting the elder 44 into four sections of 11, but most of the attention was placed on a particular group of 11.

MARTIN SINGER

It's no secret that my son had his share of difficulties in high school. I'm not sure what it was, but he never seemed to fit in. He wasn't a jock, although he can play sports. He wasn't a brain, burnout, drama person, and he didn't really have much school spirit.

RHONDA BRAUN

My husband said he went out for the football team his freshman year.

GARY PHILLIPS

As what, the mascot?

Everyone laughed.

RHONDA BRAUN

Well, my husband eventually became the mascot Freezy the polar bear, but he actually wanted to be a running back.

DAVID FRENCH

That kid is fast! Especially for a lawyer.

HAROLD BAUMAN

So, what happened?

RHONDA BRAUN

The way I heard it was the defense pounded him time after time, but he wouldn't quit. Those were the days when a concussion wasn't a big deal. He was throwing up and had dizzy headaches for a few days.

MARTIN SINGER

I say we put them all together and see what happens.

DAVID FRENCH

All 44?

MARTIN SINGER

No, just the people that have a history.

RHONDA BRAUN

I like that! So, that would mean that my group would include me and my husband, Bruce, Terry German and his wife, Robert Cosgrove and his wife, Kathy Nelson and her husband, and..." (She looked down at her list) Melissa Franklin and her husband. That makes 11, right?

DAVID FRENCH

Yep, 11.

RHONDA BRAUN

I think we should start in ninth grade and work our way up 12th grade

MARTIN SINGER

That sounds like a plan!

RHONDA BRAUN

Also, will the classes be playing sports against, and with, people in their grades?

HAROLD BAUMAN

Yes Rhonda, we have been given the go-ahead for that level of experimental participation.

RHONDA BRAUN

That should be interesting (Becoming more and more intrigued by the moment) The book will be based on our group, which will include the students and teachers we come in contact with throughout the four semesters.

MARTIN SINGER

That sounds great, Rhonda!

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE THEATER

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

My vice principal, Mrs. Edna Prentice, will hand out the list of group assignments, and I wish you all good luck. Your contributions to this effort will be greatly appreciated.

With that, Brothers high-tailed it out of there and Edna followed him once she distributed four sets of identical papers at the end of each row. She closed the door behind her because they expected some colorful conversations to ensue. Edna Prentice was a retired elementary school teacher who had spent her entire career with kids under the age of 10, so this would be a unique experience for her.

There was only one person in the room of 44 that had advanced knowledge of the list, and she was eagerly awaiting the range of reactions. Her husband took a quick look.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Oh, boy.

TERRY GERMAN

Why the fuck did they put me with the lame-asses, and why are we starting as fuckin' freshman?

Terry German bellowed as his cheerleader wife continued to stare down her former co-captain on the cheer team, Kathy Nelson. Karen German, formerly Karen Riley, was once part of the dynamic duo of K Squared, two blonde beauties that ruled the school.

TERRY GERMAN

(Turns to his buddy) No offense, Cozzy.

ROBERT COSGROVE

None taken. (They bump fists)

TERRY GERMAN

What happened to the rest of our team?

ANITA COSGROVE

(Perturbed) Everybody left town, you big asshole!

She wanted no part of Terry German, who had slept with her about 10 years earlier and then never talked to her again. She also had a brief encounter with German back in high school when she was Anita Herron, captain of the Rockettes dance team.

BRIAN RAND

(Melissa Franklin's husband) I'm not going to stay.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

What? What did you say?

BRIAN RAND

I got a job offer in Arizona. I'm gonna' go there and not be here.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

What about the kids?

BRIAN RAND

I doubt they'll even notice I'm gone!

The elevated tone perked Rhonda up. She looked at the list again and wondered why Marty Singer had not insisted that his kids be put in the same group? While he knew the relationship between Bruce and Julie Singer was contentious at times, there was definitely love there.

Julie looked a bit distant on the other side of the room, and after two other people from other groups dropped out, Rhonda decided to make an executive decision that would certainly be additive to her observations.

RHONDA BRAUN

(She walks over to Julie) I'm going to have you added to our group, Jules.

JULIE SINGER

(Perks up) Really? (She hugs Rhonda with unabridged enthusiasm). Thanks, Rhonda!

Rhonda walked to the main office and right into the principal's office, where the vice principal was also standing.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

RHONDA BRAUN

We need to make an adjustment to the list. These three people dropped out and I want to move Julie Singer into our group.

Rex and Edna knew of Rhonda's importance in the effort and were happy to accommodate her.

EDNA PRENTICE

I'll make that change right away!

Nobody told Marty Singer about the change to the class rosters that now had his kids on the same track. He didn't know about it until he saw it on the live feed on the TV in his den.

INT. SINGER HAWAII RESIDENCE

DELIA SINGER

Is that Bruce and Julie sitting together in the same class?

Marty's head was buried in the New York Times.

MARTIN SINGER

(He put the paper down) Yes, it appears so. I wonder how that happened.

DELIA SINGER

Would you stop trying to control everything? I'm sure Rhonda had a good reason to do it.

MARTIN SINGER

Yeah, because they don't get along and that will be interesting. (He flipped his paper back up)

DELIA SINGER

You worry too much! Besides, those kids get along just fine.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL MATH CLASSROOM

BRUCE SINGER

(Yelling at his sister) You're such a dumb-ass! The answer is 25!

JULIE SINGER

(Trying to figure out her mistake) Oh, I get it!

PATRICK CONNELLY

Mr. Singer, can you please refrain from using such language around the kids?

CHRIS REYNOLDS

(14 year-old) Yeah, that bitch is a dumb-ass!

Everyone but Julie in the class laughed.

While it was all right for Bruce to make fun of his sister and continually pick out all of her many flaws, he took offense to a stranger, especially a snot-nosed teenage stranger, overstepping his bounds.

BRUCE SINGER

Hey, zit face! She's off limits!

Reynolds peered at Bruce like he could take him in a fight, but Terry German surprisingly made a fist and scowled at Aaronson, meaning that he would crush him if he opened his mouth again.

TERRY GERMAN

Fuckin' kids have no respect these days.

German grunted as Bruce turned around and was surprised to have German's support.

TERRY GERMAN

The problem is that kid was you in high school, Singer. You thought you knew everything and you listened to no one. Now look where it all got us. Your father might have made mistakes, but his heart was always in the right place. We would have gone through walls for that man. But you, you only care about yourself.

Any good feelings drained from Bruce's body as he turned back around and buried his head in his worksheet.

Rhonda looked at Julie, who felt only sadness for her brother and respect for the group's leader, Terry German, for saying what had to be said.

Part of the experiment that was greatly debated was whether participants would stay in their own homes, or if housing would be provided within the high school.

INT. VIDEOCONFERENCE

GARY PHILLIPS

I think it would make sense to introduce on-campus housing at some point.

RHONDA BRAUN

Yes, I would agree. For my purposes, being able to observe these people in all settings would be ideal.

DAVID FRENCH

(Looks over the numbers) Then we'll section off part of the high school and build during the first few months.

HAROLD BAUMAN

Won't the students be curious, and even a bit distracted, about what is happening there?

GARY PHILLIPS

(Smiles) Yes, that's the point.

HAROLD BAUMAN

What's the point?

RHONDA BRAUN

The disorientation has the potential to bring them closer together.

DAVID FRENCH

What impact will living together have on them?

RHONDA BRAUN

That's when the real work and pain will begin. These people might have gone to high school together, but they have never lived together.

The workers were just loud enough to be heard, but not too noisy to create a significant distraction during school hours. Construction was scheduled to last through the entire first semester, which would end on October 31st. The second semester was November and December; January was open for free time and more individually-expressive endeavors; February and March encompassed the third semester; and April, May and June - the only three-month period - was slotted for the final semester.

Principal Brothers had announced "Cheerleader tryouts" over the loudspeaker even though the varsity and junior varsity squads had already been meeting informally. It had been years since Karen Riley and Kathy Nelson had to try out for anything. So, the thought of having to compete with less flexible bodies and minds was a bit daunting, even if it was the JV squad. While they had been competing for the same man for the better part of three decades, the rivalry wasn't about Terry German, it was about hanging on to the status of being most popular.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY NEAR THE GYM

A bunch of 15 year-old girls were stretching and limbering up when Karen strutted by and found a spot to stretch. She was wearing a fairly tight t-shirt and a pair of black leggings, which didn't offer much resistance when she slowly spread her long legs into a split on the floor. Ultimately, it was her insane flexibility that convinced Terry German to pick her over Kathy Nelson, in what amounted to a vagina fly trap, even though the connection between Terry and Kathy was much stronger.

Karen easily touched her head to her left knee-cap, probably because she had done some yoga prior to walking down to the gym. She was in surprisingly girlish shape for a woman in her 40's and had channeled much of her anger and anxiety into regaining her throne.

Since the staff was limited, there were no instructors or coaches for the teams. Marty Singer surmised that the strongest of mind and body would eventually take over and instruct. Seeing Kathy Nelson walk down the hall with a pink workout halter top and a pair of unpadded biker shorts created problems for a few members of the male population headed to extracurricular activities.

JV wide receiver Christopher Reynolds was walking to the side exit to access the football field when he slammed into a wall and crushed his balls, sending him flopping to the ground. Robert Cosgrove and Terry German were flipping a ball back and forth when Kathy passed them flashing a devilish smile, some boob and a barely-covered camel-toe, which caused Cosgrove to prematurely ejaculate the snap directly to German's nads, making him drop down to one knee and wait until his sacks came back down from his throat.

She then did a cartwheel and a back handspring before settling into a split right next to Karen.

KATHY NELSON

You ready, bitch?

KAREN RILEY

Bring it on, whore.

KATHY NELSON

(Kathy pops up from her split) Let's go, girls!

Kathy and the other four girls followed.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD

KAREN RILEY

Let's see what you got.

Two of the girls were in ninth grade and the other two were in tenth, so the tenth graders took the lead in a 40-second routine in the end zone that had very little cheering and mostly gymnastics and acrobatics.

KAREN RILEY

What the fuck was that?

KATHY NELSON

Is this cheerleading or god-damned Cirque du Soleil show?

And, in that moment, staunch rivals were sent back in time as teammates once again. They busted out a touchdown cheer, which intrigued the cheerleaders from the varsity squad who were on the adjacent field. The two women were born to cheer and they made sure their daughters, the captains of the varsity cheer squad, shared their love of the game.

CAITLYN GERMAN

(Turns to Tammy Parks) This is our worst nightmare.

TAMMY PARKS

Tell me about it! (Then she smiled) They're gonna' have to do it our way if they want to be on our squad.

They banged fists.

CAITLYN GERMAN

(Smiles) This should be fun for a change.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL PRACTICE FIELD

Meanwhile, things were also heating up on the practice football field. Bruce Singer and Sammy Braun had been friends since they were five years old, following each other to high school and then college and working together at the water company for years. In fact, there hadn't been much time in their lives when they hadn't been together.

But, one of those times occurred when Sammy went out for the JV Football Team and got mauled. Bruce was supposed to come out with him, but chickened out at the least minute. He did not share his friend's passion for offense, and always enjoyed playing the middle linebacker position in tackle football games on the elementary school lawn near their houses.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Are you going to back out on me again?

BRUCE SINGER

As long as you don't make me tackle anyone over the age of 15. I think German is twice the size he was in high school.

Bruce hadn't played football since he threw a ball around with his son on Thanksgiving eight years earlier. They walked out to the practice field and stood on the sideline - probably too long - as two perpetrators waited under the bleachers for their golden opportunity.

German and Cosgrove sprinted from the bleachers to the sideline of the practice field and 'pants' Sammy and Bruce before they even knew what was happening. They turned around, white football pants around their ankles.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Why didn't they make these things when we were kids? (Referring to the tight boxer shorts with a built-in cup they both were wearing)

ROBERT COSGROVE

That didn't work as well as I thought it would!

TERRY GERMAN

Glad you could make it this time, Singer! (Slaps the top of Bruce's helmet)

BRUCE SINGER

Good thing I had clean drawers.

They picked their pants up.

Rhonda Braun sat in the stands and watched the action unfold: older players against younger players. While Bruce initially played middle linebacker on defense, he quickly recruited by the offense.

TERRY GERMAN

You play tight end with us for this drill! (He then yelled at the younger players) Let's go! Five on five's!

While German was in his usual quarterback position over center Cosgrove, Sammy lined up behind him and Bruce was next to Cosgrove.

TERRY GERMAN

(He looks over at Tom Parks, who he naturally hated because Parks married his girl Kathy) You with us?

Parks thought about the question because he was German's top receiver and best friend until he started paying some attention to Kathy Nelson their senior year of high school. German tried to juggle both Karen and Kathy, but Karen gave him an ultimatum and made him chose. The quarterback figured that even if he sided with Karen then Kathy would still give him play, and she did for a little while until an impromptu conversation with Parks at a party after a big win changed things for good.

INT. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL VICTORY PARTY

Karen was all over Terry as Kathy stood in the shadows of the kitchen and quietly sobbed until Tom came in the kitchen to get another beer and the light reflected off of Kathy's moist cheeks.

TOM PARKS

Kathy, is that you? (Grabs a beer out of the fridge and then walked toward her) Why are you standing here in the dark? (He looks into the living room and sees German and Reilly together. (And then Tom sought to fill the void in Kathy's heart by being a steadying influence in her life) You're way too pretty to be in here by yourself and being so sad. (He puts his long arms around her as she falls into his arms)

Someone else walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. The light shined on the hugging couple, which caught the attention of Terry German, who knew Kathy had been in the kitchen by herself. His first inclination was to walk away from Karen and then pound anyone that was close to his girl. But, two things stopped him from doing that: Karen's will, including her nails digging into his wrist, were too strong and the guy holding his girl was his best friend on and off the field.

It took Terry a week to confront Tom, right before the next football game. The two guys had a pre-game ritual and were face to face - the 6'3" German and 6'2" Parks.

TERRY GERMAN

(Pounded Parks' pads with his fists) Stay away from my girl, Parksy!

TOM PARKS

(Balls his fists and pounds German's shoulder pads)You can't have them all, Gino!

German usually didn't get much pushback, being that he was the big beast in the jungle. He pushed Parks against the row of lockers and then walked away, never talking to him again as the relationship with Kathy Nelson blossomed.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL PRACTICE FIELD

Back on the practice field, Parks thought about German's question and wondered if he wanted back into the Terry German Fan Club. He also thought about the impact a mending of the fences with German would have on his relationship with his wife, which had been rather fleeting over the past few years.

Parks loved catching passes from German ever since they were in pee-wee football as little guys. He had blamed German for losing his college scholarship because the quarterback had frozen him out over the second half of their senior football season. Colleges that sent him letters and talked to him earlier in the season stopped contacting him once the ball no longer came his way. He literally went from double-digit catches per game to only a few catches for the rest of the season. Parks also thought that it was only fair that German suffered a career-ending knee injury that ruined his college career.

TOM PARKS

You gonna' throw me the fuckin' ball?

TERRY GERMAN

Yeah, if you stay the fuck away from my girl!

Three people on the practice field muttered "Oh, shit!" Cosgrove, who was bent over and holding the ball between his legs, and Bruce and Sammy, who also knew the historical significance of the statements.

Rhonda even said, "Oh, shit!" in the stands as she thought a fight would certainly be in the offing.

And then the men received some divine intervention in the form of JV wide receiver Chris Reynolds, who was the same kid that was slapped down for making a smart remark at Julie Singer in the math class.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Are you guys gonna' blow each other, or are we gonna' play some football?

Again, the three guys muttered "Oh, shit!" and were joined this time by Tom Parks who echoed the sentiment because he knew what a short fuse Terry German had.

TERRY GERMAN

Did that kid just open his fuckin' mouth again?

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Oh, shit.

TERRY GERMAN

All right, huddle up!

There were six JV players on the defensive side of the line.

