A Way to the Moon

By Michael Sloman

I343190 697 Bronx River Road

Apt 617
Yonkers, NY 10704
Msloman32@gmail.com
EXT. STREET. EVENING

An exceptionally bright moon gleams on the mostly dimly lit

streets, a modern day midsized city in the throes of the
after effects of the Covid pandemic lockdown.

EXT. CORNER STORE. CONTINUOUS

With the moon shining behind him, LUCAS, a 16 year old

scrawny white kid in a hoodie, is walking towards one of the
more well lit corner stores. He reaches into his pocket to
pull out his mask and puts it on for what feels like the
thousandth time.

INT. CORNER STORE. CONTINUOUS

Lucas enters the store and is greeted by ALICIA, a Eurasian

cashier wearing a mask that has a finger pointing to the moon
and saying "Don't concentrate on the finger." She looks like
she's had a challenging life, but still innocent looking
enough to pass as charming.

ALICIA
Hey, Lucas. How's it going?

LUCAS
Hey, Alicia.

Lucas awkwardly walks towards the beer section and grabs a 12

pack.

ALICIA
(Trying to make conversation)
Did you study for the Math test?

LUCAS
Yeah. No. Not really. You?

ALICIA
Same.

Lucas sets the beer on the counter. Alicia smiles at him

conspiratorially as she hurriedly puts it in the bag. Lucas
notices her mask.

ALICIA (CONT'D)
You're looking at the finger, aren't
you.

LUCAS
Who wouldn't.
 2.

ALICIA
It's from Bruce Lee.

LUCAS
I know.

ALICIA
(Not believing him)
Really. What's your favorite movie?

LUCAS
Haven't really seen anything of him,
to be honest. Just heard of him.

He smiles gently as he pays for the beer. Alicia smiles back.

ALICIA
I'll send you a link to some of his
stuff tomorrow during class.

LUCAS
Cool.

ALICIA
I was sorry to hear about your mom by
the way. How's Shift?

LUCAS
Just trying to cheer him up, ya know.

ALICIA
How are you feeling?

LUCAS
I try not to think much about it.

ALICIA
That's not what I asked you.

Lucas looks confused.

Beat.

LUCAS
Well. See ya virtually tomorrow.

ALICIA
See ya virtual.

Just as Lucas turns to leave, three rowdy Asian teens burst

into the store, and start acting ridiculous, throwing stuff
 3.

around and jumping on each other. Lucas and Alicia look at

other each other concerned. The RING LEADER initiates an
uncomfortable stare at Alicia.

RING LEADER
What's good, Alicia. You know you look
more lickable if you smile right?

PUNK 1
Yeah, c'mon girl, take off your mask
and smile for us.

PUNK 2
Turn around, mama.

Lucas attempts to posture himself against the bullies.

RING LEADER
The fuck you looking at?

Lucas is frozen in place as the three of them circle him and

push him around, taunting him.

RING LEADER (CONT'D)

What? Oh, six feet distance right? My
bad.

The ring leader gets right in Lucas' face and deliberately

coughs. His friends laugh along and soon follow suit.

ALICIA
Stop, you guys! What the fuck! Leave
him alone!

LEADER
The fuck you gonna do, you half-breed
bitch?

Alicia is mortified as they laugh at her raucously. They then

get back in Lucas' face, waiting for him to make a move.
Fight, flight, or freeze. Lucas is frozen.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT. LATER

A home, void of much light, with furniture inhabited by beer

cans and hard liquor bottles, Lucas quietly enters his house,
hoping his older brother SHIFT (bi-racial), will be passed
out on the couch by this point. He notices his brother isn't
there, but he isn't out of the woods yet. In the other room,
 4.

he hears a young woman moaning. Lucas creeps past his

brother's room, with the door slightly open. He peeks inside.

INT. BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

In the shadows of the door, Lucas watches as the back of an

attractive, sultry woman rides his brother.

INT. HALLWAY. CONTINUOUS

After a moment, Lucas heads towards the bathroom, closing the

door behind him.

INT. BATHROOM. FEW MINUTES LATER

Lucas hops out of the shower, wipes himself down, and stares
at himself in the mirror. FLASHBACK TO--

INT. CORNER STORE. NIGHT

The bullies are inaudibly intimidating Lucas and coughing in

his face. He glances over and sees a concerned and frightened
Alicia.

INT. BATHROOM. BACK TO PRESENT

Lucas is disgusted with himself. He reaches his finger into

his mouth, and dispels his shame into the toilet.

