Resting Places

INT-DUSK-ROOM

CALLA, a twentish girl with long dark hair and bright blue eyes, is sitting cross legged on a bed. Her arms are adorned with colored bracelets, and dark makeup rings her eyes. The room is sparsely furnished, with a wooden bed frame covered in an old quilt, and little else. She stares intently into an old gilt compact mirror.

CALLA
How often will I die, yet go on living?

CUT TO:
INT.-DAY-WILL'S APT.LIVING ROOM

WILL, a tall dark haired guy in his middle twenties, zips up his jacket. We see him reflected in a portrait-sized window. Behind him in the reflection, a tattered, yet tidy room can be seen. A large brown couch dominates the room, and a beat-up coffee table sits beside it. On the table lies a pack of cigarettes and an ashtray. On the couch a woman of about 50 is sleeping. She is gaunt and worn, and the vestiges of smeared makeup are visible on her face. WILL crosses the room, covers her up with a blanket, and heads out the door.

CUT TO:
INT-DAY-COFFEE SHOP

WILL is frantically filling expresso orders as impatient hipsters and businessmen wait impatiently at the counter. Everyone is seen as a blur, and the light changes rapidly as the day passes. Finally, a manager taps WILL on the shoulder, and he takes off his apron before going outside.

CUT TO:
EXT.-AFTERNOON-DOORWAY
WILL leans up against the brick wall and breathes in the outside air. He stares at his hands, which are burnt and calloused from the speedy coffee making. Oblivious to the people walking by, he stares vacantly, until his thoughts are interrupted.

CALLA
Excuse me.

WILL
(startled) What?

CALLA
I'm trying to get inside. You're blocking the doorway?

She smiles at his dumbfounded look. He jerkily moves aside, watching her go inside.

CUT TO:
INT.-EVENING-COFFEE SHOP
WILL continues his work, with the same haste as before. The customers blur by, and the light changes, but CALLA, who is seated at a table by the window, remains sharply in focus amidst the blurred patrons. Finally, the night comes to an end, and WILL begins his nightly cleanup. CALLA is the only patron remaining, and he reluctantly approaches her.

WILL
Umm...sorry...excuse me?
She looks up gently.

CALLA
Yes?
He fidgets with his apron.

WILL
Umm...well, you have to leave. Sorry. We're closing.

CALLA
Okay. No problem.

She smiles again, then gets up and leaves. Her colored bracelets jangle as she stands. He watches her go, before sitting down heavily at her table.

CUT TO:
INT.-NIGHT-WILL'S APT.

WILL returns home, and throws his tips in a jar by the door. He looks at himself in the mirror, noticing as if for the first time the dark circles under his eyes and the paleness of his skin. He flops down on the couch and closes his eyes.
(V.O of laughter in the hallway)
MOTHER enters, garishly made up, smoking a cigarette and chattering at a dark-featured man who follows in her wake. She is holding a bottle of wine and chattering loudly at her date.

MOTHER
So anyways, isn't that just the funniest thing you have ever heard
(laughs garishly)
But then, after that....oh hello baby.

WILL opens his eyes and looks back and forth between his mother and the man. He stand up, and looks glaringly at the guy. 

WILL
Get the fuck out of here.  Seriously.

MOTHER
William! That's rude. Mr. Samson here was just escorting me home....
(she laughs suggestively)

WILL
Whatever you thought dude, you were wrong. Just leave, okay? Don't make this a big deal.

The man looks as if he WILL argue, but appears to decide it isn't worth it. He shrugs, and then leaves. MOTHER looks startled, then smiles happily at WILL.

WILL
(sighs)
C'mon Mom, lets get you to bed.

He puts his arm around her and they disappear into the darkness of the hallway.

CUT TO:
INT.-NIGHT-BATHROOM

WILL washes his face in the bathroom mirror. He comes into frame as his reflection appears in the mirror. He opens the cabinet door, and reveals a mass of prescription bottles. He takes out a toothbrush. The door shuts and we cut to black.

CUT TO:
INT.-DAY-WILL'S APT.
Laughter can be heard in the background, until we open with WILL's face emerging from sleep. MOTHER sits on the edge of the bed, holding a mug and a plate of something.

MOTHER
Hello, baby. Mommy made you dinner. Oops, breakfast.
(giggles again)
You know what the nurse said, babies need to eat!!

WILL rolls over and takes the plate from her. He looks at it somewhat warily.

WILL
Thanks, Mom........fuck what is that!!
He leaps out of the room. We track him through the hallway, into the kitchen, where smoke is billowing from the stove.

WILL
Shit! Goddamn it Mom!!

MOTHER begins to wail in  the background as he puts out the fire. He grabs his wailing mother into an embrace.

WILL
I didn't mean it, I'm sorry, it's okay, I'm sorry...

CUT TO:
EXT.MORNING-STREET

WILL walks up the street, furiously smoking a cigarette. The world around him is blurry but he remains sharply in focus. A streak of light catches his eye on the street, and he turns, but sees nothing. He ducks into the coffee shop, tossing his butt on the ground.

CUT TO:
INT.-DAY-COFFEE SHOP

WILL rushes in, and his boss, LAREN, glares at him from across the counter.

LAREN
Late again, huh? Now I'M late too. What am I supposed to say to the others? They don't get slack like you do.

WILL
I'm sorry. Really. There's not much else I can do.

LAREN
(smirks)
Oh yeah....well. We'll see about that.

She gives him an appraising look before her cellphone rings. WILL looks embarrassed and uncomfortable.

LAREN
Fuck, I'm coming,I know, ALRIGHT! It isn't my fault...okay, okay....
She rushes out the door. He shakes his head in relief, before hearing a voice behind him.

