Will she stay or will she go?
Will she or won’t she? Will anything get in the way of the weekend getaway to Oregon?
FADE IN:
BLACK SCREEN WITH WHITE WRITING
Friday
FADE IN:
INT. OFFICE
Doogie is sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. He pushes back his chair, stands up and stretches. He looks at his watch and then shakes it.
DOOGIE
Can’t be right.
He bends over and looks at this computer screen.
DOOGIE
(talking inside his head)
Yeah. It’s right. Friday afternoons seem to last forever. Plus, it’s so darn quiet… I was sure that it was time to go home. Hopefully the girls got out of here after lunch. At least, I think that was the game plan.
He jumps up on his side chair to prairie dog and sees Fran working away. She is deep in concentration and hasn’t acknowledged his presence.
Dilbert demonstrates Prairie Dogging
DOOGIE
AHHHH-HUMMM. (throat clearing sound)
Fran looks up and shakes her head.
FRAN
You’ve got that Snoopy vulture look down… that’s for sure.
DOOGIE
Years of practice, my dear. Years of practice.
FRAN
What’s up?
DOOGIE
So?! Like aren’t you and Jules supposed to be out of here?
FRAN
Jules? So today it’s Jules? I guess I should be happy you aren’t saying “my sweet” or — what’s that Peanuts one?
DOOGIE
My sweet Babboo!
FRAN
You’d probably get locked up for that one.
DOOGIE
So why are you still here? Did you change your mind and bail out of the trip?
FRAN
Our flight is after work. I wanted to give both of us time to tie up loose ends.
DOOGIE
Okay… that’s cool. It’s just that it was soooo darn quiet… Well… that’s cool (repeating himself).
Fran gives him the alright already look and starts making a shooing motion.
FRAN
Get along thar little Doogie.
Doogie’s head disappears from sight. Fran returns to her work and then notices the vulture returning out of the corner of her eye. She throws a pen in his direction. He ducks.
FRAN
Get back to work, you!
A voice is heard from the other side of the wall.
DOOGIE
Just one more question.
He pokes his head back over the wall.
FRAN
What?
DOOGIE
For real? You asked her and she said yes?
FRAN
Don’t get your hopes up too high. She may have said yes to get me out
of her cubicle… See a pattern here?
DOOGIE
(pauses) Oh… Right… See… I’m going. Going right now. Leaving
you alone… yes, I am.
Voice from the other side of the cubicle wall is fading.
DOOGIE
See. Here I am, back at my desk. Minding my own business. No longer
tempting fate.
He says the last line while sitting down.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
INT. OFFICE
The typing sounds come first then a pullback to see Fran’s computer screen. Pull back further to see Fran push herself away from her desk.
FRAN
There’s no way… I’ll never get all this done before I have to leave. (pause) Screw it. I should just set a pencil’s down deadline. And wherever I am is where I’ll pick up when I get back. Besides, it’ll probably go much faster on Sunday night — with fresh eyes and a fresh brain. Or better yet, I can salvage my weekend entirely and just get up early on Monday to do it.
Fran stands up with a burst of energy– feeling renewed from this “executive-level” decision she just made. Having cleared her mind of work “baggage” she smiles and starts thinking about Oregon.
FRAN
(in voiceover)
Gee. I wonder how close Julie is to getting out of here? She punches a few numbers and sits back. Within seconds she hangs up.
FRAN
Rats! Straight to voicemail. She’s either in DND (Do Not Disturb) mode or on the phone. (pause) Okay– I’ll call back and leave her a message. She punches the numbers, while clicking on her browser to check the weather.
FRAN
Yo, Julie. It’s your travel mate. Hey, temps in the high 60s no rain… Can’t beat that. So I hope you got my emails– we’re out of here at 5:15pm sharp. If you get a chance, ring me with your license plate number so I can give the guard a head’s up. Later, dudette!
Fran hangs up and opens her email and starts typing again.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
INT. OFFICE
This time, we pull back and see Doogie typing away, not watching his screen. He’s reading a document on his desk while he’s typing away. He pauses to look at his screen.
DOOGIE
Rats! I did it again.
A close-up of the screen shows he typed gibberish because his fingers weren’t on the right home keys.
DOOGIE
…and I did it for a long time too. What a waste… what a putz… I should just punt. This is silly (he says to himself). Doogie looks over towards Fran’s cubicle and then checks his watch.
DOOGIE
I know. I know. Don’t press it.
Doogie stands up and exits his cubicle.
CUT TO:
INT. HALLWAY
Doogie is walking leisurely down the hallway in the direction of the breakroom (vending machines). In his head a Moody Blues song is pulsating:
SONG
(from Gemini Dreams)
Long time no see
The lights go up
For you and me
We’re here
The time is right
To rock ‘n’ roll
Right through the night…
The music is sort of carrying him along until he sees something out of the corner of his eye which causes him to do a double-take. He had just walked past the conference room (also known as the fishbowl) and there was a big meeting going on. He walks back and tries sneak a peek into the room without being noticed.
