A Story into Screenplay - Essay Example

Screenplay Number Department Scene One: Nancy’s House Nancy, 41, is a single mother of one son d Andrew. He is 16. Her estranged husband, Job (46), lives in another town. They separated after her husband’s repeated domestic violence on her. It is 7:00 pm on a Wednesday at Nancy’s. The scene opens in a single room that Nancy calls her home. Nancy is seated on a chair close to the door. She relies on a receding candle for lighting. The candle is placed on a stool at the center of the house. Andrew: Mum, is there anything for supper? I am feeling hungry (frowning and feeling tired after the day’s activities). Nancy: My son …, where have you been? (She stutters due to her intoxication, but can ably control it for starters) I have looked for you throughout the day to send you to our neighbor’s place. Mr. Yardman needs casual laborers to work at his farm. He is harvesting his maize and believe you me; he would have given you some green maize for food. Andrew: Mum, I was out there playing with my peers. You never sent for me. I would have come (feeling dejected). Nancy: I was also not around either. I went to search for what we could eat but unfortunately, I did not succeed (The son moves closer to her, probably to “confirm” her level of intoxication. She is known for spending the little money she gets from casual work on buying alcohol and leaving the son without enough food). Andrew: Mum …I’m …. I mean your eyes are bloodshot, you are … I am sorry, but I am convinced you have taken too alcohol again after last week’s drama (feeling upset). Where did you get all the money for alcohol and not for food? Nancy: (Looking away). My son, are you sure you expect an answer to that question? Okay, I will answer you. My friend Caro came to this town and bought for me one bottle … err. I mean only one bottle. Don’t you see I am very stable; I’m not staggering like I did last week? Do not worry about me, I am good. Get in right there, you’ll find some food I left for you to eat (Feeling relieved, she lets out a long breath and buries her face in her hands). Andrew: (Advances into the room, uncovers the food, takes one bite and pauses for a moment) Ugh! … Mum this food is cold and too salt. When did you cook it? (He proceeds to munch the reaming portion of boiled rice, and drinks water. Tired and feeling disenfranchised by his mother’s constant habit of alcoholism, poor hygiene and laziness, Andrew proceeds to sleep on a mat at the farthest corner of the room. Nancy joins him after about 15 minutes and starts talking to herself). Nancy: Everything around me is thick; to others it is tick; I am tired and sick; nothing good to pick. Perhaps with my husband I would be better-off managing this boy who eats like… like ants, and needs other basic needs such education, clothing, a better shelter, parental advice et cetera. But as a woman I cannot…, I lack any capacity to provide all these needs. I will continue spending the little money I get son alcohol because it helps to delete some of these memories from my mind. Anyway let me sleep (She stretches her mat and begins to sleep. Her immediate snoring almost annoys her son, but he opts to ignore her out of the respect he has for her (Harris-McKoy and Cui 2013). Scene Two: Neighbor’s farm The following day the son wakes up very early in the morning to look for any casual job from the neighbor whom he was told about the previous day. It is Thursday and the weekend is almost around the corner, the period when Andrew experiences mockery and bullying from his peers who are continuing their education. His peers in school mock him, and refer to him as an old man by virtue of his torn clothes. Anyway, he has no new clothes he can boast of, thanks to his mother’s irresponsibility and penchant for alcohol. The farmhouse man, Mr. Yardman, dressed in a navy blue overall, black gumboots and a red hut approaches him at the gate in the fine morning weather decorated with pearls of sun’s rays. He yells greetings at him. Yardman: Morning young man … (Offering his hand to greet him) Andrew: (Elated). I am fine sir. How is everything? Yardman: Please be more specific (The man challenges him, perhaps to get the conversation going on). Andrew: I just wanted to know how you are doing, and find out if there is something I can help you with for today and for as long as the task stands exists (He returns both of his hands behind him as after the handshake, as a sign of respect to the farmer in his late 40s). Yardman: Will you manage to pack maize cobs in bags ready for transportation? I mean, that is the only job I have for today and tomorrow (The man smiles a bit, waiting