November 19, 2004

• Jack Daniel’s Night Out

   

  Guns
  hoisted and men yelling, “freeze, mother*ucker!” Surrounded by men in
  uniform, Jack is wrestled down struggling, but there is too much
  resistance, especially for someone of Jack’s size. One smack across the
  head with the butt of a gun and Jack laid flat on the cool grass of the
  night. “Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty,” mutters a mustachioed officer.
  Hovering above are streaking lights of a helicopter’s spotlight,
  blinding even those who don the latest Oakley sunglasses. The
  propellers tossed anything surrounding it, even the police swarming
  around Jack. The grass is waving around in a frenzy of strong winds.
  Jack is very disoriented and confused. A fade of white flashes and Jack
  is enveloped in a montage of images.

   

  RINGGG!
  The school bell sounds. Students of various nationalities sort into
  the classroom of Jefferson High School. Mr. Rousseau, a teacher of Spanish,
  who speaks with a heavy French accent slams the table and demands
  silence. “Ze 'nuff! No z’more talkeeng!” Creating nothing but
  disturbances, Tommy Vales tosses a folded piece of paper across the
  room. In an instant, he is escorted out of the room and into the
  principal’s office with the wave of Mr. Rousseau’s hand. The slight
  chuckles of the students quickly mute as Mr. Rousseau sternly looks at
  the class. Jack Daniel’s, a teenage sophomore, of medium build, pale
  skin, and terribly un-matching clothes, places his head down. He
  prepares for another day of class by placing his head over his arms.
  Slumber approaches as Jack loses consciousness.

   

  We
  see Jack sketching various objects in his already filled notebook. Jack
  seems very giddy and eager for the day to end-- always glancing at his
  watch. The monotone voice of Mr. Rousseau becomes garbled as Jack
  attempts decipher what he is saying. Finally, the school bell rings and
  everyone rushes out of the classroom doors like a Christmas sale at
  Macy’s. Students gather around lockers discussing the latest rumors and
  the night’s plans. Jack, who seems excited, leaves to the parking lot
  and hops into his car in style. A rusty 77’ lime green pinto, corroded
  and very much belonging to a junkyard. The faint sound of what sounds
  like a popping lawnmower is heard in the background. Jack pulls into
  his driveway, nearly missing his garbage can. His door squeakily opens.
  The door suddenly drops flat onto the floor. Jack hurriedly attempts to
  re-attach the door. Three swift knees to the placed door and it are
  finally steady.

   

  Jack
  walks into his home. Walking through the door with mail and magazines,
  he greets his mother in an obviously more “respectable” manner. “How
  was you day, mom?” His mom, recently returning from the gym listens
  with a raised eyebrow. “Uhh, just fine.”
  

  “Good, good.”
  

  “So
  how was your day at school?” she questions Jack about his day. A
  generic response is spoken. Jack is now pacing around his living room.
  Quickly, Jack musters up the courage to deceive his parents about his
  plans for the night.

   

  “Hey
  ma, I was wondering if I could go and study with my friends for a bit.
  You know, just me and the guys.” The questions at hand from the mother
  were of typical parenting. “Okay, but don’t get in trouble, or your dad
  is gonna open a can of whup-ass.” Jack answers dishonestly with as much
  politeness as possible. “Oh, of courrrrrrse!” As soon as Jack is given
  permission, he quickly runs upstairs to his room. We see him pull out
  his leather wallet and count a few bills. We see $23 and a quarter. A
  big grin is strewn across his face.

   

  Jack
  is now seen choking down a bottle of liquor, with air bubbles quickly
  rising to the top. Loud music is blaring the latest dance tracks. The
  lights are dimly lit. Groups of people are gathered at random corners
  of the room. Guys are debating the latest sports teams around the table
  of junk food. Girls are gossiping about how ugly Paris Hilton looked in
  the Teen magazine. Jack is now seen wobbling and laughing—having a
  goodtime. He seems very outcaste, bobbing his head to the beat of music
  in his own corner. He looks around for a moment, and spots an
  attractive girl waving towards his direction. Jack waves back and
  smiles. The girl walks in Jacks direction, but ends up hugging the
  varsity football captain, Robert Gibbs. Jack’s smile is quickly
  deflated. He turns around and drunkenly collapses onto the couch.

