script draft one

This is the first draft of my script.

1 1.  BLACK SCREEN.

V.O GRACE

I’ve always wondered what it would have been like to have cancer in the olden days.

2 2.  INT. MORNING. BEDROOM.

GRACE sitting on bed, packing belongings into a rucksack.

V.O GRACE

Would there just be people left, right and centre dropping dead from the plague or having their heads sliced off by a sword or something? And you’re just there with your little tumour friend who’s invading your surrounding tissue, and you probably don’t even really know what cancer is or that you have it.

GRACE looks up at camera.

GRACE CONT’D

Well I do, and my tumour is called Tony.

3 3.  INT. MORNING. KITCHEN.

GRACE and MUM sit at table. GRACE is pouring orange juice into her glass whilst MUM is reading the newspaper in her dressing gown.

V.O GRACE

Another thing that I always wonder is what accent Tony would have if he could speak. I said this to my mum at breakfast and I expected her to be like ‘that’s a weird thing to say’, because to be fair it is a really fucking weird thing to say. But instead she replied with-

MUM
what would you say to it? If it could talk.

GRACE looks at MUM and smiles. They both laugh.

V.O GRACE

That killed me.

GRACE takes a bite of her toast.

GRACE

I like to think that I would kick him in the balls, get my own back. Make him feel what it’s like to hurt. Although, he probably doesn’t have balls. Tumours don’t have balls.

MUM

So what would you do?

GRACE

I don’t think I would even hate him. I think I would genuinely stand there, staring straight at him and give him a huge fucking round of applause because at least he’s good at his job.

MUM smiles.

4 

4 4.  EXT. MORNING. GRACE’S ROAD.

GRACE walks down road.

GRACE

If I was that good at something maybe I would be one of those lucky cancer patients who gets to meet their celebrity idol or are presented with their dream trip to Disneyland. Although, I don’t think I would like that very much. It reminds me of having your last meal on death row.

  5.  INT. MIDDAY. CAFÉ.

GRACE sits alone at table, eating a pecan pie.

V.O GRACE

You know, some guy on death row asked for this three course meal with pecan pie for desert and he just left the pecan pie behind and said to the prison guard, ‘I’m saving it for later’. That’s some dark shit right there.  

GRACE gets up and walks out of the café, leaving behind most of her pecan pie.

  6.  EXT. MIDDAY. BENCH.

GRACE sits on bench reading ‘The Fault in Our Stars’.

GRACE

I regret saying what I said about Tony earlier. That I wouldn’t hate him, because I would. I do and I don’t want to come across as one of those stereotypical ‘Fault in Our Stars’ cancer patients who always look on the bright side of life.

GRACE rips page out of her book.

V.O GRACE CONT’D

Because there isn’t a bright side when you’re terminally ill. There’s just one side because the other side is a dark nothingness.

7 7.  INT. AFTERNOON. ESCALATOR.

GRACE stands on escalator, facing towards the bottom.

V.O GRACE

It’s like you’re on an escalator that’s headed to the edge of a monumental cliff and you can’t get off. Except you can try and fight it by walking in the opposite direction but you won’t get anywhere because it’s just too fast and you’re too weak to run.

8 8. INT. AFTERNOON. TUBE STATION.

GRACE sits on seat at platform.

V.O GRACE

I’m not scared of dying though.

GRACE stands on edge of platform.

V.O GRACE CONT’D

I’m lucky. To be so close to death.

Tube arrives abruptly and GRACE steps onto it.

V.O GRACE CONT’D

I get to do it first. Before my Mum, or my Dad, or Archie. I like doing things first.

9. EXT. AFTERNOON. RICHMOND PARK.

POV shot of GRACE feeding the ducks.

V.O GRACE

When I was younger Mum and Dad would take me and Archie to the park and we would feed the ducks. I always wanted to be the first one to feed them and if I wasn’t then I’d have a tantrum.

GRACE sits by pond, picking the grass.

V.O GRACE

That’s why I wanted to come on this adventure. I want to get there first. I want to beat Tony.

10. INT. AFTERNOON. GRACE’S HOUSE.

MUM walks up the stairs towards Grace’s room.

11. EXT. AFTERNOON. RICHMOND PARK

GRACE walks past flower bushes, picking flowers.   

V.O GRACE CONT’D

I’ve always liked art and as an artist named Banksy once said, ‘they say you die twice, one time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when someone says your name for the last time.’

9. INT. AFTERNOON. GRACE’S BEDROOM.

MUM walks into GRACE’s bedroom to find it empty.

MUM

Grace?

10. EXT. AFTERNOON. RICHMOND PARK.

GRACE runs and skips around the grass.

V.O GRACE

Firstly, my name is Grace so I don’t think that will stop being said for a long time and secondly, Mum wont let a day pass by without saying it. As long as she lives. So, Mum and I can die together, eventually.

11. INT. AFTERNOON. GRACE’S BEDROOM.

MUM walks over to Grace’s desk to find a letter addressed ‘Mum’. She picks it up.

V.O GRACE

I’ve written her a letter. They’re nice to receive – letters. I like getting them.

MUM sits down at GRACE’s desk and opens letter, her hands are shaking.

V.O GRACE

In my letter I told Mum that I don’t want to be weak in my hospital bed anymore. I told her that I want to be strong so that I can watch her from the sky. So I bought her a star.

12. EXT. AFTERNOON. RICHMOND PARK.

GRACE is sitting down, placing flowers onto the grass.

V.O GRACE

I spent forty-nine pounds of my babysitting money on a star and I named her Grace.

13. INT/EXT. EVENING. GRACE’S HOUSE.

MUM pours herself a glass of wine. She then walks out of the back door into the garden and sits down in a chair, still holding the letter. She looks up at sky.

14. EXT. EVENING. RICHMOND PARK.

GRACE lies down in grass and turns her head towards the camera, she smiles.