Story Idea Development
10 point plan
1. Title: Home-less - or - Pour me
2. Genre/Tone: Social Realism
3. Setting: Home and street at night
4. Main Character: Jack
5. Want: Is to work hard in school and life
6. Need: A nurturing mother
7. Obligation: To get his mum drinks
8. Catalyst For Change: Ripping up of the response letter
9. Climax: Leaves home
10. Resolution: arrives at a bench holding the drink and the torn up response letter
Story Brief
My film is about a teenager called jack who is 19 and cares for his alcoholic mother, she is completely dependent on him to get her alcohol, the film starts on the day that jack has gotten a response letter from a university, he strongly wants to get a job and not be like his mother so is sitting out in the garden holding the letter and a bottle of desperados in each hand starring up at the sky contemplating the situation and waiting for her to wake up so that he can try and talk to her about it. He notices her bedroom light come on and puts the drink in his back pocket and walks into the house. As he walks into the kitchen from the garden his mum stumbles by the door towards the living room and shouts ‘jack’, he follows behind her into the living room where she sits down on the sofa and turns the TV on, She notices him walk in and says ‘oh there you are, well then where’s my drink?’ while staring blankly at the TV he replies ‘I dint get you any’ she shouts back ‘What! That’s the one reason I put up with you, go out and get me some then . . . . . .
They continue arguing and jack tries to say that he wanted her sober so he could talk about leaving for university but in the end she says ‘you know why you didn’t get me anything its cause you worry about stupid little things like this and then rips up the letter he got from the university, they both go silent for a moment and then his mum says ‘why don’t you just fuck off’ jack says ‘fine you want gone I will’ he picks up the torn up letter and storms out, he arrives at a bench by a park, he sites down and holds the bottle and torn up letter in each hand, stairs at them for a moment and then lies straight down looking back up at the sky.
Film synopsis (first draft)
Late evening in a back garden of a council house a rugged boy in his late teens is lying down on sun lounge staring at the sky, holding in one hand a bottle of Desperados alcohol and in the other a formal looking letter. He sits there pondering for a while then eventually sits up with the drink and letter in front of him; he notices a light from the top floor of his house come on, he takes a long deep breath then puts the bottle of Desperado in the pocket of his jacket then walks towards the house with the letter in hand. He enters into the kitchen from the garden and watches as his Mum walks past the kitchen towards the living room dressed in her pyjamas after just waking up shouting his name. He follows her into the living room where she sat down on the sofa and is holding to remote to turn on the TV, as he enters the room she turns to her left and says sharply “oh right, there you are, so where’s my drink then? “The boy responds “Well I wanted to talk you about something first” while taking a seat on opposite sofa, the Mum replies “what do you mean first, give me my drink” the boy responds ‘‘No you don’t listen when you’re drunk and this is really importa . . .’’ His mum loudly interrupts ‘‘give me my drink now Jack!” “No! I didn’t get you any” he shouts as he stands up. His mum sits still for a few second and then gets up from the sofa turns the TV off walks straight up to him and says “Why didn’t you get me any you know very well that we are all out! I can’t exactly just walk out and get it myself” she starts to get more anxious in her words “Those sales people are always judging me; everyone is their always looking at me! So, so why didn’t you get me any!” he responds” Mum please just listen, I’ve received this letter from a uni I applied too, I haven’t opened it yet but I think I might be able too, go there” his Mum replies “ what, you think someone would of let you! In” he replies excitedly “Yeah! I’ve been doing the ucas stuff with my teacher and he says I should” His mum snaps back “Fine! You know what I, I don’t need you!” He tries to get a word in to stop her getting upset “Mum please” but she continues “you know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment, jack says “fine then you don’t need me, then I’ll go” he picks up the pieces of the letters and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, the quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards.
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, he takes a long pause starring at them and eventually decides to lie down and look back up at the sky as he did earlier in his back garden.
