This is one of my favorite stories. I wrote this at Duke University’s Creative Writers’ Workshop. The format might be a little odd, but that’s merely because it is meant to be a screenplay!
-Caroline
FADE IN:
INT. MOLLY SMITH’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
MOLLY SMITH, a pulchritudinous eighteen-year-old blond, lays on her back unconscious on sparkling-white carpet.
Around her left wrist is a black and gold, thick in diameter, bracelet. It resembles more of a male friendship bracelet rather than a piece of jewelry a female would wear.
The beautifully white carpet soaks in a substantial amount of Molly’s blood and turns a gross color of black-red.
There is a butcher knife beside her left hand drenched in blood.
Different angle shots of Molly Smith’s body are shown during the voiceover of JACE MONTGOMERY.
JACE MONTGOMERY (V.O.)
She was my best friend. She was that girl you get up for in the morning. The girl you just can’t wait one minute longer to see. She was always full of hope and incredible inspiration.
Pause.
The shot is pulled back and Molly’s unconscious body gets smaller and smaller.
JACE MONTGOMERY (V.O.) (CONT’D)
And then she did this.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. THE MOVIE THEATRE – NIGHT (FLASHBACK)
The poorly-lit movie theatre is full of teenagers and adults alike.
In the plush, red-velvet seats, couples kiss as the older adults stare at the screen, trying to avoid looking at the oblivious teenagers.
The screen shows two males talking to each other.
The male actors’ voices are very low, making it hard to understand what they are saying.
In the back row, MOLLY SMITH and DARREN KENNEDY kiss affectionately.
Darren’s left hand is comfortably perched on Molly’s thigh. His right hand intimately cradles her face.
Molly hands are wrapped around Darren’s body.
Darren and Molly are completely oblivious to everyone in the theatre. They just kiss and kiss.
Darren slowly pulls away. He smiles at Molly. She smiles back at him.
DARREN KENNEDY
Let’s get out of here.
Molly nods. Darren smiles seductively.
Darren gets up and grabs Molly’s hand.
They walk in front of several angry people to get out of the row.
Across from their row sits BETH BRODY. She is seated with a group of girls.
As Darren walks out into the aisle, he makes eye contact with Beth.
Beth glares at each of them accusingly.
Darren grins at Beth.
Darren leads Molly out of the aisle.
Molly does not notice Beth or the connection she made with Darren.
Darren opens the door for Molly and she walks out.
Darren turns to look at Beth one last time. Her head is turned and she looks at him longingly.
Darren turns around and walks out into the lobby to find Molly.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE PARK – DAY (FLASHBACK)
MOLLY SMITH sits on a standard, green park bench observing the people in her vicinity.
An OLD LADY sits on an adjacent park bench knitting a foul-colored orange pair of socks.
A WOMAN and MAN walk hand-in-hand down the path past Molly. They gaze into each other’s eyes in deep admiration and much-too-blatant love.
A MALE TEENAGER plays catch with a FEMALE TEENAGER behind the Old Lady’s bench. The Female Teenager fumbles while attempting to catch the baseball several times.
The Male Teenager smiles when the Female Teenager fumbles the ball.
Molly holds a constant dismal look on her face while she observes these groups of very diverse people.
Molly looks around again, lost in her thoughts.
JACE MONTGOMERY, a tall and handsome eighteen-year-old, walks up the path toward Molly.
Molly does not look at Jace, even though she knows he is there.
Jace takes a seat closely next to Molly on the bench.
Pause.
Jace thinks of what to say to Molly.
Molly turns her head further away from Jace.
JACE MONTGOMERY
It is alright to feel vulnerable.
Molly looks at Jace, annoyed by his comment.
MOLLY SMITH
(as if Jace is a child)
Like you would even know.
Short pause.
Molly shakes her head.
JACE MONTGOMERY
I’ll always be here for you, Molly.
Jace looks at Molly very sincerely. He touches her shoulder.
Short pause.
Molly gets up from the bench. She walks down the path, going toward the opposite way Jace came from, as if avoiding anything he has done.
Jace watches Molly leave the park in sadness, wondering how he can help her.
CUT TO:
INT. THE RESTAURANT – DAY (FLASHBACK)
The casual-dining restaurant is covered in decorations pertaining to old movie stars from the 1950s and 1960s.
The cherry-oak wood tables are long and covered in placemats and the requisite utensils for casual-dining.
The restaurant is heavily overcrowded with young adults, mostly high school students, eating with their friends or sitting in corner booths on an uncomfortable first date.
MOLLY SMITH, along with the other waiters, walks around in a hurry, trying to bring hungry customers their orders.
