Perception or The Oatmeal Cookie & Michelle's Mind
my dreams. You’re doing well
anyways with the movie editing
thing.
JON
Kinda. It’s getting frustrating.
MATT
Well, finish it so we can party
and find you a woman. You’re
like what, thirty-five?
JON
Thirty-one.
MATT
Whatever, that’s still older
than me. The thing is, you’re
getting old, and guys your age
have girlfriends or are already
dad’s.
JON
Jeez, I’m helping you out here.
I could just go home and listen
to Herman and not clean up
animal crap.
MATT
Who’s Herman?
JON
He’s my new friend.
A GROUP OF WOMEN in their mid-twenties walk by and look at the cages near the monkeys. Matt is distracted.
MATT
Look over there.
Jon turns his head and sees the group of women.
JON’S POV, everything is hazy as if it were a dream. Behind the group of women in the distance Jon sees Sandra. Matt stops working and walks on over to the women. He talks to them. Sandra holds Molly’s hand and they walk closer to him. Matt turns his head and sees Sandra. He tells the women goodbye, and walks towards Sandra and Molly. A gorilla climbs from the top of the cage below and pulls one of the women in. They scream and they run away. Jon sees Sandra and Molly walk towards him, but then Doug is in front of him.
DOUG
(chuckles)
Cleaning up crap?
End Jon’s POV.
JON
Supervising a field trip?
DOUG
I hope you have time to work
on the editing with me today.
JON
(sarcastically)
Of course.
DOUG
What’s up with you?
In the distance, there are police and an ambulance at the spot where the woman was pulled in. The women are in tears and are conversing with a detective. A herd of kids are following behind Sandra and a teacher.
JON
(looks at Sandra)
You messed up my fantasy.
DOUG
Great.
(walks away)
Oh and Jon.
JON
Yeah?
DOUG
Stay away from my woman.
Doug walks with Sandra and they walk past Jon. Sandra waves at him. Molly sticks out her tongue to Jon. The herd of kids copy Molly and stick their tongues out towards Jon. They all leave. Matt stands near Jon.
JON
What was up with that, man?
MATT
I know, I didn’t even see the
gorilla pull the woman in.
JON
What?
Matt points in the distance, and Jon looks.
JON
That’s scary. No, I’m going off
topic. What was up with you
going over and talking to Sandra?
MATT
Dude, you need to get over her.
JON
You left me alone with Doug.
Frick, he’s watching me like a
hawk.
MATT
Speaking of animals, let me show
you some pictures of myself with
the monkey.
Matt shows photos of himself with the monkey that was at his place. The photos show Matt and the monkey playing video games, cooking, posing on a couch, and Matt in a gorilla costume.
CUT TO:
INT. SANDRA’S KITCHEN – 5PM
Molly is sitting at the kitchen table and colouring. Sandra is cleaning the counters and Doug walks in. He grabs his keys off the counter.
SANDRA
Hey Doug, how about taking me out
to dinner, we haven’t done that
in awhile.
DOUG
No can do sweetstuff, I have some
work to do tonight.
SANDRA
All night?
DOUG
Yep.
Sandra sighs.
Doug exits the kitchen.
DOUG (O.S.)
Maybe next time.
INT. JON’S OFFICE ROOM – EVENING
Jon sits in front of the computer monitor and is working on editing the movie. He places some files in the program and works on making 3D animations for more dragons. The doorbell RINGS. Jon gets up.
INT. JON’S FRONT ENTRANCE – EVENING
Jon opens the front door to see Doug.
JON
Hey… Doug.
DOUG
Sorry about earlier. I was a
bit upset what happened in the
kitchen.
JON
(agitated)
Just a bit? You’re freakin’
stalking me! And at a zoo.
DOUG
It was a coincidence.
JON
Right. Come in.
Doug enters the front door.
INT. JON’S OFFICE ROOM – 5:15PM
The clock indicates 5:15PM. The two men sit side by side and look at the monitor. Jon shows what he plans to do. Doug pulls out a few pages from his folder and puts it on the table. Doug points at story boards and points at the screen displaying the dragons.
DOUG
How long do you think it would
take you before you can input the
dragons?
JON
About ten hours if I finish it
in one go.
DOUG
Okay, how about adding in the
animation?
JON
We’re looking at more than a
few weeks.
DOUG
There’s only a few days left.
you can do it, you’re the
visual effects team.
JON
Who authorized it to be completed
within a week?
DOUG
I told you, it was something
about a better marketing outcome.
JON
(loudly)
I don’t care about it. I wanna
know who put the pressure on me
to do this. It’s unreasonable to
edit an entire feature in one week.
The phone rings.
JON
Mind if I get that?
DOUG
Nope. I gotta jet outta here
anyways.
Jon walks over to the phone and sees the caller ID showing the name ‘SANDRA.’ Jon smiles. Doug gets up from the chair and walks to the door. The phone rings again.
JON
(smiles and waves)
See ya later.
Doug exits the room. A THUD is heard from the front door closing. Jon clicks a button on the phone.
JON (to phone)
Hey, um, hi… Sandra, hello.
