HEATHER MCDONALD

Banana Split Club

EXT. PLAYGROUND -- DAY 

SWEET MUSIC echos as a playground filled with elementary school CHILDREN comes into view. It's recess time at JACKSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, and the children are laughing as they play. 

Kids are grinning ear to ear as they run across the playground's wood chips. The LUNCH AIDES watch on while chatting with each other. 

Blocked off by a fence, the playground equipment looks shiny and brand new with woods surrounding it.      

LILY, 8, an angry little girl, runs up towards the fence. Raising her hands in the air, she's grinning the widest of all the kids.

In her hands is a boy's shoe. She chucks the shoe over the fence. It soars into the woods and out of sight. 

Running up behind her, STEPHEN, 8, helpless and harmless, gasps for breath. He's only wearing one shoe. 

STEPHEN: Stop! My shoe! 

Lily turns around to look at Stephen while cackling. 

Stephen, with tears in his eyes, pushes Lily towards the fence. 

Lily is no longer laughing. She pushes back, forcing Stephen to the ground. Then she jumps on top of him and pins him to the floor while using one hand to sprinkle wood chips onto his face. 

The delightful MUSIC swells as Stephen shouts and struggles as  Lily laughs. 

From behind Lily, a Lunch Aide wraps her arms around the little girl's waist and pulls her off of Stephen. 

Lily chucks her last fistful of wood chips onto Stephen's face. 

INT. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE -- DAY 

The guidance counselor's office is a colorful room with games, weirdly designed couches, and inspirational posters on the wall. 

COUNSELOR MARYANNE, 20s, a caring woman who's hardly qualified to work at a school, enters the office and shuts the door behind her. 

Maryanne sits down at her desk and removes her glasses. She checks a small sheet of paper that highlights what happened on the playground.

MARYANNE: Lily, can you tell me what happened? 

LILY: Stephen and I were just playing. 

MARYANNE: Mrs. Williams said you threw Stephen's shoe over the fence. 

LILY: That was part of the game. 

MARYANNE: Do you think Stephen was having fun playing this game? 

LILY: He's the one who gave me his shoe. 

MARYANNE: He says it fell off when you were chasing him. His mom had to come to school to get it from the other side of the fence. 

LILY: He got it back? 

MARYANNE: Yes. 

Maryanne stands from her desk and walks to the other side. She sits down a few feet closer to Lily. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): Lily, what's going on? You've seen me more this past month than you have all year. 

Lily stops kicking her feet and looks down at her shoes. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): Is there something you want to talk to me about? 

Maryanne waits for a response, but Lily has retreated into her shell. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): I talked with your mom on the phone. She told me about the divorce. I'm really sorry, Lily. 

Lily’s face becomes red as she tucks her chin into her chest to hide her face. She’s visibly embarrassed, but tries not to show it. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): A lot of people's parents get divorced. It's super hard at first, but I promise it gets better... 

Lily begins to cry. Her tiny body shakes as tears fall from her eyes. 

Maryanne gets up from her desk and plucks a tissue out of the tissue box. She goes over to Lily and sits besides her on the couch's arm rest. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): You're not going to get in trouble today, but there is something you will have to do. 

INT. CLUB ROOM -- DAY 

Maryanne and Lily stand in the doorway of a classroom. It's lunch time, and Lily carries a brown lunch bag. 

On the door is a poster of a huge banana split with the words BANANA SPLIT CLUB. 

The two enter the room together. 

In the corner are six KIDS who are all talking and having fun. When they see Maryanne enter, they scatter to sit in the circled seats. 

MARYANNE (to Lily): Go take a seat. 

Lily nods, wiping away her last tear. 

She takes a seat next to SHAYLEE, 9, a nosy yet friendly girl. 

Maryanne begins to talk to the kids, but it's muffled out as Shaylee whispers to Lily. 

SHAYLEE: When did your parents get divorced? 

Lily's wide eyed. The embarrassed blush comes back to her face. 

LILY: They're not. 

SHAYLEE: Oh, really? Then why are you here? 

LILY: What is this? 

SHAYLEE: It's a club for people whose parents are divorced. 

LILY: Are your parents divorced? 

SHAYLEE: Yeah. My dad's dating my nanny. 

Lily stays silent for a beat. She's contemplating telling the truth.

LILY: My parents got divorced last month. 

SHAYLEE: I'm Shaylee. 

LILY: I'm Lily. 

Maryanne speaks loudly to the club.

