When the soul of their group disappears, five teenage friends embark on a “summer of dissipation,” trying to stay together while grief is tearing them apart.

SYNOPSIS:

Five teenaged friends learn that Candace Johnson, their group’s spiritual center, has vanished, and police suspect her older boyfriend Colt. The intellectual group meets in the public library, their usual hangout, to discuss the crisis. Alfred Cruz, 16, gay, has his father’s support. In contrast, Jack Richards, 17, faces wild accusations from his parents. Kris Novotny, 18, trans, has gained little but his mother’s praise of Candace’s girly blond hair. Deborah Hall, 17, must tolerate parental lectures about hanging out with the wrong sorts of people. Marnie Silverstein, 17, is paranoid that Colt might come after one or all of them. Beatrice Palisano, 28, a librarian, offers to host a special session of The Teenage Tasting Collective, the name the friends use when they meet to sample world cuisines and alcohols, which Beatrice provides.

Tensions simmer as Alfred kisses Jack (it’s cool, but Jack’s not into it) and Kris develops feelings for Deborah (who’s oblivious). When the Collective meets, conversation over sushi and sake spirals into speculation that Candace is dead. Deborah declares they will have a “summer of dissipation” in Candace’s honor. The next day, the group smokes pot while Jack plays a song on his guitar about losing Candace, whom he once dated. At their next gathering, the Collective discusses the difference between rebellion and just being themselves. After tequila and enchiladas mole, the group leaves except for Jack, with whom Beatrice flirts until he leaves. Later, Marnie contemplates a bottle of Ambien.

Marnie and Kris feel that the dissipation is going too far, especially since Jack is buying and sharing opioids. When next at Beatrice’s house, after tasting Ethiopian food and tej, the group argues, and everyone but Jack departs. Jack lets Beatrice take him to the bedroom. More tenderly, Marnie takes Kris to bed. Jack gives in to Alfred. Not long after, Marnie tells Beatrice what a corruptive influence she is, driving Beatrice to tears. That evening, drinking and taking pills, Jack wraps his parents’ car around a tree. He wakes up in the hospital and learns that Marnie has overdosed on Ambien and is in a coma. Kris wonders whether their recent intimacy played a role in the suicide attempt. In a last library meeting, they learn that Beatrice quit her job abruptly and left for work in another state. Jack explains that his parents are sending him to military school. Deborah, after a battle with her parents, is committing herself to her studies in lieu of social ties. Alfred knows Jack doesn’t want him and intends to pursue new interests; likewise, Kris knows he needs a different community. Though they pledge to keep in touch, the Collective has disbanded, and the loss of connections that began with Candace’s disappearance is now complete.

This script was a semifinalist in the Stage 32 Feature Drama Screenwriting Contest, 2022; a quarterfinalist in the Creative Screenwriting Unique Voices Screenplay Contest, 2022; a quarterfinalist in the SF Indie Fest Screenplay Competition, 2022; a selection in the London Movie Awards, 2022; a selection in the International Diversity Film Festival, 2022; a quarterfinalist in The Great American Script Competition, 2021; and a selection in The Thinking Hat Fiction Challenge, 2021.