TERRY GERMAN

(Spits on the ground and yells across the line) You guys can play all six if you want, but don't cry to your mommies until we're done with you! (Walks back into the huddle) Let's throw these young punks a beatin'!"

Rhonda Braun almost slid off the bleacher from wetness in her pants as she watched her husband gallop around the field like a muscular stallion. The noise from the practice field could be heard from the main field, and the varsity players became intrigued because their current competition was less than challenging.

It just so happened that the sons of all the older players throwing the JV team a beatdown were juniors and seniors playing on the varsity team.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

Why don't you see if you can run that shit over here? (Motions to his dad and his pals to head over to the big field)

Rhonda Braun was alone this time in her "Oh, shit" refrain as she texted Principal Brothers to high-tail-it outside and put an end to the madness. In her opinion, it was too soon for a confrontation such as this to take place. A challenge like this had to be undertaken under more optimal circumstances later in the years.

Julie Singer made her way outside after doing god-know-what after school?

JULIE SINGER

(Excited) What's going on? Are the guys going to play?

RHONDA BRAUN

(Mumbles) Not if I can help it.

Thankfully, Principal Brothers was a very tall man, and a strong one at that. He had run four marathons and also completed a few ironman triathlon events, so sprinting out to the field in running shoes and sweatpants was completely effortless for him.

The five elder players walked toward the field and were followed by six beaten-down JV players. They walked through the tunnel under the stands leading from the practice area to the main field and the varsity players were walking to confront them near the edge of the field. Brothers sent a red alert to the other teachers, but they were slow to respond because they were, well... old.

Julie and Rhonda descended from the stands as Principal Brothers used a strong and long wooden mop stick to separate the two groups.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Hold on there guys!

TERRY GERMAN

Step aside, Brothers! We have a score to settle!

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

Yeah, let them through! They were beating up our JV team and we want to give them a chance to play against a real team!

Chris Reynolds was going to say something because he took offense to the 'real' reference, but both German's looked at him to make sure he stayed quiet.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You guys will have a chance to play each other during spring football, but now! (Brothers explained, not realizing that two German family quarterbacks had moved on.

TERRY GERMAN

Hey, can this kid even play up to his mouth? That's what I want to find out.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Yeah, I can play! (Without hesitation)

TERRY GERMAN

Yeah, but can you really play?

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Yeah, he can play! (An elder voice from behind them confidently stated)

TERRY GERMAN

Who's this fuckin' guy? (Asks like he was the only athlete to lace it up for the Steaming Springs Grizzlies)

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Steps in) This is all-state wide receiver Charlie Reynolds from the Class of '90.

German looked over at Parks because he knew that Reynolds had broken all of Parks' receiving records. He also realized the record would never have been broken if he kept throwing to him.

TOM PARKS

(Takes off his helmet and throws it to the ground) Bullshit!

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

What's bullshit?

Parks was headed toward the locker room, but he doubled back and made a bee-line toward Reynolds causing both German's and the younger Reynolds to say "Oh, shit!"

Parks got right into Reynolds' face.

TOM PARKS

You can't hold my jock, Reynolds!

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

I broke your fuckin' records, Parks! Get the fuck over it!"

Principal Brothers had seen enough. He stepped between the two 6'2" men and separated them with surprising ease.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Enough! Practice is over for today! If you want to continue we can run 100-yard sprint in helmets and pads until you drop!

It wasn't so much of a question, but a threat that could be easily avoided.

A few "That's okay's" and "No thanks" comments could be heard, but nothing really equaling a direct response.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Are we done today?

FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Yes, sir!

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Are we going to come out tomorrow and work hard?

FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Yes, sir!

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Run on in!

FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Yes, sir!

The group jogged together until they reached the concrete path in front of the building's doors.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY NEAR THE GYM

Rhonda Braun was so worked up from the testosterone-fest that she ran from the field into the school and pulled her husband into an adjacent classroom before he entered the locker room. Sammy started to take his helmet off.

RHONDA BRAUN

No, leave it on!

She turned her back to him and slid her jeans and underwear to her ankles, and then they went at it like two wild animals in heat. Two minutes and forty-four seconds later, as they were catching their breath and realigning clothing.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Wow, we haven't gone at it like that in years!

Rhonda worked her way under the helmet and kissed Sammy.

RHONDA BRAUN

I think we have to start living again.

SAMUEL BRAUN

I'm with you.

He opened the door and smacked her on the butt as she walked by.

RHONDA BRAUN

You looked good out there today.

SAMUEL BRAUN

So did you.

He smiled as he looked back at her as they walked their separate ways.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM

Bell rings.

DENNIS FOYLE

Mr. German, can you stay after class?

The people in the class, both young and old, razzed him with a collective chant, "Oooh, you're in trouble!

Aaron Foyle was skeptical about teaching at first, but he was about to experience why his role as an educator was so important. He looked at Bruce Singer and Singer understood that he should close the door behind him on his way out.

DENNIS FOYLE

Please have a seat.

TERRY GERMAN

Is everything okay, Mr. Foyle?

DENNIS FOYLE

Of course, Terrence. I just wanted to have an honest man-to-man talk with you.

Principal Brothers had spoken to the Hawaii consortium the previous evening about Terry German, and they all agreed to his future path.

INT. VIDEOCONFERENCE

GARY PHILLIPS

I remember that kid in high school. He was on his way to the NFL.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

And he has done nothing but lead this group since he has been here.

DAVID FRENCH

On and off the field?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Whether it's a soccer field or a math class, Terry has been instrumental at keeping everybody on task.

MARTIN SINGER

And he was my best foreman at the factory. (Switching gears after a pause) Craig, you have been tremendous at keeping this program operating at such a high level. We couldn't have made a better choice. So impressed with your commitment!

All of the other men echoed Marty's sentiment.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Thank you! I couldn't have asked for a better role.

MARTIN SINGER

You're welcome. We want you to start thinking about what you would do if we decided to make this role permanent?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Beaming) Like picking up my option?

HAROLD BAUMAN

(Smiles) Yes, Craig. Like picking up your option.

MARTIN SINGER

We want you to talk to Aaron Foyle tomorrow and have him gauge German's interest in possibly leading our athletic efforts in the future.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Like an athletic director?

MARTIN SINGER

Yes, like an A.D.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM

DENNIS FOYLE

What do you see your life being like after this, Terry?

TERRY GERMAN

(Apprehensive) I don't know I haven't given it much thought?

DENNIS FOYLE

Well, in the two months that we've been together, I have found you to be a thoughtful and engaging student and a true leader among men.

German appreciated the comment at first, but then retreated a bit from the effusive positivity. He had been through a massive intercollegiate recruiting war his senior year of high school, only to be given a full athletic scholarship that was dropped hurt his knee.

Terry was eager to get to the bottom of his teacher's intent.

TERRY GERMAN

Wow, that's quite high praise, Mr. Foyle. Usually, when someone kisses my butt that hard they want something from me.

Foyle quickly realizing he was kissing up the wrong butt, so he quickly switched gears without a hitch.

DENNIS FOYLE

"Well let me approach this another way then. Yes, my comments were directing you to do something, but only for you, not for me. Let's be honest, there has probably been only one place in your life that you have been truly comfortable. Hell, you've been gone 25 years and you come back here and basically pick up where you left off! But, I don't think that's enough!

TERRY GERMAN

What do you mean?

DENNIS FOYLE

Is it enough just to dominate in a single setting and not inspire others to be better? While you might have taken the pressure off others because you were the show, did you necessarily make the people around you better? Did you really care enough to foster their growth, or was your production and the stakes so high that you had nothing left for others?

Terry thought about his buddy Tom Parks and how he did everything but improve his life. And then he pondered the love triangle he had between he, Kathy and Karen, and how he wished that he could go back and do it all over again. Did Tom and Kathy get together just in spite of him, or was everything in the world not about him?

DENNIS FOYLE

I can see that my questions sent you into a deep thought.

The next class starting walking through the previously closed door.

TERRY GERMAN

Can we talk some more later?

DENNIS FOYLE

I would like that.

Terry stood up and shook the educator's hand and then left the classroom.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL LUNCHROOM AND HALLWAY

Bruce noticed from the first meeting in the small theater that Melissa Franklin's husband had taken off once he saw he wouldn't be able to overcome drama that was not his own. He gave her a little time to reflect on being alone as a single parent, and then simply looked across the lunch room one day and tears of genuine sorrow started flowing from her eyes. Bruce got up from the table and walked into the alcove with his lunch and she followed.

Melissa noticed from the first meeting in the auditorium that Bruce was not with either his wife or daughter. She knew of his family from a stupid Holiday card sent to all water company employees.

She and Bruce hadn't spoken much in 30-plus years since they knew each other. They tended to do their talking through more physical activities that usually called for little or no clothing. So it was of a surprise when Melissa dropped her stuff on the floor and started passionately kissing Bruce before she broke from the smooch and slapped him in the face.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Fuck you, man! I'm sick of this shit!

She then forcefully pushed him a number of times until he slammed into the wall. She started walking away from him quickly as she slammed through the back doors of the school.

BRUCE SINGER

(He followed her and yelled) What do you want from me?

Melissa kept walking past the tennis courts to the fields, crying but still yelling and verbally pushing back.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Not this shit!

BRUCE SINGER

Then what?

Melissa was so frustrated that it was hard for her to know where to start.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

We never talked! Why now?

Classes that faced the back of the school were given a front row view of the action, sans sound, as Melissa Kept flailing and screaming and Bruce remained in hot pursuit.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSROOM

One science teacher even stopped and rolled down all of the blinds, happy to have a practical example while teacher Charles Darwin's theories.

MR. PHILCO

Now, class, I have been in my share of relationships in my life. And, by a show of hands, how many people have already eaten lunch today?

Only a few hands were raised.

MR. PHILCO

Good, the thought of my dating might have caused nausea or a combination of other digestive issues.

A few older students laughed at his mildly successful attempt at sarcasm.

MR. PHILCO

What we are witnessing is the pursuit by the male species of the female species. Now, I don't know the history of these two people, but I would guess by their amped up emotions that frustration and anger over something in their past is ruling the day.

The class got up from their seats and stood by the window.

MR. PHILCO

As we can see, Charles Darwin's theories of Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest are being played out right in front of us. Do these two people belong together and will their connection be strong enough to survive the rigors of life?

One kid raised his hand as if the question required an immediate answer.

Philco looked at him.

JIMMY MESSINA

No?

MR. PHILCO

Any other observations?

SANDRA CUMMINGS

They have a major problem that they need to work out.

MR. PHILCO

How do we know that?

SANDRA CUMMINGS

I was a conflict-resolution specialist at the water company.

MR. PHILCO

Do we think they're going to make it? How many people say yes?

Only five of the 15 students raised their hands.

MR. PHILCO

That means that, according to my calculations, two-thirds of you believe this couple will not be fit enough to survive as a unit. Give me some reasons why?

MAN

Spouses.

WOMAN

Distance and time.

MR. PHILCO

Yes, time is quite a formidable obstacle to overcome.

GIRL

Incompatibility.

And then Jimmy Messers looked at the girl he had been targeting for popcorn sharing, Theresa Grosso.

JIMMY MESSINA

Fear.

THEREA GROSSO

The worst someone could say is no. You'll never know until you ask.

Jimmy had no other choice with the door swung open so widely.

JIMMY MESSINA

(To Theresa) Would you like to go to the movies with me this weekend?

MR. PHILCO

(Interjecting) Hold that thought!Let's vote on her answer. How many people think she'll say yes?

Ten people raised their hands.

MR. PHILCO

Well, she almost has to say yes now.

THEREA GROSSO

(Smiles and blushes) I can't...

The class collectively groaned and couldn't believe she shot him down in front of the whole class after eliciting him to pop the question.

THEREA GROSSO

(Clarifying her answer) What I was going to say was, I can't go this weekend, but I would love to go with you next weekend!

Jimmy was happy because he had some extra time to clear his nose blemish, although additional candidates were sure to pop up in the interim.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL BACK OF SCHOOL

BRUCE SINGER

We never talked because you wanted it that way! You were so fucked up from your parent's divorce that you used me like a chew toy! I thought I was being a friend by being there for me, but all you did was use me!

Melissa finally stopped walking and turned around, but Bruce waived her off like he didn't care anymore. He then started walking away as she was now the pursuee and she was the pursuer.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

I used you?! I used you?! I didn't hear much complaining when you repeatedly painted the walls of my bedroom!

Bruce abruptly turned around as Melissa stopped dead in her tracks.

BRUCE SINGER

Like you were faking it! (Starts walking again) The last time I heard a woman moan that loud from pleasure was when I told my wife that I had bought a house in the Hamptons!

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Fuck you! I can't believe you married that bitch!

They were near the back entrance of the school, as Bruce opened the door and then got really close to Melissa's face.

BRUCE SINGER

Like you gave me much of a choice.

They walked back inside and started picking their things off the floor.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Just stay away from me! You have caused me nothing but heartache!

Her misdirected her anger was already in too deep and it was too late to take it back.

BRUCE SINGER

Gladly! (Melissa walked away down the hall as the bell rang) No need for us to talk about anything real!

Terry German had put off continuing his discussion with Aaron Foyle because he had other things he needed to take care of first. He had a progression in his mind of two people that he needed to get in front of - the first of which was Tom Parks and the second being Tom's wife, Kathy.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD

Terry and Tom stayed after football practice one day, much as they did time and time again when they were in high school. The duo, pass thrower and pass catcher, were always in perfect sync until girls came between them. In recent days, they regained their seamless bond on the field, which finally gave them an opening to talk.

They were 10 yards from each other at mid-field of the main field, tossing the pigskin back and forth.

TERRY GERMAN

I wanted to apologize for what I did.

TOM PARKS

What did you do?

Parks he ran across the field and caught a perfectly thrown spiral in his pillow-like hands.

German had to think about the specifics for a moment.

TERRY GERMAN

For freezing you out.

Parks threw the ball back a little harder than usual and German noticed. Parks had trouble expressing his feelings without losing control of the anger he held inside for a quarter-of-a-century.

They tossed the ball back-and-forth in silence for the next few extremely awkward minutes until Tom was able to put a few words together.

TOM PARKS

Yeah, why did you do that?

And, instead of leading, Terry decided to put up his guard and think only of himself, much the way he did as a senior in high school.

TERRY GERMAN

Because you took my girl!

TOM PARKS

Oh, fuck this!

Parks kicks the football over the stands instead of throwing it back to Parks.

TOM PARKS

I'm not talking about this shit with you again!

Parks walks off the field toward the locker room.

German was trying to select the next thing he said carefully, but emotions - as usual - got in his way.

TERRY GERMAN

"Do you even love her?!

Parks was now 30 yards away from German and he turned and replied in a composed voice.

TOM PARKS

Obviously a lot more than you do.

Parks then he turned back around and walked toward the school where he was met by his wife Kathy who was anxiously, but excitedly, watching the exchange.

KATHY NELSON

What's wrong?

TOM PARKS

I don't want to talk about it! That asshole still thinks you're his!

Brushes past his wife and walks inside.

Instead of following her husband and making sure he was all right, Kathy ran out to the field in her cheerleader workout outfit with black and white saddle shoes, as if compelled by a relationship magnet. The noise just outside of the gym had also awoken the senses of one Karen Riley German, who trailed her cheer partner based on pure historical curiosity.

Terry had walked over to the practice field behind the stands to fetch the errant football. Kathy skipped through the main field and met Terry in the tunnel as his wife nestled into the bleachers to get a Birdseye view.

It was late October and the sun was setting, meaning the chill of the fall was about to descend on the open field.

KATHY NELSON

(Angry) What did you say to him?" You have no right to do anything but apologize to him for ruining his career!

Terry was in a listen-only mode because he knew Kathy, and she would probably run over anything he said.

KATHY NELSON

I mean, the real question is, why did you pick her? I mean, I know why you picked her... she's the most beautiful creature on the planet..."