Notes on first synopsis from my teacher
The introduction
"In the introduction i shouldent cut straight to a shot of him lieng their i should instead introduce him slowly and maybe include some close-ups on the letter and the drink" so i will include this in my second draft but when it comes to filming i will shoot both openings and decide what one i will use in the edit
"Describe the boys outfit in detail to get a clearer picture of him as a person"
"Put more emphasis on the scene were he notices the light come on as it is engaging for the audience as we do not know who's up their or how the boy feels"
The argument
"Do some 'Easedropping', look up arguments on the internet film or otherwise and write down all that they say even the 'um's and err's' as getting the argument looking realistic is the key part to my film'
"I should 'let it simmer before it boils' have the mum make little digs and take it slowly before the argument really kicks off as she probably has some idea of what he is gonna say and know that he may want to leave her"
"During the silent bit of the argument after the mother rips up the letter really focus on the boys eyes as he doesent say much and i can get a lot of emotion across through his eyes"
Other advice
My original idea was to have the boy deciding if he was going to start drinking or not but my teacher said it would be better if he was allready drinking as its more belivable he would of allready picked it up from his mother and that would make a better social point.
He also suggested to have the park he goes to near to the house and maybe even include it in the frame, this means it will look like nothing has really changed, this links in with what i was doing with the first and last shot of the film were he is holding the drink and letter.
Film Synopsis (Second draft)
Late evening in a back garden of a council house a rugged boy in his late teens is lying down on sun lounger staring at the sky, he is wearing a pair of torn up jeans, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket, in one hand he is holding a bottle of alcohol and in the other a formal looking letter. He sits there pondering for a while then eventually sits up with the drink and letter in front of him; he notices a light from the top floor of his house come on and figure move past the window, he takes a long deep breath while starring at the window, his face drops as he comes out of he stops starring at the window and slowly gets up and hides the bottle away in the pocket of his jacket, then walks towards the house with the letter in hand.
He enters into the kitchen from the garden and watches as his Mum walks past the kitchen awkwardly silent and ignoring him while heading towards the living room dressed in her pyjamas after just waking up. He follows her into the living room where she sits down on the sofa facing the TV and picks up the remote to turn it on, as he enters the room His mum stays silent, he stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get any notice from her so nervously asks “you all right?” and with a harsh tone she says “yeah, obviously you always was a smart one” the boy just looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds until she asks him “what are you doing back so late anyway?” slowly he responds “oh, erm I was at school with Mr *****” she is still focused on the TV but smiles and laughs to herself while saying “ha-ha, I’m sure you were jack”. He quickly replies “No really I was we were . . . she turns to her left and says sharply “Yeah right im sure, so where’s my drink then?” while taking a seat on opposite sofa The boy responds “Well I wanted to talk you about something first”, the Mum replies “what do you mean first, give me my drink” the boy responds ‘‘No you don’t listen when you’re drunk and this is really importa . . .’’ His mum loudly interrupts ‘‘give me my drink now Jack!” “No! I didn’t get you any” he shouts as he stands up. His mum sits still for a few second and then gets up from the sofa turns the TV off walks straight up to him and says “Why didn’t you get me any you know very well that we are all out! I can’t exactly just walk out and get it myself” she starts to get more anxious in her words “Those sales people are always judging me; everyone is their always looking at me! So, so why didn’t you get me any!” he responds” Mum please just listen, I’ve received this letter from a uni I applied too, I haven’t opened it yet but I think I might be able too, go there” his Mum replies “ what, you think someone would of let you! In” he replies excitedly “Yeah! I’ve been doing the ucas stuff with my teacher and he says I should” His mum snaps back “Fine! You know what I, I don’t need you!” He tries to get a word in to stop her getting upset “Mum please” but she continues “you know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment, jack says “fine then you don’t need me, then I’ll go” he picks up the pieces of the letters and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, the quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards.
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, he takes a long pause starring at them and eventually decides to lie down and look back up at the sky as he did earlier in his back garden.
Notes on my second draft
The argument: His biggest criticism of the piece was that I have wrote too much on the arguments dialogue, he said that “A synopsis should be brief, what I have done in thinking through the argument is good but for the synopsis I should just summarise it” he also said that since the argument was good I should keep it saved for when I got to the scripting of my film. So for my 3rd synopsis I will summarise the argument.
