Ace of Spades

By

Isabella Stowers
INT. COLLEGE BUILDING - DAY

The sun is beaming through the windows of the lecture

building. Students are bustling about, talking with one
another while walking. Classes for the year have just
started.

VICKIE is an 18-year-old freshman with frizzy hair and big

green eyes. She has a pair of headphones on with loud rock
music playing. She holds a stack of paper in her hands as she
walks hastily around the building.

VICKIE (V.O)
In most card games, the ace of spades
is the highest point card. The music
industry is like a card game. And like
Motorhead sings about, you've got
everything at stake.

Vickie finds a bulletin board that's covered in flyers for

classes and student organizations and weaves through students
to get to it.

She sets her backpack down below the board. She reaches her
hand into the front pocket, pulling out a box of thumb tacks.
She takes one out, wincing when she accidentally pokes
herself, and pins one of the papers onto the board.

VICKIE (V.O.)
I'm willing to gamble with my chances
at finding some ace of spades around
here for my own band.

She shoves the box of thumb tacks back into her backpack,
swinging it over her shoulder, and grabs her stack. The
poster she pinned says "ROCK BAND AUDITIONS. LOOKING FOR
BASSIST, DRUMMER, AND LEAD SINGER!" Her phone buzzes in her
jean pocket. Vickie's eyes widen when she sees the reminder
that her class is about to start. She runs off into the
crowded halls.

INT. MUSIC ROOM - DAY

MONTAGE

-Vickie sets up a table and chair in a music room she booked

out.

-She calls in the students auditioning one at a time and

readies her notebook and pen.
 2.

-MIA, a 19-year-old dressed in layers of lacey black,

platform boots, and goth makeup auditions for bassist. She
plays confidently but Vickie writes that she cannot keep up
with the fast tempo of her song choice.

-DAYTON, a 20-year-old with the appearance of a frat guy

struts in and flips his hair. Vickie writes down that he's
reminiscent of Morrissey performing but sings decently.

-The last audition is a lanky, pale, 18-year-old college

student, BEN, who walks into the room quietly. He pats his
hands on his cargo shorts awkwardly as he sits on the drum
stool.

-He plays a song that high school marching bands play, but
there are no other drummers who audition.

-MOS, Vickie calls Mia, Dayton, and Ben back in from the hall
and informs them that they are the new band members. She asks
if anyone has a place they can hold band practices at. Ben
raises his hand and offers his house.

MONTAGE ENDS

INT. LIVING ROOM- DAY

Ben sits on his couch with his new drum set. The sleek, red
finish and the brass cymbals shine idly. He glances at his
phone for the time Vickie set for the first band rehearsal.

MONTAGE

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

MUSIC UP: "Children of The Grave" by Black Sabbath

-Two cars slow down and pull into the driveway of Ben's
house. The vehicles park next to each other.

-Vickie opens the door of her black SUV and fans herself in
the heat as Mia exits the passenger side. They unload their
cases and amps from the trunk. Vickie's case has buttons and
badges of rock bands covering it.

-Dayton hops out of his silver car and shoves a cap on

backwards, then pops open a few buttons at the top of his
flannel. He struts to the trunk and grabs all of his mic
equipment.

-The trio lugs their equipment up the driveway and trudge to

the front door. Vickie rings the doorbell and bounces on her
 3.

toes eagerly.

-Dayton groans and starts banging his closed fist on the

door, his knuckles make a rough sound against the dark
stained wood.

-Ben opens the door and lets the band members to walk in.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

-Vickie heads for the outlet on the wall farthest from the
door. She sets up her pedal board. The rig has a row of
scuffed effect pedals, orange, blue, green. She plugs cable
cords in on both sides.

-Ben shuffles out of everyone's way and sits on his stool,

spinning a drumstick in his hand amateurishly, while Dayton
sets up his mic stand.

-Vickie pulls out her red SG from its case and plugs the
second cable into the input jack of the guitar, and it makes
a metallic click sound.

-Mia sets her case on the floor and opens it to reveal a

black Ibanez bass with a bat designed strap.

-Dayton starts doing vocal warmups and the girls tune their
instruments quickly. Vickie plays a loud, fast riff, showing
off her mastered skills.

MONTAGE ENDS

MUSIC ENDS

VICKIE
Ok, this is our first official band
practice! Where do y'all want to
start?

Ben raises his hand awkwardly and flips his hair out of his
face.

BEN
Um, maybe you could lead us and tell
us what to do for now?

