Welcome to Paradiso

Welcome to Paradiso
                                   A Script Summary by AJ Peaslee

My eyes open to see the ever so white ceiling. It must be early; the room is dimly lit from the sunrise. I don’t even move an inch; my body doesn’t want to close the door to the land of dreams and vivid nightmares. Too bad, its time to get up and move. I quickly sit up and stare at the blurred wall in front of me. I wipe my eyes and take another look. Spiderman and a nameless swimsuit honey look back at me. I throw the comforter off me and swing my body to the left. I stand up and yawn at the same time; my arms stretch out to the point where I feel the burn. I don’t even think about where I am going next, I just waltz out of my room, looking at the graffiti on the door as I head out.
I look in the mirror; I see a very tired and bitter face looking back at me. The hazel eyes stare sternly at me, It’s not a good morning. The sound of the toilet lid flipping up startles me, but I quickly forget once the pressure built up in my side slowly starts to fade. I shake and get the tingles, and then push down the silver lever. As I walk out, I look at the mirror once more, and fix my hair. The lines of brown are sprawled around like a bush that fought the wind. Next is some good looking attire. I stroll out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. It’s very quiet; the only audible sound is the chickadee on the bird feeder outdoor. I go and get some clothes. The Pink Floyd shirt is my favorite. As for the pants, I go with the tan khakis today. I figure I could now use a smoke and maybe some coffee. My stomach groans as if it is saying it wants to be fed first. Fine, you win you winy bastard.
After settling down on the couch, I eat the breakfast sandwich I just whipped up. Cheese and Bacon, it never gets old. Too bad I had no sausage to add to the mix. I’am watching the Captain and Casey show, those guys are hilarious. Adding humor to skating makes it even more fun. I begin to think about skating later today. It is a Friday and that word only has one meaning to me, friends. Once everyone gets here, it’s going to be the usual crazy weekend full of stupid laughs and insane antics. Skating usually ends up in the mix and as do the guitars. I glance over at the clock hanging over the fireplace to my left.
Only 8:55. I guess I should finish up eating and do something to kill the time.

I scoffed down the rest of the sandwich and already knew what I was going to do before everyone got here, practice. I grabbed my skateboard and dashed out the door. The hissing of the Mr. Coffee caught my ears on the way out. The outdoors was bright and already humid. My body instantly warmed up, and I knew that it was going to be another day to cook under the sun’s gaze.

As I walked up the hill, I heard the screams of some kids. Probably Draco beating the hell out of his little sister again. Those kids are crazy. My uncle’s offspring of course. I get to the top of the hill and instantly plant myself on my skateboard. I don’t even think about what trick I’am going to do, I just pull it. Heelflip, first try. I set my feet up for the next one, and boom, varial kickflip conquered. I skate onward toward the church; I’ll keep going back and forth for awhile.

Several hours later I sit on the couch trying to breathe the burning sensation out of my lungs. I’am downing a cup of green tea and pulling drags off a smoke. It’s about time for everyone to show up…..

Chapter I- The First Weekend
Friday- The Commute

I hear a car pulling up. The dirt gets torn apart as the driver fiercely pulls in. I look out to see my longtime friend, Ryan Bennett.

Well, where do I start? I’ve known him since early grade school.
We have been through a lot of shit together, and he is like a brother to me. We have each others backs, and take shit down together. He is a good guy, and he is pretty loyal. He is a good friend to have. He can get crazy when the time rises, sometimes the presence of a lady or alcohol will make him go even more nuts.

He walks up and we say our hellos, and we await the next guest. We talk for a few, he tells me that he needs to find a girlfriend, and I tell him welcome to my cabana boat. We laugh for a few and talk about the funny shit we saw during the week.

I glance out the window to see a green truck fly by and quickly turn around and stop in front of the house. I already know who it is. It’s another good friend, Andy Wooster.

Andy is a great guy. People have judged him before they get to know him, and it’s a shame. He is a nice guy all around, and he doesn’t mind going out of his way for a friend. He has done a lot for me, and I thank him a lot for it. We often have little get togethers at his house and party over a fire in the summer. Its always fun, we shoot the shit and just laugh about anything. He has had a somewhat sad past, but he always looks at the bright side of things, and can make anyone feel a lot better.

He walks in and we welcome him into the conversation. He talks about work and his new girlfriend Jenny. We talk about having a fire later and about getting some “party favors”.

Ryan gets up to get a soda and as he closes the fridge he says hey to someone. I look over to see two other members of our crew. Logan Shifflett and Brian Smith.

