Now . . .Finale: Part One | Next . . .Sept 18th.
Showing posts with label daycare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daycare. Show all posts

January 29, 2025

Dribble All Around [ #Surprise25 ]

[ Kaori’s Apt . . .Monday Morning.  ]

[ Ambling down the corridor, Kaori reaches her 
living area.  Frustrated to see Jai still awake &
sprawled out on the sofa, drinking from a
water bottle. ]  

“Sorry babe. You knew this was 
going to be a long weekend for
me but at least it’s done.”

[ Kaori pauses at the table behind
him to gather her keys and purse.

Jai’s eyes close, expecting to be
met with a sweet expression but 
he’s rejected by dry silence. ]

JAI: Okay, what now?

KAORI: You know exactly what.

Friday you come home at 6am and
who knows what time last night.  

JAI: I told you.  Kii’s party got out of
control and I had to stay until things
mellowed out.  

KAORI: Yeah,  I bet they did.

JAI: What is that supposed to mean?

[ She walks over to the couch to face
him. ]

KAORI: Do you really believe this is 
how someone your age should act?

JAI: I’m only 26.  There is nothing
wrong with me designating one
weekend to go out and support 
my friend.  

KAORI: It’s not just one weekend.
Or about going out.  We’ve been
dating for almost five years.

At this point, you should be more
concerned about our future.  

[ Jai stands up, walking past her. ]

JAI: I don’t want to argue about
this anymore.  I’m going to my
Dad’s.

[ He exclaims, raising his voice. ]

“No!  We need to talk about this more.”

[ Kaori grabs his arm roughly, attempting
to hold him there.  Jai aggressively yanks 
her off him, causing her to drop down to  
 the floor. ]


[ TA Store . . .In The Afternoon. ]

[ Hahn is galivanting toward the back
all while loudly whistling to the
music playing through the store.

He leans onto his wife Syria from
behind, who is counting her 
inventory near the pastry counter. ]

“Hey dear!”

SYRIA: Hey honey. 

[ She moves his arms down off
her waist, turning around to 
face him. ]


HAHN: It’s fine. Amber is still
here.  I just know since your
assistant quit, you’ve had a
lot on your plate.  Just checking
in.

SYRIA: I got it under control.  

I’ll see you later though.

[ She heads to her office.  Meanwhile,
up front at the registers. 

Monica approaches Erme at his lane. ]

MONICA: Thanks for coming up to
cashier.  We’ve been getting slammed
since this morning.

ERME: It’s no problem.  Brian has
a lot of help today.   

[ He waves at an older couple after
helping put the last of their bags
in the cart. 

Turning around, he sees a familiar
face come up. ]

ERME: You walk all the way over
here for our deli food?

YAZ: Hey, it's actually pretty good.

And that wasn’t the only reason.

ERME: You interested in another
barn date tonight then?

YAZ: I’ll let you know.

[ Erme stares as she walks out the door. ] 


[ TA Care . . .Late Afternoon. ]

“Babe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“When I get back here, you better
not be!”

[ Kaori is rustled from her daydream
by someone calling her name. ]

JENNI: Kay?  Didn’t you hear me.

KAORI: What? Yeah, I’m sorry.

JENNI: You’ve been cooped up in
here for hours.  Is something going
on?  And where is Jai?

KAORI: He took the day off and
Stuu is running the activities. I 
just had some office work to
complete.  That’s all.  

JENNI: Alright.  Well don’t forget
about the meeting at four.  

[ Minutes later from their conversation 

Kaori is leaving the office when she
hears shouting near the activity
center. ]



[ TA Store . . .Back Break Room. ]

[ Syria & Ricky are chatting while
eating their meals. ]

‘Tell me something, Ricky. . .

How do you do it?”

RICKY: Do what?  

[ She asked, taking a bite of her sandwich ]

SYRIA: Work and live with your husband.

Doesn’t he ever drive you mad?

RICKY: Yes!  In fact, that’s the main 
reason he moved out of meat last year. 

