HOMEWARD BOUND - Original Script :60

We hear the helpless churning of an engine as it struggles to turn over. A young college student slams the steering wheel realizing the car won’t start. He reaches for his phone and we see a helpless gaze come across him as he continues to look. Cut to show his phone charging back at his dorm, “missed call from mom.” He lets out a scream as the camera cuts from inside, to outside the car and finally showing birds flying away from the tree tops. 

The sun sets and snow falls as he sits helplessly in his car with his hazards on (camera cuts to the car stuck in snow and slowly zooms out, suggesting isolation and helplessness). The student glances in his rearview mirror, and we see, in his car’s backseat, a poorly-wrapped present next to his backpack. The focus shifts to the headlights of an approaching truck. Giant F-A-Y-G-O letters pass by his window as the truck slows to a stop in front of his vehicle. We see the student outside the truck talking with the driver and hear swirling snow and whooshing wind. The student looks gracious as he shakes the driver’s hand. Suddenly, the student realizes he’s forgotten his present and rushes back to his car, grabbing it from the backseat. 

Cut to the two inside the truck. The driver moves to turn on the radio. After a few clicks searching for a station, he lands on a classic Holiday tune. Soon, we see the trucker’s thumb rapping on the steering wheel. The student’s fingers start thrumming the top of his present. Then, the trucker’s knee begins bouncing along with the beat. Finally, the student breaks out into a clumsy hum, the trucker later joining him before both match the song’s tempo and rhythm. They look at one another, smiling. The music carries on as we show a small montage of the two developing a friendship.

We cut to see mom with a cup of tea in her living room. She anxiously is checking her phone and glancing out the window. We hear a low rumble as the mom has a sort of surprised look on her face she gives a hesitant wave. We cut to see the truck driver leaning out his window giving a friendly nod and wave back. As the truck pulls away under the street light. We see the college kid standing with a case of Faygo and a poorly wrapped present. 

END FRAME: Here’s to Home for the Holidays.