Well, these two are always in the usual crew. Logan is my cousin and we have known each other for a long time. I used to go to his house as a kid and we would play video games and go on adventures. A lot of my memories have him involved. He is a good kid. He is also downright hilarious, he can make anyone laugh, and he has tons of original jokes. He can play a guitar really well too, hear him play sometime.

Brian can play the guitar as well. His skill is about equal with Logan.  Brian is another crazy kid. He is a good guy though, although sometimes his mouth gets him into trouble. But you can’t be nice all the time. He skates pretty well and we usually skate together. There is a little rivalry between us, but it’s not bad. We just try to push each other. Brian is also the only Hawaiian I know, so he gets props.

They come in and instantly talk about shit that happened at school. We laugh about stuff for a little while and then tell them about the fire later. They are game for it.

We hang about the house for a little while, basically doing whatever. Andy leaves to go get ready for the fire and we hang around for a few.

I begin to slip into my own world as always. I begin to think about some things. I need a girlfriend. My last one cheated on me and basically fucked up my life. I’am strong so I got over it. But I need someone to love, someone that will stick by me. I sink in deeper. Suddenly I hear the strum of a guitar. Logan begins to play his “mellow song” and we all laugh about it. Brian sits at the computer on Myspace, and Ryan is fixing himself a sandwich. The phone rings and I go to answer it.

I hear a familiar voice on the other end. It’s Dave Morton. He tells me he will be showing up soon, I tell him to meet us at Andy’s place. He agrees and hangs up.

I tell everyone about Dave and we get ready to head up to Andy’s.

We walk up the road toward his house. On the way there I hear a car horn beep and it jumps me. I turn around to see a black Subaru. It’s Evan Van Orsdale. We walk over to greet him.

Ah, Evan, Evan. Evan is quite the character. I’ve known him for a few years and already he has become a great pal. He makes me laugh like crazy and he is always good to have around. We have been looking for apartments lately with his girlfriend Krissy. Evan is often judged by his appearance, and it’s a pity, He is an excellent guy. He also plays the guitar, and he is extremely talented at it. I see him going places in the near future.

We tell him that we are going to go to Andy’s and have a get together. He says he will go to and we hop in his Subaru. We drive up to Andy’s and walk down toward the fire pit. He already has a pile going and we take seats. We talk for a few. Andy’s brother TJ comes out and tells Andy that his mom is taking the truck. I would go into detail about him, but I really don’t know much about him. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy.

We start to laugh as part of the fire explodes. Pyromaniacs gathered in one spot, yay.

Evan starts talking about how shitty finding an apartment here is. We start dissing Boothbay for all its worth.

Soon another car pulls up. Dave and his girlfriend Lisa get out. They walk toward us and Dave makes a typical funny comment.

Dave Morton. Yeesh, where do I begin with him? Dave is a one of a kind character, he is the Joker of a deck of cards. Dave can make anyone laugh, and if you don’t find him funny, he will let you have it. He has had a tough past, but he always seems to put a good face on. Dave skates and isn’t bad at it. He goes berserk at that and most other things. If he were a superhero, he would be Daredevil, the man without fear.

As for Lisa, I haven’t known her to long, but she is really nice and a very down to Earth person. She really cares for Dave and that is always a plus. I’am happy that Dave found someone good, because that is hard these days.

They come over and join the circle around the fire. We know what will be coming next…..alcoholic beverages. Dave plays with the fire while Andy brings down Twisted Tea and Corona. We all laugh and crack open a brew. Good times.

The night goes by with much laughter and chaos. The fire explodes a couple hundred times, and the laughing never stops.

Chapter I-The First Weekend
Saturday-West Harbor and the Coppas

The next day we all hang around the house for a few. I sit on the couch, sinking into my own world again. My conscience won’t leave me be. It tells me love will never come my way, and that I’am a horrible writer and skater. If I had my way, I’d do away with Jiminy fucking Cricket because all he does is make life worse.

I snap out of my daze. Ryan, Logan and Brian say we should go to West Harbor pond for a swim. I agree and we head out. On the way there, we get a call from Evan telling us that he and Krissy will be there.  When we get to Boothbay, we are stopped by yet another person I know. Adam Brewer.

Ha, Adam. He can be classified as a Whiggoth. (Whigger/Goth) A white guy that acts blinging and acts like a goth. Adam can be a real dick at times and he can be pretty cocky. But he is a cool person if you get to know him. He is opened minded and listens to what has to be said. He won’t blow you off when you need help and will return a favor. He acts like a jerk, but he in truth is an alright dude.

