STATUS EPILEPTICUS

Written by

Max Astrophel

Copyright (c) 2019

Second draft

maxastrophel@zoho.com
FADE IN:

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM

A messy room, LED lights splattered around as white girl

decor. It's impossible to tell if it's 3am or 3pm.

Lounging on a bed with too many pillows is GEMMA ESPOSITO

(20), jet-black hair getting in her eyes. She's surrounded
by empty Vodka Cruiser bottles and and McNuggets. THE TED
BUNDY TAPES echo through her laptop's tinny speakers.

Her phone RINGS. She checks the name and sighs.

GEMMA
Fuck you, Danny.
(picks up)
Why are you calling me?

SPLIT SCREEN --

INT. DANNY'S DORM - DAY - SPLIT SCREEN

DANNY CHO (20) sits on a bed without sheets beneath a Fight

Club poster and adjusts his single earring (left).

DANNY
Dude, I tried to message you and you
didn't even check.

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

GEMMA
Take a hint.

INT. DANNY'S DORM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

DANNY
You take a hint, Gemma. Lachlan's in
hospital.

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

Gemma puts her hand to her mouth. It's unclear whether she's
concealing a gasp or a smile.

GEMMA
Really?
 2.

INT. DANNY'S DORM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

Danny sighs.
DANNY
He had status epilepticus. Like, you
know seizures?

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

GEMMA
I'm pretty sure I know what a seizure
is.

INT. DANNY'S DORM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

DANNY
Never know with you.
(beat)
So he had a seizure, but for, like,
an hour.

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

GEMMA
Is he going to be okay?

She doesn't sound all that concerned.

INT. DANNY'S DORM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

DANNY
He's awake. Cooper says we should go
visit him.

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

GEMMA
We?

INT. DANNY'S DORM - CONTINUOUS - SPLIT SCREEN

DANNY
He's your fucking boyfriend.

And with increasing disgust, he ends the call.

 3.

INT. GEMMA'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

END SPLIT SCREEN

Gemma takes the phone from her ear, shrugs, and pops another
nugget in her mouth.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL - DAY

Danny and Gemma make their way through the hospital halls
with COOPER TARRANT (19) and JAY GAMBLE (18).
Cooper is a chubby country kid with a disarming grin. Jay
thinks painting your nails as a guy substitutes for a
personality, and is an American abroad who'd rather you
stopped pointing the accent out.

A NURSE, not much older or more responsible than the four of

them, looks up from in front of the room --

NURSE
Lachlan's friends?

They exchange a look.

JAY
Well, I still haven't met him --

DANNY
(quickly)
Yeah, we're his friends.

NURSE
He's awake now. You want to come in?

INT. LACHLAN'S HOSPITAL ROOM - CONTINUOUS

LACHLAN BRYANT (20) reclines like he's relaxing, not like

he's just had an extended seizure. His intentionally tousled
hair has grown back over most of the scarring, but a couple
incisions go a bit too far forward.

He perks up when he sees his 'friends' and 'girlfriend'.

LACHLAN
Hey guys, you'll never believe what
happened --

He pauses when he notices one of the faces is unfamiliar.

 4.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
Is that Jay?
Danny, Cooper, and Jay exchange a Look.

JAY
Yeah, I'm Jay --

DANNY
(grinning broadly)
I'm sure you're going to get along
great!

Lachlan looks at him deadpan.

LACHLAN
This is because you thought I
wouldn't wake up, isn't it.

DANNY
Everyone thought you'd wake up!

LACHLAN
Did they think that in March?

COOPER
(changing the topic)
So what was the thing we wouldn't
believe?

DANNY
Probably the seizure, I don't know --

GEMMA
I'm hungry~

Lachlan clears his throat.

LACHLAN
Guys, they've got ketamine.

The four of them, stunned, exchange glances.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
They literally gave it to me, it's
supposed to stop the seizure.

JAY
They gave you ket?
 5.

LACHLAN
I mean, I don't have a prescription
or anything, but they totally used
it.

COOPER
...Do you think they give
prescriptions?

LACHLAN
They don't, I asked.

DANNY
Did you gather us all to tell us you
did ket in the hospital and we can't
get it?

LACHLAN
No, guys.
(beat)
I've got a plan.

INT. HOSPITAL - DAY

Jay is pushing Lachlan down the hallways in a wheelchair.

Apparently, it's harder than it looks.

