INT. HANA’S BEDROOM – EARLY MORNING
SFX: Birds chirping in an ironically happy manner.
It is Hana’s first day at her new high school. She is now sleeping in a proper bed, and the room is more completely set up – although there are still boxes lying haphazardly around the room. There is a knock at the door.
JIM (O.S)
(Cheerily through door)
Rise and shine Hanamoo – it’s
your first day at school!
HANA
(Sarcastically)
Yaaay.
Jim enters with two glasses of juice – one orange, one apple.
JIM
(Unphased)
Orange or apple?
HANA
(Reaching for orange)
Grapefruit.
CUT TO:
EXT. AMERY HIGH SCHOOL – DAY – ESTABLISHING
The black car pulls up in front of the “high school” which is actually just two blocks of land with two houses on them.
Students are arriving at school – the uniform is green/red tartan and white shirts.
CUT TO:
INT. BLACK CAR – DAY
Hana is basically looking really nervous from the backseat. James is staring unbelievingly at the tiny school.
JAMES
Are you sure this is it? It’s two houses.
JIM
Small town, small school. What did you expect
James, the Opera House?
JAMES
Yes, yes I did.
CUT TO:
EXT. AMERY HIGH SCHOOL – DAY
Hana and James get out of the car simultaneously. Hana shrugs on her backpack and James whips a string-satchel over his head onto his back. They walk through the front gate together.
CUT TO:
INT. ENGLISH CLASSROOM – DAY
There are nine students sitting on/at desks around the room. At the front of the class, MS EMMA COLTHORPE, Caucasian, is a 35-year-old English teacher wearing jeans and a folk band t-shirt, with dark hair. She writes the word REALISM on the board and underlines it with a flourish.
EMMA
(Loudly, with confidence)
Realism! The 19th Century attack on
Romanticism. The most -
Emma notices Hana standing nervously in the doorway and turns around, placing the chalk back on the holder under the board.
EMMA
(Continuing)
And you must be Hana. I’m Ms Colthorpe.
Welcome to Amery High.
HANA
Um, thanks.
EMMA
Take a seat.
HANA
Thanks.
Hana sits down at the only spare desk, which has an old wooden kitchen chair as a seat (as opposed to a plastic school chair). Next to her is WILL COLTHORPE, Emma’s 17-year-old son. (Hana doesn’t know this yet.)
EMMA
(Speaking in b.g., simultaneously.)
Take out your copy of The Necklace, by
Guy de Maupassant. Now, Maupassant
believed that fiction should convey reality
as much as possible. He wanted complete
objectivity. Who can tell me what objectivity
means?
WILL
(Stage-whispering, simultaneously.)
Hey, Hana? I’m Will.
HANA
(Whisper)
Um, hi.
WILL
You’re from Sydney?
HANA
Yeah.
WILL
Wish I lived in Sydney. Hippy mum thinks
the country air is better for my development.
HANA
Well we’re both in the middle of nowhere now, huh?
Emma has stopped speaking and turns to look expectantly at Will and Hana. Hana looks up guiltily; Will turns slowly around, annoyed at his mum for breaking up the conversation.
EMMA
Will?
WILL
(Nonchalantly)
No idea.
EMMA
I didn’t think so. Cleo?
CLEO
Objectivity … well … is it when you look at
something from an unbiased point of view? Like...
Cleo is holding a pen and lifts it up, looking at Emma with an innocent, straight face.
CLEO
(Continuing)
Like, this is a pen, not a ‘flimsy
plastic piece of crap'.
EMMA
(Slight grin)
You’ve pretty much got it, thanks.
So your homework for this afternoon
is to write a short story, with
complete objectivity. Any questions?
The bell rings and the class rushes to pack up their books. Hana copies the students around her and is about to leave the classroom when …
EMMA
Hana, can I have a moment of your time?
HANA
Uh, sure.
EMMA
So how have you been settling in here?
HANA
Fine, I guess. I’ve only been here for one class so …
EMMA
Listen, I know that Amery High is
probably a world away from your old
school, but you'll find that you'll
settle in quickly. It's a smaller school,
more personal; we're like a big family. If
you have any problems, though, just come
and talk to me.
HANA
Sure, thanks Miss.
EMMA
Alright. Do you have someone to hang
out with at lunch? If you want you can
come talk to me, I have playground duty.
HANA
(Politely, but mortified by the idea)
Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.
Hana repositions her bag and turns to walk out of the classroom. Emma watches her go with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, sighs, and then starts to wipe the board.
CUT TO:
EXT. AMERY HIGH GROUNDS – DAY
Hana walks out into the small, relatively crowded playground, hugging her books to her chest and looking around with a disorientated look on her face. The bouncy Cleo rushes up to her.
CLEO
Hi Hana!
HANA
Hi … ?
CLEO
It’s Cleo, I’m Cleo.
HANA
Oh, the pen girl.
Hana and Cleo turn away from the camera and start walking to a bench under a tree, where five students from the class are sitting
CLEO
(Laughing)
Sure, why not? So what did Ms Colthorpe want?
FADE TO:
...
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