- 17 minutes ago
The Hidden Girl He Can't Afford
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm going to Stanford. I'm leaving this town forever, and it all started with the first seven minutes in the
00:05closet.
00:06We just graduated. At the after party, the spin the bottle game picked us.
00:10Seven minutes in heaven. Before I could even blink, the crowd cheered and shoved us into this closet.
00:16The second the door shut, he went completely feral.
00:19He kissed me like a madman, but he wouldn't let me make a single sound.
00:24Baby, shh. Keep it down. For my sake. Help me hide just a little longer.
00:30Okay? You're the only one who truly understands me, Thea.
00:34He begged me. The star striker, the king of the school, was breathing heavily in the dark, begging for my
00:41cooperation.
00:42At school, Thea likes Beck is a joke everyone shares.
00:45But Beck is Thea's boyfriend? That's a secret only I'm keeping.
00:49Beck and I dated in secret all senior year. No one knew.
00:52At school, I was just his neighbor, the girl next door.
00:56He always kept his distance. He said it was to protect me.
00:59A nobody dating the star striker? The popular girls would destroy me.
01:03But when we were alone, he became a completely different person.
01:17Just hang in there a little longer, baby.
01:20Once we graduate, I'll tell the whole world you're mine.
01:23I obeyed for a whole year.
01:24I really thought, once we graduated, Beck to finally tell everyone about us.
01:31Stop overthinking, baby.
01:32Three, two, one.
01:34Once we leave this town.
01:39Yo, Beck. Seven minutes in the dark with the freak. You good? Need an ambulance?
01:47Bro, honestly, those seven minutes were the longest punishment of my life. I nearly choked in there.
01:53I knew it! As if Beck would ever downgrade like that.
01:57Seriously, Thea. Stop hallucinating. You're pathetic.
01:59Everyone was literally dying laughing, like it was the funniest joke of the century.
02:05No one in that room knew.
02:06Just seconds ago, in the dark, he was whispering how crazy he was for me.
02:11But no one cared, just like always.
02:13They treat me like I'm invisible and keep playing.
02:16Round two.
02:19Finally! Time to wash your eyes out with the real queen, Beck!
02:22Blair Kensington, the head cheerleader.
02:24Her family is the school team's biggest sponsor, and tonight, the bottle chose her.
02:33So, Beck, since when do you hang out in dark closets with nobodies?
02:37Did the school board squadronly pass a law making it mandatory to charity date the nerds?
02:44Come on, Blair.
02:45She literally cornered me in there and begged me to look over her physics homework in the dark.
02:49The cheers and whistles drowned me out. I guess that was my cue to leave.
03:07My whole body was shaking so hard I could barely breathe.
03:10I turned and walked away, digging my nails into my palms,
03:14trying to stop myself from mighting right on the floor.
03:40Thea, sweetie, is everything okay?
03:43Why is it so dark over there? And where are your glasses, honey?
03:46Princess, you've been crying. Look at me.
03:48If anyone in that town made you uncomfortable tonight, you tell Dad right now.
03:52I can have our legal tumor.
03:53No, Dad, I'm completely fine.
03:55I'm at the graduation after party. That's why it's so crazy here.
03:59I took my glasses off because I was dancing.
04:02We're having so much fun. Everyone is celebrating.
04:05All right, sweetie. We just wanted to say, if you're still not ready to leave that town,
04:10if you still want to stay there for college, it's okay. Your happiness comes first.
04:15We won't force you to move to the Bay Area anymore.
04:17Mom, I'm coming.
04:19I want to go to Stanford.
04:20Oh, sweetheart. That's wonderful.
04:23You know what? Your dad's our PhD student, Ethan, is actually in your town right now.
04:28I'll call him right now to drive to the old house and get you.
04:31I hung up the FaceTime call. I fought so hard to blink back my tears.
04:35I desperately needed to distract myself, so I opened my browser to search for the weather in the Bay Area.