Karen cocked her head and smirked because she didn't expect that.

KATHY NELSON

You left us both with nothing!

Kathy was referring to her and Tom, as she started crying. She then held up her hand in defiance as he starting moving forward to comfort her.

KATHY NELSON

Stay the fuck over there, you big asshole! I don't need that shit from you!

She turned around and walked toward the main field, stopping momentarily to look up in the stands and smile at Karen, who was surprised - but excited - to be discovered.

Terry waited a few seconds and then walked through the tunnel and watched Kathy run toward the building.

KAREN RILEY

(Stands up) You really do have a way with women, superstar.

Karen started walking down the bleachers and onto the synthetic grass surface until they met at midfield. She took the ball from Terry.

KAREN RILEY

It's amazing, but after all these years you're still only thinking of yourself! You would have dated both of us if I hadn't put my foot down! (Starts to walk away) I'm not really sure I want to be your wife anymore?

Karen walked away as German sat in the stands and gazed at the empty field as the sun set.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM

The groups were told of a special announcement that would take place at the end of the school day, which also was the end of the first semester. Principal Brothers disclosed during the morning announcements that everyone was to meet in the front hallway adjacent to the auditorium for a "special tour of the school's new facilities."

Normally, an announcement such as this would have spurred extensive conversation, especially within the group of elders. But, after the many conflicts between the freshman post-graduates, there hadn't been much talking going on.

Chris Reynolds was constantly anxious, so he flipped a note on Terry German's desk. German wasn't in the mood, so he swept the folded piece of paper off his desk with his right paw. Reynolds scrambled on the floor to pick it up, as the class had already completed final exams for the semester and was experiencing a little quiet time. He picked up the note and then flipped it on Bruce's desk, almost in a single motion.

Bruce was pretend-reading a magazine, trying not to think to think of Melissa Franklin's butt, when the piece of white paper landed in the middle of his desk. He looked over at Reynolds, who smiled. He unfolded the full-page note, which read: What do you think the announcement is about?

Bruce reached into the front pocket of his jeans, pulled out a pen and wrote, First of all, when you're passing a note, size matters! Notes are much easier to detect when they're larger.

He felt good that he was helping the next generation, so he continued: it's anybody's guess what the announcement will be? But, if I had to guess..."

And Bruce was the right person to guess because he was the only person in the school that had a father that was in on the planning.

"I would say that it's something really big! They've been working on that wing for months and it will probably change all of our lives."

Bruce folded the paper into a triangle, the shape of a table football. He put the single point down and then kicked the paper ball with his middle finger on his right hand with force.

The ball traveled quickly toward Reynolds, but German reached out his right hand and intercepted the note with a backhand grab. Terry was also curious about the announcement and knew Bruce could provide some needed intel.

German opened the note, digested its contents and then flipped the paper over to Reynolds, who anxiously awaited its arrival. He then turned around and looked at Singer.

TERRY GERMAN

(Quietly) I saw a Home Depot and two Ikea trucks out back last week.

While the message was only meant for one it was heard by all, although nobody commented for fear of starting a substantive conversation they couldn't finish.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY

There was much chatter throughout all of the classes leading up to the large gathering in front of the auditorium. The entire 400 wing of the school, which had been used during the baby boom to accommodate the overflow of students, had been closed off during the renovation and was about to be opened for business.

The collective buzz of the nearly 200, including students, teachers and other support staff, was quite loud. So much so that Principal Brothers walked out of his office and realized that he would need something to amplify his voice, so he picked up the megaphone in his closet on his way out. His first attempts to establish communication with the horde went on deaf ears, so he resorted to the dreaded siren, which shut people up made them cover their ears.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

This is truly a special day for our program. Our generous benefactors have spared no expense in attending to your needs. Please follow me to the old 400 wing for a special treat.

Brothers started walking down the main hallway to the first hallway on the right as everyone followed.

Since they were the only people in the building, Brothers let the chatter go to a medium pitch. Once he reached the end of the hallway and then walked approximately 50 yards to the entrance of the 400 wing, which was still sealed with ceiling-to-floor plastic.

Brothers put his hands in the air for the crowd to calm and they complied, probably out of fear that he would blast that infernal siren again. No megaphone was needed to amplify his voice this time because people couldn't wait to hear what he had to say.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

What you are about to see was conceived and completed with great thought and it will, without a doubt, change your lives!

Chris Reynolds and Terry German turned their heads to look at Bruce Singer, who had predicted as much. Bruce eyes both of them and gives a "Lucky guess" look, although only German knew different. His thoughts of the old band getting back together again were basically confirmed. The town had prospered under the guidance of Marty Singer and his team, and Terry was now sure there would be a much-needed revival.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Please feel free to walk around and get a feel for the place, but notice that we have posted important announcements on the walls out-side of each room and inside of most rooms. (Starts pulling down the plastic) It gives me great pleasure to introduce Grizzly Residence Hall. (A few people helped him with the huge sheet of plastic) Your new home for the rest of the school year.

Tremendous excitement and fear spread throughout the group, with feelings of wanting to both hug and kiss Principal Brothers, or knee him in the balls.

The words "your new home" resonated with many people who had enjoyed the refuge of their own homes in recent tense days.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Please follow me for a brief tour of the facilities and then I'll let you free to become more familiar with your surroundings. As you can see, we have taken a more modern approach to this part of the building, using recycled materials and energy-efficient lighting.

He then pointed to the raised and open ceiling in the middle of the floor.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

We have also installed solar panels on the roof with the intent of taking us off the town's power grid and providing for all of our power needs internally and efficiently. If this experiment is successful, we hope to replicate this effort throughout the rest of the building.

People put their personal feelings aside and clapped in appreciation of the thoughtful construction efforts.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

At the end of each hallway are residences that are designed to en-sure your comfort. In the middle, right in front of us, is a common meeting area complete with flat-screen televisions, video games systems and even some old-school board games. Each side of the hallway also has study rooms, including virtual libraries and multimedia conference rooms that can be utilized for group projects and meetings that are more private in nature.

Brothers then pointed to the left of the common area.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

We have al-so built a state-of-the-art kitchen, complete with Viking appliances and an adjacent dining area so that we can all eat together at night. It is important that we sit down together and share our experiences each day. (Turns toward the crowd) I will now leave you to explore the space for yourself. Mrs. Prentice and I will be in the common area if you have any questions.

The crowd cheered and quickly dispersed throughout the Grizzly wing, which was about the size of a football field but not as wide.

It was debated before the wing was constructed of how the bedrooms would look and if the areas would be co-ed?

INT. VIDEOCONFERENCE

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I think co-ed dorms would be a great idea.

RHONDA BRAUN

I'd second that.

GARY PHILLIPS

I would agree, but I'm not sure how I feel about the high school kids cohabiting?

RHONDA BRAUN

I would have to agree with you there. Teens are not ready for that type of access until maybe college.

HAROLD BAUMAN

So, would you suggest that we put the adults together but keep the kids separate?

RHONDA BRAUN

Maybe we could keep the parents with younger kids closer to them, the teens grouped by sex and the rest of the adults mixed?

DAVID FRENCH

I think that is a great idea! And we can always adjust things as needed.

MARTIN SINGER

Let's just keep my kids apart. Bruce always plays pranks on his sister in her sleep. All those in favor raise your hands?

And everyone in the group raised their hands.

MARTIN SINGER

Thus it will be so.

Rhonda was responsible for the sleeping assignments after observing the groups for the better part of two months. While she wanted to see more of Bruce and his sister together, she complied with Marty Singer's wish and placed them in separate rooms on opposite sides of the long hallway.

She felt like completely segregating adults and kids was a bad idea, because the kids would take full advantage of too much freedom. Rhonda also surmised that maybe it wasn't such a great idea for Julie Singer to be tagging along with her older brother and his contemporaries. Instead, she moved Julie away from the group to be with people that were around her own age - at least chronologically-speaking.

Rhonda took her time getting to the suite that her husband and group would be staying in. The layout of the rooms for each suite was different and could be reconfigured for future use based on the school's attendees. Walls were not permanent and could be moved at any time. There were also bathrooms with two stalls and two showers adjoined to every suite.

The bedroom assignments for Rhonda's suite, with rooms one through three on one side of the suite and rooms four through six on the other, were as follows:

Room 1: Rhonda and Sammy Braun

Room 2: Bruce Singer

Room 3: Melissa Franklin

Room 4: Tom and Kathy Parks

Room 5: Terry and Karen German

Room 6: Robert and Anita Cosgrove

She made sure to put Bruce and Melissa next to each other, and also to place Terry German in between the three women that he had slept with.

Terry German's palms and pits were perspiring as he walked from door-to-door, right to left, to view the sleeping assignments posted on a sheet of paper outside each doorway. The tension continued to build aft each viewing because he didn't see his name and the other names of his classmates. When he finally got to the last doorway he didn't even both-er to look at the list. All he had to see was Kathy, Karen and Anita stand-ing in front of their rooms, and he knew he was fucked!

BRUCE SINGER

(Standing next to Terry) Whoa! (Patted Terry on the back) At times, it will probably feel like you are living with three mothers.

But Terry then looked at him for the first time in weakness and needed help, or at the very least compassion.

BRUCE SINGER

Or... you're walking into the greatest year of your life because you have three women that still want to ride you like a Kentucky Derby winner.

Terry looked at Bruce and stuck his fist out and smiled.

TERRY GERMAN

Giddy-up! (They pounded fists)

German enhanced the suspense as he took one step into the room and then turned back around and left after all three women looked at him with content from jaunt outside of their rooms.

BRUCE SINGER

Playing hard to get. I like it.

Bruce he peered into the room and nearly salivated over Melanie Franklin lying on her bed. He nodded at her and then decided to mirror Terry German's strategy and walk away, letting it marinate and be the hunted for a change.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE

Terry walked into school earlier than everyone else the next day when everyone was expected to arrive at 10:00 a.m. with their personal belongings. It was a Saturday and the school was peacefully quiet, but Terry felt much different than he usually did before a big game.

It was 7:30 a.m. and Terry went to the residence area and sat in a comfortable chair in the common area. Principal Brothers had already been living in the residence for a few days and walked to the common area to read the New York Times. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and it was the first time anyone had seen him out of his uniform, his suit and tie.

Brothers was quite an imposing sight, even for Terry German.

TERRY GERMAN

Principal Brothers, is that you?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Terrence? What are you doing here so early?

TERRY GERMAN

I want in? If Marty Singer is behind this, I want in.

Brothers calmly took his reading glasses out of his pocket and sat down on the couch adjacent to German. He opened the newspaper.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

What makes you think that Marty Singer has anything to do with this?

TERRY GERMAN

(Without hesitation) Have you seen this town lately? Did Marty Singer have anything to do with all of these people leaving?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You still didn't answer my question.

German leaned over and grabbed Brothers' arm to get his attention. Brothers dropped the paper down.

TERRY GERMAN

(Gasps) Holy shit! How much do you bench?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Smiles and responds in a deep voice) About 260.

TERRY GERMAN

Cool! We should lift together some time.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Why don't we work now and now and then eat some breakfast before everyone arrives. (They stand up) You gonna' answer my question?

TERRY GERMAN

Because it's working.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You do make sense. I'll get you an audience with his majesty later.

And so, a bromance for formed...

Terry and Craig were feeling good after their first workout of many. And, after they showered and put on some fresh clothes, Craig made some breakfast for the two of them.

TERRY GERMAN

That was like the best bacon and cheddar egg white omelet I have ever eat-en!

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

If you like that, wait until you taste my whole grain pancakes! I put bacon and sausage pieces inside of them.

TERRY GERMAN

Wow! I'll have to make my protein smoothie along with that!

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I'm in for that! Craig said as he left Principal Brothers behind and was now just a regular guy.

TERRY GERMAN

(Stands up) On that note, I have to drop the kids off at the pool.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Make sure they wear sun screen.

Terry nodded and laughed.

Brothers put his feet up on the ottoman in the common area and went back to reading the rest of the paper.

Just then, three different people had the same idea and were converging on the residence a full hour before they were scheduled to report.

KAREN RILEY

(To Kathy) What are you doing here?

KATHY NELSON

Me? (Then they spotted Anita Herron Cosgrove walking from the other direction toward them. What is she doing here?

KAREN RILEY

Did you know that she slept with him, too?

KATHY NELSON

Oh, hell no! (Starts taking off her earrings)

Brothers peaked out from the top of his paper and saw the ruckus forming in the hallway. But he barely moved until he saw Terry German coming back in the room from the corner of his right eye. He stood up and tried to motion to German to run for his life, but the quarterback was not reading his signals.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Mouths) Dude! You are a stud!

And then German heard some familiar voices, so he instinctively ducked behind a couch as the mini-brawl spilled into the large commons area.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Ladies! (Got up from the couch)

Everybody had a hold of everyone else's hair, so Brothers kept a safe distance and instructed.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

On the count of three, we're going to let go. Okay?! One, two, three!

And the three women let go, holding strands of the other people's hair in their hands.

The pain of getting your hair pulled clouded the women's judgment, and they didn't notice at first that Principal Brothers was standing in front of them as they continued to bicker.

KATHY NELSON

You slept with Terry?

Anita was fed up with whole thing.

ANITA COSGROVE

Why not? Everyone else was sleeping with him!

KAREN RILEY

What?! Who else was sleeping with him?

And just as Anita was about drop dime on Terry, he banged his fist on the back of the couch out of anxiety.

KATHY NELSON

What was that?

Karen looked at Principal Brothers, a tower of muscle in his shorts and t-shirt, and asked the other ladies.

KAREN RILEY

Is that Principal Brothers?

ANITA COSGROVE

When did he get here?

KAREN RILEY

Yeah, I think that's him. Is it hot in here?

KATHY NELSON

Yes.

The women are fanning themselves.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Ladies, why don't you ladies sit over here on the couch and I'll get you something cool to drink.

He strolled into the pantry and got a few bottled waters out of the fridge and then handed them out.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Here you go.

The women placed the cold bottles on their heads and necks before opening them.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Sits down) Now, what seems to be the problem?

German popped out from behind the couch out of the sight of the women and facing Brothers.

TERRY GERMAN

(Mouths) ME!

Then German disappeared from view. Somehow Brothers kept it together and stayed in character.

KATHY NELSON

I have a problem with all of us living in the same suite.

KAREN RILEY

No, you have a problem being so close to Terry.

ANITA COSGROVE

Yeah, I don't want to be near him either!

Terry popped up again and was fake-crying before going away.

Brothers stood up and the ladies eyed the bulge in his shorts. He could have said just about anything at that point and they would have gone along with it.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Ladies, I believe I have a simple solution to your problem.

The women stood up and moved closer to Brothers so he could hold their hands.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Why don't you all stay where you are and I will relocate Mr. German."

The women looked at each other smiled at the suggestion of such a great solution to their collective problem.

"That sounds great" and "Thank you so much, Principal Brothers," could be heard.

And then he sealed the deal.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Oh, please call me Craig.

The women liked that.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Why don't you all go relax and get settled before everyone else arrives?

They walked out of the common area holding hands and talking lightly amongst themselves, saying what a nice man the principal was. Once they were out of sight and earshot, Terry sprang out from behind the couch.

TERRY GERMAN

That was awesome!

They slapped hands.

TERRY GERMAN

Where are you going to put me?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You can stay with me. I have an extra bedroom in my suite.

TERRY GERMAN

Nice! (They bumped fists)

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

That should help you get out of trouble for a while, Casanova.

The removal of German from the suite definitely diffused the tension, but it took much of the action and intrigue away from the watchful eyes of Rhonda Braun.

SAMUEL BRAUN

You seem very distant lately. (In bed with his wife) Almost like you are when you are really busy at work.

Rhonda realized from his passive words that he knew she was working but didn't want to be a dick about it.

RHONDA BRAUN

Do you think that I'm working?

Sammy looked at her with a more serious glance.

