- 3 hours ago
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I'm going to Stanford. I'm leaving this town forever.
00:03And it all started with the first seven minutes in the closet.
00:06We just graduated.
00:07At the after party, the spin the bottle game picked us.
00:11Seven minutes in heaven.
00:12Before 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.
00:34He 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. Once we graduate, I'll tell the whole world you're mine.
01:23I obeyed for a whole year. I really thought, once we graduated, Beck to finally tell everyone about us.
01:31Stop overthinking, baby. Once 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.
02:00Everyone was literally dying laughing. Like it was the funniest joke of the century.
02:04No one in that room knew. Just seconds ago, in the dark, he was whispering how crazy he was for
02:11me.
02:11But no one cared. Just like always. They 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. She literally cornered me in there and begged me to look over her physics homework in the
02:49dark.
02:50The 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. I turned and walked away.
03:12Digging my nails into my palms. Trying to stop myself from mining right on the floor.
03:41Thea, sweetie, is everything okay? Why is it so dark over there? And where are your glasses, honey?
03:46Princess, you've been crying. Look at me. If anyone in that town made you uncomfortable tonight, you tell dad right
03:52now.
03:52I can have our legal tumor.
03:53No, dad. I'm completely fine. I'm at the graduation after party. That's why it's so crazy here.
03:59I took my glasses off because I was dancing. We're having so much fun. Everyone is celebrating.
04:06All right, sweetie. We just wanted to say if you're still not ready to leave that town, if you still
04:11want to stay there for college, it's okay. Your happiness comes first. We won't force you to move to the
04:17Bay Area anymore.
04:17Mom, I'm coming. I want to go to Stanford.
04:21Oh, sweetheart. That's wonderful. You 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. I desperately needed to distract
04:37myself, so I opened my browser to search for the weather in the Bay Area, but instead…
04:52OMG, look. Beck and Blair just hard launched. Literal power couple ghouls. Wait, pause. Is that Thea in the background?
04:59Oh my god, someone already made her face into a meme? When you try to outclass your league, I'm dead.
05:04She seriously thought she had a chance? Six years of following him around like a lost puppy? Honestly, it's just
05:09sad at this point.
05:13Hey! What the hell?
05:30What the hell?
05:31Standing in that dark and confusing hall, the rain felt like a funeral for the last six years. This house
05:36witnessed how Beck and I grew up. His initials were still carved right there into the wood. Once my ferret
05:42secret, now a pathetic scar. So I stepped right on it, stomping his name into the dirty water. It was
05:48time to erase him. The hot water burned, but the air inside my chest felt even tighter. Every spot on
05:55my skin where his hands had touched me in the dark, it felt like a brand of shame.
05:59I scrubbed until my skin turned a stinging pink. It hurt, but it was the only way to wash off
06:05his touch. To rip away the final, disgusting chapter of my six year mistake.
06:13Thea! Thea! Thea!
06:19Found you! I heard you ran off crying tonight, Thea. Is it really worth throwing a tantrum like this?
06:25Blair's dad literally owns my career, okay? I'm just faking it with her. Once I make it to the big
06:30leagues, we'll get married and I'll take care of you. So just bear with me, Thea, can't you?
06:35He actually thinks it is the ultimate prize. He has no idea that his dream of making it to the
06:40big leagues is something my family could buy and crush with a single phone call.
06:48Come on, Thea. Don't look at me like I'm the bad guy tonight in the closet. I didn't want it
06:54to end like that either. Let's just stop fighting, okay? Come here.
06:58I would always forgive him, but right now, my body is screaming, no.
07:06Are you fucking crazy, Thea? I 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. He'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. The narrow walls of the bathroom are suffocating me, and
07:25a cold wave of despair starts to take over.
07:28No!
07:35Who the hell are you? Let go of me! This is private property!
07:51Miss Thea, if you don't mind, please take my coat first. Go change into something comfortable. I will wait for
07:58you here.
08:03Thea! Is this your little revenge? You threw yourself at some rich guy from the city just because I gave
08:08Blair a little attention? You're pathetic!
08:15Mr. McAllister, right? The star striker of the local high school. I suggest you remember your words tonight, because tomorrow,
08:22you won't even have the chance to set foot on a pitch again.