MARYANNE: Girls. You're going to wanna listen. I'm explaining the activity. 

Showing them instructions to an easy craft, Maryanne continues to speak to the kids. It's a hand sewn bear with a pouch for a small red heart. Her voice is muffled again as thee girls continue to talk.

Shaylee leans closer, speaking even quieter now. 

SHAYLEE: Divorce isn't so bad. We get to go on a field trip at the end of the year and get ice cream. Everyone gets super jealous. There's banana in it and everything. 

LILY: I don't really like banana. 

SHAYLEE: It tastes good with ice cream. I promise. 

Lily nods as Maryanne chimes in. She holds up the supplies to make the bear one by one as she explains how to make it. 

MARYANNE: You're gonna bring your needle in and out of the little holes until you get to the head. The needle isn't sharp, but please don't play around because I want no one getting hurt. Then we're gonna stuff your bears and make 'em nice and fluffy. 

One last kid enters the club room. It's Stephen. 

He runs in, now wearing both shoes. His backpack shakes up and down as he runs towards the last empty seat next to Lily. 

Before he sits, Stephen looks up at Lily. He stares at her with worry, then looks around for a different seat. He doesn't see one. Reluctantly, Stephen sits besides Lily. 

Lily looks at Stephen, but he refuses to look back. 

INT. HALLWAY -- DAY 

Maryanne stands at the entrance of the clubroom as it lets out. The kids leave one by one with a new stuffed bear in their hands. 

She high fives each as they leave, heading down the hallway together to their classroom. 

As Lily exits, Maryanne puts her hand on Lily's shoulder. 

MARYANNE: You stay here for a second. Remember what I told you in my office? 

Lily waits in the hallway as Stephen exits last. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): Stephen, Lily has something she'd like to say to you. 

LILY: I'm sorry for throwing your shoe. And for pushing you to the ground. And for throwing wood chips at your face. 

STEPHEN (meekly): It's okay. 

MARYANNE: Thank you, guys. Alright let's get you back to class. 

The three walk down the small hallway side by side. 

INT. LUNCHROOM -- NEXT DAY 

The cafeteria has brick walls covered in white paint with long fold out tables. 

Lily is the first to sit down to have lunch. She rips open her brown lunch bag and sorts the things inside. 

Shaylee comes over next and plops down in front of her. 

SHAYLEE: Are you allergic to peanuts? 

LILY: No. 

SHAYLEE: Okay. My mom says that before I make friends I have to ask them if they're allergic to peanuts. 

LILY: Why? 

SHAYLEE: Because I eat a peanut butter and jelly everyday and if one day I make a friend who's allergic to peanuts and I accidentally have peanuts on my hand and touch them and they start getting all allergic and die then my mom says that their parents can sue us. 

LILY: They could die? 

SHAYLEE: Yeah. 

Shaylee opens up her ziplock bag with her sandwich inside. 

SHAYLEE (CONT'D): Do you want half? 

Lily looks at it a little hesitantly. 

LILY: Yeah. 

Lily moves her hands forward, and Shaylee places half the sandwich into her palm. 

SHAYLEE: Did you like the club? 

LILY: Yeah, it was fun I guess. Does everyone with divorced parents have to go? 

SHAYLEE: Nope, not everyone. Mrs. Maryanne says that some people are embarrassed that their parents are divorced, but they shouldn't be. Like Megan. 

LILY: I thought Megan's mom died. 

SHAYLEE: Oh, I didn't know that. 

Shaylee looks worried for a second, but when that second passes, she takes a huge bite from her sandwich, speaking with half her mouth still full. 

SHAYLEE (CONT'D): She can still join, though. Stephen's dad is dead. That's why he's in the club. 

LILY: I didn’t know that... 

SHAYLEE: Yeah. Can I have one of your pretzels? 

LILY: Okay. 

Shaylee takes a pretzel from Lily's bag placing it on the table. 

Lily takes one out for herself, but stacks it on top of Shaylee's. 

The two giggle, stacking the pretzels higher and higher. 

INT. CLUB ROOM -- DAY -- NEXT WEEK 

It's lunch time again during Banana Split Club, and Maryanne is in the room sitting in the circle. 

Most kids are there as well, Lily and Shaylee coming in last. 

The kids have already begun eating lunch and chatting amongst each other. 

MARYANNE: While you're all still eating, I wanted to make some announcements. So next week we'll be making tie dye t-shirts out on the playground, so do't forget to wear clothes you're not afraid to get dirty. 