   

  Across
  the room, Jack spots another attractive lady. She had long flowing
  blonde hair, sea blue eyes and a miniskirt shorter than Gary Coleman in
  a wheelchair. Jack, already inebriated, quickly gets up and struts
  toward the bar table like a pimp. As he attempts to hit on her, he
  walks to her left and gives a quick smile and wink. Jack tries to
  capture her attention with cliché pick-up lines. “Hey there, wanna meet
  my other head?” But, due to alcohol, everything that comes through his
  mouth is scrambled, and vowels become elongated. She shows no signs of
  attraction to Jack. Jack then places his head onto his hand, and elbow
  on table, but slips and smacks his head onto the table. He emits a
  slight groan as he rubs his newly acquired black and blue over his
  forehead. Now, Jack goes to the right of her, and tries to sit on the
  stool but falls over due to a lack of balance. He gets up and dusts
  himself off while looking around to make sure no one had spotted him.
  Jack blows a kiss to the lady, and receives a smack from her—she walks
  away afterwards. Jack proceeds to flick her finger.

   

  As
  the night progresses, people start to dance around the middle of the
  room. With everyone already on the dance floor, Jack walks in sync with
  the beat towards the dance floor. Jack is spinning and the lights of
  the room make him dizzy. His head is heavy and everything seems to
  going in circles around him He attempts to dance, despite his lack of
  skill which shows. People start to feel embarrassed for Jack and begin
  leaving. He gets rowdy, and rips off his shirt and begins twirling it
  into the air. A large crowd has now disappeared, leaving Jack in the
  middle of a dance floor all alone, dancing to Britney Speare’s “Hit me
  baby one more time.” Jack is standing there, frozen and looking left
  and right, with his head still. He strafes towards his left. Jack runs
  back and grabs his shirt off the floor.

   

  Quickly,
  there are moments of him shown that he wants to vomit. His cheeks puff
  out, but forces it back down. A young man, dressed in the latest
  fashion, sits next to Jack. The young man then proceeds to wink at
  Jack. Jack then runs to bathroom to vomit, leaving a trail of that
  night’s dinner toward the bathroom door. Jack places his hands around
  the toilet, almost hugging it like a best friend. Splattering around
  the floor, Jack continuously flushes the toilet. A line of impatient
  people begin to gather at the bathroom door. “Hey, buddy, you need a
  plumber or something?” a man jokingly says. Jack finally completes his
  last flush, and leaves the bathroom. The next person on line enters the
  bathroom and closes the door behind him. A loud shriek of disgust
  emanates from the room.

   

  Jack
  plops down onto the couch. He glances to his left and sees an obese,
  pimply-faced girl with coke-bottle glasses. She waves shyly towards
  Jack. He slowly raises his hand and slowly waves back. He then rotates
  his head back and rolls his eyes. Jack then turns back and blinks.
  Suddenly, he sees a supermodel-esque woman. He blinks again but sees
  the fat girl. Confused, he rubs his eyes and shakes his head, and
  attempts another look. The supermodel was back. Quickly, he pounces the
  girl and kisses her like a professional. After a quick moment, Jack
  blinks and sees his face is now attached to the obese girl again. He
  falls back, and rolls off the couch. He spits out repeatedly, and wipes
  his tongue with his sleeve. As people are taunting Jack, he looks
  around the room. It seems like thousands of people are laughing at him.
  Jack gets upset and punches a random man in his face—the closest person
  near Jack. A huge fight breaks loose between the two. Jack grapples
  with his opponent, rolling around on the floor. Choking and head-butts
  are exchanged. Punches are wildly flung towards each other. After the
  two are broken up and things clear, we see the heckler lying motionless
  on the ground. Jack is very confused and people stare at him in
  disbelief. He slowly walks back, but ends up brushing up against a
  wall. People are now backing away from Jack, being very cautious not to
  stir anything. He now flees the scene and runs down the dark street. As
  he approaches an intersection, a screeching taxi nearly runs Jack over.
  Jack, in a fit of rage, slams the hood of the taxi with both hands. He
  yells an obscenity and continues to run down the street, with his head
  fixed on the driver of the cab. As the taxicab continues its route, we
  see a woman in the backseat—Jack’s mother. “That boy is gonna get it
  tonight!” his mother sneers.

