SOLITUDE

By

Benjamin Alexander Vacher

© Vacherfilms 2017 Ben.vacher@gmail.com

1 EXT - DESERT 1
WE OPEN WITH A CLOSE UP OF A GIRL LYING ALONE IN THE
DESERT.

She wakes up, frightened, alone and confused.

Slowly, she stands up.
CAMERA GETS WIDER AND WIDER.

The girl screams.

---

2 INT - SCHOOL 2
Door slams, school bell rings.
ACE:
Ms Rudy Rude is such a joke!

LEX:
What did she say this time?
ACE:
Oh just the usual "get your shit
together" sorta thing.
LEX:
She only says that stuff because
she wants you to do well.

ACE:
Come on Lex, we all know she’s
had it in for me since day one!
Tom sneaks up behind them

TOM:
Ello ello ello, what’s goin on
’ere?
LEX:
Ace was just letting off steam
after Rudy Rude’s little rant.
TOM:
Oh damn... You all okay A?

Ace looks stern

ACE:
yeah, yeah. All good.
Tom looks thoughtfully at Ace for a moment

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 2.

Beat
TOM:
Have either of you two seen the
new trailer for the ’All Mighty
Seven?’
Ace is neutral. She is still thinking about English.
ACE:
oh no, not another one!
TOM:
Yeah... but guess who’s in this
one!?

Ace looks at Tom grinning

ACE:
Chris Hemsworth ? Leonardo
DiCaprio? James Franco?

TOM:
Even better...
LEX:
(SHOCKED) RYAN GOSLING!?

TOM:
Oh yeahhhh babyyyy.
Lex and Ace share a glance, Ace gives a small smile.

LEX:
You’re really good at selling
these movies to us aren’t you?
Lex punches Tom’s arm.

CAMERA IS LEFT BEHIND AS THE THREE WALK THROUGH DOUBLE

DOORS, EXCITING THE CORRIDOR. THE DOUBLE DOORS SWING BACK
BEHIND THEM.
---

3 INT - MALL 3
THE THREE FRIENDS EXIT THE CINEMA.
TOM:
That ending! Arghhh... Can we go
see it again?
ACE:
Not in a million years.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.

LEX:
It wasn’t that bad Ace!
TOM:
You two are obviously drinking
too much of this rubbish.
Tom snatches Lex’s Pepsi out of her hand and Stares at the
calorie count.

TOM:
Are you sure we were watching the
same movie?
ACE:
It was good Tom, it was good.

LEX:
(Mockingly) Just good?
ACE:
Don’t push it Lex.

TOM:
So you guys wanna go get some
food?

CUT
Sitting down at the table. There is a large pepperoni
pizza in the middle.
ACE:
Eh. to be honest i’m not really a
fan of any of this fatty crap.
TOM:
(Slightly distraught) So no
Double Pepperoni?

- Holding up a slice.
LEX:
Ace, what’s up?

ACE:
Nothing.
LEX:
Ace, c’mon, you know we are here
for you.

ACE:
(Becoming slightly agitated) Just
drop it Lex.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.

LEX:
You’ve been acting so [under
breath - shitty] lately-

Tom looks up from his drink.

TOM:
(Mouth full of pizza) Lex!-
ACE:
(Fixed on Lex) -What? Moody, not
like myself? Down with the dogs?
Lost? "Different"? That’s school
Lex. That’s what this shit does
to you.

LEX:
(Taken aback) And you think
you’re the only one who feels all
those things? What happened to
"we’re all in this together?"

TOM:
Ermm... I think you’ll find
that’s High School Musical.
Lex glares at Tom.

Ace Smiles.
Tom is uneasy, he is now unsure of what to say in this
heated situation.

ACE:
(Calming down) I’m sorry, I’m
just... (looking away) there’s so
much to think about right now.
TOM:
Hey, I suppose Lex is right.
However cheesy it is, we are all
in the same boat. We just have to
remember that this will all pass,
all this "where do you want to
go? What do you want to do?-

LEX:
-"Don’t forget to get a job kids,
Don’t forget to get married kids,
-"

ACE:
"- don’t forget to have kids
kids!"

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 5.

ACE:
(More subdued) Yeah, but it’ll be
replaced with our own internal
expectations. Can’t you see?
We’re just machines on a
production line. We’re empty
vessels being programmed to abide
to society’s rules. We don’t have
any free will.