The highlighted section is what I will be cutting out and summarising as I still want the build up and climax explained:
. . . . . . . . .He quickly replies “No really I was we were . . . she turns to her left and says sharply “Yeah right im sure, so where’s my drink then?” while taking a seat on opposite sofa The boy responds “Well I wanted to talk you about something first”, the Mum replies “what do you mean first, give me my drink” the boy responds ‘‘No you don’t listen when you’re drunk and this is really importa . . .’’ His mum loudly interrupts ‘‘give me my drink now Jack!” “No! I didn’t get you any” he shouts as he stands up. His mum sits still for a few second and then gets up from the sofa turns the TV off walks straight up to him and says “Why didn’t you get me any you know very well that we are all out! I can’t exactly just walk out and get it myself” she starts to get more anxious in her words “Those sales people are always judging me; everyone is their always looking at me! So, so why didn’t you get me any!” he responds” Mum please just listen, I’ve received this letter from a uni I applied too, I haven’t opened it yet but I think I might be able too, go there” his Mum replies “ what, you think someone would of let you! In” he replies excitedly “Yeah! I’ve been doing the ucas stuff with my teacher and he says I should” His mum snaps back “Fine! You know what I, I don’t need you!” He tries to get a word in to stop her getting upset “Mum please” but she continues “you know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor . . . . . . .
The Title: I asked my teacher about which title (Home-Less or Pour Me) was better and I have been asking other people in my subject as well; they all agreed that Pour me sounded better and was a more relevant title.
Spelling mistakes & Grammar: He read through my second draft from a printed copy at marked out grammar and spelling mistakes, and added / took away parts to make it sound better so in my 3rd draft I will include these changes.
Film Synopsis Pour Me (Third draft)
Late evening in a back garden of a council house a rugged boy in his late teens is lying down on sun lounger staring at the sky, he is wearing a pair of torn up jeans, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket, in one hand he is holding a bottle of alcohol; in the other a formal looking letter. He sits pondering for a while then eventually sits up with the drink and letter in front of him. He notices a light from the top floor of his house come on and figure move past the window. He takes a long deep breath starring at the window, his face drops and he slowly gets up and hides the bottle away in the pocket of his jacket, then walks towards the house with the letter in hand.
He enters the kitchen and watches as his Mum walk past awkwardly, silent and ignoring him, while heading towards the living room dressed in her pyjamas after just waking up. He follows her into the living room where she sits down on the sofa facing the TV and picks up the remote to turn it on; as he enters the room his mum stays silent. He stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get one. He nervously asks, “You all right?” and with a harsh tone she says “Yeah, obviously you always was a smart one”. He looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds. “What are you doing back so late anyway?” She asks, slowly he responds “oh, erm I was at school with Mr User” she is still focused on the TV but smiles and laughs to herself while saying “ha-ha, I’m sure you were Jack”. He quickly replies, “No really I was we were . . . she turns to her left and says sharply “Yeah right im sure, so where’s my drink then?” He tries to explain how he wants her to not drink as he has something important to talk to her about, but his mum continues to make digs at him until he finally says that he is considering leaving to go University. His mum takes the badly since she is dependent on him and over reacts saying “you know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment, jack says “fine then you don’t need me, then I’ll go” he picks up the pieces of the letters and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, the quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards.
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, he takes a long pause starring at them and eventually decides to lie down and look back up at the sky as he did earlier in his back garden.
Notes on my Third draft
Grammar and Spelling: Again their was some errors in my spelling and grammar, and certain sentences he felt were not need were taken out, but on a good point he said that it has reached the point were the themes i wanted to be portrayed do come across well and the piece of writing is well structured.
Marilyn Milgram:
Argument: He likes how the argument develops but he doesn't like how I make the argument happen: "from a story telling point of view, the way in which the whole argument happens in one room, makes it look like i am telling my audience 'this is what i want you to know, here it is in one simple scene' which doesn't feel as real". If i stared the argument in the kitchen i can make it look more real and include a lot more macro - meanings:
When the mum comes down she can ask for the drink and come across friendly and dependent
I can focus on him hiding the bottle away in his jacket and start the conversation were the argument had here asking "were's my drink" and continue from their and have her mood change gradually from dependent to angry.
Fourth/Final Synopsis (PourMe)
Fine then, if you don’t need me, then I’ll go.
Notes on my Third draft
Grammar and Spelling: Again their was some errors in my spelling and grammar, and certain sentences he felt were not need were taken out, but on a good point he said that it has reached the point were the themes i wanted to be portrayed do come across well and the piece of writing is well structured.
Marilyn Milgram:
Argument: He likes how the argument develops but he doesn't like how I make the argument happen: "from a story telling point of view, the way in which the whole argument happens in one room, makes it look like i am telling my audience 'this is what i want you to know, here it is in one simple scene' which doesn't feel as real". If i stared the argument in the kitchen i can make it look more real and include a lot more macro - meanings:
When the mum comes down she can ask for the drink and come across friendly and dependent
I can focus on him hiding the bottle away in his jacket and start the conversation were the argument had here asking "were's my drink" and continue from their and have her mood change gradually from dependent to angry.
