Fallen Arches by T Campbell
(written for Gisele Lagace)


PAGE ONE

1. Aftermath of "Friends in High Places." Sophia looks down at the floor, or perhaps at Billy, her unborn child. Now Mike is on his cellular phone. He's pinching the space between his eyes at the top of his nose, as if he has a slight headache. Liz turns away from us, folding her arms, keeping her thoughts to herself. Jeremy casts a nervous glance at Belinda. Belinda grasps the table. She grits her teeth. She's taking charge.

TV: One hour after the collapse of the second tower...

Belinda: Everybody out.


2. Sophia looks over at Belinda, plainly worried about her. Belinda's eyes shift away.

Sophia: Belinda?

Belinda: I'm... sorry, Sophia. I didn't mean to say it like that. But... today, isn't, going, to be, a, work, day. Be with your loved ones, guys. Be with your families.


3. Mike, Sophia, and Liz walk out. Liz is in the front, but the others are crowded behind her. Liz looks back. It looks like she doesn't want to go.

Liz: ((My loved ones are here.)) **double brackets represent a thought balloon**


4. Jeremy is looking down the hall at his office. He wants to go, to do a few business chores, just so he can FEEL useful. But Belinda's hand is pulling on his shirt. She won't let him leave.

Jeremy: I'd, I'd better make some calls. Tell the clients that we're taking the afternoon off...

Belinda: Jeremy...


5. Belinda guides Jeremy's arms around her. He doesn't resist. He's a little surprised, though. It's rare for Belinda to NEED him like this.

Belinda: They watched it too. They know.

Belinda: And I need you here.

Belinda: I need your arms.

PAGE TWO

1. Tony joins the stage to find a couple of his bandmates there. One of them, Stan, is very well-dressed and has a big horn like an old-style jazz singer. The other one, Bonzo, is a little wild-eyed and wild-haired, and plays the synthesizer. Tony's drums are waiting for him. Liz isn't.

Bonzo: Liz ain't gonna make it, Tony.

Tony: Why not?

Bonzo: Eh, she couldn't say.

Stan: Well, that's a shock.


2. We look more closely at their instruments here. We don't even have to see their faces.

Tony: Well, then, looks like we're playing instrumentals only tonight.

Tony: Any requests, Stan?


3. Stan holds up a couple of full sheets of paper.

Stan: Oh, a few.


4. The three of them look out into the crowd. The crowd is looking at the band a little hopefully. They're hungry for music.

Bonzo: Pretty thick crowd out there. Kinda cool. Wasn't expectin'.

Stan: They're traumatized, Bonzo. They need auditory therapy, and that's what we're here for.

Tony: "Auditory therapy." I like that, man.


5. Tony looks somber as he begins. Tonight he's making music because it's important, not for the sheer joy of it.

Tony: Let's rock.

PAGE THREE

1. Sophia sits on her bed, her hands on her belly. Tony is not there. Her bedroom has a window, which is behind her.

Sophia: Okay, Billy.

Sophia: Okay.


2. Kind of a navel's-eye view of Sophia as she looks down at her baby. If Billy could see through Sophia's stomach and hands, this is what she'd see.

Sophia: I'm sure you're wondering why there's so much stress going on down there.

Sophia: Why's Mommy's stomach churning?


3. Close-up of Sophia's belly, her hands still on it.

Sophia: Well, it's because sooner or later, I'm going to have to let you out.


4. Sophia's word balloon continues over this panel, even though she is not part of this scene. Liz is buying a plane ticket. The airport is nearly deserted except for its staff, and the cashier looks terrified. Her face doesn't match her words at all. Liz is wearing her travel clothes.

Sophia: And it's scary out here. There's... fire... and smoke... and politics... and I don't know if I'm ready.

Cashier: Have a nice flight...


5. Sophia looks out the window.

Sophia: But... uh... I'll make you a deal.

Sophia: I'll let you out... I'll let you grow up and have fun... if you just keep safe for me. All right?


6. This is much of a long shot as it can be, and still be inside the room. Sophia continues to sit on the bed, looking very small.

Sophia: Just keep safe.

PAGE FOUR

1. Camus is cowering under the couch. We can only see Belinda's feet and a dangling string in front of him.

Caption: "It's scary out there."

Belinda: Come on.

Belinda: Kuuuuum on.

Belinda: Come on, kitty. It's a string... juicy, tasty, helpless... low in cholesterol...


2. Now we see Belinda, who continues to hold the string but stops dangling it. She's looking depressed. Jeremy comes up behind her, looking sensitive.

Belinda: (sigh)

Jeremy: Bee... I think we need to talk.


3. Close on Jeremy. He knows what Belinda's going through, but he needs to tell her this.

Jeremy: It's been two days now. Work is picking up again... and we're not here to do it. We could start Sophia's maternity leave early...


4. As before, Jeremy's word balloon continues over this panel even though he's not part of this scene. Liz is walking the streets of New York. She is dignified but somber, as if she is attending a funeral.

Jeremy: But Mike is still at Bones's family farm... and Liz is, well, wherever Liz goes. We're scattered, and I can't bring us back together.


5. We look over Jeremy's shoulder at Belinda. She is saying exactly what she's feeling.

Jeremy: This Studio gets its strength from you, Belinda. We need your arms.