SAMUEL BRAUN

I don't think, I know. What is Marty having you do now?

RHONDA BRAUN

(The jig was up) How long have you known?

SAMUEL BRAUN

(Smiles) How long have you been talking to Marty and the boys? Since you had that videoconference?

As good a detective as she was, some of those skills appeared to be rubbing off on her husband.

RHONDA BRAUN

(Playfully slaps Sammy as they wrestle) You suck!

While Anita Herron Cosgrove was trying to figure out a way to sneak out of bed, Kathy Nelson Parks waited for her exhausted husband Tom to fall asleep and then she tip-toed out of her room and then the suite.

Kathy was headed to Principal Brothers' suite, although she wasn't quite sure which room she would wander into? She was wearing only a long t-shirt and a pair of skimpy thong underwear as she carefully strolled down the dark hallway. The principal's suite was at the other end of the long residence hallway, so she ran past the dimly-lit commons area and then slid into the suite unnoticed.

She closed the suite door behind her, fully thinking that it was time to decide between jumping on the dreamy principal and rekindling an old flame with the star quarterback. But, that decision would have to wait for another night because someone wrapped their arms around her and stuffed a small garment in her mouth so she couldn't make a noise.

The person dragged her to the couch in the suite and put Kathy on her lap.

FEMALE VOICE

(Whispers) Where were you going little girl? (Then the female licked her ear)

Kathy sighed as the silky garment was removed from her mouth. She inhaled and instantly recognized the scent.

KATHY NELSON

Did you just stuff your silk panties in my mouth?

KAREN RILEY

Did you like it?

Kathy turned around and straddled her co-captain, as they kissed passionately on the way to an extended make-out session.

TERRY GERMAN

(Wearing night vision goggles and communications headset) I told you they were hot for each other.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Do you think we should split them up and take one each?

TERRY GERMAN

Who would you want?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Would it be in bad form if I said I would like to take a crack at your wife?

TERRY GERMAN

Really? (He would be relieved to offload his wife) Give it another 15 minutes and then we'll make our move.

Fifteen minutes later, both guys were fast asleep with their goggles still on. The women were in the pantry eating a snack a few minutes later.

KATHY NELSON

How did you know I'd be there?

KAREN RILEY

Because we always have the same ideas! (They licked chocolate frosting off each other's fingers)

Down the hall, the suite was now dormant except for a couple of restless souls. Bruce was lying in bed burning a hole in ceiling with his gaze, and so was preverbal next-door-neighbor, Melissa Franklin.

BRUCE SINGER

You sleeping? (He asked through the wall as he rolled on his side.

Melissa was never known for her cooperative attitude.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Yes.

He knew that she would not make the first move - as these two first children were stubborn and usually quite self-centered. It was a miracle that they even got together in the first place!

Bruce was horny, so he got up from his bed and walked out into the suite, which was predictably empty at 1:15 a.m. He thought about knocking on Melissa's closed door but he knew the only thing she responded to was strength, so he took charge for a change and walked right in her room.

She anticipated his aggression and jumped in the air and straddled him as he breached the doorway into the small room. They didn't even make it to the bed the first 10 minutes, and then they didn't talk until two hours later when the smoke from years of repression finally cleared.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

Asshole! (She grunts as she motioned like she was going to get out of bed)

BRUCE SINGER

(Grabs her arm) Not this time, bitch!

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(Sits up) Why are you calling me bitch?

BRUCE SINGER

(Confused) Wait, didn't you just called me an asshole?

MELISSA FRANKLIN

For good reason.

This is the point when Bruce could have kept the surface argument going and nothing pertinent would have happened, or do this...

BRUCE SINGER

Why do you do that every time?

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(She is confused) Why do I do what?

BRUCE SINGER

Why do you stop every time we start?

MELISSA FRANKLIN

I..." I don't know?

BRUCE SINGER

If we're going to get anywhere, then you have to stop doing that.

She moved over and stacked on top of him, both of them facing the ceiling. Melissa was in listen-only mode for a change.

BRUCE SINGER

I had to give up on you and marry that horrible woman. You know, Miss, you have always been the only one for me.

Somehow, the constant pain and strain from the divorce of her parents did not make her cry, but Bruce's statement prompted an eruption of delayed waterworks.

Bruce smiled at the release, because he realized that he finally had a chance.

BRUCE SINGER

I love you. Now stop crying. This position has given me a super-boner.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(Laughs) I love you, too.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE COMMON AREA

It was five o'clock in the morning and Anita Cosgrove had barely slept from all of the activity around her. She wandered into the pantry and then carried her bowl of Greek yogurt and mixed berries into the common area. Just as she sat down in a comfortable tub chair and was about to turn on the large flat-screen television, Principal Brothers came zipping in with a bottle of water and in a full sweat.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Oh, good morning, Anita!

ANITA COSGROVE

Principal Brothers, its five a.m., what are you doing running around so early?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Beaming) I was up at four, went for a run on the track and then Terry and I did our first weightlifting session of the day.

Brothers had obviously said the magic word, and he could see that Anita had receded into her yogurt.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Is everything all right, Anita?

He sat on the rug across from her, so as to not transmit his butt sweat to a couch or a chair.

Craig Brothers in his own life was not usually a person you would confide in, because he only really listened when something was in it for him. But his new persona, Principal Brothers, Craig was finally in a role where he could just relax and not worry so much. Once the words "long-term assignment" were uttered, he finally knew where his next meal - and subsequent meals - would be coming from, thus alleviating the angst he carried around like an overstuffed backpack for years.

ANITA COSGROVE

I'm having trouble with my feelings for Terry.

Brothers mulled the word "trouble" and then proceeded.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

It's only 'trouble' Anita if you don't say what you feel. Holding it inside will only cause you continued emotional distress.

She processed his advice.

ANITA COSGROVE

It sounds like you have had some experience in this area.

Brothers bowed his head and then picked it up.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Feelings of anger and hatred almost ruined my life.

Terry came bounding in after his new friend but quickly realized he probably should have taken a shower first.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Whispers) There's no time like the present.

He smiled and then walked past German and bro-hugged him.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Go easy on her, brother.

And then, from the time they broke the hug until the time Terry sat on the couch, he realized how self-centered and cruel he had been to Anita. His lofty high school status never seemed to wane and he always sought to take advantage of that mental edge.

Anita placed her bowl on the coffee table.

ANITA COSGROVE

Why?

TERRY GERMAN

Because there was no other way.

ANITA COSGROVE

(Bows her head) Because I was number three?

Anita was calling to attention that she was always third in line be-hind Kathy and Karen, and if the other two were unavailable, he would give her a shot, which wasn't very often.

Terry could have lied and made up a bunch of random excuses, which would have been hurtful, but he decided to take the high road.

TERRY GERMAN

I'm sorry I lied to you for so long, Anita. It was nothing you did wrong. I was just being a big-headed jerk!

ANITA COSGROVE

(Picks up her head and smiles) Apology accepted!

They stood up and met in a friendly hug, just as Robert Cosgrove entered the room.

ROBERT COSGROVE

(Uncomfortable) Am I interrupting something?

Terry and Anita broke the hug and Anita stepped back and smiled.

ANITA COSGROVE

No, I think we're done here.

Terry's smile disappeared once Anita and Robert left the room. And, just as Terry was about to leave the room, the lights switched off, the door shut and locked, and the TV turned on with a familiar image staring him in the face.

MARTIN SINGER

It's been a while, Terrence. I hear you've been asking for me.

TERRY GERMAN

Mr. Singer!

Terry exclaimed like a grade-school kid as he sat down on the couch facing the screen.

MARTIN SINGER

In the flesh.

TERRY GERMAN

We miss you so much here! It hasn't been the same since you left.

MARTIN SINGER

Thank you! Sorry for all of the trouble, but I think you can be one of the key people that brings us back.

TERRY GERMAN

I hope so!

MARTIN SINGER

I'm glad you and Mr. Brothers have become so close. It's exciting to see such talented people do what they do best. I'm counting on you both to be the leaders of our efforts.

German was happy to be thought of in such a way by a man he so greatly respected, but felt he should approach the massive elephant in the room.

TERRY GERMAN

What about your son?

MARTIN SINGER

(Sighs) I fear that I've been misguided in wanting the best for my son, but only through my eyes. Bruce must discover his own path, walk in his own shoes, and then he will be fulfilled in life.

Terry was surprised by Marty's candor, but he didn't disagree with him.

TERRY GERMAN

When did you come to that realization?

MARTIN SINGER

About the time I had my first heart attack, between the treadmill and the floor.

TERRY GERMAN

Wow.

MARTIN SINGER

I'm always around if you want to talk, Terrence. All you have to do is call my name and I will be there.

TERRY GERMAN

Thanks, Mr. Singer! I appreciate everything that you've done.

Marty smiled his infectious smile.

MARTIN SINGER

And I appreciate everything you're going to do. Just make sure we keep this little secret between us and Mr. Brothers.

TERRY GERMAN

Will do.

They said goodbye and the TV turned off as the lights went on and the door unlocked and reopened.

Brothers was standing on the other side of the door.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

What's with the locked door?

TERRY GERMAN

I had some business to take care of.

Leading Brothers to think at first that he was tossing off, but then Brothers realized he must have been talking to Marty Singer.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Is everything all right?

The two men walked to the center of the room as Terry put his arm around Craig.

TERRY GERMAN

Couldn't be better, brother.

They walk out of the room.

Football season came and went, with the JV team finishing undefeated and the varsity faring less well with four losses. While the high school experiment started as a sports and activity-driven experience, it had quickly transitioned into primarily a social experiment.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

SAMUEL BRAUN

Why are you always taking notes? Shouldn't you be more involved in the activities?

Sammy asked his wife as she sat in the gym bleachers while the guys played basketball. It was in between pick-up games and he was wiping off his sweat with a towel and drinking some water.

The water must have reinvigorated him because he realized his wife's full role in the experiment at that moment.

SAMUEL BRAUN

You always did like to watch.

Rhonda put her right index finger to her lips to tell her husband to quiet down in the echo chamber that was the gym. She got up and pulled him to the side of the bleachers and implored in a quiet, but intense, tone of voice.

RHONDA BRAUN

You can't tell anyone!

SAMUEL BRAUN

This is your big break, writing a book of this magnitude!

She calmed down and smiled.

RHONDA BRAUN

This is big for all of us. The exposure will put us back on the map.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE COMMON AREA

MELISSA FRANKLIN

What do you think is going on here?

Melissa and Bruce are sitting on a couch. They were alone in the room, but not necessarily alone in the world, as Marty had the image of his son and his son's girlfriend on his screen but was tracking the stock market on his computer and was merely listening.

Melissa was sprawled on the couch with her head on Bruce's lap as she gazed up at him.

BRUCE SINGER

I know what's going on here, but I'm more interested to hear what you think.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

You think your dad's involved?

BRUCE SINGER

Don't you?

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(Laughs) It had Marty written all over it even before we had the first meeting.

Marty turned his head and looked at the screen as the small talk between the reunited lovers had abruptly ceased.

BRUCE SINGER

Yeah, I was never much for his rules, his games.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

So, what do you want to do?

BRUCE SINGER

Remember that one time when we were in college and we actually talked after sex?

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(Giggles) Yeah, wasn't that the time when we drank beer and smoked a little too much pot?

BRUCE SINGER

Yeah, that was it. And then you asked me what my dream was, because you knew it wasn't to work at the water company my whole life.

She popped up and literally bounced on the couch from unbridled enthusiasm.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

No way! Shut up! Are you serious?

Marty Singer moved to the edge of his cushioned seat at the thought of his son finally revealing what he was actually passionate about. It was like he was watching a good murder mystery and the name of the killer was about to be announced. Only this mystery was highly personal and had been in the unsolved case file for decades.

BRUCE SINGER

Ever since my parents took me to Lake George in Upstate New York when I was a kid, I have always wanted to have my own bed and breakfast.

MELISSA FRANKLIN

(Excited) I know! Me, too!

Marty couldn't believe what he had just heard. Out of all the things he figured his son would enjoy and excel at, owning and operating a bed and breakfast was not on the list.

INT. SINGER HAWAII RESIDENCE

MARTIN SINGER

Who knew?

DELIA SINGER

Who knew that your son always wanted to own a bed and breakfast You didn't know that? I've known since we went to Lake George that one summer when he was in first or second grade. You were busy playing golf and trying to sell your water into the Upstate market, and Bruce was busy the whole time shadowing the B&B owner and asking a million questions. He loved the fact that you get to live in the house and different people would come to visit you. Don't you remember that he wouldn't't stop crying when you wanted to leave?

Marty sat back and put his hands behind his head — his thinking pose.

MARTIN SINGER

I thought the kid was just tired?

DELIA SINGER

(In her finest Brooklyn accent) What he was tired of was living a life that was not his own. He found his calling on that trip, but the family responsibility and money kept him with the water company.

MARTIN SINGER

I had no idea.

DELIA SINGER

Listen, you did your best as a father and a husband, Marty. You always provided for us and we never wanted for anything.

Delia tried to soften the blow because she knew her husband would take it hard.

DELIA SINGER

But you have to let him figure it out himself. Only help if he asks you.

Marty was still a bit dazed and confused, a condition he rarely found himself in.

MARTIN SINGER

Okay.

While one member of the Singer family had an epiphany, his sister was about to discover her true calling, other than being the annoying younger sister who appeared clueless and awkwardly-enthusiastic for a grown-ass woman.

Julie Singer had played on the basketball and volleyball teams while in high school, but had done little since then. She was assigned tasks within the company with important-sounding titles, such as Creative Director of Craft Services and Senior Liaison to the Board of Directors, although these jobs had absolutely no impact on anything going on within the company.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE COMMON AREA

REBECCA SCHAEFER

Hey, where were you living before this whole thing started?

Julie's her new friend Rebecca Schaefer asked as they shared the duties of setting the dinner table.

REBECCA SCHAEFER

Were you living in your parents' house?

JULIE SINGER

Yeah.

REBECCA SCHAEFER

Have you ever lived anywhere else?

JULIE SINGER

Nope. You?

REBECCA SCHAEFER

We moved when I was real young, but I don't remember that. I've been living in the same room since I could walk, even though my parents don't live there anymore. I even commuted to college.

JULIE SINGER

I went away to college, but I lived in the same dorm, same room, same bed, all four years.

REBECCA SCHAEFER

What do you think will happen when this is all over?

JULIE SINGER

I guess I'll just go back home?

Julie said, and her watching parents had enough. But, before they could sell or blow up their house, the strangest thing happened.

The thought of going back to that empty house creeped Rebecca out. Once she left the house she was finally able to think clearly after living in a haze — even though she worked at the water company in the promotions department for years.

REBECCA SCHAEFER

What would you do if you had to pick one thing? I mean, if it wasn't already selected for you. I know what I would do.

JULIE SINGER

You do?

REBECCA SCHAEFER

Don't you?

Julie thought for a moment and then came up with it.

JULIE SINGER

Let's say it at the same time!

REBECCA SCHAEFER

(Excited) Okay! On three. ONE, TWO, THREE!!

REBECCA AND JULIE

CHEF!

JULIE SINGER

No way! I want to be a pastry chef. Really anything to do with desserts!

REBECCA SCHAEFER

That is crazy! I like to cook anything but desserts.

Marty Singer was having quite the week.

MARTIN SINGER

(Looks at his wife) Did you know this?

DELIA SINGER

(Smiles) Who do you think made desserts all of these years? We probably should have sent her to culinary school, but everybody worked at the water company. I taught her when she was young, but she took it to another level.

MARTIN SINGER

Why didn't you tell me?

Then his wife stared him down as to suggest, "She's your daughter! You should have taken the time to know!"

While time had given Marty Singer and his wife a chance to catch up on their kids' true life interests, it had also given the three women in pursuit of Terry German a fresh perspective on their lives. Rhonda was hanging out with Kathy, Karen and Anita as they drove to Target one day after school in Cosgrove's mini-van. Anita pulled out of the parking lot and grunted.