TOM:
Oh no. Not your stupid psychology
debates again!
LEX:
Ace, calm down. You’re just
overwhelmed. Is this still
because of what Rudy Rude said?
There is no answer from Ace.
LEX:
C’mon, you know she says that
stuff to everyone!
ACE:
Yeah I guess, (looking distant)
I’ve also been having these
dreams lately...
LEX:
Huh?
ACE:
The same dream... over and over.
But instead of repeating itself,
it continues like an ongoing
narrative-

---

4 EXT - DESERT 4
ACE IS LOOKING ABOUT, NO ONE IS AROUND. SHE SHOUTS OUT
AGAIN.
ACE:
Can Somebody... anybody hear me!?
HELP!

But there is no response.

Ace looks around her perimeter and spots a black spot in
the distance. It is a flask of water.

She breaks into a sprint.

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 6.

CUT
(signifies hope. However,
this is temperamental and
will soon be stripped away)

---

5 INT - SPORTS HALL 5

Ace is playing basket ball. She is training by herself,
trying to get the ball in the hoop.
(Basketball is her escape
when things get tough.)
Carrying her ball with her, she goes into the changing
room, grabs a towel and sits down on the bench. Two girls
are in the corner, discussing something. She overhears
them mention the name Tom.
Ace listens in.

GOSSIPER 1:
...but I mean don’t you remember
how in year 8 he was always by
himself. He didn’t have any
friends. Then suddenly, one month
later-

GOSSIPER 2:
Boom! He’s surrounded by girls.
... So you believe his mum paid
theirs, to get their kids to hang
with him?

GOSSIPER 1:
Look, this is simply what Harv is
saying. And to be pretty honest,
it all adds up doesn’t it?
Explains why sometimes they
completely ignored him-
GOSSIPER 2:
Because he didn’t hand in his
paycheque?

GOSSIPER 1:
Exactly!
GOSSIPER 2:
I dunno. It seems like too much
of a complex plan for Tom... plus
that’d be pretty expensive to
keep up.
Door slams shut.

Ace has left.

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 7.

She doesn’t know what to do.

Walking back through the sports hall, she slams the basket
ball hard behind her.

6 INT - HOME/BEDROOM 6
Ace arrives home, slamming her bedroom door shut.

She lies on her bed.

Ace takes out her phone and stares at Tom’s contact. She
presses green.
We hear Lex pick up on the other end.
(She didn’t dial for Tom,
she dialled for Lex.)
THE CAMERA STAYES FOCUED ON ACE.
(There are no cuts to Lex.)

LEX:
Hello my most noble girl. How may
Lexysmexy help you at this fine
hour?

ACE:
(Nervous laugh) Hey... how are
you doing?
LEX:
Oh fantastic. I have just
completed my 5th hour of Chem
revision. Got another 3 hours of
Physics to do now. Whatcha been
up to on a fine day like today?
ACE:
Oh y’know, the usual. Just been
doing some ball practise.
LEX:
Oh yeah, how’s that going?

ACE:
Great thanks... hey look, I just
wanted to ask you something?
LEX:
Sure, go ahead.
ACE:
Okay... so if you heard a rumour
about someone -

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 8.

LEX:
You’ve heard a rumour about me?
ACE:
No! I mean... no, of course not.
Look, this is an entirely
hypothetical situation.
LEX:
Okay...

ACE:
If you heard a rumour that wasn’t
true, but hurt close to home,
would you tell that person?

LEX:
You mean if you told them it
could seriously upset them?
ACE:
Yeah... exactly!
LEX:
Ace, I kinda feel like you have
to tell the person involved. It’s
better that it comes from you
right? rather than the rest of
the school?
---

7 INT - BEDROOM 7
Lex gets up from her bed and slowly opens her drawer. It
is filled with old sheets of paper, little trinkets and
other things she’s stored away over the years.

At first she can’t find what she is looking for. But then,
at the back of the last drawer, she finds it. It’s an
envelope, in very uneven handwriting it is addressed to
’Lex’.
She pulls out a folded letter from the envelope.

