The following photos were captured today in Baldwin Hills by Mitchell Royel on an iPhone. They are not affiliated with Mercedes-Benz or any official statement regarding Baldwin Hills. The famous actress featured in this episode is entirely fictional and not intended to represent any real individual.
Runtime: approx. 12 minutes
COLD OPEN
EXT. HILLCREST AVENUE – AFTERNOON
A sunny suburban sidewalk. Green trees line both sides of a curving street that climbs toward rolling hills dotted with houses. The sky is bright blue, with a few thin clouds. A dark sedan sits parked in the distance, out of focus.
On the sidewalk stand two boys with backpacks.
DESMOND "DEZ" HOLLOWAY (12) has a big, round afro and a grin like he just got away with something. He wears a green graphic tee with an orange collar and a circular orange design, dark slim jeans, and sneakers that combine blue, orange, green, and white. His bright blue backpack sits high on his shoulders.
Beside him stands THEO WHITAKER (18), tall, with wavy light brown hair. He wears a navy polo with a tiny embroidered logo, tucked into khaki chinos, plus a brown leather belt and brown loafers. A tan canvas backpack with leather straps hangs off one shoulder. He looks like a brochure for a school that costs more than a house.
Dez looks up at Theo, mid-laugh. Theo looks down at him, smiling.
THEO (V.O.)
You should know a few things about me. One, I go to Ashford Prep, where they make us tuck in our shirts like it's a religion. Two, I'm drowning in college applications. Three, I babysit the most opinionated twelve-year-old on Hillcrest Avenue for eighteen dollars an hour.
(beat)
Honestly, I'd do it for twelve. Don't tell him that.
DEZ
Theo. Theo. Theo.
THEO
I'm literally standing right next to you, man.
DEZ
If a squirrel and a pigeon had a fight, who wins?
THEO
The pigeon. Pigeons have nothing to lose.
DEZ
(deeply satisfied)
That's what I said.
THEO (V.O.)
Dez is twelve. Old enough to roll his eyes at everything I say. Young enough to still tell me when he's scared. His parents are splitting up. His mom has been having a hard time — the kind where she's still there, technically, but not all the way there. She used to show up to every field trip with snacks and a playlist and the energy of someone who actually wanted to be in a museum on a Saturday.
(beat)
These days she has more quiet days than loud ones. She's working on it. And until she's back, I'm here.
Dez tugs Theo's backpack strap.
DEZ
Are we walking to the museum?
THEO
It's three miles uphill, Dez.
DEZ
So that's a yes?
THEO
That's a "we're getting a cab."
SMASH CUT TO:
TITLE CARD: JUNGLE GYM
SCENE 1
EXT. HILLCREST AVENUE – CONTINUOUS
The same sidewalk. Theo steps toward the curb and shoots his arm high into the air, palm open, like he's hailing the actual president.
Behind him, Dez drops into a crouch. His blue backpack bobs as he reaches for something shiny on the concrete.
DEZ
YO. A quarter.
THEO
Don't touch sidewalk money.
DEZ
Sidewalk money is the best money. Nobody wants it back.
Dez holds the quarter up to the sun like it belongs in a museum.
THEO (V.O.)
This is our whole relationship. I look ahead for the ride. He looks down for the treasure. Somehow we both end up where we're going.
A low engine rumble. Around the bend comes a BLACK MERCEDES-BENZ G-WAGON, sleek and boxy, with its headlights on and the three-pointed star shining in the grille. A bright yellow "TAXI" sign sits bolted to the roof rack.
Theo slowly lowers his arm.
THEO
That's not a cab.
DEZ
(still crouched)
It says taxi.
THEO
It also says "my dad owns a yacht."
DEZ
(standing up, squinting)
Wait. Is that — is the driver a girl?
The G-Wagon glides to the curb. Behind the wheel sits ZURI BANKS (28, with the kind of face that stops you mid-sentence). She's got box braids swept to one side, a beat so flawless it has no business being in a taxi, and a travel mug that reads "DON'T."
The window rolls down.
ZURI
You flagging me, or just doing a dramatic pose?
THEO
Flagging. Definitely flagging. Are you... old enough to drive?
ZURI
I'm old enough to have a bad back and an opinion about mortgage rates. Get in.
SCENE 2
INT. G-WAGON TAXI – MOVING – CONTINUOUS
Cream leather seats. A tiny cactus air freshener hangs from the mirror. A laminated card on the dash lists the fare: "$4 base. $2 per mile. $5 if you sing."
Dez buckles in and immediately starts pressing every button within reach.
THEO
Dez. Hands in lap.
DEZ
My hands don't do laps.
ZURI
Kid, if you find the seat massager, you ride free.
Dez gasps and starts searching like a raccoon going through a trash can. Theo leans forward toward the driver's seat.
THEO
Okay, serious question. Why is your taxi a G-Wagon?
ZURI
Because it's the only thing I kept.
Theo squints at her in the rearview mirror. Something clicks.
THEO
Wait. Wait, wait, wait.
ZURI
Here we go.
THEO
You're Zuri Banks. From Lakeview Girls.
ZURI
(flatly)
I was Zuri Banks. Six seasons, two love triangles, and one evil twin I'm still not allowed to talk about.