ANITA COSGROVE

What the fuck am I doing drive a god-damn mini-van?! If this town's still standing once the year is over, then I'm gonna' cash this in for a Mini Cooper!

KATHY NELSON

It's our husbands and kids. They turned us into these sexless creatures. (She smiles as Karen)

KAREN RILEY

Sexless may be going a bit too far, partner. You are far from sexless!

ANITA COSGROVE

(Looks in the rear-view mirror) Yeah, I would take a crack at that.

It was like the girls were jumping rope in the schoolyard and Rhonda was looking the right moment to jump in.

RHONDA BRAUN

So, which one of you winds up with Terry when this is all over?

It was starting to get cold outside as the group was only a few days away from the winter break.

KAREN RILEY

Why don't we see what happens over the break?

ANITA COSGROVE

It's possible that no one will want him. No offense, Karen.

KAREN RILEY

None taken. Maybe he'll wind up with Principal Brothers.

RHONDA BRAUN

Yeah, that is quite a bromance they have going there!

Rhonda forget for a moment that she was there to facilitate the conversation.

KAREN RILEY

I think Kathy and I are getting along better since he moved out.

The two cheerleaders high-fived, kissed and then started making out in the second row of seats as Rhonda did a double-take as her glasses fogged up.

Anita was about to talk before she looked in the rear-view mirror and started drifting off the road until Rhonda cleaned her glasses with her shirt and then put them back on in time to yell.

RHONDA BRAUN

You're going off the road!

Anita hit the curb and then jerked the wheel to the left to get back on the pavement. She stopped the bus and pounded the steering wheel with her fists. The loud sound breaking up the wet dream in the back seat when colliding with the curb had little impact.

KATHY NELSON

What was that? (She removed her right hand from Karen's left boob)

Karen picked Kathy's hand up and placed it back where it belonged.

KAREN RILEY

Was that you, Anita?

ANITA COSGROVE

Why do you guys always leave me out? Am I not pretty? (Starts crying)

"Oh, boy," Rhonda thought to herself without actually letting her words breach her lips.

Anita was always truly the third wheel in everyone's life except her husband Robert. But he never seemed to be able to fill the void created by the Terry, Kathy and Karen triangle that had her on the outside looking in.

KATHY NELSON

Let's go to Nordstrom!

KAREN RILEY

Makeover time! (Karen and Kathy bumped fists)

People on campus were only allowed to step out once a week and only for a few hours at a time. Once the girls hit the cosmetics floor, Rhonda and Anita were placed in swiveling chairs and Karen and Kathy went to work.

KATHY NELSON

(Looking at Rhonda) I like earth tones for her. What do you think?

KAREN RILEY

Definitely! (And then she turned to Anita) Anita's skin is nice and dark, so I think I'm going with bright pastels.

KATHY NELSON

Yes, that would work brilliantly!

They brushed and detailed for the better part of an hour, as the girls knew the manager Claude, who was their friend and co-worker. The girls were so liked by Claude that he enlisted their help at separate times during the holidays to push product and they always delivered.

KATHY NELSON

Have you ever kissed a girl before?

Anita searched her memory bank.

ANITA COSGROVE

Yes, once at camp.

CLAUDE ROGERS

Me, too! (Clapping) But obviously, I didn't like it too much.

KATHY NELSON

(Laughed and teases Claude) Well, you're a lost cause!"

And then she turned to Anita.

KATHY NELSON

Maybe you didn't kiss the right girl.

She applied a generous coat of bubble gum lip gloss to Anita's full lips.

ANITA COSGROVE

You think? (A quiver of anticipation in her voice)

Steamy Kathy moved in as her lips gently pressed against Anita's.

Rhonda was transfixed by the action until Karen used her left index finger to turn Rhonda's head around toward her and a passionate lip-lock.

Claude didn't know what to do with so much beaver in action, so he looked down at his crotch.

CLAUDE ROGERS

You better look away, Mr. Belvedere! Nothing for you to see here.

The month between the second and third semesters was a time when families went on vacations in past years, and the action at Steaming Springs High School had shifted into a free-play scenario. Although there would be no plane rides during this month, students were free to experiment across usual boundaries and team with and against each other in raucous, unchecked competition.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM

TERRY GERMAN

We gotta' teach these kids a lesson.

The guys sat in the first row of bleachers watching the high school-age kids playing basketball on the court.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Yeah, I really can't listen to another word of that trash-talk!

While sports appeared to be the focus of the mid-afternoon activities, the relationship part of the equation was still the dominant force as biases showed no sign of erosion.

Since German appeared to always have the last word on all things sports-related, the group of elder gentlemen waited for his instructions on who would take the court first. He looked over at the teenage five, which consisted of a buff group that included Jordan Parks, Andrew Braun, Steven Singer, William Cosgrove and his son, Terry, Jr. With an average height of about 6'2" or 6'3", German figured he would stack his team with size.

TERRY GERMAN

Okay, let's start with me, Craig, Coz, Singer and..." (He looks at Tom Parks and then Charlie Reynolds—two competing wide receivers—and realized that he had to throw the ball to the hands he knew) Parksy.

Reynolds and Sammy Braun sat on the wooden bleachers as the other five guys walked on to the court.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

Shirts and skins! Wanna' shoot for it?

He knew that many of the elder guys would prefer to keep their shirts on and would be less comfortable as skins.

One such person who despised any activity he had to do without a shirt, unless it was in the dark and involved a naked woman, was Bruce Singer. As a pre-emptive strike, Singer had been walking around the building and found a storage area where he found a bunch of reversible mesh practice jerseys. He started walking to the box of jerseys that he left near the sideline.

BRUCE SINGER

Hold that thought! (His voice echoes throughout the gym)

When he removed the navy and gold jerseys from the box it induced quite a reaction from the players on the court and also the gaggle of women stretching and tumbling on the right side of the gym.

KATHY NELSON

Damn that Singer!

A sentiment shared by every other woman and girl in the gym. They had been mentally limbering up for the skin show. Watching them take off their t-shirts and put on the practice jerseys was just a flash of what was to come during the break.

The elders were feeling blue and the neophytes gold as they easily streaked past a frustrated and confused bunch of men, 11-3. Terry German really didn't like to lose, especially to his son and his obnoxious friends, who were talking shit throughout the game and after he scored the winning bucket.

TERRY GERMAN

What the fuck was that?! Coz, my son was killing you!

Robert Cosgrove was never one to question his leader, but the recent lack of attention from his wife — mostly because she had been focused on other things, was starting to get to him.

ROBERT COSGROVE

Why don't you guard him?! He's your kid!

German couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he decided that further confronting Cosgrove would just add injury to insult.

TERRY GERMAN

Reynolds! You come in for Coz, and Braun's in for Singer.

Bruce slapped hands with his buddy Sammy and then kept walking out of the gym instead of taking his place on the bench next to the hulking Cosgrove. His mind had been elsewhere since the bed and breakfast conversation with Melissa, and he wasn't really helping anyone in the gym.

Craig Brothers put his principal's hat on for a moment and realized that a conversation with Bruce and Melissa would probably be in the offing.

Parks and Reynolds hadn't come face-to-face since their ego-based altercation on the football field months earlier.

TOM PARKS

I'm not playing with this asshole!

This time, Reynolds didn't talk with his mouth, opting to lunge at Parks and let his left fist do all of his talking. Parks saw Reynolds coming out of the corner of his left eye and instinctively moved to his right to avoid the blow, but was still struck on the side of his head. He fell to the ground more on the force of Reynolds' body contacting his than being impacted by a punch.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Oh, shit!

The younger Reynolds yelled from the high-schooler's bench, as the rest of the guys had their backs to the court. He jumped up and ran to the other side of the gym and the scuffle, as the other boys followed him.

Parks had been in a few altercations in his day, especially once the frustration of his failed high school career set in and he took to drinking. And what he learned from all of those years was that it was often the second punch, not the first that ended most fights. Early on, he was eager to get the first punch off because he assumed it was a distinct advantage. But, after winding up on the ground bloodied and bruised a few too many times, he learned how to become an effective counter-puncher and he often wound up on top of the pile instead of the bottom.

Reynolds was so pleased with his forceful reaction that he barely noticed Parks popping up off the deck with a vicious left hook to his jaw. But he was able to move back just before contact, or he surely would have been knocked out cold.

Both Parks and Reynolds were great athletes, and extremely quick athletes at that. Reynolds was stunned for a moment and by the time he tried to go back at Parks, there were 10 really big guys in between them.

Principal Brothers grabbed both guys by their jerseys.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You two, outside!

Brothers pushed them ahead and they walked out into the hallway.

The remaining people in the gym walked through the doors on the other side of the gym so they could get a view of what was happening in the hallway.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Let's finish this out here!

Predictably, the guy that was punched last wanted to still go, so Reynolds lunged forward and tried to throw a punch, but Brothers caught the flailing right fist with his left hand.

Gasps and "Oh, shit's!" could be heard from the down the way.

Brothers peered their way and they all backed up out of sight.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Are you done yet? (Talking to Reynolds)

Reynolds looked at Parks and then Brothers, and then took his fist back and out up his hands in a signal of momentary surrender.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

We will NEVER know who is better, gentlemen! You're just going to let it go! (He looks at Parks) You are going to have to respect the record, Parksy! He earned it regardless of what happened your senior year.

Parks put his hands up and nodded in agreement.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(He then looked at Reynolds) And you, CR. Let's be honest here. You've seen his numbers and you know he only had a few catches in his last seven games. Now, I'm not saying you wouldn't have broken his record, but it would have been a lot more difficult if his quarterback hadn't frozen him out.

Reynolds looked at Brothers in confusion, and then instantly let go of his anger toward Parks as his greatest rival, gazing at him as a fellow gridiron gladiator.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

What? I had assumed all these years that you were playing hurt.

TOM PARKS

No, I was fine. (Embarrassed)

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Then what happened?

Brothers closed his eyes and channeled his energy toward Terry German, hoping the signal caller would step forward and lead in a way that he had never led before. As the conversation between Parks and Reynolds started, German sensed where it was going and started walking toward the heat with a crowd of people behind him.

TERRY GERMAN

It was my fault!

German exclaimed as Brothers smiled and then opened his eyes. Brothers then moved out of the way as German faced Parks and Reynolds with a throng of people, both male and female, be-hind him.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

What do you mean that is was your fault?

TERRY GERMAN

All he did was comfort someone I was taking advantage of.

Karen and Anita took hold of Kathy's hands while standing on either side of her.

TERRY GERMAN

I thought I could control everything and everyone in this town! I loved two women and one friend (he looks at Kathy and Karen, and then Parks) and then betrayed my best friend by leading his girl, my friend Anita, on.

He then moved closer to Parks as the crowd inched closer behind him.

TERRY GERMAN

I thought I was punishing you, Parksy, but not throwing you the ball hurt us both in the end. I took away one of the greatest connections of my life!

Tears starting flowing down his cheeks like he was a little kid.

No one in the crowd had ever seen him cry before, let alone the women that he had spent so much time with. He wiped the tears away and continued.

TERRY GERMAN

When I hurt my knee, the first thing I thought of was you and how I deserved to have the thing we loved the most taken away.

Parks started sobbing, as the years of anger, frustration and lack of fulfillment and closure vanished.

TERRY GERMAN

(Opens his arms) I love you, brother!

He and Parks met in a thunderous hug, much to the delight of the clapping and tearful crowd, an elated Craig Brothers and Charlie Reynolds.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

I want to play for that fuckin' guy!

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL HALLWAY

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

How the fuck did you pull that out?

Brothers asked German as they remained inside for their morning run, as a fresh dumping of 10 inches of snow had fallen the previous evening.

TERRY GERMAN

I just came to the realization that I had to let it go. I had to be the bigger man and let everyone off the hook, including myself.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Two lives, man. One before and now after.

TERRY GERMAN

(Smiles) As long as you and I are side by side in this life, I'm in.

He extended his fist and Craig bumped him.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Ditto.

The vibe in the last few week of the free month was just that, free. Anita had rededicated herself to Coz, although she was much more open to kissing women again, and he had absolutely no objections to that!

The connections between the teens had been slow to develop because their parents were constantly hovering and watching their every move. It was the middle of the school year, yet they had barely reached many of the social milestones that would typically accompany the normal school year.

One night during dinner, Karen Riley German noticed three boys sitting across from her - Steven Singer, Andrew Braun and Chris Reynolds - basically staring down her blouse.

Under normal circumstances, she would have simply viewed the ogling as a compliment and moved on with her day with an enthusiastic skip in her step. But, this was not a 'normal' circumstance and she had been entrusted with the power to mentor and educate, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Karen put her left hand on Kathy's inner thigh, and then Kathy smiled and looked at her. Karen returned the smile and then nodded her head at the boys and waited for her reaction.

KAREN RILEY

(Internal thoughts) Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Kathy got the internal memo and thought.

KATHY NELSON

School is in session. You wanna' join, Anita?

Anita looked at her friends and then the boys and mind replied.

ANITA COSGROVE

I love school!

So, while the boys satisfied one appetite through food, they had to wait until after desert to attend to their starving libidos.

Since Karen and Kathy's daughters were both little bitches, they had to look outside the inner circle for some additional assistance. They were cleaning dishes and scouting teen girl talent as they motioned for Rhonda Braun to come over.

KAREN RILEY

Hey Rhonda Bear, can you help us with something?

It was perhaps one of the strangest requests Rhonda had ever received in either her personal or professional lives, but she hadn't kissed a girl before a few weeks earlier, either.

She gathered up five girls, ages 16 to 18, and walked them down to a classroom outside of the common area.

Craig Brothers was always watching his people, especially his older people, and stopped Terry German, Robert Cosgrove, Sammy Braun, Charlie Reynolds and Tom Parks before they left dinner.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Meet me in the common area in 20 minutes.

Parks was walking through the hallway to pick up his new buddy Charlie Reynolds, when he ran into Reynolds' wife.

TOM PARKS

Excuse me, do you know where I can find Charlie Reynolds?

JESSICA REYNOLDS

I'm Charlie's wife, Jessica.

She extended her arm and their right hands met in introduction.

TOM PARKS

Jessica, what a lovely name.

Parks didn't even realize what he had just said.

JESSICA REYNOLDS

Are you the guy who punched my husband in the face?

TOM PARKS

(Laughs) Guilt as charged.

JESSICA REYNOLDS

Then, I definitely owe you this!

Parks wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but he was pleasantly surprised when she smiled broadly and then moved closer and kissed him before exploding jumped to another level of intensity entirely.

Jessica pulled him into the suite and then clothes started flying everywhere until they made it onto her bed and went at it breathlessly for the next 10 minutes until they both reached the kind of climaxes that neither had experienced in their lifetime.

It was like Jessica and Tom had been given a drug that increased the sensitivity to everything they felt and it made them virtually inseparable from that point. They had been connected with and married to people they had known since high school, not a soul mate that made their flesh burn.

JESSICA REYNOLDS

(Rolls off Tom on her back) Holy shit!

TOM PARKS

Fuck me!

JESSICA REYNOLDS

Again!

Tom wasn't even thinking about where he was or what he was doing until his phone buzzed in his jeans, which were on the floor in the middle of the room. He got up from the bed a few minutes after he realized a noise was beckoning him. Tom looked at his phone and saw a text from Terry that read, "We are waiting for you in the common area."

Tom realized that 30 minutes had come and gone because he had completely lost track of time and place. He glided over to the bed and kissed Jessica passionately.

TOM PARKS

I'll find you. I will always find to you.

JESSICA REYNOLDS

(Giggles) Not if I find you first.

He walked out of the room and then the suite, still smelling her on his body.

Jessica pulled the cover over her supple body, which was still tingling from neck to toe as Tom stumbled down the hall, throwing his clothes on, until he reached the common area.

A familiar voice beckoned.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Where have you been?