He walks up and starts bragging about a party he went to and so on. He tells us he is going to kick the shit out of Joseph Pinkham and he strolls off. We laugh a little.

Once we get to Westharbor, we see Evan and Krissy.

Krissy is a cool person as well. I haven’t known her too long, but she is pretty nice. She can be funny and always listens to what you have to say. She is a pretty enlightened lady, and she always tries to help people out with relationships.

We all jump in and have a ball. Brian uses the rope swing, but hangs on too long and smashes himself off the rock. He falls into the water and remains breathless on its surface. We panic and try to help him. He is out cold. He gets up and acts ok. His back is bleeding like crazy. He just brushes it off. Crazy.

As we get ready to leave, Ryan swerves about. His car is smoking badly inside. Someone dropped a cigarette and it is burning the seat. They scramble to put it out. When they get it out, they pull over and Ryan laughs about it. We keep heading back to the house.

When we get back to the Sanctuary, we chill for a little bit. Evan and Krissy say we should go to the Doobie Store. Brian and Logan stay here and we head out. We get there and leave with the goods.

I notice that we are being followed by a blue car. It can’t be a cop, no lights, no side emblem, and no black grill.

Evan, Ryan and Krissy smoke of the scolding roach. I quit a few years ago.

Evan looks up into the mirror to notice that the guy driving has a badge! Evan throws the roach out the window. Somehow, the cop catches it. I’am pretty sure he sniffed it and said goddamn kids.

He pulls us over and instantly starts hassling Evan. He must be a crooked cop, because he starts to rave and rant about him wasting good weed. He wants all of Evan’s pot and paraphernalia. Evan distracts him enough so that I and Ryan can get out. We pummel the piggy and leave him to wonder about what the hell happened.

We cook it all the way back home. We laugh about the episode after and say we will hang out again next weekend after laying low for a few days.

What a great weekend. I ponder the events most of the night and eventually crash. Sunday everyone heads home and I stay bored. Nothing much happens on Sunday.

Chapter II-The Second Weekend
Friday-Simply Wonderful

Friday once again. I had a bizarre dream the night before. I was trying to save a girl and couldn’t move or speak. What a sick game that was.

The usual suspects show up. We try to figure out what we should do this weekend. Evan wants to go get some acid. Yeesh, I won’t do that.

He and Krissy go to get it. Everyone else stays behind. While waiting, we get a surprise. The knocking on the door just so happens to be Matt Tarr.

Matt, you can’t describe in words how much of a genius he really is. Most people see him as the crazy and funny kid. He is actually very intelligent, and I see him going very far in life. Me and him have hung out for a long time, and he has my trust. He is one of the few people that I can have intellectual conversations with.

He walks in and makes a grand entrance. We tell him whats up and we chill out. The half pipe party is next weekend. Everyone is going nuts about it.

Evan comes back with the Alice in Wonderland goodies. A vial of the tonic. He takes it with Krissy. Without knowing, he puts it in all of our drinks.

Oh jesus. I’am tripping out intensely. I look at the rocking chair to see Uncle Sam nod his hat and then fade away. I look toward Evan to see him slowly melting away as he is laughing. I start to clench the computer chair tightly. As Ryan walks over to me, he starts to break off into fragments, almost like Tetris blocks and he disappears, yet I can still hear him making a blood curdling scream. I rub and slap my face, hoping to stop hallucinating for a few moments. I thought wrong, way wrong.

Brian makes the trip worse, he plays Pink Floyd-One of my Turns. Jesus, I start to see Stephen King tearing my house apart, throwing the chairs and the tables. Soon after I see Matt asking if I want a cigar. His face turns into a skull and shakes violently.

Chapter II-The Second Weekend
Saturday-Revenge and Sweetly Bitter

The next day I awake and feel like my head was smashed by a fucking Giant with a club. Everyone is crashed on the living room floor. What a fucking nightmare that was. I’am amazed that I can even talk today.

Its only 7 in the morning, and I hear a knock on the door. I go to it to see the cop we beat up. I start to get nervous, what the fuck does he want?

He tells me that he will let Ryan and I go as long as he can speak with Evan. I tell him he isn’t here and he drags me outside and starts yelling at me. I’am not even paying attention, I’am talking in my head.

Jesus, he gets in your face. Be thankful you are a cop buddy. I tell him again I don’t know where Evan is and he throws me off the deck and storms off. I Yell “you chicken shit behind a badge!” I go inside to se everyone awake. Matt asks me what the hell happened, I shrug and say Jehovas.

