Life is a Journey 6

Int. emily's room- day
The clock strikes 7am as an alarm goes off. The song 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson plays. Emily stirs and opens her eyes. She throws off her blanket and jumps out of bed. Then she goes to wash up and puts her uniform on.
INT. ALEX'S HOME, KITCHEN- DAY
Victoria and Mrs. Ward prepare breakfast together. Emily comes skipping in with her bag. She sits at the counter.
MRS. WARD
Well look who's all dressed and ready!
VICTORIA
Morning, honey. You're quick.
EMILY
Its the first day of school. Can't wait to see all my friends!
MRS. WARD
And nothing better to start the day than a hearty breakfast.
Mrs. Ward hands a plate of eggs, bacon and toast to Emily. Victoria brings over a glass of milk. Alex enters.
VICTORIA
Morning Alex, come and grab a plate.
Alex sits next to Emily as Mrs. Ward gives him a plate of food. Victoria also gives him a glass of milk.
ALEX
Where's Dad?
VICTORIA
He's already at the bakery. You know since school starts again.
Victoria and Mrs. Ward then join them at the counter with their plates and cups coffee.
VICTORIA (CONT'D)
So, Alex. Literature huh?
ALEX
Yeah, surprised?
MRS. WARD
Indeed. We always thought you'd be a veterinarian since you loved animals so much.
VICTORIA
And I'm sure Muffin would have wanted you to be one.
ALEX
Me too but my Math sucks...so yeah.
EMILY
I'm full!
Victoria looks at Emily's plate.
VICTORIA
You've barely eaten!
EMILY
I'm too excited to eat!
MRS. WARD
But still you should eat more. You're going to be catching up with your friends and you need all the energy you can get. You don't want to be feeling tired and weak, do you?
EMILY
Oh OK.
Emily takes a bite of her toast.
Ext. yat sen primary classrooms- day
Victoria and Emily go in search for the right classroom. Victoria stops outside one and runs her finger down the list. Finding nothing, they move to the next one. Victoria checks the list and then exclaims.
VICTORIA
Ah, here you are.
They both enter the classroom and are greeted by the teacher.
teacher
Bula! Welcome to Class 5K. I'm Mrs. Koroi.
VICTORIA
Bula, I'm Victoria Tiko and this is my daughter, Emily.
Mrs. Koroi bends down.
Mrs. koroi
Hello, Emily!
EMILY
(shyly)
Hello.
Mrs. Koroi draws to full height.
MRS. KOROI
You can go and take a seat, dear.
VICTORIA
Goodbye sweetheart. Have a good day, see you after school.
EMILY
Bye, Mom.
Emily goes to a seat and settles in, greeting her friends.
Int. bakery- day
Charles is manning the counter. Mark enters.
MARK
Hello, Mr. Tiko.
Charles looks up from his newspaper.
CHARLES
Mark! What are you doing here?
MARK
To buy your pies of course. I always get it from here.
CHARLES
Really? Which ones do you want?
MARK
The chicken and the mince ones.
Charles moves to pack them and gives it to Mark.
CHARLES
There you go.
Mark receives it and hands over some money.
MARK
Here.
CHARLES
Oh no, you don't have to.
MARK
Huh?
CHARLES
You're Alex's friend and any friend of his is mine too.
MARK
Mr. Tiko, you don't have to--
CHARLES
Enough now, Mark. I won't accept it.
MARK
You're making me feel bad.
CHARLES
Don't be silly.
MARK
Well, thank you very much.
CHARLES
Don't mention it. Where you off to?
MARK
Work, at McDonalds.
CHARLES
That's good. Has your Dad gone back to work yet?
MARK
No, but he got a job as a guard at Damodar City.
CHARLES
Excellent, excellent. I was going to offer him a job here.
MARK
That's very kind of you. Anyway, I have to go. Thanks again.
Charles nods and watches Mark leave.
Ext. nasese walkway- day
Alex is walking with Muffin. As he draws closer to a bench shelter, he sees someone.
