NOT SO FAST

By

Andrew Newall

Contact details

Andrew Newall

46 Carrongrange Gardens
Stenhousemuir
Larbert
Stirlingshire
FK5 3DU

newall_andrew@hotmail.com

07825 650456
 1

FADE IN:

EXT. PUB – DAY

FRANK, mid-forties, strides out of the pub.

He gets into his car, parked close by. He turns on the

ignition, checks his mirrors and pulls away out of the
street.

INT. CAR

The speedometer is reading thirty, forty miles an hour.

He changes gear and the foot goes down a little further
on the accelerator, his eyes are focused on the road
ahead.

EXT. FRANK’S CAR ON EXPRESSWAY

Frank’s car drives along an expressway which has a sixty-

mile-an-hour limit.

INT. CAR

Frank’s eyes are set firmly on the road.

The speedometer is now up to fifty and going beyond. It

reaches fifty-five. Frank looks calm and composed.
Speedometer at sixty.

A small girl with long bright blond hair suddenly bolts

straight out from the side of the road only ten, fifteen
feet at the most in front of his car.

He SLAMS on the breaks.

There is a sickening THUD as the car hits the girl.

EXT. CAR

It SCREECHES to a halt.

INT. CAR

Frank quickly pulls into the roadside; his face is

shaking with fear.
 2

ROADSIDE

He gets out of the car and unsteadily walks near to where

the girl lies but does not go close, reeling at the sheer
horror of what has just happened.

ROADSIDE – LATER

Frank is breathalysed in the back of a police car.

INT. POLICE STATION, INTERVIEW ROOM – LATER

Frank sits at a table, opposite a uniformed officer. He

is clearly upset, relating his version of the story.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

EXT. ROADSIDE – DAY (DREAM SEQUENCE)

Frank’s car sits at the side of the road. As before, he

gets out, a look of horror and disbelief on his face.
This time, he walks over to where the girl lies.

The body of the girl lies still, lifeless, as Frank gets

closer. Her head is turned to the side and her blond hair
covers her face. He bends down to look, afraid to touch
her.

She turns her head to look at him, her face still

partially obscured by her hair, and she starts to sit up.
Frank lifts her and carries her to the side of the road.
They look at each other for a few seconds and she runs
off.

He stands up with a look of relief, watching the girl run

off, before turning to head back to his car but he stops
suddenly.

The girl still lies on the ground.

INT. FRANK’S HOUSE – NIGHT

He awakens suddenly from his sleep.

 3

EXT. FRANK’S HOUSE, CAR IN DRIVEWAY – NEXT DAY

A radio is heard. A discussion on the possible

consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol.

INT. CAR

Frank turns the radio off. Sitting in the car, he has no

intentions of driving anywhere but his hands move lightly
around the wheel, trying to regain some confidence to
drive.

INT. PUB – AFTERNOON, SAME DAY

Three women sit at a table, talking about the girl who

was hit.

1ST WOMAN
It’s that girl’s funeral tomorrow.

2ND WOMAN
I still can’t get over that
happening.

1ST WOMAN
I know. It’s tragic.

3RD WOMAN
It’s a dangerous road.

2ND WOMAN
It’s not the road, it’s the drivers.

1ST WOMAN
Has there been any more said about
him? Has he been charged or anything?

2ND WOMAN
He will be. He’d been drinking.

3RD WOMAN
He’d been drinking?

2ND WOMAN
Yeah, he’d been in here before it
happened. I was here. I saw him.

1st woman shakes her head in disgust.

 4

INT. FRANK’S HOUSE, KITCHEN – SAME DAY

Frank prepares coffee for himself and ROSE, his sister.

Rose is a part-time spiritualist, full-time eccentric and
extremely supportive of her younger brother.

ROSE
First thing you should’ve done
when you got your car back was get
in it and go for a drive.

FRANK
I know. I will.

ROSE
Frank, the longer you leave it,
the harder it’s going to be.

She takes milk out of the fridge and leaves it on the

worktop for him. She looks in cupboards.

ROSE
Not even a biscuit for your sister?

FRANK
I’ve not been out for a while.

She goes into the living room while Frank stirs the
coffee. In the b.g. Rose straightens up the cushions on
the sofa.

