WIP: Choice - A Screenplay - Please Ignore The Terrible Formatting

INT. COLLEGE DORM ROOM - MORNING

We SEE an UNNAMED COLLEGE FRESHMAN in her early 20s, wakes up from an annoyingly loud alarm and then turns around, presumably to head back to sleep. She’s been up for the last couple of hours and it’s evident. Her hair is a tangled, black mess and her glasses are on an awkward position on her face. She turns back over and sees the time once more. She’s running late. 

GIRL

Shit!

MUSIC PLAYING: NEVER A WOMAN – WHITE SEA

Director’s Note: Music to be played quietly, enough where you can hear it, but enough to hear the outdoorsy sounds as well.

She hops out of bed and presumably starts to get ready. She grabs her tooth brush from a rack above the sink and accidentally drops it on the ground. She shrugs, picks it up, washes it off and uses it because she’s in a hurry. She’s wearing colorful striped pajama pants and she as shuffles across the floor to get in the shower, she shakes her pants off and runs into the bathroom. The door closes and we see her pants still on the floor.

MUSIC STOPS.

CUT TO:

INT. COLLEGE DORM ROOM -MORNING

We see ANOTHER COLLEGE FRESHMAN in his early 20s, comes out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He’s still wearing plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt from a very obscure band and at the moment, he’s very tired.

MUSIC PLAYING: EVERYBODY MOVES – ROCKWIZ

He goes to open the curtains and lets the sun beam in and it hurts his eyes. He’s always wanted to have this nostalgic, made-for-movie moment where he opens the curtains and he actually appreciates the sunlight and the morning. This is not one of those moments.

BOY

Fuck this. 
 He slams the curtains closed, jumps back into bed and promptly throws the cover over his head. His alarm goes off and he pops from under the covers and slams his hand down the receiver, shutting it off. He signs and angrily wiggles around in his bed, like an uncooperative child. He is not ready to face the day because he knows what’s coming. It’s Advisement Day.

MUSIC STOPS.

CUT TO:

INT/EXT OPENING CREDITS SEQUENCE:

Split screen of BOY and GIRL, walking on the same path (BEHIND STUDENT CENTER), disconnected from the world because of the two different lives they lead. Yet they’re headed to the same place and they live on same college campus. 

Ex:

On the left: GIRL walks on path, in a hurry as she’s running late. She bumps into someone and staggers apologetically before rushing off as she was before. She’s pushing past people and whatnot because she’s a busy girl and has things to do. She runs of stairs to a building and then rushes to an office door where she throws things around her purse to find her keys, she drops them because of the hurry she’s in, picks them up and then goes inside.

On the right: Boy walks on same path. He’s awkward and walks slower with not much direction. He turns around a lot to notice everything. The same pair of feet belonging to the GIRL rush past him and he stops to look, but he doesn’t catch her face. He quietly pushes past the crowd, awkwardly. He continues to walk to the same path and walks the same path, eventually ending up at the same building as the GIRL.

FADE OUT:

BEGIN TITLE SCREEN.

As the title rolls in, a NARRATOR’s disgruntled voice begins to speak.

NARRATOR

(O.S female preferably)

Before we begin, this is not a love story. 
 

INT ENGINEERING BUILDING – DAY

The BOY is walking down the path towards the ADVISEMENT OFFICE. He pushes past people awkwardly and you hear him whispering a casual “Hello” to some people around him as to not be rude.

He makes it to the door and inhales a huge breath before stepping inside. 

GIRL

Hello, welcome to Engineering Advisement. How can I help you?
He stops mid-room, taking a look at the girl behind the desk. There is a CLOSE UP on this GAZE. 

This is the girl of his dreams. He’s looking at her like every girl has wanted to be looked at and she doesn’t even notice.

We then SEE the GIRL at her desk as the BOY looks on. She’s cheery, bubbly because as a receptionist, it’s her job to be this way, but mainly because she’s bored.

NARRATOR
This is a story about boy meets girl, but love…does not follow.
BOY
(V.O)
Pretty girl alert. Don’t fuck this up, dude. Cool, casual and calm. That’s who you are.
GIRL

Hello? Can I help you?   

