Golden Gate Comic Con, Chapter 7: Pages 15-16
PAGE 15
PANEL 1: We move to a shot of the front seat of the car from the outside looking in. Adam has sat down in the passenger seat, and is reaching over to buckle himself in as he speaks. You can see the relief mixed with weariness in his eyes and the body language the young man presents, getting himself situated on the seat.
ADAM [quick nod, to Janice]: I'm okay. Tired, and still a little scattered. But--okay.
JANICE [annoyed]: I can't believe Mr. Pitts would allow you to take part in a dissection lab! He knows the chemicals they use in those labs are one of your triggers.
PANEL 2: Cut to a slight close-up on Mr. de Connick's face a few moments later; the car just beginning to move off of the lot and back to the street. He looks over in her mom's general direction to explain a little more of the story that his mom's doesn't know.
ADAM [corrective]: Actually, he wasn't in class today. It was a substitute.
PANEL 3: We move to a similar looking close-up on his mom a beat later, glancing over in her son's direction while still keeping a firm focus on the road in front of her. She understands part of it, but there's another part that sticks thoroughly in her craw at that moment.
JANICE: Well still, Mr. Pitts should have told them about your mental condition. All the things that came with it...
PANEL 4: Back to Adam in the same setting/layout as Panel 2. He simply nods his head, turning away slightly toward some part of the car's CD radio system off-panel. As was the case in the previous two panels, you can see the outside of the school in the background moving at the same pace of the steadily quickening car.
ADAM [interjecting; reacting to Panel 5, Bubble 1]: Get really screamy and Hulk-like when you're angry.
PANEL 5: Cut to Janice a few beats later in the same setting and ever changing layout as Panel 3. She's holding in a burst of rage at the response; her hands squeezing the top of the steering wheel tightly.
JANICE: I'll leave dealing with the school to your dads...mainly 'cause I tend to--. JANICE [Bubble 2; reacting to Panel 4, Bubble 1]: Exactly. Besides, teacher's lives are already tough enough as it is, especially subs--
PAGE 16
PANEL 1: Same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page, at the moment that the car reaches the edge of the lot. As Janice waits for the space enough to turn, she glances over to the left of the panel view to address them.
JANICE [Cont.]: Was there at least a classmate who tried to help you through your meltdown?
PANEL 2: Cut to a shot of Adam at his seat half a second later, nodding with a sheepish smile on his face. In the background, visible from the passenger side window, you can see the edge of a grassy field in front of the school. You can also see the top of his backpack underneath the seat at his feet.
ADAM [shy, sweet smile]: There was a girl, Teresa. She technically wasn't in my class, but--she definitely helped out. She was pretty kind, sweet- kept her space, made sure I got to the bathroom okay. JANICE [Off-Panel]: That's excellent! ADAM [Bubble 2]: Yeah. She's also a fan of Star Trek Voyager, so she's got that going for her.
PANEL 3-4: A two-part set of panels that moves back to Janice in the same setting/layout as Panel 1. In Panel 3, reading her son's face, she starts to see the first bits of true love. Then, in Panel 4, a few beats after he finishes, a half-grin comes across her face connected to her line of dialogue.
JANICE [slight chuckle, Panel 3]: Sounds like you wanna ask her out maybe? ADAM [Off-Panel, Panel 3]: Maybe. I...I don't know. She's cool and all, and we exchanged Yahoo Messenger IDs. But I kinda want to get to know her as a friend first before the dating thing. JANICE [Panel 4]: Nothing wrong with that at all. It's quite grown up to think that way at your age.
PANEL 5: We move back to the same setting/layout as the top of the previous page a few seconds later just as she makes a turn out to the street. Janice laughs at the act of sweetness displayed by her son. You can see in the background a few cars behind Janice's as well as some of the others in the distance moving in and out of the spaces.
ADAM: Is that how you did things when you were my age? JANICE [heartfelt]: My sweet, sweet boy...that's a long story!
PANEL 6: A few minutes later, we follow in the same setting and layout as the previous panel as they set off down the street back home. The presence of cars is seen behind them in the background, along with a handful of houses and more of the afternoon sky above them.
ADAM [curious excitement, to Janice]: Now...you were talking about a big surprise earlier?