Evan is sunken into the cushion of the living room couch, glaring at the TV screen in front of him.

“Evan, get up! You need to get out of the house and start playing outside for once in your life! Please go make some friends!” Evan’s mother nags after seeing his state.

He had heard this same lecture millions of times, and was not surprised when he was told to turn the TV off and find something else to do.

He acts out the necessary motions in silence, recognizing that there is really no way to escape his mother’s wrath. He had already “accidentally” broken the bike she bought him for Christmas and “lost” the scooter that had only been around for a week or so. Evan knew that he had to follow through with his mother's orders, or he would be grounded for weeks.

He finds a tennis ball coated in dust in the corner of the living room and decides that there is really no other option. The surprisingly calm eleven-year-old peels himself off of the dated couch and slowly shuffles to the ball, with his back hunched forward and his face an unwavered expression.

He makes it a few yards out front of his house, and decides thats good enough.

“So stupid..”Evan mumbles to himself as he trudges around the pavement, dribbling the ball back and forth in the same circle. He never plays with other people.

After a few minutes of lonely dribbling, he loses control of the ball, and it begins rolling down the steep hill of his street. It soars out of Evans sight.

Evan begins panicking at the thought of his mothers punishments and runs in the direction the ball went. After making it to the bottom of the hill in exhaustion, he can see the faded green ball tucked away underneath a truck parked on the side of the road. He kneels down to grab it, and finds it to be impossible.

Minutes pass, and he knows his mom will soon grow worried and come looking for him. He can’t seem to think of any other way to get the ball back, and decides there’s really no choice but to give up. However, just as he is standing up to head home, a young boy about nine years old walks up to Evan and can see that his is sad.

“Do you need any help?” The young boy questions innocently.

“No,” Evan shoots back and continues to walk away.

Yet the young boy isn’t leaving. He is standing there staring at the truck. He then reaches his small arms underneath the truck and is able to just barely grab the ball.

Evan flips back around and stares at the young boy for a while, reluctant to go get the ball. When he was a young boy, he would have never done that for some random stranger. It was unexpected, and surprisingly nice. Evan thought back to his moms lectures, and how he needed friends. Because maybe it isn’t so bad to be around the company of others.

He walks back down to the young boy and slowly grabs the ball.

“Thank you.” He says softly. A few more seconds pass and he decides what he needs to do.

“Would you like to come watch TV with me?” Evan says in hope.

“Sure!” The young boy exclaims without a second thought.

The two boys begin strolling back up the hill, content with each others presence.

I’m relaxing on the couch enjoying the perfect Sunday--a day reserved for watching cartoons and avoiding the rest of the world. I’m right in the middle of my favorite episode of Johnny Bravo when I can hear my mom coming into the room.

I can already predict exactly what’s coming my way. She’ll see that I’m watching TV and nag at me to go get some exercise outside and maybe make some friends while I’m at it. Little does she know that’s the last thing I want to do.

“Evan, get up! You need to get out of the house and start playing outside for once in your life! Please go make some friends!” I can hear her voice carrying across the entire house.

I act out the necessary motions in silence, recognizing that there is really no way to escape mom’s wrath. I had already “accidentally” broken the bike she bought me for Christmas and “lost” the scooter that had only been around for a week or so. I knew that I had to follow through with her orders, or I would be grounded for weeks.

I spot the tennis ball that I thought went missing months ago but it turns out was just hiding from me underneath mounds of dust. I head for the ball, bummed out by the fact that my day started out so well and now being ruined.

I go to my usual spot out front and begin dribbling the ball, counting down the minutes until my freedom.

“So stupid..”I mumble to myself as I trudge around the pavement, dribbling the ball back and forth in the same circle. I look on the bright side and imagine how much worse it would be if I was forced to play with someone else.

After a few minutes of dribbling, the ball goes out of my reach and before I know it, it’s soaring down the entirely too steep hill that we live on. It isn’t long before I lose sight of it. Thoughts of moms punishments and consequences begin racing through my head, and I know that my future TV watching depends on that ball. I finally find it tucked underneath a truck parked on the side of the road. I kneel down to grab it, but my arms will never be able to reach that far underneath that tight space.