She’s growing even more annoyed at the fact he’s not responding as right now, it’s kind of off-putting.   

BOY
(V.O)
Cool.
He’s so in his head, he’s ignoring the fact that the GIRL is speaking to him.
GIRL
Hello?
BOY
(V.O)
Calm.
He’s still not responding, so it’s not crossing her head that this guy may be off his rocker.
GIRL
Are you okay?
BOY
(V.O)
Shit.
And it’s only now that he’s realized he’s fucked up.

BOY
Yeah, sorry about that. I blanked for a minute. You’re just very, very pretty, but I had an appointment to see Ms. Arnold.
He quickly makes his way over to the desk and promptly signs his name on the yellow sheets of paper on a clip board in front of him on the desk. (Director’s note: Do not get his name into shot) The GIRL notices he’s called her pretty, but doesn’t say anything about it. She’s smirking slightly.
GIRL
Can I have your name, please?
He turns the sign in sheet around and taps his name on the sheet. The GIRL laughs and flips the sheet back around to its original position. She’s embarrassed because asking questions like this has become so routine, she forgets to actually think about what she’s saying before she says it.

GIRL
Okay, smart ass. You’re half an hour early for your appointment, so she will be with you once she finishes prepping your file. Have a seat until then and I promise. I don’t bite.

And the flirting commences.

BOY
A seat? Right here? On this floor? I don’t think my pants would like that. I’ll take the bite instead.
The GIRL laughs once more as the BOY hold out his hand out. Although his humor is dry and he’s very nervous, he wants to impress this pretty stranger.

BOY

Seriously, when’s the last time you guys cleaned this carpet?

And again, they both laugh. 

MUSIC PLAYING: SWEET DISPOSITION

CUT TO:

Shots of the BOY and GIRL separately talking. You hear snip-it’s of laughing and other dialogue as the music plays. Ex: “Oh, really?” “I don’t know about that.” “You like them? You like Red Wood? Seriously? You’re kidding me, right?”

MUSIC STOPS.

MS. ARNOLD

(O.S)

Is my 9:00 there yet?

They both stop talking and smiling after hearing the voice as they know what’s going to happen next as he is the next appointment.

GIRL

(reluctantly)

Yes, Ms. Arnold. I’ll send him back.

The GIRL motions towards the pathway leading to MS.ARNOLD’s office and laughs once more. She is distraught that this conversation has to come to an end. The BOY walks past her into the office and shuts the door behind him. As soon as she hears the door clicks, she dives into her bag and starts reapplying her makeup, lipstick, and all. She tosses her hair around and brushes it furiously.

CUT TO:

INT. MS. ARNOLD’S OFFICE

The BOY, after closing the door, sits down and stares at MS. ARNOLD (early 30’s), prim and preppy with a serious look on her face and her hands folded on her desk over the C file because she knows the news. She’s delivered it many times and while this is supposed to be just another reading of the same few lines, she’s decided to cut the bull this time.

MS. ARNOLD

So, you know what I’m going to say to you, right?

The BOY nods and folds his hands anxiously in his lap and looks down because he knows what’ coming.

CUT TO:

MUSIC PLAYING: PEOPLE AND SO ON – FRISKA VILJOR

The GIRL is outside, anxious and trying to find something to do. She’s flipping through magazines, typing the words: FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK…over and over again on the computer screen, she’s checking her reflection nervously waiting for her new acquaintance to come back out. 

MUSIC STOPS.                                                                                                                

He finally walks back out with his head down, somberly and walks straight past the desk quickly. He then turns around swiftly as if he’s forgotten something in the middle of the room and then goes back to the desk and slams his hand on it roughly.

BOY

Would you like to go out with me sometime?

She’s a little bit thrown off since she thought that he was just going to walk out without speaking to her again.

GIRL

I thought you’d never ask.

She tears up a sheet of paper and scribbles down her number and slides it over the table the BOY and he starts inputting the number into his phone.