To save our marriage.  

[ She half jokes. ] 

RICKY: Seriously though. We just keep the
association at work to a minimum.  And we
go out with our separate groups.  

SYRIA:  That’s a good idea.  I think we 
could really benefit from some time apart. 

I’ll talk to Hahn tonight.  Thanks.   

[ Syria takes a sip from her energy 
drink, letting out a breath of relief. ]


[ Back In Care . . .Hallway Area. ]

“What is going on out here?”

STUU: Nothing.  I just told Cody he
needed to watch his language and
his father is clearly upset over it.  

[ Cody is standing across the room
getting his stuff while his Dad sends
evil glances in their direction. 

Mila is seen crying and running toward
Stuu. ]

STUU: What did he say to you?

[ Mila whispers into her Dad’s ear as
his face goes from concern to anger. 

Stuu starts marching toward the front
door & Kaori runs after him. ]

KAORI: Stuu!  What are you doing?

[ He ignores her, going faster toward
the Dad’s car. ]

“Can I help you?”

STUU: That was the last time we
will be assisting you, Sir. And if you 
step one racist foot in this parking
lot again, you will wish you hadn’t!  

[ The parent drives off fast, leaving
them in the lot. ]  


[ Syria & Hahn’s House . . .That Night. ]

“The tikka was perfection as usual.

So, what’s on the agenda now a
movie?”

[ Hahn sits down on their velvet red 
couch, stretching his legs over Syria’s
lap.  

She taps him, motioning to move. ]

SYRIA: Nope.  I’m going out.  Just
for an hour or two.

HAHN: Okay, where?  

SYRIA: With a couple of girls from
TA.  You know Ricky and her friend
Kira from the salon.

HAHN: Wait, aren’t those girls in their
20s?

SYRIA: 30s.  And what’s your point?

We’re just going for dessert. 

HAHN: Well, have fun.  

[ She kisses him, grabbing her purse 
on the way out. ]

HAHN: Some warning would’ve
been nice though.

[ He mumbles to himself as Syria shuts
the front door. ]


[ TA Care . . .Couple Hours Before. ]

[ Mila, Dibur, Joey, & Xalia are sitting
at the table playing various games.

Dibur removes his VR headset. ]



DIBUR: Are you better now?

[ He looks over at Mila. ]

MILA: Yeah, I guess.

DIBUR: I don’t think he’s coming
back.  

JOEY: Yeah.  Your Dad’s gonna kick
his Dad’s butt if he does.  

[ Mila smiles at Joey & they all start
to laugh. 

Dyminic walks into the room. ]

“Ready to go buddy?”

[ Dibur walks over to Mila, patting
her on the shoulder. ]

DIBUR: See ya.  

[ He follows his Dad outside. ]


December 10, 2018

This Is Hush

( Starring Amber/ Landyn )


Breakroom, at TheAisles.

[ Amber & Monica are sitting
close watching what appears to
be a video on Amber's phone.

Kristyn walks in as they are
smiling and gushing over the
view. ]

"Are you two using the security
cam app to spy on hot male
customers again?"

AMBER: Of course not. I mean,
who even still does that?

[ Kristyn sits down next to Monica
whose sly silence says it all. ]

MONICA: No one at all.

AMBER: We're actually monitoring
Diber over at Care.
KRISTYN: Really? I didn't know they
had that.
MONICA: They have everything and
more.  You know Mark and his con-
stant flow of "ideas".

[  Amber moves her phone so Kristyn
can see it. ]

AMBER: All I have to do is sign in.

Not only can I see what room he's
in but I can also click it to view
live video.

See. Right now he's in the activity
room.
KRISTYN: Oh yeah.  There's Jenni.

Awe that's sweet.

[ They see a baby girl sitting near
him & Jenni on the floor playing.

She takes his hand then leans
down, giving Diber a peck on
the mouth. ]

AMBER: That was so cute.  I'm going
to send it in a clip to Dyme.