Everyone eats and I tell Evan he is a bastard and he laughs and tells me that it will make for good memories. Andy comes down and we tell him about last night. He tells me about the cop coming to his house first, I told him he won’t be back and we laugh.

Everyone goes outside for a quick bake and I sit inside. I contemplate these last few days. My house is usually crazy, but it’s been insane lately….something is going on.

Krissy talks about Shellie when she comes inside. She is trying to hook me up with her, but it’s still iffy. After my last ex, whom was a maniacal bitch I might add, I’ve been crazy about finding a much better relationship.

We decide to hang out at the house and go crazy like always. We just act like fools most of the time and hang out. Good times.

Dave makes Andy drink really old bong water at one point and I somehow get onto the roof and proceed to fall off. What a weekend.

Chapter III-The Third Weekend
Friday-Homecoming

This weekend is going to be nuts. An old friend, Lucas Graf, is coming back. Everyone is hyped up to see him once again. I happen to be one of those.

He eventually shows up, we all greet him and welcome him home. Ryan brings out the Mexican wonder tonic of course.

We throw craze for some time. We laugh about how ridiculous that popo was.

Once again, I sink into the abyss of my mind. What the hell is wrong with me? Stay focused! But my mind won’t let me; tough luck is what it throws at me. Of course, it brings up the girlfriend factor, but it also bothers me about something else. The chaos here has been increasing more and more as the weekends go on. Maybe it’s just a good summer. Hell no, it can’t be that, my mind won’t accept that answer. Something is happening, something big.

I shake it off and tell my conscience to buzz off for awhile. We talk and skate for awhile. Enough said.

Chapter III-The Third Weekend
Saturday-The Chaos ensues

Well, today started off nuts. I wake up to Dave slapping Ryan across the face with a pillow and then his attention gets focused on me. He shakes my bed violently and tells me to get the fuck up or get dragged the fuck out. Yippee.

He says that we can go to the Brunswick skate park today. We head out. On the way up I ride with Evan, Krissy and Ryan. Brian, Logan and Lucas went with Dave and Lisa. At one point, we almost hit some random old man holding a sign. It said something about the world, but whatever. Still…..

We get there and skate it up. Dave decides he wants to go too big for his own good. His board gets hung up on the coping and he falls and hit’s the bottom face first. A fountain of red liquid pours out and he lays helpless. We rush over in a frantic panic.

He goes to the hospital, and Ryan says we lost a solider today. Damn, I feel for him.

Things only got worse at home. I see my half pipe up in flames. Andy is down here trying to put it out. He tells me when he got here it was like this, and the fire reeks of gasoline. What the fuck is happening!?

We have no leads on who did it, and I try hard to find out who I pissed off. now one that I can think of. We hang around the house, thinking about such a horrible day.

Chapter IV-The Fourth Weekend
Friday- A Crazy Train

Well, everyone shows up at my house. Even Sam Reay.

Sam is a really good kid. He is the mellowest person I have ever met. He is always happy, I have never seen him angry, and there are even times when he should be furious. Nope, not Sam. He is a very talented skater too, and I think he has a future in it. I hope the best for him.

Something is happening, and it is certainly big. The news reveals something even crazier then we could ever create. The headline reads: The End of Humanity. Something is wrong inside the Earth, its going to implode. Way to fucking go humanity.

We all sit around in awe. So young and now hopeless. What the hell was the point? Why did I even bother getting this far? I go on a rampage; I rip up all my stories and punch in my computer monitor. I smash my skateboard and burn my snowboard. I then give up and drink a whole fifth of Captain Morgan’s by myself. I think about everything leading up to this point. We only have one weekend left after this one. What’s the point of even hanging around that weekend? Oh, see ya guys next….oh wait, there won’t be a next time. I curse at the skies and storm of inside in a fit of rage.

Everyone is playing cards and I walk up and slat them off the table. I ask them if they are crazy, they should go home and see their families and shit. They tell me that we are all family too, and this would be the best place to end it all next weekend, go crazy until the very end.
Chapter IV-The Fourth Weekend
Saturday-Never waking up

Dave gets out of the hospital today, yay, he gets to be healthy before death.

I didn’t even wake up until 4pm, so know body hung around. I eventually get up and then say fuck it and go to bed hungry, saddened, and needing to go to the bathroom. Fuck it all.

Chapter V-The final weekend
Friday-Funday, or a simple Sunday?

Everyone shows up, I look like death. My body is pale and horrifying. I haven’t eaten in days and I haven’t bothered with life in nearly a week. My purple eyes look like mascara. It’s nasty.

