Meet the Parents

FADE IN:

INT. MYRTEN'S HOUSEHOLD (LIVING ROOM) - NIGHT

The room is massive and filled rich furniture.

SUSAN, 45, laying down in the couch, watches a commercial on
the large Television.

MATHWELL (O.S.)
(over television)
Come visit Breintown!

She shrugs.

PLAYBACK - EXT. DOWNTOWN BREINTOWN (ON TELEVISION) - DAY

DAVID, ROSE and GREG are interviewed by MATHWELL, the town
mayor, as part of a tourist ad.

MATHWELL
And what response do our brave
battlers of monsters have to the
baseless accusations that our
beautiful Breintown isn't safe.

DAVID
Well they have a point I mean--

ROSE
C'mon, you don't wanna listen to
this loser. This is an amazing
place to spend all your money.
back to scene

Susan drops the remote and stares at the TV shocked.

SUSAN
Oh, my god!
(screaming)
Mark!

MARK (O.S.)
Jesus Christ woman, what is it?

MARK, 49, walks into the room looking at Susan confused.

SUSAN
It...It's Greg and-- Our children
are on TV

MARK
(turning to face TV)
What are you on about--

Mark sees the shot of the whole town, including David, Rose
and Greg, waving. He stops to the front door and yanks his
keys off the hook.

SUSAN
Where are you off to this late?

MARK
I'm getting my kid back. You
coming?

EXT. BEACH AV/FIELD - DAY

David, Rose and Mathwell are talking in front David's van.
Rose is focused on the check in Mathwell's hand.

MATHWELL
Thanks again for helping out with
our promotion.

DAVID
Oh. You're welcome?

MATHWELL
I just know the money we spent on
these ads and the brand-new tour
buses are gonna have visitors
rushing over here.

DAVID
Don't you think we'd attract more
people if you addressed any of the
real problems the town had?

Mathwell and Rose both shake their heads and laugh.

MATHWELL
(shaking his head)
Oh, David, David, David. I see you
still have a lot to learn about
politics.

David looks at him confused.

MATHWELL (CONT.)
(handing Rose a check)
Well, here's your reward for a job
well done.

Rose stares at it with glowing eyes.

MATHWELL
(quietly to Rose)
Hey, see if you can work a little
of your magic to, you know, spruce
up tourism.

ROSE
(disinterested tone; still
staring at check)
Yeah, yeah, I'll see what I can do.

DAVID
Well that was enough excitement for
one day. If any of you need me,
I'll be at the Cafe.
(to Rose)
And you better take that check
straight to the bank.

ROSE
(rolling eyes)
Come on David, is there anyone you
can trust more than me?

MATHWELL
Well, my job here's done.
(beat)
Hey, wait, where's the third little
guy that's always with you?

DAVID
Yeah, Greg said he'd be in the
forest with Willow today.

ROSE
(re: David)
Even he's had enough of you.

MATHWELL
(walking off)
Well, I'm off to figure out a new
tax plan to pay for all this
promotion.
(shaking his head; laughing)
Did you know how much it costs to
air an ad around the country?

David heads to the cafe, while Rose stands there staring at
the check. She looks up to notice everyone else has gone.

ROSE
Well, to the bank it is, I guess.

INT. SUNSHINE CAFE - DAY

David is sitting at the front counter waiting for his food.

MELODY (23), the oldest of the sky fairy sisters, is in her
human form filling out paperwork at one of the tables. JANE
(18), the youngest and non-magical sister, is mopping the
floor.

CLOVER (21), the middle child, also in her human forum,
drops off a plate of food in front of David.

CLOVER
Here you go. Oh, and by the way, I
really liked how you did in the
commercial.

DAVID
It wasn't anything that special. At
least I can finally pay for this
meal.

Rose, panicking, kicks open the door.

MELODY
What the heck Rose? Can't you use
the door like a normal person?

Rose runs up to David, out of breath.

DAVID
Well, did you deposit the check?

ROSE
Can you shut up for two seconds?
Our parents are here.

DAVID
(dropping his fork)
What?

ROSE
I saw them talking with Mathwell
earlier.

DAVID
H-how'd they even find us...
unless.

David puts his head down on the counter.

DAVID
(muffled)
Why'd I do that stupid commercial?

JANE
Is there a problem?

Clover tenses up as a magical white glow forms around her,
wings sprout out of her as she half-way transforms to her
sky-fairy forum.

CLOVER
Yes! Those two were mean and
abusive!

DAVID
Okay, Okay. Calling them abusive is
a bit of a stretch.


For a split-second, Clover flashes a worried look at David.

