Chapter 9 (The SURFACK Club)

Chapter 9 (The SURFACK Club) is the ninth chapter of The Clearwood Murders: Episode II - The SURFACK Club and the twenty-fifth chapter of the overall Clearwood series. It was written by Donald Newton and is expected to be published on September 5, 2020 along with Chapter 10.

Plot
Charlie accepts a date with Karen but finds that he has feelings for someone else.

Full Chapter
INT. CARTER RESIDENCE - DAY

Andrew has brought Derek and the SURFACK Club to the basement.

ANDREW: So this is home.

KENNY: Nice. Its like a man cave.

ANDREW: Its how I intended it to be.

MARTHA: So you hide out down here rather than upstairs?

ANDREW: That's right. I'd rather be down here than up there.

KYLE: A place to be alone from the rest of the family.

ANDREW: And a place to be just with my friends.

EXT. BACKYARD/BASEMENT STAIRCASE - DAY

Charlie is walking through the backyard to the stairs leading down to the basement, when Karen appears out of nowhere.

KAREN: Hey!

CHARLIE: Hi. Uh, Karen, right?

KAREN: Right. How are you doing, handsome?

Charlie is surprised by Karen's compliment to him.

CHARLIE: I'm doing alright. Thanks for the compliment.

KAREN: Of course. I've always thought that you were cute since I first saw you. I wondered if you thought the same about me.

In truth, Karen is actually very cute for a crazy girl. Charlie doesn't know about her crazy personality yet.

CHARLIE: You are very pretty actually.

This makes Karen smile. She starts acting all flirty.

KAREN: I was wondering if you weren't doing anything tonight if you'd like to go out on a date with me?

Charlie is shocked and surprised by this. He is very flattered that a beautiful girl is asking him out. But his mind is on Iris.

CHARLIE: I appreciate this. But I like someone already.

KAREN: Are you dating this other girl?

CHARLIE: No.

KAREN: Does she know that you like her?

CHARLIE: I don't think so.

KAREN: Do you know if she even likes you?

Charlie takes a moment to think about this. Sure, he and Iris have already had some flirtatious moments together. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe Iris is just a friend who is flirty?

CHARLIE: You know I actually don't know for sure.

KAREN: So why worry about another girl who may just like you as a friend when there is someone right here willing to go out with you?

This actually makes sense and makes Charlie takes a moment to think this over.

CHARLIE: You know...what the hell? Sure. I'll go out with you tonight.

KAREN: Great.

They walk down the stairs to the basement together. We PAN TO the side of the house where standing away from their view is -- IRIS. Having heard the whole conversation, Iris starts crying over it. Karen has just stolen her crush from her.

INT. SURFACK CLUBHOUSE - DAY

Iris is crying as Daphne, Robin, Martha, Nora, and Madison are comforting her.

IRIS: I just can't believe that Karen got to him. I should have gotten closer to him before she could.

MADISON: Don't worry, Iris. None of her relationships ever last long anyway. She is my best friend and I love her. But she is a crazy bitch. And it's because of that behavior that nothing ever lasts between her and her boyfriends. You'll get your chance. Hell, I must admit that even I think that you should be with Charlie.

IRIS: He even admitting to liking me. At least I think he did. He told Karen that he liked another girl but didn't say a name.

ROBIN: Maybe he was speaking of you.

MARTHA: Yeah. Don't give up, Iris.

IRIS: I don't know. What if I wasn't the one that he was speaking of?

DAPHNE: You should find out when you get the chance to. Would you rather not ask and never know or would you rather ask and know for certain? Would you be willing to regret spending the rest of your life not knowing for certain if he ever had feelings for you?

IRIS: I suppose you're right. I wonder how the date is going.

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

Charlie and Karen are at a fancy restaurant for their date. They are both wearing nice outfits. However, Charlie is clearly not feeling up to it as Karen is.

KAREN: (blabbering) So last time I was at this place, my date just sat there and never spoke to me. He kept looking at someone else. But that's okay because the next day I found a better man. But after I proposed that we have a promise ring, he stopped calling me. I was hurt by it. But then I found some other guy an hour later...

Like her other boyfriends before, Charlie hasn't even paid attention to a word that she's been saying. He does look up at Karen's face. But we find that it's NOT Karen's face that he sees sitting across from him. It's Iris's face. He sees her beautiful smile even as she's not really there with him.

It now hits Charlie. He really does like Iris. It's not just a crush. But that he has genuine feelings for Iris if he's seeing her face rather than the actual person that he's sitting across from. The hallucination of Iris and the feelings that he is feeling for her comes to the point that Charlie can no longer stay with Karen.

CHARLIE: I'm sorry, Karen. But I can't continue on with this date.

KAREN: Why? Is it because I'm talking about my other boyfriends? Am I not pretty enough? Am I annoying you?

CHARLIE: No. It's none of those.

KAREN: Is it that other girl?

CHARLIE: It is. I'm sorry. But I must follow my heart. I must take this chance. (As he gets up) Once again, I'm really sorry for doing this.

Charlie throws down money on the table for his food and leaves. This leaves Karen hurt and disappointed. Another guy has ditched her in the middle of the date.

INT. SURFACK CLUBHOUSE - NIGHT

The other girls (Iris, Daphne, Robin, Martha, Nora, and Madison) are still at the club when Karen walks in upset.

MADISON: What's wrong, sweetie?

KAREN: That stupid Charlie left our date because he was thinking about some other girl.

IRIS: Did he say who the other girl was?

Karen glares at Iris. She remembers seeing them looking at each other in the cafeteria. She knew that Iris was the other girl. But she's not going to let her know it.

KAREN: It wasn't you, nerd. It was some hot cheerleader.

Iris is hurt by this. She actually believes Karen.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

The guys (Scott, Andrew, Nick, Charlie, Derek, Gerald, Kyle, and Kenny) are hanging out as Charlie talks about the date.

CHARLIE: I just couldn't sit there anymore. I couldn't handle it.

SCOTT: Of course, you couldn't. Karen is a psycho and annoying. Besides...you like Iris.

Charlie is silent for a moment. He knows the truth.

CHARLIE: I do.

NICK: You did good, Charlie. You're too good for Karen. You should ask Iris out.

ANDREW: I agree.

SCOTT: Yes.

GERALD: You should do it, man.

CHARLIE: I'd love nothing more than to do that. But I'm scared that maybe she doesn't like me.

ANDREW: Well, I might be able to ease your fear. Daphne texted me earlier and said that the girls are at the clubhouse to comfort Iris after she learned that Karen asked you out.

This surprises Charlie.

CHARLIE: Really? So she was jealous over Karen dating me?

ANDREW: That's what Daphne told me.

SCOTT: Nice. Now you really gotta ask her out, man.

DEREK: Yeah!

Charlie thinks for a moment about this. He proceeds to nod.

CHARLIE: I'll do it. I'll ask Iris out.

The boys cheer Charlie on.

Deaths
None.

Trivia

 * Charlie comes to realize that he has feelings for Iris.