08:25You threaten me? My coach loves me and Blair's dad is on the school board! Get the hell out of
08:29my town!
08:29Listening to his utterly ignorant nonsense, a wave of nausea washed over me.
08:34In 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, so
08:43ignorant, and so arrogant.
08:52Because of my parents' classified high-stakes defense tech projects, they were ghosts in my childhood, always away, hidden behind
08:59non-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. I subconsciously treated him as my family, my only anchor in
09:13this lonely town.
09:14I tolerated his secrecy.
09:16Don't cry, Thea! The storm can't get you here! As long as I'm here, this house will never be dark
09:21again!
09:22His hot and cold games and his cowardice. All 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. They just want to be
09:32your parasite.
09:41Thea, you changed! God, you look- listen to me, this guy is dangerous, you don't know who he-
09:49Bec, this slap is for your cursed seven minutes in the closet. Consider it the exit fee for my six
09:55years of blind youth.
10:00I used to think you were the king of this school. But looking at you now, you're just a pathetic
10:05coward who has to sell his soul to a cheerleader's daddy just to stay on the pitch.
10:09From this second off, you don't even exist in my world.
10:12You think you've won, Thea? You found a city boy with a nice car to bail you out?
10:15Let me tell you, Blair's father dominates this entire district's school board. One word from him, and your dad's little
10:20coding studio will be bankrupt by tomorrow! You'll both starve!
10:26Mr. McAlster, you seem to have a severe misunderstanding of who actually funds that school board.
10:32Cancel the venture capital for the Kensington Group immediately.
10:35And tell the school board, the main donor of Stanford University, is withdrawing all high school athletic scout recommendations for
10:41this town's team.
10:42Especially the striker.
10:44You... you're just putting on a show. Who the hell do you think you are?
10:47A phone call can ruin the Kensington's? You think you can block my college scout with a few words?
10:52Thea, where did you find this pathetic actor? Thea!
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 is officially over.
11:03Thea! You're letting an outsider ruin my life? Over a stupid joke at a party?
11:07You loved me for six years! You can't be this heartless!
11:10You're wrong, Bec. He's not an outsider. He's my father's favorite student and my family's guest.
11:16As for your career, I didn't ruin it. Your cowardity and greed did.
11:32So, when Bec reached his hand out to you back then, he became your only anchor?
11:36Exactly. I subconsciously treated him as my family, my only safe harbor. Because that thorn was planted so deep in
11:42my childhood, I kept forgiving him through a heavy nostalgic filter, no matter how toxic or unrecognizable he became.
11:47But tonight, with that slap, I think I finally pulled the thorn out.
11:52Good. Professor Lawrence talks about you all the time. He always says his greatest pride isn't his patents, but his
11:57daughter, who is stronger than anyone could ever imagine.
11:59Father misses you terribly, Thea. For the road ahead, you have him, and you have me. From this moment on,
12:03nobody gets to make you cry again.
12:05No. I'm done crying. I spent six years shedding tears for a ghost. I'm not wasting another drop.
12:08But tonight, with that slap, I think I finally pulled the thorn out.
12:15With pleasure, Miss Thea. Since you're entering my territory, we have a lot of catch-up to do. Let's start
12:21with standing.
12:28No, it's perfect. Thank you. For 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. I just finally figured out why I wasted six whole years on Beck.
12:49My parents' work is... intense, right?
12:53Growing up, they were completely absent from every major milestone of my life.
12:59They were always locked away in some high-security lab.
13:03My tenth birthday, my graduation, even when my grandma passed away.
13:08I was always alone in that old house.
13:10When you're that young, you feel completely abandoned.
13:13So, I learned to just... grow wild on my own.
13:22Two months later, Stanford University.
13:25I didn't just leave that suffocating little town behind.
13:29I buried it.
13:31The nerd with the taped glasses and the oversized sweaters died in that thunderstorm.
13:36For 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 it would be like hair.
13:59Except for me.
14:06At Stanford, everyone is trying to general interest their way into the inner circle.
14:10Ethan Hayes.
14:12The infamous, cold-blooded tech tycoon who tears apart tech proches for fun and standardly treats everyone like background doys.
14:24A week later, Stanford hosted the annual Ivy Plus Athletic Exchange.
14:30The campus was buzzing.
14:32But to me, it was just another noisy Tuesday.