04:41But instead...
04:52OMG, look. Beck and Blair just hard-launched. Literal power couple ghouls.
04:57Wait, pause. Is that Thea in the background?
04:59Oh, my God. Someone already made her face into a meme?
05:02When you try to outclass your league, I'm dead.
05:04She seriously thought she had a chance?
05:06Six years of following him around like a lost puppy?
05:08Honestly, it's just sad at this point.
05:13Hey! What the hell?
05:15What the hell?
05:30Standing in that dark and freezing hall, the rain felt like a funeral for the last six years.
05:35This house witnessed how Beck and I grew up.
05:38His initials were still carved right there into the wood.
05:41Once my ferret secret. Now, a pathetic scar.
05:44So I stepped right on it, stomping his name into the dirty water.
05:48It was time to erase him.
05:49The hot water burned, but the air inside my chest felt even tighter.
05:53Every spot on my skin where his hands had touched me in the dark, it felt like a brand of
05:58shame.
05:59I scrubbed until my skin turned a stinging pink.
06:01It hurt, but it was the only way to wash off his touch.
06:05To rip away the final, disgusting chapter of my six-year mistake.
06:13Thea! Thea!
06:19Found you!
06:20I heard you ran off crying tonight, Thea.
06:22Is it really worth throwing a tantrum like this?
06:25Blair's dad literally owns my career, okay?
06:28I'm just faking it with her.
06:29Once I make it to the big leagues, we'll get married and I'll take care of you.
06:33So just bear with me, Thea, can't you?
06:35He actually thinks it is the ultimate prize.
06:37He has no idea that his dream of making it to the big leagues
06:41is something my family could buy and crush with a single phone call.
06:48Come on, Thea.
06:49Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy.
06:51Tonight in the closet, I didn't want it to end like that either.
06:54Let's just stop fighting, okay? Come here.
06:58I would always forgive him.
07:00But right now, my body is screaming, no.
07:05Are you fucking crazy, Thea?
07:07I walked through a goddamn storm just to tell you I want to marry you.
07:11And you're acting like you're too good for me?
07:13Beck has completely lost his mind.
07:15He's desperately trying to prove that he's still the master in this relationship.
07:19I fight back with everything I have, but it's useless.
07:22The narrow walls of the bathroom are suffocating me
07:24and a cold wave of despair starts to take over.
07:35Who the hell are you?
07:36Let go of me!
07:37This is private property!
07:40This is private property!
07:50Miss Thea, if you don't mind, please take my coat first.
07:55Go change into something comfortable.
07:57I will wait for you here.
08:03Thea!
08:04Is this your little revenge?
08:05You threw yourself at some rich guy from the city just because I gave Blair a little attention?
08:09You're pathetic!
08:15Mr. McAllister, right?
08:17The star striker of the local high school.
08:19I suggest you remember your words tonight.
08:21Because tomorrow, you won't even have the chance to set foot on a pitch again.
08:25You threatening me?
08:26My coach loves me and Blair's dad is on the school board.
08:28Get the hell out of my town!
08:29Listening to his utterly ignorant nonsense, a wave of nausea washed over me.
08:33In that exact moment, a manic regret began to consume me.
08:37To think that for six whole years of my youth, I was hopelessly infatuated with a soul so barren,
08:42so ignorant, and so arrogant.
08:52Because of my parents' classified, high-stakes defense tech projects,
08:56they were ghosts in my childhood, always away, hidden behind non-disclosure agreements.
09:01I spent my life in this old house, raised by my grandma, and Beck was always just a window jump
09:06away.
09:06For a long time, I mistook dependency for destiny.
09:09I subconsciously treated him as my family, my only anchor in this lonely town.
09:13I tolerated his secrecy.
09:15Don't cry, Thea.
09:16The storm can't get you here.
09:18As long as I'm here, this house will never be dark again.
09:22His hot and cold games and his cowardice.