ROSE
So what’s stopping you going out?

He doesn’t reply.

ROSE
I don’t know why you’re hiding
away.

He takes the cups off the worktop and turns to carry them
in. In the b.g. a small girl with bright blond hair
partially covering her face looks through the window of
the patio doors.

The figure of the girl catches his eye. He turns and

looks, but catches only a swish of blond as the girl
turns away quickly and runs out of sight.
 5

LIVING ROOM – A FEW MINUTES LATER

Frank and his sister sit with their drinks.

ROSE
You can’t stay in the house all
the time.

FRANK
I know.

ROSE
You keep saying that.

FRANK
I’m not ready just now Rose.

ROSE
What did the therapist say?

FRANK
I know what she said.

ROSE
She said to try and get yourself
back into a routine sooner
instead of later, didn’t she?

FRANK
It’s just that I know the fingers
are pointing, I know what people
are saying.

ROSE
To hell with what they’re saying.
What do they know? Nobody knows
What you’re going through.

INT. PUB – SAME DAY

The three women at the table.

1ST WOMAN (to 3rd woman)

You know him, don’t you? The guy
who was driving.

3RD WOMAN
I know his sister. She said he’s
totally distraught.
 6

2ND WOMAN
I’m sure it’s nothing compared to
how the girl’s parents are feeling.

INT. FRANK’S HOUSE

Frank and Rose talk.

FRANK
I still see her.

ROSE
But the doctor said that would
happen.

FRANK
It’s not just the dream any more.
She’s standing in front of me when
I’m wide awake. I could reach out
and touch her.

ROSE
How often is it happening?

FRANK
Just sometimes.

ROSE
She’s maybe trying to tell you
something.

INT. PUB

The women continue their discussion.

2ND WOMAN
I’m sorry, I just don’t have any
sympathy at all. Not when it comes
to drink-driving.

3RD WOMAN
Do you know what he was drinking?

2ND WOMAN
I don’t have a clue. It doesn’t
matter anyway. They were in here
celebrating something. He was
in with some pals.
 7

3RD WOMAN
Yeah he got promoted at work.

2ND WOMAN
There you go. That’s why they were
celebrating. If you’re going to
drink, don’t take the car. Simple
as that.

1ST WOMAN
That’s right.

INT. FRANK’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM – SAME TIME.

Frank and Rose.

ROSE
Okay, I’m ready to go home and you
need to get some shopping so let’s
go.

FRANK
I’m fine just now, I’ll go later.

ROSE
Well would you mind dropping me
off?

FRANK
Dropping you off?

ROSE
Dropping me off back home, yes.
If you don’t mind.

FRANK
Did you walk over?

ROSE
Yes, and I really can’t be
bothered walking back.

Frank is apprehensive.

ROSE
Come on, you’ll be fine.
 8

EXT. ROAD – LATER

A woman and her young son come to the edge of the

pavement of a fairly quiet road. The boy starts to run on
to the road but his Mother grabs him and instructs him to
stay.

MOTHER
(sternly)
Look both ways!

They look in one direction, then the other, then back.

MOTHER
Now you can go.

They walk quickly across the road. As they reach the

other side safely, Frank’s car comes into view.

INT. CAR

Frank drives cautiously.

ROSE
Why don’t you go see Mum tonight?

FRANK
Is her TV still on the blink?

ROSE
No it’s fixed. TV guy sorted it.
I tried to fix it and made it ten
times worse.

He manages a smile.

FRANK
You were never very technical.

Frank concentrates on the road, listening to his sister.

Her voice relaxes him a little as she talks on.

ROSE
I know, so we called out the TV
guy and he went up on the roof. It
turned out there was a problem with
the aerial and we couldn’t have
fixed it anyway.
 9

Something catches Frank’s eye. The girl again. She stands

on the pavement, looking away.

ROSE (O.S.)
So I felt a bit better when the
guy said I couldn’t have done
anything.

She then looks quickly at Frank. Rose’s voice becomes

more distant. The girl runs off out of sight.
He snaps out of his reverie quickly, his attention
returning to the road ahead.

ROSE
You alright?

He nods.

INT. PUB – SAME TIME

Three women at the table continue their conversation.

3RD WOMAN
But he got his car back.

