CHRYSALIS-THE FAMILY ADVENTURE(S) Post Episode 50

She goes back to her older customer and leans over looking flirtatious.

AMANDA
(soft, discreet)
I don’t know what’s up with those two but low key it like you’re ordering a drink and slip it with the cash.

SAME – BY TWO GUYS LITTLE BIT LATER

AMANDA
You guys ready.

FIRST MAN
How bout sex on the beach?

AMANDA
Sure, coming up.

FIRST MAN
No, I meant really have sex with you on the beach.

AMANDA
Oh, I got a second ID for guys like you.

SECOND GUY
Hey, how come you leaned over and flashed him over there?

AMANDA
Cause he’s got something I could use. Come on, I got a job to do.

INT – THE HOUSE, LIVING ROOM DAY

The family’s sitting around the house, Christmas decorations and lights surrounding. They are enjoying, or maybe not, a moment of joy opening new gifts.

Josh opens his box and discovers an iPad. A big smile breaks forth.

JOSH
I can’t believe it.

JOEY
Your dad hammered into me we gotta get you back to technology safely.

GISELLE
You mean your dad.

JOEY
Alright, whoever’s dad.

They all look at him like what’s up with him…

JOEY
So here you go.

JOSH
You trust me all of a sudden?

MIKE
Not completely. But enough to give you a toy completely disconnected where you store information and pla y your games that I know you like to play.

JOSH
How can I play games with nobody to play with?

MIKE
You play with the computer.

JOSH
Oh that’s right. I feel like a nine year old.

JOEY
We can always take it away if you want.

GISELLE
Hey, let’s see what Samantha got. Stop hogging the attention.

SAMANTHA
That’s alright. Hog away.

JOEY
Come on. Don’t be a spoil sport. Open your gift. We put a lot of thought into it. Not to mention cash. Personally, I wished this year we could’a skipped Christmas. So don’t spoil it.

SAMANTHA
Alright, fine, might as well get it over with.

Mike puts out his hand to stop both parents from reacting as Samantha opens her gift.

SAMANTHA
(lighting up with incredible smile)
Oh My God! You got me a Gucci bag. Oh’m…
(startingto move to hug Giselle)
Whose idea was this?

GISELLE
No, you were right, little girl.

JOEY
Your ma picked it out and I paid for it.

SAMANTHA
(looking at both of them, back and forth, unsure who to thank)
Oh wow, thank you both so much. I don’t remember ever being this happy Christmas.

GISELLE
You deserve it honey. We know you’ve been through a lot.

She runs up to her mom and showers her with her typical signature Samantha HUG.

INSERT – PHONE SCREEN

TEXT being typed (Samantha)
I didn’t have the heart to tell them it was a five year old Gucci bag.

TEXT (Kamala) Yeah that probably would not have been too gucci.

TEXT being typed (Samantha) I just didn’t have the heart to spoil their mood. Ma was so wanting to know she did good. Plus they didn’t get any gifts. Just for us. This was their only gift to see us happy and thanking them. Cause the money’s tight.

(Pause)

TEXT being typed (Samantha)
Wbu? How was your Xmas?

TEXT being typed (Kamala)
It was good. I got mom a shirt and she got me a bracelet. It’s real nice. I can’t wait to show you.

TEXT being typed (Samantha)
I hope they weren’t five years old.

TEXT (Kamala) That would be rizz, just five years. But we never ask that. We’re not members of the gucci club. We’re happy to get what we get.

TEXT being typed (Samantha)
Aw honey. That’s sad. I’ll let you borrow my gucci bag.

TEXT (Kamala)
No it’s not sad. And no thank you, that’s just not my rizz. I’m a proud lesbian gender exploring activist.

INT – SANTA ANA HIGH CORRIDOR

Samantha is with her friends, Kamala, the two arm in arm, her Gucci bag hanging from the other, Amanda and Cathy. Other girls, spying the bag, come towards her, including Honey, all decked out in her fashion and makeup, and a few others who had avoided her her first day back.

