North Atlantic Treaty Organization

THE SANDMAN PROJECT – Episode Three

NORTH ATLANTIC
TREATY ORGANIZATION


INTRODUCTION

[CAMERA… While the credits are rolling, the camera pans across a desk. The desk is messy. On it as permanent features are: a half empty cup of black coffee, an ashtray with cigarette butts spilling over onto the desk, a baseball, a paper mache vase made by a child with plastic flowers in it, several framed pictures containing members of a family, a computer, a monitor running a screen saver, a Save the Seals button, a couple of pens, a laundry receipt, and a clear plastic candy wrapper. Photographs of the main characters of our drama are paper-clipped to folders scattered across the desk. One folder is open. The main character David Faster smiles at the camera. The page opposite is marked up in red ink.

[MUSIC… a harmonica piece in the vein of the Rockford Files plays in the background. Overheard is a taped audio message from the School Board describing Mr. Faster’s supply teaching assignment for that day.
“Mr. Faster your assignment today is in Political Geography. You will be replacing Miss Anacin. If you should smell something foul in your classrooms please do not draw attention to it. Several of our students are extremely sensitive as well as being from wealthy and influential Windsor families.”
[CAMERA… After the credits have appeared the screen cuts to white and then slowly copy begins to roll up the screen:

“Government has too long been left
the sole responsibility for the education
of the young people of our province.
The private sector has a role to play
in the future of our nation.
Where better to mould the minds, skills and souls
of our children than in the market place.
The future is too precious to do any less.”
Assistant to the Deputy
Minister of Education
Province of Ontario, 1995
FIRST SCENE


[CAMERA… Shot of opening title:

REVELATIONS AND REGRETS

FADE to white. CUT to CLOSE UP of Faster’s face. A cigarette hangs out of a five o’clock shadow. A new picture hangs on the wall behind him. It is a poster of Lee Harvey Oswald.

MEDIUM SHOT… Faster takes the cigarette out of his mouth, punk like, and spits on the floor. He takes another puff of his cigarette, drops it onto the floor and grinds it out with his boot.

FASTER: “I was a patsy! They used me. Everyone used me. I was passed around like the queen of spades in a game of broken hearts. You learn a lot of things in the slammer. First, you learn how to apply lipstick when you’re told to. Second, you learn that everyone, one hundred and fifty percent of the inmates, are innocent. Third, you learn to play cards. Everyone plays Fish. It’s so bloody boring in here. They call it hard time. Everyone is waiting, waiting for their time to be done. Prison is the only place on the planet where time runs backwards. I shouldn’t have trusted Marvellous and Howl. Hell, I was only a kid. What did I know?”

[CAMERA… CUT to CLOSE UP of Faster’s face.

FASTER: “I accompanied Ellen Ellery to the elegant but highly overrated Anchor Inn. There was a listening device, planted in our salad bowl. Hell, who expects to find a bug in the lettuce? What did they think they could learn? That I had a hot chicken sandwich? That Ellen had the special, speckled trout? And almost chocked on a bone? That sometimes you just can’t help it? It just leaks out.”

[CAMERA… CUT to shot of Faster pounding on Ellen Ellery’s back as two waiters try to pull him off her.

CUT to Faster in his cell smiling. He produces a toothpick from behind his ear and begins to pick at his teeth.

FASTER: “The management wanted to press charges. But Ellen revived coughed up the tooth and cleared up the misunderstanding. I didn’t know that trout had teeth. After a couple glasses of wine, Ellen dropped the motherlode. A rival educational supply firm in Windsor was offering discount supply teachers to the Ministry of Education. Genova Educational Services. Paul Man, Genova’s managing director, was a known felon with underworld contacts in Detroit. I didn’t know what to think. I offered to drop Ellen off at her place but she declined. So I left her in the restaurant and returned alone to my room. There was a note awaiting me at the motel office. I was to take a train the next morning for Windsor. Of all the one horse God forsaken dumps in Ontario, why did they have to choose Windsor? I tried to get some sleep but all I could think about was Paul Man, and his gangsters, and their big guns. The next morning I grabbed a taxi for the train station. I was early so I wrote my first report to Mr. Howl. At 8:20 I boarded the train and sat at a window. The trip was uneventful except for a small fire in the men’s room.”

[CAMERA… CUT to Faster in the train washroom sneaking a smoke.

MEDIUM SHOT of Faster leaving the washroom.