1ST WOMAN
What do you mean?

3RD WOMAN
Everything must have been alright
or he wouldn’t have got it back.

1ST WOMAN
Maybe he was borderline.

2ND WOMAN
You’re not in full control when
you’ve got any alcohol in your
system at all.

3RD WOMAN
But he doesn’t drink.

EXT. ROAD

Frank’s car passes on his way back from dropping Rose at

home.
 10

INT. CAR

Frank drives on his own, eyes fully focussed on the road.

Through the windscreen ahead, a jogger is seen running on
the pavement at the same side as Frank’s car, which gets
closer.

EXT. ROAD, PAVEMENT.

The Jogger quickly glances behind to check for traffic

but starts running on to the road at the same time.

INT. CAR

Frank slams on the breaks just in time, avoiding hitting

the jogger, who apologises before going on his way. He
pulls into a layby to compose himself. A wooded area is
beside him.

Resting his head back on his seat, he closes his eyes,

contemplating the rest of the drive home. When he opens
them, he sees the girl with the blond hair standing a few
feet away beside some bushes.

Frank stares at her. This time, she stays.

EXT. CAR

He opens his door slowly and gets out, not taking his
eyes from her. He starts walking towards her.

She waits until he is a few steps closer before running

off into the wooded area.

Frank follows. He has seen her many times but this time
seems different. He runs after her through the wooded
area, determined to catch up. Although small, she manages
to keep her distance from him.

The running continues, the girl easily dodging branches

as she crosses over rough grass. Frank gets nearer. Her
bright blond hair flows behind her, teasingly out of
reach.
 11

EXT. EXPRESSWAY

The same expressway where the incident happened. It’s not

exceptionally busy, but the cars drive at high speed.

2ND WOMAN (V.O.)

Whether he was drinking or not,
cars go flying along that road.

3RD WOMAN (V.O.)

They go flying but it’s a sixty
mile limit.

2ND WOMAN (V.O.)

He was probably texting.

3RD WOMAN (V.O.)

You can’t just assume things
like that.

2ND WOMAN (V.O.)

No way they’re all going at
sixty. They’re always getting
pulled over for speeding on that
road.

Frank still runs after the girl. She finds her way to a
clearing and a trail. Frank knows the expressway lies
behind a row of bushes up at the end of the trail.

FRANK
Wait a minute! Be careful there!

3RD WOMAN (V.O.)

Yeah but people run across it
instead of using the underpass.
I’ve seen kids running across it.

The girl runs towards a gap in the bushes where the

expressway can be seen. She runs straight through the gap
and onto the road, with Frank only a few feet behind her.

He yells as she runs on to the road. He doesn’t stop for

thought, running blindly on to the road after her.

SCREECHING of tyres and a BLARING car horn make him jump

back and fall on to the grass at the side of the road. An
angry driver shouts abuse as he picks up speed again and
drives off.

Frank sits on the grass, staring at the other side.

 12

The girl stands on the opposite side looking over at

Frank. Some of her hair still hangs over her face.

He doesn’t move but looks at her closely.

3RD WOMAN (V.O.)

Even if you were doing under
sixty, what chance have you got
if somebody runs out in front of
you?

A SERIES OF FLASHBACKS INTERCUT WITH FRANK ON THE

ROADSIDE.

INT. FRANK’S HOUSE (FLASHBACK)

The girl looks through the window of the patio doors at

Frank as he lifts the coffee from the worktop.

ROSE (V.O.)
Don’t know why you’re hiding away.

INT. CAR (FLASHBACK)

Frank and his sister.

ROSE
...turned out that there was a
problem with the aerial and we
couldn’t have fixed it anyway.

The girl on the pavement.

ROSE
I felt a bit better when the guy
said I couldn’t have done
anything.

The girl looks quickly in Frank’s direction then hurries

off out of sight.

EXT. ROADSIDE – PRESENT

ROSE (V.O.)
She’s maybe trying to tell you
something.
 13

Frank watches the girl looking over at him from across

the road. A slight wind picks up and gently blows on her
hair, revealing a smiling face, content knowing that she
has successfully passed on her message and started him on
the slow road to healing.

A truck passes, blocking his view of her. When it has

passed, the girl is gone.

FADE OUT: