Away From Phone

Oh, brace yourself for the riveting tale of Ben Dooley, the absolute genius and shining star of self-esteem. In his junior high days, Ben endured the hardships of being an online punching bag and a real-life doormat. But fear not, for he had a groundbreaking revelation: why not throw a cafeteria tantrum and make it go viral? Genius move, right? So, Ben becomes an internet sensation, calling out everyone from the principal to the lunch lady. Jobs are lost, and Ben is banished to a different school, where he wisely decides to become the quiet, phone-obsessed loner. Because who needs real friends when you have a smartphone as your BFF? Fast forward to high school, where Ben's life takes an unexpected turn. His friends, being the compassionate beings they are, tease him about his Tourette's-like episode, blissfully ignorant of the fact that they weren't even there. Ben continues his riveting existence, spending most of his time skillfully navigating his iPhone's universe. But wait, plot twist! Ben attends a regional SAT practice test, where his old bullies resurface with the creativity of middle schoolers. They mockingly call him "Drooley" and a "time bomb with a short fuse," prompting Ben to offer an analysis on the redundancy of their insults. Bravo, Ben, you're truly the master of comebacks. The proctor for the test takes away all of the phones. They take the text. After the test the phones get handed back by a student. One of the bullies. He gives Ben back an iPhone 8. WTF? He has a 15 pro Max. The phone says it belongs to Omar. Ben shrugs it off, but when he gets a text from Omar, he thinks the bullies are just winding him up. They have control over him, and it feels just like it did years ago. He sees red in the parking lot and destroys the phone. Omar comes up as he spikes it a final time onto the asphalt. Omar is from his old school. He's a senior. He teases Ben that he should keep his super cool new phone. Ben thinks about it. "Maybe you should." Omar walks him to his bus stop. By the time they get there, Omar decides that he will keep his phone. He will manage the social media, text and email for Ben. He barely has any classes left to take. It would be a diversion. Ben tries to back out of the deal, but Omar mentions that he was homecoming king last year for the school and he'd like to try to do the same for Ben. Ben looks him up and down. He can't believe that Omar was the homecoming king. Omar reassures him by showing him a picture with a crown. "I built this, out of this." He point's from the picture on screen to himself. "Keep it." The bus takes Ben away. He stares back at the kid who holds his phone. They talk once a day. Omar calls the payphone in the main hall of the school. Nobody ever uses it anymore. It's always available. Ben notes that he has been getting some funny looks. Omar tells him that he has been posting on SnapChat. When Ben asks what, Omar tells him that he should never explain anything that he has done, relive anything in the past, or even acknowledge ownership over who he is outside of any moment of the day. That's what cool people do. They never explain anything. They live in the now. Ben stops going to meet his phone friends. They can't reach him and they don't seem to care. He starts up a couple of new friendships. Rolston is the angriest man he's ever met. But rushes up to him one morning before school shouting. "Je Suis the Jandarms aussie." On the payphone, Omar confirms that he has circulated a meme of Ben proclaiming that he is the missing heir to the Jandarms fortune. People think it's hilarious. Ben plays it cool. Omar circulates a virus with the meme if people click on a link promising to be the most disgusting thing they've ever seen. He then lets everyone know that the only person who is smart enough to fix the virus is Ben. A lot of popular people seek out Ben that day. He has the instructions from Omar. They just have to add him as a friend on all platforms and he'll do it for free. The virus self-destructs in 24 hours, so Ben just has to wait for the fix. One strange encounter comes when he is approached by Dutch. It's short for Dutchess. Her mother smoked a lot of weed in celebration of her birth. The proof was right there on the certificate. Dutch clicked on the link by mistake, but was glad that she got to meet Ben, who was becoming one of her favorite follows. His real life starts getting interesting just as his socials start taking off. Ben makes some bad choices, and finds himself bottoming out even lower than he had in his last school. He is still "popular" on the outside, but on the inside he hits rock bottom hard. It looks like Omar abandons him, but he really leaves him with a surprise revelation. When Ben finds out who is really responsible for his popularity. It gives him the permission to make the biggest ass of himself in his