Social Good

By Bobby Hudson 2014 bobby.hudson@live.com PLKJ-KLGH-6786-6985 (973) 350-1159 This screenplay may not be reproduced without the express written permision of the author.

1. INT. LAMBERT HOUSE - EVENING The scene opens in the Lambert’s dining room. The Lambert’s who are eating dinner is a family of four. Forty-three year old PHIL LAMBERT is husband to forty year old MOLLY LAMBERT. Phil and Molly are parents to seventeen year old JANET LAMBERT and sixteen year old JACK LAMBERT. The Lamberts look like the typical American family. The only odd thing at this dinner scene is that the food they are eating looks like different colored mush with a brown slab thrown on their plates rather than what we usually expect food to look like. The doorbell rings. Jack goes to open the front door. MR. BELL Hi, I’m Mr. Bell from the Division of Social Good. Are your parents home? JACK Yeah, sure. Jack goes back to the dining room to tell his parents who is at the door. JACK (CONTINUED) Mom...Dad...somebody from the government is here to see you. Jack sits back down to finish eating. Phil goes to the door. PHIL Can I help you? MR. BELL I’m Mr. Bell from the DSG. It’s time. PHIL Oh come on, she doesn’t turn eighteen until tomorrow. MR. BELL Your daughter, Janet, has to come with me now. PHIL Please take me instead. Please don’t take her. I beg you.

Mr. Bell enters the house. Following him is two huge security officers.

(CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 2. MR. BELL I’m sorry, but I can’t take anyone else in her place. Where is she? PHIL Well, she’s not here, right now. She’s over her girlfriend’s house. MR. BELL Mr. Lambert, I don’t have time for games. I know your daughter is here. Please present her to me in the next few minutes or face consequences. PHIL (Unhappily) Okay, have a seat. I’ll go get her. Mr. Bell refuses to sit. He and the two security officers stand. Phil goes back into the dining room. MOLLY Who is it? PHIL It’s a man from the DSG. MOLLY What does he want? PHIL He said Janet must go with him now. MOLLY Right now? JANET I thought I didn’t have to go until

tomorrow after my birthday party? PHIL He’s waiting in the living room for you dear. He says you must go now. MOLLY Isn’t there anything we can do? PHIL We knew this day was coming. (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 3. MOLLY Offer him some money. Do something. He can’t take our baby. JANET Mom, you know if I don’t go, they’ll take all of us. That’s the rule. Janet stands up. Molly begins to sob and runs to Janet hugging her. MOLLY I just can’t stand it. I love you so much. Janet starts to cry. JANET I love you too mom. Suddenly, Mr. Bell enters the dining room followed by the security guards. MR. BELL What’s taking so long? (TO JANET) Are you Janet Lambert? JANET Yes, I am. MR. BELL (To the guards) Check her fingerprints.

GUARD #1 takes a portable fingerprint scanner and checks Janet’s fingerprints with it. GUARD #1 It’s her. MR. BELL Alright let’s go, Janet. PHIL Can we just say good bye to her? Do you mind? MR. BELL Okay you’ve got a minute to say your farewells. (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 4. PHIL Jack say goodbye to your sister. Jack gets up and hugs his sister. JACK I’m going to miss you, sis. JANET I’m going to miss you too, Jack. I love you. JACK I love you too. After Jack and Janet finish their embrace, Janet grabs her father. JANET Daddy, I’m scared. PHIL You have to be brave sweetheart. MR. BELL C’mon, let’s get this over with. MOLLY Isn’t there something we can do to stop this? We have money. MR. BELL

You know this is the part I don’t get. Everyone is fine when their busy munching on other people’s children, but when it comes to their own, they think the whole process is horrible. Don’t you realize that with the way the world’s population has grown in the last few decades, there is a food shortage. Luckily, the worlds governments came up with a solution that allows us to curve population growth while at the same time providing us with a food source. PHIL Yeah, but why our children? MR. BELL Research has proven that when people reach the age of eighteen (MORE) (CONTINUED) CONTINUED: 5. MR. BELL (cont’d) they are at the best quality for processing into a viable food source. MOLLY You people are animals. I bet if Janet was our only child you would still take her. MR. BELL Yes, we would. Whether a family has one or a dozen children, the rule is that at the age of eighteen the oldest child must be taken for food processing. You’re very lucky that you have two children. PHIL That rule is not always true because I heard that rich people eat orphan babies. MR. BELL The rich do have peculiar tastes. I find that food processed using babies is too chewy for me personally. PHIL You’re disgusting.

MR. BELL I’m just being honest. Believe me I know how you feel. I lost my own daughter to the food program. After that, for a while, I refused to eat anything except my sorrow and I hated the government. I hated the way things are, but I had a wife and two other children to live for. So, eventually I ate and it didn’t matter whether I may have been feasting on my own daughter. Trust me, although you never get over it completely, it does get better overtime. Now, let’s go Janet. MOLLY Goodbye sweetheart. Molly grabs Janet for one last hug. The guards pull Janet away from Molly. Mr. Bell and the guards exit with Janet. The Lamberts are left crying and consoling each other.