SAMANTHA
Amazing what even a five year old Gucci will do to you. But… You girls are my besties. You mean so much to me.

KAMALA
That’s why I’m not into all that. Don’t need the false praise or affection. Bad enough when boys humiliate themselves that way.

As Amanda and Cathy look on, Samantha grabs Kamala for a squeeze and a kiss.

KAMALA
That’s why I love you honey. You mean more to me than this bag. And you too, Amanda and Cathy.

AMANDA
Cool.

SAMANTHA
How was your weekend? I can’t believe you work so hard and then come to school. I’d die if I had to do that.

KAMALA
Don’t think that way. You gotta get more physically active, like join a team or do dance, because once we graduate, that’s how life is.

SAMANTHA
(sarcastic)
How comforting!

AMANDA
Oh I get my rest there. It’s probably the most sleep I get at all, and the beds are like to die for. Come, let’s hang out at lunch.

EXT – PARK, WOODED AREA DAY

Samantha is being led into the wooded area by Amanda. Bryce is also there.

SAMANTHA
(unsure about it)
Where are you taking me? Why don’t we just chill in the field?

AMANDA
Shh! I got what you wanted.

SAMANTHA
Oh sh’, I forgot to tell you. My gramps is onto me now. And you. He said if he catches us stoning, that’s the end. I promised him I’d be good.

Bryce gives look to say, you see, she doesn’t belong with us.

AMANDA
Okay, so be good when you get back.

SAMANTHA
I don’t know. You guys light up. I’ll just keep you company.

BRYCE
It’s okay. Nobody’s forcing you to hang with us.

AMANDA
Maybe we should all light to vibe chill.

SAMANTHA
(to self)
Is this my breaking point?

AMANDA
What?

SAMANTHA
Oh nothing. Dr. M. said to look for my breaking points and leave…

Notices the girls looking totally disconnected from her.

SAMANTHA
Or just breathe out…

She INHALES extra and then let’s out a slow EXHALE.

Amanda is lighting the cigarette, INHALING relaxed but deep, passing the cigarette to Bryce while holding her breath until she COUGHS, exhaling lots of smoke in a dragon-like puff cloud while Bryce INHALES as did Amanda but tenser, more forced.

AMANDA
(simul. Bryce’s COUGH exhale)
This is how I chill all the stress and get real nice.

Bryce passes it back to her friend, Amanda holds it out to Samantha, questioning look.

SAMANTHA
Oh what the hell. Looks like a good way to deal with my own breaking points.

She takes it and tries to INHALE like the others. She then COUGHS like crazy.

AMANDA
Dude, don’t try to break your lungs. Just chill, mellow, vibe, low key. Relax.

Samantha smiles.

SAMANTHA
Seems like a lot of effort and I don’t even feel anything. What is it, like the gummy?

AMANDA
It’s better.

She takes the cigarette back, as the two girls look at each other chucklingly, snips off the tip of Samantha’s disheveling of it and relaxes with another PUFF of her own.

SAMANTHA
Am I supposed to feel something?

AMANDA
(EXHALING another slow dragon, looking chill)
See? Just low key it the whole way like you’re just breathing natural.

Bryce COUGHS slightly as she exhales, then passes it to Samantha.
Samantha INHALES it slower this time.

AMANDA
That’s it, just like you’re breathing naturally.

Samantha takes the cigarette out of her mouth and starts to pass it back when a COUGH breaks forth uncontrollably.

SAMANTHA
Oh my G…
(COUGHING)
…o-d.

AMANDA
Now you’re fly.

INT – SANTA ANA HIGH CLASSROOM DAY

It is QUIET and everybody seems to be struggling with a computational assignment. A male student, DALTON, glances over at a somewhat absent looking Samantha who appears to keep trying but then pulls back and stares at the problem, lost.

DALTON
(trying to be inconspicuous)
Hey y’okay?

SAMANTHA
(smiling, also low key)
Nah, I’m completely lost.

EXT – OUTSIDE SCHOOL LATER DAY

Samantha is outside with her friends, mostly Kamala, whose arm she tugs.

KAMALA
What’s going on?