BOY
I used to think my phone was a piece of shit and now it’s suddenly my most valuable possession.

They both laugh.

GIRL

Now go, go on now. I’ve got very important work to do.

They both know this is a lie. She starts ushering him out the door with her hands and as soon as the BOY is out in the hallway, he starts dancing awkwardly. The people around look at him and he stops, composes himself and moves on.

CUT TO:

INT – GIRL’S DORM – NIGHT

The GIRL sits on her bed in her pajamas from the morning. She’s been lying around waiting for the boy to text her. She has her feet propped up on the wall, with her arms up, looking up at her phone. Across from her is her roommate, SARAH, early 20’s and chill. They’re best friends and have been since middle school. However, they are polar opposites. SARAH is calm and relaxed in just about every situation while the GIRL is bubbly and hyper.

SARAH

(O.S)

He’ll call or text you later. Calm down, seriously.

GIRL
No, no, you don’t understand. He called me pretty. This is serious. Guys just don’t usually come up and say that to me, so him  not texting me immediately is not a good sign.

SARAH

Maybe he’s dead.

She is obviously joking, but she’s kind of annoyed at how high strung her friend is being.

GIRL

Not funny.

There’s a silence.

GIRL 
Okay, what if he did die and now the only guy I find to tolerate me suddenly dies.This. Sucks.

SARAH

I was kidding.

SARAH gets up and walks over to the GIRL’s bed where she snatches the phone from her hand. She’s had enough. However, as soon as she grabs the phone from her friend’s hand, she screams and moans and starts fighting for her phone. This is only lifetime to this mysterious and also adorable young man. They struggle for a while and after a while, they sit and laugh over how silly they were being.

SARAH

Are you done stressing over a boy?

GIRL

Are you done touching my valuables?

They laugh again and then the phone vibrates. It’s him.
GIRL

It’s him!

The GIRL jumps up screeching with joy. She looks at the phone and quickly responds back, ignoring her roommate, still on the floor from their previous battle.

SARAH

So, what did he say?

GIRL

He texted saying, ‘Hi.’

SARAH

Hi?

GIRL

Yep. H.I. That’s is. Oh, he’s texting again.

The two are silent once more and SARAH stands up again and grabs the phone to examine the text. The GIRL shrugs and lets her friend take the phone without argument.

SARAH

He says, ‘Do you want to get dinner?’

The GIRL is still thinking about what to say next when we HEAR another PING echo from her phone.

SARAH 
He’s still going. He says, ‘Let me rephrase that: I’m going to come and get you in 10 minutes, but in order for that to happen, I need your address, so now you have no other choice than to give me your address, so that we can go eat. Now, you the GIRL starts smiling. She’s not only happy about the fact that he’s finally contacted her, but she’s happy that he’s so sweet. Even the way he texts is sweet.

SARAH

So, what do I say?

GIRL

You know the address. Give it to the man.

SARAH
Are you going to wear that?

She looks down at her pajama pants and then starts freaking out. She beings pacing the dorm room, thinking about what to wear. How the fuck was she going to impress him? She then runs over the closet door and throws it open.

MUSIC PLAYING: BORN AGAIN TEEN – LUCIUS

The GIRL starts throwing clothing around the room.

MONTAGE:

-          She begins trying on outfit after outfit and in between each outfit, you hear a distinct “No” from either her or her roommate.

And after, she finally sits on ground in defeat as song fades into background as she doesn’t know what to wear. She has a decent outfit on, but it’s not the one, so she sighs in her jeans and t-shirt.

SARAH

(O.S)

What are you doing on the floor?

GIRL

I still don’t know what to wear

SARAH

(O.S)
Just wear something. It’s almost time for you to leave.

The GIRL looks at her phone to see 2 missed calls and texts asking, ‘WHERE ARE YOU? I’M OUTSIDE. YOU READY?’

GIRL

Shit!

MUSIC PLAYING: CAGE THE ELEPHANT – MESS AROUND

She scrambles around to try and throws something on and runs out the room. She tries to get her keys to lock the door, but her roommate pokes her head out the door and starts ushering her down the hall.

