The Forecast

written by

Jacob Mitchell Gold

phoenicika@gmail.com
EXT. HIKING TRAIL - DUSK
A small but well-marked trail through the trees. It's late in
the day for it to be too busy.
Two men out hiking, BEN (30) and THEO (30) sport casual
outdoors wear, backpacks. Neat and tidy.
Their footsteps are heavy, like soldiers on an endless march.
BEN
(softly)
So, how's...

THEO
What's that?
BEN
(peppier)
How are things at work?
THEO
Stressful, as usual.
BEN
Why's that?
THEO
We're trying to close a design
contract with a new client.
BEN
That sounds stressful. But it could
be a good thing, right?
THEO
If we get it, it would be my first
project as lead.
BEN
That is a good thing, congrats!
THEO
That is, it would have been if the
client hadn't heard me insulting
their product.
BEN
Ah.
(beat)
How are things with you and
Rebecca?
 2.

THEO
Oh, you know.
BEN
(friendly ribbing)
No, I don't know, that's why I'm
asking.
THEO
I guess... she's still figuring out
what she wants to do with her life.
You know, career-wise. Because the
call center is definitely not
cutting it. She wants to find
something that makes her happy.
BEN
There's no rush. She's still got
plenty of time.
THEO
(somber)
Right.
(dry, saving the mood)
I tell her that, but it doesn't
make her happy.
Ben laughs and smiles. Theo chuckles.
BEN
Do you think your relationship is,
you know--

THEO
(interrupting, joking)
I don't.
BEN
(ignoring the
interruption)
--a long term thing?
They walk in silence a moment.
THEO
With all the other things going on,
I've tried not to think about it
too much.
BEN
Would you want it to be?
THEO
I don't know, man.
 3.

BEN
C'mon, you've gotta have some idea.
THEO
I don't.
BEN
Like do you see yourself getting
married, or--
THEO
Drop it. Please.
A brief, awkward silence.
BEN
Alright.
Ben pats Theo on the back.
BEN (CONT'D)
Do you mind if I take a piss real
quick?
THEO
Be my guest.

OFF-TRAIL
Ben peels off the trail into the woods.
Coming to a secluded spot, he checks to make sure he's alone.
Close on his face.
The sound of his fly unzipping.
He grimaces.
Bites his lip.
Tears well up.
He looks up, his eyes pleading.
Finally the pee comes.
Relief.
He shakes, zips up.
 4.

HIKING TRAIL
Ben trudges back through the brush to the path.
Theo's pack is on the ground. A lit blunt is in his hand.
Seeing Ben returning, Theo pinches out the blunt and stashes
it in his pocket.
BEN
You good?
THEO
Yeah, don't worry about me... I
mean, shit, I'm good. Yeah, I'm
good.
BEN
Hey, it's all good. How much
farther til we set up camp?
THEO
... maybe twenty minutes.
BEN
Alright, let's get to it!
Theo nods, dons his pack, and takes the lead. Ben follows.

EXT. CAMP - NIGHT

A small fire dances in front of a two-person tent. Ben and
Theo sit on folding stools next to the fire. Each has a can
of beer on the ground next to them.
Theo tends the fire and flips a pair of steaks sitting on a
grill above the flames.
BEN
Glad the weather held out today.
(beat)
If it rains tomorrow, hiking back
is going to be a bitch.
THEO
Mm.
BEN
Well, I guess that wouldn't bother
me too much.
THEO
Jesus, Ben!
 5.

BEN
Sorry.
(beat)
How do the steaks look?

THEO
I guess they're done. I'm not a
chef.
Theo plops one of the steaks on a plate and hands it to Ben.
He serves himself the other steak.
THEO (CONT'D)
Bon appétit.
Each quietly eats a few bites of his steak.
BEN
Honestly, it's pretty good.
THEO
They're over.
BEN
Mine's not.
THEO
It's brown in the middle, I can see
it from here.
BEN
It's really got that campfire-y
taste.
THEO
You mean burnt.
BEN
Come on, now, this is the
experience I wanted.
THEO
Uh huh.
They quietly eat a few more bites.

INT. TENT - NIGHT

The interior of the tent is just big enough for the pair of
sleeping bags that Ben and Theo lie in, eyes closed. A
lantern sits between their heads, currently off.
Ben opens his eyes.
 6.