ALEX
Mrs. Evergreen! What are you doing here?
MRS. EVERGREEN
Hello, Alex. Just getting some fresh air.
ALEX
I see.
MRS. EVERGREEN
Would you like to sit?
Mrs. Evergreen pats the space beside her. Alex sits down.
MRS. EVERGREEN (cont'd)
Taking Muffin for a walk?
ALEX
Yeah.
MRS. EVERGREEN
Here, Muffin.
Mrs. Evergreen rubs Muffin.
MRS. EVERGREEN (CONT'D)
I had a dog once. She gave birth to a litter of pups. A week later she was run down.
ALEX
Oh no. What happened to her puppies?
MRS. EVERGREEN
I surrendered them to SPCA. They were all adopted to homes when I checked on them a month later.
ALEX
That's a happy ending to a sad event.
MRS. EVERGREEN
Yes. Happy indeed.
ALEX
Would you want to get another dog? Since you live alone. Even Ms. Rose has two cats.
MRS. EVERGREEN
No, I don't have the energy to keep up with one. Besides, I can come visit Muffin.
Mrs. Evergreen chuckles as she continues to rub Muffin who seems to be enjoying the attention.
MRS. EVERGREEN (CONT'D)
I visited Ms. Rose the other day. Have you ever been inside her house? One thing's for sure, she's one crazy cat lady!
ALEX
No, but I can tell by the way she's always with her cats.
MRS. EVERGREEN
She's a weird one, that Ms. Rose.
ALEX
You think so too? But Dad said we shouldn't be judging people.
MRS. EVERGREEN
He's probably right.
Mrs. Evergreen smiles at Alex with a mysterious look in her eyes.
Int. alex's home- day
Alex and Muffin enter and Muffin runs off. Alex goes through the mail in his hands and stops when he sees one from USP. He takes it and sets the others down on the hallway table. Opening it, he takes the letter out, unfolds it and reads. Suddenly he squeals in delight and runs into the kitchen.
INT. KITCHEN- DAY
Mrs. Ward is putting icing on a cake with a piping bag, in full concentration. Alex runs in yelling, startling her who smudges the words she was carefully icing out.
ALEX
I got in! I got in!
MRS. WARD
What's the commotion about?
ALEX
I got into USP!
MRS. WARD
Of course you'd get in dear. No doubt about that.
ALEX
Sorry, did I disturb you?
Alex looks at the smudged word on the cake.
MRS. WARD
Well, as you can see. Its alright, it can be fixed. Not the end of the world.
Mrs. Ward gets back to work with the piping bag. Alex looks at the word she is fixing.
ALEX
Congratulations? Is this for me?
MRS. WARD
Well, in the beginning, no. Its for Emily's return to school. But with your good news, its now yours too. Besides, how could it have been for you? I'm not some fortune teller!
They both laugh.
INT. KITCHEN- NIGHT
Everyone is gathered. Alex is doing the dishes, Emily wipes the table while Mrs. Ward brings the cake out of the fridge, carrying it to the table. Victoria pours out juice into cups while Charles gets some plates and forks.
VICTORIA
Alex, hurry! Cake is waiting for you!
ALEX
Nearly done.
EMILY
Wow, its looks so nice!
MRS. WARD
Wait till you taste it, might knock your socks off!
They all laugh. Alex joins them. Charles is busy setting up the camera.
CHARLES
OK, the camera's ready!
The others hurry into position. Emily and Mrs. Ward hold up the cake, Victoria is beside Emily with her arm around her and Alex carries Muffin beside Mrs. Ward.
CHARLES (CONT'D)
Vicky, could you squeeze in a bit. I'll stand there. Right, on five! Big smiles, guys!
Charles clicks on the camera and runs to stand beside Victoria.
VICTORIA
Everyone say 'Back to school'.
Everyone says the phrase as the camera flashes. Charles goes to check the photo with Victoria following him.
