AGAINST THE GRAIN

Screenplay by Dick Croy

9413 Southgate Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45241 (513) 600-4042

wordandimage@fuse.net

AGAINST THE GRAIN

AGAINST THE GRAIN

FADE IN: EXT. NIGHT - FOREST NOCTURNAL INSECT CHORUS, RUSTLING DRY LEAVES of fall. In moonlight, a man stands guard with a shotgun beside a late-model pickup with oversized tires parked unattended on an overgrown logging or oil-and-gas road at the edge of a... CORNFIELD A light breeze rattles dry withered stalks seven feet tall which are almost luminous in the moonlight. Suddenly, two or three stalks are flattened, to reveal... MARIJUANA PLANTS ...growing between the rows and ready for harvesting. Buds are quickly and expertly stripped from the corn-high plants by a disembodied pair of hands and dropped into a dark plastic garbage bag.

AGAINST THE GRAIN CORNFIELD

Two men, each with his own bag, harvest the pot. One, thin and hard, has the weathered face of a man in his 40's. This is CHEROKEE. The other, with a tangle of long hair, is LUKE, a teenage Appalachian Adonis. Breathing hard from the effort, they work silently down the row until they appear to be finished. LUKE ...That's the last of it. Another week and you could a smelled it from the road. CHEROKEE We're not through yet. Get it to the truck and let's get outa here. EXT. - PICKUP The two men, each carrying a couple of bags over his shoulder, join the third man and dump the bags on top of others in the back. Luke helps Cherokee cover and secure the bags with a tarp. LUKE I told ya the sheriff wouldn't show. This is one field they haven't found yet. CHEROKEE If I was you I'd save that kinda talk till we get this delivered. They climb into the cab, with Cherokee riding shotgun and Luke behind the wheel. Lights off, he drives slowly toward the road. INT. - PICKUP LUKE (grinning) You gotta think positive, Cherokee.

AGAINST THE GRAIN CHEROKEE Is that right? LUKE You worry too much.

They're about to turn onto a gravel road when the cab is flooded with light from both front and back. A voice rings out metallically over a LOUDSPEAKER. SHERIFF'S DEPUTY (O.S.) Stop the truck and get out with your hands up! LUKE Jesus! Wide-eyed, he turns to Cherokee, who seems almost amused in a grim sort of way. CHEROKEE Okay, hotshot...drive. Luke floors it; the HIGH-POWERED ENGINE sounds like the hottest turbocharged V-8 on the NASCAR circuit. The truck's the star of this scene, as was Robert Mitchum's car in "Thunder Road", his '50s moonshine movie. Luke eludes a... PATRO CAR ...on the road ahead of them by crashing through underbrush and over rocks until he's past it, then swerving back onto the road in a shower of gravel, with two patrol cars in hot pursuit. INT./EXT. NIGHT - MONTAGE The chase: intercutting Luke, Cherokee and the two deputies in their vehicles, establishing Luke's driving skills and swashbuckling love of adventure, as well as his intimate knowledge of these unpaved country roads.

AGAINST THE GRAIN A) The cars rumble through a covered wooden bridge.

B) Luke leads deputies through a barnyard, weaving among buildings, farm implements, and wildly barking dogs. C) Confronted by an oncoming car in a curve, Luke careens off the road and back on again, while the deputies simply bull their way through, forcing the other car off the road. D) Spewing sheets of water, Luke crosses a creek on a submerged concrete spillway. LUKE Let's see if they cab pass the submarine test! The second patrol car fails it, stalling out. LUKE (pantomiming news headline) Deputy sheriff makes big splash! E) Luke eludes the second pursuer by turning onto a narrow road so deeply rutted the patrol car bottoms out, while the pickup's oversized tires negotiate it easily. LUKE Think we tired him out, Cherokee? But no sooner have they lost the second car than the truck is illuminated by an even brighter light. CHEROKEE Helicopter! Goddamn their asses, why can't they let a man earn a living in peace? LUKE I'll get us off the road where we can dump the bags. Cherokee grabs a scoped rifle from the trucks gun rack.

AGAINST THE GRAIN CHEROKEE You outa your mind?! There's half a million in buds back there! I'm not leavin' it behind for those bastards to burn. Stop right here! LUKE What the hell you doin'? Cherokee scrambles from the truck, levels the rifle on top of his open door...and squeezes off a shot that is tremendously loud. The spotlight goes out and the helicopter veers away, apparently otherwise undamaged. LUKE ...Nice shot. Jesus, I thought you were gonna shoot it down! Cherokee gives him a look of disgust as he climbs into the cab and puts the gun back. CHEROKEE ...Then your daddy'd shoot us both. LUKE (laughing) Probably. That's what I was afraid of.

DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAWN - COUNTRY ROAD Luke is standing on Cherokee's side of the truck, with the third man behind the wheel. CHEROKEE Tell your old man, after I deliver this I'm gonna take the truck over to Deer Run and have it detailed and painted. I don't think they made us, but they may've got photos of the truck. LUKE Good shootin' for a farmer.

AGAINST THE GRAIN CHEROKEE I just wish to hell we could get through one harvest without givin me heartburn. Stay off the road.

Luke gives him a thumb's-up gesture. As the truck pulls away, he climbs through a barbed-wire fence into a... CORNFIELD ...of harvested stalks, which he crosses against the rows. Leaving the field a moment later, he strikes out across a meadow, silhouetted against the reddening sky. We're startled when a black shape Luke passes at the edge of the field without taking notice turns toward us to reveal, in white face paint and solid black clothing, a MIME, whose expressionless face the CAMERA COMES IN AND HOLDS ON. EXT. DAWN - CORNFIELD Beneath a spectacularly colorful sky at sunrise, a strapping young man 17 or 18 strolls with a couple of dogs along a dirt road skirting the edge of a field of mature corn which has not yet been harvested. This is JASON. Hearing a WHISTLE, he looks up to see... LUKE ...who waves; from his POV we see the prosperous... EXT. DAY FARM ...on which Jason's family lives. LUKE runs toward Jason, and in a...

AGAINST THE GRAIN WIDE SHOT ...they greet each other with high-fives against a backdrop of green, undulating in the morning breeze. CLOSER ANGLE JASON I was just gettin' ready to come pick you up. LUKE Little trouble last night thought it'd be best to stay away from home. JASON Your old man again? LUKE Not this time. Shoulda been there, Jase. We outran two cop cars and the pot-chopper. JASON How the hell'd you outrun a helicopter? LUKE (slugging Jason in shoulder) Cherokee shot out the damn searchlight! They walk toward the house. JASON (shaking his head) Man, I can't believe you... LUKE Don't give me another one a your lectures, Bro. What was we supposed t'do? Here we are, sittin' there with half a million in prime sinsemilla, lit up like Las Vegas by the Helicopter (MORE)

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE (CONTD) from Hell. I mean they coulda told you if my fly was open. JASON (interrupting) Was it? LUKE No, but I'll tell Cherokee you asked. ...What was I sposed t do? show 'em some I.D.? Invite 'em down for a friendly toke? JASON You shouldn't have been there in the first place! We keep tellin' you, Luke you're gonna keep screwin' around till you get yourself killed. (he stops walking) Dude, you've got too much to live for. Moved, Luke puts a hand on Jason's shoulder. LUKE ...You don't know what it's like bein' me, right? I'm livin' my life the only way I know how. I'm not gonna do anything t' screw it up. C'mon... (he starts walking) ...we'd better get to work or it'll be your old man who's on the warpath. EXT. MONTAGE OF THE SEASONS A) A field of corn being harvested by a corn picker. B) Autumn leaves being scattered in the wind. C) Woods and fallow fields under snow. D) The forest budding out in spring.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

9 DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. DAWN - COUNTRY HOME to establish. INT. - HOUSE NOAH'S bedroom. The 14-year-old victim of cerebral palsy is awake on a mattress on the floor, looking at the... INSERT ...two black mollies in his aquarium... BACK TO SCENE ...when his beautiful 17-year-old sister ANANDA enters. ANANDA (almost singing) Good morning, Noah, how are you this morning? She turns off the light in the tank and feeds his fish. ANANDA Your mollies are hungry this morning. ...What about you? Want some pancakes? All right! "says" Noah clearly if inarticulately. Ananda unsnaps his covers, revealing a Grateful Dead t-shirt, pulls on jeans over his underpants, and helps him into a sweatshirt. ANANDA We're going over to Grammaw's today. Would you like to take her your coin collection? He makes the gurgling noises with which he communicates excitement. Ananda is patient and loving in dressing him,

AGAINST THE GRAIN her expertise indicating that shes done it often. ANANDA (cont) I know she'd like to see the Walking Lady Liberty silver dollar you got for your birthday.

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She continues to carry on a one-sided conversation with breaks to catch her breath or to address Noah as she lifts him under his arms and, with difficulty, helps him first to the... BATHROOM ...where she assists him in urinating... ANANDA (contd) I'll bet she's almost finished her quilt by now, don't you? I think this is her most beautiful one yet. ...then to the... KITCHEN ...where she seats him at the table beside an east-facing window presenting a spectacular sunrise. ANANDA Ohh, look at the sunrise! Today's going to be a good one, I can feel it. Okay, pancakes coming up! She slips a bib over his head and puts his long hair up in a ponytail to keep it out of his food. ANANDA ...Promise to keep a secret? (Noah nods yes) What I want to talk to Grammaw about? (lowering her voice) It's about seeing Luke.

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She and Noah share a look. This is obviously a hot topic; it's also obvious that both of them adore Luke. ANANDA See why it has to be a secret? I'd be grounded for life. She sets a plate in front of Noah and feeds him pancakes. I just can't go on, seeing Luke only at school, pretending all I feel is friendship when I can hardly keep him off my mind and don't want to! If Mom and Dad can't trust me by now they never will. Luke wants to show me Shawnee Cave, Noah! He says it's the most high-energy place he's ever been to. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - FOREST - MONTAGE A logging operation, deep in the woods. Luke and Jason, each manning a big heavy-duty chainsaw, are part of an 8man woods crew, felling hardwood trees, then dragging them one or several at a time, with giant bulldozer-like skidders, out to the unpaved country road where they're being stacked for pickup by self-loading logging trucks. This is hot, heavy, dangerous work, but they're strong, skilled hard workers. Being the youngest in the crew, they also like to have a good time when they get a chance, especially Luke. At lunchtime he and Jason ride on a skidder to where the logs are being stacked. LUKE (yelling over engine) How many you got so far? JASON Four oaks, two maple, cherry, walnut, two poplar! LUKE Gotcha by two!

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON I saw those cull logs you were cuttin'! I had a couple a white oaks that were four, four-and-a-half feet! LUKE Cull logs my ass! I had three veneer in a row right after break! You're still down by two!

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Luke ignores the hostility his good-time attitude fosters among the older loggers as they sit in the sun eating. LUKE (to logger in his 20s) Why don't you let me handle the skidder this afternoon, Thurman? You been babyin' that sucker. LOGGER #1 He's been "babyin'" it cause that's the way the Man wants it drove. LUKE No he don't, he just don't want it in the shop, that's all. What he wants is production. LOGGER #2 Pretty big talk for a weekend warrior. LOGGER #3 (in undertone to others) Especially one smokin' that "wacky weed". LOGGER #4 Smokin' it? Hell, it's his old man's cash crop. LOGGER #3 (to Luke this time) You gotta pass a drug test if you're gonna drive that thing around here.

