Counting original script sample

Counting Original Script Sample By Allyssa Bujdoso

P.O. Box 2582 Chicago, IL 60690 859-468-9378

INT. SMALL BATHROOM - MORNING - 9:47 AM CU: A brown eyeball in the mirror, with an eyeliner pencil framing the eye with the black liner, as an unseen hand is pulling the lid taught.

MEGAN (early 20’s), is putting on her make up, standing in the mirror with a white button down on, and a pink and blue stripped tie loosely hanging around her neck.

She runs the flat iron through her long hair a few more times smoothing out the dirty mess of hair. She throws some talcum powder into her hand and runs it through the roots of her hair attempting to counter the oil. She teases it up and walks out of the bathroom.

INT. LOFT APARTMENT - MORNING - 9:52 AM A man lays sleeping passed out on a couch that is pushed up against a brick wall.

The huge loft is filled with a soft glow from the track lighting over the open kitchen on one side of the room.

There are no windows and time ceases to exist.

Directly across from the couch and coffee table a poker game still runs hot from the night before. Seven guys and one woman sit around a poker table, caressing chips and calling plays. They are haggard from playing and drinking all night.

DEALER It’s $60 to call, or you can fold for half price.

MARK Man...fuck it. I’m in.

MARK (early 30’s, but looks younger, but a hardened younger) swirls his chips around in a circle and chucks them across the betting line, next to the pot but without splashing the pot. They land in an oreo-esqe line, an angled stack. The bet follows around the table and everyone calls.

EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY - MORNING Megan is leaving her building, rushing down the steps and looking at her cell phone to check the time. She briskly walks off and lights a cigarette.

2.

INT. LOFT APARTMENT - MORNING Mark’s wins the hand with a straight flush. Other players are semi-aggressively folding their cards and throwing them back towards the dealer as he pushes the pot towards Mark.

APOLLO Nice hand, limping in like a bitch and you still get paid.

Apollo tosses his cards back at the dealer face down, and leans back in his chair, he crosses his arms across his chest and shakes his head, laughing a little.

MARK You know me, man. I’m just having a good run tonight.

Security cameras up on the far wall show, a line of people in the alley way but the image is extremely blurry as the feed jumps in and out on the screen.

An explosion, and the door is forced open with a battering ram.

POLICE OFFICER 1 Salt Lake City PD! Get on the ground, get on the ground!

As the guy on the couch tries to get up and run, a police officer sees him and kicks him back down.

POLICE OFFICER 1 I said GET ON THE GROUND! Apollo bolts during the raid. He runs up a staircase that leads to storage that is above the restaurant below. He jumps over the wooden rail and starts to lower himself. He’s hanging there and then, drops down.

INT. CORPORATE ITALIAN RESTAURANT - MORNING Megan, rushes past the manager’s desk in the back and hurries to clock in. She gets right to work, cutting Parmesan cheese for grating.

Blanca a chef, walks around the counter to her salad station and begins preparing food.

BLANCA Hola Megan! How are you?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

3.

MEGAN Hola Blanca! I’m great, just trying to keep a low profile so they don’t realize I was late today.

The manager comes stalking out of the kitchen up to the expo line, straight over to Megan.

MANAGER Megan, would you come down to table 100 with me?

MEGAN Sure, what can I help with?

MANAGER We’re going to have a meeting.

MEGAN OK, should I bring the cheese and keep working on it?

MANGER No, that won’t be necessary, Blanca will finish it.

Megan is sitting in a booth, and the manager comes to sit down across from her with a file. He goes through different papers citing different incidences. He hands her a pay check envelope and she starts crying and yelling at him.

INT. APARTMENT LOFT - MORNING The guys and woman are laying on the floor in various places throughout the room and everyone is getting arrested. As the police start to lead them out to the curb police start going through the apartment.

DETECTIVE MANNING Look for the book, I wanna know who comes to this shit hole, who owes ’em money, who pays their debts.

Find me the house bank. And any thing we can trump up on drug or paraphernalia charges!

4.

EXT. DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY 200 SOUTH - MORNING Megan is speed walking, muttering a little under her breath and smoking a cigarette hard and fast. She yanks at the tie that had been tightened from work and yanks at the buttons at the collar of her shirt, struggling to free herself.

At the resistance of the buttons, she abruptly turns and kicks the brick wall of a closed sushi restaurant several times.

