FADE IN: INT. OFFICE - MORNING An elderly man in his late fifties, Mr. HUTCHIK sits behind a desk of an elegantly modern office. He smokes a cigar. Hutchik clears his throat and presses a button on his phone. HUTCHIK Sara, you can send him in. SARA (phone) Okay, sending him in now. HUTCHIK Thank you, Sara. Beat. The door swings open. BARRY, a young man in his early twenties, walks in. HUTCHIK Barry. Barry. Barry. BARRY Hello Mr. Hutchik. HUTCHIK Oh please. None of that non-sense. Call me Dave. BARRY Alright... Dave. HUTCHIK Please. Please, have a seat. Barry sits. HUTCHIK Cigar? BARRY No thanks. HUTCHIK I suppose you want to know why I called you in here. Boy oh boy, where to begin. Your article. Barry's face lights up. BARRY I'm not being fired am I? HUTCHIK Let me finish. BARRY Sorry. HUTCHIK Your latest article. Wow. Controversial to say the least. BARRY I know sir, I mean Dave. I just care passionately about the matter at hand. HUTCHIK You care passionately about homosexuals? BARRY Absolutely. It's something near and dear to my heart. I just had to get it off my chest. HUTCHIK Well, it certainly paid off. Barry loses his smile. BARRY What? HUTCHIK Oh yeah, big time. People love controversies, Barry. People have always loved controversies. The Beatles, Elvis, Madonna, Howard Stern. Barry, now wretched. BARRY Pardon? HUTCHIK We're the hottest magazine out there right now. People want definitive opinions, Barry. It doesn't matter about what. You know that. BARRY I'm sorry, I know what? HUTCHIK You know what people want. That's why I think you deserve this promotion. Which is why-- BARRY Promotion? I deserve a fuckin' promotion? Are you insane? I write a three page bullshit article about a bunch of faggots, and... and I get promoted? HUTCHIK Barry, calm down. BARRY NO, YOU CALM DOWN. Beat. BARRY I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me just now. I think my dog is dying and I've had such a bad week and I'm all -- I don't know what's wrong with me. HUTCHIK You're something really special, kid. And I don't want to lose you. Tell you what, take some time off, get your head together. Sometimes life is just too much. Escape for a while, enjoy yourself, have fun. Okay? Perhaps find yourself a lady friend? Y'know, someone to yank the old chain. BARRY I think that'll be good for me. HUTCHIK Believe it or not I was quite the ladies man back in my day. Word of advice, never get married. It'll leave you as impotent as a paraplegic. Take my word for it. BARRY Will do. HUTCHIK Here I am rambling. Well go on, get out of here. Enjoy yourself. BARRY Okay. Mr. Hutchik walks Barry to the door. They shake hands. HUTCHIK So I'll be seeing you in a couple weeks. BARRY Yes. Thank you. INT. SPORTS BAR - NIGHT Smoky. People cheer at the baseball game being shown on the big screen TV. Barry sits at a table with two of his friends, AARON (23), and GREG (24). Each with a beer in hand. AARON Buddy, it's official. You're my hero. GREG What'd I miss? AARON Dude. I read that article. That was brilliant, man. BARRY It's not big deal. GREG What was it about? BARRY Nothing really. AARON This man starts writing about how queers use their sexuality as a false sense of unique identity or some shit. Greg and Aaron both laugh GREG Are you serious? AARON Something like that. I don't know. I didn't read it all, but it was hilarious. GREG How'd you get away with something like that? You get in trouble or something? AARON He got a promotion. GREG Nice. BARRY Let's talk about something else. GREG Say... Barry, do you think you could hook me up with a job? I think I could be good at that sort've stuff, y'know? I really do. AARON Be good at what sort've stuff? You don't even have your grade 10 English. I'm sure that's one of the prerequisites of a columnist. GREG Shut up, Aaron. At least I got innovative. Aaron bursts out in laughter. BARRY I think you mean, "Initiative." GREG You think you're so superior, Aaron. BARRY Can you both shut up. Please? AARON What's wrong with you? BARRY Nothing. I mean, I don't know. I'm going away for a couple weeks, and I need someone to take care of Brewster. I really need some time to myself, okay? So no questions, no stupid remarks, okay? I just need someone to look after Brewster. That's it. AARON Where you going? BARRY I don't know. Someone just tell me they'll do me this one little favor. GREG Okay, Bare. Don't worry about it. I'll look after him for ya.. BARRY That's all I ask. INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT Barry staggers in. BARRY Brewster? Here boy. Come here boy. No response. Barry sighs. He throws his coat on the couch. BARRY Come on Brewster. Here boy. Still no response. Barry plops down on the couch. He feels something nibbling on his pant leg. It's Brewster, a little beagle. Barry looks down. BARRY Hey boy. I didn't see you there. Barry picks him up and starts to pet him. BARRY Hey buddy, I'm going to be going away for a bit, alright? Uncle Greg is gonna be looking after you for while I'm gone. It won't be so bad. I'll bring you back something nice, I promise. The phone RINGS. Barry let's it ring. It stops. ANSWERING MACHINE This is Barry, leave a message. (voice) Hi, Barry, honey. It your mother calling. I just heard about your big promotion. Congratulations. Me and your father... we're so proud of you. Please call us back so we can celebrate. We miss you, Barry. Anyway. Again, congratulations, that is wonderful news. Take care, bye. INT. APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT The walls are crammed with a life time of framed achievements. Barry, lays face down on a bed, his head buried in pillows. SOBBING is heard from underneath. Barry takes a moment and sits up. BARRY It's okay. Relax. It's gonna be okay. Barry calmly stands up. He takes a moment. In a surge a rage, Barry starts tearing frames off the wall, smashing them to pieces. The room is now in shambles. The walls are now bear, pierced with hundreds of holes. Barry collapses on the bed and buries his face underneath the pillows, SOBBING. INT. AIRPORT - EVENING Barry, luggage in hand, waits in line to buy a ticket, he stares out the window at the planes landing and taking-off. A LADY at the counter calls Barry over. LADY Can I help the next person in line, please? BARRY Hi. LADY Hi. So what can I do for you? No response. LADY Hello? BARRY Well I'm not really sure. You see I'm suppose to be going on vacation, and I'm not sure where yet. I'm sorry. LADY You look like you could use a vacation. Barry gathers himself. Smiles. BARRY Florida. Yes, Florida. I love palm trees, especially this time of year. They're so wonderful. Miami, Florida. That sounds good, right? LADY Miami sounds nice. I wish I could take a vacation to a tropical paradise. Instead I'm stuck in this rut. They both chuckle. LADY So, Miami? BARRY Yes, please. The Lady fiddles around with the computer in front of her. LADY Okay, our earliest flight leaves in an hour to Miami, Florida. Barry glances at his watch. BARRY Yes, that'd be fine, thank you so much. EXT. MIAMI, FLORIDA - BEACH - DAY Hot. The sun is shining. Waves from the Atlantic crash against the shore. Palm trees and beautiful women roller blading in bikinis fill the atmosphere.