Road Of Shattered Glass (Script: Placed At A Film Festival)

INT. Empty hallway in the Thomas household—Evening boarding on night.

There are pictures of every family member on the walls. One enclosed in a fine wooden frame is of a black haired girl playing the violin in front of a concert crowd. That is Cassandra’s sister Emily Thomas. Another photograph shows both parents helping their youngest daughter reading sheet music while their older child, Cassandra, watches from an audience chair. One picture in particular stands out. This is a photograph of Cassandra that was taken a year before. Her black hair was shining from beneath the overhead light and her face was red from laughing so much. She squinted her eyes in the picture because she could not see properly with the light in her face.

Cassandra did not look at the photographs as she walked. Instead she headed towards the bathroom door just as Emily Thomas shows up. Emily is wearing a flowered dress that she seems to really not be enjoying and in her hand is a couple of bills. She stuffs the money in her sock before her sister could take notice.

Emily Thomas
(Sighing)
You could have came. It wouldn’t have hurt anybody.

Cassandra gives her sister a quick glance before turning back to the bathroom door. She leans her head against the surface. Breathing heavily for a moment to calm herself down. She does not want to have her temper flare up at Emily.

Cassandra Thomas
(Through gritted teeth still facing the door.)
You don’t have to cause physical damage to inflict pain.
(Turning to face Emily.
This time she speaks somewhat relaxed.)
Forcing somebody to listen to that awful playing is quite painful enough.

Emily lowers her eyes to the floor for a few seconds. Then she raises them again to meet Cassandra’s intense gaze. Emily puffs out her chest like a defensive chicken trying to stay out of the slaughter house. After all, her music is as important to her as writing is to Cassandra.

Emily Thomas
(Defensive)
You never complained before. In fact, you were always there cheering me on.

Cassandra Thomas
(Snapping)
Music is not some sporting event!

Cassandra decides to end the argument before it even begins. She opens up the bathroom door and storms in. Then she closes the door with a loud bang right in her sister’s face.

INT. Bathroom—
Evening boarding night

Cassandra leans against the marble bathroom sink and stares into the center where the drain rests. She places her cold hand against her forehead, trying to fight off an incoming wave of dizziness.

INT. Hallway in the Thomas household—
Evening boarding on night.

Emily begins pounding her fist against the bathroom door in an attempt to force her sister to leave. Her blue eyes grow in intensity like her sister’s but this time though these eyes are masked in order to prevent people from seeing fear. She has been afraid of the way her sister had been turning for the past two months since Cassandra just decided to change.

Emily Thomas
(Raising her voice)
You wouldn’t be saying that if we were talking about one of your poetry readings.

INT. Bathroom—
Evening boarding on night.

Cassandra turns on the water faucet drowning out some of her sister’s voice. It wasn’t enough as what could be heard came loud and clear. Cassandra knew that to their parents, nothing was more important than Emily’s music. And even though she was once happy enough to tag along for the ride to the school where she had concerts and practice, Cassandra always felt empty when her parents opted not to hear her read in front of a crowd.

Cassandra Thomas
(Raising her voice over the water)
How would you know? It’s not like you actually go!

INT. Hallway in the Thomas household—
evening boarding on night.

Emily stops pounding on the door and storms down the hallway muttering to herself.

INT. Bathroom—
Evening boarding on night

Cassandra rolls up the sleeve of her black shirt and notices the bruises on her upper arm. Each one was turning a different shade of purple. She goes through the medicine cabinet, clinking bottles together, in search for some kind of medicine to put on them but finds nothing. She slams the medicine cabinet shut.

Cassandra Thomas
(Trying to write a poem by talking)
The vulture shreds the victim without his touch.
Scares the creature to the point of death.

* I'm proud to say this script ( even though I could only show you part of what I could find left of it) won an award at a film festival. I'm really nervous about the award show next month because this is my first real writing award.

The story involves a groupf of teenage students at a school who are in a club called: Road Of Shattered Glass which is the title of the script. As seen in the middle, sorry I don't have that part, the leader of the club passes around some kind of bowl in the girls bathroom to each person and they draw out a card that says who they have to act like. Cassandra is the abused girlfriend. It's supposed to be a secret club and most people think that it's a rumor. Well, the purpose of the club is that all the members are writers and they think it's hard to get in character which is why they decided to act like whoever they pull out and is written on the cardboard. You find out that one of the members had to pretend and act like an anorexic and almost died from it. At the end Cassandra lets somebody see her bruises, and a teacher is alerted, so Cassandra and a friend of hers that is a member tell everything about the club. At the end Cassandra enters her younger sister's room and listens to her play her music.*