BEN
You awake?
THEO
Yeah.
BEN
Okay.
Ben squeezes his eyes shut.
Then opens them again.
He turns the dial on the lantern, producing a dim light.
He sits up.
Theo opens his eyes and turns over to face Ben.
THEO
What's up?
BEN
I was just... thinking about when I
was a kid. I'd be home from school,
eating dinner with my family, and
my dad would ask me how my day was,
what I did, et cetera. And I would
say it was good, we learned about
negative numbers in math, we
learned about the past tense in
French, learned about evolution in
science. One night, in high school,
after dinner is over, I was washing
dishes and he comes up to me and
says, "it's always made me a little
sad that you don't want to share
anything about your day with me. I
wasn't sure what he meant. But
apparently when he was asking about
my day, he didn't care what we
covered in class. He already knew
all of that. He wanted to hear
about the time that Fred couldn't
stop farting and got in trouble
with the teacher, or how Elsa and I
would spend all of French class
making funny faces at each other,
or who I thought was my best friend
at the time. And I don't know why I
didn't share those things with him.
It's not that I didn't want to.
(MORE)
 7.
BEN (CONT'D)
The facts were just what my brain
latched on to. More than the
people. Do you ever feel that way?
Theo sits up and takes some time to seriously consider the
question.
THEO
Honestly, I'm not sure. I guess not
really. No.
Ben smiles.
THEO (CONT'D)
You having trouble falling asleep?

EXT. CAMP - NIGHT

Theo and Ben stand just outside the tent.
Theo lights up a blunt, hands it to Ben.
THEO
This always helps me relax.
Basically knocks me out at night.
Ben inhales deeply, coughs out a cloud of smoke.
He offers the blunt back to Theo, who declines.
THEO (CONT'D)
I probably shouldn't.
Ben nods, hits it one more time.
A few drops of rain start to fall on their heads. They look
up, then at one another.
Ben tosses the blunt on the ground.

INT. TENT - NIGHT

Rain patters occasionally on the canvas above.
Ben and Theo lie in their sleeping bags, eyes closed, Ben on
his back, Theo on his side. The lantern is off.
Theo opens his eyes, rolls over.
 8.

THEO
Hey, you awake?
(beat)
Ben?
Ben doesn't respond.
Theo turns the dial on the lantern until it barely glows.
He sits up, watches Ben as he sleeps.
Watches Ben's shallow breaths.
Theo leans his ear down to Ben's chest as it gently rises and
falls. His breaths are labored, congested.
Theo sits back up, steels himself.
In one decisive motion, Theo grabs his pillow and shoves it
over Ben's face.
Ten seconds pass.
Twenty.
Ben's arm limply reaches up, finds Theo's shoulder.
Theo looks, tries to ignore it.
Ben's hand taps him on the back, twice.
Theo quickly lifts the pillow up.
Ben coughs and wheezes, spits and sputters.
Theo sits back on his side of the tent, deflated. He failed.
Still finding his breath, Ben sits up. Blood dribbles from
his mouth.
He pats Theo on the back, a gesture of comfort.
Theo is on the verge of tears.

EXT. CAMP - DAWN

Theo, wearing clean clothes, takes down the tent.
Ben, wearing the same clothes, cleans up around the fire pit.
BEN
Sorry about last night.
 9.

THEO
What!? You're sorry?
BEN
I shouldn't have reacted. Maybe it
was instinct, but... I shouldn't
have.
THEO
I'm the one who should be fucking
sorry.
(beat)
I can't do anything right.
They continue to work in silence.
Ben tidies up.
Theo struggles with the tent.
Ben goes over to help.
They manage to finish breaking it down.
They sit on the tent canvas laying on the ground.
BEN
I thought it would be less scary if
it happened on my terms. So I
wouldn't spend every day wondering
about it. But it turns out it
doesn't make a difference if it's
ten seconds or ten weeks. It's
still terrifying.
THEO
I should have... I didn't want to
upset you by prying into your
business, but if you want to talk
to me about... anything, you can. I
think I would be hard-pressed to
fuck that up. And if... it would
help for me to ask you things, I
can give that a try, too.
BEN
Thanks. I'll... need a bit to think
it over.
THEO
Don't take too long.
They both laugh, bleary-eyed.
 10.

EXT. HIKING TRAIL - MORNING

Ben and Theo hike back along the trail, backpacks on.
BEN
The rain missed us.
Theo nods.
A bit of silence.
THEO
Rebecca and I are engaged.
Ben stops. Theo stops too.

BEN
That's awesome, man! Congrats!
THEO
Did it last weekend. The wedding
probably won't happen for at least
six months. Can't get both our
families together before then. But
I still wanted to ask: will you be
my best man?
BEN
Hell yeah.
Theo hugs Ben.
THEO
I know... you probably can't make
it, but what if we took some photos
beforehand?
BEN
I've already got a suit picked out.
They laugh, and resume hiking down the trail.
THE END.