   

  Jack
  is now sitting at the curb of a street, in front of a tall building. He
  looks up at the night sky and mumbles to himself. Atop the building, he
  sees a sign that reads “AA.” A discussion between ex-alcoholics is
  overheard in the background. “…and when I couldn't get that last shot,
  I smashed the bottle over his head,” is faintly head in the background.
  Jack walks in and approaches the podium in his drunken-stupor. Everyone
  in the room turns around in unison. Ignorantly, Jack whips out a bottle
  of whiskey. A collection of gasps silence the once chatter-filled room.
  All of a sudden, the members of the group rush toward Jack in hopes of
  tasting the forbidden liquid. Jack sees a mob of what look like zombies
  slowly approaching him. “Give it to me!” yells one lady. “Let me teach
  you how to drink, boy!” mutters another man. Jack’s wobbly kicks toward
  the members fast-approaching prove to be of little resistance as he is
  easily overtaken. The crowd surrounds Jack, and all is seen is the sole
  hand of Jack, which grasps the bottle of liquor. In a burst of
  adrenaline, Jack tosses the bottle to the floor and rids himself of the
  once rioting crowd. The members of the crowd are now battling each
  other for the bottle. People are seen being trampled, chairs flying,
  men punching each other, and women pulling each others hair. Meanwhile,
  in the background, Jack tip-toes out of the room. He stumbles down the
  stairs, always hugging the railing.

   

  Jack
  leaves the front doors, a pair of men crash through the windows, and
  fall onto the street. The two men, members of AA, continue to fight for
  the bottle of alcohol. Jack ignorantly disregards the two men, and
  continues to walk down the street. As soon as Jack turns a corner, a
  police car flashes his lights, and over the megaphone, asks Jack to
  stop. Jack hesitantly runs down the street and into darkened alleys.
  Faster than a sprinter at the Olympics, a spotlight covers Jack’s every
  move. “We have you surrounded. Stop now!” yells a man in the megaphone.
  He sprints down the streets, and the headlight’s of a cop car blinds
  Jack.

   

  A
  flash of white returns to Jack’s face being planted on the ground. Jack
  is now struggling against a group of men holding him down. The school
  bell rings, and Jack springs his body upward—he is spooked.  Jack
  shows a sigh of relief with heavy breathing. Jack walks towards his
  locker, and opens it. Inside, he takes out his bottle of alcohol from
  beneath a pile of books and porno magazines. He stares at the bottle of
  alcohol. Contemplating for a while, Jack heads outside and tosses it
  into a dumpster. Inside, we see a sleeping homeless man. He is awoken
  by the sudden gift, and takes a swig. As Jack is walking away, he hears
  a big belch in the background.

   

  Jack
  is now home, attempting to complete a puzzle. The radio is playing a
  melancholy song. Half of a car puzzle is seen with a pile of extra
  puzzle pieces to the side. Jack places his chin on his hand, and a big
  sigh is heard from Jack. Discontent, Jack is clearly showing signs of
  boredom and loneliness on a Friday night. He glances over toward the
  bar table where a bottle of vintage whiskey is proudly displayed.
  Jack’s eyes light up and his eyebrows rise.

  • 9:37 pm
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