Embrace Happiness 1x1

A story by Craiko Embrace Happiness 1x1 10 February 2025 Embrace Happiness 1x1 INT. A TEENAGER’S SLIGHTLY MESSY BEDROOM – NIGHT Over “Ode to Joy,” a camera shot from the top of a city at night. The camera pans down and goes through the window of an apartment, and we see a Black male sitting at his computer, jailing, aggressively rapping into his mic. Although we can’t hear him, we know that he’s pouring his heart out. The music cuts out when the door slams open. An old Black woman raises her voice. It’s his grandmother, wearing her nightrobe. GRANDMA: DEVON, IF YOU DON’T GET OFF THE DAMN COMPUTER AND GET YOUR ASS TO BED, I’MMA WHOOP YOUR ASS. DEVON: Uhh… Sorry, Grandma. Grandma slams the door so hard that it makes the surroundings shake slightly. Before going to bed, Devon turns to his computer and opens Gmail. He emails his friends, Carter, and drops some audio files and types, “This is some fresh shit I just recorded,” and sends. Devon pauses for a moment, then looks at the clock. It’s 2:03 a.m. He says to himself: DEVON: Shit, I’ve got a math test tomorrow. INTRO PLAYS EXT. SCHOOL COURTYARD – DAY Camera shot shows a giant school packed with lots of students. Many walk in groups, some walk alone. A bus pulls up to the side of the school. Devon walks out, looks off-screen, waves, and the camera quickly pans over to his friend Carter. Carter speaks. CARTER: Yo. DEVON: How you been? CARTER: Good. You listen to the beats I sent you? DEVON: Yeah, shit was gas. I spent all night cooking up. I sent you the song. Devon and Carter walk along and into the school that is packed. They navigate the halls and reach their lockers, conveniently side by side, and continue their conversation while grabbing their books. INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY – DAY DEVON: So how long till you think we can get it out? CARTER: What you mean? DEVON: The album, bro. CARTER: I think by the end of this week. We need like two more songs to round it out. DEVON: How many we got now? Carter takes his phone out for a sec and scrolls. CARTER: Ten. DEVON: Oh, so you want 12 songs. A baker’s dozen. CARTER: That’s no—never mind. Wanna meet up after school and finish it? DEVON: Yeah. You ready for that math test? CARTER: Hell no. Devon and Carter share a laugh. INT. CLASSROOM – DAY A quick cut to the bell. Devon is in class. His girlfriend Clair is sitting next to him. There is a sheet of paper on his desk. He is a little nervous with a pen in his hand, clicking it, and you start to hear his heartbeat. It is interrupted by a cough. The camera pans to the right where Clair has put her paper so Devon can see it. She smiles and gives him a nod. Devon smiles back and locks in, answering questions at a rapid pace. The camera zooms more and more on his face, and we hear the bell ring again. INT. HALLWAY – DAY Clair is at her locker talking with Olivia, and Devon runs up to her and hugs her. DEVON: Oh my God, thank you so much for your help back there, Clair. My grandma would have killed me without you. CLAIR (a little angry): You’re welcome. And boy, let go of me. She pushes Devon back and Devon continues. DEVON: I didn’t know you were good at math. I thought you were a physics person. CLAIR: Well, I mean, physics is a lot of math, so… OLIVIA: Aren’t you in physics? DEVON: Nah, I dropped out day one. OLIVIA: Oh… DEVON: We all can’t be smart like you, Olivia. Carter walks by and Devon stops him. DEVON: How did you do, Carter? CARTER: Got a 97 percent. Everyone gasps in awe. OLIVIA: Wow, that’s really good, man. Olivia looks dead at Carter while saying this. CARTER (awkwardly): Thanks. DEVON: Well, we gotta go finish a history project. See you two later. CLAIR: Bye, Devon. The two leave together, leaving Clair and Olivia to continue their conversation. The camera cuts to Devon and Carter leaving school. While walking out, they continue to talk. CARTER: I still don’t understand why you won’t just tell Clair that we’re a rap duo. DEVON: Because we’re a rap duo with 13 monthly listeners on Spotify, that’s why. CARTER: But she’s a nice girl. She wouldn’t make fun of it. DEVON: It’s not her I’m worried about. She’s gonna tell one person—and that’s Clair. And Clair’s gonna tell Samantha. Then she’ll tell Greg. Then Greg will post it on his one million follower TikTok. CARTER: Shut up. Clair would not tell. DEVON: What, you don’t like me making fun of your little crush? CARTER: Bro, for the last damn time—I don’t even like her like that. Devon and Carter continue walking. They are now in Carter’s room. As opposed to Devon’s, it’s more clean and more technical—software, like a mini recording area, and bean bags to sit on. INT. CARTER’S ROOM – DAY CARTER: You ready for this? DEVON: Fuck yeah, let’s do this shit. Carter turns around. CARTER: Okay, recording starts in 3… 2… 1… Over the classical song The Four Seasons: Summer, there is a montage of Devon rapping, Carter moving voice lines in FL Studio. They laugh, get annoyed with each other. In the middle, Carter’s mom comes in and sets down a bag of Chick-fil-A. They also take a break to play video games. At the end, it’s night time and Devon is laying on the bean bag while Carter is on the computer. DEVON: (groans) How much longer is this gonna take? CARTER: I’m trying to mix twelve songs with no help and some AirPods. It’s gonna take how long it’s gonna take. DEVON: Well, is there anything I can do to help? CARTER: Well, yeah, there actually is. DEVON: Tell me. CARTER: You can sit down and shut the fuck up. Devon sits back down in his bean bag. Devon’s eyes close, and the next day arrives. He wakes up to Carter not being in the room. He heads downstairs and sees Carter’s mom cooking breakfast while Carter is sitting at the table on his phone. CMOM: Good morning, Dev-on. DEVON: Good morning, Miss R. CMOM: We’re having pancakes and bacon. Is that alright with you? DEVON: As long as you’re making it. Devon sits down across from Carter and whispers to him. DEVON: How did the history project go after I went to sleep? Carter looks up from his phone and smiles. CARTER: Better than you can imagine. EXT. OUTSIDE AVERAGE NEIGHBORHOOD – DAY DEVON: So is Embrace Happiness done yet? CARTER: It’s all finished. But that’s not the best news. DEVON: What are you talking about? CARTER: So after I finished, I decided to email the album to an executive at Tony Music. And guess what? DEVON: What, they auto-rejected it? CARTER: No. They’re giving us a fucking high-profile release. Devon drops his phone and all his belongings. DEVON: You don’t mean— CARTER: Yep. We’ve been signed. Devon grabs Carter and jumps up in the air. They both cheer together. DEVON: We fucking did it. We got signed. We’re gonna be famous! THE SCREEN GOES BLACK. THEN… A TikTok blows up with a man in a poorly lit green screen. MAN: This album came outta nowhere—and it’s insane. Another TikToker, a woman, is shown. WOMAN: Embrace Happiness delves into social and political issues that most artists wouldn’t dare. Another TikToker is shown, but it’s just a disembodied voice. AI VOICE: EMBRACE HAPPINESS IS THE BEST THING SINCE MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY. More TikToks fill the screen, all simultaneously praising the boys’ album. They arrive at the school, and everyone is looking at them. A girl walks up. GIRL: I love Embrace Happiness. Can I get a photo? CARTER: Uhhh… DEVON: YES YOU CAN. CUT TO BLACK.