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As a major storm threatens a small town in Florida, two friends discover an unspoken connection that will upend their lives.

Palm Trees

Story

   It’s the late spring of 2003 where we find Felix and Nate; best friends who are just about to finish their senior year at Ridgecreek, High in Port Richey, a small town on the Gulf Cost of Florida. They do everything together: carpool to school, work out, go to the beach, and hang out after school together every day. The self-entitled “dream team”. But as a catastrophic hurricane approaches, the two discover an unspoken bond that transcends a typical teenage friendship. Scared and confused, they swear to secrecy to not tell anyone about their feelings. 

    Burdened with their secret, the two friends’ lives begin to diverge. Felix, determined to get out of his small town to attend NYU begins a journey of self-discovery through a series of characters with diverse points of view. 

   Adversely, the pressure of the secret is far too much for Nate to bare. The social pressure to comply to the archetype of traditional masculinity imposed on Nate by his friends and family cause him to fall into a downward spiral of fear and paranoia. And as suspicions arise from Nate's friends, Nate implicates Felix of making unwanted advances on him.

    Nate watches in horror as his friend bears the brunt of relentless bullying and abuse from the group. Fearing he could become a victim, he struggles to defend his friend and further distances himself from Felix who begs Nate for help and asks him to tell his friends to leave him alone. He reluctantly agrees and promises to make amends and his their friendship.

    Felix finds solace in his friends: Karen, an over-achiever who has her eyes set on Columbia and moving to the big apple with Felix, and Stephanie, a brash mermaid-performer who, unlike Felix and Karen, doesn’t have any definite ambition other than what she’s going to do with her unwanted pregnancy. 

    After a major episode in which Nate’s friends publicly humiliate Felix, Nate, and Stephanie, Nate agrees to meet Felix at a secret location where they can be alone and figure it out. Once there, they are discovered by Nates friends who eventually threaten to kill Felix, causing Felix to flee. 

    The next day Nate comes to check on Felix and in a last ditch effort, expresses his love for Nate, they can find a solution; all that matters is that they’re together. Nate, consumed with fear, explodes into a fit of rage, attacking Felix and leaving him battered and bruised. Nate flees the scene before running his car and ending his life.

    After Felix’s devastating loss, he finds out that he is rejected from NYU and must stay in his small town. 

davidleemorea

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