The Sandbox or The Tide Pool
Characters: Eve, Cara, Margret, Casey, Aaron, Leigh, Deandra
August 2007. A hospital room, silence, and the bed has streaks of a black substance all over it. There are silhouettes of feet kicking against the sterile white bed sheet. Pan to the eyes of a young girl who seems in distress, there are tears mixing with sweat in the corners of her eyes where her eye lashes rest. As the camera moves out we begin to see the makings of two other bodies in the room. One of which is a young girl about the same age as the lead character and the other wearing an ER nurses outfit. The girl is holding the lead characters arms down and pleading with her (still silent, this is all happening without sound); the ER nurse is forcing the lead character to drink something out of a Styrofoam cup. After the cup is empty the lead girls face is revealed with thick black liquid draining down the corners of her mouth. She then idly falls back on to the bed and falls asleep. Fade to black and the title of the film “The Sandbox” sits in the screen in all white writing. Back to the hospital room. Shot of the IV in her arm and suddenly she speaks.
Eve – (staring at the ceiling, presumably talking to herself) it was only 25, only 25 this time.
(Shot of Dee sitting across the room in an obviously uncomfortable chair, she goes over to the bed and looks directly down at eve with a look of guilt)
Dee – I need to pay for parking. I need to go…
Eve- Take my debit card. (Dee gets the card and is making her way out of the door, as she reaches the door eve speaks) Don’t give it to my mom ok? I don’t want her to know where I am.
Dee- Your mom? I’m going to the front desk.
Eve- Just stay away from my mom
Dee takes a long look at eve and finally agrees. She leaves the room and eve is alone with her cell phone, which is dying, a denim skit, a red and black zip-up, and flip flops. She begins watching TV until she is interrupted by a young woman who works at the hospital. She comes in wearing a bright orange 3 quarter length sleeve shirt, black capris, and sandals. She asks to speak with eve.
Social worker – (pronounces last name as frank co-is) Eve François?
Eve – It’s pronounced Fran- sis….
Social worker – Sorry. (silence while the woman takes a seat and gives eve the once over) I need to interview you.
As interview begins the camera does a 360 around the hospital room. Eve stays stoic and does not directly respond to anything being told to her. Then finally speaks up, as the camera continues to revolve.
Eve – my body will go wherever I tell it to.
The camera continues to revolve, morphing from eve in the hospital room to eve on the sidewalk in the snow.
Winter 2007. Scene opens with mid shot of the main character Eve standing in the falling snow. She is taking deep breaths and looking from side to side, waiting to cross the street. The camera then moves behind her and shows the building she is going to. Then she darts across the street and into an apartment building. As she moves towards the stairs her phone rings. She is apprehensive but eventually pulls it out of her pocket. She stares at it for a moment before finally picking up.
Eve – (pressing the answer button but initially sitting in silence, and then speaking) Hello Aaron.
(Fade to black and then camera focuses on one tiny leaf on the ground. Suddenly a stiletto heal comes bounding into the shot; crushing the leaf. Converse shoes anxiously enter the shot & leave. Pan up to Cara walking furiously and Eve power- walking after her screaming)
Eve – Cara! (running towards the camera)
Cara – (barely acknowledging eve) I have class Evey, I can’t talk.
Eve – That leaf! (Pointing behind her)
Cara – (not turning to look at her) What leaf? (Then stopping cold and turning to eve, pressing her hand to her shoulder blade) Is this about Aaron?
Eve – (disgusted) What? No. (Cara, disappointed, begins walking again with her back to eve. Eve walks behind her) This is about that leaf you just crushed (Eve stops walking right in front of the camera. Cara keeps walking and yells something back at eve by speaking over her)
Cara – …Then I am disinterested evey. Until you talk about Aaron, men, manhood I’m just not interested!
Eve – (catching up to Cara) Not interested? That’s nice. When is the last time I saw you again?
Cara – (stops walking in order to turn and touch eve on both shoulders) Evey, I know you had a rough summer. The last time I saw you, you looked happy. I still don’t understand.
Eve – (shifting her weight and fidgeting around) I don’t. Understand I mean. I just know that going back isn’t an option. You look pretty.
Cara – (turning and beginning to walk away, then turning and walking backwards) Cheer up Evey, its fall (pause) you like fall (Turing back around and walking forward)
Cara disappears into the mass of college students. Eve, watching her disappear, stands for a moment aimless and despondent. She then exits frame from the left. Eve is walking around trying not to be seen. As she is walking she spaces out and accidently bumps into a young man. He has very dark hair and dark eyes with olive skin. He’s unattractive conventionally but attractive to her. When they bump into each other he almost knocks her off her feet because he is running so fast. He drops all of his books and beings to pick them up and apologize to her. He’s looking down however and does not recognize her.
Eve – (staring at him as he picks up his things from the concrete, then finally speaking) Hello Aaron.
Aaron – (stops what he is doing and freezes for a moment with some books in his hands and his knees in the concrete. Then he slowly looks up) Evey?
Eve – (interrupting him) Eve. Don’t call me Evey, you can’t call me that.
Aaron – Eve.
Eve – (staring down at him with her arms folded) What? (She then walks away leaving him to follow her)
Aaron – (speed walking behind eve as she’s walking away) I didn’t hear from you all summer, then I call you and you won’t even speak to me
Eve – (still not turning around) I did speak
Aaron – you barley said anything, you said hello that’s it.
Eve – I thought that was enough
Aaron – Where were you?
Eve – Connecticut, Boston, New York
Aaron – You hate the Yankees
Eve – You’re right, I hate you
Aaron – Talk to me…
Eve – (stopping in her tracks and turning around, almost knocking Aaron over) I don’t owe you words! (Staring at him for a moment) Don’t you even remember the last time we saw each other? (They stare at each other and say nothing) I have to go. (Eve begins to walk away but then turns around to say something) You know, you’re so dim. There’s so little light. I’m making no sense. Must have been all the pills. (Aaron attempts to interrupt her, but she stops him) Don’t. Don’t. (pause) Go away Aaron. Go blind. Pretend you didn’t see me. Just go. (Eve walks away from him, leaving him in the middle of the road holding his books. Camera moves out and away from his face until it becomes a full length shot)
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