FADE
IN
INT.
BEDROOM - APARTMENT - LONDON - MORNING
A
cheap, simple apartment close to the city. ANDREA SUMMERS, mid 20s,
wakes reluctantly to the SOUND of her alarm clock. The time, 6:00.
She stares at the ceiling for a while before forcing herself out of
bed and heading into the bathroom.
INT.
KITCHEN
ANDREA
pours milk into her bowl of cereal. With a spoonful, she puts it to
her mouth. She grimaces. The milks cold. Throwing the cereal into
the bin, she curses. Picking up her flask and her briefcase, she
heads for the door.
The
SOUND of the rain greets her before she opens the door. Hastily, she
puts on her coat, covers her head with her hood and makes her way to
work.
INT.
PLATFORM - SUBWAY - MORNING
ANDREA
holds her briefcase close to her chest as she waits for the train,
her free hand in her pocket, a constant reminder that her phone and
house keys are there. The platform is crowded.
ANNOUNCER
The
train approaching Platform 1, is the 06:30 train to Westminster.
At
the train's arrival, the crowd becomes rowdy as people try to secure
themselves a seat on the train. ANDREA doesn't bother to fight her
way through the crowd, instead when she gets on, she stands in the
gangway.
Among
the crowd, ANDREA's eyes catches the attention of an elegant
BUSINESSWOMAN in her mid 30s. She walks with a powerful stride in her
step as she makes her way pass the passengers before claiming her
reserved seat.
When
the BUSINESSWOMAN catches ANDREA staring, ANDREA quickly refrains and
focuses her attention to the window opposite her as the train begins
to move.
EXT.
FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES HQ - WESTMINSTER - MORNING
A
neo-futurism inspired office building towers among the city, the
famed prize of Futurism Technologies.
A
man-made Babel. ANDREA finds herself staring in awe at it's
structure, despite how many times she's seen it.
The
HONK of a CAR snaps ANDREA back to reality. Embarrassed she apologies
as she moves out of the way. As a line of expensive cars parades pass
her, a dim hunger grows in her eyes but it fades as soon as it
appears.
INT.
ELEVATOR - FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES HQ - MORNING
ANDREA
presses the button for the 5th floor. As the elevator door closes,
ANDREA immerses herself in the silence. Her eyes are closed. The
SOUND of her rapid heartbeat decreases. She's at peace for a brief
moment.
Then
the elevator doors open and a BURST of SOUND floods into ANDREA's
ears. With a deep breath, she makes her way through the office.
MAN
#1
(giving
her a pile of paper)
Get
this to Mark would you.
ANDREA
takes it with a fake smile and moves on.
WOMAN
#1
(placing
a bulky folder on top of ANDREA's pile of papers)
Could
you look over this for me? I'd hate to show the boss, anything that
had any errors in it. You know how she is.
ANDREA
I'll
look over it tonight.
Just
as ANDREA was about to move passed her, she grabs her arm
WOMAN
#1
Today.
ANDREA
Okay.
(beat)
I'll
look at it in my break.
WOMAN
#1
(with
a sly smile)
Thanks.
INT.
CANTEEN - FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES - LATER
ANDREA
sits alone in the buzzing canteen, the sound of colleagues gossiping
and bragging about the money they made in the year clashing against
her ears. She's barely touched her food - a tuna and sweetcorn
sandwich - her focus is on the folder MARIA gave her earlier.
The
folder consists of ideas for a VR phone that is implanted in the
user's skin and has a virtual interface. ANDREA flicks through it
uninterested. Then her eyes catch the spine of a folder in her
briefcase. It's labelled, 'ANDREA'S PITCH IDEA'. Suddenly her eyes
fills with hope but it disappears as soon as it appears.
ANDREA
(as
she gathers her things)
Don't
fool yourself, Andrea.
INT.
MEETING ROOM - FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES - DAY
The
room fills with employees eager to impress the boss, ANDREA joins
them. Just as she takes her seat, MARIA appears behind her, impatient
to hear the feedback on her pitch idea.
MARIA
Did
you look at it?
ANDREA
Yes.
MARIA
So?
ANDREA
(handing
her the folder)
I
loved it! It's a very intriguing idea. I'm sure she'll love it.
MARIA
You're
damn right she will.
(snatching
the folder)
And
don't you go about getting any ideas. This is mypitch.
So just sit there like a good little girl and keep quiet like you
always do.
ANDREA
nods with a small smile as MARIA takes her seat opposite her. MARIA's
feral eyes glaring at her as she cowers into silence. But when an
older woman in her early 40s walks in, her menacing behaviour turns
dramatic.
LAURAINE
WILLIAMS, the CEO of FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES was dressed in a golden,
velvet suit and her short hair was slicked back. Everyone stood to
their feet upon her entry. Even when she took her seat at the head of
the table, which too was majestic as well as her, no one sat down.
LAURAINE
You
may be seated.
In
unison, everyone took their seats as ordered.
