A Short Film Screenplay, 2018

(1) INT. KITCHEN – DAY

Upbeat punk pop music plays

We see an incredibly dirty kitchen in a long pan around the room. Piles of dirty dishes sit in the sink and in more unusual places. There’s food splattered on the wall and garbage piled three feet above the can. There are shoes and articles of clothing on the oven and counters.

We see LAUREN, a woman in her early twenties, sitting at the kitchen table checking her phone and eating cereal from an ugly plastic bowl. She eats loudly, slurping and crunching on the cereal. On the other side of the table is a stack of similar bowls with a spoon handle poking out of each one. She’s listening to some loud pop music through a bluetooth speaker on the counter.

At the entryway of this mess stands SAMANTHA, a slightly older young woman, looking overwhelmed by the mess. She looks at LAUREN, then to the dirty sink.

SAMANTHA walks over to the sink, which is full of dishes and murky water. She looks under the sink at the various cleaning solutions and chemicals. She takes out the soap, looks at the mound of dishes and the dirty water, then looks under the sink again.

She takes a heavy duty household cleaner from under the sink, but that too seems insufficient. She checks one more time and takes out a bottle of highly corrosive drain cleaner. She looks at the sink one more time, overwhelmed by the task.

SAMANTHA sets the bottle of drain cleaner on the counter and walks over to the table where LAUREN is sitting. She sits down on an adjacent side of the table, her face obscured from LAUREN’s view by the pile of bowls.

SAMANTHA

Hey Lauren?

LAUREN looks up momentarily from her phone.

LAUREN

What?

SAMANTHA

Have you ever considered getting your own place?

LAUREN

Not really. It’s not like I could afford one.

SAMANTHA

Huh. Have you ever looked at just- finding somewhere new and different?

LAUREN

No way. With prices where they are, we’re lucky to get anywhere with a deal this good. Or to get an apartment at all.

SAMANTHA
(Sighing)

Yeah.

SAMANTHA looks around the room at the mess, then back at LAUREN, who has gone back to checking her phone and munching her cereal. SAMANTHA looks at the trendy-looking bottled drink on the table: “coconut mocca frappe soy milk latte.” She looks over at the drain cleaner on the counter and back to LAUREN.

LAUREN

Why do you ask?

SAMANTHA gets up from the chair.

SAMANTHA

Oh, it’s nothing, never mind.

She leaves the room to the front door.

(2) EXT. BY SAMANTHA’S CAR – DAY

SAMANTHA hides a few objects in the back seat of her impeccably clean car: a towel, a duffel bag, sandals, a shovel, a bunch of plastic bags, some duct tape, a kitchen knife, and some gloves. In the back of her trunk is an old fashioned map. She opens it and locates Umbra Hot Springs.

(3) INT. KITCHEN – DAY

LAUREN has finished with her cereal, but is still sitting at the table checking the phone and listening to music. She drums the table with her free hand. We see from her POV as SAMANTHA enters the room looking at her phone.

SAMANTHA

Hey. So I just got a text from ALIYAH. She and some friends are going to go swim in this cool hot springs she knows about – it’s called Umbra Hot Springs. She wants to know if you also want to go.

LAUREN

What friends? Guy friends?

SAMANTHA

Uh – I think so, yes.

LAUREN

Are you going?

SAMANTHA

Yeah, I was thinking I could drive and we could ride up together.

LAUREN

Ok. Sure, sounds fun.

She gets up from her chair.

LAUREN (CONT’D)

What time are we going?

SAMANTHA

I dunno. 10 minutes or so.

LAUREN

All right, I’ll get my stuff.

She leaves the room into the apartment hallway. As soon as LAUREN closes the door to her room, SAMANTHA hurries over to the sink and grabs the bottle of drain cleaner. She takes it over to the kitchen table and sets it down, glancing nervously at the hall when she hears a creaking noise.