for the young man’s response to the offer). Andrew: (In affirmative). Yes I will. Yardman: Good. Here are the conditions; firstly, I will provide personal supervision and the necessary guidance you will need to accomplish the task satisfactorily. Secondly, we do not allow children below the age of 18 to work for more than 7 hours a day. Thirdly, you will collect your payment for the work done today at the end of working day. I am I clear? Andrew: Yes sir. (Andrew begins the work, but throughout the tasks he pauses for some time under the weight of the kind of suffering he witnesses before he is barely an adult). My torn clothes, pangs of hunger causing me a lot of discomfort, poor shelter, and beddings, and now my sweat that I am shading when my peers, some with single, responsible mums enjoy the fruits of their gallantry in the name of better education, clothing and shelter … maybe God knows. At the end of the day, the hardworking, high school dropout boy is paid for his dues. He has filled six bags with maize cobs and with £3 charged per bag; he has netted £18 for the day. He uses the money to buy meat, flour and sugar before retreating home feeling tired, emotionally drained but somewhat happy for his effort to put food on the table. He quickly prepares the food on a paraffin stove, serves himself and covers his mother’s food before retiring to bed. His mother would later join him possibly from some drinking joint at around midnight. The following morning Andrew wakes up as early as he did the previous day, takes a bath, and sets out to the workplace. He cannot fend off memories of unending suffering; of rejection; of hopelessness; and of no future as Friday, which is his last day on the job drew to an end. At the end of the day, he is paid his dues and duly informed that the job has ended. Back home, his only parent he can look up to is away drinking into the night and does not seem to care about providing the basic needs. Scene Three: Arrest at the house Andrew’s mother was a professional Beauty Therapist working at a beauty parlor within town when she started going out with friends and drinking alcohol in those parties. Her separation with her husband provided her the opportunity and freedom to engage in excessive partying and consumption of alcohol as a way of coping with single parenthood. As a result, she lost her well-paying job and became dependent on casual jobs to make the ends meet. The problem is that since then, she has become alcohol dependent, and as a result, the little money she gets end up in alcohol dens. On Saturday, at around 5:00am when the mother and her son are still asleep, they hear a heavy knock on the door. From their callers’ consultation, it clear more than two policemen have come to their place. Nancy: (Stretching, yawning and somehow grumbling in low tones from where she is still sleeping). What could they be wanting in my house in the middle of the ni … (Before she utters the “night”, the men give them a rather tough decision to make, and do so quickly. In the meantime, Andrew has gone quiet; his heart beating, one may think it is almost popping out of his chest). Police: (Infuriated by the lack of response for almost five minutes since their last knock). We are policemen on a routine search and seizure mission. Open this door now or we break in (One of the police officers yelled out strongly). Nancy: Hey! Wait a minute; I’m dressing … (She lied. Meanwhile, she reaches for a seemingly new smartphone on top of the stool to hide it out of the reach of the policemen’s search just in case they opted to do so in the tiny house with very few household items. She was given the mobile phone by her friend Caro to hide before she could find someone to buy it. The mobile phone was stolen from a man with whom the two women were drinking Friday night. Nancy hurriedly hides the gadget in one of her jacket pockets hanging on the wall, and advances towards the door to undo the door-latch open). 1st Policeman: Hey! You’ve taken far too long to open this door. We suspect you were hiding something! (Two policemen in plain clothes enter into the room with conspicuous police badges on them. They are accompanied by the owner of the smartphone. Meanwhile two uniformed officers remain outside. It is not easy to tell whether they are armed with light firearms under their dark blue heavy jackets. Before the officers mount a search in the room, the smartphone drops down on a soft bunch of clothes from where Nancy has just hurriedly hidden it. Everybody in the room sees it). The Man: Wow! There it is! (Happy, and feeling somewhat relieved, he points at it in the presence of the two policemen and the woman). 