CHARLES
Good job, everyone. This is a beautiful photo.
VICTORIA
We should have this enlarged, printed and framed.
Victoria looks around the kitchen. She goes to the wall near the garden door.
VICTORIA
This is a good spot. I'll have it done tomorrow.
EMILY
Let's eat already!
Everyone laughs.
EXT. USP, BUS BAY- DAY
Alex sits on the bench going through his timetable on a sheet of paper.
ALEX
My first class is a lecture in 019-101, at 2. Then another one at 4 in 010-111.
Alex then puts it away and gets up, walking into campus.
Int. book centre- day
It is crowded with students. Alex is going around looking for his books. He finds one and reads the cover.
ALEX
'An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory'.
Alex turns to the back and looks at the price.
ALEX (CONT'D)
$115??!! Gosh...gonna have to get you later.
He flips through it and then puts it back on the shelf.
EXT. near fale- day
Alex walks back and forth the area, searching. Frustrated, he approaches someone.
ALEX
Excuse me, could you tell me where this room is?
Alex shows his timetable to the person.
person
Oh, that's the dungeons.
ALEX
The what?
PERSON
Follow me.
Alex follows the person and they go down a flight of stairs into a dark area. The person points to a room.
PERSON
Its here.
ALEX
Oh, now I see why its called the dungeon.
PERSON
Yeah, wait till you have a class in the fridge.
ALEX
(confused)
The fridge?
PERSON
Its another lecture room not far from here. I bet you can guess why its called that.
They both laugh. Alex thanks the person and he enters the room.
Int. lecture room- day
The room is half full. Alex sits in the middle, gets his notepad and pencil out, setting them on the table. He looks around as more students enter. His phone then gives a message sound and he takes it out to check. Its a text from Mark.
MARK (VOICE OVER)
Hey, Alex. All best for your first day! Might bump into you around campus, haha.
Alex laughs at the message and is texting a reply when the lecturer walks in. He puts his phone away, looks up and stares in shock at the person standing in front. Its Claire. She too, is surprised to see him.
Claire
Good afternoon, all. Welcome to LL100 Comparative Literature. I'm Claire Waisale and I'll be your lecturer for this course.
INT. Lecture room- day (later)
As the class ends and everyone leaves, Alex stays in his seat, waiting. When he is left alone with Claire, he gets up and goes to her.
ALEX
Claire--
CLAIRE
Alex, you can't call me that. Its Ms. Waisale.
ALEX
You're teaching here? Why didn't you tell me?
CLAIRE
Yes, as you've just seen...I've been busy lately.
ALEX
Is that why you haven't been online? I missed our chats.
CLAIRE
I have to go.
Claire gathers up her things and starts to go out the door. Alex grabs her elbow and stands in front of her.
ALEX
Why are you acting like this?
CLAIRE
Like what?
ALEX
Different. You don't seem like yourself.
CLAIRE
Things have changed, Alex. We can't be like how we were.
ALEX
But we're friends.
CLAIRE
No, Alex. I'm your teacher and that's all I'll ever be to you.
ALEX
(desperate)
Why don't we talk about this properly? Do you want to get coffee?
CLAIRE
I'm sorry, I have to go.
Claire leaves with Alex staring after her.
Int. another lecture room- day
Alex sits with a faraway look on his face. The lecturer is taking the class register. He calls Alex but he doesn't seem to hear him.
lecturer
Alex Tiko? Is there a Mr. Tiko here? Alex? Are you here?
Alex snaps out of his reverie and looks around. He puts his hand up.
ALEX
Here.
LECTURER
Right. Please pay attention in class, Alex.
Alex smiles sheepishly and nods.
INT. ALEX'S HOME- DAY
Alex enters and is greeted by Muffin. He rubs her.
ALEX
Hey, Muffin.
He then goes to the kitchen.
INT. KITCHEN- DAY
Mrs. Ward sits at the table with a newspaper and a pen. Alex joins her.
ALEX
What are you doing?