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE (good-naturedly) No offense, Charlie, but I could drive that thing stoned better'n you could after a three-day fast. This draws a laugh and eases the tension. LOGGER #4 (to Jason) Your spring wheat started to head-out yet? JASON Just starting. I was lookin' at it this morning. LOGGER #5 We got our corn planted last week. JASON When the hell'd you have time? LOGGER #5 Made time. In the field till after dark every day but Wednesday, I think it was. JASON Just like the old man: if you're not bustin' ass there's somethin' wrong with you. LOGGER #5 ...It ain't none a my business, but your friend's askin' for trouble if he don't start takin' time to clear around the base of his tree. JASON Yeah, I noticed. I'll say somethin' to him about it. INT. DAY - GRAMMAW'S HOUSE

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Ananda and her grandmother, an alert woman in her late 70s/early 80s, talk in the parlor while Noah sits in a motorized wheelchair watching GRAMMAW'S busy fingers. We see very little of the QUILT shes pieced together and is quilting in a quilting frame, until the scenes end. ANANDA ...I agree with Mom and Dad on most things, Grammaw, but they don't even know Luke. They just know what they've heard about him. GRAMMAW What kinds of things have they heard? ANANDA Oh, that he's wild, and about his family growing pot and all which isn't Luke's fault for heaven's sake! GRAMMAW Is he mixed up in that himself? ANANDA He told me they use him as a driver sometimes, but that's all. He tries to stay out of it. GRAMMAW ...What do you know about Luke that your parents don't? ANANDA He has a big heart and doesn't look down on anyone, does he Noah? (Noah responds excitedly) Noah loves him even though he's only seen him two or three times in the mall. Luke paid as much attention to him as he did to me. That's the way he is. If you're alive you're his friend, unless proven otherwise.

AGAINST THE GRAIN GRAMMAW Sounds like an unusually nice boy. ANANDA Oh he is, Grammaw, he really is. He's a free spirit not like so many of the other guys: at someone else's expense. Luke's energy is heart energy. Mom and Dad act like heart energy has to be... (hands over heart) ...so refined and so selfless, so socially conscious. Luke just puts his love out there! GRAMMAW (smiling) I'm not sure I agree with that assessment of your parents, but Luke sounds pretty special all right. Have they forbidden you to see him? ANANDA They won't let me go out with him. GRAMMAW ...Can't you arrange to see him without going out with him? ANANDA That's what I've been doing. I want more than that, Grammaw, without feeling like I'm sneaking around behind their backs. GRAMMAW ...I'll speak to your mother about him. ANANDA Oh Grammaw, would you?! (hugging her) I knew I could count on you. GRAMMAW Well don't be too hard on your parents. (MORE)

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AGAINST THE GRAIN GRAMMAW (CONTD) You see how these pieces I'm working on seem to clash? INSERT - QUILT GRAMMAW (O.S.) These two fabrics don't go together at all, in color or texture, if you focus on this small part of the design alone... The CAMERA begins to ZOOM OUT or PULL BACK until the whole gorgeous quilt, and Grammaw, are visible. GRAMMAW (contd) ...without seeing the rest. That's often the position parents are in. They can't take time to step back and see the whole picture.

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Ananda leans forward and hugs her grandmother, then pulls Noah's wheelchair closer and all three of them embrace. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - FOREST EXT. DAY - WOODS CREW - MONTAGE Luke and Jason, stripped to the waist and glistening with sweat, handle their chainsaws with the bravado of youth. Still competing though pretending not to, they sneak sidelong glances at each other. With growing irritation, Jason notices that... LUKE ...is still not taking the time to clear brush away from the base of the trees he's cutting. JASON

AGAINST THE GRAIN finally yells at Luke, who can't hear him then waits till he eases off on the throttle. JASON Hey, asshole! WIDER ANGLE Luke looks up and kills the engine. JASON (contd) Lookit the brush around that tree! (Luke shrugs impatiently) Where the hell you gonna go if it kicks back on ya?! LUKE It ain't gonna kick back on me! You're pissed cause I'm ahead! JASON Bullshit! That's the rule and you know it. Luke, grinning, uses his chainsaw to give Jason the finger, then fires it back up and continues sawing. JASON

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also resumes sawing, but keeps glancing nervously at... LUKE'S TREE ...which finally begins to sway. JASON sees with horror that it's going to fall back toward Luke. He yells and tries to get Luke's attention, but...

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE ...either can't hear or simply ignores him. Suddenly, with a LOUD SPLINTERING SOUND... THE TREE ...topples toward... LUKE

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...who looks up at it in disbelief, then frantically at the ground for an escape route. But there isn't any he hasn't taken time to clear one. THE TREE comes crashing down with a roar, spewing dust and debris...then, silence. ANOTHER ANGLE Dust particles in the sunlight above the fallen giant but no sign of Luke. JASON drops his chainsaw and runs to Luke, yelling his name. FALLEN TREE Jason looks frantically down its tremendous length for any sign of Luke. Finally, there's a GROAN; Luke's hand appears miraculously from beneath the tangle of branches. ANOTHER ANGLE

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Luke is curled into fetal position in a depression beside a rock large enough to have shielded him. Jason drops to his knees beside him. JASON Luke! Are you all right, you okay?! LUKE ...I guess....Did anyone see? LOGGER POV JASON The man he was talking to at lunch looks on from a distance. When Jason gives him the OK sign, he turns away in disgust. JASON Who gives a shit you're alive aren't you?! FLAMES in the midst of a ROARING fire. The CAMERA ZOOMS OUT to follow the withdrawal from a small furnace of a hot ball of glass at the end of a piece of pipe called a "ponty rod." We're in the... INT. DAY - BARN-STUDIO ...of glass-blower DANNY SUGAR. In his mid-40s, Danny has a beard and ponytail and a laid-back manner, as evidenced by the patient way he relates to Noah, who is observing with Ananda. Danny's SPARE UNSCRIPTED MONOLOGUE with Noah is an explanation of what he's doing. He rolls the molten ball of glass on the end of the rod through half a dozen different colors of powdered glass, then thrusts it into a smaller furnace called the "glory hole" to reheat it. ANANDA You're sure it's okay if I leave Noah here for a couple of hours, Danny?

AGAINST THE GRAIN DANNY We'll get along fine, won't we Noah? Pretty soon we're gonna pull cane he loves to pull cane. Noah maneuvers his wheelchair excitedly. ANANDA Okay then, I'll see you about four. DANNY Where you off to? ANANDA (leaving, joyfully) I don't know for a drive somewhere! It's such a beautiful day. Then I have some errands for Mom in town. DANNY Enjoy! ANANDA Oh I will! EXT/INT. DAY - MONTAGE ANANDA'S DRIVE through the countryside on a glorious Appalachian Spring day, including FLASHBACKS from her daydreams and scenes in DANNY'S STUDIO, revealing the steps in making his colorful glass "orbs."

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A) FOREST SCENICS: Streams and creeks. White dogwood and wildflowers, including an entire yellow meadow of mustard which Ananda runs through. Closing her eyes, her arms held out away from her body, she lifts her head toward the sun as if in a prayer of thanksgiving. B) DANNY'S STUDIO: Less-than-pencil-thin pieces of glass rod called "cane" adhere to the surface of the hot glob of glass we saw earlier as Danny rolls it through

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brilliantly colored sections of cane spread out on a slab of marble. After positioning the cane with tweezers and an ice pick, he cools the ball with compressed air before immersing it in clear glass in the furnace. C) ON FARMS, tractors are towing diskers, corn-planters, and manure spreaders, the latter made malodorous for us by Ananda's reaction of. D) IN THE FIELDS, are beef cattle with newborn calves and sheep with their lambs. Ananda deftly steps through a barbed wire fence to fondle a lamb. E) DANNY'S STUDIO: He makes the ball of clear and colored glass more spherical, with shaping tools and repeated reheating in the glory hole. F) INT. CAR: Ananda smiles, remembering... G) INT. MALL FLASHBACK Strolling with Noah, she encounters Luke and Jason. Both boys' faces light up, but uninhibited Luke is far more animated. His attention to Noah isn't at all patronizing. He turns off Noahs motorized wheelchair and pushes him wildly through the crowd...weaving dangerously close to new cars which are part of an auto show, annoying car salesmen loitering about...then dashing across an arched footbridge over an indoor pond, to a... POOL AND FOUNTAIN - FLASHBACK ...where Ananda and Jason finally catch up with them. ANANDA (laughing) Are you trying to get us kicked out? LUKE Noah said he was bored, didn't you, big fella?

AGAINST THE GRAIN Noahs having a great time. ANANDA You're going to spoil him. LUKE No I'm not. We're going to turbocharge this sucker, aren't we, Noah? Have you doin' wheelies before long. Noah rocks in his wheelchair, then gestures excitedly toward the pool. ANANDA Wow, look at all the coins, Noah! He has a coin collection. LUKE You do? Well hell then... (wading into pool) ...let's see what we can find in here. There must be some that're rare. Check 'em out, Noah.

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He starts scooping handfuls of coins from the bottom and depositing them beside the pool, while Jason cracks up. ANANDA (properly horrified) Luke! What are you doing?! You can't do that! LUKE Why not? We'll put 'em back all but the good ones. H) DANNY'S STUDIO: He knocks the orb he's been working on from the ponty rod, flame-polishing it with a welding rod where it was broken off, then holds it up beside a finished orb. I. INSERT: an exotic beautiful "landscape" inside the crystalline sphere.

AGAINST THE GRAIN DANNY (O.S.) See, Noah, this is what it'll look like after it's been in the annealing oven overnight. J) THE MALL FLASHBACK

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Luke and Noah draw stares from shoppers as they sort through the dripping coins, but only Ananda seems to be aware of this and she's having too much fun to care. Luke is as attentive to Ananda as to Noah, not flirting with her but openly loving her with his eyes. Then Jason walks up, holding a paper bag, and whispers to Luke who nods his head enthusiastically and hands a coin to Noah. LUKE This one any good, Noah? Noah examines and rejects it. LUKE Okay, you throw it back this time. He demonstrates with another coin, then holds Noah's arm to help him do the same...while Jason takes something from the paper bag. When Noah, with Luke's help, throws the coin, Jason, out of Noahs sight, dumps a box of bubble bath into the pool, and it begins to foam up immediately. LUKE Damn, Noah! How'd you do that, dude? That's fantastic! D'you see that, Jase? Noah's got the magic touch! JASON That's great, Noah! You've gotta show me how t' do that. Right now I say we get our butts in gear and get outa here. ANANDA (shocked but grinning) You guys are too much. Noah and I get (MORE)

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA (CONTD) out once a month if we're lucky, and you're going to get us grounded for the rest of the year. They beat a hasty retreat as a crowd of excited youngsters begin to gather around the pool. K) ANANDA IN CAR: laughs out loud at the memory.

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L) DANNY'S STUDIO: As promised, he and Noah are "pulling cane": stretching molten glass into the thin brightly colored rods we've already seen after it has hardened and been broken into pieces. While Danny holds firmly to one end of the hot soft rod, Noah pulls on the other by reversing his motorized wheelchair. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. SUNSET - JASON'S FAMILY'S FARM Almost dark as Jason drives up to a large older but wellkept frame house, gets out of the car and enters the house. INT. - HOUSE He hangs his jacket in a hall closet, takes a breath, and enters the dining room where the family is eating. Besides his MOTHER and FATHER, MACK a big burly man in his late 40s his two younger brothers and younger sister are seated at the table. MACK You're late. JASON I know, sorry I had to take Luke to the hospital. He MACK I know all about it. Luke's out of a job. From what I hear, he's darn lucky that's all he's out of.