Vickie stands tall and squares her shoulders.

VICKIE
I can do that! Why don't we come up
with a band name first? Everyone throw
 4.

out some ideas and we'll vote.

DAYTON
I've always wanted a band called
Occam's Razor, that'd be so dope.

MIA
What? Um, how about Velvet Darkness?
It's dark but sounds cool.

BEN
That sounds a little too gloomy for
me. But I don't have any good ideas,
really...

VICKIE
How about The Wild Cards? We kind of
remind me of a deck of cards, each one
is different but they have their
purpose.

Everyone nods, liking the sound of the name and the meaning.
Dayton groans and shrugs.

DAYTON
I guess I can dig it. I still think
mine was cooler.

VICKIE
Reminder, Dayton, who is leading this
band?

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

The semester is coming to an end. Snow falls and the wind

whistles. The band finishes another practice and packs up
their equipment.

VICKIE
Great practice, everyone! Ben, you've
really picked up on playing rock
quickly. And Mia, nice work on
practicing for faster tempos,

Vickie zips up her guitar case as her phone buzzes on top of

her amp. She opens the notification and gasps.

MIA
Vickie, what's up on your phone?

The guitarist turns around shaking her phone.

 5.

VICKIE
(excitedly)

I think we just got our first gig!

Everyone drops their stuff and crowds around Vickie to see

her phone.

VICKIE
One of the other local bands, The
Dazeys, just DM'd me on Insta and
asked if we'd be interested in opening
at their "End of the Year" house show!

DAYTON
Why'd they DM you? I'm the lead
singer!

VICKIE
Because I'm the one who set up
auditions and put the band together.
I've worked so hard and practiced just
for this!

BEN
(nervously)

So, we're gonna for sure play it?

VICKIE
Of course! This is our chance to get
out there and gain popularity. We need
to plan out our setlist and start
practicing till we're perfect!

Ben walks out of the living room and returns with a notebook
and pen. He sits on his drum stool. Vickie sits on the couch,
Mia sits on her large bass amp, and Dayton stands by his mic
and dances like he's performing at a show.

VICKIE
Ok, what are we thinking we want to
play?

MIA
Let's add some gothic rock, I want to
play something by Siouxsie and the
Banshees!

DAYTON
C'mon, Elvira, I'm not singing that.
 6.

We're gonna play some GNR or Led

Zeppelin because they had cool lead
singers!

Ben writes down the band names Dayton and Mia list. He writes
down some more songs but doesn't speak up yet to suggest
them.

VICKIE
I was thinking less Axl Rose. Add
Barracuda by Heart to the list.

DAYTON
(begrudgingly)

I am NOT singing a bunch of girl

songs! The register is too high for
me.

BEN
Can I add a Beatles or Rolling Stones
song? They have some pretty intense
music, and I can keep up with the
tempo.

VICKIE
You know what, just give me the
notebook, I'm gonna make the list how
I think it should be. I need songs
with good guitar solos!

Vickie stands and holds her hand out. Ben looks back and
forth between Dayton and Mia. The singer throws his hands up
angrily and the bassist shakes her head and sighs. Ben hands
the notebook and pen to Vickie, who plops back onto the
couch.

She scratches out a lot of the ideas, including Ben's extra

options. Vickie scribbles down her own list and slaps the pen
down on the paper.

VICKIE
Done! Everyone take a picture because
you all need to practice. We'll meet
again tomorrow immediately after
classes.

MIA
That's not really fair though...
 7.

VICKIE
What do you mean?

DAYTON
You completely hijacked the list! And
you didn't say you'd practice either.

VICKIE
Yeah, because I formed this band, and
y'alls ideas aren't cutting it. We
need to give it our all if we want to
be rockstars, not just me!

BEN
I don't know if I can keep up. I've
been behind on assignments because you
want us to practice so much.

MIA
Yeah, and I'm not feeling the vibe of
the music, you always shut down my
suggestions even if they're a little
dark!

DAYTON
Kind of sounds like we're breaking up
the band. If so, I will be the first
to walk out! I'm sure I'll find
another band who wants me to sing.

VICKIE
(desperately)

Guys, seriously?! Wait, we're not

splitting up yet. Let's take tomorrow
off and then we can come back and
figure this out. Please?

Everyone nods and packs their equipment and pulls on their

winter coats quickly. Dayton and Mia stomp out the front
door.

Vickie sighs and picks up her case and amp.