JAY
I still don't get how this is part of
the plan.

LACHLAN
We've got to pose a distraction.

JAY
Aren't they doing it fine?

He points back at Cooper and Gemma, CAUSING A HELL OF A

DISTRACTION. Gemma is faking(?) a mental breakdown in the
middle of the halls, while Cooper decides the correct way to
subtly get away with the ketamine in the confusion is to
steal vials of random drugs from the trolleys.

LACHLAN
...Huh, I don't remember telling them
to do that.

Jay just sighs.

JAY
Do I have to keep pushing you?
 6.

The ALARM goes off. Awkward running sounds.

COOPER
(o.s.)
Fuck!

LACHLAN
Jay, I get you people with normal
brains think walking everywhere is
just totally fine and everyone can do
it, but some of us need assistance
sometimes.

They stop in front of an elevator.

JAY
What floor do we need?

LACHLAN
Ah, I'm not a fan of this elevator.
We'll just take the stairs.

Jay looks at him disbelievingly.

IN THE BACKGROUND, the sounds of Cooper poorly fleeing the

scene play out.

INT. STAIRWELL - MOMENTS LATER

Lachlan makes his way down the stairs, one half of his body
not totally cooperating as he goes. Jay tags behind.

Danny, a flight of stairs below them, looks up --

DANNY
Hey, guys. I heard Gemma and Cooper
kinda...

LACHLAN
We'll post bail, it's fine. You got
anything?

Danny coughs.

DANNY
You know, I wasn't really sure what
my point in the plan was.

LACHLAN
You find the drugs, get away with
them in the confusion.
 7.

DANNY
I know, but Cooper kind of stole that
idea.
LACHLAN
Not successfully.

Danny shrugs, then pauses.

DANNY
Wait, uh, Lachlan -- you never told
us where the drugs were...

CUT TO:

INT. PHARMACY - DAY

The three of them are in the BACK of the pharmacy, through

shelves of locked drawers with imposing labels -- but none
quite imposing enough. A set of locked doors labelled
SCHEDULED DRUGS separate them from their bounty.

LACHLAN
Are you sure the door's locked?

JAY
I'm sure.

LACHLAN
Did you try?

JAY
You watched me try!

LACHLAN
Did you try again?

Jay looks at him disbelievingly, then tries the locked

handle again.

PHARMACIST
(o.s.)
What are you doing?

The three of them FREEZE.

The PHARMACIST looms, a middle-aged woman with the

sensibility of a particularly unsympathetic primary school
principal.

Danny, thinking quickly, grabs a CLIPBOARD from a shelf --

 8.

DANNY
(faux-authority)
We're here for the scheduled
stocktake. We need to make sure
nobody's getting their hands on any
controlled drugs without permission,
after all.

The pharmacist pauses, 'hmmm's to herself.

PHARMACIST
Do you need me to open the door?

The three of them exchange a look, not believing their luck.

DANNY
Ah. Yes.

She gives them another look over -- they really don't look
like working professionals, but sometimes people fail a spot
check -- and unlocks the door.

As they make their way in, she pauses again.

PHARMACIST
You look very young.

Lachlan and Jay are paralyzed. Danny pauses for a second --

DANNY
We're interns.

PHARMACIST
Where's your boss?

DANNY
Um...drinking the coffee we made him.

The pharmacist laughs mirthlessly and waves them through.

INT. CONTROLLED DRUGS ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Endless shelves with really imposing names on them this

time. Lachlan, dazed, looks over them real quick --

LACHLAN
You think it's alphabetized?

Danny glances at a random shelf.

DANNY
What the fuck is --
(MORE)
 9.

DANNY (cont'd)
(stammered
pronunciation)
'Nabiximols'?
LACHLAN
It's a type of medical weed.

DANNY
Nice.

He pulls that drawer open and starts looking through.

LACHLAN
Eyes on the prize, dude.
(switches to Jay)
You got it?

Jay stands in paralyzed fear.

JAY
I'm dyslexic.

LACHLAN
Well, you can still read, can't you?

By Jay's face, that's not a certainty.

INT. PHARMACY - CONTINUOUS

The pharmacist, hitting a lull in the customers, pauses from

her prescription pad and glances back into the back room.

INT. CONTROLLED DRUGS ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Lachlan is tracing his way through the Ks when finally --

LACHLAN
(hushed)
Guys!