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON You're firin' him? Because a tree almost fell on him? MACK (raising his voice) It almost fell on him because he couldn't get away from it. He broke one of the basic rules of safety I've tried to drum into you guys. JASON But Luke's one of the hardest workers MACK Hard work don't make up for disregard of safety rules. I should never've let you talk me into hirin' him in the first place. He's been some kinda hotdog from day one, and I won't have him gettin' killed on my payroll! JASON Might drive up your workmen's comp, right?! MOTHER Jason! Mack is too stunned and hurt by the remark to react. JASON Everyone in this county's down on Luke, because of his family! And he's worth ten of most of you!...I'm not havin' any dinner give it to the dogs! He turns and strides angrily from the house. EXT. DUSK - JASON'S HOUSE

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Beneath the rustling leaves of a large shade tree, Jason stalks across the yard to the car he drove up in.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WHEATFIELD

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Stalks silhouetted against the fading sunset sway gently in the breeze. In the distance we HEAR Jason's car starting up with a roar and driving out onto the highway. Its headlights sweep past in the BG. DISSOLVE TO: INT. NIGHT - POLISHED WOOD The swaying wheat is held over the polished surface of the highly grained hardwood. Then in SLOW MOTION, a pair of weathered hands move across the gleaming wood, rubbing it with linseed oil. The meticulous hands belong to... THE WOODWORKER - MONTAGE ...a man in his late 40s, with craggy good looks and the softly intent eyes of an artist. Hes in the final stage of finishing a beautifully crafted piece of furniture. There is so much reverence in the man's work it's almost like worship. In the BG we see the rest of his workshop, including tools and other magnificent one-of-a-kind pieces in progress. The Woodworker's wife MARCIE enters, coming over to stand behind him, watching with pleasure. Finally, she puts her hands on his shoulders. MARCIE Supper'll be ready in half an hour. WOODWORKER (smiling, looking up) Sounds good to me I'll be finished rubbing this out by then. MARCIE It's beautiful. WOODWORKER (returning to his work) I'm happy with it. I don't think I'll have any trouble selling it to someone else if our congressman doesn't like it.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MARCIE You still think it's too non-traditional for him? WOODWORKER Maybe. That guy's so conservative he won't use a calendar less than a year old. (she laughs) Loves wood though. He's one guy in Washington who understands the resource we have in our hardwood forests. Jason enters abruptly, still steamed. JASON Hi, Marcie. I need to talk to you, man. You got a minute? WOODWORKER A minute? Is that all you need? MARCIE I'll finish getting supper ready. Would you like to stay, Jason? JASON That'd be great, Marcie, thanks! I walked out on mine. WOODWORKER I had a feeling we were gonna need more than a minute for this. (motioning to chair) Sit down, Jason. What's up?

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Jason sits, elbows on the wooden chair's straight back. JASON The world's so fucked up, man! Luke just about gets himself killed today, so what's Dad do? Fires him.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER What for? JASON For not following safety rules, the dumb shit I tried to tell him. But talk about kickin' a guy when he's down. You know he's on probation, right? For bein' at the scene of that drug bust over in Goshen County. His old man makes him do that shit. And now that Luke's out of a job, he'll probably put him to work driving again. WOODWORKER Whoa, slow down there, partner. Luke's not exactly a slave laborer you know or some kind of puppet his old man controls. I sympathize with him, you know that but there's no way in hell his father could force him into deliverin' weed if Luke didn't want to. He likes the excitement. No victims, remember? JASON I don't see how you can say that. If you knew his old man WOODWORKER I do know him mean as a snake. But I think too much of Luke to think he can't take responsibility for his own actions. He's 18, an adult now, same as you. I've had the same conversation with him more than once, believe me.

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He goes back to hand-rubbing the piece of furniture he's working on, stopping occasionally to make a point. JASON I don't have his old man mine's bad enough.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER Bein' mad at him doesn't mean you have to talk like a fool. They don't come much better'n Mack. And you know it. JASON Yeah? Well where does that leave Luke?

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WOODWORKER Where'd you get the idea that your old man owes Luke a living? I love him like a son, but I can't live his life for him, anymore'n you or your father can. (indicating piece hes rubbing) ...Working with wood shaping and finishing, it you go with the grain. A lot easier on you and a lot easier on the wood. But sometimes some character in the wood an interesting grain pattern maybe or a variation in color - forces you t' go against the grain. You can take the safe way, and compromise - and end up with just a shadow of what you saw...or you can gamble, go for broke. And "break" is what the piece you're workin' on is liable t' do if you're not careful ...careful and damn lucky. Luke takes life against the grain a good bit of the time. JASON (somewhat chastened) ...What the hell's gonna become of him? You heard what happened last fall, didn't you? They were runnin' from the sheriff and shot out a helicopter's searchlight! You believe that? WOODWORKER (shaking his head) Luke don't need to make things up the kinda life he leads. I don't know what's going to become of him, Jase.

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON Someone else's heart he's liable t' break if he's not careful is Ananda Wilder's. WOODWORKER Ananda huh? I can't imagine her parents letting her spend a whole lot of time with Luke. JASON That's for sure. But she's really crazy about him I can see that. WOODWORKER You can huh? What else can you see about her? JASON Oh, she's...she's somethin' else, man. Her smile... (he smiles thinking of it) ...I don't know she's different. Some of her ideas are kinda weird, but she's really special. WOODWORKER What ideas are you talking about? JASON Oh, you know like she meditates; Ive seen her in the woods near her house sittin' cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed. And I hear her talking about all this "spiritual" stuff to people who'll listen. But she's not caught up in all the bullshit everyone else is either, the girls my age. She's so much more together. WOODWORKER Sounds like you're pretty interested in Ananda yourself.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON I like her as a friend...but her eyes are all for Luke, man who could blame her? I just hope he doesn't break her heart, that's all. WOODWORKER You afraid he'll take advantage of her, you mean? JASON Luke? No way! But he lives so damn close to the edge. He's gonna take enough people down with him as it is if he flames out.

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The Woodworker stops working and looks at Jason intently. WOODWORKER ...It's good you care about him, but Luke is Luke's responsibility, that's what he's here for. You understand what I'm sayin'? We're here to learn, and Luke's doin' it the best he can. JASON Funny he said the same thing. The Woodworker gives him a look that says, 'So lighten up.' EXT. NIGHT - LUKE'S HOUSE Located in the kind of narrow valley called a "holler" in this part of the country and lit up like an industrial site, the nondescript 2-story frame house is nearly surrounded by junked as well as road-worthy vehicles and other paraphernalia. Several large barking dogs are chained to doghouses. A mud-spattered pickup pulls into the littered front yard/parking area, and Luke's father, LUTHER small, wiry and just plain ornery-looking, in his mid-50s comes out to meet it. He unchains a pair of pitbulls...

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUTHER (raising hand peremptorily) Stay right there, boy, you an' me's goin' for a ride. ...and lets the tailgate down for the dogs, which jump into the back of the truck. Cherokee gets out of the driver's-side door. LUTHER Gotta radio call from Bobby on the ridge. Someone's snoopin' around near the Long Run field. (to Cherokee) You stay by the house case they come nosin' around here.

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He climbs in behind the wheel, turns the truck around and speeds away. INT. BRONCO LUTHER ...So they canned yer ass, huh? What'd I tell ya about them sonsabitches? They give a damn that you 'bout got yourself killed? LUKE It was my fault, just forget about it, OK? LUTHER Hell no, I'm not gonna ferget about it. I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it neither. We can use you on weekends again now that you won't be bringin' in a paycheck. LUKE Jesus, Pa, you know I'm already on probation. I get caught again I could end up servin' time.

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUTHER That's a loada shit. This lawyer I have now could get you off if you was caught fuckin' the sheriff's dog. LUKE (snorting) Fuckin' it maybe but not sellin' it pot. LUTHER You're not gonna do time nobody is. Man's gotta right to grow what he wants on his own land. LUKE Not when there's laws against it! LUTHER Laws! The good Lord give us pot same as he give us corn an' wheat who's got the right to tell me I can't cultivate it? How mucha the pot gets "confiscated" around here do you think ends up gettin' sold outa the trunk of some deputy's car? Fuck the law! LUKE Is that what's gonna keep me outa jail? LUTHER Don't sass me, boy! You do what I say and you'll stay out of trouble. If they really wanted t' wipe us out, you think they couldn't a done it by now? You'll live t' see the day pot's legal as booze. Luke stares sullenly ahead without answering. LUTHER You wanta keep livin' under my roof yer gonna hafta do like the rest of us, Mr. high an' mighty. You think you're better'n we are...or just chickenshit?

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE I'm not afraid! And I don't think I'm any better. I just wanta live my life the way I see it. Luther pulls off the road and turns off the engine. LUTHER ...I may have a new buyer buncha skinheads from Cleveland. They could take the whole crop, but I don't trust 'em fer shit. You help us through this year's harvest and I'll give you enough in October t' get outa here for good, if that's what you really want. LUKE ...You will? LUTHER Said I would, didn't I? LUKE (thrusting out his hand) You gotta deal.

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Luther pumps his arm once and takes a rifle from the gun rack. LUTHER Let's see if Bobby actually seen someone this time. The dogs jump from the back as the men get out. Luther motions for Luke to go one way with them, while he goes another. There's enough moonlight to see them moving stealthily through the woods. They haven't gone far when Luther sees an SUV parked on an old logging road through the woods. He releases the safety and keeps walking. EXT. - CORN & POT FIELD Three men, one with a FLASHLIGHT, which he directs at marijuana seedlings planted between rows of freshly

AGAINST THE GRAIN

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planted corn. This is BLADE, leader of the Cyberpunks, a white Cleveland skinhead gang. The other two are BODI (long "o" and "i"), a huge hulk of a man with a semiautomatic rifle, and an intense-looking smaller man who calls himself REICHMAN. All are in their late 20s. BLADE Damn near two acres, just like he said. REICHMAN Been in the ground two-three weeks, looks like. BODI Nice of his neighbor to draw us a map, wasn't it. BLADE His neighbor wants t' corner the market down here. It was a lot easier drawin' a map than coming up with a business plan. REICHMAN That is his business plan. (ugly laughter) BLADE Come fall, we can blitzkrieg in here some night with half a dozen pickups and harvest this motherlode while Farmer Jones is still tryin' t' haggle over the price. BODI He'll prob'ly blame his neighbor and they'll have themselves a nice little hillbilly feud down here in the boonies. REICHMAN (singing) Old McDonald had a gun... BODI Eeyie eeyie oh.

AGAINST THE GRAIN BLADE Shot his wad just to have some fun... BODI Eeyie, eeyie

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He's interrupted in mid-chorus by a shot which kicks up dirt right beside him. They all three dive for cover. BODI Jesus Christ! LUTHER (O.S.) You fellers have about five seconds to identify yourselves before you end up as fertilizer! BLADE Drop that shit-kicker, Bodi! Bodi squirms around on his belly to get into position to fire, when the sudden SOUND of vicious SNARLS prompts Blade to aim the flashlight at... THE DOGS ...whose two pairs of eyes gleam ferociously in the light as they come hurtling toward the skinheads. In a moment they're on them far too fast for Bodi to use his gun. They scream as the dogs tear into them. BLADE Call 'em off! Call em off! Luke runs up and wrestles the assault rifle from Bodi's hands, then covering the skinheads with it calls the dogs off. LUKE Tiger! Boomer! Release! The dogs back off at once but stand tensely over the cowering Skinheads.

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE I wouldn't move a muscle if I was you or you're liable t' lose a lot more than your hair! BLADE Yeah? Well you may've just lost half a million dollars, asshole! What the hell you think you're doin'? We're down here checkin' out our weed, and you sic your goddamn killer dogs on us? LUKE Your weed? You hear that, Pa? You know what they're talkin' about? LUTHER (walking up) Don't see how it could be theirs when it's on our property, do you? BLADE You know damn well what I'm talking about, Dad we have a deal! Which you've just fucked up big-time! LUTHER Wrong both ways, Mister. We had a deal till you come nosin' around here with some kinda chickenshit doublecross in mind. Last boy tried that went missin'. BLADE What're we gonna do walk away with two acres of seedlings in our pockets? LUTHER How'd you know where it was? BLADE It's my job to know where it is! I don't buy what I havent checked out in advance. That's the way I do business!

