Outside: A Screenplay

By A.D. Brown

Based on outward appearances, an audience would suspect Tiane is wholly satisfied excelling in the insulated world of academia. However, inwardly, she is a young woman in search of love and affection. Along her path to self-actualization, she meets a couple good close friends who come close to changing her life, and the walls all come down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Mar 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781728350882

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© 2020 A. D. Brown. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 03/11/2020

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5086-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5087-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-5088-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020905045

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

INT. POOL

Subtitle

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Olympic-sized, in a wide open beige space. There are no windows, and it’s a little hazy. Half of the pool is sectioned off in lanes, other half is not.

TIANE BRYER jogs in the shallow end. Shoulder-length black hair. Petite. She’s 21, wears black goggles and a pale pink one-piece suit. She’s kind of cute.

In the two lanes beside her, two blonde GIRLS swim laps. They both wear swim caps and do the breast stroke.

Tiane watches the girls for a moment. They both swim so gracefully, so naturally.

Tiane looks away, surveys the pool deck and spots –

A GUY

climbing the high dive. He’s well-defined but not chiseled by any means. Reaching the top, he leans over the side.

She watches him. He glances down at the girls and then walks slowly to the edge of the board.

The girls complete one of their laps, do a flip-turn and begin swimming in the other direction.

Still jogging, Tiane watches him watching the girls.

He jumps up into the air. She looks away.

He does a perfectly straight dive into the water.

Right as he breaks the surface, she looks back over at him.

She smiles slightly. It was such a straight dive.

INT. APARTMENT – BATHROOM – SAME DAY

Small, white and windowless.

Naked, Tiane sits in an antique big bath tub, soaking in the water. She rests her head between both of her arms. She’s pretty flat-chested.

She sits up out of the tub and grabs a blue bong off the tiled white floor. It’s already packed with marijuana.

She stares at a lighter that sits on the side of the tub, right next to a bottle of shampoo. She grabs it.

She lights up.

She inhales deeply, fights coughing, eye wide open.

INT. DORM ROOM – SAME DAY

Cluttered and windowless.

We’re UNDER a BED that bounces and springs. Above us we HEAR kisses and then –

soft moans.

GIRL

James DON’T stop don’t

don’t. Don’t EVER.

Under the bed, we see two phones and a few note pads strewn among clothing (pants, shorts, tee-shirts.) Some of the pads are closed and others are opened, giving us a preview of pages filled with handwriting.

GIRL

JIMMY, Jimmy.

INCH up to the bed to reveal

JAMES – cerulean eyes, dark blonde hair. He’s 21. The nondescript BLONDE on top of him is naked. He squints his eyes, makes a little noise as he comes.

JIMMY

Ah, Carrie.

He finishes coming.

BLONDE

Katrina.

She continues riding him, still moaning, eyes closed, back arched.

JIMMY

Katrina?

The realization sinks in.

BLONDE

My name’s Katrina!

She jumps out of bed and throws on a robe.

She glares over at Jimmy. He just looks back at her.

BLONDE

AGHHH!

She seizes a set of keys off a desk and storms out the door.

Naked, Jimmy steps out of bed and grabs a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt from where we were.

We see him from behind as he puts the clothes on. He has an above average body, but there’s nothing artificial about it (he doesn’t frequent the weight room.)

INT. UNIVERSITY – CLASSROOM – SAME DAY

Bare and small with a large chalkboard.

STUDENTS, no more than 15, sit around a long table with notebooks and pens.

A PROFESSOR sits in the middle of everyone. Middle-aged with tons of whiskers and red hair.

Tiane tears a piece of paper from a black note pad. Bobby sits right across from her.

TIANE

This is all I have.

She clears her throat and then starts reading from the paper.

TIANE

Love Kutz had hair like a fur

sable. She stands on the lip

of a thick cable. On the other

side, Valco grinds canines and

approaches fast. She understands

the sand had passed through the

hourglass. It rains. The chains

of silver that drape from Valco’s

cape always scrape the same –

tamely, hatefully. Hands atop

hers, skinny fingers lingering on

her wrist, the black lips move to

kiss the red lips. It’s time,

Valco says. I don’t have a clue,

Love says, hesitating lately but

still knowing it’s true. The canines

shine. Love leans toward Valco

this time. Why. She cries like

a child as the kiss comes.

DOUGLAS

Now you’re quiet ‘till we’re done,

you know that.

Tiane zips her lips and throws away the key.

DOUGLAS

Reactions.

EXT. JOHN HAY LIBRARY – NIGHT

Looks more like a small courthouse. Jimmy and Tiane stand near the top of a flight of slate steps, between a few stone pillars.

She freezes and smokes a cigarette, arms wrapped around herself.

He just freezes, hands casually in his back pockets, standing at least five feet away from her.