Princeton Boudreaux and the Dream Messenger

Fade In:

EXT: At Christian Highschool “Harlem Renaissance Gymnasium - Evening

We open to a school Basketball gym at the start of the school year in September. Dozens of teenage boys in basketball shorts stretch nervously beneath a large banner reading: “HOME OF THE RENAISSANCE LIONS”, and a Coach present. They are trying out for the Harlem Renaissance Basketball Team. The squeak of sneakers echoes.

COACH DAVIS
Alright, listen up!

The gym quiets.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
Varsity spots are earned, not given.
I don't care who you are, what grade
you're in, or what you averaged in middle school.

He paces slowly in front of the players.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
Tonight we’re running conditioning,
defensive drills, layup lines, then
scrimmages by position.

Some students exchange nervous looks.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
Point guards — I need leadership.
Big men — I need toughness.
Everybody else — I need hustle.

He bounces a basketball hard.

THUMP.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
If you came here to play around,
leave now.

Silence.

In the back of the gym stands PRINCETON BOUDREAUX, tall, lanky, 15, observant, slightly out of place, clutching a basketball nervously.

The SOUND of sneakers squeaking violently across the court.

Player’s scrimmage aggressively under the bright gym lights

COACH DAVIS
Move the ball! Move the ball!

Princeton defends an opposing player near the top of the key.

The opposing player spins past him.

The basketball suddenly JERKS unnaturally.

It RIPS from the player’s hands.

Gasps erupt.

The ball FLOATS through the air —

—and lands directly into Princeton’s hands.

Silence.

The gym freezes.

Princeton stares at the basketball in horror.

PLAYER #1
Yo... what the—

PLAYER #2
Did y’all see that?!

PLAYER #3
Nah, nah... ain’t no way.

A few players slowly back away from Princeton.

Coach Davis looks pale.

COACH DAVIS
Princeton...

The overhead gym lights flicker briefly.

Princeton drops the basketball immediately.

PRINCETON
          I-I didn’t—

PLAYER #4
          That’s demonic, bro!

PLAYER #2
          He using witchcraft!

PLAYER #1
          Man, I’m out.

Several students begin shouting over each other.

   PLAYER #3
          Ain’t nobody touch the ball!

   PLAYER #4
          Coach, you saw that!

    PLAYER #2
          He cheated!

Coach Davis blows his whistle repeatedly.

FWEEEEET! FWEEEEET!

COACH DAVIS
QUIET!

The gym slowly settles.

Coach Davis looks disturbed, trying to remain composed.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
Princeton... whatever that was...
you’re done here tonight.

PRINCETON
Coach, I swear, I don’t know what happened—

COACH DAVIS
I said you’re done.

Princeton’s eyes water with frustration and embarrassment.

COACH DAVIS (CONT'D)
Call your parents.

Then transition:

EXT. HARLEM RENAISSANCE HIGH – NIGHT

Rain lightly falls outside the school.

Princeton sits silently in the backseat of a black SUV, staring out the window.

Coach Davis stands beside the passenger door speaking quietly with RICHARD and QUIANA BOUDREAUX.

Richard’s expression hardens.

Quiana looks deeply unsettled.

COACH DAVIS
I’ve coached basketball for twenty years.
I’ve never seen anything like that.

RICHARD
What exactly are you saying happened?

Coach Davis hesitates.

COACH DAVIS
The ball moved on its own.

Quiana slowly turns toward Princeton in the car.

QUIANA
Oh my God...

COACH DAVIS
The other boys were terrified.
I had to stop tryouts.

Richard lowers his voice.

RICHARD
We’ve found... strange books in his room before.

QUIANA
          Books about spells...
          symbols...
          witchcraft...

Princeton looks up angrily from the backseat.

PRINCETON
I didn’t do anything!

RICHARD
Enough.

A heavy silence.

COACH DAVIS
For now, Princeton is disqualified
from basketball activities.

Richard nods stiffly.

RICHARD
Understood.

Coach Davis steps back.

Richard enters the driver’s seat.

Quiana gets in beside him.

The SUV slowly pulls away from the curb.

Princeton stares back at the gym through the rain-covered window —
isolated.

INT. BOUDREAUX BROWNSTONE – KITCHEN – NIGHT

Rain taps against the windows.

Princeton sits silently at the kitchen table while Richard and Quiana stand across from him.

RICHARD
Coach Davis said the basketball
flew into your hands.

PRINCETON
I don’t know how it happened!

QUIANA
Then explain the books we found.

Quiana drops several OCCULT BOOKS onto the table.

Princeton looks ashamed.

RICHARD
Magic. Witchcraft. Demons.
We warned you about this.

PRINCETON
They're just books!

QUIANA
This is spiritual, Princeton.

RICHARD
You’re grounded.
No games. No television.
Pastor Williams is coming Sunday
to pray over this house.

Princeton fights back tears.

PRINCETON
You don’t understand me at all.

He storms upstairs.

SLAM!

A heavy silence fills the kitchen.

CUT TO:

INT. PRINCETON’S BEDROOM – LATER

Princeton cries quietly into his pillow.

Moonlight spills across the room.

His eyes slowly close.

SMASH CUT TO:

EXT. UAGADOU – DREAMSCAPE – NIGHT

A breathtaking palace carved into a mountainside floats above swirling clouds and mist.

Princeton stands speechless.

A MAJESTIC FEMALE VOICE echoes around him in an unfamiliar African language —
yet somehow he understands every word.

FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)
Princeton Boudreaux...
you have been accepted
to Uagadou School of Magic.

Ancient symbols glow across the palace walls.

FEMALE VOICE (V.O.) (CONT'D)
School begins January first.
Your dream messenger will activate
your Portkey stone on New Year’s Eve.

A glowing transparent stone appears before him.

CUT TO:

INT. PRINCETON’S BEDROOM – MORNING

Princeton jolts awake, breathing heavily.

In his palm rests the transparent stone.

Inscribed:

“PRINCETON BOUDREAUX”

and beneath it —

“UAGADOU.”

INT. BOUDREAUX BROWNSTONE – LIVING ROOM – DAY

A loud KNOCK echoes through the house.

Richard opens the front door.

Standing outside is ZULU MALAIKA, 50s, calm and mysterious, dressed in elegant dark robes with a carved wooden staff in hand.

ZULU MALAIKA
Good morning.
I am here for Princeton Boudreaux.

Richard immediately stiffens.

RICHARD
Who are you?

ZULU MALAIKA
My name is Zulu Malaika.
I am a representative of
Uagadou School of Magic.

Quiana appears behind Richard, alarmed.

QUIANA
Absolutely not.

Princeton slowly steps into the hallway, stunned.

PRINCETON
Uagadou...

Zulu notices the transparent stone in Princeton’s hand.

ZULU MALAIKA
The stone has chosen him.

RICHARD
Chosen him for what?
Witchcraft?

QUIANA
We are Christians.
Our son is not going anywhere
near magic.

Zulu remains calm.

ZULU MALAIKA
Magic is not darkness.
It is simply what he is.

Richard’s anger rises.

RICHARD
What he needs is God.

A tense silence.

Princeton looks between his parents and Zulu —
torn.

ZULU MALAIKA
Princeton...
you now stand between fear
and destiny.

Princeton grips the stone tightly.