MRS. WARD
Crossword puzzle. How was your first day?
ALEX
It was...fine.
Mrs. Ward sensing something, looks up.
MRS. WARD
What's wrong?
ALEX
Huh?
MRS. WARD
I can hear it in your voice. Something's up. Out with it.
ALEX
Its nothing.
MRS. WARD
Are you sure?
ALEX
Well, its just that...
Mrs. Ward encourages Alex with a concerned look.
ALEX (CONT'D)
Its Claire. She's my...
(beat)
...lecturer.
MRS. WARD
Oh...
ALEX
Yeah.
MRS. WARD
It must have been awkward.
ALEX
It was.
MRS. WARD
So, what happened?
ALEX
I waited after class to talk to her. She didn't seem like the Claire I knew.
MRS. WARD
Maybe because of the circumstances, she couldn't.
ALEX
Now its gone from crush on friend to crush on teacher.
MRS. WARD
Everyone's had crushes on their teachers before. Nothing odd about it. I remember in my school days I had one on my Math teacher. Goodness, was he a handsome lad!
Mrs. Ward giggles at the memory.
ALEX
But its different for me. I doubt you talked to him about stuff you liked or did. Or meet and hang out. And chat until you had to go sleep.
MRS. WARD
I see where you're coming from.
ALEX
I'll be in my room if you need me.
Alex gets up and leaves. Mrs. Ward stares after him sadly.
Ext. yat sen primary, bus stop benches- day
Victoria sits on the bench and waits. She watches the children playing, parents with their children and cars coming in and out of the school compound. She then hears someone calling her.
EMILY
Mom!!
Victoria looks ahead and sees Emily running towards her. She stands and stretches out her arms as Emily hugs her. She looks down at her.
VICTORIA
Hi, honey. How was your day?
Emily looks up.
EMILY
It was great! I like Mrs. Koroi, she's fun.
VICTORIA
That's great.
EMILY
Can we go get ice cream?
Int. office- day
Claire sits at her table, both hands folded under her chin. She stares at her computer screen. She is on Alex's Facebook profile. She then moves the mouse. The cursor goes to the 'friends' tab and an option list drops down. She goes to the 'unfriend' option and clicks.
INT. ALEX'S HOME, KITCHEN- NIGHT
Everyone is having dinner. The family picture is now up on the wall. Charles looks at it proudly.
CHARLES
Aren't we a beautiful family! Thanks to my photography skills.
VICTORIA
Pfft, what skills? You just pushed a button!
CHARLES
(smugly)
That's just it. I had the skills to properly push the button!
Everyone laughs.
VICTORIA
Alex, how was your first day?
Mrs. Ward looks at Alex.
ALEX
OK.
VICTORIA
Anything interesting or exciting happened?
ALEX
No, just had introductions and stuff.
Alex uses his fork to poke at his food.
CHARLES
Alex, are you OK? You seem preoccupied.
ALEX
Just trying to get used to uni life and all. May I be excused?
Victoria looks at Alex's plate, still full.
VICTORIA
You haven't finished your food yet.
ALEX
I don't feel hungry.
VICTORIA
What did you have that made you full?
Alex looks down at his plate.
ALEX
Nothing...
VICTORIA
So why--
MRS. WARD
Victoria, we can't force him to eat if he has no appetite. He's not a child anymore.
VICTORIA
I suppose you're right. I'll leave it in the fridge for you to heat up when you do feel hungry.
ALEX
Thanks, Mom.
Alex looks at Mrs. Ward and smiles gratefully then leaves.
VICTORIA
Did something happen to him?
MRS. WARD
I think its just the hormones kicking in.
Victoria looks back at Alex, with a worried look.
INT. ALEX'S ROOM- NIGHT
Alex lies on his recliner out on the balcony, listening to his iPod. Muffin lies next to him. Alex dangles one hand down to rub Muffin. He stares at the stars and suddenly sees one shooting across the sky.