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUTHER Not with me it ain't. That kinda funny business'll getcha killed around here. One of the dogs growls and the other joins in. BODI Get these goddamned dogs away from me! BLADE Listen, man, friends of ours know where we are and how to get here. If we're not back tonight, they're gonna be over you like flies around shit. LUTHER You don't worry me none, boy, I got friends too. Tell ya what, though. We'll relieve you of the semi-automatic, for the insult and, for now, the deal is still on. But I'm only gonna warn you once: you try somethin' like this again and I'll personally see to it that these dogs get yer liver fer breakfast. You hear me? BLADE ...I hear you, pops. LUTHER (to Luke) Hold the dogs. BLADE If this stuff's as good as you say it is, old man, we're gonna make each other realll happy. If it's not, you better watch your ass. LUTHER Get outa here, mouth, before I change my mind. The skinheads back up, keeping their eyes on the dogs.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN Finally they turn and walk quickly away, turning their heads to make sure the dogs aren't coming after them. LUTHER (calling after them) You best forget where this field is! LUKE Who do you think gave 'em directions? LUTHER I don't know, but I sure aim t' find out. EXT. NIGHT - CHEMICAL PLANT

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The Skinheads' SUV speeds along the highway in front of the plant, which is on the opposite shore of a broad river, its brilliant but cold lights reflected in the dark moving water. EXT. - SUV We can't hear what they're shouting, but the Skinheads are taking out their frustrations on each other. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY SMALL TOWN A sunny Sunday morning: CHURCH BELLS are ringing and people are leaving their homes and arriving for services. EXT. DAY RIVER LEVEE A big sternwheeler disgorges passengers onto a crowded and colorful levee in this river town. The giant... STERNWHEEL ...gently idles to keep the big boat under control

AGAINST THE GRAIN against the current. Other recreational river traffic is visible in the bg. EXT. - CAFE

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Tables are being set for brunch on the riverside patio by busboys in crisp uniforms. The sun sparkles on china, crystal and silver. EXT. DOWNTOWN Strollers pass and enter antique and gift shops and promenade in a... PARK ...along the river, past dogwood, crabapple and other flowering trees in blossom...while the shells of a high school crew team glide past. EXT. - COLLEGE CAMPUS Chairs are set up for commencement later in the day. EXT. DAY - JASON'S HOME - MONTAGE Various chores are being tended to on the farm by family members, though all take the opportunity to admire the fine day or, in the case of Jason's two younger brothers, to steal a moment for play and teasing one another. A SPRING WHEATFIELD Still green in late May, three-foot stalks extending to the horizon. Jason stops to examine... INSERT

AGAINST THE GRAIN

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...a stalk to see that it's just beginning to "head out" or form a tassel. BACK TO SCENE Something's on his mind. Grimacing, he squints out over the horizon, although his expression indicates he's looking inward not out at the world. DISSOLVE TO: INT./EXT. DAY - ANANDA'S HOME - MONTAGE A) Eyes closed, facing the sun, Ananda is sitting crosslegged (or in full lotus position) in a secluded corner of the lawn. B) Noah is wheeling in the driveway in his motorized wheelchair, equally turned on by the spring morning. C) Their father MIKE, early 40s, is working in a vegetable garden which includes a few short rows of sweet corn, as the youngest child CHANDRA, 10 or 11, runs up and says something to him that we're too far away to hear. He nods and she skips joyfully down to her mother ANN's... D) INT. - STUDIO. A fabric artist in her early 40s, Ann is quality-checking her colorful raw silk clothing hanging next to a sewing machine when Chandra enters. CHANDRA We have a surprise for you, for Mother's day. ANN You do? For me? Well, let's go see what it is. Smiling, she puts her arm around her beaming daughter and they walk back up toward their renovated farmhouse. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - LUKE'S HOUSE

AGAINST THE GRAIN

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Catching the sun are all the rusting, weed-surrounded car bodies on the property. In addition to barking dogs chained to their doghouses are coonhounds in cages. Suddenly an extremely loud SHOT rings out. We discover that it's... CHEROKEE ...target shooting against a hillside behind the house with a high-powered RIFLE. A striking, loose-looking... GIRL ...no more than 17 or 18, in very tight worn jeans and a flimsy blouse that's only partially buttoned, comes lazily out onto the back porch and sits down in the sun, never for a moment losing touch with the sexual image she is projecting. This is LUANNE. CHEROKEE hears the screen door SLAM but ignores her as he fires off another couple of shots. Then... LUKE'S FATHER ...comes out onto the porch, beer can in hand, and the smoldering look of ownership on his part, pride and resentment on hers that passes between him and Luanne reveals their relationship. He drains the can and tosses it to the ground, then clambers stiff-leggedly down the porch steps in heavy boots. LUTHER Tell Cherokee I'm goin' into town. LUANNE (ignoring him at first) ...When you gonna be back?

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUTHER (stopping to glare at her) ...I'll be back when I get here. EXT. DAY - FOREST

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Luke is digging up a small wild dogwood, a pickup parked nearby. Picking the tree up by its root ball, he staggers with it over to the truck and drops it carefully onto a large rag spread out on the lowered tailgate. EXT. DAY - LUKE'S HOUSE Luke pulls up close to the house and approaches the back porch, where Luanne ogles him. LUANNE (almost shyly) ...Hi, Luke. LUKE Mornin', Luanne. You're up early. He gives her a warm though slightly ironic smile in passing. As he opens the screen door, she says impulsively... LUANNE ...Your daddy's gone, Luke. He pauses but just grins and shakes his head as he goes inside. INT. DAY - JASON'S CAR Driving on a country road with the window open, one hand tapping out a rhythm on the side of the car, he's obviously nervous...when he suddenly bends forward to peer at the house coming up on the left. He takes a deep breath and turns down Ananda's drive.

AGAINST THE GRAIN VEGETABLE GARDEN Mike straightens up from weeding as Jason stops. Hi, Jason. MIKE What's up?

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JASON Oh, I was just drivin' by and thought I'd stop in and say hi to Ananda. She home? MIKE No, I'm afraid you missed her. She's gone over to her Grandma's. JASON Shoot. Okay tell her I stopped by, will you please? MIKE Sure will. Stop in again, she's usually home. Jason waves and backs down the drive. INT. CAR JASON (looking over his shoulder) Shit! EXT DAY - GRAMMAW'S HOUSE Ananda leads her grandmother, who has her eyes closed, through her beautifully landscaped back yard to where Luke stands beside the wild dogwood he's just replanted. ANANDA Okay, you can open them now. GRAMMAW Well my land!...What a nice surprise!

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA It was Luke's idea, and he did all the work. LUKE Ananda told me you had a real nice one that died last year. GRAMMAW Oh I did...it broke my heart to see it go. But this one's beautiful. Thank you! She gives first Luke and then Ananda a hug. LUKE Oh, you're welcome, Mizz Lucas. Glad t' do it. I think it'll be real happy here in a yard like this. GRAMMAW Well thank you, Luke. (to both of them) I made a nice chocolate cake. Can you stay long enough to have some with me? EXT. DAY - GRAMMAW'S FRONT PORCH

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Grammaw rocks slowly in a white wicker rocker while Luke and Ananda snuggle together on a porch swing, finishing the last of their cake. Luke chases his with a large glass of milk, then wipes his mouth with a paper napkin. He misses some which Ananda wipes away. Their attention is on Grammaw, but we can feel their bliss together. LUKE ...I wanted to thank you, Mizz Lucas, for speakin' to Ananda's parents for us. GRAMMAW Oh, you're most welcome, Luke. I know grandmothers aren't supposed to have favorites among their grandchildren, but I'm afraid I do.

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA I feel like I'm in heaven, sitting here between the two of you. She turns her gaze from Grammaw to Luke, who hugs her. GRAMMAW It's good to see two young people so happy. You see such long faces anymore all this emphasis on the economy, when the greatest resource we have we take for granted. Tell me something about yourself, Luke. LUKE (somewhat self-conscious) Well, what would you like to know? GRAMMAW I know I'm bein' a nosy old woman. Whatever you think's important. LUKE That's easy. Ananda's the most important thing in my life. (hugging her again) GRAMMAW I guess you've answered my question. ...Are you still planning to spend the night over here next Friday, Dear? Luke's eyes light up. ANANDA Un huh, Mom an' Dad are taking Noah to Columbus to get his computer wait'll you see it, Luke; he'll finally be able to talk with it! Chandra's going too. They said I could stay with you. INT. DAY - LUKE'S TRUCK He and Ananda are driving through town.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE You know what I thought of when I found out you're stayin' with your grandma? ANANDA (smiling impishly) I think I can guess. LUKE (grinning) Okay what? ANANDA I'm not going to say you tell me. LUKE (dramatically) ...Shawnee Cave. ANANDA Shawnee Cave? LUKE This'd be the perfect time of year to go there. All the trees in bloom now, warm but not too many tourists yet... ANANDA That sounds like a great idea, Luke! LUKE You thought I had something else in mind, didn't you? ANANDA (laughing) What makes you think that? LUKE Maybe you weren't so far off after all. ANANDA What do you mean?

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE I want us to spend the night there. ANANDA Spend the night?! LUKE Sure, what's wrong with that? ANANDA What's wrong with it? Luke, my grandmother would never let me do that. LUKE So why ask her? If we got up early enough, we could be back before she knew you were gone it's only two hours away. Besides, she'd ever tell on you would she? ANANDA That's not the point. It would be a betrayal of her trust. She gets up before dawn anyway. LUKE Couldn't you just leave the door closed and sneak in through a window? ANANDA (smiling at his persistence) This is crazy, Luke. Don't you understand? I would never do that to Grammaw. That's why she spoke to my parents about you she trusts me. It would break her heart if I did something like that. LUKE (equally surprised) Something like what, Ananda? What's wrong with spending the night at Shawnee Cave? I wouldn't ask you if I (MORE)

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE (CONTD) thought there was anything wrong with it....Maybe you have to see it to understand. ANANDA Understand what, Luke? LUKE Why it means so much to me for us to do this together. I mean you're such a spiritual person, Ananda, and to me, Shawnee Cave is spiritual. ANANDA We can do it together, Luke. I love the idea of going there with you. Couldn't we go Saturday? LUKE (relenting but disappointed) Sure...we could. I just...I've like had this picture in my mind of how it was going to be, that's all. I'm sorry, I forget how different your world is than mine sometimes our families and all. ANANDA You don't have to apologize, Luke. I'm really touched that you thought about us doing something like that. We can spend the night there sometime together... there's time for that isn't there? LUKE Sure there is; you're right, I'm jumpin' the gun.

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They pass the college commencement exercises on the treeshaded campus. We sense that they see this from entirely different perspectives: from Ananda's, who is going to college, and from Luke's, who isn't. They share this in a look that tells us more than words could.

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA ...Are we going to Shawnee Cave then? LUKE You bet. Saturday we'll take a picnic.

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DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - BASEBALL FIELD Jason's at the plate with the bases loaded. THE SCOREBOARD reveals the home team trails by three runs, bottom of the sixth, with two outs. From the reaction of... HIS TEAMMATES ...on the bench, especially Luke, and from... FANS ...in the bleachers, including Ananda and Noah, Jason's the guy you'd want up right now. After a couple of mighty swings... JASON ...crushes it: a mighty blow over the centerfield fence. LUKE is the happiest and proudest guy on the bench as... JASON ...trots around the bases to greet his excited teammates at home plate.

