Play Ideas

Characters
● Tanner (Main Character VSCO Boy): A high school junior born and raised practically
on the beach in San Diego. Born to his dad Clay and mom Christine with a younger sister
in sixth grade named Danielle. Tanner loves to surf with his dad every morning and hang
out with friends. He wears vans religiously and is very laid back.
● Clay (Main Character's Dad): Enjoys surfing and spending time outdoors with his
active family. Recently laid off from a start up he ran with his buddies who grew power
hungry and thought they could do without him.
● Christine (Main Character's Mom): Real estate agent who has a job offer in New York
the family desperately needs.
● Danielle (Main Character’s sister):
● Josh (E-Boy): A high school junior living in the urban area of New York. He is a city
boy with an edge to him. Even though he is tough on the outside, he struggles with family
problems behind closed doors.
Settings
● San Diego: Tanner's hometown; the beach city heavily influenced his personal style and
attitude.
● School: New York Prep, a prestigious private high school in the middle of the city.
Famous for its strong academics and athletic program among all the rich families of the
nation.
● Tanner's House New York: a small house on the outskirts of town, nothing too
extravagant.
● Tanner’s House San Diego: near the beach, $1.4M apartment with a modern interior, 3
bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
● Westchester, New York: luxury home, $1.2M Harding Country Manor, 2-story in rural
New York
 Main Concept
● Tanner and his family decide to get away from San Diego after living there all of
Tanner’s life and move to New York. Tanner was put under a lot of pressure during the
move, a new school, new friends, and being on the complete opposite side of the country.
Tanner had his own unique style, something that came natural to him being from
Southern California, but after the move he was quickly ridiculed for it. The main person
bullying Tanner was Josh, a New York native, that has no sympathy for the newly
enrolled New York Prep student.
● Play develops as Tanner continues to get bullied by Josh and became extremely insecure.
He tries to fit in very hard with the e-boys but they keep calling him names and saying he
will never be like them because he is a vsco boy.
● Months later, Tanner learns to accept who he is and appreciate his style and aesthetic. He
no longer bothers with the e-boys who bring nothing but negativity to his life. He learns
many life lessons during the past few months of being tormented by josh and his
entourage. He sees Josh’s struggle and although Josh has bullied him the past couple
months, Tanner still helps him. The two begin to develop a friendship and help each other
with anything. Tanner learns the importance of self-love, patience, mental strength, and
surrounding oneself with good people. Josh acquires a new friend, and with that a new
family who helped him get through his turbulent life at home.
CJ De Vault
Sophia Nguyen
Ms. Storer
English 3 Honors
Block 1
An Unexpected Friend
Prelude
In La Jolla, the kitchen of the Mitchell household after dinner, two days before they move
to New York. The banging of pots and pans are echoed throughout the now empty house. The
living room, adjacent to the kitchen, is filled to the brim with boxes haphazardly.
Tanner, 17, is a junior in high school. He is a stereotypical Californian teen. He loves the
beach and his friends. He has grown up with them since grade school. His mom, Christine, is a
successful real estate agent who has a promising job offering she must take up in New York to
provide for the single income household. Clay, Tanner’s father, has been out of a job for 2 years
after being kicked out of his own start up.
Christine has her back turned to Tanner, the two are arguing about the move.
Tanner: There’s no way im going with you! Why can’t I stay here until college? I’ll be fine by
myself, I can get a job and take care of everything.
Christine: Never in a million years am I letting you live here by yourself, you’re 17, a child, still
a child!
Tanner: You always use that as an excuse I’m tired of-
Christine whips her head around to face Tanner. The house is now filled with only the yelling of
the two.
Christine: Tired?! I'm tired of trying to keep this family above water for the past 2 years since
your father got laid off.
Tanner: He got cheated out of a one million dollar idea, it’s not his fault!
Christine: Enough! Go to your room!
Tanner storms out of the kitchen. His little sister peeks from around the corner to witness the
aftermath of the explosive argument.

Act One
 It is the day of the move. The Mitchell’s are getting ready for their flight to New York
back at the house. There is nothing left, the walls have been stripped of all the family portraits,
the fridge is absent of any magnets or child art, years of memories seemingly erased from every
room. The lonely ringing of footsteps is the only thing present in the house. Clay approaches
Tanner in his room before they leave. Tanner is sitting on his bed alone with bags on the ground
crowding every inch of space.
Clay: You packed and ready bud?
Tanner: Everything is good to go I guess.
Clay: I know it’ll be hard, but we just have to make the best out of our situations. You’ll love it
there, there’s some surf around the area and lots of good spots to chill and hang.
Tanner: Yeah everything will be good
Christine enters.
Christine: How are you holding up?
Tanner: Hanging in there, I just want to get this done already. I’m ready when you guys are.
Christine: The uber is on it’s way right now.
The family made their way through the airport and now are on the plane getting ready for
takeoff. Tanner and his sister Danielle are sitting next to each other. Tanner took the window
seat, he always did when he flew, and Danielle sat to his left, nervously waiting.
Tanner to Danielle: Have you ever been on a plane before?
Danielle: No.
She worriedly puts in her headphones
Tanner: You’ll be fine, flying is a piece of cake. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Danielle: I’m scared
Tanner sighs.
Tanner: I am too…
He turns toward the window and watches as the plane picks up speed. The loud whirring of the
engines drown out any other noise. He sits there in silence thinking about all he is leaving
behind. A single tear runs down the side of his face.
Danielle: Here.
She rummages through her little Hello Kitty themed backpack, after a while of searching she
offers him a crumpled up tissue.
Tanner: Thanks
Danielle: Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Tanner smiles and closes his eyes while putting in his earbuds, he slowly falls asleep to the
sound of the engine mixed with 80s music, his favorite.