[ Kristyn looks surprised. ]

Yes. You can do that too. Oh wait.
He just text me.  That's weird at
this hour.

"Call me when you get a chance."


Upstairs, Mark's office.

[ Landyn sits across from him.
Wide eyed & in good spirits as
Mark is noticeably dragging off
of the events of last night. ]

MARK: Before we start shooting
scenes I need to go over some
things with you.

LANDYN: Right.  I figured we
weren't doing a normal ad
thing. That would make life
way too easy for me.

[ Landyn states while Mark shovels
in massive gulps from his paper
coffee cup. 

He starts to smirk. ]

MARK: Not exactly.  We've decided
to go in a different direction to
set us apart from the other big
food store ads.

Take a look at this.

[ He hands Landyn a sheet with
marked changes when his phone
starts to ring.

He quickly silences it but then he
gets a text. ]

"I'm here.  Can we talk quick?"

MARK: Must be important.

[ Landyn shows him Caleb's
message. ]

MARK: We have time. Go on down.

[ Landyn leaves for downstairs
unaware that Mark already has
a clue of what's going on. 

He walks out into the back employee
only lot, throws on his shades & 
joins Caleb inside his car. ]

CALEB: I'm not sure how to
start this so I'll just come
right out with it.

I had sex with someone else
a couple weeks ago.


Next door, TACuts.

[ Slow morning, Lorenzo is coloring
a regular customer while his 
manager Acer sits down in
the station next to him. ]

"That looks incredible Mrs.
Mason."

[ He gives the older women the
phoniest "customer service"
smile he can manage to pull
off at 8am.

Later on, after she leaves. ]

"How we're the drinks last
night?"

[ Acer flattens himself into the
seat, almost falling out. ]

ACE: My head is killing me right
now.
I will never again do that on
a Sunday.
LORENZO: Should have joined
us at Tila's instead.

Trust me.  It got way more interes-
ting then some dips in the pool.

ACE: Oh yeah.  In what way?

[ Pierre enters the salon & starts
walking toward them. ]

LORENZO: Here's the guy who
can tell you all about it.

PIERRE: What, am I late?

LORENZO: No but we'd love to hear
about what happened last night
after I got dragged away.

PIERRE: I bet you would but
I refuse to get into details. 

The main thing we decided is
it was a one time situation.
LORENZO: And what are you
going to do about Ry?

PIERRE: I plan on avoiding 
him from now on.


Outside TACare.

[ Amber meets her husband Dyminic
in the parking lot who is frantically
walking toward the entrance. ]

AMBER: Hey, what's going on?

[ He stops & turns to Amber with
noticeable frustration on his
face. ]

"I'm here to talk to someone 
about the video you showed
me."

[ He turns around & she follows
after him. ]

AMBER: That's fine.  Just please
don't make a scene.

[ Inside they head toward the front
counter. ]

"I need to speak to the manager."

SUNSHINE: Yes.  How can I help you?
DYMINIC: Can you tell me how this
seems like appropriate behavior
to encourage with a baby?

[ He shows Sunshine the video from
earlier. ]

SUNSHINE: That was just Mila's way
of playing with him Sir.  We actually
see this a lot in here but we never
tell them to do this.
DYMINIC: You should be pointing out
that it's not okay.  Especially to the
older ones.

There's something called personal
space. Even with a baby.

[ He begins to raise his voice, mean-
while a young couple has just 
entered the lobby. ]

SUNSHINE: I apologize. While the other
parents may not have expressed any
issues.  We want to make sure you
are personally comfortable with
your child's care here.

AMBER: Thank you.  Why don't
we discuss this somewhere
in private.

[ Dyminic looks unsettled, follow-
ing them to the back. ]


Back inside Caleb's car.

"I knew this was a bad idea."

CALEB: It wasn't. We aren't.

LANDYN: We? So were you
thinking about me when you
did this?

For fuck's sake, we've only
been dating a couple months
man.
CALEB: I know. But you have
to understand.  I've never been
in a real relationship.