14:35Until two ghosts from my past crashed into my new world.
14:39After Ethan liquidated the Kendington's venture capital,
14:43Blair'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, entirely surviving on Blair's charity.
14:58Yo!
14:59Look who it is!
15:00Isn't this the pathetic, desperate little shadow from our hometown?
15:04What's the matter, Thea?
15:05Did you seriously stalk back all the way to Stanford just to beg for his crumbs again?
15:14How did security even let a beggar like you slip it?
15:17Did you steal that dress just to pretend you belong here?
15:20Let me tell you!
15:20Let me tell you, a freak is always a freak, no matter what trash you put on!
15:25Looking at them now, I didn't even feel angry.
15:28I just felt a profound sense of irony.
15:31It turns out, when you finally stand on top of the mountain,
15:35the monsters that used to scare you in the dark look incredibly small.
15:43Thea, stop doing this to yourself.
15:46Even if you somehow manage to get into this school, it doesn't change anything between us.
15:50This place, it'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, it doesn't marvel at the vastness.
16:07It simply tries to drag the ocean back into its puddle.
16:10I don't know how to draw...
16:23Chancellor!
16:25My father is-
16:30Ms. Lawrence, I am so incredibly sorry for keeping you waiting.
16:34On behalf of the entire Stanford board, I must express our profound gratitude for your father's $20 million donation to
16:40our defense tech lab this semester.
16:47Regarding the new luxury residential hall, Professor Lawrence mentioned you should have the final say.
16:53Do you have any specific preferences for the naming, Ms. Thea?
16:58No! That's impossible! Chancellor, you must be mistaken! Her parents are just nobody coders from a bankrupt small town!
17:07$20 million? She couldn't even afford a decent dress two months ago! She's a fraud! She's faking it!
17:17Security! Remove these uncivilized outsiders from the campus immediately, cancel their school exchange passes, and blacklist their names from all
17:26Stanford properties forever!
17:49Thea, please, tell them we know each other!
17:55Thea!
18:00No! That's impossible! Chancellor, you must be mistaken! She's a fraud! She's a charity case who couldn't even afford to
18:08replace her broken glasses two months ago!
18:11You are all being fooled by this bitch!
18:13The standard of education is 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.
18:37Enjoy your bankruptcy, Ms. Blair!
18:46Let me formally introduce her. This 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. I'm still working hard to get approved.
19:13In our hometown, Beck's jersey number was a symbol of absolute royalty. People chanted his name like he was a
19:20god.
19:22But True Power doesn't need a crowded stadium to scream for it. True Power is quiet.
19:44It'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!
19:53You owe me my haute 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!
20:17You hid your background and pretended to be a nobody just to test me!
20:20You love me, Thea!
20:22You 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!
20:32But you can't look at him the way you looked at me!
20:35You 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.
20:57He 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
21:05fund.
21:05He is a predator, Beck.
21:07And 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?
21:30Let me tell you a secret.
21:31Her first time, her first kitsch, her entire teenage years, they all belong to me.
21:35I 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.
21:52To me, her past isn't a stain.
21:54It's the fuel that built her resilience.
21:57You 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.
22:05But me? I get her brilliance, her future, her ambition, and her entire life.
22:08You are a footnote. She's already a race, Beck.
22:11Do 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 Kensingtons disappear from California entirely.
22:23Am I my clint?
22:24I'm clear.
22:25I'm clear.
22:31I'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?
23:04If you still feel even a shred of grievements from that town, tell me.
23:08I'll make sure they pay a hundred times over.
23:16Hey, look at me.
23:18I'm perfectly fine.
23:19When he was talking, I didn't feel anything but disgusted.
23:23Honestly, Ethan, your 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, no hiding.
24:02Just you and me for the whole night.
24:27We aren't even home yet, Professor Hayes.
24:30What happened to the no rush you promised earlier?
24:38I overestimated my self-control, Thea.
24:40Seeing you look at me like that,
24:42and realizing that nobody can ever dynamically link to your future except me.
24:4630 minutes in the car is already the maximum limit of my patience.
24:51This is the original emotion from Jeopardy.
24:51I feel that he is a great example.
24:51Once again, of course,
24:51Let's go to Kato.
24:51Trust me.
24:52Trust me.
24:52Trust me.
24:53Trust me.
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