AGAINST THE GRAIN

51 DISSOLVE TO:

SCOREBOARD A 2 in the "OUTS" section. It's the top of the seventh (the last inning in high school play) with the home team on the field. The tying run is on second, winning run on first. Jason is playing third base; Luke is at shortstop. LUKE C'mon Jerry, pitch 'er in there, babe! You can do it just one out away! The runner at second takes a big leadoff. Luke barely nods to... THE CATCHER ...who gives the signal (though we have no way of knowing what it means) for a pickoff play. Now its... THE PITCHER ...who nods to the catcher that he's seen the signal. Making no attempt to hold the runners on base, he puts his foot on the rubber and goes into his windup. Suddenly... LUKE ...breaks for second base behind the base-runner, who doesn't see him, and... THE PITCHER ...whirls and fires to second. It's a bad throw and Luke really has to stretch to snag it but he makes the catch, then pivots and fires to Jason at third, where the runner is headed...for an easy putout to end the game.

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA & NOAH and the rest of the fans cheer wildly, while the... HOME TEAM

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...converges near the pitcher's mound in a jubilant knot of players. When the excitement dies down... THE PITCHER ...who has ended up with the ball, confronts Luke and Jason. PITCHER Whaddaya think, guys who gets the game ball? Everyone looks at Jason and Luke, who look at each other. Then Jason grabs the ball...and hands it with a grin to Luke. The players gather around him with congratulations, but he breaks through them and walks over to Ananda and Noah in his motorized wheelchair by the bleachers. LUKE (handing him the ball) This is pretty special to me, Noah, so I'd like you to keep it for me, okay? Noah is thrilled. ANANDA Wow, Noah, that's the game-winning ball! That's really sweet of you, Luke. He hugs her exuberantly. When he squats to talk to Noah, she spots Jason walking off the field and goes over to him. He stops and smiles when he sees her approaching. ANANDA Good game, Jason!

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON Thanks. ANANDA That was nice, what you did. JASON Well hell, Luke deserved it. ANANDA So did you. But I knew you'd do something like that. He's touched; they seem to reach a deeper level of communication. INT. - LOCKER ROOM

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In the BG, players head for the showers with towels, some trading high-fives with Jason and Luke on the way. JASON You saved it for us, bud. That pickoff was slicker'n shit. LUKE Wa'n it?! Man, I was jacked into the system on that one. (a spastic little dance) All I had t' do was be there. JASON That reminds me: you're gonna play poker tonight aren't you? LUKE At my man's, the woodworking man? Wouldn't miss it, wood you? (laughs and slugs Jason) JASON No way, not tonight anyway. Feel too much like cuttin' loose.

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE (suddenly subdued) You an' me both. All kinda shit's comin' down at home. JASON Like what? LUKE Now's not the time. One good thing in my life anyway Ananda. JASON That's great, Luke...I'm real happy for you, dude. INT./EXT. SUNSET - WOODWORKER'S HOUSE - MONTAGE

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A few of "the guys" are already here for an evening of poker, beginning with a buffet which he and Marcie are putting out now. A dozen or so men, ranging in age from Noah, Jason & Luke to men in their 40s, arrive, greet one another and hang out with beers, food and soft drinks on the deck to enjoy the sunset and conversation. The nextdoor-neighbor's house is part of the gathering and there is activity around both houses, which are on a ridge offering a view of the surrounding rural countryside. MARCIE (placing potato salad on table) Hope this is enough food looks like a bigger turnout than usual this time. WOODWORKER (putting his arm around her) You always say that and it's always the same crowd. Nobody misses my poker nights unless they're outa town or deceased. MARCIE (good-naturedly) I just want to make sure you have enough.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER (smiling, hugging her) We'll manage. Food's great as usual. Go ahead, I know you wanta go out with the ladies. She leaves, and Luke comes over. LUKE I've gotta talk t' you tonight. WOODWORKER (smiling) I'll be here. They connect, then drift off to talk to others. INT. NIGHT - THE CARD GAME

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The players, most of whom are serious enough about their poker that the drinking doesn't get out of hand, are seated at a handcrafted inlaid hardwood poker table. These are interesting- or artistic-looking guys, dressed casually and inexpensively but with a sense of style in some cases. Play and conversation are IMPROVISED. Stakes are in the quarter-ante range. Mike helps Noah, whos having the most fun, with his cards. After what appears to be two or three hours of play, some of the players leave and the Woodworker begins cleaning up. He walks out on... EXT. - THE DECK ...where he takes a moment to relax and look up at the night sky, and is joined by Luke. WOODWORKER How much you win? LUKE Didn't do too bad this time. About twenty or so I think.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER I couldn't buy a card. I was lucky to break even. LUKE (chuckling) Dude, if you broke even with the cards you had there was a lot more'n luck involved. WOODWORKER Yeah, it's called "poker". (pulling up a chair) ...What's on your mind? LUKE (sighing) My old man, mainly. He's been even harder to live with than usual. The later into the growing season, the more paranoid he gets. Hes afraid some drug thugs from Cleveland are plannin' to rip off his blue-ribbon sinsemilla when it matures. WOODWORKER You think theres a chance of that? LUKE Maybe. I saw the dudes myself a couple a weeks ago. Skinheads. They found the field somehow. WOODWORKER Not exactly Chamber of Commerce material huh? LUKE (chuckling) Real Rotarians. WOODWORKER You're not gonna get involved in this are you?

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE What choice do I have? This is family. WOODWORKER Yeah, but this isn't Sicily for God's Sake If you owe anything to your "family" it's to do something with your life, Luke LUKE I can't just walk away, and leave the rest of 'em to deal with it. The old man's got the law against him on one side and now these assholes comin' at him from the other. WOODWORKER Which is precisely the spot he put himself in! LUKE Right I don't argue with that! But are you sayin' I don't owe my own father any loyalty? WOODWORKER Not if it's liable t' get you seriously involved in criminal activities! That's exactly what I'm saying! (in a calmer tone) ...Besides, I know your old man well enough, I can't believe he'd want you riskin' your whole future, Luke. If he's said anything to make you think so, that's just desperation talking. LUKE ...Why can't they just leave him alone, fer chrissake? Growin' your own grass isnt like hustling crack and cocaine, heroin. If it was legal, the way it oughta be, these clowns from Cleveland wouldn't even be in the picture.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER It's naive to expect society to make that distinction, Luke. People are scared shitless of drugs, period. There aren't any simple answers in life. If your father's going to disobey the law he's gonna have to pay the consequences, same as the rest of us including you. Where there's trouble, stay out of it. He looks hard at Luke, who accepts the challenge and appears to be considering what's been said. LUKE ...I'll keep it in mind. WOODWORKER (hugging him) I'm countin' on you, Luke. We all are. Luke goes back inside for his goodbyes, while the Woodworker stands there with a troubled expression, looking into his mind and at the sky at the same time. Then Jason comes out on the deck. JASON ...What was that all about? WOODWORKER I'm glad you came out. You've gotta talk some sense into that friend of yours. JASON Whaddaya think I've been doin'? I don't think he's listenin' very hard. WOODWORKER I think he is. He wants to believe what we're tellin' him. JASON You really think so?

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AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER (nodding) Yeah, I do we can't let him down. EXT. DAY - SAWMILL - MONTAGE

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Bone-jarring CUT to a huge oak log going through the headsaw with a deafening, almost frightening racket. A quick SERIES of shots gives an overview of the operation. Jason, looking hungover, is "tailing" the edger feeding boards cut from the log at the headsaw into another set of saws which remove the bark from both edges. His dad is operating the state-of-the-art headrig from inside a glass-enclosed booth. Boards that have gone through the edger move by belt conveyor onto moving chains which convey them across a deck where theyre inspected by a lumber grader, using a limber 3-foot-long rule to determine surface measure, with a pointed metal tip to flip each board over to expose its other side. Then the boards go through a double-end-trimmer, which squares off each end. Finally, the CAMERA takes us to the end of a belt carrying slabs cut from the logs to a chipper, which grinds them into sawdust and chips in a second. The way this information is conveyed warns us subliminally how dangerous the chipper is. LUKE drives up in his pickup, parks near the mill and walks over to Jason. Mack is rolling a new log onto the headrig with the electronic and pneumatic controls in his booth, so they have a moment to talk. LUKE (yelling above idling diesel) How come you're tailin' the edger?

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON Thurl's sick. I don't feel too hot myself. LUKE Hungover huh? (Jason nods.) ...Did Woody tell you about what may be comin' down. JASON Yeah. I wanta talk t' you about it. I can't now. LUKE I know. Not much t' talk about anyway. What's gonna happen's gonna happen. JASON That's bullshit! LUKE (cutting him off) I just stopped by on my way to Ananda's. Takin' her over to Shawnee Cave today. JASON ...Shawnee Cave huh and here I've been feelin' sorry for you for losin' your job. LUKE (grinning) Silver lining, Bro. The headrig starts up again and Luke turns to leave. LUKE See ya! JASON Have fun! Don't do anything... Luke's too far away to hear over the commotion of the

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headrig. Jason completes the statement in a normal tone of voice which we can't hear either, though we can read his lips. JASON (cont'd) ...I wouldn't do. EXT. DAY - HOCKING HILLS Luke and Ananda, wearing backpacks, hike through a magnificent setting of sheer cliffs amidst a thickly wooded evergreen forest. Luke turns suddenly and Ananda walks into his open arms. Their kiss is long and passionate. When they finally break, both of them are a little shaken. They look at each other but dont speak, gradually becoming aware of the world around them again. ANANDA ...This is beautiful, Luke! LUKE You ain't seen nothin' yet. C'mon. He leads the way again. Soon they are facing... ASH ("SHAWNEE") CAVE ...a few hundred yards ahead of them. It's an impressive hollowing out of a massive sandstone cliff, rather than an actual cave, but its size is deceiving. LUKE & ANANDA ANANDA ...It takes your breath away! LUKE Not yet it doesn't tell me the truth, you're a little disappointed after all I said about it, arent you? ANANDA No I'm not!

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE Lemme show you something look where I'm pointing. You see that little tiny red speck at the base of the cliff? ASH ("SHAWNEE") CAVE The CAMERA ZOOMS IN...to reveal the cave's true dimensions. Now its not merely impressive but aweinspiring. ANANDA Oh my god, that's a person? I had no idea it was so big!

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She puts her arm around him without taking her eyes from the massive, towering cliff. ANANDA Show it to me. LUKE One dee-luxe Shawnee Cave tour, coming up. EXT. DAY - MONTAGE They explore the cave at its base and summit from different angles. Luke alternates between near reverence and clowning around for Ananda's benefit; she's an appreciative audience either way. Other visitors are also entertained by Luke's antics. Once or twice Ananda glances at him, when he doesn't notice, with an expression uncharacteristic of her, as if she's afraid this happiness can't last. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - ANANDA & LUKE ...sitting back-to-back near the edge of Shawnee Cave's summit. Ananda, her eyes closed, is serene-looking, but Luke appears restless. Finally...

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE It's no use, Ananda I can't sit still any longer. ANANDA (opening her eyes, relaxed) ...I thought you did real well, Luke. LUKE (getting up) If this is supposed t' make you relax, I'm afraid I'm not the meditating kind. ANANDA That's the same way I felt when my parents first showed me. I thought it was some kind of punishment. (she laughs) But they kept encouraging me, without really forcing it, and now I look forward to...this place inside of me. Where I've discovered what's really important in life and what isn't. LUKE What is important to you? ANANDA ...I guess it's being worthy of life, remembering what an incredible gift it is, and to be grateful for it. You feel that too, don't you Luke. LUKE Yeah, I do! I can't put it in words the way you do, but that's it: life's a gift ...like right now.

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He takes her in his arms and kisses her, and Ananda moans softly in pleasure, giving herself up to the embrace... but then squirming out of his arms. Things are going a little too far too fast for her.

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA Help me with the picnic! LUKE (teasingly) How can you think of eatin' at a time like this? ANANDA (coyly) I'm hungry....