SAMANTHA
Can you come by later? I real… I need you.

KAMALA
Are you alright?

SAMANTHA
Yeah, but…

Dalton happens by their group. Samantha looks self-conscious.

CATHY
Hey, are we studying today?

SAMANTHA
Not today, Cathy but thanks.

The girls are all nervous having this boy suddenly among them, making Dalton nervous.

DALTON
Samantha, you alright now?

SAMANTHA
Thanks for your help earlier. Yeah I’m okay.

Kamala leans into Samantha for a lip kiss.

KAMALA
I’ll try to make it later, honey.

Dalton backs off and Angela comes by.

ANGELA
You guys want a ride? I could really use the studying today.

KAMALA
It’s catchup to help Samantha. It’s not studying the current material. But she… she’s gotta go somewhere so not today. You wanna lift, Sam?

SAMANTHA
No, that’s okay. I think I’ll walk.

ANGELA
Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.

SAMANTHA
Okay, bye guys.

THE GIRLS THERE
Kay, bye.

She walks down the block.

AMANDA (o.s.)
(from distance)
Hey.

She and Bryce come from behind and walk with her.

SAMANTHA
Oh, sorry. I got an appointment with the doctor now. You gotta come by later

AMANDA
Oh okay. I’ll go with Bryce. Is that alright?

BRYCE
Sure.

SAMANTHA
Yeah just call first. Cause you know… And now we got grandpa to watch out for too.

AMANDA
‘righ, no prob’…

INT – DR. MORFIELD’S OFFICE DAY

There is a kind of heavy feefeeling.

DR. MORFIELD
Samantha… You seem very different than last time.

SAMANTHA
I have to make a confession. Which is really hard to make. But easier cause I’m still high.

She EXHALES relief while feeling her blood pressure and heart beat racing at the confession in diametrically opposing energies.

SAMANTHA
I can’t believe I actually said that.

She feels Dr. Morfield’s very even more diametrically oppositional somber state.

SAMANTHA
You’re not gonna say anything? Is this another one of your tricks.
(after a slight pause)
Oh, I get it. Grandpa must have told you.

DR. MORFIELD
No. I understand.

SAMANTHA
Oh, so you knew instinctively. You could tell.

DR. MORFIELD
Listen, Samantha, I’m not that good. Or… I’m good enough to know that there are so many different chemical reactions going on in the human body and any one chemical affects every person differently. What I could see is a difference in mood. But I’ve seen that with you before. Especially since you left the hospital. So, no, if you were getting high, that would explain what I’m seeing different in you now but not tip me off. No. But I’d like to share something by way of an analogy. I have a client who is a filmmaker. He was explaining one time that if you want to speed up or slow down the action, you have to set the recording speed the opposite. In other words, to get slow-mo, you speed it up. To get the faster speed, you set the filming speed to slower.

SAMANTHA
(fascinated)
Hmmm. I Never…
(stops)

DR. MORFIELD
Seems counterintuitive, right?

SAMANTHA
And this has to do with…

DR. MORFIELD
You lit up because you wanted to calm down. But do you really feel calm?

SAMANTHA
Well, I actually decided to quit. You’re right. I mean, it made me feel good, but…

DR. MORFIELD
Not exactly what you’re looking for. You understand what I’m saying, right? About the film analogy?

SAMANTHA
Well it did relax me, so not exactly.

DR. MORFIELD
Alright, I’m just gonna share what I observed. It looked like your blood pressure and heart rate had taken a slight hike when you came in here. But after just talking…just talking… I can already see a dropoff…a return to baseline. You don’t need a substance to heal.

SAMANTHA
Then how come you put me on those drugs?

DR. MORFIELD
Excellent question. These are controlled substances that have been put through a lot of tests. Our goal is to get you off them. But, since we were talking about breaking points, I’d rather you just double the dose if you feel you need an extra… something extra to calm you down, rather than something whose effects you don’t know. Now I know this is legal for adults. And I’m not anti-marijuana or anti-alcohol. But you do have an addictive tendency.

