Usual Haunts

By
Jess Lyons

21 Orlagh Wood
Knocklyon
Dublin 16
jlyons1999@gmail.com
0851531643
INT. CIARA’S FLAT - EVENING
CIARA, 22, paces back and forth around the tiny flat,
turning abruptly and frequently, as if the mere lack of
space to walk is winding her up further. She sports fluffy
pyjamas and a ragged dressing gown. She is on a phone call.
CIARA
No Mam! I’m not texting him!
(PAUSE)
I don’t care how nicely Siobhan
asked, I haven’t seen or even
spoken to him in four years!
(PAUSE)
He doesn’t know anyone else in
Dublin? I find that hard to believe
we’d been getting the train up
since we were 16.
Ciara stops pacing. She looks to her wall. On it hangs a
collage of photos in a frame, with ceramic letters spelling
’HOME’ on top. She walks over and pulls something out from
behind the frame. It is a Congratulations card. Tiny
sentences of well wishes are sprawled across the inside of
the card. Her attention is drawn to one.
’Don’t forget about us, Sean x’
CIARA’S MOTHER (O.S.)
Ciara? Ciara? Are you still there?
CIARA
What? Oh sorry yeah Mam, look I’ll
text him now. Talk to you later I
love you.
Ciara hangs up the phone. sits down on her ragged couch. She
takes a deep breath.
She opens her Message App and presses the new text button.
She types Sean into the contact bar.
She pauses for a moment, then locks her phone.

INT. CIARA’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Ciara sits on her bed glaring intensely at her phone. Her

flatmate SOPHIE sits, legs crossed, at the bottom of the
bed.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.

CIARA
Okay so what if I say
(Reading from her phone)
Hey Sean, long time no see haha, my
mam heard from your mam that you’re
moving up to Dublin for work. If
you want to catch up maybe we could
grab food or a drink or something
no worries if you’re busy though.
SOPHIE
Nah nah way too long-winded, just
say welcome to the pale, drink
sometime?
CIARA
Sophie...

SOPHIE
What? I’m serious. I’m just going
off what I know. Why have you never
mentioned him before?

CIARA
(speaking slowly, staring into
the distance)
We were in the same friend group
back home in Tullamore. Inseparable
the whole way through school. When
we got to 6th year I guess things
just changed? I turned 18 late in
the year and Sean could use his
brother’s ID to get into The
Palace. He started going out, and
meeting girls, and I guess he just
forgot how to be a friend. He
started dating another girl in the
group, Orla, after the leaving
cert, and went MIA. When I found
out I got into college up here I
just gave up trying.
Sophie opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted.
BEEP.

CIARA
Aw feck he’s after texting me.
 3.

INT. CIARA’S BEDROOM - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

Ciara sits in a dark room. The only illumination is her
phone screen shining on her face. Her phone buzzes and a
gentle smile blossoms.

SOPHIE (O.S.)
(Yelling from the next room)
CIARA I SWEAR IF THAT PHONE BEEPS
ONE MORE FUCKING TIME.. IT’S THREE
IN THE MORNING.

Ciara locks her phone and places it on her bedside locker.

She smiles to herself again.

INT. CIARA’S FLAT - MORNING

Ciara and Sophie sit at the kitchen table drinking tea and
eating toast.
SOPHIE
I’ve a 9am lecture, the suss about
whoever you were texting all night
better, at least, be worth the
sleep I missed.
CIARA
Nothing juicy unfortunately, just
Sean.
(trying to conceal a smile)
By the way, I’ll be home late
tonight.

SOPHIE
On a completely unrelated note?
CIARA
Oh, you know it.

The two girls laugh.

CIARA
Nah, I’m only kidding. It’ll be
nice to see him but he’s just a
friend. He’s always just been a
friend.
 4.

INT. CIARA’S FLAT - NIGHT

Ciara creeps into the flat. SEAN, follows behind her. She
apprehensively closes the door, trying to be as quiet as
possible.

CIARA
(Whispering)
Ehh, I’ll be back in one sec, make
yourself comfortable.

Sean shoots her a smile and sits on the couch. Ciara walks
into her bedroom.

INT. CIARA’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Ciara sneaks into her room, it is pitch black, she turns

around to see Sophie in her bed, illuminated only by the
light on her phone screen.
CIARA
(Whispering)
Sophie! What the fuck are you doing
in my room?
SOPHIE
Ah you’re home! How was it? Tell me
everything!