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Luke is amused by the tactical maneuver as he helps her off with her backpack, then slips out of his own. LUKE ...Boy, you brought enough clothes along for one afternoon. ANANDA Oh! Well...you never can tell about the weather, I mean. Luke raises an eyebrow but he doesn't say anything until seeing the array of food Ananda has brought for them. LUKE You sure know how to put together a mean picnic, Ananda even if you did forget the beer. ANANDA You can't drink here anyway didn't you see the sign? LUKE Musta missed that one. He laughs and grabs her leg and they wrestle around until a family walks by close enough for the kids to look over and get an eyeful prompting Ananda to break it off. LUKE (getting hold of himself) ...So, you like it here huh?

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA I love it! Thanks for bringing me. LUKE (smiling and nodding) My pleasure, believe me. (turning cagey) ...Now it's my turn to show you something. ANANDA (murmuring) You already are. LUKE I mean something more like your meditation: a trip inside yourself. ANANDA (carried along) Oh? And what might that be? LUKE We're gonna wait till dark. There's a Full moon tonight. ANANDA I know. LUKE I've never been here on a full moon before.

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DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NIGHT - SHAWNEE CAVE Beneath the face of the cliff, gleaming in the moonlight, Ananda and Luke are on a blanket beside a small mound of firewood, with an unobscured view of the cave. ANANDA ...You don't think anyone will see us a park ranger I mean?

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE Not if we're quiet. Later, it'll be safe to light a fire. This one it's time t' light now. He takes a joint from his shirt pocket. ANANDA ...I don't know, Luke. I knew that's what you were talking about, but I never have. LUKE I know you haven't, and Im not asking you to now if you don't want to. There's nothing to be afraid of, but if youre uncomfortable, we dont need t do this. ANANDA I do want to, and I am afraid. Everything I've ever been told... LUKE ...Is bullshit, mostly. That if you smoke a little pot you're gonna turn into a drug-crazed dropout. Some people will, because that's the way they're wired. Theyre goin down in flames anyway. But to most people, it's just something to experience, like anything else. ANANDA You don't, like, want it more and more? Build up a tolerance? LUKE You wouldn't, Ananda, any more than drinking a beer's going to turn you into an alcoholic. It can be abused, sure, but it can open a door in your mind too. Thats what the Indians used it for: to see life another way, not (MORE)

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE (CONTD) just the way we've all been taught to see it. There's more out there than they tell us, Ananda! You know that from your meditations. But how many people are gonna take the time t' learn how to meditate? This is another way, an easier way. ANANDA Too easy maybe. LUKE Maybe. But not really dangerous. ANANDA Do you know who Ram Dass is? LUKE Some kind of "guru"? ANANDA Kind of; he taught at Harvard with Timothy Leary, only his name was Richard Alpert then. LUKE I've heard of Timothy Leary. ANANDA What Ram Dass said about drugs? "Once you learn where high is, then it's time to work." LUKE Wow that's great! That's it, Ananda. (savoring it) "Once you learn where high is, then it's time to work." ANANDA ...I'll do it with you, Luke, because I want to share it with you. But this may be the only time.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE I understand, Ananda. (shaking his head) You're really something else.

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He lights up, takes a hit pointing at himself to show her how then hands the joint to Ananda, holding the smoke in his lungs. Ananda follows suit, and we... DISSOLVE TO: SAME LOCATION - LATER LUKE ...Can't you just picture the Indians who must've hung out here? ANANDA (startled) I was thinking the same thing! LUKE Not only the Indians here when the white man came but the Mound Builders before them: the Hopewell and Adena. ANANDA Is that what they were called? LUKE Yeah. There's evidence pottery fragments, stuff like that that they were here long before the Shawnee. ANANDA You seem to know a lot about this place. LUKE The first time I ever came here it, like, "spoke" to me, know what I mean? It felt like a place of power. Ananda's expression of amazement indicates that the following...

AGAINST THE GRAIN EXT. NIGHT - HALLUCINATORY VISION

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...is from her POV. Semi-transparent "GHOST" FIGURES of NATIVE AMERICANS FADE IN in the BG, in a CHOREOGRAPHED SEQUENCE that is part DANCE, part CEREMONY, portraying the everyday lives of the tribes that have occupied Ash ("Shawnee") Cave in the past. Since there are different time periods represented, Native Americans from one era are, in effect, superimposed over those from others, so they can walk right through one another. Accompanied by appropriate MUSIC, including DRUMMING and/or CHANTING beneath dialogue. LUKE (cont'd O.S.) I could feel that Native Americans had lived and camped here: the Shawnee and the Miami who didn't get along together. LUKE & ANANDA Hes so caught up he doesn't notice that Ananda is transfixed by what shes seeing in her mind. LUKE The Miami were tied in with the Wabash Confederation. Besides the Wabash were the Sacs and the Potawatamie. ANANDAS VISION LUKE (contd O.S.) They could've camped here: a war party or hunting party maybe. And the Iroquois some of those tribes might have come through here: the Mohawk and the Seneca ...later the Tuscarora... LUKE & ANANDA Luke finally notices Anandas mesmerized stare, but he himself obviously sees nothing.

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE What is it, Ananda? ANANDA Don't you see them? LUKE See what? ANANDA ...Indians...everywhere. LUKE You see Indians? Wow! I shoulda turned you onto this stuff sooner. ANANDA (struggling now) But...is this just an hallucination? Or what?

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Luke scoots over beside her and puts his arm around her. LUKE What're they doing? ANANDAS VISION ANANDA (O.S.) They're...they're fading. (which we can see) They're fading away. LUKE (O.S.) See? there's nothin' t' be worried about. LUKE & ANANDA LUKE (contd) Maybe what I can feel when I'm here, you were seeing.

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA (coming out of her "trance") It was incredible, whatever it was. It was like...your words coming to life. LUKE I knew this would do something for you, but I never thought you'd end up seein' ghosts from the past. ANANDA I still feel funny. Like I'm not in control not like meditating at all. LUKE Just relax and trust yourself you'll be all right. ANANDA Hold me, Luke!

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He wraps his arms tightly around her and begins to kiss her with infinite tenderness all over her face and neck. Ananda moans and kisses him back, and they lie back together. Then Luke raises himself on his elbows just far enough to look down into her face. LUKE (whispering huskily) Oh, Ananda, I love you so much! ANANDA I love you too, Luke....I want to stay with you tonight. LUKE What about your grandmother? ANANDA She knows it's okay. LUKE She does? That's fantastic, Ananda!

AGAINST THE GRAIN He hugs her again and they kiss passionately, moving against each other.

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DISSOLVE TO: SAME LOCATION MOMENTS LATER Ananda's arms are around Luke and we're looking down into her face. From her expression and the SOUNDS she's uttering, as well as their undulating movement, it's apparent they're making love. TREE POV ANANDA looking up into rustling leaves shimmering in the moonlight. ANANDA (O.S.) Oh, Luke...Luke... The leaves seem to PULSATE with energy. Ananda's moaning cries become more urgent. ANANDA (O.S.) ...Luke...oh, Luke... DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY - WHEAT TASSELS shining in the sun, swaying in a light breeze. Ananda and Luke climax together over swaying plump golden heads of ripe wheat ready for harvesting. ANANDA (O.S.) ...Luke...LUKE! LUKE (O.S.) ...ANANDAAAA! DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY WHEAT FIELD Luke's cry ECHOES over a vast field of golden spring wheat undulating under a blue sky filled with puffy white

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clouds. As Luke's cry fades into the stillness of the scene, we HEAR the faint distant HUM of a MOTOR, which as it gets louder, the CAMERA reveals to be a... EXT. DAY - COMBINE ...which Jason is driving, harvesting the wheat. A CARS HORN O.S. gets his attention. ANOTHER ANGLE Ananda pulls off the side of the road and stops, then gets out and strides toward him. JASON shuts off the engine and climbs down. Ananda runs up and hugs him. JASON This is a nice surprise! What brings you here? ANANDA To see you of course...and also to talk about Luke. JASON (grinning) Why am I not surprised?...Wanta walk? WHEAT FIELD Holding hands, they walk across the mowed part of the field, parallel with the rows of grain. JASON ...What's on your mind?

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA I'm worried about him, Jason. He's told you, hasn't he, about this gang from Cleveland? JASON Coming down here to rip off his old man? Yeah. ANANDA Do you think they will? JASON I guess it's possible. It probably wouldn't be till sometime this fall. It won't be worth much till then. ANANDA (shuddering, almost sobbing) ...I just have this real bad feeling about things, Jason. JASON ...You're not talkin' about ESP or anything like that are you? She stops and gives him a hurt look. He regrets the remark at once and takes her hands in his. JASON I'll watch out for him, Ananda. ANANDA Will you, Jason? JASON I promise. We're goin' to the arts 'n' crafts show tomorrow. You'll be there won't you? ANANDA Yeah, I have to help Mom in her booth.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON Good we'll see you there then.

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They stand there in the middle of the field looking deeply into each other's eyes. Unspoken between them is Jason's love for Ananda and hers for Luke. ANANDA Well...see ya! She turns and runs back to her car, looking over her shoulder once to wave. He watches her go, then suddenly becomes aware of a shadow moving across the field. He looks up to see... A CLOUD ...passing in front of the sun. EXT. DAY - ANANDA'S HOUSE She gets out of the car and walks past her father, who's mowing the yard. Smiling, he turns off the mower to greet her. MIKE Hi. Where you been? ANANDA Just over to Jason's for a while. I needed to talk to him about something. MIKE Jason's huh? He seems like a nice kid. I've never been able to figure out why he and Luke are so close. ANANDA Because Luke isn't, you mean? MIKE No, I didn't mean that exactly...

AGAINST THE GRAIN ANANDA Well I agree with you about Jason anyway. MIKE Why don't you ever go out with him? ANANDA Oh, Daddy I love them both, but in different ways. INT. - HOUSE

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Noah's room. Ananda, Chandra and her Mother are giving Grammaw a demonstration of the COMMUNICATION BOARD they got for Noah. (This is a device that provides a way for the handicapped to communicate by allowing them to spell out simple phrases or sentences on a computer keyboard and to key them to icons on the keyboard. When the user activates the icons, either with a joystick or a light sensor secured by a headband, the programmed words are "spoken" by the computer in a synthesized voice.) CHANDRA Watch, Grammaw: First I pick an icon, like this... INSERT COMMUNICATION BOARD CHANDRA (contd O.S.) ...Then I'll spell what I want to say... (she taps on the keyboard) Now listen. FEMALE COMPUTER VOICE Ananda's horny. ANANDA Chandra! CHANDRA (giggling) See how easy it is?

AGAINST THE GRAIN GRAMMAW Land sakes! MOTHER If it was only that easy for Noah. GRAMMAW Is he still having trouble? NOAHS ROOM - LATER

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Hes working with the computer. A MONTAGE shows us his courage and determination...and deep frustration, as he struggles with it into the night. MOTHER (V.O.) He's having a terrible time especially in his wheelchair, where he needs it the most. GRAMMAW (V.O.) Thats a shame. MOTHER (V.O.) He's certainly trying. But the light sensor requires upper-body control, and that's where he's weakest. I don't know if he'll ever have enough strength. EXT. DAY - COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS The July 4th Arts and Crafts Show. Mack drives up with a truckload of straw bales to a portable bandstand set up on a truck trailer, where he's met by a VOLUNTEER. VOLUNTEER Right there's fine, Mr. Eason. I'll get some people to unload them. Why don't you take a look around? (handing him a ticket) Food's on the house give 'em this.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MACK Don't mind if I do. I've gotta be back at the sawmill in a coupla hours. WORKER Don't worry, we'll we done by then.