Matt sits me down for a talk. He tells me that this is the last weekend, ever. Let’s make the best of it and enjoy it while it lasts.

Soon after Ryan and Dave come and talk to me. Ryan tells me that we should say the hell with it and drink, smoke and fuck the weekend away. Dave tells me that if I don’t eat soon, he will spoon feed me like mother Hen. I laugh a little bit.

Everyone else sits down too. Evan, Krissy, Lisa, Sam, Logan and Brian, Lucas, Andy, and even Adam. Some other guests appear, (Some Girl) and Molly. Other friends show up as well.

We all talk for awhile and eventually I chin up and eat. What the hell, might as well say fuck it and blow the weekend away.

We pitch out tents and have a huge bash outside. The craziest stuff I have ever seen happens. The skating is superb, Dave goes wild, Evan kills with his guitar, and Ryan rocks with his drums. Brian and Logan create a new song, and Adam even lets go his title of Pimp. We all fall asleep under the moon’s gaze.

Chapter V-The final weekend
Saturday-Thanks a lot God

I awake the next day to see (some girl) in my face. She tells me that she wants to be mine. My heart skips a beat, make that several beats.

I enjoy it, but I hate it. Why now? I love your sick sense of humor and your funny haha games God.
We all hang around. Yay, one more day. We have several earthquakes off and on. Its coming, oh yes it is.

Everyone smokes the biggest doobie ever, 3 king size zig zags worth. I still keep my old vow not to.

Matt goes crazy. He makes everyone laugh with randomness. We all go crazy today, laughing becomes the emphasis.

Wow, I can go to nirvana happy as a little kid on Christmas now.

Nothing much happens; we are just teens waiting for Death to come knock on the door.

THE FINAL DAY-
Welcome to Paradiso

The earth rumbles violently all day, we all sit outside and wait for our unavoidable doom. The earth rips open like flesh on a knife’s tip. We all burn away in an explosion of flames. That’s the end of my story apparently…..

My eyes open to see the ever so white ceiling. It must be early; the room is dimly lit from the sunrise. I don’t even move an inch; my body doesn’t want to close the door to the land of dreams and vivid nightmares. Too bad, its time to get up and move. I quickly sit up and stare at the blurred wall in front of me. I wipe my eyes and take another look. Spiderman and a nameless swimsuit honey look back at me. I throw the comforter off me and swing my body to the left. I stand up and yawn at the same time; my arms stretch out to the point where I feel the burn. I don’t even think about where I am going next, I just waltz out of my room, looking at the graffiti on the door as I head out.
I look in the mirror; I see a very tired and bitter face looking back at me. The hazel eyes stare sternly at me. It’s not a good morning. The sound of the toilet lid flipping up startles me, but I quickly forget once the pressure built up in my side slowly starts to fade. I shake and get the tingles, and then push down the silver lever. As I walk out, I look at the mirror once more, and fix my hair. The lines of brown are sprawled around like a bush that fought the wind. As I walk out I stop dead in my tracks….wait a moment….

This has happened before…..

Your right kiddo.

I turn around to see myself looking at me. I stare back in fear, what the hell is this?

I’m your subconscious bub. You’re not dead, well, in a sense yes.
You died in what you thought was reality. This is the real place of dreams and nightmares.

What? How is that possible? I’m just having a bad dream…..wake up AJ!

No. it’s the truth, go grab that burning ciggarette and I bet you will feel the melting skin on your fingertips. You are not waking up. This is your personal Heaven, Nirvana, Paradise or whatever have you. Everything here is what you loved in life, just on a greater scale.

What about my friends? What’s the point without them?

Don’t worry, they are here, everything is as it was before the End of Time. It will never end here. You lead a great life, and you died long before your set time. Your friends as well. Go on with it as it was before….

I look in the living room to see everyone hanging around.

Evan, Logan and Brian are playing the guitar. Ryan is playing the drums. Krissy and Lisa are talking near the couch and Sam Reay is perfecting his skate tricks on the now five foot half pipe outside. Dave is out there with him, kicking more ass then I have ever seen. I look to see my skateboard and everything else in perfect shape. My writing is on a library shelf in the living room too, they are all in book form. Adam is playing the playsation with Lucas. Andy is sipping coffee while jamming out to the music. Molly is watching them play playstation, and Matt is video taping things in my house. Suddenly I feel arms wrap around me, I turn to see (some girl) smiling at me. I turn back and look at my subconscious one last time.

He says: Welcome to Paradiso.


The End.
Cue the credits.

Note: I had writer’s block like crazy. It may not be the best thing out there, but I tried. Hope you like it dear reader. AJP.