INT. LUCAS' BEDROOM. NEXT DAY

Lucas' alarm goes off at 7:50 AM. He looks like he's been up
all night. He rolls over and sluggishly pops open his laptop,
and logs in to his first class of the day. Algebra 2.

TEACHER
Good morning everyone. I hope you're
all enjoying this gorgeous, bright,
sunshiney day out. Well, I mean, if
you were outside, maybe you could
enjoy it, but, you're stuck here in
virtual ville, so, let me take
attendance. While I'm doing that, if
everyone would kindly unmute and show
themselves so that I know you're
present for class, that would be much
appreciated.

Screens start to reveal tired, disinterested faces, students

of diverse racial backgrounds, including Alicia.
 5.

TEACHER (CONT'D)
Lucas, can you please show your face
and unmute yourself?

No response.

TEACHER (CONT'D)
Lucas?

Lucas reluctantly appears for all of his classmates to see,

though no one cares. Except Alicia.

TEACHER (CONT'D)
So if everyone can open up their
Nearpod assignment on Polynomials. I'd
like to go over that.

The teacher's voice fades into the background, as Lucas

begins looking up self defense videos one after another. He
then stumbles upon videos of anti-Asian attacks, going down a
much darker rabbit hole.

TEACHER (CONT'D)
(Audible again)
Haru, could you please share how you
got your answer to Number 1.

HARU TAKARA studiously puts on his glasses and begins to

respond.

HARU
(Sharing his math problem and
solution on the screen)
Sure, well, the parenthesis are only
there to illustrate how each
polynomial is being used in the
indicated operation and are not
needed, or used, in general. The
degree of a polynomial is just the
largest exponent in the polynomial and
so the degree of the result of this
operation is three.

TEACHER
Very good, Mr. Takara, very good.

Lucas glowers at Haru through the computer. Suddenly, he gets

a private message in the classroom chat.

ALICIA
Hey, here's a clip of Bruce Lee
 6.

talking about the heavenly moon :)

Lucas clicks on the link, and watches intrigued. His mind

reimagines the events from last night. FLASHBACK TO--

INT. CORNER STORE. NIGHT

MUSIC UP: "Through the Darkness" by Audiomachine

Time has slowed down as the bullies are up in Lucas' face.

This time Alicia stands side by side with Lucas, as they
center themselves and prepare to engage their opponents
mindfully.

INT. BEDROOM. BACK TO PRESENT

MUSIC DOWN.

TEACHER
Lucas, can you tell us what you got
for number 3?

Lucas returns from his daydream.

LUCAS
Number 3? Uh...

Lucas didn't do the homework. Alicia privately messages

Lucas.

ALICIA
Fifteen.

LUCAS
Fifteen.

TEACHER
Good. Can you tell us how you got that
answer?

Lucas waits for Alicia to respond. She doesn't. Haru watches

on curiously from his screen. Lucas focuses on the math
problem on the screen and answers the question in the moment.

LUCAS
I just used the FOIL method. First,
Outer, Inner, Last. Then just did the
math from there.

TEACHER
Fair enough. Moving on.
 7.

Teacher continues on inaudibly. Relieved, Lucas messages

Alicia.

INT. ALICIA'S BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

LUCAS
Thanks.

ALICIA
No problem. You just channelled Bruce
Lee.

LUCAS
Really? How?

ALICIA
You were in the moment. Not focusing
on your thoughts. You felt it...

INT. LUCAS' BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

Lucas ponders that statement, bringing him closer to the

Moon.

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

It's early in the afternoon. Lucas is taking a break from

school and making lunch for himself. Shift is on his 5th or 6
beer, smoking a cigarette, and reading the newspaper.

SHIFT
"Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
was quoted as saying that the Chinese
Communist Party won't let anybody into
that lab to look at what happened.
They disappeared journalists, they
made doctors who knew what happened go
away. That cover-up itself is a
crime."

Slamming the paper down on the table.

SHIFT (CONT'D)
See, this is the fuck I've been
talking about. These fucking commie
chinks and their fucking latrine
experiments on bats and shit. They're
the reason Ma is dead. Didn't stand a
chance against their Covid bullshit.
 8.

LUCAS
You mean laboratory?

SHIFT
What'd I say?

LUCAS
Latrine.

SHIFT
The fuck's a latrine?

LUCAS
Bathroom.

Shift shifts up from his seat and straggles over to his

brother. He obnoxiously slaps him on the cheek.

SHIFT
Ma's little golden goose. What's that
line from the bible? The meek shall
cherish the Earth?

LUCAS
Inherit.