DEZ
(from the back, sitting straight up)
Wait. WAIT. You're Zuri Banks. You're ACTUALLY Zuri Banks.
THEO
Dude. You actually watch the show?
DEZ
More famous than my uncle Jerome? He was on the news.
THEO
What was he on the news for?
DEZ
We don't talk about it.
Zuri snorts. Dez leans between the front seats.
DEZ (CONT'D)
Yo — I literally just said you're Zuri Banks. You drive a taxi now?
ZURI
Was. Present tense is "taxi famous."
DEZ
That's still pretty good.
ZURI
(glancing at him)
Kid, I like you already.
THEO
My sister had your poster. The one on the lifeguard tower.
ZURI
Everybody's sister had that poster. Not one of them sends me royalty checks.
Dez finds a lever and pulls it. His seat shoots all the way back.
DEZ
I live here now.
ZURI
That's the recline. Bold.
DEZ
(staring at the ceiling)
Miss Zuri. Why'd you stop acting?
ZURI
Show got canceled. Agent stopped calling. Turns out "girl who looks sixteen forever" is a pretty narrow job description once you hit thirty.
(shrugs)
Rent doesn't care about my IMDb page. So I got a chauffeur license, bolted a sign to the roof, and started driving.
DEZ
Does it feel weird? Like, going from famous to this?
ZURI
Every single day. Last week a woman asked for a selfie and then tipped me in gum.
(beat)
Is it humbling? Sure. Is it something to be ashamed of? Not even a little. I pay my bills. I set my own hours. I listen to murder podcasts at full volume. That's a better deal than most people in this zip code are getting.
Theo goes quiet. He looks out the window as the green hills slide past.
THEO (V.O.)
At Ashford, nobody admits they need money. People act like their bank accounts refill themselves like the bottomless chips at Chili's. And here's a woman who had every reason to hide — and she just didn't. She bolted a sign to her pride and went to work. No apology. No explanation. Just the fare and the murder podcasts.
THEO
For what it's worth, I think that's genuinely impressive.
ZURI
(glancing back, surprised)
Yeah?
THEO
Yeah. Working hard isn't a plot twist. It's just the plot.
ZURI
(beat)
That's a good line. Put it on your college essay.
THEO
It's already in there. Paragraph three.
DEZ
(still reclined, staring at the ceiling)
Theo does field trips now. For me. Because my mom's going through some stuff.
Zuri's hands tighten slightly on the wheel. She doesn't rush past it.
ZURI
That's a good person to have in your corner.
DEZ
He's alright. He doesn't know squirrels.
THEO
Nobody knows squirrels, Dez.
DEZ
(to Zuri)
Did you ever have a sad time? Like, a really sad time?
ZURI
Plenty of them. The kind where you don't feel like getting up.
DEZ
What did you do?
ZURI
Got up anyway. Eventually.
(beat)
It's not a great strategy. But it's the only one I've got.
Dez processes this. Nods slowly, like he's filing it away.
DEZ
My mom's gonna get up eventually too.
ZURI
I'd bet on it.
SCENE 3
EXT. MUSEUM – CURBSIDE – LATER
The G-Wagon glides to the curb in front of the museum steps. Dez kicks his door open before the car fully stops.
THEO
We wait for a full stop, Dez. Every time.
DEZ
The gems aren't gonna wait, Theo.
Theo climbs out, pulls cash from his back pocket, and passes it through Zuri's window.
THEO
Keep the change.
ZURI
(checking the bill)
This is a twenty over the fare.
THEO
Gum doesn't count as a tip. Somebody's gotta fix the average.
Zuri laughs — a real one, the kind that takes her by surprise.
DEZ
(already halfway up the steps, turning back)
Miss Zuri!
ZURI
Yeah?
Dez holds the sidewalk quarter up in the air.
DEZ
This is for you. It's sidewalk money. Nobody wants it back.
ZURI
(holding out her hand)
Get over here.
Dez jogs back and drops it into her palm. She holds it up like it's an Oscar.
ZURI (CONT'D)
Best fare I've had all week.
SCENE 4
EXT. MUSEUM – STEPS – CONTINUOUS
The G-Wagon pulls away from the curb, yellow sign glowing. Theo and Dez stand side by side on the steps watching it go.
DEZ
Do you think she's gonna be okay?
THEO
Zuri? She's going to be fine. She already is.
DEZ
(pause)
Do you think my mom's gonna be okay?
Theo looks at him. No deflection. No big speech.
THEO
Yeah. I do.
Dez nods. Good enough.
DEZ
Okay. Can we go see the gemstones now?
THEO
That's why we're here.
They head up the steps.
THEO (V.O.)
You don't get to pick the hard chapters. Not Dez, not his mom, not a TV star with a canceled show and a car payment. You just get to pick how you show up for them.
(beat)
Sometimes that means tucking in your shirt. Sometimes it means hailing a cab you absolutely cannot explain. And sometimes it means pocketing a quarter off the sidewalk because honest work is honest work and a quarter is still a quarter.
Dez stops at the top of the steps and turns around.
DEZ
Theo. Giant squid versus a pigeon. Final answer.
THEO
(without hesitating)
The pigeon.
DEZ
(already inside)
Nothing to lose.
FADE OUT.
THEO (V.O.)
Tip your driver.
END OF EPISODE.