Molly wears a black apron and a black tee-shirt.
Molly serves two plates of hamburgers and French fries to an AWKWARD MAN and WOMAN, who are obviously a couple, in the corner. She smiles as she sets down the plates, hoping to up her tip value.
Molly looks up from the customers and out the window.
Outside, DARREN KENNEDY walks in the parking lot under the shining sun.
Molly, still standing above the Awkward Man and Woman, who instantly begin eating, watches Darren’s every move.
Outside, Darren approaches BETH BRODY. He gives her a confident smile and a romantic hug.
From the inside, Molly stares at Darren and Beth in jealousy and utter humiliation. Her eyes swell up and almost fill with tears, but she successfully holds them back.
The Awkward Woman notices Molly’s eyes filling up with tears and stares at her, wondering what is going on. The Awkward Man is oblivious and keeps eating.
Molly turns away from the window and walks toward the back of the restaurant.
The Awkward Woman looks outside as Molly leaves to see what she was looking at. However, Darren and Beth are nowhere in sight.
Molly walks even faster this time to the back of the restaurant, even though she is not serving, just to get away from the world.
CUT TO:
INT. PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASSROOM – DAY (FLASHBACK)
The English classroom has two whiteboards full of words relating to relationships and romantic and platonic love.
The first whiteboard reads, “Romeo & Juliet”: The Love Affair.
MOLLY SMITH sits in the front row of a classroom of about twenty high school students, including JACE MONTGOMERY, DARREN KENNEDY, JAMES PARKER, KRISTIN KERRY and BETH BRODY.
Each student has a book copy of “Romeo & Juliet” on their desk. Molly’s book is open and has several of her own notes written on the pages.
Darren Kennedy sits in the very last row in the back.
Beth Brody sits near the door and close to the back of the room.
MR. JENEFSKY, a thirty-something year-old teacher, stands in front of the students, waiting for them to quiet down so he can begin the lecture.
Mr. Jenefsky wears beige Dockers and a polo that is much too large for his torso. He is the epitome of a nerd.
Mr. Jenefsky smiles at his class.
MR. JENEFSKY
Webster’s dictionary first defines love as “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person”.
The high school students’ faces fill up with immediate boredom after hearing Mr. Jenefsky mention the topic of love.
MR. JENEFSKY (CONT’D)
Now I don’t really know if anyone here would define love as that, per se, but it’s certainly a way to put it.
Girls begin to file their nails and stop listening to the discussion.
Guys begin to lay their heads on the desks, excited for that afternoon nap.
MR. JENEFSKY (CONT’D)
(oblivious to his students’ boredom)
Someone raise their hand and tell us their definition of love.
James Parker, a preppy, jock-type eighteen-year-old, smiles.
James slightly raises his hand.
JAMES PARKER
(smirking)
Getting laid.
The class laughs.
James Parker smirks, as if he is the hottest guy in the world and could get any girl to have sex with him.
Molly rolls her eyes in her seat.
Kristin Kerry, a beautiful but dense cheerleader, looks around the classroom to see if anyone else is going to raise their hand.
Pause.
Kristin decides to raise her hand sheepishly.
Mr. Jenefsky nods at Kristin as she raises her hand.
KRISTIN KERRY
(perky)
Being able to count on someone. Just like Romeo and Juliet!
Kristin smiles, extremely proud of her answer.
Mr. Jenefsky nods.
MR. JENEFSKY
That’s one way to put it.
Mr. Jenefsky paces the classroom, waiting for someone else to give him an answer.
Pause.
MOLLY SMITH
(without raising her hand or looking up)
Desperate infatuation.
The students fall completely silent and turn their entire attention to Molly. They stop attempting to sleep or file their nails. They are intrigued.
Mr. Jenefsky walks closer to Molly.
MR. JENEFSKY
Infatuation?
Molly finally looks at Mr. Jenefsky.
MOLLY SMITH
Foolish admiration that is just going to shoot you down one day.
Jace looks at Molly in great disappointment.
Darren and Beth exchange uneasy glances.
MR. JENEFSKY
How would you say love shoots you down?
MOLLY SMITH
How would you not?
Mr. Jenefsky smiles.
Pause.
Molly looks away from Mr. Jenefsky and at her “Romeo & Juliet” book, trying to avoid speaking with him about this topic once more.
Mr. Jenefsky begins pacing the classroom. He continues to look at Molly, trying to contemplate what she’ll say next.
Darren and Jace exchange glances. Jace quickly looks away.
Mr. Jenefsky walks closer to Molly again.
Mr. Jenefsky pauses before he speaks.
MR. JENEFSKY
I don’t want to sound too bold, but let me ask you this.