MEDIUM SHOT of smoke slipping out from beneath the washroom door.

CUT to stewards with fire extinguishers rushing into the washroom, while passengers in the train are in a panic, screaming and running down the aile of the train.

CUT to shot of Faster being grabbed as he attempts to open an emergency hatch and jump from the train.

CUT to Faster in his cell.

FASTER: “I denied everything. When they asked why I was trying to leave the train, I said I was just trying to get some fresh air. Upon my arrival in Windsor, I compared the prices of three rent-a-car agencies finally deciding on a cab. I bought three chocolate bars, which I ate sequentially. On the way to the Constellation Hotel, I noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of laundromats in Windsor. Too many! The influence of the criminal underworld was everywhere. I was grateful that I’d had the foresight to purchase a firearm.”
END OF SCENE ONE

SECOND SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

ORDERING FOOD

FADE to white. CUT to Faster and Ellen walking along Gordon Street. Ellen greets several sailors and they to begin to follow the couple.

CUT to Ellen and Faster running down the street followed a few moments later by the three sailors.

CUT to Ellen and Faster cutting into an alley. The sailors run passed the alley. Faster and Ellen share a cigarette.

CUT to 3 sailors coming back to the alley and spotting Ellen and Faster in an amorous embrace.

CUT to Ellen and Faster running down the alley. The 3 sailors are running behind them.

CUT to Ellen and Faster slipping into the back entrance of a shop. Moments later the 3 sailors run passed the now closed door.

CUT to Ellen and Faster in a sex shop. Ellen is checking out various dildos and vibrators. Faster is looking around expecting to see the sailors.

CUT to Ellen and Faster reading the menu in front of the Anchor Inn.

MEDIUM SHOT of Faster and Ellen sitting at a table.

ELLEN: “Do you always walk that fast?”
FASTER: “I thought it was a good idea to keep a few steps ahead of your friends.”
ELLEN: “They weren’t friends of mine.”
FASTER: “I wish you’d told them that.”
CAMERA… A waiter approaches the table.
ELLEN: “You weren’t wearing high heels.”
FASTER: “Why did you have to ask those sailors for the time?”
WAITER: “My name is Jeffery. I shall be your waiter this evening. Would you like a beverage before you order?”
ELLEN: “I forgot my watch.”
FASTER: “And was it necessary to ask that sales lady about her recommendations in vibrators?”
ELLEN: “Don’t take that tone of voice with me. If you need to know, I was trying to catch my breath. I never met anyone who was so unfriendly.”
FASTER: “They had more on their mind than a friendly chat.”
ELLEN: “Men!”
FASTER: “What’s that supposed to mean?”
WAITER: “I’ll return when you’re ready.”
ELLEN: “It means what it means. And try and keep your voice down.”
FASTER: “God, I’m starving. Where’s our waiter?”
ELLEN: “The service is usually good in this place. Why don’t you go up to the bar and get us a drink?”
FASTER: “That’s not my job. The waiter should do that.”
ELLEN: “Get me a drink!”
FASTER: “I won’t. Besides, it was your idea to come in here.”
[CAMERA… some time passes. Eventually the waiter returns.
WAITER: “Have you decided?”
ELLEN: “I need a drink.”
[CAMERA… Faster is looking at his menu.
FASTER: “Why aren’t there any prices on the menu?”
ELLEN: “Let’s just order.”
FASTER: “I’d like to know. I am a customer and I have the right to know why there aren’t any prices on the menu.”
WAITER: “It isn’t the policy of the Anchor Inn.”
FASTER: “You’re a restaurant, aren’t you?”
ELLEN: “I’ll have a martini. Two olives. I’m starving.”
WAITER: “And the gentleman?”
FASTER: “I haven’t made my mind up yet.”
[CAMERA… the waiter departs. Ellen turns and slaps Faster on the forehead.
FASTER: “That hurt!”
ELLEN: “Just order, stupid!”
FASTER: “He pissed me off. No prices. Let him sweat a while.”
ELLEN: “Why do you have to be so difficult? I told you it was my treat.”
FASTER: “You’ve missed the point completely.”
ELLEN: “I think I’ll have the trout.”
FASTER: “Are you sure?”
ELLEN: “I love fish. Try the fish.”
FASTER: “What about mercury poisoning?”
ELLEN: “Don’t worry, David. I can guarantee that you won’t suffer any brain damage.”