SHIFT
What?

LUCAS
(Enthusiastically)
"The meek shall inherit the Earth."

SHIFT
Now you're starting to sound like the
niggas down the road. You know they're
in on it too, right?

LUCAS
(Preparing his plate)
Who?

SHIFT
The Chinese Commies and Black Lives
Matter. They've been paying the niggas
off to burn shit down.

Lucas sits down to eat.

SHIFT (CONT'D)
Why else you think the Chink corner
 9.

stores haven't been boarded up yet?

They're fucking working together.

LUCAS
Yeah.

Lucas starts eating. Shift downs another beer. Then cracks

open another one.

SHIFT
We need to get some pay back.

LUCAS
For what?

SHIFT
For Ma, idiot. The next fucking
slanted eyed, Bat eating Kung Pao
nigga we see, we're fucking his ass
up. Matter of fact.
(Downing another beer)
We're hunting tonight.

LUCAS
What do you mean?

Shift gives him a look. Lucas gets it.

EXT. STREETS. NIGHT

Shift is erratically patrolling the dark, desolate streets,

desperately seeking prey to fell all of his rage into.

LUCAS
There's nobody out tonight, Shift. Can
we please go home? I'm fucking
freezing and gotta do my math
homework.

SHIFT
Scrawny ass bitch. Man the fuck up.
You'll do it when you do it.

Beat.

SHIFT (CONT'D)
You know this town used to be mostly
white?

LUCAS
Really?
 10.

SHIFT
Yeah, bro. My Pa used to tell me how
back in the day this was a sunset
town. You know what that is,
schoolboy?

LUCAS
Yeah, towns that excluded non-whites
with discriminatory local laws.

Smacking him upside the head, then kissing it.

SHIFT
The great white hope.

INT. CORNER STORE. SIMULTANEOUS

Alicia is working the nightshift as a BYSTANDER enters the

store. Alicia waves to him but is instantly perturbed as he
gives her an uncomfortable glare.

EXT. STREET. SIMULTANEOUS

Shift sees an Asian person in a hoodie walking towards them.

It's Haru.

SHIFT (CONT'D)
Jackpot.

Shift suits himself up with brass knuckles. He hands his

brother a kubaton.

LUCAS
What's this?

SHIFT
Hit him in a pressure point with it.

LUCAS
But I don't know any pressure points.

SHIFT
Jesus fucking Christ. Just do what I
tell you.

LUCAS
What the hell, man? You're taking this
to a whole other level.

Shift gets right up in his little brother's face and

intimidates him to submission without uttering a word.
 11.

As Haru approaches their vicinity, he instinctively

recognizes the threat. He immediately crosses the street to
avoid confrontation.

SHIFT
Yo, Chink. What's up! Where you going?
(Tugging his brother along)
Huh? Where you going, you bat-
dumpling-eating fuck?

HARU
(Putting his hands up in front of
him)
Please, I don't want any trouble.

Shift rapidly approaches Haru and prepares to throw a wild

hammer punch, which Haru counters with a striking block of
his own, surprising Shift. Being a street brawler, Shift
throws some other punches, one of which connects in the ribs,
another right above Haru's left eye, sending him to the
ground. Lucas is frozen in place.

SHIFT
(Grabbing his brother)
C'mon, you pussy! Hit him!

Lucas resists. Shift shoves him hard and turns his back to
him.

After a moment, Lucas grabs him from behind, trying to stall

long enough for Haru to run away. Shift easily and
maliciously flips him over his waist.

SHIFT (CONT'D)
You're a fucking disgrace.

INT. CORNER STORE. SIMULTANEOUS

As the bystander cashes out, he continues to make Alicia feel

extremely uncomfortable. He then looks outside to notice the
fight taking place.

EXT. STREET. SIMULTANEOUS

Just as Shift leans in for more damage to Haru, Haru

intercepts him with a quick succession of vertical punches to
his solar plexus, a round house knee to the ribs, and a
devastating stomping of Shift's kneecap, sending him madly to
the ground in abysmal agony. Haru then looks at Lucas.
 12.

ASIAN KID
(In a ready stance)
Please, I don't want anymore trouble.

LUCAS
Haru?

HARU
Lucas?

With the moon beaming over the both of them, they stare at
each other for a moment before the Bystander intervenes.

BYSTANDER
Hey, what the hell's going on over
there?

Haru looks down at Shift and quickly runs off into the
shadows. Lucas watches after his classmate, awestruck. He
then looks down at his despairing brother.