life, and maybe get something in return that would never have happened if he hadn't been Away From Phone. V2 Ben Dooley is a smart kid. But he is a bit of a doormat. In Junior High, he a lot of abuse online and in person. Then finally, he freaked out and lashes out at everyone in the school cafeteria. He sees the world in a way that cuts deep. The video went super viral. He called out everyone including the principal. People were fired. He was moved out of his regular school and he isolated himself. Now, in high school, he has reverted to the quiet version of himself. His friends all know about his terrets cafeteria moment and tease him about it, but they weren't there. He skims along, spending most of his time on his phone. He is not alone in this. Most of his friends meet up just to bury their heads in their phones. In fact, his phone is probably his best friend. He goes to a regional SAT practice test where several high schools come together. His old schoolmates are there and they bully him. "Hey Drooley." "Fucking time bomb, short fuse waiting to go off." Ben asks whether it's a time bomb or a short fuse, they are redundant methods of activation and therefore probably incompatible. He doesn't take the bait. The proctor for the test takes away all of the phones. They take the text. After the test the phones get handed back by a student. One of the bullies. He gives Ben back an iPhone 8. WTF? He has a 15 pro Max. The phone says it belongs to Omar. Ben shrugs it off, but when he gets a text from Omar, he thinks the bullies are just winding him up. They have control over him, and it feels just like it did years ago. He sees red in the parking lot and destroys the phone. Omar comes up as he spikes it a final time onto the asphalt. Omar is from his old school. He's a senior. He teases Ben that he should keep his super cool new phone. Ben thinks about it. "Maybe you should." Omar walks him to his bus stop. By the time they get there, Omar decides that he will keep his phone. He will manage the social media, text and email for Ben. He barely has any classes left to take. It would be a diversion. Ben tries to back out of the deal, but Omar mentions that he was homecoming king last year for the school and he'd like to try to do the same for Ben. Ben looks him up and down. He can't believe that Omar was the homecoming king. Omar reassures him by showing him a picture with a crown. "I built this, out of this." He point's from the picture on screen to himself. "Keep it." The bus takes Ben away. He stares back at the kid who holds his phone. They talk once a day. Omar calls the payphone in the main hall of the school. Nobody ever uses it anymore. It's always available. Ben notes that he has been getting some funny looks. Omar tells him that he has been posting on SnapChat. When Ben asks what, Omar tells him that he should never explain anything that he has done, relive anything in the past, or even acknowledge ownership over who he is outside of any moment of the day. That's what cool people do. They never explain anything. They live in the now. Ben stops going to meet his phone friends. They can't reach him and they don't seem to care. He starts up a couple of new friendships. Rolston is the angriest man he's ever met. But rushes up to him one morning before school shouting. "Je Suis the Jandarms aussie." On the payphone, Omar confirms that he has circulated a meme of Ben proclaiming that he is the missing heir to the Jandarms fortune. People think it's hilarious. Ben plays it cool. Omar circulates a virus with the meme if people click on a link promising to be the most disgusting thing they've ever seen. He then lets everyone know that the only person who is smart enough to fix the virus is Ben. A lot of popular people seek out Ben that day. He has the instructions from Omar. They just have to add him as a friend on all platforms and he'll do it for free. The virus self-destructs in 24 hours, so Ben just has to wait for the fix. One strange encounter comes when he is approached by Dutch. It's short for Dutchess. Her mother smoked a lot of weed in celebration of her birth. The proof was right there on the certificate. Dutch clicked on the link by mistake, but was glad that she got to meet Ben, who was becoming one of her favorite follows. His real life starts getting interesting just as his socials start taking off. Ben makes some bad choices, and finds himself bottoming out even lower than he had in his last school. He is still "popular" on the outside, but on the inside he hits rock bottom hard. It looks like Omar abandons him, but he really leaves him with a surprise revelation. When Ben finds out who is really responsible for his popularity. It gives him the permission to make the biggest ass of himself in his life, and maybe get something in return that would never have happened if he hadn't been Away From Phone.