JUST WRITING AN ESSAY
WRITTEN BY JIM THORNTON
INT. GRACE FORD SALVATORI HALL — ROOM 223 — DAY
A somewhat compact classroom lined with red bricks, holding about 25 chairs spaced tightly together, most of them squished to the edges, creating a circle of chairs lining the edges of the room — with a cluster of chairs in the middle, unused.
11:00 AM. Students pack in, one by one, as COACH (50s) stands at the front of the classroom at his podium in the front right corner. He eyes the students with a menacing glance.
JIM (23) walks in, briskly taking an empty seat.
COACH
Today… We will steal…. THE MOON!!
The students stare in silence.
COACH (CONT’D)
Wow… No one? That was a Despicable Me reference. Anyways…
INT. GRACE FORD SALVATORI HALL — ROOM 223 — LATER
11:20 AM.
Jim, sitting at his chair, stares at his notebook, flipping through his pages.
JIM (V.O.)
I was tasked with writing a research paper, utilizing the two interviews I held previously. My research question: Real Estate Development.
Jim flips and stops on his interview notes, looking over his notes with COACH.
JIM (V.O.) (CONT’D)
But, how could I connect the dots? One interviewee was a middle-aged college professor, named Coach, with general knowledge about real estate, where our conversation just led to the conclusion of: build more affordable housing, and the village has become gentrified.
INSERT PHOTO OF OLD VILLAGE, AND NEW VILLAGE
JIM (V.O.) (CONT’D)
The other was Hayden, a 21-year-old computer science student, whose interview focused on his hometown, Pasadena, and his current residence, Manhattan Beach. Hayden had a more limited understanding of Real Estate Development, with his main experience being his father, who sometimes invests in properties. He said they haven’t chatted much about that though.
INT. ACADEMIC SCHOLARS WRITERS AWARD BESTEST WRITERS ROOM — CONTINUOUS
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Jim sits on a stool inside the “Academic Scholars Writers Award Bestest Writers Room.” A ginormous gold medal hangs from his neck.
The “Academic Scholars Writers Award Bestest Writers Room” is a small gold-lined room, with genuine 24-karat gold walls, gold-framed images of previous award winners on the walls, and a gold stool which Jim sits upon.
Since you see me here, you know I’ve succeeded. I successfully connected the dots. I made the research paper so good, that it won me an “Academic Scholars Writers Award Bestest Writer Award”
INT. GRACE FORD SALVATORI HALL — ROOM 223 — LATER
11:30 AM.
Jim remains sitting at his desk. He jolts up and stares at the whiteboard.
JIM (V.O.)
I’ve done it. I’ve connected the dots.
Jim begins to frantically write.
JIM (V.O.) (CONT’D)
Society says we need more affordable housing… Coach says that we need more affordable housing… Hayden says he and most Manhattan Beach residents wouldn’t mind if more affordable housing was built near him… Most people don’t want high-density apartments built near them…
He stops writing and leans back.
JIM (V.O.) (CONT’D)
My hypothesis is… that most people would oppose the construction of high-density, affordable housing near them, fearing a lower quality of life. And I will challenge that hypothesis with my interview findings, where Coach mentions his nostalgia for the old village, where the community used to spend time before it became high-end, and Hayden’s statements about his and his neighbors’ support for a large affordable housing development built nearby.
INT. ACADEMIC SCHOLARS WRITERS AWARD BESTEST WRITERS ROOM — CONTINUOUS
Jim remains sitting on the stool.
JIM
Dots connected, B-word!
TO BE CONTINUED