09:24All because I thought we shared a roots-deep bond.
09:27But tonight, he proved to me that some people don't want to be your family.
09:30They just want to be your parasite.
09:41Thea, you changed.
09:43God, you look, listen to me.
09:45This guy is dangerous.
09:45You don't know who he-
09:49Beck, this slap is for your cursed seven minutes in the closet.
09:53Consider it the exit fee for my six years of blind youth.
10:00I used to think you were the king of this school.
10:02But looking at you now, you're just a pathetic coward who has to sell his soul to a cheerleader's
10:07daddy just to stay on the pitch.
10:08From this second off, you don't even exist in my world.
10:11You think you've won, Thea?
10:12You found a city boy with a nice car to bail you out?
10:15Let me tell you, Blair's father dominates this entire district school board.
10:19One word from him, and your dad's little coding studio will be bankrupt by tomorrow.
10:22You'll both starve!
10:25Mr. McAlster, you seem to have a severe misunderstanding of who actually funds that school board.
10:31Cancel the venture capital for the Kensington Group immediately.
10:35And tell the school board, the main donor of Stanford University is withdrawing all high
10:39school athletic scout recommendations for this town's team, especially the striker.
10:44You're just putting on a show.
10:45Who the hell do you think you are?
10:47A phone call can ruin the Kensingtons?
10:49You think you can block my college scout with a few words?
10:52Thea, where did you find this pathetic actor?
10:54Thea!
10:55You don't need to believe me, Mr. McAlister.
10:57You have exactly ten minutes before your coach calls to tell you that your athletic career
11:01is officially over.
11:02Thea!
11:03You're letting an outsider ruin my life?
11:05Over a stupid joke at a party?
11:07You loved me for six years!
11:08You can't be this heartless!
11:10You're wrong, Beck.
11:11He's not an outsider.
11:12He's my father's favorite student and my family's guest.
11:16As for your career, I didn't ruin it.
11:20Your cowardity and greed did.
11:32So, when Beck reached his hand out to you back then, he became your only anchor?
11:36Exactly.
11:37I subconsciously treated him as my family, my only safe harbor.
11:40Because that thorn was planted so deep in my childhood, I kept forgiving him through a
11:44heavy nostalgic filter, no matter how toxic or unrecognizable he became.
11:47But tonight, with that slap, I think I finally pulled the thorn out.
11:51Good.
11:52Professor Lawrence talks about you all the time.
11:54He always says his greatest pride isn't his patents, but his daughter, who is stronger
11:58than anyone could ever imagine.
11:59Father misses you terribly, Thea.
12:00For the road ahead, you have him and you have me.
12:02From this moment on, nobody gets to make you cry again.
12:04No, I'm done crying.
12:05I spent six years shedding tears for a ghost.
12:07I'm not wasting another drop.
12:08But tonight, with that slap, I think I finally pulled the thorn out.
12:15With pleasure, Miss Thea.
12:17Since you're entering my territory, we have a lot of catch-up to do.
12:20Let's start with standing.
12:27No, it's perfect.
12:31For the chocolate, and for not asking anything.
12:36You don't have to explain anything to me, Miss Thea.
12:42It's not some scandalous secret, anyway.
12:44I just finally figured out why I wasted six whole years on Beck.
12:49My parents' work is intense, right?
12:52Growing up, they were completely absent from every major milestone of my life.
12:59They were always locked away in some high-security lab.
13:02My 10th birthday, my 10th birthday, my graduation, even when my grandma passed away.
13:08I was always alone in that old house.
13:10When you're that young, I learned to grow wild on my own.
13:22Two months later, Stanford University.
13:25I didn't just leave that suffocating little town behind.
13:28I buried it.
13:31The nerd with the taped glasses and the oversized sweaters died in that thunderstorm.
13:35For six years, I walked with my head down, hiding behind a wall of books, terrified of being noticed.
13:42But here, I don't hide anymore.
