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by L. Phillips (bullethead06@yahoo.com)

Rated:

Genre: Miscellaneous User Review:

A young woman has struggles with life in her small Californian town. But why? And what can she do about it?

FADE IN:

INT. JAMIE'S APARTMENT, BEDROOM - DAY

A digital alarm clock reads 10:00. There is a glass of
water, a bottle of medicine, and a bracelet on the
nightstand. Then an overhead shot. A woman is spread out on
top of her bedsheets in pajamas and a t-shirt. She is an
attracctive blonde woman in her late 20's or early 30's. Her
she is string up at the ceiling awake but not moving.

JAMIE (V.O.)
Morning again.
(pause)
I hate days I have to leave the
house. Every time I lie here for
as long as possible, hoping,
praying things will be different.
Maybe that the people will change,
or perhaps this time it just won't
bother me as much. But every time,
everything is exactly the same.

CUT TO:

INT. JAMIE'S BATHROOM, SHOWER - DAY

We see Jamie taking a shower. The shower is obviously very
hot because there is steam everywhere. She is not washing
though. She is simply standing there, allowing the water to
fall on her head. She looks emotionless, yet somehow sad at
the same time.

JAMIE (V.O.)
I just want to forget. I want to
move on. But these people...these
people in this damn town won't let
me.

CUT TO:

INT. JAMIE'S BATHROOM, SINK - DAY

The camera is now the mirror over the sink. Jamie is in
front of it brushing her teeth.

JAMIE (V.O.)
I used to listen to them. I would
talk to them and try to "express
my feelings." But that didn't help
any. It only made me feel worse.

CUT TO:

INT. JAMIE'S BEDROOM - DAY

Jamie's closet is open revealing a number of pantsuits. She
is a business woman. But she walks right by the closet to
her dresser. She pulls out a bra and tosses it onto the
bed. Then she opens a different drawer and pulls out a pair
of thin sweatpants and another t-shirt. She tosses both of
these onto the bed as well. She closes the drawer and makes
her way over to the bed where she changes. Then she walks
around to the side of the bed and sits on it. She picks up
the pills and takes the last two with the water. Then she
grabs the bracelet and puts it on her left wrist. The
bracelt reads "I love Ben." She heads to the front door,
grabbing a bottle of water and putting it in her purse on
the way.

JAMIE (V.O.)
I'm beginning to wonder if my life
will ever be anything like it used
to be.

Jamie opens the front door.

JAMIE
If I will ever be happy again.

The door closes.

CUT TO:

EXT. COFFEE HOUSE ON CENTRAL AVE. - DAY

People are sitting at tables outside eating and having
coffee. We see Jamie walk by hurriedly. We see that many of
the people watch her as she goes by.

CU OF A THREE WOMEN AT A TABLE

WOMAN #1
That poor girl. It's been three
months now, and she refuses to
talk about it.

WOMAN #2
It's sad. But she won't get any
better if she never talks about
it.

WOMAN #3
I heard that she didn't always
refuse to. I guess one day she
just kinda gave up though.

WOMAN #2
Well, maybe she'll come around
soon.

CUT TO:

INT. LOCAL PHARMACY - DAY

Jamie walks in and goes to the back where prescriptions are
filled. The pharmacist is an older man.

PHARMACIST
Good morning Jamie.

JAMIE
Hi Mr. Caldwell.

PHARMACIST
Just getting your prescription
refilled I'm assuming...

JAMIE
Yes sir.

PHARMACIST
Give me just a second sweetie and
I'll have it ready.

JAMIE
Okay. Thank you.

The pharmacist disappears into the back and Jamie looks
around the shop for a bit. Soon the pharmacist returns.

PHARMACIST
Jamie?

JAMIE
Right here Mr. Caldwell.

She returns to the counter.

JAMIE
(hands her a bag)
Here you go.

JAMIE
Thank you.

She turns to leave.

PHARMACIST
How have you been Jamie?

Jamie faces the pharmacist, but continues backing towards
the door.

JAMIE
(nervously)
Fine.

PHARMACIST
Would you like to talk about it?

            JAMIE
No thanks. I'm kind of in a hurry.
      (turns and hurries
       for the door)
Have a good day Mr. Caldwell.

She leaves.

JAMIE
(quietly and sad)
Bye Jamie.

CUT TO:

EXT. CENTRAL AVE. - DAY

We see Jamie walking down the street. She puts the medicine
in her purse. Soon she comes up to a small sandwich shop and
enters.

CUT TO:

INT. SANDWICH SHOP - DAY

The shop owner is just a little older than Jamie.

SHOP OWNER
Good morning Jamie.

JAMIE
Hey Mr. Broman.

SHOP OWNER
You having the usual today?

JAMIE
Yes sir.

He begins to make her a turkey and ham sandwich on wheat
bread.

SHOP OWNER
So how are you doing Jamie?

JAMIE
I'm pretty good. And you?

SHOP OWNER
No complaints.
(long pause)
You know, I was wondering...

Jamie's expression grows uncomfortable.

SHOP OWNER
Maybe you'd like to talk about
some of the things on your mind? I
know a lot still has to be going
on up there.

JAMIE
(uncomfortably)
Umm...I'd really rather not talk
about it right now Mr. Broman.

SHOP OWNER
Well, when you're ready, I'm here.

He hands her the sandwich.

JAMIE
Thank you.

She tries to hand him the money.

SHOP OWNER
Don't worry about it. It's on the
house.

Jamie just smiles at him, her eyes watery, and leaves.

