So, our last lot of homework was to write a script for a short story. That was it, that was the brief. Fear gripped all of us and it was such a struggle to come up with anything. Some of the class didn’t achieve a single word as it was so out of our comfort zone but the completed scripts of those who did achieve something were great. I was really impressed.
Anyway, enough rabbiting on, here’s mine…
(Btw, the layout isn’t correct for a script but as soon as I get on to my computer I will put it right!)
THE HEIST
By
Cate Coles
INT. SAM AND GEOFF’S CAR – DAY
It’s mid-summer and the sun is shining bright. The car is parked at the side of the road in a busy high street. The inside of the car is piled high with belongings. SAM (female, early 30s, white) and GEOFF (male, mid-30s, white) sit in the front seats.
SAM
Are we really going to do this?
GEOFF
What choice do we have? We can’t live in the car forever.
SAM
But what are people going to think when we suddenly have the money to buy a house? How are we going to explain it to our families, to the kids?
GEOFF
We can’t think about that now. We’ll figure it out.
SAM
Figure it out? We’ve been trying to figure it out for months. We tried figuring it out when you lost your job, when we were up to eyeballs in debt, when we borrowed money from your folks. We even tried figuring it out when we lost the house. We need a plan this time.
GEOFF
All right. Okay. I hear you. Calm down. We’ve got to keep it together or this is never going to work. Just relax.
SAM
Oh my God, did you just tell me to relax? Seriously? You do know what we are about to do, don’t you?
GEOFF
Yes. Of course I do. What do you take me for? It’s just that we need to stay calm otherwise we are seriously going to mess this up and we could be in a worse position than we already are.
SAM
Okay. Okay. So, have we got everything?
Sam starts fussing and pulls out a scruffy hand-written list from her handbag.
SAM
Right. Gloves?
GEOFF
Yep.
SAM
Balaclavas?
GEOFF
Yes. Here’s yours.
Geoff hands Sam a hand knitted balaclava knitted in several different colour wools.
SAM
Thank you. Guns?
GEOFF
Uh, yes. Oh, wait a minute, what have I done with yours?
Sam rolls her eyes as Geoff looks around the front seats. He checks the glove compartment and brings out a gun. He hands it to Sam without really looking at it.
SAM
That’s not it! That’s Jake’s toy one. Can’t you tell the difference?
GEOFF
Sorry. It looks so similar.
Sam turns to the back seats and after rummaging for a while pulls out the correct gun from between two piles of clothing.
SAM
Right, you said we also need to take the tools in that bag. What do we need them for anyway?
GEOFF
Just in case we need to break into anything.
SAM
Like what?! I thought we were just going in, getting the money and getting out again. Even the guns are just for show. No one is going to get hurt, right Geoff? I’m not doing this if anyone is going to get hurt.
GEOFF
Of course no one is going to get hurt. We just might need to break into drawers or something. I don’t know. I’ve never done this before. I just need to know we’ve got everything we need. It’s once in and once out. If we forget anything then that’s it.
Sam and Geoff put their gloves on and their balaclavas on the tops of their heads ready to pull down. Sam breathes very deeply.
GEOFF
Are you ready?
SAM
Ready as I will ever be. I love you.
GEOFF
I love you too. What ever happens just remember that.
Sam and Geoff quickly kiss and lower their homemade balaclavas.
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE OF BANK – DAY
Sam and Geoff look at each other one last time and get out of the car. Geoff runs towards the bank and Sam follows up behind him. They pause before they push their way through the main double doors.
INT. BANK – DAY
THE BANK
is airy with tall ceilings. Light is pouring through the large windows and the dust sparkles in the beams of sunlight. The sound of a radio can be heard in the distance.
Sam and Geoff both run into the middle of the room manically pointing their guns at the people stood around.
GEOFF
This is a hold up. We want all the cash.
Laughter begins to bubble up and Sam and Geoff look around confused. It slowly dawns on them that all the people in the bank are builders, carpenters and general workmen.
FAT BUILDER
‘Ere mate, I think you’ve got the wrong bank or maybe the wrong day. We’ve been doing this place up for months and it won’t have any money in it for weeks yet! Maybe you should try the one across the road.
All the workmen laugh louder.
Sam and Geoff look at each other. Sam begins to sob and runs out of the bank with Geoff following her. She runs straight to the car, jumps in and slams the door before Geoff can get there. She scrapes the balaclava off her head and throws it into the back seat. Geoff slowly gets in the other side of the car.
GEOFF
What are you doing? You heard him, there’s another bank across the road. We can still get what we can for. Come on.
Sam gives him a look as if to say “You are not serious?”