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As volunteers unload the bales and arrange them randomly in front of the bandstand for seating, Jason's father joins the crowd strolling past the arts and crafts displayed in booths under several large colorful tents. Mack gets a corndog and a large cup of fresh lemonade at one of the food kiosks, then stops at the Woodworker's corner booth, where he admires his custom furniture, then puzzles over a display of one-of-a-kind wooden spoons obviously for display or ornamentation rather than actual use. As soon as he finishes with the customer he's been waiting on, the Woodworker greets Mack. WOODWORKER ...Hi, Mack good t' see you! (shakes his hand) MACK Some beautiful work here, Woody. WOODWORKER Thanks. It all starts with your wood. MACK Not my wood, I just cut it. WOODWORKER (grins, arm on his shoulder) Thanks for straightening me out on that. Mack runs a massive... INSERT - HAND ...over a beautifully finished piece of furniture with the delicate touch of a concert pianist.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MACK (O.S.) How long does it take for a piece like this? BACK TO SCENE WOODWORKER Oh, three weeks, more or less. MACK Wish I had that kinda time and could do something like this with it. This is the answer to all the tree-huggers who don't want us to cut down another tree. WOODWORKER Plastic just doesnt cut it, does it? MACK (picking up spoon) You sell many a these? WOODWORKER Starting to. I used to think folks wouldnt spend enough for something they couldn't use to make em worth the effort. Maybe I was wrong.

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Mack is obviously unconvinced, as much as he admires the furniture. He puts the spoon back. WOODWORKER (cont'd) ...Understand you had t' let Luke go, a few weeks back. MACK Yeah...I hated to, he's a hard-workin' kid. Him and Jason's been close as ticks on a hound's ear since they was little. But the boy always has fiddled a different tune. WOODWORKER He's an original all right.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MACK I'm not talkin' about what his old man's into. Luke don't stop t' think sometimes. When he does, you may wish maybe he hadn't....Be seein you, Woody. WOODWORKER Good talkin' t' you, Mack.

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DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DAY VEGETABLE GARDEN Ananda picks an ear of sweet corn and shucks it before dropping it with others into a pail. Shes so innocently self-absorbed... INSERT - HANDS ...we can be excused, perhaps, for being aware of the sexual imagery inherent in the simple act of unsheathing a naked ear of corn. BACK TO SCENE When her father interrupts her, she actually blushes. MIKE Didn't mean to startle you. Your Mom needs you down at the show now. ANANDA I'm going as soon as I pick these for dinner. MIKE (leaving) You're taking Noah with you, aren't you? ANANDA (nodding impatiently) Yes, of course.

AGAINST THE GRAIN EXT. DAY - JASON'S HOUSE Jason comes out on the back porch, with wet hair, when Luke drives up in his usual dramatic fashion. It's the same hot truck he was driving in the first scene, but it's been repainted. LUKE Sir Gallahad, the wet-head! Stow your lance in the back, Sir Knight, and we'll off to the joust, for the hands of our lady loves. JASON (climbing in) What the hell are you on? LUKE Life, Sir Knight life and the love of a beautiful fair maiden. JASON'S MOTHER comes out on the porch. MOTHER (yelling) Jason! Your Dad said t' tell you the phone's going to be out at the sawmill. They're moving the pole or something! EXT. - TRUCK

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Jason gestures to her that he's heard, and Luke waves, then floors the accelerator and jerks the steering wheel to swing the pickup around 180 degrees before roaring away down the drive. JASON'S MOTHER shakes her head and goes back inside.

AGAINST THE GRAIN INT. - PICKUP

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Turning from the drive onto the road, Luke and Jason let out loud rebel yells. INT. DAY SKINHEADS SUV driving through town. BODI ...I still say we're makin' a mistake, showin' our faces around here again. BLADE Shut the fuck up, man! They want me t' bring 'em a sample, I gotta do what they say. BODI We coulda sent someone's never been here before. What the hell they gonna learn from Fourth a July weed anyway? REICHMAN How pure it is, dummy. The boys in the lab wanta know if it's been droppin' its genes for the natives. BODI Huh? REICHMAN Pollination, dickhead. The local weed here ain't worth a shit, they used t' make rope with it. If it's been bangin' the sinsemilla Farmer Jones is so proud of, all he's got is a field of half-breed hemp. BLADE We can slip in tonight, cut us some samples and be outa there inside a (MORE)

AGAINST THE GRAIN BLADE (CONTD) five minutes and no ones gonna know the difference. BODI Yeah? Well what I wanta know is what the hell we're gonna do in this one-horse town all day spit an' whittle? INT. DAY - ANANDAS VAN

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She and Noah slow down to turn into the fairgrounds for the arts and crafts show. ANANDA Do you suppose Luke and I could have a little time alone together, Noah? He appears to be a little hurt or insulted. ANANDA (contd) There's no reason to have your feelings hurt; we'd just like a few minutes of privacy. Then we'll go out for pizza or something later. Okay? EXT. FAIRGROUNDS Ananda turns in front of the skinheads at a stop sign. INT. - SUV through windshield, revealing Ananda driving into the fairgrounds. A large sign at the entrance advertises the arts and crafts show. BLADE From the looks a that, whittlin' draws a nice crowd around here.

AGAINST THE GRAIN EXT. - SUV enters the fairgrounds. EXT. CRAFTS SHOW - MONTAGE A) A band plays traditional country music on the bandstand.

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B) Ananda and Noah in his motorized wheelchair make a delivery to their Mom in her booth, as people eye and try on her custom clothing. C) Luke and Jason examine the custom jewelry in SAM KOONS' booth. (We met Sam at the poker party.) LUKE (holding up necklace) Can't you see that around Ananda's slim neck? JASON Turquoise isnt it? SAM Looks like it, but its chrysocolla. LUKE Whadda you think, Jase? You like it? JASON Yeah I think it'd look great on her. D) The skinheads strut contemptuously through the crowd. E) Ananda and Noah visit Grammaw in a booth hung with gorgeous quilts. ANANDA Have you sold any yet, Grammaw?

AGAINST THE GRAIN GRAMMAW Sold two already. (pointing) Shes coming back for that one. Suddenly Noah wheels out of the booth. ANANDA Noah! That boy see you later, Grammaw. EXT. FAIRGROUNDS She catches up and pulls him to a stop. ANANDA Where do you think you're going? I'm supposed to keep an eye on you! (Noah replies) What?...I don't understand what you're saying. Noah tries to make himself understood. ANANDA (cont'd) I can't understand you, Noah He erupts in anger, just as... BLADE ...ogling a woman, almost falls over the wheelchair. BLADE What the fuck? (to Ananda) Get this hazardous waste outa my face, before I knock it out! MACK sees what's going on.

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AGAINST THE GRAIN EXT. - FAIRGROUNDS ANANDA He didn't do anything to you! Why don't you watch where you're going? BLADE Don't back-talk me, bitch!

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Before he can say another word, Mack lifts him clear off the ground. MACK Who do you think you're talkin' to, fella?! BLADE (stammering) Pu-put me down, asshole! Blade's buddies start to move in, but Mack throws Reichman back with one sweep of his arm, dropping Blade but not releasing him. MACK You owe these kids an apology! BLADE Get your hands off me. MACK You're not goin' anywhere till you apologize, fella. The others share a nervous look, aware of the scene they're making. BODI (to Mack) He didn't mean nothin', buddy, what're you so worked up about? REICHMAN Do as he says, man, and let's get outa here.

AGAINST THE GRAIN BLADE What's it t' you, Rube? Leggo me! MACK Not till you apologize! BLADE (choking) Okay, okay, I'm sorry!

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Mack releases him and turns his attention to Noah and Ananda. Blade reaches angrily for his back pants pocket but Reichman knocks his arm away and gestures with his head to a cop looking toward them from a distance. MACK You okay, Noah? He stoops beside him, as the skinheads slink away. MACK (cont'd) Sure are some no-account people in the world, aren't there? You suppose havin' no hair is what makes 'em so mean? Mack tousles Noah's hair and he and Ananda laugh in relief as.... THE SKINHEADS ...regroup a short distance away. The small crowd that has gathered disperses and Blade's buddies try to calm him down, but a GAWKY TEENAGER lingers. BLADE What the hell are you lookin' at? The kid is too intimidated to speak but too mesmerized by the skinheads to walk away. BLADE (cont'd) D'you know who that guy is where he lives?

AGAINST THE GRAIN GAWKY TEENAGER (drawling) ...I know where his sawmill is. LUKE AND JASON

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are strolling through the crowd when the Mime we saw in the first scene approaches, doing his silent routine for a group of fascinated children taunting him. Strangely, Luke appears not even to see the Mime, almost walking into him. JASON gives his friend a funny look, then notices that... LUKE ...is staring ahead at something, which turns out to be... THE SKINHEADS - POV LUKE ...who are walking away from the Gawky Teenager. FAIRGROUNDS Luke, followed, by Jason, hurries up to the boy. LUKE Those guys you were just talking to what'd they say? TEENAGER (guiltily) They wanted to know where his dad's sawmill is. JASON Who the hell are they, Luke?

AGAINST THE GRAIN LUKE The guys from Cleveland....Why'd they wanta know about the sawmill? TEENAGER Mack was about t' smack one of 'em. LUKE You didn't tell 'em where it is did you? The kid's afraid to answer. LUKE We better call your dad. These guys are fucked up. JASON If you say so. I think there's a phone Wait a minute, it's out. LUKE Let's go! They take off running...as Ananda hurries up. ANANDA (calling after them) Luke! He turns and pauses. LUKE LUKE Be back in a while!

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He wants to say more but Jasons ahead of him and we can feel Luke's concern. Waving at her, he goes after him. ANANDA looks after them, worry and distress on her face.

AGAINST THE GRAIN THE MIME

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surrounded by his retinue of kids, looks after them too...and then into the camera, his white face as expressionless and inscrutable as when we first saw him. INT./EXT. DAY - THE CHASE - MONTAGE Again demonstrating Luke's driving prowess, although this time he's in pursuit. Thanks to a slow-moving old man and his wife in a battered pickup...and a very obese couple who, trying to get out of the way, manage only to waddle along in front of them for a while, Luke and Jason have trouble getting out of the parking lot and a lot of time to make up. At the first opportunity to gain ground, Luke takes the truck off the country road they've been on for a wild cross-country ride. JASON Where the hell you goin? LUKE Shortcut trust me! A HELICOPTER SHOT reveals the SUV well ahead of them on the winding road Luke and Jason have just left...and illustrates how this shortcut will allow them to gain ground on the skinheads. Then we're back inside the bouncing pickup, for a series of maneuvers including an impossible-looking climb up the side of a steep hill that outdo the best of the 4-wheel drive commercials. Luke and Jason are having the time of their lives. When they hit the road again, the HELICOPTER angle reveals that theyve made up considerable ground on the SUV. So much, in fact, that the skinheads soon realize they're being pursued and Luke keeps closing the gap. When they get close enough, the skinheads start firing random shots at them. INT. TRUCK

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Luke reaches under the front seat for a handgun and gives it to Jason. JASON What the hell are you doin' with this? LUKE ...Comes with the territory, Jase. Jason gives him a look of dismay. LUKE (cont'd) Hey, those are real bullets they're shootin'! It's loaded, the safety's on just in case. JASON Take that side road! They're widening a bridge ahead traffic may be stopped. EXT. - TRUCK Luke whips onto the smaller, rougher road...and, sure enough, the skinheads' SUV skids to a stop at the end of a line of vehicles waiting for a flagman to wave them on. Approaching traffic is using the single lane that's open. INT. - SUV BLADE (riding shotgun) C'mon! C'mon! Move this piece a shit! REICHMAN (driving) Where do ya expect me t' move it? BODI (looking behind them) Looks like we lost 'em anyway.

AGAINST THE GRAIN BLADE (turning around) Lost 'em hell they probably know a shortcut! EXT. - TRUCK

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Luke's going where no one's ever driven before. At one point Jason even has to get out to move a couple of fallen trees and push, as Luke rocks the truck out of a jam. But when they make it back out onto the road, the SUV is behind them now. INT. - SUV BLADE I told ya they took a shortcut! Catch 'em! Reichman floors the Bronco. Bodi can't believe where the truck has just come from. EXT. - POV BODI BODI (O.S.) They took a truck through there? EXT. - TRUCK The pickup tops the crest of a hill and... EXT. - POV LUKE & JASON ...through the windshield we SEE, dead ahead of us, a tractor pulling a wagon. INT. - TRUCK Luke swerves to miss it...right into the path of an oncoming car. He jerks the wheel again and the...