SAMANTHA picks up the bottle of coconut mocca frappe soy milk latte on the table and feels it’s mostly empty. She gets another bottle out of the fridge and pours it into the first, then adds a generous amount of drain cleaner. The hall door clicks open. SAMANTHA freezes and looks up.

LAUREN reenters the room, carrying her towel, swimsuit, flip flops, and other things in one big wad that obscures her vision. SAMANTHA quickly hides the rest of the drain cleaner before LAUREN sees her.

LAUREN (CONT’D)

You ready to go?

She clutches the pile of stuff to her face with one hand as she feels around on the table for her drink with the other.

SAMANTHA

Let’s go.

She slides the drink into LAUREN’s searching hand and hurries ahead to hold the door open as they leave.

(4) EXT. DESERT VALLEY – DUSK

SAMANTHA’s car travels up a desert highway.

(5) INT. SAMANTHA’S CAR – DUSK

SAMANTHA drives with LAUREN in the passenger seat. LAUREN checks her phone and drinks her drink while SAMANTHA listens to music and taps her hand in time on the steering wheel. She glances over at LAUREN nervously as LAUREN makes a strained face and holds her stomach. SAMANTHA looks back to the road.

LAUREN receives a text message and looks up from her phone at SAMANTHA.

LAUREN

ALIYAH says her and the guys will be a little late.

SAMANTHA’s eyes widen.

SAMANTHA

What?

LAUREN

I texted her and asked what time she’d be there. She acted all like she didn’t know what I was talking about, but she said she was going
to ask some other guys or something to meet us there.

SAMANTHA looks ahead, her face frozen. After a few seconds of paralysis, she looks over at LAUREN’S drink. LAUREN adjusts uncomfortably in her seat, her body scrunching up around her stomach.

SAMANTHA

Are you okay?

LAUREN

My tummy hurts. Really bad, so does my throat.

SAMANTHA

Maybe you should stop drinking that.

LAUREN

No way, this will help. It’s a health drink.

(6) EXT. MOUNTAINS – NIGHT

SAMANTHA’s car drives on through the winding mountains.

(7) INT. SAMANTHA’S CAR – NIGHT

SAMANTHA continues to drive, her hands squeezing the steering wheel. She nervously looks over at LAUREN, who is curled up sideways on the seat, still clutching the drink. SAMANTHA looks back to the road, chewing her lower lip.

(8) EXT. PARKING AREA – NIGHT

SAMANTHA’s car pulls in to an empty unpaved parking area. She gets out and walks around to the other side of the car. She opens the passenger side door and the body of LAUREN tumbles onto the ground.

SAMANTHA picks up the phone that has fallen beside the body. She writes a text message to ALIYAH: “Never mind. I’m not feeling well so we’re canceling. Sorry.” After she’s sure the message is sent, she drops the phone and stomps on it a few times.

SAMANTHA opens the back door of her car and takes out the gloves, which she puts on. She grabs a handful of white garbage bags and starts wrapping the body in them. She puts the broken phone and the poisoned drink in one of the bags with the body.

CUT TO:

(9) EXT. HOT SPRINGS – NIGHT

SAMANTHA searches for a place to hide the body. She’s carrying the shovel as she walks past the hot springs and looks around in the rocks and bushes nearby. She finds what appears to be a good place to dig, but just as she takes the first few scoops of dirt she sees the headlights of two cars coming her way.

She looks around frantically at the hole and back at the hot springs. Making a quick decision, she tosses the shovel further away and runs back past the hot springs to the body.

CUT TO:

(10) EXT. PARKING AREA – NIGHT

The body has been fully but crudely wrapped in garbage bags and duct tape. She starts dragging it across the short dirt path toward the hot springs. She looks back at the cars, which are getting closer.

CUT TO:

(11) EXT. HOT SPRINGS – NIGHT

SAMANTHA reaches the edge of the water with the body. She prepares to roll the body into the water, but she notices a pocket of air that has formed in the plastic bag. She hurries off to grab some large rocks, and stuffs them in the openings of the bags.