Elated, Lily leans in toward Shaylee.       

LILY (whispering): I love tie-dye. 

SHAYLEE: So do I. 

They perk up back to attention when Maryanne looks their way. 

MARYANNE: The week after that we'll be going on our field trip to the ice cream shop, so I need everyone to get their parents to sign the permission slip and hand it in next week. 

Maryanne walks around the circle and hands out a sheet of paper to each student. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): But today we're just going to have a plain old group chat. 

Maryanne slides a flyer in front of Lily. There is a picture of a big banana split printed in color and an explanation of the field trip below. This is a BIG DEAL. 

Maryanne takes her seat in the circle. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): And don't forget this is a safe space. We don't share other people's stories, and we don't have to talk if we don't want to. Would anyone like to go first? 

Two kids, COLIN, 7, and RACHEL, 6, begin to talk. 

RACHEL: My mom got a new boyfriend. 

COLIN: So did my mom! He's a jerk. 

RACHEL: Mine's nice. He has kids my age, and now we get to play all the time. 

MARYANNE: What makes him a jerk, Colin? 

COLIN: I don't know. I just don't like him. I miss my dad. 

KAYDEN, 8, chimes in. 

KAYDEN: Me too. My dad sent me a card for my birthday last month and he said he'd come to visit but he never came. My mom says it's because he's a deadbea-- 

MARYANNE: Very nice, Kayden. Anyone else? 

Lily looks around nervously. 

Maryanne spots her from the corner of her eye. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): Lily? Is there something you’d like to share? You don’t have to, but if you’d like-- 

LILY: My mom's moving to London in a few weeks. I'm never going to see her again. 

MARYANNE: I'm sure you'll see her again, Lily. And I'm sure all your parents want you to be happy. But sometimes it's hard to be happy, right? Change is difficult. My parents got divorced when I was five and it was hard because everything was different and I thought I had no one I could talk to. But that's why we're all here. So we can talk with people who understand what we're going through. 

Lily looks over at Stephen from across the circle. He's looking down at his desk as Maryanne talks. 

EXT. PICK UP LINE -- DAY 

All of the elementary students are waiting for their parents to pick them up by car. The Aides help direct the kids to the vehicles out on the street.

Lily stands quietly on the blacktop outside.

Both hands holding onto his back pack straps, Stephen stands near Lily. She inches toward him.         

LILY: How'd your mom get the shoe? 

STEPHEN: She climbed over the fence and got it from the bushes. I only have three pairs of shoes. 

LILY: I'm sorry. 

Stephen nods. He keeps his head down. 

LILY (CONT'D): Your mom sounds cool. 

STEPHEN: She is. 

LILY: Shaylee told me about your dad. I'm sorry for that too. 

STEPHEN: Yeah. I don't really remember him. He died when I was three. 

LILY: You don't remember him? 

Stephen shakes his head. Lily is taking this harder than he is. 

LILY (CONT'D): I'm scared I'm going to forget my mom when she leaves. 

STEPHEN: You should keep a photo of her in your room. That's what I do.

LILY: Okay... 

They're standing in silence now. Neither's parents have arrived yet. Lily turns to Stephen. He finally looks at her. 

LILY (CONT'D): Can we be friends, Stephen? 

STEPHEN: Sure, we can be friends. Will you help me tie dye next week? I’ve never done it before. 

LILY: Yes! I’m really good at tie dye. And so is Shaylee, we can do it together and-- 

AIDE: Stephen Kim! Your car is here. Stephen Kim! 

Stephen moves forward, backpack bouncing. 

LILY: Bye Stephen! 

Stephen turns around and waves to her while walking backwards. He bumps into the Aide who turns him around and directs him to his car. 

SERIES OF SHOTS -- NEXT FEW WEEKS 

A) Lily, Stephen, and Shaylee play on the swings. Two swing at once while one moves back and forth pushing the two. They alternate. 

B) The three sit at the lunch table together sharing their lunches with each other. A popular girl, AMANDA, who sits besides them eyes their food. 

C) The Banana Split Club make tie dye t-shirts. When they unravel the shirts, the club logo is on it. 

D) Lily hands in her permission slip to Maryanne. 

E) Lily, Stephen, and Shaylee stand in line together at pick up. Lily's ride arrives first. She waves goodbye to her friends and gets into the car. 