1st Policeman: (Facing Nancy). What did you say your name is? … Dancy … Fancy, okay… It is alright, Nancy. Nancy, you will accompany us to the police station for purposes of recording a statement for being in possession of a stolen property. Your accomplice Caro will also be with us. Don’t you worry we will treat you humanely. We hope you will cooperate, but if you refuse we will use force to take you there (Meanwhile, Andrew with white speck at the corners of his eyes shoots up, and begins to plead with the officers to forgive his mother. The boy argues that the mother is the sole breadwinner of the family and claims he would die in her absence. But the policemen overrule his arguments; retrieve the phone with gloves, keep it in a black polythene bag and lead his mother out of the room). Scene Four: Life on the Streets Two hours later, a charged landlord has just followed up on the eviction notice which he issued on Andrew and her mother three months ago due to non-payment of the house rent. In total, their rent arrears had accumulated for five straight months. The landlord is accompanied by another man in a dark overall soaked in all colors of paint. Andrew: (On his knees). Please allow me to stay here… in this house now that I am still solving the issue of my mother’s arrest. I will settle the arrears myself when I find another job (He pleaded). Landlord: No way! I have allowed you people adequate time to put your house in order, but you chose to ignore my call. Now, vacate my house now to allow for renovation. (The two men grab the pleading Andrew by his arms and hurl him aside. Then they proceed with removal of the family’s few belongings and lock the door. Andrew: Please, neighbor watch over the things as I try to look for where else I can take them (He covers the items with large blue polythene, and blankly walks away). Scene Five: John’s and Peter’s residence Andrew meets John and Peter in another town the same day. They are his former classmates who dropped out of school when they were hardly in high school. With his mother jailed for 3 years for theft; his father too estranged to be reached; and the lack of jobs for persons under the age of 18, following the passage of strict labor laws within his state, Andrew reluctantly joins the gang of two who promise him that they have an easier way to earn a living. After about one month of staying with them, Andrew was introduced to crime. It is Saturday evening. The gang of three is relaxing in a one-bedroomed apartment in a fairly middle-class suburb. The lights are dimly lit to partly obscure the characters. Different alcoholic drinks and packets of cigarettes are scattered on top of the table when Andrew’s friends begin to offer him some lessons. John: Andrew you are man enough, right? (He sips his alcoholic drink). Andrew: Of course yes. I have harvested maize, worked at construction sites, and pushed a hand-cart for more than 10 miles in one day. Isn’t that heroic of me? (He smiles). Peter: Oh! No buddy. How many bottles of jet fuel can you gulp in a day? (Laughing aloud). That is rather absurd; we mean how many bottles of alcohol can you drink in a day? Andrew: I have barely tasted alcohol. I can really stagger; get injured, and or arrested, you know ... that stuff is bad. John: (Pours alcohol into a glass until it is half-full as asks Andrew to “swallow it” if he is a real man. He does so due to blackmail). Now, you should begin smoking one cigarette every two hours and alternate it with marijuana it feels cool (A few minutes later, the conversation turns into a mugging training session for Andrew). John: My friend, a homemade gun is cool because a real gun is hard to find (He persuades him). Andrew: Really? ... (He is feeling a little confused, and lowers his eyes as a result). Peter: We do not rob people of their items; rather, we are merely distributing resources from those who have to ourselves who do not have them. Mark you, you and I were denied the opportunity to be rich through rightful means by our parents and or unavoidable circumstances so we must fight to live by whichever means. Andrew: (Appearing to buy their idea). I agree with your reasoning, (Stuttering under intoxication), I will join you in the campaign for “redistribution of wealth” for our survival in this world. But remember, when we are caught by law enforcers, we’ll be no more (The curtain falls on the three comrades as they finalize their mission for that night). Reference Harris-McKoy, D., and Cui, M. 2013. Parental Control, Adolescent Delinquency, and Young Adult Criminal Behavior. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 22(6), pp.836-843. Read More