LANDYN: That's no excuse. You
said you wanted to be serious.

This was your idea.

[ Landyn puts his hand on the
door but Caleb locks it. ]

CALEB: Wait. We have to talk
about this.  Can't you just give
me another chance?

[ He waits for a glance but 
Landyn keeps staring forward. ]

LANDYN: Who was it?
CALEB: I can't tell you.
LANDYN: Oh you're going to 
tell me.

CALEB: I know I've messed
up our relationship but
if this gets out it.

LANDYN: What?

[ Caleb looks away. ]

CALEB: I don't want to be
responsible for ruining a
marriage.  A family.

I know I'm asking a lot but
can we please just drop it.


Home, later that night.

[ Dyminic is in the kitchen putting
the finishing touches on his ground
turkey pasta

& made-from-scratch garlic bread. ]


[ Amber is seated at the dining room
table when Dyminic enters sitting
the plates down on the table. ]

"My favorite."


DYMINIC: I just wanted to say I
may have overreacted a bit
earlier.  I know how important
TA as a company is to you and
I never want to put you in a bad
position.

AMBER: Don't worry about it
babe.

We're both new parents and
I want you to express how you
feel about raising Diber.

As long as we talk everything
through we should be fine.

[ She smiles at him while taking
a piece of bread from the basket
in the middle of the table. 

They are talking back and forth
when Dyminic phones rings. He
excuses himself into the hall. ]

DYMINIC: You found me the
top ones?  Cool.  Just send the
list to my email.  

Thank you.



                                                                                                                                                                                                         #ColorMeTA | Episode 3 (*722)

January 8, 2017

Great Pretender: Part 1


Four  Months  Later

Scene One: TACare

[ Jenni walks through
the open door of her
shared office, joining
Jai inside. ]

JAI: Do you think I look
like a professional in
this scene?

[ He unpauses the screen &
Jai is shown sitting in
a chair at TASalon.

 The camera points up to
Lorenzo as he removes Jai's
cover up & he stands. ]

"Thanks Renzo. This style
is sleek."



[ Jenni starts to smile. ]

JENNI: You look fine.  It's a
journey around TA in under a
minute.  Seems to me to be
exactly what they asked for.
JAI: Yeah but I'm no actor.
JENNI: Still can't believe
Landyn got sick at the last
minute but you did.

Alright.  

[ She teases, walking toward
the door. ]

JAI: I'll find out tomorrow.
JENNI: Right so relax. I'm
gonna go do room checks and
see if the girls need any-
thing.

[ Jai gets up & starts packing
his bag. ]

"Okay.  See ya when I get back
from class."

[ Picking up his phone from the
desk, he sends a text to an
unsaved number. ]

"I have dinner with the fam at
six. I'll be a couple hours 
late."

[ Jai waits for a response &
gets one immediately. ]


"Bet. You know where to 
find me."


Scene Two: 

[ Inside the activities
room, sitters are busy
overseeing the kids.

Tonya approaches Jenni. ]

"How are things going?"

[ Tonya looks in the
direction of a co-worker
who is leading a game
on the floor. ]

TONYA: Everyone's fine.
No freak outs so far.

JENNI: That's a relief.

TONYA: I'll go start
on some snacks.

[ She walks off & Jenni
goes to find her boss
Sunshine.

Up front, TACare. ]

SUNSHINE: Hey. Jai just
left for school.

JENNI: Okay. I got the email
list of things you want
us to focus on for corp-
orate tomorrow.
SUNSHINE: Thanks. Pass it on
to Jai too.  We all know he
forgets to check.

[ Just as Sunshine is about
to return to her office
a stranger's harsh tone
in the entrance catches 
her off guard. ]


"Where the hell is a
manager?"


Scene Three: MSPrep Hall.

[ Jai arrives. Walking towards
his class he catches up with
Kiilyn. ]

JAI: See told ya I'd make 
it.  And with five minutes 
to spare.