13:45Because the world my parents built, the world I actually belong to, is finally wide open.
13:51In case of you, I care.
13:58Except for me.
14:06At Stanford, everyone is trying to general interest their way into the inner circle.
14:11Ethan Hayes, the infamous, cold-bloodied tech tycoon who tears apart tech proches for fun
14:18and standardly treats everyone like background doys.
14:24A week later, Stanford hosted the annual Ivy Plus Athletic Exchange.
14:29The campus was buzzing.
14:31But to me, it was just another noisy Tuesday.
14:34Until two ghosts from my past crashed into my new world.
14:39After Ethan liquidated the Kendingtons' venture capital,
14:42Blair's father had to spend half his fortune just to keep his own seat on the board.
14:47And Beck, he managed to crawl into a rival school's reserve team,
14:51entirely surviving on Blair's charity.
14:58Yo, look who it is!
15:00Isn't this the pathetic, desperate little shadow from our hometown?
15:03What's the matter, Thea?
15:05Did you seriously stalk Beck all the way to Stanford just to beg for his crumbs again?
15:13How did security even let a beggar like you slip it?
15:17Did you steal that dress just to pretend you belong here?
15:19Let me tell you!
15:20Let me tell you!
15:21A freak is always a freak, no matter what trash you put on!
15:24Looking at them now, I didn't even feel angry.
15:27I just felt a profound sense of irony.
15:31It turns out, when you finally stand on top of the mountain,
15:34the monsters that used to scare you in the dark
15:38look incredibly small.
15:41Thea,
15:43stop doing this to yourself.
15:45Even if you somehow manage to get into this school,
15:48it doesn't change anything between us.
15:50This place,
15:51it's not a playground for ordinary people like you.
15:55You don't belong here.
16:02When a frog in the well catches a glimpse of the ocean,
16:05it doesn't marvel at the vastness.
16:07It simply tries to drag the ocean back into its puddle.
16:24Chancellor!
16:25My father is...
16:29Miss Lawrence!
16:31I am so incredibly sorry for keeping you waiting.
16:33On behalf of the entire Stanford board,
16:35I must express our profound gratitude
16:37for your father's $20 million donation
16:39to our defense tech lab this semester.
16:46Regarding the new luxury residential hall,
16:50Professor Lawrence mentioned
16:52you should have the final say.
16:53Do you have any specific preferences
16:55for the naming, Miss Thea?
16:58No!
16:59That's impossible!
17:01Chancellor, you must be mistaken!
17:03Her parents are just nobody coders
17:05from a bankrupt small town!
17:07$20 million?
17:07She couldn't even afford a decent dress two months ago!
17:12She's a fraud!
17:13She's faking it!
17:16Security!
17:18Remove these uncivilized outsiders
17:20from the campus immediately.
17:22Cancel their school exchange passes
17:24and blacklist their names
17:25from all Stanford properties forever.
17:49Thea, please, tell them we know each other!
17:54Thea!
17:55Thea!
17:55Thea!
17:55Thea!
17:55Thea!
17:57Thea!
17:59Thea!
18:00No!
18:01That's impossible!
18:03Chancellor!
18:03You must be mistaken!
18:05She's a fraud!
18:06She's a charity case
18:07who couldn't even afford
18:08to replace her broken glasses two months ago!
18:10You are all being fooled by this bitch!
18:13The standard of education
18:14is just as fraudulent as their business.
18:26No wonder your family's firm has been fabricating its financial statements for three consecutive years.
18:31My group has officially terminated all investment and cooperation with the Kensington's as of ten minutes ago.
18:36Enjoy your bankruptcy, Miss Blair!
18:46Let me formally introduce her.
18:48This is Thea, the sole heiress to the largest venture capital group in Silicon Valley.
18:55And me?
19:02I'm currently just a candidate for the position of her fiancé.
19:06I'm still working hard to get a food.
19:13In our hometown, Beck's jersey number was a symbol of absolute royalty.