Danny looks up from his increasing drug pile, Jay from his
all-consuming terror.

JAY
You found it?

LACHLAN
I found it.

Jay grins. Lachlan starts pulling out vials.

 10.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
How much do you think we'll need?
JAY
I dunno. There's five of us --

LACHLAN
Gemma will take mine no matter what,
so we'll probably just give me
double.
(beat)
Shouldn't I get more in general? I
mean, I've got actual reasons.
DANNY
(o.s.)
Are we going to sell it?

LACHLAN
I dunno, that's why I'm trying to
figure out how much we're taking.

PHARMACIST
(o.s.)
What are you three doing?

They FREEZE.

She hits the EMERGENCY CALL BUTTON, and everything goes

wild.

Danny RACES out of the room, arms filled with every kind of
prescription narcotics, while the pharmacist CHASES after.

Lachlan grabs as many vials as he can, then FOLLOWS. His

awkward gait isn't doing him any favours.

INT. PHARMACY - CONTINUOUS

Jay follows after Lachlan in turn. Two burly SECURITY GUARDS

are closing in.

Lachlan pauses, unable to run much further.

Jay has to think quick. He sees A LITTLE GIRL IN A

WHEELCHAIR --

JAY
Really sorry about this --

He turns the wheelchair over, dumping the girl on the floor.

She starts WAILING. HER MOTHER fixes Jay with a death glare.
 11.

JAY (cont'd)
I said I was sorry!
Lachlan dives into the wheelchair. Jay starts PUSHING him
out --

INT. HOSPITAL FOOD COURT - CONTINUOUS

Cooper, sporting a brand new black eye and eating a slice of

New York cheesecake, notices his friends and waves them
over.

INT. OUTSIDE PHARMACY - CONTINUOUS

Jay looks up.

JAY
Hey, Cooper made it!

Lachlan follows Jay's gaze to Cooper frantically waving.

INT. HOSPITAL FOOD COURT - CONTINUOUS

Jay makes a run for it to the food court, deftly swerving

Lachlan around a bunch of people as he goes.

Pausing, hurried, at the table --

JAY
Where's Gemma?

Cooper waves his hand dismissively.

COOPER
Ah, she's fine.

JAY
That's not an answer!

COOPER
She's fine.

Jay sighs.

JAY
Danny?

COOPER
I dunno, he was with you guys.
 12.

The three of them glance back. Danny is running out the

front of the hospital, police sirens WAILING.
COOPER (cont'd)
...He'll be fine.

LACHLAN
Okay, Cooper, is Gemma fine by a
definition anyone would actually use,
or is she fine by the definition
you're using right now?

COOPER
I mean, the cops came for me and I
got away, didn't I?
(pauses)
Did you get the ket?

Lachlan, grinning, unzips his backpack and shows the vials.

COOPER (cont'd)
Nice.

JAY
So how are we going to get out of
here?

CUT TO:

EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY

Danny runs full tilt into the quietest corner he can find,
sirens going off behind him. He shoves the million vials and
packets into an abandoned shopping trolley, grabs his phone
to call an Uber --

Soon as he hits the UberX button, the notification comes up

his bank balance is too low.

DANNY
Jesus.

He changes his tack, orders Uber Pool. The car arrives

suspiciously fast.

Danny freezes when he notices who he's carpooling with --

DANNY (cont'd)
Gemma?!

From inside the car, she smiles and waves.

 13.

INT. UBER - CONTINUOUS

Hesitantly, Danny gets in the car.

GEMMA
(suddenly)
Oh, I actually have to get out here
real quick.

The gruff DRIVER looks back over at her.

DRIVER
You said you were going to the same
place as this guy.
GEMMA
Yeah, but I left someone I need in
here. Can I just go pick him up?

The driver looks back disbelievingly at Danny, who just

shrugs.

DANNY
It's cool.
(quieter)
Lachlan has the ket, you know.

GEMMA
Oh, so do I.

DANNY
Wait, what?

GEMMA
I asked them for a prescription and
they gave me one.

DANNY
...What?

GEMMA
...Isn't that what you guys did?

Danny looks at her, stunned. Gemma rolls her eyes and gets
out the car.

GEMMA (cont'd)
(o.s.)
Give me five minutes!

CUT TO:
 14.

INT. HOSPITAL FOOD COURT - DAY

Gemma darts in. The three boys look up at her, surprised.