Belinda: Jeremy... right now, I don't feel like I can coax anyone to do anything.


6. Jeremy glances down at Belinda's foot.


7. We see what he's looking at. Camus has finally pounced on the string, catching it with his forepaws and bringing it to his mouth. He looks back up at us.

PAGE FIVE

1. Establishing shot of Bones's farm. Bones is running into the chicken coop, holding a hoe and getting ready to do some serious damage. Farm clothes.

Mike Caption: "When I was in kindergarten...


2. A fox has caught a hen in the henhouse. But it looks up from its prey as Bones's shadow falls over it. The hens, of course, are scared and running every which way.

Mike Caption: "A big, nasty fourth-grader kicked me into my sand castle. I still remember how it felt. The helplessness.


3. The fox tries to scamper out past Bones, but she manages to catch its rear leg.

Mike Caption: "I couldn't hurt him. I never even saw him again. But, well, if I squinted just right, the vines in my back yard kind of looked like him.


4. Bones tries to pin the fox, which is wriggling and struggling. It manages to bite her on the arm, drawing a little blood.

Mike Caption: "I tore them to shreds that day.


5. We have jumped forward in time. Mike is now treating the bite, rinsing it. He is trying NOT to argue with Bones. He doesn't like it when she gets reckless. Taking on dangerous jobs is part of who she is, but taking them on CARELESSLY is different. Farm clothes on Mike.

Mike: I'm saying all this, Bones, so you know that I understand...

Bones: Yeah, I get it. I'm picking fights with foxes since I can't pick them with terrorists.


6. Bones looks at the arm as Michael bandages it. A phone rings in the corner.

Mike: Feel better?

Bones: Not better enough.

SFX: RINGGG

PAGE SIX

1. We see a very tall panel to the left, and most of it is open sky... where the World Trade Center towers used to be. This is about two days after the wreck, so people are still digging through the wreckage, trying to find survivors. Police, firefighters, and ordinary citizens are working together. Liz has her back to us, and she is closest to the "camera." It's morning.


2. Belinda is superimposed onto this panel, with a little white border marking her off. She plays with the phone cord a little as she talks with Mike. The rest of the panel shows Liz walking up to one of the firefighters, a big man with a big moustache and a kindly face.

Belinda: Well, Mike, when I think "cool," I think Liz. But when I think "upbeat," I think you. And right now, cool isn't cool, if you know what I mean.


3. Mike is superimposed over this panel much the same way that Belinda was over panel 2. He, too, is on the phone. Liz begins to pull out a photo. The fireman looks at her, not the photo. His eyes are sad; he's almost sure that he'll have to disappoint her.

Mike: Sincerity is in, not style.

Phone: Exactly...

PAGE SEVEN

1. For this panel, let's try a Photoshop "dusk" behind the close-up of the fireman, as if it suddenly got darker. The fireman gets a look at the photo. He is deeply shocked...

2. And then he's angry. He shakes his fist at Liz, as if he might attack her. She backs away steadily, not wanting to provoke him further.

3. Liz has put a safe distance between herself and the fireman and has now turned and is walking in the other direction. She maintains her cool. The fireman, in the distance, is still shaking his fist and yelling.

4. Liz crouches down into the wreckage.

5. A small panel that shows one of Liz's eyes. It widens as she recognizes something.

6. Liz's hand picks up a burnt piece of cloth from the ground.

7. VERY IMPORTANT PANEL! Liz looks at the cloth in one hand, and the photo in the other. We can now see the photo. It is of Liz and her friend in the World Trade Center, Steve. Steve is clearly an Arab and wears a turban. He and Liz seem relaxed and happy around each other. The turban clearly matches the scrap of cloth that Liz is holding. (Steve has signed the photo.)

8. We repeat the subject of panel 5, Liz's eye. It is no longer wide. The makeup that she wears underneath her eye has begun to run. (We've seen Liz cry big, streaming tears before, letting it out all at once. This is different. It's more like a slight leak.)

PAGE EIGHT

I'd recommend three narrow panels in a row, then one long one, for this page.

1. This page features some of Michael's artwork. He has drawn a number of faces of different races, their mouths wide open in song... and the musical notes that come from them are collected into the shape of the two towers. We are currently looking very closely at the piece, paying more attention to the notes and the singers than to the notes' shape.

Liz: Nice piece.

Liz: Who commissioned it?


2. Now we have pulled back from the piece, and get a better look at the design, but we still can't quite see all of it. We are behind some members of the Studio as they look up at it. From left to right, they are Jeremy, Belinda, Sophia, and Liz.

Belinda: I did. Got Mike to design it... and Sophia and Tony inspired it.

Sophia: ...All those people out there, all of us dealing with the pain in our own ways...


3. We've pulled back some more. At this point, we can clearly see that it represents the towers. We may also see that Liz has a new armband... made from the cloth that we saw on Page Seven.

Sophia: Me with Billy, Tony with his audience, Mike with Bones... The shared experience brings us closer... and we can, well, "build" from that.

Liz: Nice sentiments.


4. Jeremy watches Liz as she walks away. He's not angry, just disappointed. Liz is close to the "camera," and we get a good look at that armband, good enough to see what it is. The frame "crops out" Liz's eyes and nose, leaving some of her expression a mystery.

Jeremy: ((You've always got to keep your distance, don't you?))


FIN