And when Tom realized it was Charlie Reynolds sitting there with German, Brothers, Cosgrove and Braun, it brought him back to the normal side or life for a moment, or so he thought...

TERRY GERMAN

Your shirt is on backwards, hot-shot!

German quipped as an embarrassed Parks fumbled to turn the 'Grizzlies Football' part of his shirt towards the front. Once Parks readjusted his shirt he looked at the group and they were all staring in the same direction toward the big screen TV. So he stopped in his tracks and turned his head toward the screen.

TOM PARKS

What the FUCK is that?

Brothers pushed a button that closed and locked the door and sealed off all entry points.

The cameras followed the group of woman as they walked from the residence to one of the classrooms in the school. It just so happened that it was a science classroom, which seemed like a perfect space for such a social laboratory experiment.

And, by the time the others gathered to watch the highly-educational and racy program in the common area, the action was already underway.

The four elder ladies led the five younger women into the lab. Brothers turned the volume up on Room 244 as the younger women sat behind the work stations and the more mature women took a position of authority in front of the class.

KAREN RILEY

School is in session on a subject that no teacher has ever taught you.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Oh, boy.

KAREN RILEY

What I am talking about is attraction, ladies.

Karen nodded to Anita Cosgrove, who was standing near the doorway. She escorted the three horny boys, Steven Singer, Andrew Braun and Chris Reynolds, into the room and had them sit on stools in front of a work station, which was in full view of the action.

The five teenage girls look at the boys, momentarily taking the attention away front the front of the room.

KAREN RILEY

Attraction is based on various stimuli. My friends and I recently took a trip to the mall...

KATHY NELSON

Well, actually, we went to the makeup counter at Nordstrom.

If there were interest meters placed in the teens' heads then the boys would have been at a low and the girls at a high.

KAREN RILEY

Yes, we did!

RHONDA BRAUN

The four of us always competed over men thinking our individual attraction could trump each other.

ANITA COSGROVE

And then we discovered each other, and our worlds opened up and became so much better!

The teens were now slightly confused, but were completely fixed and intrigued by the words.

KAREN RILEY

By a show of hands, how many of you have kissed—really kissed—someone in your life?

The boys were, predictably, the first to raise their hands, even if their responses were somewhat less than honest. While senior Steven Singer was legit, junior Andrew Braun and sophomore Chris Reynolds were inflating their experience. And, after the four women in front raised their hands, the five girls also responded in kind.

KAREN RILEY

By really kissed I meant... would it be easier if I showed you?

Kathy laughed and the other two women smiled, because they knew Karen was the mother that everyone wanted to see in action. She was an ageless Aphrodite who had everyone under her spell.

The boys nodded enthusiastically and the girls blushed as Anita and Rhonda carried two wooden stools to the front of the room for Karen and Kathy to sit down. They slowly moved toward each other, as the room started to get moist and stiff.

Kathy gently played with Karen's blonde mane as Karen clasped Kathy's neck with her hand. They kissed. Chris Reynolds started giggling because it was the first time he had been out in public when watching two women kiss.

This was the point when the other guys first entered the room to join Craig Brothers. Terry German had entered the room after Craig Brothers saw him in the hallway camera and let him in.

TERRY GERMAN

Do we need to get our night vision goggles out again?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

I can watch them make out all day! (They bang fists)

TERRY GERMAN

Me, too!

Sammy Braun was let into the room and was stopped in his tracks at what he was seeing.

TERRY GERMAN

(Circumventing the awkward moment) Yeah, we've all had the same wet dream! Get in here and sit down!"

Sammy walked past the couches to the snack area.

SAMUEL BRAUN

You guys want some popcorn?

They nodded in approval and then Coz came in and helped him tote a few bowls of popcorn and a bunch of beers.

Charlie Reynolds entered the room.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Have you guys seen Parks?

The answer never came as the images, popped corn and Budweiser filled all of the open space in the room. The two-minute makeout session between Karen and Kathy effectively greased the wheel for Anita and Rhonda to further the attraction seminar.

ROBERT COSGROVE

Since when do your girls make out?

Sammy Braun laughed with Coz until their wives started making out. The pendulum swung and Brothers and German started laughing.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Probably about the same time your girls started going at it.

Sammy and Coz had heard about the all-Sappho makeout sessions at Nordstrom, but seeing it with their own eyes was definitely a life-altering experience.

Just as Anita and Rhonda started pawing at each other, Kathy and Karen stopped kissing but still held hands as they walked toward the boys, who were still years behind their sexual peaks.

Karen put out her hand to Steven Singer and he happily took it, thinking she would MILF the hell out of him! Instead, she walked him across the aisle toward the girls, and she had one particular girl in mind to be paired with Marty Singer's grandson.

The tension between Margo Cosgrove and Steven Singer had been evident for months. The two seniors had been flirting since they met their freshman year but had been unable to connect because Singer had been consumed with all of the tension in his household.

Karen and Kathy had discussed a game plan for the session with Anita and Rhonda a few minutes before it began. And that plan called for minimal instruction and then to let nature take its course.

Karen let go of Kathy's hand and they looked at each other lovingly before she used that free hand to pick up a stool while guided Steven across the floor. She set the stool next to Margo and then swung Singer around and had him sit down.

ROBERT COSGROVE

Where's Singer?! I'm gonna' kill him and then his son!

TERRY GERMAN

Let it happen, Coz! Better we keep an eye on them and show them the way then having them sneak around and do god knows what like we did!

Coz calmed down enough to focus on beer and popcorn consumption.

Anita and Rhonda broke their bond as Anita sensed that her daughter would be crossing an important threshold in her life. The two female Cosgrove's had always been close, but that was about to take on a whole new meaning.

The first kiss had to be so right that lit a barge-full of fireworks. While it was somewhat unconventional, which was par for the course in this experiment, Karen said to Margo.

KAREN RILEY

Show me how you kiss.

Margo was so turned on by Karen that she went in a bit too fast, and the kiss was doomed before it started.

ANITA COSGROVE

Now you. (She said to her daughter's potential boyfriend)

Steven had such a raging boner that he couldn't think straight. He came in even heavier than Margo and wound up banging teeth with Anita, which amounted to a death null in kissing and incompatibility. This came as a relief to both Steven and Margo, who wanted their first kiss to maintain a certain purity and innocence. Coz also breathed easier at not having to watch his wife make out with a teen Singer.

Margo and Steven stood up from their stools and naturally moved toward each other.

KAREN RILEY

(Whispers) Slow. Take your time.

Margo and Steven looked deep in each other's eyes. They were so into each other that, in their minds, there was no one else left in the room. Their bodies gently, but intensely, pressed against each other progressing from the upper thigh to the gentle connection of their lips, which sent a current of maximum voltage through their bodies.

A tear rolled down Coz's cheek because he knew his little baby was now a woman. Sammy Braun handed him a tissue, as all of the guys were impacted by the touching moment.

Kathy strode confidently to Andrew Braun and whispered.

KATHY NELSON

Show me what you got, Andy. (Their faces were only a few inches apart. She admitted after his impassioned response) I did not expect that.

Rhonda Braun surveyed the other side of the room and selected Melissa Franklin's daughter, Brooklyn, from the remaining four girls. It was one of those rare times in life that a mother could actually choose a girl for her son. Although Rhonda had her differences with Melissa, or Missy as she called her, she had been in love with Brookie's spirit since she was born. As selfish as mom always appeared, daughter was just the opposite and Rhonda knew this would be a good fit for her family.

Andy was a tough bugger just like his parents and usually didn't back down from a challenge. He gently placed his left hand on Kathy's firm left butt cheek and then gathered her close. Andy then used his right index finger to circle her right nipple, hardening its surface and giving her goose bumps and a thrilling chill throughout her body.

That's about the time when pussy-crazed Tom Parks walked into the room with his shirt on backwards. A proud Sammy Braun balled his fists like he was watching his son hit a home run to win the World Series.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Get it!

Andy then kissed Kathy like she had never been kissed by another man. Terry German raised his left eyebrow and nodded in admiration at Craig Brothers and then Sammy Braun.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

That boy has skills.

TERRY GERMAN

Yes, he does.

Rhonda simply walked Brooklyn over to her son, and then held a wobbly Kathy's arm and escorted her to sit down at a nearby stool.

Once Tom Parks sat down on the couch, his mind drifted back to his intoxicating encounter with Jessica Reynolds, not his wife getting lit up by Sammy Braun's kid. He didn't even know, or even care, about the activity between Kathy and Karen.

Brooklyn had it bad for Andrew Braun since they were in fifth grade. She was every bit the lioness to his lion, and he had also know this to be true.

ANDREW BRAUN

(Whispers in her ear) I have only ever wanted to kiss you, Brookie.

She took a more audible approach, as years of frustration had finally come to a head.

BROOKE RAND

What took you so fuckin' long?!

They met in a slow, but intensely passionate kiss that took everyone's breath away, including a proud Rhonda Braun, who was much happier being in the middle of the action than watching from the sidelines.

ROBERT COSGROVE

Fuck me! These kids are much better at this than we were!

He high-fived Sammy.

SAMUEL BRAUN

It's the gene pool.

Brooklyn and Sammy moved off to a corner of the room with the assistance of Kathy. Then the four women looked at the always-confident and cocky Chris Reynolds and the three remaining girls.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Here we go, big guy! (He looks at Tom Parks and kids) I hope your wife gives him a shot, brother!

TOM PARKS

He would only be so lucky. (and then he returned to the Jessica Reynolds highlight reel.

Karen took charge again.

KAREN RILEY

I wonder which one of you would like to take a shot at Chrissy-boy over there?

She circled Reynolds like a shark while touching the middle of his body with her left fingertips.

Chris started laughing as he looked across the room at his perspective suitors.

KAREN RILEY

Should I take him for a test drive, ladies?

Chris didn't even hear what Karen was saying as he saw one girl looking at the window, another playing with her hair and the third sophomore, well-developed Sharon Cummings, looking at him like he was a piece of juicy steak. She had been the first in the long line of go-to images in his spank bank when she first started developing.

Cummings strode toward Chris, pushing Karen aside, before giving the boy access to the assets he coveted. She grabbed between his legs and smiled.

SHARON CUMMINGS

I knew it! You've been holding out on me, Reynolds!

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Just shut up and kiss me, bitch!

They smashed together and went at it like two wild animals in heat.

All the men watching widened their eyes.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

We're going to have to talk to him about that. That's no way to talk to a woman.

Although they wholeheartedly approved of his swagger.

It wasn't known to the group that Jessica and Charlie Reynolds had been separated nine months before they arrived at the experiment and only signatures on a divorce agreement remained in their split. In fact, most of the couples had been barely hanging on by a thread at the beginning of the school year, and a few relationships either broke off before the experiment—Bruce Singer and his wife—or just as it began, as Melissa Franklin's husband took off.

Marty Singer and his crew sent the senior citizen teachers on vacation to Arizona and Florida during the month off, and then decided that since things were going so well that the elders would be afforded permanent retirement with occasional consulting opportunities.

Instead of being students the second half of the year, Terry German and his contemporaries would become the instructors on a full-time basis because so much practical knowledge was imparted during the break.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD

The heated turf of the football field made it easy for the guys to go outside and play at the re-start of the school year. Principal Brothers had promised at the outset of the session.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

As I said previously, we will have that football game between the generations in March.

So the two sides began training.

Terry German was throwing passes to Tom Parks, Charlie Reynolds and his son Chris and all of the receivers had different thoughts flowing through their minds.

Parks could not stop thinking about Jessica Reynolds and was just waiting for the right time to tell her soon-to-be ex-husband about it. He was also thinking about Chris Reynolds and how he and Kathy had never had a son of their own.

TOM PARKS

Catch the ball with your hands, not your body.

Parks instructed after a ball bounced off Chris's shoulder.

TOM PARKS

Here, let me show you.

Parks stated as he ran down 10 yards the left side of the field and then cut towards midfield, extending his arms toward the sky and catching a missile from the cannon-arm of German.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Whoa! Nice catch!"

He ran toward Parks and they high-fived.

Charlie Reynolds then ran the same pattern and hauled the ball in with one hand.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

Dad! Nice one!

Charlie ran and hugged his dad.

Terry German and his inseparable twin Craig Brothers were watching this triangle develop and Brothers asked as he handed German another football.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Has Parksy told Reynolds about his wife yet?

TERRY GERMAN

(Shakes his head) By the looks of things, I don't think that's happened yet.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

You wanna' go for a run?

Brothers figured it was easier to escape the pending drama.

TERRY GERMAN

Yeah, let me just throw that kid one more lollipop.

German then threw a rope to a cutting Chris Reynolds, who confidently hauled the pass in with both hands.

Both Tom and Charlie rushed to congratulate their boy, which created a path to have a discussion about what was really going on.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

That's our cue.

Brothers dropped a football on the turf as they took off to the track after changing shoes.

Reynolds looked at Parks and then they both looked at Chris, who already knew that Parks had fallen for his mom. Under normal circumstances, the 16 year-old might have been upset. But, he had a girlfriend with big cans, two awesome father figures and his mother had never looked happier.

Chris and Tom smiled and Charlie was the one who felt left out for a change.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

What's going on here?

Chris looked at Tom for guidance and Tom nodded his head that it was all right for Chris to save himself and take off.

CHRIS REYNOLDS

I have to go study!

Chris bolted as his father yelled.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

But classes just started! (He turned to Parks) What's up with him?

The two men stood 10 yards apart and communicated the only way they knew how: through football. Each man took his turn to speak once the ball nestled into their hands from the other man's toss.

TOM PARKS

You have some boy there.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

(Nervously chuckles) Yeah, he's turned out okay even though we've done everything to mess him up.

TOM PARKS

That can't be true!

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

My wife and I separated more than a year ago and we're probably getting a divorce at the end of this.

TOM PARKS

(Elated) Really?! (Then he tempers his enthusiasm) I mean, what's the problem?

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

(Reynolds looked at Parks funny) We met when we were kids. I'm rigid and she's not. We don't even like the same things.

Parks wanted more intel.

TOM PARKS

Like what?

Parks moved within five yards so he wouldn't miss a word.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

She loves scary movies and I hate them. And she has this fascination with nuts and I'm allergic.

TOM PARKS

(Thinks) Two for two! (He then thought it would be best to spill the beans while he was holding the football) I am madly in love with your wife.

It took Reynolds a few seconds to process the statement because the words "love" and "wife" were used in the same sentence, and he had become so far removed from the relationship.

TOM PARKS

(Happy) Right woman, wrong receiver. (He moved closer and put his hand on Reynolds' shoulder. He then rested his head against the head of Reynolds) Brothers for life?

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

(Nods) Brothers for life.

He then realized that Parks was married to a hot cheerleader. They started walking.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

What about your wife? (Suggesting he should give that a shot)

TOM PARKS

(Puts his arm around Reynolds) I think she plays for the other team now. She and Karen are kindred spirits.

Reynolds nodded as he ran down the field and Parks hit him with a pass in stride.

The generational competition was most apparent between Terry German, Sr. and Jr., Robert and William Cosgrove and the girls, Karen and Caitlyn German (Terry Jr.'s twin), and Kathy and Tammy Parks. They were the only four that remained steadfast in the belief that their way was the right way and no one was better.

KATHY NELSON

Let's go see what the boys think.

Kathy suggested as she stood with the rest of the women at one end of the football field.

No one on the male end of the field was inclined to ask for help, but Brothers saw the ladies coming.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

There coming toward us. Let's meet them at midfield.

Months earlier, the two groups would have come up with separate solutions and then differed on a combined solution.

RHONDA BRAUN

We are at a loss of what to do with them.

The group discussed the issue back and forth, with only Terry German abstaining from giving his opinion. Midway through the conversation, Rhonda looked at Craig and then at Terry, and they both realized that the born leader was on the verge of once again achieving greatness.

The group continued to loudly debate the topic until Terry had heard enough.