ALEX
A shooting star!
He scrambles up, takes off his earphones and closes his eyes.
ALEX (CONT'D)
I wish that Claire and I will not be separated. I wish we can be together forever.
Alex opens his eyes and smiles.
INT. MARK'S HOME, kitchen- NIGHT
Mark and his Dad are having dinner at the table.
MARK'S DAD
Do you need money to buy your books?
MARK
I don't want to buy it. Very expensive. I'll try to read it in the library or photocopy necessary pages.
MARK'S DAD
You sure? I can give you the money, if your wages are not enough.
MARK
Its fine, Dad.
MARK'S DAD
Anything new with you? Got a girlfriend yet? You can get one if you want, you're an adult now.
MARK
No, I don't have any.
MARK'S DAD
Why not? You're not that bad looking, you do well in school and you even work part-time. What's not to like?
MARK
I'm not their...type.
MARK'S DAD
What do you mean?
MARK
Nothing.
INT. ALEX'S ROOM- NIGHT
Alex is trying to sleep. He tosses and turns. A text message arrives on his phone. Reaching out for it, he sits up and checks it. Its from Claire.
CLAIRE (voice-over)
Alex, meet me tomorrow after class at the rugby field.
Alex puts his phone down, lays down and stares at the ceiling.
Ext. usp, rugby field- day
Alex is walking out on the field, looking around. He looks up and sees dark clouds rolling in. He then spots Claire under the tree and goes in that direction. As he approaches, Claire turns around.
CLAIRE
Thanks for coming, Alex.
ALEX
What's this about?
CLAIRE
I have to tell you something. I don't know how to do this...
ALEX
Tell me.
Claire looks up at the sky as if searching for the right words. Then she looks at Alex.
CLAIRE
It was great meeting you. I enjoyed getting to know you, hanging out and being your friend. But now, things have changed. I'm your teacher and you, my student.
ALEX
What are you trying to say?
CLAIRE
What I'm trying to say is that...
(beat)
...I want you to forget everything. Erase all your memories of me. Pretend that you never knew me.
ALEX
Why should I? We're not doing anything wrong!
CLAIRE
It is wrong and inappropriate. I can't let anything happen any further.
ALEX
You're breaking up with me?
CLAIRE
We weren't even together to begin with.
ALEX
But it felt like we were. Why are you doing this to me? You're the first girl I ever liked!
CLAIRE
I'm sorry but you know why. There are boundaries to be kept and I intend to keep it that way.
ALEX
I'll take another course. No! I'll go to FNU!
CLAIRE
No, Alex. Don't do anything you'll regret. Why are you being difficult? Please don't make this any harder than it should be.
ALEX
Its because...its just that...I'm...I'm in love with you!
Claire's face widens in shock. Alex moves closer to her.
ALEX (CONT'D)
And I know that deep inside you feel the same for me. Don't deny it. I can feel it.
CLAIRE
I'm sorry but I don't feel the same way. And I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I might have.
ALEX
Claire, don't do this. Can't you see how I'm throwing myself at you? I love you!
CLAIRE
Its not love, Alex. Its just an infatuation that you'll soon get over with.
ALEX
(shaking his head)
No...no...
CLAIRE
Yes. Yes. And I'm much older than you.
ALEX
(upset)
I don't care! I don't! Why did you have to take this job?
CLAIRE
It was an opportunity I couldn't miss. And I won't jeopardize it over something like this.
It begins to drizzle.
CLAIRE
I have to go.
ALEX
No, wait.
Alex holds her hand and puts it over his heart.
ALEX (CONT'D)
You're breaking my heart. Can't you feel it? Can't you feel how it beats for you?
CLAIRE
Enough, stop it. You're going too far.
ALEX
I gave you my heart Claire.
CLAIRE
(coldly)
I didn't ask for it.
Claire removes her hand from his grasp and leaves. The rain gets heavier and Claire runs off the field. Alex stands there, staring after her. Tears run down his face.
THE END.