ROSE
Don't worry! While I was running
over here, I thought of a perfect
solution that'll solve all our
problems.
(beat)
We kill them.

Jane looks at Rose shocked while Melody looks at her
angrily. Clover appears indifferent. David just watches
everyone else's expressions.

MELODY
You can't murder your own parents
Rose!

ROSE
Just because you can't doesn't mean
some of us don't hold ourselves to
higher standards.

MELODY
(to Rose)
Killing your parents is wrong!
(to David)
Look, your Mom and Dad don't seem
too unreasonable. I bet if you just
talked out your problems...

Rose rolls her eyes while David looks unsure.

MELODY (CONT.)
... you could have a much happier
relationship.

DAVID
(shrugging at Rose)
I mean, she has a point.

Rose's eyes widen in shock.

DAVID (CONT.)
Besides, what if all this just
blows over?

Rose furiously exhales and throws her arms in the air.

ROSE
Fine whatever. I guess this is just
another thing I have to do myself.
(to David)
Don't come crying to me when you
realize how stupid you're being.

She slams the door as she walks.

MELODY
Wait, are we just gonna do nothing
while Rose plans murder?

DAVID
I mean, you can't really stop her
once she has her mind set on
something.

Melody, Clover and Jane shrug in agreement.

INT. TOUR BUS - TRACKING - DAY

Mathwell is driving a brand-new tour bus with Mark and Susan
as its only passengers.

MATHWELL
And we're now entering our historic
downtown.

Mark and Susan look out the window to see a neighborhood
filled with a mixture of crumbling 1960s-era buildings and
relatively modern, but dull mid-rises. The street contains
mostly vacant storefronts connected by bare sidewalks.

MARK
Was this town historically this
awful?

Susan and Mark laugh while Mathwell smirks nervously.

Mathwell pulls over in front of the beach.

MATHWELL
And now we come to the first stop
of our tour, the jaw-dropping
Breintown waterfront.

EXT. BEACH - CONTINUOUS

Mathwell walks along the beach with Mark and Susan.

The view is surprisingly stunning, with the pure blue water
meeting a massive shoreline and grand cliffs along the
horizon. To the north are massive mountains and the east the
Dark Forest.

MATHWELL
As you can see, Breintown has no
shortage of natural beauty.

SUSAN
(to Mark)
I mean, even you have to admit,
this beach looks nice.

Mark shrugs.

STEVE, a magical talking skeleton, is laying down near the
ocean.

STEVE
Hey! Quiet down! Some of us are
trying to sleep.

MATT, a skinny teenage werewolf, is digging holes in the
sand. A zombie BOY pulls of his head and uses it to play
catch with a vampire GIRL.

Susan, scared, WHIMPERS and moves closer to Mark.

MATHWELL
(nervous)
Well, uhm, the supernatural is what
makes our town unique. After all,
only in Breintown can you--

MARK
(angry)
What kind of crazy place is this?

An angry CROWD walk up behind the three of them.

WOMAN
Yeah, what is this? This is the
third time this week I couldn't
enjoy the beach.

MAN
Shouldn't those three siblings be
doing something about this.

MATHWELL
Well, uhm.

The CROWD continues to yell in the background. Susan looks
away and her eyes widen as she sees David's van on the end
of the field.

SUSAN
Is that David's--

INT. VAN - DAY

David is lying face-down in his van MOANING.

DAVID
Ugh! Couldn't those two have the
courtesy to at least wait 'till I
died before coming to visit?

Loud KNOCKING is coming from the back door. David pulls
himself up and walks to answer it.

DAVID
This better not be Rose and her
dumb plans.

EXT. "BEACH AV."/FIELD - DAY

He opens the door to see Mark and Susan. As soon as he sees
their faces, he slams it back shut, but Mark blocks the door
with his foot.

MARK
Oh no you don't!

Rose walks up carrying ropes, a saw, planks of wood and
crumpled notebook paper containing her plans. She
immediately drops them in shock when she sees her parents.

DAVID
What are you doing here? Didn't I
make it clear when I left that I
never wanted to see you two again.

SUSAN
What do you mean what are we doing
here? You took our little boy from
us, after everything we've done for
you!

DAVID
I didn't take him. I was minding my
own business when he just showed up
with Rose.

ROSE
(polite)
Oh, Hi Mom! Hi Dad! It's been so
long since I've seen you. How have
you been?

MARK
Look, we hate seeing you more than
you hate seeing us. So, can you
please do one thing right in your
entire life and tell us where Greg
is?

ROSE
Oh me, I've been up to a lot in the
past few years, if either of you
are curious.

