INT. VISIONS ACADEMY - MORNING

PAN UP from UNTIED SHOES -- Miles clocks them but defiantly DOES NOT TIE THEM. Miles walks through a LOBBY filled with TALLER KIDS in IDENTICAL BLUE UNIFORMS. A cutting-edge LAB SCHOOL in a converted industrial building.

STUDENT: I love you, Dad!

In a SEA OF BLUE, Miles awkwardly tries to interact like he was on his street but everyone's so focused.

MILES: Hey, good morning. How you doing?... Weekend was short, huh? (he turns to another kid) Oh my gosh. This is embarrassing, we wore the same jacket.

MILES P.O.V. -- The UNIFORMED KIDS just pass by. Miles is discouraged. PASSING STUDENT: Hey. MILES: (hopeful) Yeah? PASSING STUDENT: Your shoe’s untied.

MILES: Yeah, I’m aware. It’s a choice.

And as his SHOULDERS DROOP he turns to walk into...

INT. VISIONS ACADEMY - MONTAGE

...A MATH TEACHER in front of a BAFFLING FORMULA...

MATH TEACHER: Who can solve this for XY?

...A LOGIC TEACHER in front of an ELABORATE PROOF...

LOGIC TEACHER: And that is known as a syllogism.

...IN JUMPCUTS Miles walks back and forth across the hallway. Each time he is holding more paper and books in his arms, getting more and more WEIGHED DOWN.

SPANISH TEACHER (V.O.): en este clase, se habla castellano.

LITERATURE TEACHER (V.O.): Tonight, read two chapters of Great Expectations.

SCIENCE TEACHER (V.O.): I’m giving you a take-home quiz on volumetric pressure.

HEALTH TEACHER (V.O.): ...a five page essay with your conclusions stressed.

VARIOUS TEACHERS (O.S.): Workers Party/ Take-home Work/ Industrial Revolution/ Incapable/ An enormous change/ Unstoppable...

The MONTAGE BUILDS, a MULTI-PANELLED FLURRY.

PRELAP: A BELL RINGS.

He runs through the EMPTYING HALLWAYS. END MONTAGE.

INT. VISIONS ACADEMY CLASSROOM - DAY

Students sit in a DARKENED CLASSROOM, lit only by a large screen playing a DOCUMENTARY.

PHYSICIST: ...countless other possibilities. There could be a universe where I am wearing red. Or wearing leather pants--

The door BURSTS OPEN. MILES, out of breath, is silhouetted in the doorway. The TEACHER FLIPS THE LIGHTS on. STUDENTS blink in the bright light and grumble.

MS. CALLEROS: Mr. Morales, moving in the dark. You’re late again.

MILES: Einstein said time was relative, right? Maybe I’m not late. Maybe you guys are early.

Miles’ joke is met with unamused SILENCE. Except for a single TITTER from a NEW GIRL.

NEW GIRL: Sorry. It was just so quiet.

MS. CALLEROS: Would you like to keep standing there or do you want to sit down?

Someone HITS THE LIGHTS. In the dark, Miles awkwardly makes his way to his seat, BANGS into a desk in the dark.

Onscreen is a PHYSICIST, identified as “Director, Alchemax Laboratories.” She’s the consummate nerd and AMPED about physics.

PHYSICIST: Our universe is in fact one of many parallel universes happening at the exact same time. Thanks to everyone here at the Fisk Family Foundation for the Sciences, I will prove they exist when I build my supercollider. All I need is 10 billion dollars. Chump change, right?

ON MILES, he BONKS INTO THE DESK of a NEW GIRL, paying rapt attention and sits down at the desk beside her. Miles checks out the girl, who catches him looking. Miles looks away. Looks back -- she’s still looking.

NEW GIRL: I liked your joke.

MILES: Really?

NEW GIRL: I mean, it wasn’t funny, that’s why I laughed. But it was smart, so I liked it.

MILES: (taken aback, then) I don’t think I’ve seen you before--

Ms. Calleros SHUSHES Miles, cutting him off.

MS. CALLEROS: Shhhhh!

Miles sits -- checks out the new girl but she’s again focussed on the documentary. Miles is INTRIGUED.

PHYSICIST: Every choice that we make, would create countless other possibilities. A What-if to infinity.

INT. VISIONS ACADEMY CLASSROOM - LATER

Miles stands in front of Ms. Calleros’ desk as she slides a zero with a 0/100 written on it.

MILES: A zero? A few more of those and you probably have to kick me outta here, huh? Maybe I’m just not right for this school?

MS. CALLEROS: If a person wearing a blind fold picked the answers on a true or false quiz at random, do you know what score they would get?

MILES: Fifty percent?

MS. CALLEROS: That’s right!

MILES: Wait wait!

MS. CALLEROS: The only way to get all the answers wrong, is to know which answers were right. You’re trying to quit. And I’m not going to let you. I’m assigning you a personal essay. Not about physics, but about you and what kind of person you want to be.

INT. DORM ROOM - NIGHT

Miles stares at his STACK OF HOMEWORK. He takes out a legal pad to start on his Great Expectations paper. He sighs. Frustrated, Miles looks out the window for a beat. Miles SMILES -- he has a MISCHIEVOUS IDEA.