SARAH

Just go!

The GIRL runs to the elevator and presses the button frantically and hops on the elevator.

She paces around the elevator nervously as she’s the only one in it. She’s pushing on the walls and it feels as if this elevator is taking forever.

The door opens and more people begin to pour in, but she stands still. She’s frozen in fear, but no one is paying any attention to her. 

CUT TO:

INT OUTSIDE DORM – IN CAR – NIGHT

The BOY is seen, sitting in his car. He’s tapping his knees and fiddling with the radio. He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know when the GIRL is going to show up…

Or if she will…

But he sits in the car and waits patiently. He looks out the window and sees her exiting the dorm.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTSIDE DORM – NIGHT

The GIRL is walking toward the car, still very nervous, but she smiles as she soon as she sees the BOY in the front seat of the car.

MUSIC STOPS.

The camera is still frozen on the GIRL. A shot of the BOY’s face then comes up beside hers.

FADE OUT.

MUSIC PLAYING: HERO – REGINA SPECKTOR

NARRATOR

Remember what I said about this not being a love story?

That still stands. This isn’t about her.

FADE IN:

The same picture of the GIRL comes up on the screen.

NARRATOR

Or him.

The same picture of the BOY comes up on the screen as well.

NARRATOR 
It’s much bigger than them.

CUT TO:

INT. ENGINEERING ADVISEMENT OFFICE – DAY

We see the BOY and GIRL speaking. It is silent and nothing can be heard, but the music. He goes into the MS. ARNOLD’S OFFICE.

NARRATOR
What would have become of these strange if they’d done anything differently throughout the day?

 

CUT TO:

We see the GIRL sitting propped up at the desk once more after she’s reapplied her makeup and done her hair. The BOY rushes out of the room and down the hall and the GIRL looks at the door with a blank stare. He’s gone.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. BOY’S DORM – NIGHT

NARRATOR
There are certain situations you go through during the course of a day that make you wish you’d done something differently.

We SEE him lying down in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

FADE IN:

INT. GIRL’S DORM ROOM – MORNING

NARRATOR

How one small thing could change your path and lead you astray from your happy ending.

We see the GIRL in bed. The curtains are drawn and the alarm goes off. She slams her hand on it and turns over in bed, throwing the covers over her head as she heads back to sleep.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. ADVISEMENT OFFICE – MORNING

We see the BOY enter the room and stop in the middle of the room. The GIRL is not behind the desk. Her chair is empty.

MS. ARNOLD

(O.S)

Come on back. I can see you if you’re my 9:00. My assistant didn't show up.

He somberly walks past the desk into her OFFICE.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

INT. UNKNOWN BUILDING – RED WOOD CONCERT - NIGHT

NARRATOR

However, there are mistakes that can be fixed with the passing of time and a little bit of changes here and there. But who knows where those changes will lead you? No one knows. You can only guess.
We see the BOY standing and listening to the band. His head is bobbing up and down. He’s totally into it and you can see this isn’t the first time he’s been to hear this band. You can’t hear the band playing. You can only hear the music playing, but there are a couple other people around, talking and whatnot, but everyone’s attention is on the band as they’re mesmerized by whatever music is playing.Then we see the GIRL come up next to him and stand to watch the concert as well. He looks at her and she smiles apologetically for entering his personal space.

But he doesn’t care because she’s so beautiful. 

BOY

You’re pretty. I wanted to know if --

GIRL

(cutting him off)

Thanks.

The GIRL shakes off this compliment her head and looks off into the distance, ignoring the BOY. He nods his head and he looks off as well. He’s lost his chance.

FADE OUT.

This is my pride and joy. My first somewhat finished screenplay and so, what this is about is fate. Fate in accordance to relationships and the moments in life where we maybe should've taken a chance and the times where we should've stayed silent. It's all up in the air because we never know how things are going to turn out and we never know the truth behind whatever is going on in the moments where a decision has to be made. Is this the right choice? Should I go for it? Is this going to turn out well? It's all up to you to decide.