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The Teacup
by Thierry Larose (thierryl_music@hotmail.com)

Rated: G   Genre: Drama   User Review:
NOT YET
RATED

An Oscar Wilde-inspired story about a strange event a young man's emotional response.


This screenplay is copyrighted to its author. All rights reserved. This screenplay may not be used or reproduced without the express written permission of the author.



THE TEACUP

FADE IN:

INT. IN A BALLROOM - DAY
                                                            
Victorian England.

Lord Oscar Wilde, a beautiful young man, sits on a chair
silently. Suddenly, he turns around, noticing that Lady Tess
Leclercq, an equally beautiful girl, was observing him
behind his back.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
      (Surprised)
Greetings. How long have you been
here?
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
You seem to have a lot on your
mind.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
If that is the case, and I do
believe it is, my fair Tess, it is
because I am one who believes in
Love! In Good triumphing from Bad!
And in many other feeling that
start with capital letters!
However, I do not think that I
have a lot on my mind. I've had
worse days.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
How do you feel, then?
                                                            
Lady Tess unfolds her index in a very delicate fashion.
Puzzled at first, Lord Oscar, knowing exactly what Lady Tess
has in mind, looks away and stays silent for a moment.
                                                            
                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
As Lady Tess unfolded her finger,
Lord Oscar knew that this
emotional expression process would
have as much steps as there are
fingers on a human hand. He wasn't
            (MORE)

2.

                       NARRATOR (cont'd)
reassured. After all, Lady Tess
seemed to have a standard,
five-fingered hand and nothing
prevented her from brandishing the
other (also five-fingered,
apparently) to extend the
sentimental enumeration.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
      (With pride)
I feel fine. However, I am able to
reach this state of ease by firmly
believing in my life values and
certainties. Without them, I would
be a lost man, as anyone would be
if they had nothing kept deeply in
their soul.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
How do you feel, then?
                                                            
As he did before, Lord Oscar looks away and stays silent for
a moment.
                                                            
                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
Lord Oscar had lost. There was no
way he could ever escape the
emotional exercise that Lady Tess
was about to make him go through.
He had no choice but to actually
say how he was feeling. He wasn't
reassured. After all, Lady Tess
could never understand what was
bothering him. It was simply too
bizarre.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
      (stands up)
This is the strange story of a
mother I used to know. Thankfully,
it wasn't mine. She took a pill.
You know, the one that kills? I
must admit that my knowledge of
pharmacology is far from
impressive, but I happened to know
the swallower a little bit. Her
            (MORE)

3.

                       LORD OSCAR (cont'd)
intention was not to get better
but to perish.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
What happened to her?
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
The pill was of no use.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
Earlier, you referred to that
mother in the past tense.
Something tells me that if the
pill did not kill her, surely
there was something else to take
care of that.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
How can you speak of Death so
calmly? Do you not feel the
unbearable Distress I feel?
                                                            
As soon as Lord Oscar finishes his sentence, Lady Tess
unfolds a second finger.
                                                            
                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
Lady Tess had finally heard a true
feeling of Lord Oscar's. She
unfolded a second finger, ready to
hear more.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
She chose the tea cup, filled with
water only. She fell in love with
the one that was supposed to help
her swallow her death.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
The one?
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
Yes, the tea cup. Oh, I knew you
wouldn't understand!
                                                            

4.

                       LADY TESS
Oh, but I do. I know it well. That
tea cup is the one that refuses to
help when one gets lost and wishes
to put an end to it all. It is
only one of many representations
of this particular phenomenon.
Never will it help, regardless of
what that mother may think.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
      (sitting down)
But I don't understand. Also,
aren't I the one who is supposed
to be telling you how I am
feeling? You cannot interrupt me
with your very basic knowledge of
life and its many complex
inner-workings!
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
Dear Oscar, you must know that
your insults aren't very
impressive, quite frankly.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
A recent event undoubtedly
affected me, a sly tea cup won
over a deadly pill and... I feel
dizzy. I am forgetting my
principles! I don't know what to
think anymore.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
      (softly)
I won't be your tea cup.
                                                            
                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
As soon as she said that, Lady
Tess showed one more finger,
knowing that Lord Oscar had lost
his shell by admitting that he had
been emotionally affected.
                                                            
Lord Oscar holds his head, looking down. Lady Tess sits down
beside him, leaning closer.
                                                            

5.

                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
It is true that Lord Oscar didn't
know what to think anymore.
Everything he thought he knew
about himself seemed to fade away.
Confused, he carried on with his
story.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
She chose to drown in it. The
mother I knew only a little bit
put the pill down. The pill
remained as dry as the mother's
skin was. Then, she drowned,
helped only by the tea cup I
think.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
You see? The tea cup was supposed
to help her swallow, but instead
chose to kill the mother.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
I give swimming lessons at the
Manningham pool and I happen to
teach her son. He now has no
mother and he has trouble lying on
his back while staying still on
the water's surface.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
      (sarcastic)
Yes, you are making a lot of sense
Lord Oscar.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
I learned that eliminating the
cause of one's trauma helps reduce
the constant state of panic
experienced by the victims. Every
week, her son swims in said cause.
It breaks my heart.
                                                            
Lady Tess unfolds another finger.
                                                            

6.

                       LADY TESS
As satisfied as I am concerning
your emotional progress, I can't
help but think that maybe her son
just isn't very skilled at lying
on his back while staying still on
the water's surface. You do not
teach that child how to swim in a
tea cup, his mother drowned in
other waters...
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
      (stands up)
Waters, still! That child is
traumatized. I am sure of it : I
have many qualifications when it
comes to the aquatic domain and I
worked very hard to obtain them. I
firmly believe in Effort and
Determination, both of these being
things to live by.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
      (unfazed)
Surely.
                                                            
Lady Tess steps away from Lord Oscar with a slight disdain.
                                                            
                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
He knew that he had spoken in
capital letters, something he knew
was very pretentious. What Lord
Oscar didn't know is that Lady
Tess could easily know when he
used capital letters in front of
his so-called principles. It was a
sign that he had something to
hide.
                                                            
Lord Oscar grabs Lady Tess' hand as she is slowly walking
away.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
My apologies.
                                                            
Lady Tess shows another finger.
                                                            

7.

                       NARRATOR (V.O.)
Lady Tess unfolded her fifth
finger as a sign that Lord Oscar
had expressed another emotion. She
knew that this was special. She
now had the certainty that she
could see through him and that his
pride wasn't in the way anymore.
In her company, at least.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
That child will swim.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
How can you be sure of it?
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
That boy lost his mother in a
fascinating way, a way that is as
hard to understand as it is hard
to forget. One cannot forget the
storm.
                                                            
                       LORD OSCAR
What do you mean?
                                                            
Lord Oscar and Lady Tess are now sitting very close to each
other.
                                                            
                       LADY TESS
      (softly)
There was a storm in that tea cup.
                                                            


THE END


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