Act Two
It is now a week after the move in the Mitchell’s New York residence. School just began a day
ago and Tanner is having trouble trying to fit in. He comes home from school and approaches
the front door. Puddles pooled at the sides of the sidewalk after the recent rain in the morning.
Tanner can see his reflection contrasted against the dark gray sky. He swings the front door
open, and is greeted by his dad in the living room sitting on the brand new couch, still covered in
plastic from the move. Tanner walks up to him and Clay remains seated.
Clay: How was your first day?
Tanner: Fine, not a lot happened, just syllabus stuff. Really boring day.
Clay: Any new friends?
Tanner: I didn’t really talk to anyone, but these kids were making fun of me.
Clay: For what? Who?
Tanner: I don’t know who they are but they said I dressed dumb and sounded stupid. Something
about being a VSCO boy…?
Clay: Well I'm not entirely sure what that even means, but it shouldn't be too bad kiddo.
Tanner: Yeah, I guess… I'll just head upstairs and take a nap before dinner.
Dinner came around and Tanner wakes up to the smell of his favorite dishes. He enthusiastically
jumps from his bed, puts on his favorite slippers, and rushes downstairs. He steps swiftly through
the hallway leading to the kitchen, avoiding empty boxes and trash that Tanner needed to take
care of still. He is greeted by his mom in the kitchen finishing up dinner, the stove sizzling and
crackling.
Tanner: Hey mom, what are you making? It smells so good.

Christine:Just putting together some garlic butter baked salmon, like that one restaurant near our
old house makes.
Tanner is hit with a wave of nostalgia, remembering all the good times he had back on the west
coast. It was his favorite food, he grew up on it and would refuse to eat any other salmon out of
respect for his mom’s.
Tanner: It reminds me of back home. I miss it a lot now.
Christine: Oh honey, Westchester isn't so bad! How was your first day at school then?
Tanner: boring. It was so slow and dragged on forever. It was all syllabus and it's like the same
thing for every class. I barely talked to anyone, too. But these guys kept on calling me a 'VSCO
Boy' like what does that even mean and they won't-
Christine: Make a new friend. Sure these kids might be making fun of you but I'm sure not
everyone in the school is like that. Plus it's only the first day and your complaining is getting
crazy.
Tanner rolls his eyes but goes to help his mom set the dinner table and proceeds to eat with his
family.
The following day, Tanner almost missed his alarm and gets ready extremely quick in order to
make it to class on time. He quickly grabs breakfast before driving to school. He proceeds to run
through the hallway to get to his locker before his first class. Tanner is met with Josh and his
entourage while he frantically shuffles through his locker.
Josh: Hey VSCO boy, watch where you're going before you run into me.
Tanner: (under his breath) Dang, it's 7am, what's his deal?
Josh: excuse me? What's my deal?? At least I get to school on time unlike someone. (scoffs)
Josh and his friends leave, Tanner is really confused but shrugs it off and goes to class.
It is now lunch and Tanner walks outside to get some fresh air. He sits by one of the benches
under a tree to enjoy his lunch when he overhears a conversation from behind the building.
Josh’s Voice: Dad, I'm in school, can I get a break? I'm tired of you and mom constantly fighting
and yelling the house down. I enjoy being at school because I don't have to deal with all the crap
at home. Seriously! A teenager who enjoys being at school? That's pushing it. Now can I go
spend time with friends instead of fighting over the phone over something that should stay
between you and mom? Thanks.
Tanner overheard the commotion and sniffling behind the building, he recognized the voice. He
puts down his food, gets up, and begins to walk in that direction.
Tanner: Josh…? As he rounds the corner of the building
Josh turns around, shocked. He is shocked to be seen in such a way.
Josh: Don't you dare say a word of this to anyone you little punk. Not a single soul, you hear me?
Tanner: I won't, but, what's going on… if you don't mind me asking.
Josh: Why should I tell you? I don’t even know who you are.
Tanner: I can help, im dealing with issues myself, I thought maybe we could help each other?
Josh: Fine. My parents are fighting back home 24/7. It's getting annoying and my dad keeps
calling me in the middle of the day whenever he doesn't wanna deal with my mom. My friends
think I'm fine so usually no one looks out for me, I’ve been doing all of this alone. I don’t- I
don’t think I can take it anymore. (Josh starts to break down) Why are you looking out for me?
Especially when I've been bullying you for the past few days?
Tanner: I saw that you were crying and I just want to make sure you're okay. No one deserves to
go through all this pain, especially alone. I moved all the way across the country and back where
I used to live, I always had my friends to look out for me and support me. Ever since I came
here, I don't have anyone aside from my family. It was hard, but it taught me to be kind to others
and open-minded.
Multiple voices can be heard approaching the two from around the building
Josh: I think that’s my friends, you have to go. Now!
Tanner frantically runs away from Josh and goes around the opposite side of the building.
Nothing else happens at school and Tanner returns home to the same scene, his dad sitting in the
living room watching TV. Tanner goes to his room and falls on his bed. He takes out his phone
and is greeted by a text from an unknown number.
The text: Hey, it’s Josh, thanks for all that you said today, I really appreciate it. But we can’t be
seen together, my friends will kill me if they find out I’m friends with the weird kid. Keep it on
the low for me yeah? Thanks
Tanner: How did he even get my number? Well whatever, this kid needs help and I’m gonna be
there for him.

