I Never Knew You By Nicole Maloney
Nicole Maloney 3221 Sharen Court Joliet, IL, 60431 (815)953-3608 [Link]@[Link]
EXT - LAKE FRONT - DAY LIZ in her early 20s is sitting on a bench facing a frozen lake, the city skyline behind her. She is bundled tight in a warm jacket, hat, gloves, and scarf. A cigarette hangs in one hand, almost burnt out, and a crumpled piece of paper is clutched in her other hand. The lakefront around her is mostly deserted as no one else cares to brave the cold and walk around outside. She flicks her cigarette to the ground, and stands up. She walks along the edge of the lake. (Fade to) INT - FRONT DOOR - DAY Liz is standing by her front door, looking out onto the street. LIZ Ill talk to you later James. Drive safe, ok? She shuts the door behind her and stands there for a moment, a smile on her face. EXT - NATURE PATH - DAY Liz walks down a trail, surrounded by trees. She wears her winter coat and on the back of her hand the name James is written in sharpie with a heart next to it. She is busy on her phone texting, and smiles down at her phone She stops walking for a bit as she reads a new text, and in the distance she hears the sound of children playing, she looks around and sees no one, but ignores it and continues on her way. INT - KITCHEN - DAY Liz sits on a tall stool at her kitchen counter, she is dressed in sweats and a t-shirt and is playing with her cereal as Alice joins her in the kitchen. ALICE So when is James going to be free? Ive been dying to meet him. LIZ Hopefully soon, hes just been getting a ton more hours at work (MORE) (CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
2.
LIZ (contd) and hasnt had much time for much else. ALICE Alright, so how have youLIZ Its just so nice being with him, like I feel so carefree, like I have no worries. ALICE Thats great Liz, but... LIZ Its so great! Im just so lucky to have found him. Liz takes her half eat bowl of cereal and empties it at the sink. LIZ I just know youll love him Alice, hes like my prince charming. INT - APARTMENT - NIGHT Liz lays on her bed staring at the ceiling, her cell phone pressed to her ear. Dressed in pajamas she laughs into the phone. LIZ No, I swear to you, you do NOT want to hear me sing.... (Laughs) Well then youll have to get over your dream of us being the next Sonny and Cher. She rolls off of her bed and walks around her room, on her walls are posters with the name James written on them in crayon, and one wall is covered in pink post it notes in the shape of a heart with James and Liz written in the middle. Yeah! Id love to!.... No.. why dont you meet me here? My roommates been wanting to meet you. Ok, See you then.
3. INT - APARTMENT - DAY Liz is standing in front of a mirror, checking her reflection. She turns around and faces her ROOMMATE, who sits behind her, staring at Liz concerned. LIZ Alice, please dont give him a hard time, hes going to be nervous enough meeting you. ALICE Its just weird Liz, youve been acting strangely since youve met James, and Ive never met him. LIZ I havent been acting any differently, its all in your head. Liz begins walking towards the door, and Alice stands up, rushing over to her. ALICE I just have this weird feeling Liz! No one Ive asked has ever heard about him, how can you trust him? LIZ Glad to know youve been stalking my boyfriend. And just so you know right now I trust him a lot more than I trust you. Liz walks out the door and leaves Alice standing in her room alone. INT - LIVING ROOM - DAY Alice sits on a small couch, separated from Liz, who sits on a larger couch smiling and laughing. LIZ James and I actually knew each other as kids, but then he moved away...(She looks to the empty spot next to her on the couch) Exactly! You just cant ignore fate like that! Alice stares at Liz, a worried look on her face as she watches her friend.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED:
4.
LIZ (to James) Yeah! (to Alice) James has to get going now, he has to open his store tomorrow. Liz stands up and walks herself out of the living room, leaving Alice alone. INT - HALLWAY - DAY Liz walks down the hallway, rushing to get to her room. Behind her Alice runs to catch up to her friend. ALICE Liz please, just listen to me! You need to talk to someone about this, I think its a serious issue! LIZ The only issue here is that youre jealous of what I have with James! Alice stares silently at Liz for a moment. ALICE Liz, I love you, and Im concerned, there was no one here but you and me tonight, why would I make this up? Liz stares at Alice, a confused and scared look on her face. LIZ I dont... it cant be, I swear he was there. ALICE I... I think you need to talk to someone Liz, somethings wrong here, but its going to be OK. Alice hugs Liz tight as Liz breaks down crying. (Fade to)
5.
INT - HOUSE - DAY Two small children, a BOY, age 4, and GIRL, age 4, are playing together, laughing, not bothered by anything. (Fade to) EXT - LAKE FRONT - DAY Liz stops walking, and looks down angrily at the paper in her hands. Smoothing it out to look at it again, a diagnosis is written on it, spelling out very noticeably the words Schizophrenia (Paranoid). She brings her free hand to her face, and balls up the piece of paper again, shoving it in her coat pocket. She then pulls out of her pocket a pamphlet from the funeral of a young boy that states "In Remembrance of James Patterson, 12-19-1991 to 1-4-1996". She looks at the pamphlet for a moment before she walks away from the lake, clutching the pamphlet tight in her hand. FADE TO BLACK