CIARA
He’s in the flat! Shut up!
SOPHIE
(sniggering)
Oh so it went well then?
CIARA
No! It was so awkward the whole
time and then I didn’t know how to
leave it and I didn’t want to just
go and I was trying to be polite
asking him if he wanted to come for
a drink here and then he said yes
and now we’re here.

SOPHIE
Wait? What do you mean it’s
awkward? You’ve been chatting away
all week.
Ciara sits on the end of the bed.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.

CIARA
I don’t know, it feels like I’m on
a first date or a job interview or
something. We’ve just been catching
up about the last few years and
haven’t actually talked about
anything important or what happened
between us y’know? We were friends
for years and I can barely even
crack a joke.

SOPHIE
(Getting out of the bed)
Right, look let’s have a quick
drink, the three of us, and then
I’ll pull some excuse about college
in the morning and get him out of
here.
Ciara nods in agreement and sighs in relief.
The two girls head out back out of the room.

INT. CIARA’S FLAT - NIGHT

Ciara walks into the room staring at her feet and takes a
seat on the chair next to the couch Sean is on. Sophie walks
in and stands in front of both of them.

SOPHIE
Sean, is it? Hi, I’m Sophie, I
assume you’ve heard tonnes about
me. Hopefully all good.
(glances at Ciara)
Anyways, can’t pass up a sesh. Some
say it’s a problem, I say it’s
opportunistic. Where’s that bottle
of Jager Ciara?

CIARA
(Sarcastically)
But Sophie! I Thought we were
saving that for Christmas!
SOPHIE
Ah, we said special occasion of any
description.
CIARA
Under the sink.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.

SOPHIE
Thankin’ you.
Ciara and Sean smile at each other as Sophie goes to
retrieve the Jager.

SOPHIE
Double vodka jager bombs all round
yeah?
CIARA
(jokingly angry tone)
Sophie!
All three laugh.

INT. CIARA’S FLAT - NIGHT - LATER

The table is covered in empty glasses. The three sit next to
each other on the couch giggling.
SOPHIE
(Standing up)
Right lads, it is currently 4:47am
and I would like to thank you both
for ruining any chance of me
retaining any information in my 9am
lecture tomorrow. Sean, it was nice
to meet you, Ciara, I hate you,
night.
SEAN
Night Sophie, nice to meet you too.

Ciara mouths ’Thank you’ to Sophie. Sophie smiles back at

her and heads into her bedroom.
SEAN
God, she’s a space cadet isn’t she?

CIARA
Yeah, she’s a scream haha.
The two sit awkwardly in silence for a few moments.

SEAN
Ciara?
CIARA
Yeah?

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.

SEAN
Why did you stop coming home?
Ciara takes a deep breath and stares in reflection.
CIARA
I don’t know, guess I was just real
busy with college and stuff and my
parents don’t mind coming up here
to see me. Mam gets a snoop in
Arnotts and saves me the train
fare.
SEAN
Right.. I’m sorry I was such a shit
friend to you in sixth year and
when you used to come back down.

CIARA
No, no, it’s fine, I think we were
both just doing our own thing.
SEAN
Yeah.
I wish things had’ve worked out
differently. It’s a shame we didn’t
speak.

CIARA
Well... I guess we can make up for
lost time now.
SEAN
It’s late, I should probably head
home.
CIARA
Yeah.

Sean gets up and begins to walk towards the door.

CIARA
Wait.. We’re never gonna move past
this unless.. Sean I stopped coming
home because I didn’t want to see
you.
Sean stops walking and turns back around.
CIARA
You were my best friend, when we
stopped talking it broke my heart.
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.

CIARA (cont’d)
I just wanted to forget about it. I
came up here and it was like I
built a wall, and I’d go home and
walk past your usual haunts, Joe
Lee’s, that shitty playground, the
old quarry, and the wall came
crumbling down. My trips home got
fewer and farther inbetween and the
wall got higher and higher but it
still fell back down everytime. I
couldn’t do it anymore.
Sean’s face drops, he sits back down, looking in deep
thought. He scratches his head.
SEAN
Ciara, I don’t know what to say,
other than I’m sorry. I was a
stupid kid.
I thought about you everyday. When
I used to hear from the gang that
you were home, I’d go for strolls
around the town hoping I’d bump
into you and I could fix things or
even just apologise.

I really want you in my life.

CIARA
Me too.
SEAN
So, how’s that wall you’ve been
building these days then?
CIARA
Rock solid.

They shoot each other a bittersweet smile.