Act Three
The next day at school, Tanner is going about his day as normal, walking the halls on his way to
the next class. Then Josh and his friends appear out of nowhere in front of Tanner. Josh is seen
behind his friends and has a nervous look on his face.
Josh’s Friend: Where do you think you’re going bud?
Tanner: I’m just going to class like normal, can I please get through.
Josh’s Friend: Not so fast, where’s my lunch money
Josh goes to the front of the group to confront his friend
Josh: Hey can’t we just go, we’re gonna be late for class
Josh’s friend gets in Josh’s face and Josh pushes him back
Josh’s Friend: What now? Getting soft on us Josh?
Josh: We have better things to do than pick on this loser
The group leaves and one of the kids spits on Tanner as they walk by. Josh looks back at Tanner
as they are leaving and they both nod heads at each other.
Josh to his friends: It’s not worth is to pick on this kid.
Caleb (Josh’s Main Friend): What is it to you anyway? He’s a complete schmuck, it doesn’t
matter.
Josh: I just feel like we can spend our time doing something meaningful-
Caleb: Stop right there, you know what? You can leave too, you’re a soft loser and we don’t
need that hanging around us. Leave, get out of here.
Caleb pushes Josh to the ground. Josh gets up and throws a punch, it lands heavy in Caleb’s gut.
The two start fighting, each throwing punches that hurt worse than the last. Their friends
encourage the violence, the fight continues until a teacher breaks it up. Tanner was watching the
entire thing.
Josh: I don’t need any of you! None of you have helped me at all. I don’t care if you’re my
friends or not I can do better without all of you!
Josh walks over to Tanner who is standing in the middle of the hallway in awe of what just
happened.
Tanner: Are you okay?
Josh: Of course I am, was there any doubt about it?
Tanner: Not at all.
Josh: Good, well then I’ll see you after class
Tanner: Alright then
Tanner is confused but heads to class anyway. An hour later the bell rings and school is out.
Tanner heads to the parking lot to his car and sees Josh sitting on the hood of it. Tanner walks
towards him.
Tanner: What are you doing?
Josh: I thought we could go get something to eat.
Tanner: How’d you know this was my car?
Josh: I saw you pull up in it the past couple days, I pay attention to detail, and well, I was
supposed to jump you tomorrow morning.
Tanner: Oh, well then. Back to the food, we could go get something to eat but I have no clue of
any good spots in Westchester. Actually, my mom is supposed to be cooking right now, we
could go to my place and eat instead.
Josh: Yeah why not.
The two head over to Tanner’s house. When they arrive the pair are greeted by Tanner’s entire
family sitting on the couch watching Netflix.
Josh: Nice to meet everyone.
Christine: Nice to meet you young man, what is your name?
Josh: Joshua, but most people just call me Josh
Clay: Hey Josh, everything doing fine?
Tanner: Well that’s why I brought him over-
Josh: What?
Tanner: My family can help you, tell them.
Josh to Tanner: Thank you.
Josh to the rest of the family: I have family issues at home. My mom and dad are constantly
fighting and I get caught in the whirlwind of their arguments. I have no safe space and no
support from anyone. I do everything on my own, my parents wouldn’t even notice if I went
missing because they’re too busy arguing or working. They’re never home and I can’t stand the
lack of support anymore.
Christine: Well we sure can help.
Clay: Yeah there’s nothing to worry about bud, we can take care of you.
Danielle: We have cookies too!
Josh: I would love some cookies.

Epilogue
Ever since Josh left his old friends behind and found the support he needed with the Mitchells, he
has been doing better. Tanner and Josh became close friends and stuck by each other's side
through it all. Tanner’s parents talked with Josh’s, and Josh’s life at home was better. His parents
stopped fighting and payed attention to Josh’s needs and began a healthy relationship with him.