EXT. CENTRAL AVE. - DAY

CUT TO:

CU OF JAMIE'S FACE

She is walking back to her apartment. We see a few tears
running down Jamie's face.

CUT TO:

EXT. JAMIE'S APT. COMPLEX - DAY

Jamie stops suddenly, a look of fear on her face. We see
that there is an older man and woman waiting nearby the door
looking for someone. Jamie walks very briskly to the front
door. Just before she gets there the couple notices her and
chases after her.

OLDER WOMAN
Jamie! Please don't do this. We
need to talk to you. We need YOU
to talk to us.

Jamie quickly enters the apartment complex. The couple
follows.

CUT TO:

INT. JAMIE'S APT. COMPLEX - DAY

OLDER MAN
Jamie, stop. We're worried about
you. You need help.

The couple is following Jamie down the hall to her
apartment. A shot of Jamie shows tears running down her
face. She is struggling not to break down and cry.

OLDER WOMAN
You don't have to talkk to us
about it Jamie. Just let us take
you to somebody that you can talk
to. Please.

Jamie reaches her door and scrambles to open it. She enters
her apartment quickly before the couple gets there. The
young woman that lives across the hall from Jamie slowly
exits her apartment just as Jamie's door closes.

YOUNG WOMAN
Hi Mr. and Mrs. Ellis.

            OLDER WOMAN
      (in a sad and
       disappointed tone)
Hi Lindsey.

YOUNG WOMAN
Still no progress huh?

The couple shakes their heads.

YOUNG WOMAN
I feel so bad for Jamie. I just
wish she would let SOMEONE help
her.

OLDER WOMAN
We appreciate your concern. It's a
terrible situation, but I think
she'll come around.

            OLDER WOMAN
      (now more
       concerned than
       sad)
I sure hope so.

CUT TO:

INT. JAMIE'S APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM - DAY

"Boston" by Augustana begins playing softly. Jamie is
sitting on the floor next to the door with her back against
the wall. She is crying uncontrollably. She pulls out the
bottle of pills and pops some in her mouth. Much more than
two this time. She opens the bottle of water washes the
pills down with it.

            JAMIE (V.O.)
      (very quietly,
       full of despair)
I can't do this anymore. I gotta
get out of this place.

With a sudden determination, Jamie goes to her bedroom and
pulls two suitcases out of the already open closet. She
packs as many clothes as she can fit into the suitcases and
a few other essentials and heads to the front door. Before
leaving, she peeks out the peep-hole to make sure that the
couple is gone. Once she sees that they are, she leaves.

CUT TO:

EXT. JAMIE'S APT. COMPLEX - DAY

Jamie exits the apartment complex as a cab pulls up to get
her. She puts her suitcases in the trunk and gets in the
back seat.

CUT TO:

INT. CAB - DAY

CAB DRIVER
Where to?

JAMIE
The bus station please.

CAB DRIVER
Alright.

CUT TO:

EXT. JAMIE'S APT. COMPLEX - DAY

We see the cab drive away. The music begins to grow louder,
eventually it is all that is heard.

CUT TO:

EXT. BUS STATION - DAY

Jamie is sitting on a bench holding her bus ticket, waiting
for it to arrive. Soon a bus pulls in blocking our view of
Jamie.

CUT TO:

OTHER SIDE OF THE BUS

Jamie is showing the driver her ticket and getting on. A
worker is loading her luggage in the luggage compartment.

The camera moves along the outside of the bus following
Jamie to her seat. Through the windows we see her take her
seat near the back of the bus. She looks out the window with
a solemn expression.

CUT TO:

FRONT OF THE BUS

As the bus begins to move we see that the destination is
Boston. We watch the bus leave and see Jamie still staring
out the window as it passes.

FADE TO:

INT. JAMIE'S NEW APARTMENT - DAY

Shot of Jamie sitting at a desk from behind. She is writing
something. We see that there is frost and snow on the window
in front of her. Camera moves in and then looks over her
shoulder. The bottle of pills are sitting on the desk in the
shot. She is finishing the address on the back of a
postcard. It reads "Ben Ellis, 106 Woodgrove Rd., Fillmore,
CA 93015." Jamie begins writing the body. The music frows
soft again.

JAMIE (V.O.)
Hey Ben, I'm writing you to say
goodbye...finally. Things are
finally getting better for me. I'm
a lot happier than I have been in
a while. I'm finally able to move
on with my life. But I will never
forget you. I love you. Love,
Jamie.

Jamie picks up the bottle of pills on her desk. She looks at
them for a second and we finally see that the pills are a
subscription for depression. She drops them in the trashcan
next to the desk. Then she flips the postcard over and looks
at the front of it. There is a beautiful picture of Boston
and the words "Greetings from Boston" are written across it.
The music's volume increases again.

The camera zooms in on the front of the postcard until it is
all that is seen in the shot. This shot is held for a few
seconds, then the the camera backs out to reveal that the
postcard is now resting against a tombstone. As the camera
continues to back out we see that the tombstone belongs to
Benjamin Ellis, a soldier who died in service on August 21,
2007. He was Jamie's boyfriend and the reason for her
depression. The song fades out.

FADE OUT.

Feedback

From mike kobzeff	Date 5/22/2008
It looks reletively well written but the concept itself is not entertaining. I was waiting for someone to have a heart attack, be a ghost, get hit by a falling comet, but nothing, she got on the bus. She got consoled by 2 shop owners in one day. One of those wasted a whole page and accomplished nothing. Also, screenplays are not supposed to contain camera zooms, music volume, etc. Keep Working!

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