END OF SCENE TWO


THIRD SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

MAKING TELEPHONE CALLS

FADE to white. CUT to Faster sitting at his table in the Anchor Inn. He turns to the camera and begins to floss his teeth. Behind him Ellen has begun to choke. Faster clears his throat and addresses the camera.

FASTER: “As soon as I got into my room at the Constellation Hotel in Windsor I asked reception to make a long distance call to Toronto. I missed Mums. In the meantime I took a shower and flossed my teeth. I love to floss. Wonderful invention. Must have been the ruin of the toothpick industry. I got out some sandpaper. Extra rough. My feet were killing me. Calluses build up on my feet so much that I’m sure a blacksmith could put a shoe on each of them. The phone rang.”

[CAMERA… CUT to shot of Faster sitting on his bed picking up the phone from the bedside table. He turns to the camera.

FASTER: “I could hardly hear Mums at the other end of the line.”
[CAMERA… SPLIT SCREEN… Faster is on one screen. On the second screen is a balding middle-aged gentleman. He is in bed with his wife who is sleeping beside him. He has his hand over the phone and is whispering. His name is Honey Buns.

HONEY BUNS: “Hello.”
FASTER: “Hi Mums!”
HONEY BUNS: “Is that you Janet? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
FASTER: “Oh Mums, I do hope you are keeping yourself well. Have you got the air-conditioning on? Don’t worry about the cost. If we can’t afford to stay cool what’s the point of living is what I always say.”
HONEY BUNS: “I can hardly hear you. How can I stay cool when you’re phoning me at home? Myrtle is right beside me. Her sleeping pills don’t always work. If she finds out about us, I’ll be out on the street.”
FASTER: “What was that Mums? We haven’t got a very good line here.”
HONEY BUNS: “I can’t speak any louder.”
FASTER: “You sound upset, Mums. Use a Phillips screwdriver to adjust the air. It’s very muggy in Windsor but I’m managing. The rash is under control.”
HONEY BUNS: “How do you expect me to react? I got you an apartment. I helped you with your singing career. I even let your brother move in with you. I thought we had an agreement. No phone calls.”
FASTER: “Don’t overfeed the goldfish. And the cat. Feed the cat or there’ll be no goldfish in the morning. I’m still not sure why Marvellous sent me here. It looks like I could be gone indefinitely.”
HONEY BUNS: “Of course I still love you. And I’m happy when you’re happy. That doesn’t make everything marvelous.”
FASTER: “Good to hear, Mums.”
HONEY BUNS: “I’m not sure about that brother of yours. Let him get a job. And it’s got nothing to do with him being black.”
FASTER: “There are extra light bulbs under the kitchen sink.”
HONEY BUNS: “Yes, Little Jack misses you too, Poopsy. Little Jack is very lonely. He wants to play in the…”
[CAMERA… CUT to one screen. Honey Buns has just noticed his wife waking from her sleep. She glares at him. He smiles sheepishly and hangs up the phone.

HONEY BUNS: “Wrong number, dear.”
[CAMERA… CUT to Faster on the phone.
FASTER: “I’d better go now, Mums. Call you on Tuesday. Love you.”
[CAMERA… Faster hangs up the phone. A tear run downs his cheek. He looks around for a Kleenex. Not finding one, he grabs the sheet of the bed and blows his nose.

END OF SCENE THREE


FOURTH SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

CLASS DISCUSSION

FADE to white. CUT to classroom where Faster has written North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the blackboard.. He points to an Asian student who is wearing a kerchief over his long dreadnoughts. Close-ups of Faster and each student’s face as they speak.