Dear Lex,
My name is Tommy, Tom for short. You may have noticed me.
I’m the new boy who sits by the water fountain... alone.
I’m not actually a quiet person, but the people at this
school aren’t very nice. I noticed that you were also
sitting by yourself at break, but when I went over to try
and talk to you, you ignored me. Hey, I’ll leave you alone
if you want, but I just wanted to ask if you wanted to be
friends? I was going to try and talk to you again today,
but mum said it’d be better to write a letter, as to not

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 9.

freak you out, incase you got freaked out like that.
Please come and tell me if you want to hang out. You can
write a letter too if you want. Btw, I love Arrow! Have
you seen it? It’s this new show, it’s so cool! This rich
guy gets stranded on an island and manages to survive, as
well as becoming a super powerful archer!!!
Thanks for reading this,
Tommy.
(The rumour Ace heard is
infant true. Although Lex
doesn’t know for sure this
is what the rumour Ace
mentioned is about, she
considers the possibility
for a moment.)
Lex considers whether the rumour Ace heard was about Tom’s
letter.
After pausing for moment, she shakes her head, folding the
letter back up and placing it back where she found it.
---

8 INT - SCHOOL LOCKER ROOM 8

CUT TO SCHOOL BELL RINGING - LOCKER ROOM.

Ace opens her locker, swapping out books. Lex is at the
locker next to her, doing the same.

ACE:
It happened again last night.
LEX:
So what? People have recurring
dreams all the time.

ACE:
Yes but its continuing-
LEX:
(not making eye contact) Look we
can talk about this at break,
I’ve got a physics mock to cram
for!
ACE:
(Confused - calling after her)
Lex?
TIMELPASE SHOT.
Ace stands still, watching Lex walk away as other sixth
formers move all around her, exciting the locker room.
 10.

---

9 INT - SCHOOL CLASSROOM 9

In lesson everyone is looking at Ace. She is confused. She

puts her hand up.
ACE:
Ms can i go see the nurse...
please?

After considering this for a second, the teacher allows

Ace to leave the class.
Students stare as she walks out.

---

10 INT - SCHOOL COMMON ROOM 10

She waits in the common room. Everyone ignores her. She is

invisible to them.
Tom eventually shows up. He sees that she is waiting for
him and turns to leave.

Ace jumps up from the couch and runs towards him.

She Manages to grab his arm and block the doorway, just
before he makes his exit.
ACE:
Tom, wait. What’s wrong?
TOM:
No Ace. What’s wrong with you!
Ace is taken aback.

TOM:
If you heard a rumour that wasn’t
true, but hurt close to home,
would you tell that person?

ACE:
Lex told you?
TOM:
Why would you tell everyone? What
do you gain from this? What are
you trying to prove?
ACE:
I don’t understand... you know I
didn’t make this up right? I
didn’t do this!

(CONTINUED)
 CONTINUED: 11.

TOM:
(Nervously laughs) Didn’t make
this up? ... Lex says you must
have found it in her drawer when
you stayed over-
ACE:
What are you talking about?
TOM:
Thanks for telling everyone. I
get you’re battling some inner
demons right now, but I am not
one of them.
Tom shoves past Ace. Letting the door swing shut in her
face. Ace slowly turns around. Everyone in the common room
is staring at her.
---

11 INT - HOME / BEDROOM 11

Ace dumps her bag down and runs up to her bedroom. She
slams the door shut behind her, collapsing down on her
bed.
(this is shot for shot to
the scene earlier where she
calls Lex, after initially
hearing the rumour)
Ace dials for Lex.

"We are sorry, but the number you have dialled is out of
reach please tr-"
Ace throws her phone against the wall.

Ace’s Mum calls up from downstairs. (We do not see her.)

MUM:
Sweetie is everything okay?
ACE:
(Tearing up) Everything’s fine
mum ... Everything’s fine.
Ace starts breaking down. Face in pillow.
---
 12.

12 EXT - DESERT 12
Kneeling, Ace manages to unscrew the lid of the bottle.
She shakes the bottle above her mouth, attempting to empty
it. However, there is nothing left. Not even a drop. Ace
throws the bottle away and lowers her head to her knees.
ACE:
What did I do to deserve this?
(Looking up) What could I
possibly have done?
Ace begins to aggressively throw sand around her.
She pauses suddenly. Feeling something... she frantically
begins to dig in front of her.

A slice of pepperoni pizza is revealed from under the

sand.
CUT TO CREDITS.

END.
---