INT. CAR -- CONTINUOUS 

DAD, 30s, business man, sits in the front seat of a clean minivan. 

Lily’s tie dye is in a plastic bag, and she attempts to show him. 

LILY: Look! Mrs. Maryanne made these with us today! She says we need to put it in the washer tonight. But it has to be alone because if it's with other things it'll make everything blue. 

DAD: Sweetheart. I've got some bad news. 

LILY: Is the washer broken? 

DAD: No, Sweetie. Your mom...she had to leave early. 

LILY (quietly): What? 

DAD Yeah. Her other flight got canceled, so she took one this morning instead. I'm sorry-- 

LILY: She didn't say goodbye to me. 

DAD: She tried, but she couldn't find you at lunchtime and she was already late. 

Dad looks at Lily through the rearview. 

She is trying not to cry, but tears are beginning to fall. She's out of breath while she speaks. 

LILY: I was tie dying. I was at the club. She could've found me. I was just outside the lunchroom. 

DAD: I know it's hard, sweetheart. 

Lily begins shaking her head. 

LILY: No. No, I want my mommy. I wan't to see my mom! 

Dad knows there's no fixing this. He clenches the wheel tighter. 

DAD: I know. 

Dad pulls away from the school as Lily cries in the backseat. 

INT. LUNCHROOM -- NEXT DAY 

Lily sits at the lunch table as Stephen, Shaylee, and other KIDS talk to each other. 

Lily lays her head on the table and sits silently. 

Shaylee offers Lily half of her sandwich, but Lily refuses to eat. She pushes her bag of pretzels over to Shaylee. 

INT. HALLWAY -- LATER 

Lily walks with Shaylee and Stephen. Her head is tucked down, watching the floor. 

Stephen and Shaylee look at each other concerned. Stephen whispers something into Shaylee's ear, and Shaylee reaches out to pull Lily's sleeve.

Lily stops to look at them. 

LILY: What? 

SHAYLEE: Are you okay? 

STEPHEN: Yeah. We had so much fun yesterday, and now you won't talk to us. 

SHAYLEE: Yeah, you're being weird. 

LILY: I don't want to be in the club anymore. 

SHAYLEE: Why not? Our field trip is this week. 

LILY (slightly angry): I just don't want to be a part of the stupid club. 

STEPHEN: It's not stupid. 

LILY: Yes, it is, and I'm not going anymore. 

Lily pushes past the two and runs down the hallway. 

INT. LUNCHROOM -- THE NEXT DAY 

Lily's friends all sit together at their usual table, but today Lily sits alone with her head resting in her arms. 

A Lunch Aide comes up behind her and places a hand on her arm. Lily looks up at the Aide who speaks to her kindly. Eventually, Lily stands and the Lunch Aide guides her out of the lunchroom. 

INT. GUIDANCE COUNSELOR'S OFFICE -- DAY 

Lily is back in the big couch, the large cushions making her look small in comparison. 

Maryanne closes the door once again, but this time she sits besides Lily. 

MARYANNE: Your friends told me that you don't want to go on the field trip anymore. Did something happen between you three? 

LILY (close to tears): No, I just don't want to be a part of the stupid club. 

Maryanne sighs sadly. 

MARYANNE: I called your dad. 

Lily looks up, worried. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): He told me what happened. Is it because you missed your mom? 

Lily begins to sob violently. She's out of breath as she tries to push the words out. 

LILY: I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. She couldn't find me because I wasn't in the lunch room and now I'm never going to see her again. 

Maryanne engulfs Lily into a tight hug. Lily hugs her back, gripping on tightly. The two stay in that position for a beat. 

MARYANNE: Yo'll see her again, Lily. I promise. 

LILY: You don't know that. 

MARYANNE: I do. Your dad told me that she loves you very much. She's already planning on coming to visit. 

LILY: I just want her here. 

EXT. FRONT OF SCHOOL -- DAY 

Dad is at the front of the school building standing outside of his parked minivan. Lily is leaving school early. 

Lily and Maryanne walk out together and when Lily sees Dad she breaks out into a sprint. 

Dad squats down in his slacks and spreads his arms out to his daughter. The two hug tightly as Maryanne watches from the front doors. 

She waves a goodbye at the two, Dad returning the gesture and carrying his daughter to the back seat of his car. He buckles her in, and they set off for home. 

INT. LILY'S BEDROOM -- NIGHT 

Lily lies in bed. She's surrounded by an array of stuffed animals and tucked into her sheets tightly. She has stopped crying but the redness on her face remains. 

