INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT – DAY
ELAINE is staring at a sad, shriveled plant.
ELAINE: What happened here?
JERRY (casual): Oh yeah… poor thing. I forgot to water it before I went on the road last week.
ELAINE: Forgot to water it? : It’s a plant! That’s the one thing it needs!
JERRY: It had a good run.
Sound effect: BUZZER
JERRY: Come on up.
ELAINE: Why is Steve coming over?
JERRY: He’s bringing a “friend.”
ELAINE: Oh no.
JERRY: Yeah.
DOOR OPENS.
STEVE enters in a Mets cap, overly upbeat. Behind him is CARLOS. smiling like everything in life is going perfectly.
STEVE: There he is!
JERRY: There he is…
STEVE: This is Carlos.
CARLOS (warm, optimistic): Great place. Love what you’ve got going here.
JERRY: You just got here.
CARLOS: I can feel it. Good things.
Carlos spots the plant and lights up.
CARLOS: Oh, look at this! You’ve got some life in here!
Steve grabs the dead plant and holds it up proudly.
STEVE: See? Green little shoots.
CARLOS leans in, nodding.
CARLOS: Yeah… yeah, I like this. This plant’s gonna be okay.
JERRY: No it’s not. It’s dead.
CARLOS (still smiling): I don’t see dead. I see potential.
JERRY: You’re looking at a corpse.
STEVE: How could it be dead? It’s only April. It’s got the whole summer to bloom!
JERRY: It’s not blooming! It’s done blooming!
CARLOS: You gotta give it time.
JERRY: Time for what? A funeral?
Carlos gently takes the plant from Steve… and immediately knocks over a glass of water on the table.
WATER spills everywhere—right onto Steve’s pants.
STEVE (not reacting at all): It’s fine.
JERRY: It’s not fine!
CARLOS: No problem. We’ll clean it up.
Carlos grabs a napkin—knocks over a bowl of snacks. Chips scatter everywhere.
STEVE (still upbeat): Happens! Things happen!
JERRY: Why are you okay with this?!
STEVE: It’s part of the process!
CARLOS (nodding): Exactly. You stay positive.
Carlos goes to set the plant down—misses the table completely. The pot drops. Dirt spills all over Steve’s shoes.
Beat.
STEVE (looking down, then back up, smiling): Little mess.
CARLOS: We’ll regroup.
JERRY: Regroup?!
CARLOS: You don’t focus on the spill, you focus on the next move.
JERRY: The next move is a mop!
Carlos pats Steve on the shoulder—knocking over a lamp. It wobbles… falls… crashes.
Long silence.
STEVE (clapping once, encouraging): Alright! Energy’s still good!
CARLOS (calm, confident): I like where we’re at.
JERRY: Where are you at?!
CARLOS: Right where we need to be.
JERRY: This is where you need to be?!
STEVE: We’re close.
JERRY: Close to what?!
CARLOS: Turning it around.
ELAINE: I’m leaving before he “develops” anything else.
She exits.
Carlos smiles, unfazed.
CARLOS: Strong personality.
KNOCK—KRAMER bursts in.
KRAMER: Hey Jer, you got any—
He stops. Takes in the chaos. Dirt, water, broken lamp, Steve soaked.
KRAMER: …milk.
CARLOS (cheerful): Hey! Great timing.
KRAMER: I don’t think it is.
Kramer slowly backs toward the door.
KRAMER: I’ll get it somewhere else.
He exits immediately. Carlos is back looking at the plant.
CARLOS: It’s getting better. You just have to believe.
JERRY: I don’t believe in the dead plant!
Steve nods, completely convinced.
STEVE: It’s gonna bloom.
JERRY: You’re both insane.
CARLOS (checking his watch, upbeat): Alright, we should get going.
STEVE perks up immediately.
STEVE: Right! Big day.
JERRY: Big day?
STEVE: Big team meeting.
CARLOS: We’re going over projections.
JERRY: Projections?
STEVE: David’s got the numbers.
CARLOS (encouraging): It’s all trending the right way.
JERRY: Nothing s trending the right way!
STEVE (gesturing around): You’re too focused on the now.
STEVE heads to the door, energized.
STEVE: This is where it starts.
JERRY: This is where what starts?!
CARLOS (smiling): The turnaround.
STEVE: C’mon, Carlos. We don’t want to be late.
CARLOS (to Jerry, sincere): It’s gonna bloom.
Carlos exits.
STEVE follows, then pops his head back in.
STEVE: Keep an eye on those shoots!
He disappears.
Door closes.
Silence.
JERRY looks at the dead plant.
Beat.
He picks it up. A chunk of dirt falls off.