A Gloomy Bus - Screen Play

INT. ROOM - DAY

MAN WAKES UP. YAWNS, SITS UP.

INT. In the Bus - NIGHT

Man is sitting on the seat in the same position he woke up. Man has an exhausted look on his face. He slouches onto the seat and looks out the window.

INT. TRANSITION TO IN THE BUS - NIGHT

A teenager with ripped jeans and a big green jacket and an eye brow piercing gets on the bus and sits a few seats in front of the man. Reaches his pockets, grabs a cigarette and lights it.

MAN
"Hey, you can't do that in here"

TEENAGER
"Do you smoke?"

MAN
"Yes, but that doesn't mean-"

The teenager interrupts the man mid sentence.

TEENAGER

"So do us both a favor and shut up"

"The man appalled by the teen, gasps"

MAN

"Hey kid, do you have a fucking problem?"

TEENAGER
"No old man, I don't, do you?"

The man comes up a few seats closer and starts to lecture the teen.

MAN

"Listen kid, I don't know why you feel that you have to act this way."

The Teenager would not give this guy another second of his time and started speaking again.

TEENAGER

"Look "Sir", I don't know why you feel the need to give me advice. Is there something you want to talk about?"

The man scoffs at the teen and retorts.

MAN

"There is nothing I want to talk about with you. Fucking children."

TEENAGER

"Children? You know what, fuck you man. You shouldn't be telling me what to do in the first place. You a man of the law or some shit?"

MAN

"I am surprised your mother doesn't smack you with that mouth."

TEENAGER
"You sound like such a bitch."

The two men look their own ways outside the windows. The teenager notices a reflection of the man in the window with a tear going down his cheek.

MAN
"She even won't look at me...."

TEENAGER
"Well, what did you do?"

MAN
"I don't know..."

TEENAGER
"You want a smoke man?"

MAN
"We really shouldn't."

The man reluctantly takes the cigarette and the kid lights it for him.

MAN

"You know you look familiar, have I seen you somewhere?"

TEENAGER
The boy smiles for a moment.

"You wouldn't believe this."

MAN
"Wouldn't believe what?"

The boy chuckles/.

TEENAGER

"I've never been to the city. I met the love of my life tonight, her names Alice. I came to the city for her."

The man notices bruises and scratches on the teenager.

MAN
"Rough night?"

TEENAGER

"Isn't it ironic? The things we fight for always end up punching back."

The bus drives on, the journey feeling endless. The kid doesn't seem to mind. The atmosphere is smoky..

MAN
"My wife caught me."

TEENAGER
"Like cheating? And she forgave you?"

MAN

"A little bit more complicated than that, she is pregnant with my child."

TEENAGER
"And you want to lecture me?"

MAN

"I only found out after she caught me, and she thought that we could work through it. But she hates me more everyday, she looks at me with disgust. And our kid is due in 3 months. I don't know how to make her love me again."

TEENAGER
"What happened?"

MAN
"I slept with her best friend."

TEENAGER
"How was it?"

The teenager gives a cheeky smile *

The man looks at the child.

TEENAGER
"Have you forgiven yourself?"

MAN

"How could I? I don't know what to do."

TEENAGER
"What do you want to do?"

MAN

"I'm at a loss.. I feel like a fucking child. what am I supposed to do?"

The kid pulls out his back of cigarettes again, only two are left. The boy offers one to the man before lighting his own. With a puzzled look, the man notices outside the window they are in the darkness of the hills. It is dead silent. Only the sounds of the bus click and clonking through the sightless streets.

The man is in tears again. The teenager looks to him.

TEENAGER
"You need to get your shit together."

He takes a long drag of his cigarette and blows an "O" through the bus till the front. Still no sign of a bus driver.

MAN
"I need to call her, don't I?"

TEENAGER

My mom always tells me that if I need to organize my thoughts, I should write a letter. That way I can say exactly what I want to say.

TEENAGER
"Cause if I just start talking without thinking she gets mad at me and then I get mad at her, and then we fight and nothing gets resolved."

MAN

"That's crazy, my Mom always said the same thing to me too."

TEENAGER

"You should get her flowers, like roses or lilies or some
shit..."

MAN

"Of course, I think I know what I need to do."

The bus enters a city once again and the smoke from the cigarettes have cleared up. The man gets off and the teenager does too.

MAN
"This is your stop?"

TEENAGER
"Ye, funny coincidence isn't it?"

MAN
"Hey kid, what's your name?"

TEENAGER
"The name is Jacob."

MAN

"Really? What a coincidence, mine is too..."

The man looked up to see the starless sky about to say one more thing when he noticed that the kid was gone..

Man is confused, comes to the realization that it was all a dream, his mind playing silly tricks on him.

Hope you enjoyed!

Written by me , Tommy Turner.