Fourth/Final Synopsis (PourMe)
Late evening in a back garden of a council house a rugged boy in his late teens called Jack is lying down on a sun lounger staring at the sky, he is wearing a pair of torn up jeans, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket, in one hand he is holding a bottle of alcohol; in the other a formal looking letter. He sits pondering for a while then eventually sits up with the drink and letter in front of him. He notices a light from the top floor of his house come on and figure move past the window. He takes a long deep breath starring at the window, his face drops and he slowly gets up and hides the bottle away in the pocket of his jacket, then walks towards the house with the letter in hand.
He enters the kitchen and watches as his Mum walks past awkwardly heading towards the living room dressed in her pyjamas after just waking up and silent without noticing him. She turns and notices him in the Kitchen, quickly she says "Did you just get in?" He moves closer to her and replies "Erm yeah basically", whilst pushing past him and starting to rapidly dig through cupboards she says "So your late then, why?" He pauses with a long sigh and begins to explain why he is late "I was at school still cau...". With a loud bang from the last cupboard she looks through she interrupts him " Great we have none left! 'sigh' ", she then walks past towards the living room.
He follows her into the living room where she turns on the TV, sits down on the sofa and picks up a empty bottle of alcohol, she sighs as she realises their is nothing left and then puts it back on the floor; as he enters the room his mum stays silent. He stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get one. He nervously asks, “You all right?” and with a harsh tone she says “Yeah, obviously you always was a smart one”. He looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds. “What are you doing back so late anyway?” She asks, slowly he responds “Oh, erm I was at school with Mr Usher” she is still focused on the TV but smiles and laughs to herself while saying “ha-ha, I’m sure you were Jack”. He quickly replies, “No really I was we were . . . she turns to her left and says sharply “Yeah right I'm sure, so where’s my drink then?” He tries to explain how he wants her to not drink as he has something important to talk to her about, but his mum continues to make digs at him until he finally says that he is considering leaving to go University. His mum takes this badly since she is dependent on him and overreacts saying “You know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment, Jack says “Fine then you don’t need me, then I’ll go.” He picks up the torn up pieces of the letter and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, then quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards again.
He follows her into the living room where she turns on the TV, sits down on the sofa and picks up a empty bottle of alcohol, she sighs as she realises their is nothing left and then puts it back on the floor; as he enters the room his mum stays silent. He stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get one. He nervously asks, “You all right?” and with a harsh tone she says “Yeah, obviously you always was a smart one”. He looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds. “What are you doing back so late anyway?” She asks, slowly he responds “Oh, erm I was at school with Mr Usher” she is still focused on the TV but smiles and laughs to herself while saying “ha-ha, I’m sure you were Jack”. He quickly replies, “No really I was we were . . . she turns to her left and says sharply “Yeah right I'm sure, so where’s my drink then?” He tries to explain how he wants her to not drink as he has something important to talk to her about, but his mum continues to make digs at him until he finally says that he is considering leaving to go University. His mum takes this badly since she is dependent on him and overreacts saying “You know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!” His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment, Jack says “Fine then you don’t need me, then I’ll go.” He picks up the torn up pieces of the letter and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, then quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards again.
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, he takes a long pause starring at them and eventually decides to lie down and look back up at the sky as he did earlier in his back garden.
Script Development
Pour Me (Draft 1)
by
Sean Covell
Ext. Late evening. Council House - Garden
In a back garden of a council house a rugged eighteen year old boy called Jack is lying down on a sun lounger staring at the sky, he is wearing a pair of torn up jeans, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket, in one hand he is holding a bottle of alcohol; in the other a formal looking letter. He sits pondering for a while then eventually sits up with the drink and letter in front of him. He notices a light from the top floor of his house come on and figure move past the window. He takes a long deep breath starring at the window, his face drops and he slowly gets up and hides the bottle away in the pocket of his jacket, then walks towards the house with the letter in hand.
Int. Late Evening. Council House - Kitchen
He enters the kitchen and watches as his Mum walks past awkwardly, heading towards the living room dressed in her pajamas after just waking up and silent without noticing him. She turns and notices him in the Kitchen.
MUM
Did you just get in?
He moves closer to her.
Jack
Erm, yeah basically
whilst pushing past him and starting to rapidly dig through cupboards.