FASTER: “Can you tell me what NATO means?”
KERCHIEF: “Who cares, bro?”
FASTER: “It’s an organization that was set up after the Second World War.”
KERCHIEF: “Just a bunch of white men telling the black man how to live their lives.”
FASTER: “Not exactly.”
[CAMERA… A black girl in braids puts up her hand.
BRAIDS: “Are you saying they weren’t white men?”
FASTER: “Well, yes they were white men.”
KERCHIEF: “Just what I said. The white man is always trying to run the lives of the black man. We don’t need school to teach us that.”
BRAIDS: “Why are you running your mouth? You ain’t black.”
[CAMERA… boy with shaved head stands up.
SHAVED HEAD: “Why are Negroes always complaining? All that prejudice stuff happened a long time ago.”
KERCHIEF: “Watch your back, whitie!”
GIRL IN RED PIG TAILS: “My daddy says that all black people end up in prison.”
KERCHIEF: “The white man’s prison. Keep us locked up so that you can violate our black women.”
BRAIDS: “We ain’t your women!”
BLOND GIRL: “Denzel Washington is cute.”
GIRL IN RED PIG TAILS: “I didn’t know that he was black.”
BOY DRESSED IN SUIT WITH WHITE SHIRT AND TIE: “In Russia everyone is white.”
KERCHIEF: “This is America, Igor, not Russia.”
BRAIDS: “No, it ain’t.”
BLOND GIRL: “My grandmother is from Bermuda. Does that make me black?”
[CAMERA… CLOSE UP Faster’s face. It is beet red.
FASTER: “Shut the fuck up!”
[CAMERA… LONG SHOT… The room is silent.

END OF SCENE FOUR

FIFTH SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

DIALECTICS

FADE to white. LONG SHOT of Ellen Ellery staggering out of the Anchor Inn by herself. As she almost loses her balance she is grabbed by two men in overcoats , each one taking one of her arms. She is quickly escorted into a dark limousine waiting at the curb.

CUT to a dental office where Ellen is strapped into a chair. Lewis stands to one side of her. Dr. Glimbach dressed in a white suit steps into the room.

ELLEN: “You’ll never get away with this.”
LEWIS: “Of course we will.”
ELLEN: “Why am I here?”
LEWIS: “All in good time, my sweetie. All in good time.”
DR. GLIMBACH sings: “Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste.”
ELLEN: “Who the hell is the dork in the white suit?”
LEWIS: “So nice that you could come at such notice, doctor. I speak for everyone in the Union when I say that we have admired your work.”
ELLEN: “Why am I in this dental chair? My head feels funny. I think I’m going to barf.”
DR. GLIMBACH: “Relax, my dear. Everything unpleasant passes in time.”
LEWIS: “Everyone at the home office has heard of your wonderful work in Herzogovina and Argentina. That interview you had on CNN with Larry King was so enlightening. It gave a friendly face to modern torture.”
ELLEN: “Torture!”
DR. GLIMBACH: “There’s a great future in torture. I always recommend it to my students.”
LEWIS: “You are too modest, doctor. I read your published lectures from U.C.L.A. Fascinating material.”
[CAMERA… The doctor snaps on a pair of plastic gloves. He bends over Ellen and pries open her mouth.

DR. GLIMBACH: “You have a build up of plaque, my dear. And I think I spot the beginnings of what could be serious dental decay. And you might cut down on your cigarette smoke. The smoke yellows the teeth.”
ELLEN: “Do that again and I’ll bite your fucking fingers off!”
LEWIS: “I understand that you consider the Americans amateurs in the field.”
DR. GLIMBACH: “No patience. Always going for the quick answer. Torture is like a good stew. It needs time to bring out its flavour. And such shabby dressers. I’m sure they buy everything off the rack.”
[CAMERA… The doctor picks up a drill and turns it on.
ELLEN SCREAMS
DR. GLIMBACH: “Applying pain is a gentlemen’s business. After all, we are not animals.”
ELLEN: “What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything.”
[CAMERA… The doctor places a stick between her teeth. Ellen squirms in her seat, trying to speak. Her words are inaudible because of the stick.

LEWIS: “Who would you say inspired you as a young boy? Who were your heroes?”
DR. GLIMBACH: “My older brother, Ernst. He loved to play with cats. What a way he had with animals. And there was Mr. N at the barbershop. It was an inspiration to see a razor in that man’s hands. And we used to play with the neighbourhood girls. What fun we had! And I read a lot. My mother said that I would go blind reading. I was especially fond of the material the Vatican has on the Inquisition. And medical texts. I loved those drawings of the internal organs of the body. It’s not true that the body is made up mostly of water. It’s mostly made up of blood.”
[CAMERA… Ellen is violently squirming in her seat. The doctor changes the bit on the drill in his hand. Lewis turns and slaps Ellen across the face. For a moment she is frozen in shock.