KIILYN: Well bravo.  Your
attendance last year almost
got you kicked out.
JAI: Thankfully you're the
only other person who knows
that still.
I have two weeks to improve
or I lose my half days too.

KIILYN: Damn.  Didn't even
know they could do that.
JAI: Yeah. I'll have to pick
up other classes and no more
work.
As far as my Dad's know I'm
doing great with the balance
and I plan on keeping it that
way.  

KIILYN: Good thing it's Friday
then.  You look like you need
to crash.

[ They stop outside the room. ]


JAI: I'll be there in a second.


Hello?  Yeah.  That's perfect.



Scene Four: Back At TACare.

"Now I understand why you went

for the blackout entrance."

[ Sunshine walks toward the desk

while Mark follows behind
laughing at her expression. ]

MARK: I know it's your first

time so I just wanted to make
sure you were clear on the
schedule for tomorrow.

SUNSHINE: Let me guess. They

want to start here.
MARK: Yup.  Around 9.
It should take about an hour
for you to walk them through
everything they'll want to
see.

[ Sunshine looks surprised. ]


MARK: They are very particular

just warning you.  But if every-
thing goes according to plan.
They'll just walk through, say a
few things, smile and bounce.

SUNSHINE: Hopefully. 

MARK: Don't worry about it. I
am disappointed that you and
Jeszyca won't be joining us
for dinner tonight.

[ She looks away. ]


MARK: Is something wrong?


[ Sunshine turns around as

the tears start to trail 
down her face. ]

MARK: Sorry.  I wasn't trying

to bring up anything.
SUNSHINE: It's fine. I mean,
well it's not.

[ She wipes her eyes with

a tissue. ]


I might need to move out.


Scene Five: Audi's Bar/Grill

[ Jai, Trailyn, Ski, Mark, Chais
& Jenni are sitting around the
table. ]

JAI: Whoever is playing footsies
with me, it doesn't feel nice.

[ He looks around the table &
everyone is staring at him
except Mark. ]

JAI: Dad!

SKI: I hope you don't have
your shoes off.

[ Mark looks guilty as he bends
down a little.

Later after ordering, Jai &
Trailyn excuse themselves to
the front lobby area. ]

"What's up?"

JAI: I'm going to hang with
my friend after dinner.

Is it cool if Ski gives
you a ride home?

TRAILYN: I mean. I guess.
What friend?
JAI: You don't know him.
He studies Japanese with
me and he's not getting
the homework.  
TRAILYN: What's his name?
JAI: A'myan. We better
get back to the table.

[ He takes her hand, kisses
her on the lips & they
start to walk back. ]


Scene Six: 

[ While they were gone. ]

"Oh no."

CHAIS: What, did you break
a nail?

JENNI: No.  Care got a bad
review online.
MARK: Really, what does it
say?

JENNI: It's a parent com-
plaining about the snacks
we give.
MARK: Oh that's it.

[ He shakes his head. ]

SKI: Yeah I wouldn't worry
about it. Everyone is well
aware of the food before
they bring the kids in.
CHAIS: No one's gonna care
babe.

JENNI: It still doesn't look
good.  
MARK: I'll find out about some
alternatives then but everything
has to be approved.

Plus the kids have to want to
eat it.  
JENNI: That's the real problem.

[ Jai & Trailyn return as the
table gets silent. ]


Scene Seven:

[ Jai parks in his friend's
back lot.  Gets out & walks
up to the door.

Knocking a little, he notices
it's open. ]

"Bro! Come on down."

A'MYAN: Sit. I know you've
been waiting on this all 
day.

[ He hands Jai a glass pipe
as he removes a torch lighter
from his pocket. ]

JAI: This is from the same
place right.
A'MYAN: Yup.  This is Tori
and Kayla.

JAI: Hey. How's it going?

[ He quickly smiles but his
focus stays on the piece that
is now tightly in his grasp.

Holding the light underneath,
he waits for the heat to work
its magic.  Soon he is laid back
 inhaling the thick white smoke. ]