The first car has parked nearby, and shuffling and voices are heard. SAMANTHA dumps the body into the hot springs and it sinks to the bottom just as ALIYAH and two guys come within view.

ALIYAH
(In a cheery tone that makes the last syllables of words unnecessarily long)

Hi Samantha!

She holds up her arm for an overenthusiastic unwanted hug, which SAMANTHA excepts.

SAMANTHA
(Matching ALIYAH’s tone)

Hi!…

Her eyes shift to the guys behind ALIYAH. One of them steps forward and shakes her hand with a silly ironic enthusiasm.

MARK

Hello. Mark Shawn. Detective, security expert, and sometimes foot model.

ALIYAH interrupts MARK.

ALIYAH

Mark fixes old people’s computers for the geek squad. And this is Cameron.

Cameron steps forward and shakes SAMANTHA’s hand.

CAMERON

Sup. Nice to meet you.

ALIYAH

Cameron’s a cop.

SAMANTHA
(Her voice rising to a panicked high pitch)

Really?

ALIYAH

Is this everyone? Or did Lauren invite anyone else?

SAMANTHA

She’s not coming. She said she was sick.

ALIYAH

Yeah, she texted me.

MARK starts taking off his shirt.

MARK

All right. Let’s try out this swimming hole I hear you’ve been bragging about.

CUT TO (WIDE):

(12) EXT. HOT SPRINGS – NIGHT

Pop punk music plays.

SAMANTHA, ALIYAH, MARK, and CAMERON play in the water.

ALIYAH rides on MARK’s shoulders, laughing splashing at the other two. CAMERON splashes them back, and ALIYAH screams, causing the boys to laugh.

SAMANTHA tries to join in, but finds herself distracted and looks off into the area where Lauren’s body is underwater out of sight. We see below the surface of the water where the garbage bags full of the body are. The bag nearest the head has come loose, and Lauren’s hair is sticking out of the gap in the bag, trying to float to the surface.

Above the water, ALIYAH falls from MARK’s shoulders, splashing SAMANTHA and bringing her out of her thoughts.

SAMANTHA joins the other two in laughing. ALIYAH swims to the edge of the water and sits in the shallow space where SAMANTHA joins her.

MARK
(In a mock low-pitched voice)

Come at me bro!

CAMERON
(Also joking)

Not so tough without the extra firepower on top.

MARK

You kidding? I’m twice as tough now that my amazing hair is no longer hidden.

MARK and CAMERON mock-fight, as SAMANTHA and ALIYAH watch and laugh. They grapple with each other, each one trying to dunk the other by flipping him sideways. Their fight brings them to the other end of the water, near where the body is hidden. Finally, CAMERON succeeds in flipping MARK, sending him face-first into the water. After a few seconds underwater, MARK emerges.

MARK (CONT’D)

There’s something under the water there.

SAMANTHA stares nervously, her mind racing.

ALIYAH

Something, like what?

MARK

I don’t know, it felt like something heavy wrapped in plastic.

SAMANTHA swims out to the place where the body is hidden.

SAMANTHA

Let me see.

CAMERON sticks his head under the water for a few seconds.

CAMERON

Yeah, there’s something. It looks like a bunch of garbage bags.

SAMANTHA gets to the place where CAMERON is looking. She dives under and feels around the body. She feels a spot and digs through a layer of plastic to pull out the cardboard carton of coconut mocca frappe soy milk latte concealed with the body. She smashes and tears it a bit before she surfaces again.

As SAMANTHA surfaces, she takes a deep gasp of air before holding up the smashed carton.

SAMANTHA

See? It’s garbage.

ALIYAH

Egh, gross.

The four rush to exit the water as MARK addresses the unseen hypothetical litterer.

MARK

Come on, people! If you can afford a $6 dollar drink you can afford municipal garbage service.