GEMMA
I forgot to get you --

LACHLAN
Hey Gemma, check this out --

He shows her the vials. She's unimpressed.

GEMMA
Yeah, they wrote me a script.
LACHLAN
What?

GEMMA
I asked.

LACHLAN
That doesn't make any sense --

It's too late. She's already grabbed the wheelchair handles.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
Where are we going?

Gemma glances back over her shoulder to the other two, who
have no idea what the hell's going on.

GEMMA
See you soon!~

CUT TO:

EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY

The Uber is nowhere to be seen. Gemma freezes.

GEMMA
He said he was going to wait for me!

INT. UBER - CONTINUOUS

The driver, apparently, got sick of waiting. Danny is being

zoomed down the city streets, a bit hesitant-looking.

DANNY
Are you sure we couldn't have waited?
 15.

DRIVER
What, do you know that girl?
DANNY
Sadly, yes.

EXT. HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

Lachlan shrugs, sorting through the vials in his bag.

LACHLAN
Let's just make a break for it.
THEY DO.

An ALARM starts ringing out the hospital as Gemma runs full

speed down the street, pushing Lachlan along with her --

As they make their way down, Gemma's grip on the

prescription SLIPS in the wind.

It FLIES out of her hand --

GEMMA
Fuck!

LACHLAN
What?

GEMMA
The script!

She lets go of Lachlan to chase after it -- a bit

unfortunate, considering he's at the top of a hill.

LACHLAN
Gemma --

Too late. The slope is slight, but just enough for Lachlan
to start sliding down. He tries to put his foot down to stop
it, but RUNS OVER IT in the process.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
Fuck!

The pain is sudden enough he FALLS OUT of the chair.

Bystanders LOOK OVER --

 16.

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

Meanwhile, Gemma is chasing after the prescription in the

wind, pushing past horrified pedestrians as she goes.

It gets blown into a puddle --

GEMMA
(desperate)
It's still good!

She DIVES for the puddle, picking out a soaked-through

prescription. As she tries to get up, her HAND SLIPS in the
puddle and she falls face-first into it --

EXT. HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

PEDESTRIAN
Are you okay?

Lachlan looks up at a generic PEDESTRIAN.

LACHLAN
(unconvincingly)
I'm fine.

PEDESTRIAN
Oh no, let me help you back in --

He stands up. The pedestrian looks at him with significantly

less sympathy.

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

PEDESTRIAN 2
Are you okay?

Gemma looks at a SECOND generic PEDESTRIAN.

GEMMA
Go suck your mum's dick.

The prescription dissolves into the puddle.

Gemma looks back as the pedestrian flees, and sees Lachlan,

back in his wheelchair, sliding down the footpath. She
chases after --
 17.

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

CLOSE ON Gemma's hands clutching the wheelchair's handles.

Lachlan looks back in surprise.

GEMMA
Okay, don't freak out, but I lost the
prescription.

LACHLAN
Did you forget I still have a bunch
of it?
GEMMA
...yes.

They both glance back at the street, which is dissolving

into chaos. They LOOK at each other and RUN.

Pedestrians zip out of the way at their full-speed approach.

As they're building up speed, a SIREN rings --

EXT. HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

Two POLICE CARS prepare to depart --

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

LACHLAN
Shit!

They look at each other in terror and just keep speeding up.

The SIRENS draw closer.

LACHLAN (cont'd)
You know, aren't cops supposed to be
a lot faster than walking speed --

GEMMA
I'm running!

LACHLAN
-- than running speed?

It's getting real desperate, though. The two of them glance

around for any possible help --
 18.

EXT. BUS STOP - CONTINUOUS

A peaceful bus stop with two people. An EXCHANGE STUDENT

(21) is reading from a thick copy of Gravity's Rainbow,
sitting next to an INTERNATIONAL STUDENT (18). The exchange
student is Black British, and he turns to the girl in a
classic RP accent --

EXCHANGE STUDENT
The weather's quite nice today, don't
you think?

Gemma spots her chance, grabs the backpack out of Lachlan's

hands.
GEMMA
Catch!

She THROWS it at the exchange student. He catches it out of

shock. Ketamine vials spill out --

The cops DESCEND on the scene, terrifying the poor boy

within an inch of his life.

CUT TO:

EXT. NEWSSTAND - DAY

A copy of the Herald Sun, headline reading 'AFRICAN GANGS

DEALING KETAMINE'.

FADE OUT