AGAINST THE GRAIN EXT. - TRUCK

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...careens off the road into the woods, where it slams into a tree and bursts into flames. A moment later the... EXT. - SUV ...pops over the rise and... INT. - SUV ...Reichman manages to weave skillfully between the car and tractor, since there's room between them by now. Seeing the accident, he slows down... BLADE Keep goin! EXT. - SUV ...then speeds away. INT./EXT. - CRASH SCENE Bloody but mobile, Jason manages to pull Luke from the burning truck and carry him far enough away to be safe from a possible explosion, where he lays him gently on... EXT. - THE GROUND Luke is mortally injured, and both boys sense this. JASON (crying) Oh Jesus, Luke, don't die on me, man! LUKE (in pain) I'm not sure...it's in my hands, Jase.

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON Don't talk, man - lay still. You're gonna be all right. (yelling) Somebody help! LUKE (hand on Jason's arm) I don't think so, Jase. Not...not the way you mean. Jason is choking back tears, unable to speak. LUKE (cont'd) ...Jase? JASON Yeah, Luke? I hear ya, man, I'm right here. LUKE (weakly) ...Don't...don't waste it, man. JASON ...Waste what, Luke? Luke?

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But Luke spasms and is gone. Jason's grief pours out of him now. He cradles his friend's head in his arms, rocking back and forth, racked by sobs. By now both the farmer on the tractor and the man driving the car have come up to stand a respectful distance away. We recognize the car's driver as the logger Jason was talking to during lunch break early in the story. With great tenderness, Jason lays Luke's head down and speaks to the farmer. JASON Will you stay with him, till we can get someone out here? FARMER Sure, be glad to. Poor young feller.

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON (rising, to employee) We gotta get to the sawmill! EXT. - SAWMILL

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Starting with the empty SUV, parked with other vehicles near the main building housing most of the operation, the CAMERA PANS/CRANES as if to locate the skinheads...but they're nowhere in sight amidst all the normal noise and activity of the mill. We see Mack in his glass-enclosed sawyer's booth...and other employees at work, and they're apparently unaware of the skinheads' presence. Then, one by one, we see first Bodi, then Reichman, and finally Blade, all armed, stalking Mack from different directions. Blade will have a clear shot in a moment. Suddenly Jason is behind him. Blade senses him and whirls around - but not in time to keep Jason from knocking the handgun from his hand. It goes sliding across the deck and drops onto a moving conveyor belt, which carries it away with pieces of bark and sawdust to the chipper... where we HEAR it destroyed in a metallic CRUNCH, and see bright pieces of it ejected into a semi-trailer being filled with chips. Blade throws a punch at Jason, starting a brutal fight. At the moment, the headrig is empty as new logs are being advanced on the log deck. Temporarily idle workers (who would otherwise see the brawl) stand with their backs to it, carrying on a shouted conversation over the clamor of the mill's idling diesel engine. Bodi and Reichman see what's happening, but neither of them intervenes since their guy is winning, and as the fight takes Jason and Blade within inches of deadly saw blades and other dangerous equipment - particularly the swift-moving conveyor belt beneath them. Now one of the workers sees the fight and alerts the man beside him - who hurries away. Jason and Blade are in a virtual battle to the death above the debris-laden conveyor. Blade's a far better street-fighter, but Jason

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is stronger - and possessed of a grim vengeful fury. Blade makes a move on him, but it backfires...and he slips onto the conveyor to the chipper. A moment later he's turned instantly to mincemeat. All that's left of him is a bright RED MIST spewing into the chip trailer. BODI & REICHMAN AND... THE WORKERS ...stand there horrified, the skinheads with their guns dangling uselessly from their arms. The sawmill and all its equipment is SHUT DOWN O.S. JASON staggering from exhaustion, turns away in revulsion to see... MACK ...and the worker who went after him approaching, Mack with a rifle aimed at the skinheads. MACK Throw your guns down! Now! THE SKINHEADS obey as if in a trance. MACK MACK You okay, Jason? JASON too, seems to be in a state of shock.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MACK (cont'd, V.O.) ...You all right, son?

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DISSOLVE TO: EXT. DUSK - WOODWORKER'S HOUSE Unlike the night of the poker game, this is a gray, misty evening neither day nor night. JASON stands on the deck. Woody walks up and puts his arm around him but says nothing at first. ANOTHER ANGLE revealing most of the men from the poker evening, talking quietly to one another or, like Jason and Woody, keeping to themselves within the shared company of their grief. JASON & WOODY still staring out at the gathering night. WOODWORKER ...How's Ananda taking it? JASON ...Not good. I let her down. I told her I'd look out for Luke. WOODWORKER That's bullshit, Jason. No way in hell is what happened your fault. (searching for what to say) Remember what I told you? You can go against the grain, but you've gotta be willing to pay the price. Luke was willing, Jason. He wouldn't accept less. A long pause.

AGAINST THE GRAIN WOODWORKER (contd) ...Did you ever wonder why Marcie and I don't have any kids?...We lost a baby girl, soon after we were married. I damn near lost Marcie. We're all in this great adventure called "life" together, Jase - but we all have to come to our own personal terms with the mysteries we have no answers for. I've raged against God, pitied my wife and myself, that poor defenseless little baby...I went to school on grief. Now I choose to believe there's an answer to why sometimes the best of us - or the most innocent - die young...and ome of the worst live on. But it's an answer we don't have - not in this world. I sure as hell can't prove that, but no one can prove I'm wrong either.

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Jason's expression is a combination of pain and incomprehension. His mentor has let him down this time. EXT. CHURCH - DAY A gray, perhaps rainy afternoon. Mourners arriving at this picturesque country church include most of the people we've already met, although Luke's father is absent. Jason stands off to himself, waiting for... ANANDA ...to arrive. But when she does, with Noah and the rest of her family, she doesn't notice him - looking straight ahead and seeing nothing, and... JASON ...can't make himself approach her. He ends up being one of the last to enter the church.

AGAINST THE GRAIN INT. - CHURCH

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Jason sits down in back just as the MINISTER, late 40s, early 50s, - comes forward to the pulpit. MINISTER ...We are gathered today to commemorate the life... This is all we're going to hear of the sermon - at least all we can understand. We can HEAR it droning on as an unsettling monotonous undercurrent to a... INT./EXT. - MONTAGE ...of Jason's grieving thoughts and mental images. This is like a nightmare: a formless welter of images from Jason and Luke's life together, which seem to imply how meaningless, and final, it has all been. The center cannot hold. Finally... JASON ...can stand it no longer. He gets to his feet and walks hurriedly from the church. His... MOTHER & FATHER ...look over. She seems about ready to go to him, but Mack shakes his head. ANANDA too, has noticed; but she turns back to the minister. EXT. - CHURCH Jason paces up and down in agony...but gradually calms down, his anguish turning into anger. Steeling himself,

AGAINST THE GRAIN he reenters the... INT. - CHURCH

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...and walks right to the pulpit. Holding up his hand in front of the startled minister, he turns and proceeds to deliver his own scathing "sermon". Scandalized, the minister looks out at... THE CONGREGATION Although full of indignant faces, no one tries to keep... JASON ...from speaking. JASON ...I'm probably doin' the wrong thing as far as most of you are concerned, and I apologize for that. I'm doin' it for Luke. If Luke's funeral's not for him, then what is? You sure as hell never let him live his life the way he wanted to. If some of you weren't such hypocrites, he might still be here. He was better than any of us! But he was always treated like a second-string citizen. He was blamed for things he had no control over. Don't get me wrong - I'm not sayin' the Luke we all knew was some kind of saint. The problem is, a lot of you never tried to find out who he really was. As far as pot's concerned, Luke just had a higher profile than most of us. But he was no more a "drug dealer" than the man in the moon. If you're so concerned about drugs, why don't you try to figure out what (MORE)

AGAINST THE GRAIN JASON (CONTD) they're telling us about our world today? That an awful lot of people would rather stay stoned most of the time than live in it the way it is? That isn't the way Luke was at all. He loved life more than anyone else I know. He loved it just the way it is - but he knew how to jazz it up a little too. And he never held a grudge against the people who put him down.

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Jason pauses to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. He's in complete control of himself now. JASON (cont'd) ...All I'm trying to do is point out what a, what a beautiful person lived here with us for a while - and how we failed ourselves as much as we did Luke by failing to recognize that. How can we become better people if we close our eyes to the really special ones who come along?...Isn't the fact they're different the whole point? CONGREGATION - POV JASON Some of his listeners, mainly the older ones, are indignant, while many of the younger people are thrilled that Luke has been eulogized in this way. Last of all are the faces we really want to see. The Woodworker has the benign expression of a back country zen master whose student has acquitted himself nobly. And Ananda, seated between her grandmother and Noah in his wheelchair in the aisle, looks at Jason with gratitude beyond measure softening her grief. Noah himself is struggling mightily with his emotions. Then... THE MINISTER ...clears his throat.

AGAINST THE GRAIN MINISTER ...I think this concludes the church service. Those of you who wish to attend the graveside ceremony are welcome to do so. INT. VESTIBULE - MOMENTS LATER

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Ananda comes up to Jason and hugs him, tears streaming from her eyes, her face against his chest. He's crying too. Finally she pulls away and looks up into his face. "Why?" is the unvoiced question in her expression. They stand there a moment holding each other until the pressure of the exiting congregation forces them outside. EXT. - CHURCH When they exit the church, the low-hanging clouds have a surprise in store for them: a glorious sunset, the whole western sky suffused with reds and purples. Ananda's eyes widen and her sorrow appears to give way to a moment of unexpected joy. She MOUTHS the words... ANANDA ...Luke!...Oh, Luke! (turning to Jason) Do you feel him? JASON I felt him when I came outside, during the service. NOAH wheels up to them. He's wearing a headband with the light-sensor for his communication board, mounted in front of him on the wheelchair. He turns on the board and, with effort, points the sensor at an... INSERT - ICON

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...on the board and hold it there long enough to activate the computerized VOICE MECHANISM, which "speaks" a message he has programmed into the board. MALE COMPUTER VOICE Luke...said...give...you...his...love. JASON & ANANDA are too stunned for a moment to do anything but look at each other in incomprehension. Then... ANANDA You're using your computer! Her expression changes again and she kneels beside him. EXT. - CHURCH ANANDA (cont'd) ...What do you mean, Noah? When did Luke tell you this? Noah replies in the body language he uses to communicate. ANANDA (cont'd) ...Yesterday? But, Noah, yesterday Luke was already...he was already gone. But Noah is adamant and Ananda looks in confusion at... JASON ...who stands there indecisively a moment, then steps forward to kneel beside the two of them, looking directly into Noah's eyes. JASON ...If Noah says Luke spoke to him, then it must have happened.

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It doesn't take a communications expert to read the pride and excitement in Noah's face. And when Jason turns to Ananda, a look comes into their eyes that hasn't been there before...and intensifies between them. We, too, can feel Luke's presence. The CAMERA PULLS BACK SLOWLY to include the country church, its steeple pointed dramatically heavenward against the radiant western sky, holding, like the Biblical rainbow, promise for us all. Then... JASON ...sniffs the air in puzzlement. JASON You smell what I smell? Ananda sniffs, then points at the... HORIZON ...where black smoke rises into the sky. EXT. - CORN/MARIJUANA FIELD Luke's father has torched his marijuana crop. Cherokee, none too happy about it, is helping him burn it with gasoline. FADE OUT. THE END