INT. ELLIOT'S ROOM A fly cleans itself on the window sill. A fly flies by outside.

The indoor fly crawls up the window, buzzing as it tries to fly through. Elliot's eyes open. The alarmclock-radio goes off. INT. ELLIOT'S STUDY Elliot is working in front of his typewriter, reading his words as they print. I awoke to buzzing at three days entered my ELLIOT the familiar sound of my window. It's been since the housefly home.

Elliot sips tea from his coffee mug. He reads as he types. ELLIOT I've grown to admire the housefly and its perseverance to survive. ItElliot stops to think. ELLIOT It...it...It needs a name. Elliot reclines in his seat, picks up a pencil, and begins to chew on the eraser. Elliot. INT. ELLIOT'S WORKPLACE Elliot is standing by the cooler talking to co-workers, Jim and Morey. JIM Elliot, you're being crazy. I don't care about your home infestation, just kill the damn fly. ELLIOT Can't you see it's more than just a fly? It's a metaphor for our lives! MOREY Elliot, kill the damn bug. INT. ELLIOT'S HOME ELLIOT

Elliot enters the home and closes the door. Elliot the fly flies by. ELLIOT Hello Elliot. Elliot drops his suitcase by the kitchen, loosens his tie and sits in front of his T.V. ELLIOT At least you don't think I'm crazy, do you? Of course not, you're a fly. You don't think such trivial things. Elliot flips through the channels. ELLIOT Rubbish. Nothing. Again. I swear Elliot, this thing's as much of a waste of space as it is a waste of time. Elliot walks towards his study and works on his manuscript. ELLIOT No one understood the fly, or why it pressed on so strongly. It's desire to live was like that of a plant, trapped in the shade without water. It simply wished to live, to survive, through the harshness of it's world. There was no solemness in it's lonity. Elliot pauses, then backspaces. ELLIOT Lonity, that's not a word. It's isolation felt no solemn, but rather dignified a quintessence of tranquility. The fly embraced it's world calmly, collectively, but most importantly, at it's own pace. INT. ELLIOT'S HOME - FLASH BACK Elliot enters his house, arms full of grocery bags. A fly swoops in as the door closes. ELLIOT (voice) I imagine it happened as I returned home from Cost-mart. Arms full, the doors took an extra, and this is

only an estimation, 1.2 seconds longer to close than usual. In fly time, this can be equivalent to minutes, even hours, maybe. Elliot divides his groceries by food group on the table. He puts away the dairy first. ELLIOT (voice) As I placed the Milk in the fridge, I heard- No, felt a buzz by my neck. Elliot turns around, spilling some milk. ELLIOT Who's there!? ELLIOT (voice) No one. I went back to putting things away, yogurt I believe. And as I turned around, eager to put away my freshly picked red peppers, for I do my produce shopping at a local farmer's marketElliot spins around. AH HA! ELLIOT (voice) I saw him. Elliot drops his groceries and lunges at the fly full force. He grabs at the air twice before grabbing his spatula. Elliot swats at the air furiously, stopping shy of paintings and fragile objects. The fly escapes. INT. BOWLING ALLEY Elliot is bowling with Jim and Morey. He chews on the eraser after penciling a score and waits. MOREY So Elliot, how's the new roommate? Hmm? MOREY You know, the fly. ELLIOT ELLIOT

ELLIOT Oh, Elliot? He's doing fine. Why do you ask? Jim bowls a strike and walks back. MOREY Good God Elliot, don't tell me you named the damn thing. JIM Named what, Morey? MOREY Elliot named the damn fly he's been keeping cooped in his house. JIM Dammit it Elliot, just kill the stupid thing or let it out of your home. MOREY Worse than that Jim, you'll never guess what name he chose. JIM Don't tell me you named if after Holly. Jim! MOREY He named it Elliot. JIM Elliot? You named it Elliot? Buddy, I'm sorry but I'm seriously starting to question your grip on reality. I know this great shrink, I mean psychiatristElliot gets up to leave. ELLIOT You just don't get it. MOREY What's not to get? You're a little lonely after Holly's breaking up with you, so you latch onto whatever you can get. It's called a rebound Elliot. Just most people stick to ELLIOT

humans. Elliot walks away. JIM Hey, where do you think you're going? We've got a game to finish here. ELLIOT Oh calm down Jim, I'm just getting a soda. JIM A beer is what he needs. MOREY Not to mention a good lay. INT. ELLIOT'S STUDY Elliot is typing away. ELLIOT They mocked the fly constantly. They didn't understand him, how could they? Caught up in their busy lives of eating shit and flying into windows. No, Elliot was different. His eyes were open. He'd faced death before, straight in the face. Such a thing would change any man, let alone a fly. INT. ELLIOT'S STUDY - FLASHBACK Elliot sits in front of his typewriter, chewing his pencil. The page is blank. The fly enters the room and hovers around. ELLIOT It's been months, MONTHS! Where have all my ideas gone. I've checked the index cards, I've checked my notes...Hell, I've re-read my entire Shakespeare collection and nothing! Nothing I do comes out original, everything's a carbon copy or alternate version of something else. And to make matters worse, I've got this damn insect hovering around myElliot reaches out and grabs the fly.