MUM
So your late then, why?
He pauses with a long sigh.
Jack
I was at school still cau...
A loud bang from the last cupboard she looks through interrupts him.
MUM
Great we have none left! 'sigh'.
Then she walks past him towards the living room.
Int. Late Evening. Council House - Living Room
He follows her into the living room where she turns on the TV, sits down on the sofa and picks up a empty bottle of alcohol, she sighs as she realizes their is nothing left and then puts it back on the floor; as he enters the room his mum stays silent. He stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get one.
He nervously asks.
Jack
You all right?
With a harsh tone she says.
MUM
Yeah, obviously you always was a smart one.
He looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds.
MUM
What are you doing back so late anyway?
slowly he responds.
Jack
Oh, erm I was at school with Mr Usher.
Still focused on the TV she smiles and laughs to herself.
MUM
Ha-ha, I’m sure you were Jack.
Jack
No really I was we were...
She turns to him and Sharply says.
MUM
Yeah right I'm sure, so where’s my drink then?
The boy sits down on the opposite sofa.
Jack
Well I kinda wanted to talk to you about something first.
MUM
What do you mean first, if you have my drink give it to me.
Jack
No, when you drink you don't really listen and this is importa...
MUM
Give me my drink Jack!
The boy stand up angrily from being interrupted again.
Jack
No!, I didn’t get you any.
His mum stays seated for a moment and then gets up from the sofa turns of the TV walks straight up to him and says.
MUM
Why didn’t you get me any you must of known we were all out!
She begins to become more anxious
MUM
I can’t exactly just go out and get it myself! those sales people are always judging me, everyone is! why couldn't you get me some.
Jack
Mum please, listen, don’t worry about that right now you don't have to get some right now, i just, i got this letter from a Uni and, well i haven't opened it yet but they me off let me in and maybe even be giving me accommodation.
MUM
What you think they would of actually accepted you?
Jack
Yeah, i have been working on my personal statement with MR Usher and he thinks I'm gonna get in.
She pauses for a moment and snaps back.
MUM
Fine! You know what I, I don’t need you.
He tries to get a word in to stop her getting upset
Jack
Mum please.
But she continues.
MUM
You know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!
His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment.
Jack
Fine then, if you don’t need me, then I’ll go.
He picks up the torn up pieces of the letter and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, then quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards again.
Ext. Late evening. Park
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, he takes a long pause starring at them and eventually decides to lie down and look back up at the sky as he did earlier in his back garden.
Pour Me Script First Draft - Notes
I have shown the first draft to my teacher so he can suggest changes and see if the script is in the correct format.
Spelling Grammar: Their was a few corrections on spelling and grammar from the transition from synopsis to script.
Removing Directions:In the script explaining how actors say or act is very limited so i had to change certain parts in between dialogue.
More Tense Ending: He wanted the stakes to be raised and the ending more tense so he has changed a small bit of the story and would like the ending were Jack lies down on the bench changed, him lying down would suggest to the audience that he feels relaxed and okay about what just happened which is not what i wanted to get across, so instead i would end it with him sitting on the bench still looking at the bottle and letter, another suggestion from my teacher is to have him open the drink as many people after an argument like that with a loved one would need a drink, but to still keep the question of whether or not he decides to drink i will end it with him still staring at the two items and that audience wouldn't know if he drinks it or pours it away.
The Letter: In order to raise the stakes more My teacher suggested that i could change the story slightly and have him reading through the letter in the garden and:
It gives me a chance to make a formal looking prop in pre-production.
In the letter I can add more depth to my main character by giving him an unconditional offer showing that he is actually very intelligent regardless of his manor or how he dresses.
The letter can contain a parental form regarding his application for accommodation which would need to be signed by his mother and information on how much money she earns would be needed, this would help add to the argument as he would need her to sign the form or he couldn't go and, due to her getting anxious earlier, would not want anyone to know how much money they have.
Pour Me (Final)
by
Sean Covell
Ext. Late evening. Council House - Garden
In a back garden of a council house a rugged eighteen year old boy, Jack is lying down on a sun lounger staring at the sky, he is wearing a pair of torn up jeans, a grey hoodie and a black leather jacket. In one hand he is holding a bottle of alcohol; in the other a formal looking letter. He opens the letter and takes out two pieces of paper, the first page states that he has been accepted into the Aberdeen university, and they are giving him an unconditional other due to his grades and the success of his interview, on the bottom of the letter their is a response to Jack’s request for accommodation, it asks him to get his parent/guardian to write on a form describing his current living and financial situation. He sighs and sits up with the drink and letter in front of him. He notices something above him. Jacks POV: He notices a light from the top floor of his house come on and figure move past the window. He takes a long deep breath starring at the window, his face drops and he slowly gets up and hides the bottle away in the pocket of his jacket, then walks towards the house with the letter in hand.