LEWIS: “Behave now! The doctor is talking.”
DR. GLIMBACH: “I think that the greatest influence upon my work has been the Good Lord himself. Imagine allowing your only Son to be crowned with thorns and then to have strangers drive nails into his feet and hands. Absolutely delicious! And then the spear in the side. What a marvelous touch!”
[CAMERA… Ellen manages to spit out the stick in her mouth
ELLEN: “For Christ’s sake, ask me something! Yes, I read the National Enquirer. No, I don’t shave under my arms. Yes, I have used various cylindrical devices as sexual appendages. But never on Sundays!”
DR. GLIMBACH: “She is an excitable young lady. I like that.”
LEWIS: “What do you know about the Sandman Project?”
ELLEN: “Sandman? I never heard of any project.”
[CAMERA… The doctor pries open Ellen’s mouth again with another stick. He bends over her with the drill. Ellen vomits.

END OF SCENE FIVE


SIXTH SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

POLITELY EXCHANING GIFTS

FADE to white. LONG SHOT of room. David Faster is handing a package over to another man, a principal, who sits behind a desk. Faster takes a seat opposite him.

CLOSE UP of principal. He is a well conditioned gentleman in a sharp gray suit. His receding hair line is well tanned and handsome.

FASTER: “I hadn’t expected such a handsome man.”
PRINCIPAL: “Excuse me.”
FASTER: “A lovely desk. Is it mahogany?”
PRINCIPAL: “Veneer. Now, shall we get down to business? Good. This is the package you were asked to bring me.”
FASTER: “Yes.”
PRINCIPAL: “Very good. I’ll talk to the president of our student council. Peter is quite an enterprising young man. He’ll know what to do with it.”
[CAMERA… The principal unlocks a door in his desk and drops the package inside. He removes a second envelope and hands it to Faster. Then he locks the drawer and places the key in his pocket. Faster looks at the envelope in his hand.

PRINCIPAL: “You understand that this interview has never taken place. You never gave me the package.”
FASTER: “What am I supposed to do with this envelope?”
PRINCIPAL: “You don’t know?”
FASTER: “No. I don’t know anything.”
PRINCIPAL LAUGHS: “Of course you don’t. Very good. But you do know who to give the envelop to.”
FASTER: “I know nothing!”
PRINCIPAL: “Of course you don’t. Very good. You give it to the party that gave you the package?”
FASTER: “What package?”
PRINCIPAL: “The package you just gave me.”
FASTER: “I never gave you a package. You told me that I didn’t.”
PRINCIPAL: “You gave me a package. I put it in the locked drawer of my desk and then I gave you that envelope. If anyone asks you, you deny everything. Do you understand?”
FASTER: “Of course.’
PRINCIPAL: “Now about the package…”
FASTER: “Is this a test?”
PRINCIPAL: “Just give the envelope to the person who gave you the package that we are going to deny ever existed.”
FASTER: “Right! Got you! What’s in the envelope?”
PRINCIPAL: “You don’t know?”
FASTER: “I know nothing.”
[CAMERA… Principal glares at Faster. Faster smiles meekly.

END OF SCENE SIX

SEVENTH SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

A MATTER OF EXPENSE

FADE to white. LONG SHOT… back in Toronto at the offices of Marvellous Educational Supplies and Services. Bill Marvellous’s office. The shades are drawn. Ron Howl paces back and forth across the room. Bill Marvellous sits behind his large oak desk. In a darkened corner is the faint image of a child sitting in a chair. His legs do not touch the floor. The child is the dwarf, the Sandman. There is no sound in the room. The whole scene should be shot as one continuous long shot.

MARVELLOUS: “I must tell you sir that my confederate here at Marvellous Educational Supplies and Services, Mr. Howl, is an advocate for the termination of our agreement.”
HOWL: “Terminate is perhaps too harsh a word, Bill, too final. I prefer that well worn but nevertheless cogent phrase - reallocation of assets. It seems to me that we have a great deal to lose in this venture with an uncertain payload at the project’s end. I’m not just thinking of a capital loss but of the number of loyal employees who would lose their positions should this venture fail. And of course there is the further consideration – we may all go to prison.”
MARVELLOUS: “Don’t get Harry wrong, Mr. Sandman…”
HOWL: “It’s Ron, Bill.”
MARVELLOUS: “Ron is as solid as they come. Nerves of steel. Harry and I have spent time in the foxhole and I know I can rely on him. I’d trust him with my wife. Perhaps not my wife, (chuckles) but I would trust him with my wallet. Harry believes in harmony, a balance between advantages and disadvantages, profit and loss, risk and reward. I hope I’m not being presumptuous; sir, but you and I are from the swashbuckler school of commerce. Harry is a vegetarian in the business jungle. You and I, sir, are meat eaters. Still I have found it prudent over the years to give ear to Harry’s caution. It has saved me considerable grief, not to speak of money.”
SANDMAN: “Gentlemen. First of all let me say that it is a great pleasure to meet you both. Your reputation precedes you. We know so little of each other. It is only proper to offer you an insight into the nature of the man you are presently engaged. Mr. Sandman is a man of culture, a man of sensitivity and refinement. God, can’t you stop pacing back and forth!”