SAMANTHA
Wow, grandpa said that too.

DR. MORFIELD
There you go. You have to take care of yourself. Ultimately, you’re the only one you can rely on. Don’t let yourself down. I know peer pressure is incredible at your age. But you told me you have friends.

SAMANTHA
They get high.

DR. MORFIELD
All of them? Does Kamala get high?

SAMANTHA
No. She’s like too good about everything.

DR. MORFIELD
Have you ever thought there might be a reason?

SAMANTHA
Well, it can’t be the abuse because Amanda was abused too.

DR. MORFIELD
Amanda?

SAMANTHA
You know, the girl I told you about? Josh’s girlfriend?

DR. MORFIELD
Are they lighting at the house? Do your parents know?

SAMANTHA
No to both. We got high in the park at lunch. And then everything was a blur. I couldn’t follow in class at all. That’s why I gotta quit.

DR. MORFIELD
Well I’m glad you came to this on your own. And I want to support you without recommiting you. Because this is the therapy you need now. Being out in the world, having to deal with real life problems in a healthy way. It’s understandable what you did. You’re confronted by schoolwork at a dizzying pace. Listen, if you need to take an extra year to catch up, join a remedial program or something like that, please take advantage of that. You may find you’ll have to do that anyway. I don’t want you to break under the pressure of trying to do all this catchup just to graduate on time. It’s not worth it. Everybody learns at a different pace. And you’re also freaking out about your parents. I spoke to your mom, as you know.

SAMANTHA
Oh she got me the greatest Christmas gift ever.

Shows him the Gucci bag. He smiles.

SAMANTHA
I know she loves me.

DR. MORFIELD

Man’s Search For Meaning——–CREATE VALUE AT EVERY MOMENT!

I reluctantly am going to donate my copy of “Man’s Search For Meaning” by Viktor Frankl to the book exchange at my work. The last paragraph partially reads: “‘Sed omnia praeclara tam difficilia quam rara sunt’ (‘But everything great is just as difficult to realize as it is rare to find’) reads the last sentence of the Ethics of Spinoza. It is true that [decent people] form a minority. And yet I see therein the very challenge to join the minority. For the world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best.

“So let us be alert–alert in a two fold sense:

“Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of.

“And since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”

Here is a passage from an earlier section of the book:
“A bit later, I remember, it seemed to me that I would die in the near future. In this critical situation, however, my concern was different from…most of my comrades. Their question was, ‘Will we survive the camp? For, if not, all this suffering has no meaning.’ The question which beset me was, ‘Has all this suffering, this dying around us, a meaning? For, if not, then ultimately there is no meaning to survival; for a life whose meaning depends upon such a happenstance–as whether one escapes or not–ultimately would not be worth living at all.'”

So, if, more important to Frankl than is own life, is the meaning he could conjure up out of the ugly and tragic reality surrounding him, then I too must seek to create the most value rather than hold onto a book which might sit on a shelf collecting dust–by passing it on so that others, who might not even have thought to seek it out–can come by this wisdom, as the Boy Snow Mountains did–when he persuaded the demon to just hold on for two more seconds before eating him up so he could write the Buddhist teaching of life the demon had taught him on all the rocks, stones and trees so that others might be able to benefit from them–that is what it means to create value.

So, in this spirit, I ask, how many of you are willing to create value and change the destiny of this planet this Sunday, August 24, the anniversary of the Sunday in 1947 when Daisaku Ikeda joined the SGI and started his mission to revolutionize the destiny of this planet in which the demons of Auschwitz and Hiroshima still loom over us, and attend an SGI meeting or bravely join the ranks of comrades in the SGI and make a difference in this world so big you won’t see it while you are contributing to it but will know the difference when you look around you and you still see caring people, still see a world in which another Hiroshima has not happened, though we’re pushing the envelope in some places because you are still hesitating and standing on the sidelines thinking it won’t make a difference–and thus creating the cause for it not to make a difference and for many more Robin Williamses to die, many more innocent youth like Michael Brown of Ferguson, Missouri, to die? That is the challenge I leave you with.