(pause, struggling to find the right words)
Have you ever been in love?
Darren’s eyes perk up at this question. He looks directly at Molly, waiting for what she will say.
This question makes Molly uneasy. She begins to squirm in her seat.
The entire classroom is looking at Molly. No one speaks. It is completely silent and still.
MOLLY SMITH
I wouldn’t let myself.
Students look directly at Darren. Beth looks agitated. Jace shakes his head.
Molly shakes her head slightly.
Students look back at Molly.
Jace looks at Darren, who does not meet Jace’s eyes, as he is concentrating on Molly.
Molly looks up, toward Mr. Jenefsky.
MOLLY SMITH (CONT’D)
It doesn’t work, though, shielding yourself from relationships. You can’t be immune to pain.
Molly’s eyes fill up with tears.
She looks down, as if talking to herself.
MOLLY SMITH (CONT’D)
The worst part is that I still want him. I want a piece of him so I can remember.
Darren raises his left arm and scratches his head. The black and gold bracelet is shown around his wrist.
Molly tries to wipe her tears from her face, but the tears just keep pouring down her cheeks like a powerful and rapid waterfall.
Mr. Jenefsky looks at Molly questionably.
MR. JENEFSKY
But don’t you think wishing he still wanted you will ultimately make it harder to move on?
Molly looks at Mr. Jenefsky as if he was born yesterday. She stops crying so excessively.
MOLLY SMITH
I have no intention of going on, Mr. Jenefsky.
(getting hostile)
Haven’t you been listening to anything that I have been saying?
Mr. Jenefsky nods convincingly. He perches himself on his desk.
Molly rolls her eyes and looks at the clock, anxious to escape from the negative vibe she has created in the classroom.
Long pause.
Darren looks at Molly with sadness.
DARREN KENNEDY
(as if he has been thinking of saying this for a long time in the discussion)
I wanted to be immune to pain, too.
Students turn and face Darren. Molly does not turn around.
Darren pauses as he makes eye contact with Jace.
DARREN KENNEDY (CONT’D)
I couldn’t let myself fall in love and experience heartbreak at age seventeen. Not while I was in my prime.
Molly stops crying and dries her tears.
The black and gold, thick in diameter, bracelet is blatantly shown around Darren’s left wrist as he raises his left arm to his face in anxiety.
Molly slightly nods her head, agreeing with Darren’s last statement.
Mr. Jenefsky looks at Molly, waiting for her to respond to Darren’s heartfelt speech.
Fed up with the discussion, Molly abruptly gets up and walks to the door and storms out into the hallway.
The class and Mr. Jenefsky watch Molly exit, stunned.
Mr. Jenefsky looks at Darren, confused as to what has just happened. Darren is looking at the door, waiting to see if Molly will walk back in.
The door remains close, as Molly does not walk back in.
CUT TO:
INT. MOLLY’S BEDROOM – DAY (FLASHBACK)
MOLLY SMITH bursts through the door of her bedroom, crying hysterically.
She lies down on the floor and curls into a ball. She spreads her legs out, still crying.
For the first time, on her left wrist is Darren’s signature black and gold bracelet.
Molly turns over onto her stomach.
The sounds of her crying fade as the shot is slowly pulled out.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MOLLY’S BEDROOM – NIGHT (PRESENT)
MOLLY SMITH lies on her back unconscious on perfectly white carpet.
Around her left wrist is Darren’s black and gold, thick in diameter, bracelet.
The beautifully white carpet soaks in a substantial amount of Molly’s blood and turns a gross color of black-red.
There is a butcher knife beside her left hand drenched in blood.
The shot pulls just into Molly’s face. Her eyes are closed. Her lips purse slightly, but not enough for a viewer to notice without intentionally looking.
JACE MONTGOMERY quickly bursts into Molly’s bedroom as if he knows that she has just tried to commit suicide.
At the noise of the door opening so rapidly, Molly’s eyes open.
Molly notices Jace near the door.
Molly looks into Jace’s eyes deeply, letting him know that she is sorry.
Jace grins at Molly.
JACE MONTGOMERY (V.O.)
I’ll never fathom what actually drove her to do it. Was it really as simple as a jackass like Darren Kennedy? Or was it something greater than a stereotypical high school relationship?
Jace closes the bedroom door very slowly as he moves closer to Molly, signifying that he is going to be the one to save her wounded soul.
JACE MONTGOMERY (V.O.) (CONT’D)
I’ve realized that a person can be saved anytime, anywhere from self-deprivation.And that is just what she has needed, her wounded soul to be saved.
The door closes completely.
The screen fades to black.
FADE OUT.
THE END