Breath huffing, she leans forward and rests her head against the wall defeated.She finally gets the tie loose and yanks it off her neck, over her head.

She throws it on the ground, and her eye catches sight of the bar, Johnny’s on Second, in the distance. She see’s Sami putting out chairs on the patio. She straightens herself and begins walking towards Johnny’s again. Upon approaching the bar patio she nods at Sami.

SAMI (Late 20’s) with long brown hair, a tee shirt that is too short showing her midriff, furrows her brow with concern, as she slams down another chair and faces Megan.

SAMI (In a sing song, stripper lilt) Cupcake? Aren’t you supposed to be at work? What’s wrong?

Megan just looks at Sami and shakes her head and walks briskly towards the door of the bar.

MEGAN You open? I need a drink, Sami.

SAMI OK, I’m right behind you.

INT. JOHNNY’S ON SECOND - ALMOST MID DAY Sami follows Megan in, and walks with a perky speed walk known to servers and bartenders. A sassy walk with intention. She follows Megan through the front room filled with bar stools on top of tables and three clean pool tables.

The dirty carpet leads to a second room with a black and white checkerboard floor, filled with booths and a bar in the center for sitting, that leads the eye to the actual bar, covered in tacky Formica.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

5.

No bottles are covering the wall behind it yet, Sami has not gotten that far in opening duties. Sami gets behind the bar.

SAMI The usual?

MEGAN Yeah, and two shots of Jager.

SAMI Cupcake? Two? MEGAN I just got fired and I want to get drunk, pour up because I’m not saying another word until I have swallowed enough booze to say something pleasant. Make it three shots.

Sami pours a tall whiskey and coke, and three shots of Jagger. She lines them up. Before Sami can set all of them in front of Megan, she is already starting to throw back the first shot.

Megan tosses back the first shot and chases it with the second and then the third, not touching the whiskey and coke yet.

MEGAN Can you play my song?

SAMI Sure.

Sami switches on the anthem for the regulars at the bar, This Must Be The Place, by Talking Heads comes on through her i pod and floods the bar from the speakers.

Megan takes a long pull on her whiskey and coke and lights a cigarette.

SAMI OK, what happened?

MEGAN Ugh, you know how I told you we got a new manager?

Sami nods.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

6.

MEGAN He is a total dick, and I knew that before, but I guess he wants to clean house. He fired me. I’m the second developer this week to get "let go". I don’t know really what I’m going to do for legit work.

That was a huge part of my income!

SAMI What about selling? Aren’t you still selling?

MEGAN Yeah, but that’s not the most steady thing. It supplements my serving income.

SAMI Can you sell more until you find something? Can’t you hit up more bars, you must have about a hundred phone numbers of acquaintances that you party with in your phone...

MEGAN I’d have to put some serious feelers out there for more clientele. And that’s risky. You know the cops have been cracking down on everything lately.

SAMI You could work here, we need a cocktail right now, Lilly just quit...again. She’s not stable, we could use a reliable set of hands on deck, and you could bar tend on Saturdays if you want to take on more responsibility eventually.

MEGAN What?

SAMI You’re hired. We need another cocktail and I hate working Saturday mornings. You’ll make money, it’s not the most legit, you’ll get paid under the table actually, but after a trial period Johnny could put you on the books.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

7.

MEGAN Shit, really?

SAMI Really, you’ll start this Saturday, but just as a cocktail to try it out. It’ll be mostly be those two shifts, but I figure, you are a regular, everyone loves you. With as much money and time as you spend here, we might as well take care of you.

MEGAN Oh my God. That could work. Could I pick up more shifts if things work out?

SAMI If things gel, of course, Cupcake!

MEGAN Why the fuck do you call me that?

SAMI Because you’re a sweet baby!

MEGAN Sweet, unlikely. Baby, no.

SAMI Aw, you’re cute and little. By the way do you have anything for a headache?

MEGAN Yeah, let’s do a trade though.

SAMI OK, I’ll go set it up. Watch the bar. This is your first duty as a new employee!

She got up and practically stomped to the ladies bathroom and then within a few minutes returned. Megan slid her two Lortabs hidden in an empty cigarette box, and when Sami returned Megan having finished the shots, barely wobbling headed towards the bathroom.

8.

INT. WOMEN’S BATHROOM JOHNNY’S - MOMENTS LATER. Megan threw open the door, "Elephant," by Tame Impala starts to play. She trudges in and heads to the far left handicapped stall. She slams the stall door shut, and fumbles over the lock.