DAVID
Oh, uhm, I think he's still in the
Dark Forest.

Mark curls his hand into a fist, but Susan pulls his arm
back gently to calm him down.

SUSAN
(shaking)
He... he's, where?

DAVID
The Dark Forest, right over there.
(points to it)
Filled with a lot of magical stuff.
It's actually quite interesting. He
seems to really like it in there.

SUSAN
You left our son to fend in the
woods by himself?

DAVID
Oh, no! He's not alone. He's with
there with his friend Willow. She's
kinda weird, glowing, a tree-spirit
girl. About his age, I think.

Mark scowls.

SUSAN
(crying)
What's wrong with you? You care
more about your stupid monsters
than you do your own brother!

DAVID
That's not--

Mathwell runs towards them.

MATHWELL
(out of breath)
There you are. We still have a day
of tours...
(under his breath)
... and running from the complaints
of constitutes.

Mark takes a deep breath and walks right in front of David's
face.

MARK
Look, I'm gonna try to get your
mother's mind off of your insanity.
But when we're done, we better see
Greg.

Mark and Susan walk off with Mathwell.

ROSE
Oh okay. I guess we'll talk later
then.

David sighs.

DAVID
Hey Rose, am I, bad at taking care
of Greg?

Rose looks at him startled.

ROSE
Oh, well, I guess technically, by
some definitions.

DAVID
(looking down)
Oh, okay.

David walks back into his van. Rose picks her stuff back up
and looks back at David worried.

INT. SUNSHINE CAFE - AFTERNOON

It's the middle of the lunch rush and the dining room is
brimming with customers. Jane is taking orders around the
restaurant while Clover serves drinks at the counter.

Mathwell opens the door for Mark and Susan.

MATHWELL
And this is our famous Sunshine
Cafe.

Jane hands the three of them their menus while Clover stabs
a knife in the counter at the sight of Mark and Susan.

JANE
Welcome! It's been so long since
we've last seen you. Let me give
you a table.

Melody enters from downstairs.

MELODY
Oh hey, I heard you two were in
town.

Jane leads the three to their table.

SUSAN
It's nice seeing you three. How
have you all been?

Clover glares at Mark and Susan while Melody weaves through
her hair nervously.

MELODY
Oh, we've been doing fine, running
the restaurant and everything.

MARK
You look like your doing a lot
better than our kids.

Jane giggles to herself while Melody lets out a fake and
nervous laugh. Melody glances at Clover who is clenching her
fists while a faint white aura surrounds her.

MELODY
Oh yeah, but your kids haven't been
that bad. I mean, believe it or
not, I think the town's gotten a
little nicer since they came here.

Mark starts laughing.

MARK
Come on Melody, cut the act. We saw
what people think of him. He's a
loser.

CLOVER
(screaming; white glow growing
more intense)
Well at least David actually helps
people! All you seem to do is sit
and laugh!

The room falls silent and Melody and Jane stare at Clover.

SUSAN
Well we can leave if we're not
wanted here.

Mark and Susan walk out the restaurant angry while Clover
sticks her tongue out at them. Mathwell chases after them.

MATHWELL
Wait, don't run off so soon.

EXT. "BEACH AV" - DAY

David is walking down the street with Rose. She is carrying
a bunch of small jars containing mini fireworks while
holding her notebook in her mouth.

DAVID
So, uhm, how are those plans going.
(beat)
Even though what you're doing is
totally awful.

ROSE
(sarcastic)
Oh yeah, so awful.

DAVID
(sighing)
I'm sorry. This whole day's been
super weird.

ROSE
(smirking)
Isn't every day?

DAVID
Can I ask, what's up with the way
you've been kissing up to Mom and
Dad? You're never like that with
anyone else?

ROSE
(shrugging)
They treat me better than you.

DAVID
Yeah, but they don't treat you like
anything.

ROSE
(looking away)
Well maybe they don't need to treat
me like anything.

Mark, Susan and Mathwell walk out of the cafe. Mark notices
David and clenches his fists and walks towards them, but
Susan holds him back and approaches instead. Rose licks her
hand and frantically straightens David's hair.

DAVID
(pushing her away)
Stop that.

Rose stands up straight, smiling as Susan gets closer.

SUSAN
(pleasant)
Oh, hello Davey.

ROSE
(polite)
Oh hello mom. Did you enjoy your
meal?

DAVID
Cut the act. What do you want?

SUSAN
Look, I understand you're mad at
me, but I just thought that instead
of being so confrontational, maybe
we can go somewhere and talk:
face-to-face, free of distractions.