INT. HARU'S BEDROOM. NEXT MORNING

Bruised up, Haru is still dressed for the day with his
notebook, pen, and laptop all neatly arranged on his desk. He
logs into his Math class.

TEACHER
Goooooood morning my mathematician
wizards! How's everybody doing on this
windy, rainy day? Hope everyone has a
poncho if you go outside. Well, I
mean, please wait till your lunch
break, not during class. Let me take
attendance. Don't forget to unmute
yourself and show your lovely, diverse
faces!

The students reluctantly unmute and show their faces.

TEACHER (CONT'D)
Much better. Okay great. Let me just
finish setting up the Viewpath
feature. Freaking cameras always gotta
be on us teachers, you know how it is.
Big brother and all. Haru? Are you
okay?

HARU
I'm fine, Mr. Randberg. Was in a minor
car accident.
 13.

TEACHER
A car accident? Those bruises don't-

HARU
I said, I'm fine, Mr. Randberg.

TEACHER
Okay...

As the teacher continues rambling, Haru receives a direct

message from Lucas.

LUCAS
Hey, you alright?

Haru doesn't respond.

LUCAS (CONT'D)
Need to talk to you. Can you meet in
person?

INT. LUCAS' BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

HARU
I told you. I don't want any trouble.
Just leave me alone, alright?

LUCAS
I didn't tell anyone. And I'm not
going to. I promise.

HARU
What do you wanna talk about then?

LUCAS
What style of Martial arts was that?

HARU
Why?

LUCAS
Was hoping you could teach me.

INT. HARU'S BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

After a moment of thought.

HARU
So you can teach your brother?
 14.

LUCAS
Fuck him. He got what was coming to
him.

Haru contemplates that statement.

INT. LUCAS' BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

After a moment.

HARU
I'll have to think about it.

LUCAS
That's cool. Was that Bruce Lee's
style?

HARU
No. It's Goju Ryu Karate. You ever
seen the Karate Kid?

LUCAS
A long time ago.

HARU
Well, that's the style from the film.

LUCAS
Mr. Miyagu?

HARU
Miyagi. My family is from Okinawa.
Birthplace of Karate.

LUCAS
Dope.

HARU
Later.

INT. HARU'S BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

Haru contemplates his classmate's request.

INT. ALICIA'S BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

LUCAS
Hey, I was thinking about those Bruce
Lee videos you sent me. Was hoping we
could talk some more about him. What
are you up to later?
 15.

ALICIA
Working late.

LUCAS
Want some company?

Alicia smiles.

INT. LUCAS' BEDROOM. CONTINUOUS

ALICIA
Sure, that'd be nice :)

MUSIC UP: "Through the Darkness" by Audiomachine

Lucas fixes his posture, sits up with astute confidence, and

smiles a grin that brings him even closer to the Moon.

FADE OUT.

END CREDITS

MONTAGE SEQUENCE BEGINS

INT. DOJO. DAY

39 seconds into "Through the Darkness"

1. Goju Ryu Founder, MIYAGI SENSEI's framed picture hangs

over the dojo, forever present.

2. Haru and Lucas, both in their Karate gi's, studiously bow

to one another, staring deep into each other's eyes.

INSERT END CREDITS 52 seconds into "Through the Darkness"

EXT. STREET. NIGHT

1:05 into "Through the Darkness"

After having witnessed Shift get beat down by Haru, the

Bystander runs over to tend to his wounds, ultimately
scooping him up and rushing him to the hospital.

INSERT END CREDITS 1:25 into "Through the Darkness"

INT. DOJO. DAY

1:30 into "Through the Darkness"

Haru is teaching Lucas a Kata.

 16.

INT. DOJO. DAY

Lucas is blocking strikes being thrown at him.

INT. DOJO. DAY

Lucas is ferociously punching a punching bag.

INT. DOJO. DAY

Haru and Lucas are in full combat mode, applying the Kata
they were practicing to real life applications.

INSERT END CREDITS

EXT. STREET. NIGHT

With the moon beaming behind him, Lucas is deeply entranced

in his Karate training, pristinely performing a Kata.

INT. CORNER STORE. NIGHT

2:20 into "Through the Darkness"

Lucas is keeping Alicia company. She hands him a book "Be

Water my Friend" By Shannon Lee. They smile to each other
flirtatiously. Just then--

The three bullies enter the corner store. Time slows down.
Alicia hops over the cashier table, stands side by side with
Lucas and prepares to face their opponents.

Camera zooms in on Alicia's face first, then the bullies,

then Lucas.

CUT TO BLACK.