ALIYAH
(To SAMANTHA)

Lauren likes those, doesn’t she?

SAMANTHA

Yeah. But she gets the chocolate flavored ones.

They shiver as they get out of the hot springs and hurry to grab towels and clothes.

CUT TO:

(13) EXT. ROCKY OVERLOOK – NIGHT

The four climb a rock with a great view overlooking the nearby valley. They are still wrapped in towels and wearing sandals.

ALIYAH

So Cameron, how’s life on the beat?

She sits down at the edge of the rock and looks out across the valley. The others sit down near her.

MARK

Still ticketing guys who are just trying to park to go to work?

ALIYAH

Woah, hey…

CAMERON

As I remember, you were booted by a private towing company for parking in a handicapped zone.

MARK

I have to get to work. That’s how work works. There was nowhere
else, I searched for fifteen minutes, saw about a hundred open handicapped spaces, not a single regular one.

CAMERON

And you thought the tow company would be okay with that?

MARK

No, but, it’s blackmail! You can’t mess with a guy’s car! And hold it hostage!

CAMERON

Well, they clearly can.

MARK

Someone needs to stop them, then. Or get rid of them.

CAMERON

That’s crazy.

MARK

You take out a couple of them in one city – no one will ever dare tow a car again.

SAMANTHA

Or you could just hire someone to steal the boots. Maybe put them on the tow trucks with new locks.

CAMERON

That’s illegal. You take a boot off the car, they’ll know it’s you.

SAMANTHA

But they you can’t prove it. Especially not if it suddenly happens to all the cars they boot in town. A lot of the drivers will have alibis.

CAMERON

We’d catch whoever was doing it. No matter what kind of elaborate alibi they think they have.

SAMANTHA

You aren’t as clever as you think you are, stuff slips by you guys all the time.

ALIYAH tries to interrupt the strange argument.

ALIYAH

The moon sure is beautiful tonight.

CAMERON

Stuff doesn’t just slip past us.

SAMANTHA

Then why do all these murders go unsolved?

CAMERON

Most crimes like that are solved. Quickly.

SAMANTHA

That’s because Most crimes are committed by idiots!

ALIYAH speaks loudly, finally bringing the disagreement to an end.

ALIYAH

Isn’t the moon beautiful tonight?

CAMERON glares at SAMANTHA, annoyed but not suspicious. He turns away to look up at the moon.

CAMERON

It sure is.

The pop punk music increases in volume as they silently enjoy the view.

FADE TO:

(14) EXT. HOT SPRINGS – NIGHT

The four walk past the hot springs on their way back to the vehicles. MARK suddenly breaks off from the group to look into the water.

MARK

Shouldn’t we do something about that?

ALIYAH

What?

MARK

The trash. We can’t just leave it in there.

SAMANTHA

Where are you going to put it? You want to haul it back in your car?

MARK

No. But it would be a lot better for whoever’s here next if it were somewhere out of the water.

ALIYAH

You’re not getting in again, are you?

MARK

No, I’ll just fish it out with a stick.

He searches the bushes nearby and quickly finds the shovel SAMANTHA left there earlier.

MARK (CONT’D)

Look, this is perfect.

He gets on his stomach with his face hanging over the water and starts to probe the water with the shovel.

SAMANTHA

Don’t do that!

MARK

Why not?

SAMANTHA

It could make the mess even worse.

He stops searching and looks over at SAMANTHA, a confused expression on his face.

MARK

Oh, come on, how could it possibly make it worse?

SAMANTHA opens her mouth but can’t come up with an answer.

MARK is returning to his work when CAMERON interrupts.

CAMERON

Maybe the bags aren’t tied. And if you go about disturbing them you’ll make all the trash go floating out.

MARK

Sure, maybe.

SAMANTHA

You don’t know what’s in there. It could be more wrappers and stuff, or it could be rotten food. Or there could even be old diapers in there.

ALIYAH makes a disgusted face that MARK notices.

