Xavier and Imani
13 is one of my favorite novels, and you know why? 13 is me! Sort of.
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The premise behind the novel is very real, as at the time I wrote the screenplay the story is based on, I was probably in my early to mid-30s at the time, and in a funk. The only thing I used to obsess over was the past, and I would always think about when I was 13, because just like the main character Xavier, it was the last time I truly felt like a kid, having to grow up quickly when moving to New Orleans. By keeping all his knowledge back in his 13-year-old body, Xavier realizes that life wasn’t so scary, which I think a lot of people would feel if they had the opportunity to go back to their younger selves. Life was different then, and there was a lot we feared that clearly doesn’t scare us now. It was fun to think about how I would react in that situation with the knowledge of life I had. It did get Xavier in some trouble with a school bully, however, and of course, there are consequences to every action.
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Imani was a composite of several girls from that time frame. Mainly, the girls I was afraid of talking to because of puberty, I suppose. To Xavier, she was intimidating when he was younger, but now, since his future self knows of his wife and kids, she doesn’t seem like much. I wanted to humanize her as well, showing that those adolescent crushes were humans as well. Yes, Imani ran with the popular girls, and was, at the time, one of those girls that all the 8th graders used to dream about. Xavier learned that she was no different from him. It’s a strange coupling of the two teenagers that worked because Xavier, who was once a joke, now has swag because he stopped caring what others thought of him and focused on being himself, which is a lesson I think we all would have loved back then.
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The reason this is probably my favorite book is just like the character, it brings me some nostalgia, visiting the days past. From the dances, to the snowball fights to hanging with my friends, this was a simpler time, and we didn’t know then. I actually got back in touch with some of the people that the characters are based on. Back then, life seemed hard, but just being a kid again, I would trade anything for it. It was the best part of life, and I didn’t know it then. Xavier could have been me. Imani could have been my crush. All I can think of is what if. Now I have a story I can visit anytime I want to be there.