DAVID
Well--

Rose taps on David's shoulder. He turns and sees her
furiously shaking her head. David rolls his eyes and looks
back at Susan.

DAVID
You know what, I could spare a
couple minutes.

Susan follows David to the park.

ROSE
(hurt)
Yeah, okay. I'll be in the forest
if anyone needs me.

EXT. PARK - DAY

Susan and David sit at two park benches facing each other.
She is leaning forward with a genuine expression while he is
looking down, angry.

SUSAN
Look, I know we didn't leave on the
best terms.

David clenches.

SUSAN (CONT.)
But I want you to know that me and
your father were trying to give you
three the best possible life.

He glances up.

SUSAN (CONT.)
And I'm sorry if it might not of
seemed that way from how we treated
you.

He looks straight at her, surprised.

DAVID
Oh... I... forgive you.

Susan hugs him, while he just pats her back awkwardly

SUSAN
Oh thank you! After how terrible I
felt after you left, I'm just glad
we can put all of this behind us.

David winces at the last part. Susan lets go of him.

SUSAN
Well, now that I've said sorry,
it's only fair that you to
apologize for your...
imperfections.

DAVID
My-- What are you talking about?

SUSAN
I mean, it's not like you didn't
cause us a lot of pain too.
(laughing)
With your silly rants about ghosts
and vampires or whatever--

DAVID
(to himself)
Well I wasn't wrong.

SUSAN
Or there was that time you ran
around the neighborhood yelling
about how we were possessed by
demons.

DAVID
To be fair, that was after you made
me sleep in a hole in the backyard.
For a week. When I was 12.

SUSAN
Well we had to do something after
the little temper tantrum you had
with your father.

DAVID
But he was--

SUSAN
Look.
(takes a deep breath)
We both admit that neither of us
are perfect people. But just look
at Greg's life now.

David raises his eyebrow.

SUSAN
He runs around in the woods.

David leans in to interject.

SUSAN (CONT.)
He doesn't have a bed to sleep on.

He leans back.

SUSAN (CONT.)
I doubt you're sending him to
school.

He looks down.

SUSAN (CONT.)
His current situation can't get
much worse. Don't you think it's
fair that he gets to grow up in the
same comfortable house that you
did?

He takes a deep breath, thinks for a moment and looks up at
Susan.

DAVID
I admit me and Rose aren't the best
parents. But we really want to do
what's right for Greg, and, despite
how it might look, I think he's
really happy here. I mean he's
learned a lot since he got here and
made a lot of new friends, even if
none of them are human.

Susan stands up angrily.

SUSAN
No! Can't you see how crazy you
sound! Just Admit it, you're not
keeping Greg because you want
what's right for him. You're doing
it because your a selfish spoiled
brat who needs everything to go
your away.

David SIGHS.

DAVID
Who was I kidding, this was a waste
of time.

He gets up and starts walking away.

SUSAN
You know, I came to you to
apologize. In your delusional
fantasies, did you ever think that
maybe we're not the ones possessed
by demons.

David stops and stares ahead, angry then depressed, then
keeps walking without looking back.



EXT. DARK FOREST/CENTRAL PATH - TRACKING - DUSK

Rose pulls CRYING, brightly colored potatoes from the
ground.

ROSE
(petting them)
Shh, shh. Your time will come.

The potatoes stop crying as she puts them in her basket.
David runs up behind her while she intentionally avoids eye
contact.

DAVID
Ugh, can you hurry up with this
stupid plan of yours and kill them
already.

Rose picks a couple more potatoes.

ROSE
(re: ROOTS)
There, there.

DAVID
(awkward)
Even though, it's still wrong,
obviously.

Rose looks for more potatoes and David looks down,
depressed.

DAVID
Hey Rose, am I--

Rose jolts around to face him.

ROSE
(angry)
Why'd you have to talk to her?

David looks shocked.

DAVID
I don't know. I thought maybe I
could have reasoned with her.

ROSE
(screaming)
You didn't owe her anything!

David looks halfway down, ashamed and the two keep walking
into the forest.

ROSE
(quiet)
You know she has a way of saying
stuff. Stuff that messes with your
brain.
(beat)
You knew that and you still left to
talk to her.

The get to the

EXT. DARK FOREST/FIELD - DUSK

Willow and Greg are play-wrestling a giant glowing white
BEAR. Greg climbs onto its belly and Willow goes on top of
him to help pin it down.

WILLOW
Ha! Touchdown!

Willow high-fives Greg and they both laugh. David is visibly
relaxed by this. Rose drops her basket and runs to pick Greg
up and ruffle his hair.