Minutes pass, and I know that mom will soon grow worried and come looking for me. I can’t seem to think of any other way to get the ball back, and decide that there’s really no choice but to give up. I start heading back up the hill when I feel a presence behind me. I begin preparing myself for dreaded social interaction and possible small talk.

“Do you need any help?” I hear, and when I turn around I see a young boy looking up at me innocently.

“No,” I say, looking to avoid this kid. I head back up for my house.

Yet I can tell he isn’t leaving. He is standing there staring at the truck. By the time I look back at him, he has the ball in his hands.

I stare at him for a while, reluctant to go get the ball and have to say “thank you.” When I was young, I would have never done that for some random stranger. It was unexpected, and surprisingly nice. I think back to moms lectures, and how she thought I desperately needed friends. Because maybe it isn’t so bad to be around the company of others.

I go grab the ball from the friendly boy.

“Thank you.” I say. A few more seconds pass and I know what I need to do.

“Would you like to come watch TV with me?” I says in anticipation of his answer.

“Sure!” The young boy exclaims without a second thought.

We begin strolling back up the hill, content with each others presence.

I walk into the living room only to find my son sat on the couch that he practically lives on. It seems that all he ever does is eat, sleep, and watch TV. And it worries me that he’s not making any friends at school. I hope he is able to fix things soon.

“Evan, get up! You need to get out of the house and start playing outside for once in your life! Please go make some friends!” I tell him, hoping this is the last time I’ll have to give him this speech. Maybe this time it won’t go in one ear and out the other.

I watch as he acts out the necessary motions in silence. I felt a little sorry for him, as he had already lost the bike I got him for Christmas and it seems that his scooter had gone missing after only having it for a few weeks. But after getting up off of the couch, he started heading for the corner of the living room and it is then that I saw one of our old tennis balls sitting there covered in dust. I’m just glad he was able to find something.

He walks out front to play, and while I’m glad he was willing, it makes me upset to see that he has no one to play with. Why is it that he has to be so antisocial?

I turn away from watching him to get back to work.

The minutes pass by and I decide it’s best to let him stay out and continue playing. The fresh air will do him some good.

But just as I begin to grow worried over the fact that Evan never stays outside to play for this long, I can see him and another young boy coming up the steep hill to our house at the end of the cul-de-sac.

I’m shocked over the fact that for the first time in months, Evan finally had a smile on his face and seemed genuinely content to be doing something other than watching TV. In fact, my first thought was that the boy was coming to see if his ball was lost in our yard or if he could use the restroom.

It made me very pleased to see that Evan had actually made a friend. He was finally beginning to see that friendship isn’t so bad, and that being around others is a good thing, not a bad thing.

FADE IN:
INT. EVANS LIVING ROOM - DAY
Evan is sunken into the cushion of the living room couch, glaring at the TV screen in front of him.
MOTHER Evan, get up! You need to get out of the house and start playing outside for once in your life! Please go make some friends.
EVAN acts out the necessary motions in silence
EVAN finds a tennis ball coated in dust in the corner of the living room.
EXT. EVANS FRONT YARD - DAY EVAN "So stupid.." EVAN's neighbor waves to him, catching him off gard. EVAN waves back reluctantly. After a few minutes of lonely dribbling, EVAN loses control of the ball, and it begins rolling down the steep hill of his street. It soars out of EVANS sight. EVAN runs in the direction the ball went. EXT. THE BOTTOM OF EVANS STREET - DAY After making it to the bottom of the hill in exhaustion, EVAN can see the ball tucked away underneath a truck parked on the side of the road. He kneels down to grab it, and finds it to be impossible. EVAN decides there's really no choice but to give up. SEAN walks up to EVAN. SEAN Do you need any help? EVAN No. SEAN reaches underneath the truck and is able to grab the ball EVAN walks to SEAN and grabs the ball. EVAN Thank you. Would you like to come watch TV with me? SEAN Sure! The two boys begin strolling back up the hill, content with each others presence FADE OUT.