DOOGIE
(voiceover in his head)
At this time of day… on a Friday afternoon. That’s got to be the meeting that
has my Julie all stressed out.
Then he sees her. She’s hunched over her laptop typing away. Suddenly she looks up.
In Doogie’s mind, he thinks she has noticed his presence outside the conference room, so he waves and winks at her. Unbeknownst to him, Julie has looked back down and is working away– but others in the fish bowl have noticed him and are laughing and waving and winking. Wondering what the commotion is, Julie looks up. This time she really sees Doogie and she’s mortified. She slides deeper into her chair and stares at her computer screen. The camera pans back to where Doogie is standing. At that moment, someone in the hallway has motioned Doogie to move along… and he does.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE
Close-up of a clock. It’s after 5pm. The pullback from the shot show that we’re back in Fran’s cubicle. She clicks her mouse and pushes back from her desk.
FRAN
That ought to do it.
She picks the sports section up off the chair and scans it briefly. Then she jumps up on the chair to prairie dog (slang) Doogie.
FRAN
PSST!
Doogie pretends not to hear her. He’s typing away. There are two empty snickers wrappers near his keyboard.
FRAN
Yo, Doog! (pause) Doog!
He starts typing really fast.
FRAN
Yeah, right! Now I know you’re playing. Go ahead and read back what you wrote, I dare you.
Doogie looks up at her and smiles. He turns back to the computer screen and pretends to read the gibberish he’s written.
DOOGIE
Cubbies looking to rally from two down. Yanks going for the sweep tonight. (pause) How the heck are you going to handle a weekend without baseball?
FRAN
Really? That’s what you typed? Go ahead and hit send. I want to see it!
Doogie turns back to his screen and clicks his mouse a few times and then pauses.
DOOGIE
Oopsie. (pause) Seems I accidentally poofed it. Why are the Send and Poof buttons so darn close to each other…
He turns around and winks.
FRAN
Yeah right! (pause) So you REALLY think your Cubbies will rally.
DOOGIE
Hey it’s my weekend for wishful thinking.
FRAN
Subtle. Real subtle. But seriously. What has you tied up all day?
DOOGIE
Actually, I was finishing up an article to hand off to the editors for some (air quotes) constructive criticism.
FRAN
So did you put a fork in it or are you going to be here longer?
DOOGIE
The Snickers Push got me over the finish line.
FRAN
Awesome. I just wrapped it up as well.
Doogie looks at the clock.
DOOGIE
Time for you to grab Jules and get the flock out of here, isn’t it?
FRAN
There you go again with the wishful thinking.
DOOGIE
What?
FRAN
I haven’t seen or heard a peep from her all day… Have you?
DOOGIE
She’s been locked down in a big meeting in the fishbowl. Looked kinda stressed.
FRAN
I take that to mean she’s not going.
DOOGIE
Chin up girl. Think half full. She’s probably waiting for you in the parking lot right now.
FRAN
Boy you must be dreaming. Better cut back on those Snickers– you’re
hallucinating.
DOOGIE
Yeah… well, it’s possible that the stressed look was because she
wanted to wrap things up so she can join you on that plane.
Fran motions to Doogie that she’s going to grab her things and get heading towards the parking lot. Doogie gives her the thumbs up and quickly gathers his things to walk out with her.
INT. HALLWAY
FRAN
Look… I don’t want to burst your bubble. But I think its your turn to accept that if its meant to be, it’ll be… the sun, moon, and stars will line up… Fate will take charge and she’ll be out there ready to go. (pause) If not, at least she knows we care… which come to think of it, is a lot more than I can say happened to me when I was starting out..
Doogie opens the door for Fran and they walk towards their cars. Doogie has the look of someone who is about to say something overly clever (smart ass).
FRAN
Don’t even go there.
DOOGIE
What? What’d I do?
FRAN
You’ve got that look.
DOOGIE
I was just going to say that I get your point and now I’m going to let it go–see? I’m dropping it. Clearing my head.
Fran gives him a skeptical look.
FRAN
Oh yeah… (pause) So what’s going through your mind right now?
DOOGIE
I was just thinking that if I hurry, I can catch the game in progress.
FRAN
Yeah… and I’ll listen to it in the car on the way to the airport. They both get into their cars and shut their doors and roll down their windows (all in sync). Doogie pulls out and waves.
Fran fiddles with her belongings to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything before puts her car in gear. As she starts backing up, she hits the brakes and pulls back into her space.
CUT TO:
INT. FRAN’S CAR
In her rear view mirror, she sees a disheveled Julie half walking/half jogging across the parking lot. Fran looks at the clock and smiles.
FRAN
(talking to herself and in invisible Doogie)
See, Doogie! If it is meant to be, it’ll be… (pause) Better let the guard know about her car.
FADE TO BLACK.
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