[CAMERA… Ron Howl stops in his tracks. He takes a seat in one of the chairs off to the camera’s right.

SANDMAN: “Thank you. Mr. Sandman was born into an old world family that placed a premium on taste, manners, and eloquence. Neither indolence nor frivolity were abided. Lessers were always treated with humanity and patience. Superiors were treated with respect and silence. The rule of the family – no matter the consequences, keep your word. Mr. Sandman approached your firm in good faith. He made a proposition that could benefit both our businesses. Marvellous Educational Supplies and Services accepted that proposal. You were taken at your word. Do not disappoint Mr. Sandman.”

[CAMERA… Ron Howl stands up, thinks better of it, and sits down again.

SANDMAN: “Mr. Sandman entered this project with the full knowledge that there were some risks. Gentlemen, life is full of risks. Be assured that Mr. Sandman has no intention of failing. Failure is not allowed.”
MARVELLOUS: “Thank you, sir. You certainly have put any misgivings I might have had to rest. Would you like to add anything, Harry?”

[CAMERA… Ron Howl stands up to speak, thinks better of it, and sits down again.

HOWL: “Thank you, Bill. I don’t want to take up too much time so I shall limit myself to two points. First, let us address your assertion, sir, that life is full of risks. Certainly we agree, but the point is, are the risks involved unfavourable to the outcome of this project? And are these risks being equally shared by both parties in this partnership? Secondly, let us direct our attention to the question of rewards. Are we at Marvellous Educational Supplies and Services being compensated fairly for the large involvement in time, manpower, and money?”

[CAMERA… There is a long pregnant silence finally broken by Bill Marvellous.

MARVELLOUS: “Thank you, Harry. I think we all appreciate your candor. Mr. Sandman?”
SANDMAN: “May we smoke?”

[CAMERA… Bill Marvellous takes his box of cigars and quickly steps across the room to the Sandman and offers him one of his Cubans. The Sandman takes a cigar.

CLOSE UP… Brief glimpse of the Sandman as he lights his cigar. His features are hideous. A pock marked face with a long scar that runs down one cheek.

LONG SHOT… Bill Marvellous returns to his seat behind his desk.

SANDMAN: “A sensitive nerve has been struck this afternoon. It goes to the core of what Mr. Sandman believes is the cause of the decline of the West. That problem, gentlemen, is greed. Everyone wants more. Everyone wants a bigger slice of the pie. What happened to self-sacrifice and industry? We all need to share in the abundance of the harvest. It is greed that will jeopardize the success of our mission, gentlemen. The prisons are filled with avarice. It pains Mr. Sandman to hear those with whom he has joined in sacred matrimony, stoop to such a rebuttal. Gentlemen, let us be satisfied.”

[CAMERA… FADE OUT to darkness.

CUT to Ellen Ellery waking up in bed and screaming.

END OF SCENE SEVEN


EIGHTH SCENE
[CAMERA… Shot of title:

PICKING UP THE ENDS OF THE DAY

FADE to white. LONG SHOT of David Faster stepping out the front doors of a high school. A janitor is off to one side picking up garbage.

MEDIIUM SHOT… Faster smiles, looks at the janitor and steps over to speak to him. The janitor is an old man with red hair that has been bleached gray. His face is marked with lines of sadness.

FASTER: “Another day and another dollar.”
JANITOR: “The day never ends.”
FASTER: “I guess you get tired of picking up after these kids?”
JANITOR: “There is more going on here than picking up garbage.”
FASTER: “Ah yes. Youth learning. It’s very exciting.”
JANITOR: “More than that, sir. Kids have been smoking up out here.”
FASTER: “Drugs! Right in front of the school?”
JANITOR: “They’re not afraid of us, sir. They’re not afraid of the police. They’re not afraid of their parents. Fear has been eliminated, sir. It makes life very dangerous for all of us.”

END OF SCENE EIGHT

END OF THE THIRD EPISODE