VICKIE
(muttering)

I know this rock n' roll stuff can be

difficult, but I think I just screwed
it up.
 8.

She trudges out the front door. Ben sits alone at his drum
set and lazily crashes a cymbal.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

The band walks into Ben's living room and plops down onto the
couch and armchairs. The room is silent except for Vickie's
footsteps as she paces back and forth.

She holds the notebook in one hand, the other scratches her
head. Vickie stops pacing and faces the group.

VICKIE
Look, guys, I'm sorry for trying to
control everything, but I want this to
work out. Even if it's not like I've
always had imagined.

DAYTON
Then what do you suggest we do, your
highness?

VICKIE
I'll compromise. Everyone, write down
2 songs we've already learned and that
you like. We can't change what someone
else writes, this setlist is gonna be
final.

Dayton taps his chin and nods. She hands the notebook to Mia
first. The notebook and pen are passed in a circle and
returns to Vickie. She writes the last 2 songs.

BEN
The list is fixed, but what if this
doesn't work out?

VICKIE
We won't know unless we go out there
and try! I thought of this plan: if
the show is a disaster... then we'll
split up.

MIA
I think that sounds like a good plan.
But I have a feeling we can pull
through.

VICKIE
Then let's polish up these songs and
get ready for the show!
 9.

INT. DIFFERENT HOUSE - NIGHT

The band walks into the house party. Colorful LED lights are
strung up around the house and college students fill every
room and out into the yards, holding cups and mingling.

The four members set their cases and amps down in the living
room. They huddle close together and Vickie yells over the
music playing from speakers.

VICKIE
(encouragingly)

We start at 8 PM, we've got 25 minutes

to set up, get tuned, and kick on the
show. I know y'all are more than
ready. Let's rock this!

MONTAGE

-Ben sets up his drums.

-Mia plugs in her giant amp and tunes her bass.

-Dayton does vocal warmups but gets distracted and mingles

with some of the partygoers asking about the band.

-Vickie sets up her pedal board and tunes her guitar. The
crowd inside the house grows in numbers as students arrive
for the show.

-She checks the time on her phone. It reads 7:58 PM. She
calls Dayton back from talking to some girls at the front of
the crowd and they all get ready to play their set. She
quickly runs to the microphone to introduce the band.

MONTAGE ENDS

VICKIE
Good evening, everyone! We are a new
local band called The Wild Cards! We'd
like to thank The Dazeys for inviting
us out here to play their "End of the
Year" show, and hope y'all are ready
for some hardcore rock and roll!

The crowd cheers, claps and whistles. The LED lights covering
the house glint off of their instruments as they wait for
Vickie's cue to start.

As planned for the new setlist, the band opens the show with
 10.

the song that inspired Vickie and her dream to start the
band: Ace of Spades by Motorhead.

Some guys from the crowd start a small mosh pit and jokingly
shove each other around.

Despite the song's fast tempo, Mia keeps up with her

bassline. Dayton's gritty voice floods throughout the house
and Ben lively hits his drums and cymbals.

The solo begins and the crowd goes wild as Vickie shreds her
guitar and feeds into the party's energy.

The last beats and strums end the song and the scene cuts to
black.

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

The day after the show, The Wild Cards jam out in Ben's
living room.

MUSIC UP: "Live to Win" by Motorhead

MONTAGE - MOS

-Vickie practices scales on her guitar. She speeds up and her

fingers glide up the fretboard and begins playing a random
riff.

VICKIE (V.O.)
Rock n' roll is heavy. Intense.
Exciting. But there's more to it than
being a rockstar and living in the
spotlight.

-Mia is playing a random song and Ben drums along.

-Dayton walks in through the front door and jumps over the
couch, leaning back in his seat and nodding his head and
playing air drums to their jam session.

-Vickie starts playing the chords to the song with Ben and
Mia, completing the ensemble.

VICKIE (V.O.)
I know now that being in a band isn't
about individual talent all the time.
It's about working together to create
music and play the best you can.

-Dayton hops up and joins the band, singing along without his
 11.

microphone.

-Vickie bangs her head to the beat. Her hair flies around her
face. She flips it back and improvises a solo for the song.
The notes are fast and precise.

VICKIE (V.O.)
There's still a long way to go for all
of us, even with our differences, but
we'll stick through it all. Together
we are The Wild Cards!

-Everyone is jumps and jams out on their instruments. Vickie

smiles at her band members.

VICKIE (V.O.)
And I am their Ace of Spades.

MONTAGE ENDS

MUSIC ENDS