CALLA
Long day?

She smiles gently.

WILL
well, it actually just started but....yeah.

CALLA
She seems like a lot to handle. I wouldn't have thought she was your type.

WILL
No, no not like that....we aren't y'know...

CALLA
(laughs)
S'ok,I was only teasing. Can I get a coffee?

WILL
Yeah, for sure.
(pours one and hands it over)
There you go. On the house.

CALLA
Umm, thanks. What for?

WILL
Just because. And every cent I can rip away from this place is totally worth it.

She smiles, and leaves the store.

CUT TO:
EXT.-NIGHT-STREET

WILL comes out of the store, lugging a bag of garbage and his knapsack. CALLA is waiting outside for him.

WILL
Hey!

CALLA
Hey. Thought you might need some company.

WILL
Um...well..yeah, OK.
She smiles and grabs the garbage bag, and hefts it towards the curb.

CALLA
Let's go, Oscar. Follow me.

WILL
Where are we going?

She turns around and smiles softly, then starts walking up the street.

CALLA
(calls over her shoulder)
Just come on....you'll see.

WILL looks over his shoulder, obviously uncertain and wary. He watches her walk away, then runs to catch up.

CUT TO:
EXT-NIGHT-STAIRWELL

CALLA darts down the darkened stairwell,which is lit only with a single fluorescent light. WILL follows her tentatively. As we follow them around the corner, an empty subway station is revealed, with skylights set into the concrete ceiling and cement benches lining the wide open space. They sit and CALLA starts to roll a joint.

CALLA
So. What's your story?

WILL
What?

CALLA
Your story. Everyone has a story.

WILL looks a bit confused.

WILL
Umm....well I don't know...what's yours?

She laughs.

CALLA
That's a bit of a cop-out, don't you think?

WILL
Well maybe. But you should be able to answer your own questions.

CALLA
I suppose. But I didn't say that I couldn't answer, I just chose not to.

WILL
Well alright. But there's not much to tell. I work, you know where, and I live here. That's about all.

CALLA
Hmmm...well. I have to say, that's a pretty boring story.

WILL
Well maybe......
(he trails off, a bit speechless)

CALLA
I guess it wasn't a fair question anyways. It's hard to sum up your whole life in a few sentences.

WILL
Yeah.....

CALLA lights the joint, as WILL fiddles with his hands.

CALLA
It'd be nice though, if you could. It would make it easier to understand things.
WILL
How so?

CALLA
Well...if you could know the experiences that shaped a person right away, then it'd would be a lot easier to know the person that they really are.

WILL
Yeah, I suppose.....
(he still looks a bit bewildered.)

CALLA
Life is lived forwards but understood backwards. 

WILL
Ahhh.....like hindsight is always 20/20?

She laughs.

CALLA
Yeah, but my way sounds nicer, don't you think? Anyways, look to your parents, and you'll see that for sure. I never understood mine until I was old enough to actually learn things about them as people.

WILL
Yeah.....well, I think I should go....

He stands up, and she follows suit.

CALLA
Oh, um, okay. Well. Nice to meet you, WILL.
She extends her hand, and they shake.

WILL
Nice to meet you too.

CALLA
See ya around, maybe....

She pitches the joint, and walks towards the stairs. Suddenly, she turns, and hands him a piece of paper from her bag.

CALLA
Here. I think you need this more than me.

She turns and quickly walks away before he has a chance to read it. Before he has a chance to open it, a guard comes around the corner, and stoned WILL rushes towards the stairs.

CUT TO:
INT.-NIGHT-WILL'S APT.

WILL enters his apartment, and sees the room in shambles. Broken glass lines the corners of the room and cassette tapes are flung on the floor.
WILL
Mom? MOM??

He searches the apartment, but no one is there. Panicking, he paces the room, trying to think of what to do. He is about to pick up the phone when he sees flashing lights outside. He runs out of the apartment, leaving the door open.

CUT TO:
EXT.-NIGHT-STREET
As he exits the building, he sees a crowd of neighbors and a mass of ambulances and police cars. Seeing a neighbor he knows, he grabs her arm.

WILL
Hey! What's going on?

NEIGHBOR
Oh, same old. Another jumper. Why they let people up on that rooftop I'll never know.

At this, WILL pales.

WILL
Oh fuck.

NEIGHBOR
Oh, honey, don't worry. It's probably just another junkie or something. You know this neighborhood.....

She prattles on, but he doesn't hear her. He runs towards the crime scene.

POLICEMAN
Son, now stay back. No need to gawk.

WILL
No, you don't understand, I need to get over there!!

POLICEMAN
Now,you don't better not to know, don't you think? I've seen enough of this for the both of us.

WILL
No, but, it's.....I think that....my Mother!!!

Suddenly, WILL hears a laugh behind him.

MOTHER
Silly goose!! I am right here!!

He spins and grabs her hand, checking her over before hugging her tightly.

WILL
Jesus Mom.....

He begins to chastise her, but sees the paramedics wheel a gurney away. A familiar hand, with colored bracelets falls off. He stands shocked, and then puts his hands in his pockets, where he finds the folded up note. He opens it, and it says, in black marker, "you always have the choice to make and unmake the past." He looks up at the ambulance driving away, and the camera follows it out.

CUT TO:
EXT.-NIGHT-APARTMENT STAIRS

Apartment residents, police, paramedics and bystanders all mill around, gawking or working. They all move in a blur, as the coffee shop patrons do. WILL is sharply in focus, as always, only now his mother is in focus too. The two of them sit watching the commotion, until the crowd disperses and it is only the two of them, sitting on the steps.

CUT TO BLACK.