GREGORY
SIMPSON, operations manager of Futurism Technologies, dressed in a
tailored suit, spoke first.
GREGORY
Just
as you asked last week, my team and I have come up with various ideas
of products that we could produce-
LAURAINE
Get
on with it Gregory.
GREGORY
Yes,
yes, of course, ma'am.
Eyeing
his employees he nods to MARIA to start first, who almost jumps out
of her seat at the opportunity.
An
interface appears on the glass surface of the table as she stands.
She swipes a holographic presentation onto the screen at the back of
the room.
MARIA
With
technology becoming much more advance, consumers are growing tired of
their old smartphones - they want something hi-tech but not too
difficult and simple to access.
MARIA
swipes the next slide of the presentation onto the screen, showing a
draft model of her proposed idea. It's a small micro-chip.
MARIA (CONT'D)
I
give you the future of mobile communication-
LAURAINE
(typing
away at her phone)
Next.
MARIA
is in utter shock at LAURAINE's dismissal.
MARIA
But-
With
a single glare that encompassed the wrath of God, LAURAINE silences
MARIA, who sits embarrassed in her seat. ANDREA tries to hide her
smirk but MARIA catches her, though she's too humiliated to confront
her about it.
In
the silence, LAURAINE peers up from her phone and scans the
frightened faces in the room.
LAURAINE
Is
that all?
Immediately,
the room erupts with a chrous of voices trying to pitch their ideas,
hoping to be more successful than MARIA. Among the chaos, ANDREA eyes
the spine of her folder. The SOUND of her HEARTBEAT bangs like a drum
against her ears as the room fades the black.
INT.
ANDREA'S MIND.
INT.
BASEMENT - NIGHT
A
faulty light bulb dimly lights up the dark room, but the glass chess
board on the metal table is clear under the pillar of light.
ANDI
(V.O.)
You're
not seriously thinking of pitching your idea, are you?
ANDREA
nervously moves a pawn one square forward. Her chess pieces are
white.
ANDREA
(beat)
Maybe.
A
gloved hand immediately moves a pawn two squares forward. The chess
piece is black.
ANDI
(V.O.)
And
what makes you think this time will be any different?
ANDREA
looks up at ANDI, who exchanges a mocking stare. Unlike ANDREA, ANDI
was casually dressed, her hair was wild and the bags under her eyes
looked worse under the harsh light. But ANDI was her. A reflection of
her worst trait.
ANDREA
I
said maybe.
ANDREA
moves another pawn one square forward.
ANDI
I'm
only saying this because I'm trying to help you.
ANDI
confidently moves her knight forward to the left.
ANDI (CONT'D)
I
don't want you to make an embarrassment of yourself.
ANDREA
(laughs)
Help
me? You've been nothing but a pain in my side!
ANDI
(with
a finger to her lips)
Hush,
darling. It's your turn.
ANDREA
takes a deep breath before moving the first pawn she moved forward,
one square. ANDI tuts disapprovingly at her decision before using her
knight to capture her piece.
The
light bulb above them flickers frantically. The flashes of darkness
making ANDI appear more menacing. Then it becomes stable. As ANDI
smiles at her victory, ANDREA becomes agitated.
ANDI (CONT'D)
Let
me help you.
Reaching
across the table, ANDI attempts to hold ANDREA's hand but she slaps
it away.
ANDREA
I
want
to pitch my idea!
ANDI
So
you want to make a fool out of yourself? In front of your colleagues?
Ha! They'll never forget it.
ANDREA
casually moves her knight forward to the left. It's adjacent to
ANDI's
ANDREA
I
wont.
ANDI
Oh
you will because you always do. You've never had the guts to speak
your mind, let alone speak in front of multiple people. That's why
I'm here-
ANDI
moves her knight forward, into ANDREA's territory, capturing her pawn
and putting her KING in check.
ANDI (CONT'D)
To
keep you in check.
ANDREA
becomes anxious.
ANDREA
I
don't need to be kept in check.
ANDI
Oh
trust me, darling, you do.
Again,
the light bulb begins to flicker frantically, this time causing
ANDREA to jump.
ANDI
I'm
what's keeping you from becoming a laughing stock.
(leaning
into her seat)
But,
hey - if you want to take the reins and see what will happen, be my
guest. You know what piece to move.
ANDREA
eyes the board and notices a blank square in which she could move the
KING out of harms way. But as she reaches to move it she becomes
hesitant.
ANDI
Just
don't come crying to me when you fall flat your face.
INT.
MEETING ROOM - FUTURISM TECHNOLOGIES - DAY
A
flash of light brings her back to her senses. ANDREA realises that
she's in the meeting room, the numerous voices still gnawing at her
ear.
She
looks at her folder, then at her colleagues, then at her folder, then
at LAURAINE who seems unbothered by the noise as she types away at
her phone.
With
a deep breath, ANDREA brings herself to a tranquil state.
ANDREA
(standing
to her feet)
I
have an idea!
Points: 2980
Reviews: 377
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