ROSE
Aw, you were so great out there.
(looking at David with a
snarky smile)
At least one of my brothers can
fight.

Rose releases Greg, and he pets the bear before it walks
off.

David walks up next to Rose, and they both look at Greg
playing with Willow. Rose is overwhelmed by his cuteness
while David looks at him while smiling.

SCREAMING is heard from the other side of the forest. Willow
perks up, but Greg motions for her to stay, causing her to
pout in disappointment.

David gets out his bow, Rose her metal fists, and Greg his
dagger as they run towards it.

EXT. DARK FOREST/NEAR ENTRANCE - SUNSET

Mark and Susan are trapped and struggling in giant
thorn-covered vines with the BEAR roaring at them. Greg
hides behind Rose, and she, frustrated, drops her basket.

ROSE
Well there goes my hard work.

Susan's eyes glow in excitement at the sight of Greg while
Mark glares at David.

MARK
Oh great! As if this moment
couldn't get any better.

DAVID
Why are you here? This place is too
dangerous for you two.

SUSAN
This place is too dangerous for us,
but not your 8-year old brother?

David looks at Greg, who is squeezing Rose's leg, and back
at Mark and Susan.

DAVID
Come on, that's different.

MARK
Look, some of us are willing to
make sacrifices for our children.

The bear ROARS and comes closer to them, further amplifying
their SCREAMS of terror. David nervously looks around at the
angry bear, his terrified, yet also frustrated parents, a
scared Greg and a content Rose.

He takes a deep breath and fires a yellow bow at the bear,
electrically shocking and stunning it. Greg looks at the
bear worried, while Mark and Susan sigh in relief, not
noticing Greg's reaction.

David cuts himself pulling apart the vines, which Rose
cringes at. He picks up Mark, shocking him, and runs out of
the forest. Rose rolls her eyes, picks up Susan and follows
David.

SUSAN
David, what's going on? Where are
you taking us?

Greg approaches the bear and removes the arrow. It rolls on
its back and happily lets Greg pet it. Greg waves goodbye as
he follows David and Rose.

EXT. "BEACH AV."/FIELD - EVENING

David and Rose drop Mark and Susan outside the forest. They
both look at David ashamed.

MARK
Uhm, David, we're--

DAVID
What were you thinking? Where'd you
even get the idea to go in their by
yourselves?

Mark angrily jolts up in front of David

MARK
Like I said, we we're doing what
was best for our children.

DAVID
What's best for your-- You didn't
do anything good for us all day?
Neither of you even acknowledged
your daughter exists.

Rose looks away awkwardly.

DAVID (CONT.)
And despite spending all day
obsessing over him, I bet neither
of you would know a single thing
about Greg.

A small CROWD, containing MATHWELL, forums around them.

MATHWELL
(to Mark and Susan)
Is it too late to interest you in
our 2 week hotel package?

EXT. SUNSHINE CAFE - EVENING

Clover, hearing the commotion, walks out of the restaurant.

CLOVER
What's going on?

She sees David with his parents, and runs towards them.
Melody and Clover follow her.

EXT. "BEACH AV."/FIELD - CONTINUOUS

Mark stomps towards David with both his fists clenched.
David cowers back, but they stop as soon as they notice Greg
walk out of the forest.

SUSAN
(tears forming)
Greg!

Susan runs up to him crying tears of joy, while Greg stares
at her terrified. Once she gets close enough to hug him, he
slashes her arm with his dagger, leaving a scar. Everybody
looks at Greg shocked except for Rose who giggles to
herself.

MARK
(to David)
What did you do to my son?

DAVID
(panicking)
I... I didn't do anything. I
don't--, maybe Greg was just--

Mark punches David hard enough to knock him to the ground.

MARK
I've had it to here with your crap
today.

The crowd gasps as Mark pins David down and continues to
punch him.

Rose clenches her fists as her magical gloves turn metallic
and increase in size. Clover moves towards Mark,
half-transforming into her Sky Fairy forum while Jane and
Melody frantically runs towards her. Greg covers his eyes
and WHIMPERS.

David kicks Mark off of him and stands up. Mark, breathing
heavily, goes to charge at him again, but Clover jumps and
hugs David, blocking him.

Mark is about to charge again but is interrupted by David
talking.

DAVID
(looking down)
This
(looking at his parents)
This isn't normal. Is it?

Both Mark and Susan look around at the crowd's shocked
expressions. Greg and Rose both look at each other awkwardly
and Clover hugs tighter as tears form in her eyes.

CLOVER
Just go.

Mark and Susan leave, defeated.

FADE OUT.

6723 Words/ 22 Formatted Screenplay Pages