The alcohol has made her movements impaired. She turns towards the toilet and looks at a huge line on top of the back of the tank. She pulls out a cigarette of a full pack and licks both ends of a cigarette. She dips either end in one side of the line, then she grabs a piece of straw from a pocket. Shoving the straw up her nose, she pushes the other nostril shut and leans down. Megan delicately tucks her hair behind her ear, she sniffs and snorts hard, gags once, and then turns and exits the stall.

She walks over to the sink and turns on the faucet, dabs a bit of water on her finger, touches a few drops to her nose and grabs her cheek, pulls it back towards her ear while holding the other nostril shut and snorts hard, then stares at her self in the mirror for a moment.

She grabs her cell phone out of her back pocket and calls someone, the tone of the ring sounds over the music and before we can hear the voice mail pick up, Megan hangs up.

INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER INTER CUTTING between each interview Detective Manning has with each player.

Detective Manning looking haggard, wrinkled shirt, and five o’clock shadow growing in, begins he interrogation of each individual player, starting with Ben. DETECTIVE MANNING OK, first things first, who ran the game?

Ben rubs his wrists finally free of cuffs and looks at Detective Manning seriously, dead pan.

BEN Ran what?

9.

INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Mark is sitting relaxed in the chair, slouched down.

Detective Manning still maintaining a calm face and exterior and we see Mark answer the same question.

MARK It’s a friendly game, no money. ’Eh, yo can I get some coffee?

DETECTIVE MANNING Criminals don’t get coffee until they cooperate!

INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Manning tries to rearrange his face into a calm one and fails, his face betrays his growing anger as it contorts despite him trying to relax it.

DETECTIVE MANNING Where is the book?

Doug casually crosses his legs at the knee and lifts his hands into a praying position, together, finger to finger, palm to palm.

DOUG The Book of Mormon? I believe you can find one in any book store or church in the state, sir.

INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Manning waits for an answer from Allen. Allen’s nervously tucking his shaggy hair behind his ears and sitting in the edge of his seat. He looks around, like he’s making sure no one besides Manning can hear him.

ALLEN Between you and me? I believe they’re all being replaced by digital versions!

DETECTIVE MANNING Yes? ALLEN Yes, I hear you can get all the same information from Barnes and Noble regardless though.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

10.

Detective Manning looks suspicious but continues on listening.

ALLEN CONT’D Through the NOOK, it’s what’s called an "e-reader."

DETECTIVE MANNING Is this a game to you Allen? Do you think you’re girlfriend will think this is a game? Do you think you’re parents will enjoy bailing you out?

ALLEN We haven’t done anything wrong Officer. So if you’re not arresting us or charging us, we all really like to go home and get some rest.

EXT. OF INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Detective Manning walks out, and shakes his head, he glares at the underling officers daring them harshly, scowling.

DETECTIVE MANNING Cut ’em loose!

INT. POLICE STATION - NOON The players who were brought in from the game are sitting in a line on a row of plastic blue chairs all connected to a wall. All players are in handcuffs and chatting with one another, laughing and relaxed.

J.J. is getting fully searched at the station and the longer the search the bigger the pile of paraphernalia that gets stacked up in the evidence container.

POLICE OFFICER #2 Jesus, is there any drug you don’t have on you?

J.J. Just the psychedelics.

He is fully cooperative with the officers. He has done this so many times prior that he has no fear or worry. This is all routine for him.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

11.

POLICE OFFICER #3 Good Lord, J.J. where are all the trick pockets?

J.J. Jeans, hoodie, underwear elastic band, my asshole. Good luck!

POLICE OFFICER #3 Ugh, get gloves, I’m not digging in this guys ass, he’d probably like it.

J.J. You know it baby!

POLICE OFFICER 2 Oh, J.J.’s an old pro, he’s just putting you on. He probably hasn’t had paraphernalia in any cavities since the last time he did time and wanted something for the long nights in the joint, right J.J.?

J.J. I don’t remember, enjoy checking!

They hauled him off to a more private location to fully search his body and to book him.

BEN Everyone knows the drill right? All the guys nodded and some quietly chuckled in agreement.

INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - MOMENTS LATER Manning is starting to lose his cool.

DETECTIVE MANNING Don’t play games with me!

JACE 50 cent I believe? Wasn’t The Game a rapper in his crew?