Int. Late Evening. Council House - Kitchen
He enters the kitchen and watches as his Mum walks past awkwardly, heading towards the living room dressed in her pajamas after just waking up and silent without noticing him. She turns and sees him in the Kitchen.
MUM
Did you just get in?
Jack
Erm, yeah basically
She pushes past and startes to rapidly dig through cupboards.
MUM
So you’re late then, why?
Jack
I was at school still cau...
A loud bang from the last cupboard she looks through interrupts him.
MUM
Great! None left! 'sigh'.
She walks past him towards the living room.
Int. Late Evening. Council House - Living Room
He follows her into the living room where she turns on the TV, sits down on the sofa and picks up a empty bottle of alcohol, she sighs as she realizes there is nothing left and then puts it back on the floor. As Jack enters the room his mum stays silent. He stands still starring at her waiting for some response but doesn’t get one.
Jack
You all right?
MUM
Yeah, obviously you always was a smart one.
He looks at the floor and they both stay silent for a few seconds.
MUM
What are you doing back so late anyway?
Jack
Oh, erm I was at school with Mr Usher.
Still focused on the TV she smiles and laughs to herself.
MUM
Ha-ha, I’m sure you were Jack.
Jack
No really I was we were...
She turns to him Sharply.
MUM
Yeah right I'm sure, so where’s my drink then?
Jack sits down on the opposite sofa.
Jack
Well I kinda wanted to talk to you about something first.
MUM
What do you mean first, if you have my drink give it to me.
Jack
No, when you drink you don't really listen and this is importa...
MUM
Give me my drink Jack!
Jack stands up angrily from being interrupted again.
Jack
No!, I didn’t get you any.
His mum stays seated for a moment and then gets up from the sofa turns off the TV and walks straight up to him.
MUM
Why didn’t you get me any you must of known we were all out!
She becomes anxious.
MUM
I can’t exactly just go out and get it myself! Those sales people are always judging me, everyone is! why couldn't you get me some.
Jack
Mum please, listen, don’t worry about that, you don't have to get some right now, I just, I got this letter from a Uni.
Jack shows her the letter.
MUM
What you think they would of actually accepted you?
Jack
Yeah, I have been working on my personal statement with Mr Usher after school, and i applied for a few places, this was my main choice and they have actually offered me a unconditional offer.
She pauses for a moment and snaps back.
MUM
Let me see that.
She snatches the letter out of his hand and starts to read though it.
Jack
Oh, well I need you to do something for me, don't worry though its all official and everything, but i need you to sign a form allowing me accommodation, and fill in some details.
She flips the front page of the document to look at the form attached at the back and begins to read through it.
MUM
‘Dear Parent/Guar . . . inclosed in th . . . Could you please state your finical information including your monthly revenue from your job(s), if you are on any government pay such as disability pay or benefits:
I shouldn't need to tell them that!
Jack
No mum its for the accommodation, to get them to pay for me living their I thought it would be easier on you knowing everything.
MUM
Don't give me that i have always provided for you!
Jack
I didn't mean it like that.
MUM
And what do you mean Easier on me? your just trying to get rid of me.
Jack
No mum thats not true, I, I just want to get a good job and move somewhere better.
MUM
Fine! You know what, I don’t need you.
Jack
Mum please.
MUM
You know why you don’t care about me! Cause of stupid things like this!
His mum grabs the letter from his hand and rips it into four pieces which fall to the floor, they both look at each other for a moment.
Jack
Fine then, if you don’t need me, then I’ll go.
He picks up the torn up pieces of the letter and then heads for the door out of the living room, his mum follows behind him silent and watches him leave with a furious yet upset look, then quickly walks into the kitchen and starts digging through the cupboards again.
Ext. Late evening. Park
The boy is walking alone down a path in a park at night and eventually arrives at a bench, he takes a seat and holds out the drink and torn up letter in each hand, eventually he opens the bottle using the side of the bench and takes a long pause starring at them both.