Her dad walks in, now in pajamas. He has a cup of hot cocoa and holds his phone against his ear. He sets down the cup and extends the phone to Lily. 

DAD: It's your mom. 

Lily's eyes widen and suddenly tears return. 

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders and handing the phone over, Dad sits down besides her. 

Rubbing away boogers with the back of her hand, Lily gasps as she cries into the phone.          

LILY: H-Hi. M-m-m-mom. 

INT. LUNCHROOM -- THE NEXT DAY 

Lily sits at the regular lunch table, but today the Banana Split Club isn't sitting with her. It's the day of the field trip and they're all preparing to leave school. 

Lily begins to eat her lunch alone today. She opens her bag of pretzels and leaves a few in front of her, the ones she'd usually give to Shaylee. Lily bites into a pretzel of her own as someone walks up to the table.

It's Shaylee and Stephen, both are wearing their Banana Split Club t-shirts. 

STEPHEN: Where's your shirt? 

SHAYLEE: Are you still not coming? 

LILY: I thought I wasn't allowed to come anymore. 

SHAYLEE: Of course. you're allowed to come! You handed in your permission slip. Mrs. Maryanne sent us to get you. 

LILY: But...I didn't wear my shirt. 

STEPHEN: That's okay. 

Stephen takes off his tie dye shirt--he has a white long sleeve underneath--and hands it to Lily. 

Shaylee and Lily are shocked by the gesture, but Stephen pushes the shirt towards Lily. 

STEPHEN (CONT'D): You can wear mine. 

Lily smiles, hugging Stephen. She hugs Shaylee next and then puts the shirt on over the one she's currently wearing. 

Lily packs up her lunch to leave as Shaylee grabs the pretzels on the table and shoves them into her mouth. 

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY -- DAY 

The three children run hand-in-hand through the halls. They're going so fast it feels like time is slowing down. It’s just the three of them in this moment-- and an Aide yelling at them to slow down. 

EXT. FRONT OF SCHOOL -- DAY 

All of the members of the Banana Split Club are piled into a small school bus that's parked near the school's entrance. 

Maryanne stands outside of it with a list of children in her hand. She’s wearing her tie dye shirt over a long sleeve shirt. 

Lily, Shaylee, and Stephen all run panting out the front door and to the bus.

Maryanne checks off the last three names on her list and stops them before they can run on. She extends a hand for them to high five. The three kids take turns. 

MARYANNE: Good job, Stephen and Shaylee. I knew no one could resist ice cream. 

Maryanne takes a look at Stephen who is no longer wearing a shirt. She realizes he's given his to Lily. A smile forms on her face. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): Hold on. She sets down her clip board and pulls off her own tie dye tshirt. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): No kind deed goes unrecognized, Stephen. 

Stephen's eyes light up. This is a special honor. He raises his arms and Maryanne lowers the shirt onto him. The shirt is big and falls to his knees, but he's elated. 

When he turns around to look at Shaylee and Lily they are looking at him with wide and excited eyes. 

MARYANNE (CONT'D): C'mon. Let's get ice cream. 

The kids link hands and enter into the bus together. 

Maryanne follows behind as the bus doors close. 

INT. ICE CREAM SHOP -- DAY 

Sitting near each other at round tables in an ice cream shop, the Banana Split Club is decked out in their club shirts.

The shop is decorated to look like a milk farm and in front of the children are banana splits. 

Lily, Stephen, and Shaylee dig in to the ice cream. 

LILY: Mmmm, I LOVE banana! 

STEPHEN (with ice cream on his chin): Me too! 

SHAYLEE: I told you it tastes better with ice cream. 

LATER 

The kids are all finished with their banana splits and are now wearing store designed hats. 

They pose together for a photo with Maryanne while a worker photographs them. 

The group changes to a silly photo after the first photo is taken, bringing giggles from the group. 

INT. SCHOOL ENTRANCE -- LATER 

After the club gets back from their trip, they all file into the school one by one. 

They are still in their party hats and talking loudly with each other. 

Other school kids watch them in awe. They're jealous beyond belief. 

Amanda and CHARLIE, another child around their age, watch as the group enters from the front. She sighs heavily and frowns. 

AMANDA: I wish my parents were divorced. 

Charlie looks at Amanda with a furrowed expression. 

END OF SCREENPLAY 

 

 

 

                                                                          

       

           

         

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