TERRY GERMAN

(Normal tone of voice) We have to show them the way.

He waited a few more seconds and then imposed his will with a much more forceful tone of voice.

TERRY GERMAN

Hey! (Picks up his hands to the sky to get everyone's attention.

And the crowd turned toward him and then quieted down.

TERRY GERMAN

We have to show them the way.

And after a few more moments of letting it sink in, he continued.

TERRY GERMAN

We could beat them down — and I think we should start that way— but ultimately we are all here to educate, to ensure that the next generation of kids are productive members of our town and of greater society as a whole.

The group agreed with Terry's stance and backed him unequivocally. This brought them to the big football game, parents vs. kids, of what the younger generation surmised was the focus of the glorious spring day.

TERRY GERMAN

Is everything set? (he asks Craig Brothers)

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Yes, the buses have already left and Principal Harris has informed me that they are on schedule. (Then he turned from principal to Craig) Play your best. The only way these kids will follow you is if they see what we know with their own eyes.

Brothers tapped on Terry's shoulder pads with his fists and Terry pounded his buddy back on his pads. For the first time in his brief pseudo-administrative career, Brothers was going to be actively involved with the students in an event. After Bruce Singer — the elder team's 11th man— was missing in action in Upstate New York and returned only days before the game with absolutely no interest in competing, Brothers and German decided that he should step in and fill the spot.

The game started the way the prior seven months had gone: hard and fast! The teens kicked off to the elders with Tom Parks and Charlie Reynolds back to receive the kick. German decided to go with a little razzle-dazzle off the bat but as Parks caught the ball, ran to his right and then handed off to little speedster Sammy Braun, who ran back to the left side of the field and made it to the 25 yard-line before being swallowed up by a hyped-up Terry German, Jr.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

Not in my house, little man!

Braun simply popped up and flipped the ball to the referee without engaging in any further confrontation, either verbally or physically. Playing hard and providing a roadmap for effort and behavior were the only items on the docket for the elders on this day. The outcome/final score was basically irrelevant.

German tapped Braun on the helmet as he walked back to the huddle. He then looked at Parks and then Reynolds, and Reynolds said.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Feed the hungry man, skip. (Meaning that he should throw the ball to Parks early and often)

That was the only time the elders huddled during the entire three-minute drive. German and Parks picked up where they left off before Karen and Kathy got in there way.

Three pitches and catches to Parks were followed by a Braun run, a catch by Reynolds and then an 18-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone by Parks, who flipped the ball to the referee like it was no big thing because he had been there before. But, on the inside, Parks felt like he was whole again. Like a part of him had been reborn and re-connected, and he was now back to thriving.

Defense was not a strong suit of either team, as the teens returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards and then Terry German, Jr. went to work just as his father had done moments earlier.

The drive was stalled momentarily by a hard hit on Terry, Jr. by Craig Brothers, who separated the quarterback from the ball as William Cosgrove beat his father to the fumble. Four passes later, Chris Reynolds caught a tipped pass in the end zone and the score was tied at seven.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

We have to pressure him! (He said his buddy Junior Coz, referring to not letting Terry, Sr. just sit back in the pocket and pick them apart)

The first play after a kickoff touchback, Coz, Jr. took out his dad and Principal Brothers en route to literally punching Terry, Sr. in the jaw under his helmet. Somehow, on his way down to the turf, Terry released the ball and it reached its intended target Sammy Braun, who ran the ball all the way down to midfield before being taken down.

The cheerleaders on the elder's side of the field saw Terry go down in a violent way and almost rushed the field to see if he was all right. Terry, Sr. and Coz, Jr. were on the turf facing each other and Sr. got up and reached his hand out.

TERRY GERMAN

Nice hit!

He looked down the field at the fruit of his sacrifice.

Terry, Jr. couldn't believe his father got the pass off, but was even more impressed with his grace under pressure. Jr. probably would have come up swinging if someone hit him dirty like that.

Karen looked over at the varsity cheerleaders.

KAREN RILEY

Cheap shot!

Terry looked over at her and the ladies went into a first down chant instead if quibbling.

Blood was flowing from the corner of Terry's mouth, but nobody made mention of it in the impromptu huddle, which was formed because he was a bit woozy but wouldn't admit it.

SAMUEL BRAUN

Coz, give me a direct snap and I'll either run it or throw it, de-pending on what is open.

ROBERT COSGROVE

You got it Sammy!

They broke the huddle and Coz then did just that.

It must have been divine intervention because Terry broke out of his haze and started running down the field. Braun got confused by the rush of defenders, but all he could see was everybody's All-American streaking down the left side of the field, so he threw the ball in Terry's direction.

Since every other receiver was being single-covered, Terry caught the ball uncontested and in stride and strolled into the end zone. Alumni 14, Varsity 7 at the end of the first quarter.

By the middle of the second quarter, however, the younger legs started to make a difference. The varsity started the quarter by scoring on its first drive and then scored again after the elders turned the ball over on downs.

Then, with less than a minute remaining in the half, Terry, Sr. led his team on an epic drive. He converted two third-down passes and was faced with a fourth down play with only 10 seconds left and his team down by seven points.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

Watch out for the trick play! (Shouts at his father in the other huddle)

Terry knew the group needed a little comic relief.

TERRY GERMAN

Well, I guess a trick play is now out of the question. (Everyone laughed) We're not losing this game, boys! Just give me some time and you guys get open. (First looking at Coz and Brothers and then Parks and Reynolds) Let's show 'em how it's done!

And then the 11 clapped and yelled "Break!" as the moved up to the line. Terry barked some signals and then Coz snapped the ball back to him in the shotgun as he dropped back even further. The clock ticked down from 10 to eight, and then seven. Terry, Sr. spun around and avoided his son's fierce rush. Five seconds. He ran to the other side of the field and then stopped as Parks and Reynolds tried to get open and mirror his path. Two seconds.

Terry looked into the end zone and saw his receivers coming from opposite sides of the field toward the goal posts. The clock read 0:00 as the referee pointed his blanks pistol in the air and squeezed the trigger, signaling that time had expired and this would be the last play of the half.

Terry stepped up even though he saw Terry, Jr. and Coz, Jr. bearing down on him from the front and the side. He ignored the immense potential for pain and focused on the exact hole he had to fit the ball into. He released the ball as if it had rocket boosters behind it just before the two boys crashed into him and they all fell to the turf.

He always threw a tight spiral and this ball was no different. The football whizzed past Sammy Braun, who felt the breeze in his left earhole, and headed toward the end zone without losing velocity.

Charlie Reynolds was crossing from the right side of the field not knowing that Tom Parks was also converging on the ball. Reynolds dove in the air and got his fingertips on the ball, which slowed it down just enough for Parks — who was crossing from the left side — to dive into the air and collect the ball in his golden hands.

Parks and Reynolds hugged each other as Terry, Sr., Coz, Jr. and Terry, Jr. sat up to see what was happening.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

(Smiles) How did you get that off?!

WILLIAM COSGROVE

Now I can see where you get that rocket launcher, TJ!

Coz, Sr. ran over to Terry, Sr. and lifted him up.

ROBERT COSGROVE

You still got it boss!

TERRY GERMAN

Never lost it!

Just as Parks caught German's touchdown pass with an assist from Reynolds, the Ridgefield High School Matadors got of their buses and were headed toward the field. Ridgefield was the team that beat Steaming Springs for the county championship when the elders were in school, and had been a thorn in the school's side ever since then.

The Steaming Springs players from both sides were on the sideline drinking Gatorade and recounting the last play when Terry, Jr. caught a glimpse of the players in black jerseys, helmets, pants and shoes walking onto the field.

All of the elders were in on the 'surprise' intrusion, but acted like they had no knowledge of the situation.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

What the..."

TERRY GERMAN

What the fuck are those mastabators doing here?

Terry, Jr. had witnessed his father watching the county championship loss over and over again, most of the time with multiple beers in his hand that he either crushed with his hands or fired into the wall when he forced a throw on the last play into double coverage instead of throwing to a wide open Parks.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

We have to make this shit right!

He looked at his dad and Parks and then stomped off and started warming up on the sideline.

Terry, Sr. looked down the bench at Parks.

TERRY GERMAN

You ready to do this the right way?

TOM PARKS

(Smiles) This is the greatest day of my life, brother!

Parks stood up banged fists with his quarterback as he walked by.

Devin Cruise, the linebacker from Ridgefield that was always in Terry's face when the played against each other, walked up to him, removed his helmet to reveal a gray Mohawk and a matching goatee.

DEVIN CRUISE

(Grunts) You going to throw him the ball this time, meat?

Coz was always German's protector, but his son stepped between German and Cruise and pushed the roided linebacker wearing number 55 back.

WILLIAM COSGROVE

You're gonna' wish you were never born, grandpa'!

Cruise looked at German and then William Cosgrove and then Robert Cosgrove.

ROBERT COSGROVE

It's gonna' be a long day, D.C. You might want to take some Tylenol now to deal with the pain.

While the game was being recorded by students who were in the Audi/Visual Club, a team of professional journalists had gathered in the press box above the stands and in the shadows with their own premium cameras.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

What's with the people in the press box? (Jr. asked his father, even though they had already been filming segments of the all-Steaming Springs first half)

Terry, Sr. placed his hands on both sides of his son's head.

TERRY GERMAN

This is your time, TJ. Just focus on your reads, step in to your throws and you can go to any college you want next fall.

Terry, Jr.'s future had been very much in flux since the company and then the town started experiencing difficulties. While he was not as highly recruited as his father, Terry, Sr. thought his son could finish what he started and that would be to get a college degree. He had left school after his knee injury and never returned. Junior walked away from his father with a skip in his gate as Craig Brothers came over to check on his buddy.

TERRY GERMAN

Do you think Mr. Singer would pay for me to go back to school to get my teaching degree?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Smiles as they sat next to each other on the bench) He already told me he would pay for us both to go back to school.

They bumped fists.

TERRY GERMAN

Best boss ever.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

No doubt.

After the game, in which Steaming Springs slaughtered the Ridgefield Matadors 52-17, Terry German was pulled aside for an interview to take place in the upper level of the stands.

Harry Trimble, lead investigative reporter for the show 60 Minutes was conducting the interview as the sun set and the stadium lights were turned on.

TERRY GERMAN, JR.

(Looks up toward the stands at his father being interviewed) Why would 60 Minutes be here? Did we do something wrong?

The town's inhabitants that remained were so beaten down that they had almost grown to expect the worst, especially when it came to having contact with the outside world. Except for minimal contact with the people from other towns inside of retail stores, the group had only experienced positive interaction with each other and was wary about the motives of outsiders.

Craig Brothers, as usual, spoke for the group in response to TJ's question.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

We're not going back to the way things were, my friends. At least not the way things were before you all got here. These people are here to improve our lives, to make things whole again.

The show was expected to air the following weekend after the taping took place on campus. There were many questions to be asked and hopefully answered during that gap in time. Most of the people at Steaming Springs High School had put aside the obvious question in order to be saved from their miserable existences. But, now that it appeared that everything was about to come to the surface, it was time for the elders to talk.

It was a few days after the game and everyone was present, save for Craig Brothers, Terry German, and Sammy and Rhonda Braun — basically all of the people who could provide easy answers. And their absence was definitely noticed.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE COMMON AREA

KAREN RILEY

How did all of this happen?

KATHY NELSON

The 60 Minutes thing?

KAREN RILEY

No. I mean, yes. I mean... (she fumbled and then recovered) How did we all get here? Isn't anyone else confused?

Tom Parks was holding hands with Jessica Reynolds and was completely transfixed with her, but he managed to throw his two cents in.

TOM PARKS

What is there to be confused about?

Although Kathy was all for the 'open' relationship with Tom, she needed his full attention to help figure out the group's dilemma.

KATHY NELSON

Hey, Tom! Can you give your dick a few minutes off and give us your full attention?!

Tom smiled and then turned from Jessica to the group, although he continued to hold her hand.

TOM PARKS

Okay, Kathy. (He looks around the group) Can any of you honestly say that your life was better before we all got the note to come here than it is now? Seriously!

ANITA COSGROVE

Yes, that may be so but how did we wind up here in this... (she searches for the correct phrasing) experiment?

The word "experiment" floated through the thick air of the common room like a storm cloud waiting to unload.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

Experiment? Experiment!

ROBERT COSGROVE

What the hell do you mean, experiment?

KAREN RILEY

Wait, where is Rhonda?

KATHY NELSON

Yeah, she always seems to know what's going on here.

ROBERT COSGROVE

(Asks Parks) Have you seen Terry?

TOM PARKS

(Laughs) He's probably with Brothers.

Everyone laughed.

CHARLIE REYNOLDS

And I bet Sammy Braun's with them, too.

ANITA COSGROVE

We find them, we get answers.

The agitated mob set out on a search for the truth until they saw Bruce Singer talking to his sister Julie in the doorway of the common area.

BRUCE SINGER

(Bruce didn't see them coming his way at first, but when he did) Oh shit, this can't be good.

JULIE SINGER

Maybe they aren't looking at us.

Bruce and Julie Singer got out of the potentially sticky situation by feigning ignorance, which wasn't hard for the group to believe—even if they were confused and mostly agitated.

While Julie Singer's perpetual state of mind was ignorance and shallow thoughts, her brother might have been less authentic in his response. The group was looking for German, Brothers and the Braun's, but they were not going to be found — Marty Singer made sure of that!

Marty installed a series of trap doors in the school and residence that led to bunker-like room to shield his people if necessary. Bruce was walking down the hall of the residence when a hand reached out of the wall and pulled him in.

BRUCE SINGER

What the...?

Craig Brothers held on to him as the two were transported to the basement room via a dumbwaiter-like contraption.

BRUCE SINGER

I didn't tell them anything!" (Singer insisted after he was able to focus on the source of his extraction) My sister doesn't know anything!

The ride below ended and the two men walked into a medium-sized room with couches, a TV and a full kitchen.

BRUCE SINGER

She doesn't know anything!

RHONDA BRAUN

We all love your sister, Bruce, but I think it has been well established that she doesn't know anything.

BRUCE SINGER

What are you guys doing down here? (He didn't expect to see his best friends in an inner circle that he was not part of)

SAMUEL BRAUN

We're trying not to get beaten down! (He slaps hands with his bro' and they hug)

Before another word could be said, Marty Singer appeared on the TV in front of them.

Terry German smiled at being able to adjust his focus from the Singer that made his life miserable to the one that made all things right.

MARTIN SINGER

Good afternoon, everyone!

Bruce sat down on the couch next to Rhonda and Sammy, while the bromance continued for Brothers and German on the two-seater.

The group said, "Hello, Marty!" in scattered unison as his son abstained and simply nodded at his dad. It had been a long road for Bruce and he was looking forward to the days of being his own boss and not living in his father's shadow.

MARTIN SINGER

I wanted to thank you all for keeping our little secret for so long! I don't think this would have been as big a success if people knew too much going in. (Pauses before continuing) I can see by the feed there is an angry mob trying to chase you all down.

Marty switched the feed to show the others looking in every nook and cranny of the upper structure, with the funniest being Karen and Kathy looking under the bleachers.

KATHY NELSON

Terry? Principal Brothers?

KAREN RILEY

Craig?

TERRY GERMAN

Dude, she wants you.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Likes it but is confused) Why would they be looking for us under the bleachers?

And all of the attention in the room went to Rhonda Braun, who appeared to be the conduit between the sexes.

RHONDA BRAUN

(Smirks) Most people think you guys are together.

Both guys smiled at first at the inference, and then were not as comfortable once the real meaning set in. They looked at each other and then moved to the outer edges of the small sofa, away from each other.

TERRY GERMAN

Do you think we're together?

Karen and Kathy started making out behind the bleachers.

Everyone had seen it before except Bruce Singer, who did a double take when they first started to kiss.

RHONDA BRAUN

No.

Bruce lightly elbowed Rhonda.

BRUCE SINGER

How long has this been going on for, and how come no one told me about it?!