19:17People chanted his name like he was a god.
19:22But true power doesn't need a crowded stadium to scream for it.
19:26True power is quiet.
19:43It's all your fault, you worthless piece of trash!
19:47If you hadn't pissed off Thea, my dad's company would never have gone bankrupt!
19:52You owe me my whole couture!
19:55You owe me my sports car!
19:57Pay me back!
20:12Thea!
20:13You did this on purpose, didn't you?
20:15You played me!
20:16You hid your background and pretended to be a nobody just to test me!
20:20You love me, Thea!
20:21You love me, Thea!
20:23You've loved me for six years!
20:27You're only with Ethan to make me jealous, right?
20:29You're using him to punish me!
20:31But you can't look at him the way you looked at me!
20:34You gave your first time to me, Thea!
20:37You belong to me!
20:38You can't just throw me away!
20:43My first time?
20:45Beck, you really have a gift for making everything sound so incredibly small.
20:50Do you honestly think a single night in a high school motel gives you a lifelong lease on my future?
20:55And don't you dare mention Ethan!
20:56He didn't just crawl into my father's world by playing games, he helped build it!
21:00While you were busy clastic trophies and begging Blair for a handout, Ethan was already running a multi-billion dollar
21:04fund!
21:05He is a predator, Beck, and you?
21:07You're just a nuisance!
21:08Thea, you bitch!
21:26You think you've won, Professor Hayes?
21:28You think she's your pristine little princess?
21:29Let me tell you a secret.
21:31Her first time, her first kitsch, her entire teenage years, they all belong to me!
21:34I had her when she was a nobody!
21:36No matter how expensive the dress you buy her now, she will always carry my mark!
21:46A mark?
21:47Mr. McAllister, you truly possess the narrow-minded intellect of a small town amateur.
21:51To me, her past isn't a stain.
21:53It's the fuel that built her resilience.
21:56You think you took something from her?
21:58You were just a childhood disease she survived.
22:00A heavy mistake she made before she learned how to read a balance sheet.
22:03You got a few moments of her youth because she didn't know better.
22:04But me?
22:05I get her brilliance, her future, her ambition, and her entire life.
22:08You are a footnote.
22:09She's already erased, Beck.
22:10Do you really think a thief should brag about stealing a discarded wrapper?
22:13If your filthy hands or your disgusting mouth even drift in her direction again,
22:18I won't just ruin your career.
22:20I will make sure you and the Kensington's disappear from California entirely.
22:23Am I, Mike?
22:23I'm clear.
22:49I'm sorry, Thea.
22:51I shouldn't have let you go alone.
22:53When I heard him say those words.
22:56When he brought up your past like that, I wanted to end him right there.
23:01Tell me the truth.
23:02Did his words hurt you?
23:03If you still feel even a shred of grievements from that town, tell me.
23:07I'll make sure they pay a hundred times over.
23:16Hey, look at me.
23:17I'm perfectly fine.
23:19When he was talking, I didn't feel anything but disgusted.
23:23Honestly, Ethan.
23:25Your response was the sexiest thing I've ever heard.
23:28You crushed his entire existence in 30 seconds.
23:37Is that so?
23:38Since Miss Lawrence thinks I was sexy.
23:41Don't you think my hard work tonight deserves a proper, exclusive reward?
23:49And what kind of reward does Professor Hayes have in mind?
23:52The exchange is boring anyway, and the grapes here are too warm.
23:56Let's go back to my place, and let me show you what a real first time should actually feel like.
24:00No rush.
24:01No hiding.
24:01Just you and me for the whole night.
24:27You're welcome, Professor Hayes.
24:30You're welcome, Professor Hayes.
24:30What happened to the no rush you promised earlier?
24:37i overestimated my self-control thea seeing you look at me like that and realizing that nobody
24:43can ever dynamically to your future except me 30 minutes in the car is already the maximum limit of
24:49my patience
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