In a time when school shootings have become an unfortunate way of life a teenage Rachel Woodard is living in her own private hell. The challenges of being a teenager, not being understood by her peers, not feeling loved at home and no one to talk to when the worst day of her life happens, she shifts, breaks and does the unthinkable. Often after these shootings in the midst of mourning those who lost their lives, the world wonders, “why?” More often than not this question is never answered. For Rachel, who finds herself a viral sensation when her classmates bully her, take unspeakable pictures of her and post them online ruining the little piece of self-worth she has left, she reaches out to everyone for assistance. No help from her schools’ administration, no help from her peers but the most disappointing moment is the realization that her mom/dad doesn’t care to support or help her. Sometimes the answers are right in front of us, but we don’t want to see them, we don’t want to take responsibility for being the person or group of people that could have made a difference in this young person’s life and didn’t. Her mom/ dad always wanted Rachel to be a “star.” Sadly, when Rachel is waiting for her execution for the shooting that she orchestrated that day her mom/dad comes to visit, and a lot of these questions are addressed. In her final moment all Rachel wants it to be told by her mom/ dad that they love her. Instead their focus is on the crowd of reporters outside and how they can make this her shining moment as the first female school shooter. Hence, making her a “star.”
*This piece specifies that Rachel’s mom or dad can be either or for the purpose of the script.