There was silence in the room for a few seconds as Kathy moaned as Karen licked her neck.

Marty Singer somehow was able to break free of the captivating action and flip the screen back to his image. He shook his head to try to shake the cob-webs.

MARTIN SINGER

Those girls have done wonders for my sex life!

BRUCE SINGER

C'mon, dad!

And a few other people were grossed out by the imagery of Marty and Delia Singer having sex, but Rhonda Braun pressed on.

RHONDA BRAUN

Can you send me a copy of that footage, Marty?

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Yeah, me too.

TERRY GERMAN

Yeah, make that a group thing.

MARTIN SINGER

Okay, I'll send that to all of you when I'm done with it. (Then he realized his words sounded weird) When I'm done cut-ting the clip.

People breathed easier as Marty continued.

MARTIN SINGER

(Smiling) Well, I have seen an edited version of the piece that's going to air on CBS this Sunday, and it really makes what we are doing look great!

Everyone smiled and slapped hands in celebration.

MARTIN SINGER

But there is one thing. (The room grew quiet) They interviewed me for the piece.

Most people in the room knew it would be a good thing if their leader was linked to the project, but Bruce was wondering what his father would say in response to the failure of his company? Would he blame his son to make himself look better, or just take the high road and just let it go?

Marty saw the look on his son's face.

MARTIN SINGER

Why don't we all watch it now. I'm sure you all will be pleased with the results.

And, before he started the video he had one more suggestion.

MARTIN SINGER

I think we should show this to the group tonight before it airs on Sunday. Things might be quite different around there once this airs and we have to be ready for it.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE

While the group was hiding in the basement bunker and loving every second of the 60 Minutes piece entitled Redemption: How Steaming Springs Got Back on Its Feet, even Bruce Singer — who couldn't have been prouder of his father or his town — an audio announcement went out over the loud speakers in the school and residence.

MARTIN SINGER

You can stop looking now!

Marty spoke into the microphone in his office in Maui with his voice disguised through voice altering software.

MARTIN SINGER

Tonight, all will be revealed. Please proceed to the auditorium at 4:00 p.m. and prepare for a special viewing! You bring the popcorn and we'll bring the refreshments.

The group stayed in the basement until it was time to go to the auditorium and watch something they knew would be well received. This phase had to be seen as more of a "period of acceptance of what has happened and what will be happening," as Marty Singer phrased it.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

All of the people in the school building ascended on the auditorium and the big screen preview of the 60 Minutes piece. Craig Brothers led the hunted group with refreshments from their basement lair to an elevator-like contraption that closed with an iron gate.

Only Brothers and German had been on the lift before, as the principal was eager to show his pal all of the toys at his disposal. And before anyone could ask "Where are we going?" the lift powered through the opening in the wood flooring and they were backstage in the auditorium.

SAMUEL BRAUN

I guess that's one way to get here without being noticed.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

If we walk across the stage, then maybe we can make it.

But when the group was greeted with a chorus of boos and obscenities, only one of them was brave enough to step forward.

TERRY GERMAN

I got this.

He told Brothers to take the group off stage until he could quiet the mob.

TERRY GERMAN

(Puts his hands in the air) All right, settle down.

But the crowd would not calm down so he got a bit ornery himself.

TERRY GERMAN

Hey, if you don't shut up, I'm gonna' come down there and start cracking skulls!

Once his words penetrated the dense craniums of the angry and confused, you could hear a pin —a rather large pin — drop.

TERRY GERMAN

That's better. (He then nodded to Brothers to come on stage) Your principal has a message for you and I would listen carefully before you rush to judgment again! We are all family whether you like it or not! I'll be right over there, Principal Brothers.

He pointed to the area just off the stage just before the two men shook hands.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Thank you, Terrence. (Touches a button on his small clicker, which brought a huge white screen down behind him) What you are about to see is the edited version of the 60 Minutes piece that will air this Sunday.

There was much debate within the management team on whether Marty Singer would/should make a statement before the piece began, but Marty surmised, "Why ruin the surprise?!"

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Why I won't tell you to sit on your hands, I will point out that this will be so juicy, so satisfying, that you won't want to miss a single word. By the end of this you will understand why we had to keep the secret in order to secure all of our futures. Now, sit back and enjoy the show!

Brothers then led the other people on stage down to the floor, as they distributed the refreshments, grabbed some popcorn and then sat in a group of vacant seats near everyone else.

Harry Trimble began speaking with the headline Redemption: How Steaming Springs Got Back on Its Feet to his side.

HARRY TRIMBLE

We end the show tonight with a familiar tale of how a town had it all, lost it and then got off the deck and began a journey on the road to redemption. I'm going to show you how the town of Steaming Springs, New York got back on its feet with the help of an old friend.

Stomachs of the people in the audience went all aflutter, even the people that had seen it before. There was something about seeing it on the big screen that made it even more exciting!

The piece was 17 minutes long and included a commercial break before the last segment, which included footage the network called "captivating."

All of the people in the audience could be seen in various footage of the classrooms, the residence and sports fields and courts. Terry German teared everyone up just before the break when he said to Trimble, "You don't know how much it means to me, to all of us, to be given a second chance. To come out of our homes and shape the next generation. Whatever happens from this moment on, I have faith that we will thrive because we're doing this together as a united Steaming Springs."

The video faded to black as Brothers leaned on the pause button amid loud applause. He let the audience catch its collective breath for a moment, as most of them thought it was over until Brothers stood up.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

There is one more segment remaining. This will be the part when you'll want to be especially quiet.

He pressed the 'PLAY' button and Trimble's voice was in the background to scenes of better days at Steaming Springs Water Company, including the day the company went public.

HARRY TRIMBLE

When we heard about this experiment, we initially wondered who could be behind such an undertaking. I'm sure the people inside that school are still trying to figure out how they got there in the first place?

And then the image of a smiling Marty Singer ringing the opening bell to the stock market appeared on the screen, and an audible gasp could be heard in the auditorium, followed by the tears of pure joy and relief. It was true... Marty had come back to save them!

HARRY TRIMBLE

We met up with the founder of Steaming Springs Water Company, Marty Singer, to ask him about his latest venture.

Behind Marty were swaying palm trees and the crashing waves.

HARRY TRIMBLE

It looks like you've left STEAMING Springs behind by living her in paradise.

MARTIN SINGER

I haven't stopped thinking of home since the day we moved out here. We landed in Maui after my heart attack to live a more relaxed lifestyle.

HARRY TRIMBLE

Why should anyone trust your family after the company went bankrupt?

MARTIN SINGER

Listen, everybody makes mistakes. I've made so many mistakes in my life... the first of which was focusing on my needs above my children. My son's passion is to own and operate a bed and breakfast in Upstate New York, and... (he starts crying) my daughter is the Julia child of desserts.

He collected himself and continued.

MARTIN SINGER

You see, Harry, we all walk a distinct path in life, and it's up to us to bring the best out of people.

HARRY TRIMBLE

So, what is your concept for the high school experiment?

MARTIN SINGER

We want to be a model for redemption and especially, new-age education in the United States and the world. When resources are scarce the best resource we can use is ourselves. Towns such as Steaming Springs that have seen better days can be rejuvenated from within through our educational platform.

HARRY TRIMBLE

That sounds great, but how will the company make money?

MARTIN SINGER

These schools will be a beacon across the globe, where educators and families will come to our centers to both observe and participate in our little experiment. It will become like a Disneyworld-like destination where families can reconnect in a more real, organic way. This will not only revitalize the fallen towns but provide a center of employment and lasting career for its inhabitants, much the way we were able to do in Steaming Springs with the water company.

HARRY TRIMBLE

Are you planning on moving back to Steaming Springs?

MARTIN SINGER

(Smiles) Moving back? I never left!

The credits rolled on the show and all of the people applauded and cried and hugged and laughed like their ship had come back into port. And then their attention turned to the back of the theater once Brothers activated the screen retractor and the auditorium lights came back on.

Two men were hugging and laughing and sobbing, and were joined by and elder and younger women who had tissues.

Craig Brothers located the microphone and had Terry German steady the spotlight on the enjoined figures.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Singer family! Bruce, Julie, Delia and Marty Singer!

Marty's appearance on 60 Minutes and then Steaming Springs High School sent shockwaves through the world and their now-thriving community. The video of the show was posted just after it aired on CBS and it went viral in minutes, crashing the CBS website and setting records for views on YouTube. While the people inside of Steaming Springs High School were told their lives were about to change, it was impossible for them to gauge just how much.

After viewing the show, Lisa and Amy Singer were on the first plane the next day from Florida to New York. Likewise for Brian Rand, who was now eager to reunite with Melissa and his daughter Brooklyn.

During the winter break, both Bruce and Melissa were sent parcels through messengers that detailed their divorce agreements. Lisa Singer simply wanted out of the marriage and to stomp out the Singer and replace it with her maiden name, Fisher. Amy had also legally changed her name from Singer to Fisher in order to purge herself from the negative conation associated with the surname.

So it was expected that the materialistic duo of Lisa and Melissa Fisher would return at the slightest hint of success and demonetization. Lisa had already line up and old geezer in Florida on his last legs and was scheduled to be remarried in just a few days. Ronald Abromowitz was the same age as Lisa's mother and actually had something going on with the old biddy on the side. So, when Lisa left abruptly, Abromowitz, or Abe as he was called, jetted off with Ina Fisher to get married in a small Las Vegas ceremony by an Elvis impersonator. Proving once again that whatever happens between two old people should stay between the, whether they're in Vegas or not!

Both Bruce and Melissa expected 'surprise' visits from their exes and were prepared in ways that neither Lisa nor Brian could comprehend, but both were turned away before they could get anywhere near the place.

INT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL GRIZZLY RESIDENCE COMMON AREA

It was graduation day at Steaming Springs High School. While the year had been long it was the most important and lasting for most of the participants of the high school experiment. At least most of the people that stayed and stuck it out through the hard times, including coming to grips with failures of the past in both relationships and actions.

MARTIN SINGER

You should be proud of your efforts here, Principal Brothers.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Thank you, Marty.

KAREN RILEY

I'm still curious. What were you doing before this all started? I mean, you act like a principal but was that what you were doing?

While people still stuffed their faces, heads swiveled toward Brothers to listen to his response.

Brothers looked at Marty Singer with a "Can I tell them?" look and Marty nodded his head that it was all right for him to finally tell the group. There was really nothing to lose at that point because they all would be working so closely together going forward. So, Marty surmised that this was as good as any forum to air the truth.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

(Smiles) I was an actor. Actually, a struggling actor.

TERRY GERMAN

Is there any other kind? (Tries to cut any remaining tension.

BRUCE SINGER

Well, it appears that you finally found the right role.

HE starts clapping in appreciation of Brothers efforts and the rest of the group followed and even gave him a standing ovation at one point.

It was the curtain call that Craig Brothers had always been denied and looked his entire adult life to hear. He acknowledged the group and then said—after people yelled "Speech!"

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

Thank you all for your efforts. Now the real work begins! We go back to school and get more tools to do our jobs even better. (Then he said what everyone else was thinking) I have found a home, which means that I have finally found a family..." (Choked up)

German patted him on the shoulder and then Brothers continued.

PRINCIPAL BROTHERS

that will love me as much as I love them.

It was that kind of emotional day. Although the graduating class was quite small compared to the usual senior classes of more than 500 teens, the impact of the 24 kids that graduated appeared to be much greater than in past years. Part of the Steaming Springs education model was not to separate kids by propping up one kid as a valedictorian. Instead, Marty Singer got a call from an unexpected source that was stoked after watching the group on 60 Minutes.

RUSSELL CROWE

Good day, Mr. Singer.

Since the number and caller name were blocked, Marty was in the dark about who was calling him so he proceeded cautiously at first be-cause his phone had been blowing up as of late.

MARTIN SINGER

Good day to you to.

RUSSELL CROWE

I watched your piece on 60 Minutes and would love to talk to you about some ideas I had about bringing your concept to my home town.

Marty was not a linguist by trade, so he couldn't decide whether the diction originated in Australia or New Zealand.

MARTIN SINGER

That sounds like a great idea, but first it might be appropriate to know who I speaking to?

RUSSELL CROWE

(Laughs) I'm sorry, mate! This is Russell Crowe.

Marty took a deep breath and then felt bad for pressuring the mega-star for his identity.

MARTIN SINGER

I'm sorry, Mr. Crowe. It is a real pleasure to speak to you.

RUSSELL CROWE

No Mr. Singer, the pleasure is all mine.

Near the end of the brunch, Crowe walked into the school and made his way around to the residence alone with no representatives or other hanger's on. He had flown in from L.A. the night before and felt a surge of energy flow through his muscular body at the sight of the more modern side of the building. As a green living enthusiast, he was extremely interested in the next generation of forward thinkers.

He heard noise coming from a large room just to the left of him and following the trail until he breached the doorway.

RUSSELL CROWE

Good day, mates!

Most people thought it was a joke, as Marty Singer had not told a sole, not even Craig Brothers, that Crowe would give the commencement address on this day. Brothers knew there would be a special guest but he didn't know the gladiator would be in attendance.

The women were sitting with their backs to the door and all did double- and triple-takes when they saw the bearded actor standing in front of them. It was hard to tell who was more excited, the men or the women, although it was probably the women because they had made it a habit over the years to fight over premium penis.

Crowe's hometown of Wellington, New Zealand had run into hard times and despite his efforts to prop up the town, it had slipped further into depression.

EXT. STEAMING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL FIELD

RUSSELL CROWE

When I saw you all on the show, I thought of the people in the place I was born, Wellington, New Zealand, and how they could use something like this, how they could use all of you special people. The one thing I've learned in my life is that there is a fine line between success and failure, but no one ever truly succeeds without effort, real effort.

Crowe said at the start of his unprepared remarks during the graduation.

RUSSELL CROWE

I see what you've done as less of an experiment and more of a life intervention. I can tell you that if I went back to school with all of my mates, there would be more bloodshed than daisies.

He went on for a few more minutes and then concluded.

RUSSELL CROWE

The one thing I do know is that you can never stop trying, stop working. Isn't that right, Brothers? (He looked over at Craig Brothers and smiled before he walked over to his fellow actor and they embraced)

Brothers thought Crowe had forgotten their interaction on a movie Crowe did a decade earlier when Brothers was an extra in a fight scene. The two had spent time together drinking and brawling in local bars and Brothers had protected the star in a few sticky situations.

RUSSELL CROWE

You didn't think I'd forget that cocktail waitress did you, you old hag! (he said to Brothers as they bro' hugged) (He then went over to Terry German) I'm making a sequel to gladiator and would love to use you and this Sheila in the film. (He said elbowing Brothers in the gut)

German pounded Crowe with his forearm in the chest.

TERRY GERMAN

I'm in, Maximus. But I thought you died in the first one?

RUSSELL CROWE

We're going back to a time before I bit it. Sort of the rise before the fall with lots of battles.

Crowe hung around for a few more days as the ironed out the details for the second location of the high school experiment to be in Wellington, New Zealand, where Gladiator 2: The Rise of Maximus was also filmed. Other locations in Detroit, Michigan, Kansas City, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New Orleans, Louisiana were also added in the first year as the Steaming Springs turned a profit after six months of operation.

Bruce and Melissa Singer were married and went off to Lake George, New York to live in their bed and breakfast, which both turned a tremendous profit and finally gave the couple true fulfillment in life. Marty Singer made the duo promise to come back and give one-to two-week courses on entrepreneurship and they happily obliged. Marty transitioned from the experiment, which he handed over to Brothers and German and the group, to being a motivational speaker and writing a series of books on success. His most famous quote from the book and his speaking engagement was the following:

MARTIN SINGER

Success is more about loving and believing in what you're doing than a genuine fear of failure. I finally succeeded in life when I stopped thinking of myself and opened my eyes and ears to the people around me, because enriching their lives gave me the key to true happiness.