-head. Elliot stares at his hand. He brings it to his face and opens his hand slowly. The fly sits in his palm, cleaning itself. Fly... INT. ELLIOT'S ROOM Elliot is on the phone, staring at the fly in his room. ELLIOT No ma, she hasn't called back. No, I don't expect her to any time soon. Because we broke up! She ended it, not me. Obviously I didn't want it to end. I did do all I could do. Well yea, I guess it wasn't enough. Who's side on you on anyways? Yes, I know you liked her. Yes, I understand you want kids- No I am not trying to break your poor little heart. I-I-I know you have a condition mom...yes, yes, time is ticking away, it's happening to us all. Yes. I'll miss you when you're dead, I get it. Very well. Talk to you again next Tuesday. K. Bye. Elliot hangs up the phone. Fuck. Elliot leans forward, eyes fixed on the fly. ELLIOT You...you don't have to deal with any of this. And still, you live in this world. What makes your reality any different from mine? Maybe it's the outside forces we're subject to. I envy you, little fly. Elliot extends his index finger and tries to pet the fly. It flies away. INT. ELLIOT'S WORKPLACE Jim and Morey are gathered around the water cooler. ELLIOT ELLIOT

ELLIOT

JIM I'm telling you man, we have to do something. We owe it to him, as his friends. MOREY Are we really his friends though? Shh shh..here he comes. Hey buddy, how's it going. Elliot pulls a cup out of the cooler and fills it up. MOREY Cold shoulder unh? No worries. How's the larva report coming along? Elliot turns around. What? MOREY The Larson report, Mr. Morrison sent out the memo this morning, said we've got to get our paperwork done by close. ELLIOT Oh right, yea...I got the memo. Already e-mailed him the draft. JIM Hey, you feeling alright Elliot? You look a lil flea-ish. What? JIM Squeamish Elliot, you don't look so good. If you're done your part on the report I think you may wanna check out early and get some rest. ELLIOT Huh? Yea...no, what? I mean...uh...yea... Elliot turns around and heads back to his desk. JIM Seriously man, I'm starting to worry about him. ELLIOT ELLIOT

MOREY I don't blame you, guys a nut. EXT. ELLIOT'S HOME Elliot opens his door and sees a swarm of flies inside his home. ELLIOT JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! Elliot kicks off his shoes and drops to the floor. He army crawls into the kitchen and grabs a spatula. He hacks away at all the flies until there's one left. ELLIOT Elliot! How could you do this to me? I though we were friends...I...I...gave you a chance and you used me. You took me and my offerings for granted. How long was this going on, was this your plan all along? To coerce me into letting you stay and live, only so you could invite all your friends over while I was out? How could you? HOW COULD YOU!? Another fly enters the room. Elliot spins around and backhands it to the ground. He turns around, facing Elliot the fly. ELLIOT IS THIS EVEN YOU? Elliot raises his hand and smacks down on the fly. His eyes widen and swell up. He turns his hand over and sees the gooey, twitching remains of his comrade. ELLIOT Elliot, I'm...I'm... Elliot begins sobbing. INT. ELLIOT'S WORKPLACE Elliot works quietly at his desk. Jim walks by, turns around and stops next to Elliot. JIM Hey buddy, how's everything? ELLIOT Ok I guess.

JIM That's good. And Elliot, he doing ok? He's gone. JIM Finally flew out the window,eh? ELLIOT He's dead, Jim. JIM Oh. Well, you know what they say...average lifespan of a house fly is what, thirty days? They're pretty low on the food chain, somethings bound to happen sooner or later. Elliot stares out the window, and sees a fly on the outer sill. ELLIOT Hey Jim, you think you might wanna grab a beer after work? Jim shoots Elliot a wink and a thumb's up. JIM Sounds like a plan, man. INT. ELLIOT'S HOME Elliot arrives home, shirt and tie loosened. He pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He sits in front of his typewriter and drops the paper on his desk. He looks at the number written on it, then back at his typewriter. He begins to read as he types. ELLIOT Housefly: Memoirs of a Roommate. ELLIOT