MARK

Yeah, okay.

He gets up and tosses the shovel back where he found it.

MARK (CONT’D)

Never mind. Ready to head out?

CUT TO:

(15) EXT. PARKING AREA – NIGHT

The four head to their respective vehicles. SAMANTHA reaches her car first but leans on the door for a moment as she waits for the other three to get in.

SAMANTHA

Bye Aliyah! Bye guys!

CAMERON

See ya!

ALIYAH

It’s been fun! Talk to you later!

MARK

Bye! It was nice meeting you!

SAMANTHA gets into her car as the others do so. She waits to start her car until after the other vehicles. She watches them leave, her engine and headlights on, and once they get far enough away she gets back out of her car and hurries back to the spring.

CUT TO:

(16) INT. HOT SPRINGS – NIGHT

SAMANTHA retrieves the shovel from the place where MARK left it. She goes back to the place where she decided to bury the body and starts digging. She’s concentrating on digging, so she doesn’t notice a car’s headlights heading back to the hot springs.

SAMANTHA stops to rest a for moment, wiping sweat from her forehead, when she hears a shuffling noise coming toward her. She frantically looks for a hiding spot and settles on a spot behind a rock just as ALIYAH enters.

ALIYAH

Samantha? Are you here? Samantha?

ALIYAH walks to the edge of the water and looks at the spot where the body is.

SAMANTHA looks at the back of her head, then at the blade of the shovel she holds. She emerges from behind the rock winding up to swing the shovel at ALIYAH’s head.

ALIYAH doesn’t see anything in the depths of the pool. She looks around the edges of the pool, not noticing SAMANTHA coming toward her with the shovel. One of SAMANTHA’s footfalls lands loudly and ALIYAH notices.

ALIYAH turns around to see SAMANTHA coming at her with the shovel. She screams, but has the presence of mind to grab the shovel and move her body out of the way of SAMANTHA’s charge.

SAMANTHA misses ALIYAH and falls into the hot springs pool, groaning in frustration as she hits the water. As she surfaces, ALIYAH looks down at here, looking confused and angry.

ALIYAH (CONT’D)

Samantha!? What’s going on? What’s really in those bags?

SAMANTHA

What are you doing here?

ALIYAH

I forgot my phone.

She retrieves it from the spot where she left it, near where she first got into the pool.

ALIYAH (CONT’D)

It looks like I’m going to need it.

She dials 911 but doesn’t press send.

ALIYAH (CONT’D)

Lauren hasn’t answered any of my texts. Her phone is off. But the last text she sent would have been just about the time you reached here. Was it you that sent it?

SAMANTHA doesn’t answer, ALIYAH finger hovers closer to the “send call” button.

ALIYAH (CONT’D)

Was it you that sent it?

SAMANTHA stares at ALIYAH, her teeth and fists clenched, before her face slackens and her whole body sags.

SAMANTHA

Yes.

SAMANTHA wades toward the shallow end of the pool. Instead of getting out, however, she just sits in two feet of water and stares ahead to where the body was hidden.

ALIYAH

If I were to look in the pile of garbage over there-

SAMANTHA

Yes. It’s her.

She sits in silence for a moment, and ALIYAH sits down at a nearby edge of the water, just enough to get her feet wet.

ALIYAH

I don’t know what to say.

SAMANTHA

I don’t know either.

She looks over at ALIYAH’s feet.

SAMANTHA (CONT’D)

I just – I wish I –

She exhales deeply and looks back into the pool and the body submerged underneath. ALIYAH watches her for a moment, then moves to get up. For a moment, she gives SAMANTHA what appears to be a brief sympathetic smile. She stands up and presses call, holds the cell phone to her ear as she begins to walk away.

Pop punk music starts playing again.

We see a wide overhead view of the pool and ALIYAH’s conversation with the 911 dispatcher as SAMANTHA continues to stare into the depths of the hot springs.

FADE TO BLACK