Screenplay ~~- JockRock

Jackie Cries As Swish Falls To Drugs

5929 Characters =~5.9Min. Reading Time
LATER:

INSIDE THE HOUSE IN THE DAYTIME:

Jackie nervously eyes her screen.

SWISH
(onscreen)
Every time I look at the basket, I see you turnin' yo' head when I try ta' kiss you.

JACKIE
(flabbergasted)
You miss shots because I won't let you kiss me?

SWISH
(on screen)
Jackie, that song, "Swish" - that's me askin' you to marry me. I done' forgot LaCrosse.


INSIDE THE LOS ANGELES AIRPORT IN THE DAYTIME:

Jackie, worried faced, boards a plane.


INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM AT NIGHT:

Jackie faces Swish.

She takes his hands.

JACKIE
I love you, Swish...

Swish's face lights up.

JACKIE
But I want you to swish the basket, not my skirt.

Swish throws Jackie's hands from his hands.

He storms for the locker room exit.

SWISH
I lost LaCrosse for you!

He thrashes a Gatorade cooler.

SWISH
(hint of mad queer)
I dumped Hank Honey for you!

Gatorade spills all over the locker room.

Jackie jumps, attempting to keep Gatorade from flooding her dress shoes.



INSIDE THE BASKETBALL ARENA IN THE DAYTIME:

Swish goes up for a layup.

He jumps like Jordan.

He flies, suspended in slo-mo in the air.

His hand levitates above the basket.

He smiles.

He throws the ball high into the air.

It falls down through the hoop-

A clean Swish!

CROWD
(wild)
Swish! Swish! SWISH!


THEN, INSIDE THE HOUSE IN THE DAYTIME:

Jackie jumps for joy.

JACKIE
Swishy! Swishy! SWISHY!


A WEEK LATER:

Jackie's watching a basketball game on TV:


INSIDE THE BASKETBALL ARENA AT NIGHT:

Swish hogs the ball.

L.A. TEAMMATE
Pass, Swish! Pass!

CROWD
Swish, baby, Swish!

OPPOSING CROWD
Miss, baby, miss!

Swish runs the ball down the court.

He passes all his exasperated teammates.

Swish goes up for a shot...

He twirls in the air...

Winks at a cheerleader...

Spins around...

- fires off the shot -

... awaits its success...

Clunk! The shot bounces off the rim.

Swish falls to the ground-

His ankle wrenches.

His teammates scream at him.

CROWD
Boooooo!


INSIDE THE CONCERT HALL AT NIGHT:

Swish rocks the hall.

He's in total control of the Swish-dancing crowd.

SWISH
(twirls a dancer)
Swish baby, Swish!

CROWD
(sing-shouts)
Lemme' see you Swish!


LATER:

Swish appears on Jackie's screen:

SWISH
(deranged)
Yo, Jackie. C'mon Jack'. Hit me wit' some cash. I needs' me some ENERGY.

JACKIE
No more!

SWISH
All this ballin' and singin'. I'z tired all the times.

Jackie switches off the screen.


LATER:

Jackie taps a "money" icon on her screen.

The screen shows money flying from her avatar to Swish's avatar.

LATER:

Jackie watches a basketball game on her screen.


INSIDE THE BASKETBALL ARENA IN THE DAYTIME:

CROWD
Miss, baby, miss!

OPPOSING CROWD
Swish, baby, Swish!


THEN, INSIDE THE HOUSE IN THE DAYTIME:

JACKIE
(watches screen)
Swish, baby, Swish!


THEN, INSIDE THE BASKETBALL ARENA AT NIGHT:

The clock reads 3 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter.

At the opposing team's basket, Swish dodges players.

Swish looks up. The clock reads 2 seconds remaining.

At half-court, Swish jumps his own height over his opponent!

Swish looks at the scoreboard: L.A. 97, N.Y. 99.

Swish hurls the ball.

The balls sails through the air.

The coliseum goes silent.

The ball glides through the hoop!

WHOOSH goes the net.

CROWD
Swish! Swish! SWISH!

Swish falls to the coliseum floor.

{ THUD! } Swish's ankle snaps.

The echo shocks the cheerleaders.

Jackie runs to the screen, aghast.

ANDY ANNOUNCER
(onscreen)
Swish Drubble makes an amazing comeback! He wins the game for Los Angeles...

BOB BROADCASTER
Wait... paramedics are rushing the court.

SALLY SPORTS
This injury to that troubled ankle may "Swish" L.A. out of the playoffs.

Time passes as images of Swish fly across Jackie's screen.


INSIDE THE HOUSE AT NIGHT:

Jackie wakes.

Black circles round her eyes.

She clicks her screen "on."

SWISH
(on screen, dilapidated)
You' cruel, Jackie! Hank woulda' gave' me somethin' for da' pain!

Jackie switches off the video channel.


INSIDE THE HOUSE IN THE DAYTIME:

Jackie takes a certified letter from the postman.

She opens it, eyes worried.

She reads the letter.

Behind her the screen drones:

ANDY ANNOUNCER
(on screen)
Pursuant to Swish's ankle-break, Los Angeles cut the once-popular crooning hoopster today.

HANK
(onscreen)
We all send Swish our love.

ANDY ANNOUNCER
Swish was a very special young player.

SALLY SPORTS
(loving)
It's like my 9 divorces, Andy: Life's what happens while you're making other plans.


LATER:

INSIDE THE HOUSE AT NIGHT:

Jackie looks to her display screen. There Jackie sees Bumbo accosting a newscaster (NELLY NEWSY) for money.

BUMBO
Dat's Swish! He DED'!

Onscreen, behind Nelly Newsy, paramedics push a dead body vaguely resembling Swish into an ambulance.

Nelly Newsy comically pushes Bumbo out of frame. { OW! }

NELLY NEWSY
Reliable sources near the scene say the decayed body is that of Swish Drubble, the hoopster turned pop-star whose rocket-ride to fame and meteoric fall to hedonism has left the nation, yes, the world in shambles.

BUMBO (Unseen voice)
(to Nelly Newsy)
Can I gets' my money now?

In shock, Jackie changes the channel.

HANK
(on Jackie's screen)
Swish was like my son. I was only a few years older than my brutha'. But when a boy grows up without a father, he needs manly guidance. But sadly, Swish chose the weaker path.

ANDY ANNOUNCER
(on screen)
You're referring to Swish's tragic choice to leave you, Hank Honey Management, for a female-run upstart?

Jackie flips the channel.

HANK
(still on screen)
- I'm not filing charges here, old friend. But disasters like this show one clear truth: it takes more than "pants" to make an athlete. It takes the "honey" of human kindness.

In tears, Jackie smashes the screen.

And smashes...

And smashes...