(lower voice)
Hello.
SANDRA (phone V.O.)
Hi Jon, we haven’t hung out in
A long time. Do you wanna hang
out?
JON (to phone)
Yeah.
CUT TO:
EXT. SANDRA’S HOUSE – EVENING
Jon is at the porch and Sandra opens the front door.
JON
Ready to go?
SANDRA
Yup.
CUT TO:
INT. RESTAURANT – EVENING
Jon and Sandra sit across from each other in a booth. The lighting is ver
y dim and candles are on tables. Sandra is wearing a fitted black dress and Jon is wearing a brown blazer over a T-shirt with light jeans and looks very scruffy.
SANDRA
So, how’ve you been?
JON
Well…
(pause)
I’ve been seeing a talking cookie.
His name is Herman. He’s gonna
help me take over the grocery
store.
Sandra has a concerned look on her face.
SANDRA
Are you okay?
JON
Well, I haven’t gotten a good
Sleep in awhile.
SANDRA
Have you tried sleeping pills?
JON
(laughs)
I’m just kidding.
He looks down to his lap and has pills in his hand. He puts them in his pocket.
JON
Remember when we first met, back
in college?
SANDRA
(happily)
How could I not.
JON
Yeah, back in those dorms.
SANDRA
I completely remember. I had just
finished my evening class and you
were out in the hallways butt naked
locked outta your dorm.
JON
I wasn’t butt naked!
SANDRA
Okay, you had tighty whities on.
Still was a sight.
JON
(happily)
You laughed at me and ran away.
SANDRA
Hey, I came back with a towel for
you. Anyways, you hung out in my
dorm until your friend was finished.
(pause)
Do you still have those tighty
whities?
JON
(blushes)
No, I threw those out ages ago.
SANDRA
(giggles)
I miss those old days, we did have
a lot of fun.
JON
Yeah. You looked hot back then.
SANDRA
What am I now?
JON
You’re still hot Sandra, you’re a
hot model.
SANDRA
Don’t base me off my job.
JON
Sorry.
Jon is silent.
SANDRA
(pushes Jon’s shoulder)
I’m kidding. I know you wouldn’t
think that.
They both laugh.
INT. JON’S LIVING ROOM – Evening
Matt and Molly are eating McDonalds and watching cartoons. Matt takes a sip from his drink and then burps. Molly does the same. Matt burps louder. Molly does a quiet burp.
MATT
Guess I win.
MOLLY
Only cuz you’re bigger.
Matt changes channels on the TV.
MATT
Where do you think they went?
MOLLY
Ice skating.
MATT
Nah.
MOLLY
That’s what I would wanna do on a
date?
MATT
(shocked)
It’s a date?
Molly nods. Matt grabs the cookie on the plate on the table.
MOLLY
(screams)
No----- Not that cookie.
MATT
Why not?
MOLLY
It’s contaminated. Bad. No Good.
Molly makes an ‘X’ in the air with her arms.
MATT
Alright, not like there aren’t
others in the kitchen.
Matt gets up and goes into the kitchen. Molly looks are the lonesome cookie.
MOLLY
(quietly)
Herman.
EXT. SANDRA’S HOUSE – LATE
Jon and Sandra are on Sandra’s porch. She rummages through her purse and pulls out her keys.
SANDRA
Thanks Jon. I haven’t had this
much fun in a long time. We should
do this more often.
JON
I would love that.
Sandra puts the key into the door and unlocks it.
JON
Well, I guess we’ll call it a night.
Sandra walks into her house as she opens the door. She turns around.
SANDRA
Goodnight Jon. Could you send Matt
to bring Molly over?
JON
Sure.
Jon waves at Sandra and walks over to his house.
INT. JON’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
The television is on and late night shows and adult commercials are on. Matt is asleep on the single couch and Molly is sleeping on the couch. There are fries on the floor and Mcdonald wrappers on the table. Jon nudges Matt and he does not wake up. Jon goes to Molly and picks her up and exits the room.
EXT. SANDRA’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Jon is holding Molly, who is fast asleep, and rings the doorbell. Sandra opens the door.
JON
Looks like I’m here again.
SANDRA
On, come in.
INT. LOBBY/LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Jon walks down the stairs from the top floor entering into the lobby. Sandra takes comes clips out of her hair.
SANDRA
How is she?
JON
Fast asleep.
SANDRA
Do you want some tea?
JON
Sure.
Sandra exits the room. A faucet is heard in the distance. Jon sits down on the love seat. Sandra enters the room and sits next to Jon.
SANDRA
Tonight was fun.
Jon leans over and kisses her cheek. Sandra blushes. She leans in towards Jon and then there are hard KNOCKS at the door. Sandra gets up and opens the door to reveal Matt.
MATT
(frantically)
Sandra! I lost her. She disappeared.
INT. DREAMLAND – DAY
It is sunny and bright. Jon is in a luscious field and he runs. Sandra appears and she holds hands with Jon while they run together.
JON
I love you, Sandra!
SANDRA
I love you too, Jon!
They stand still and look into each other’s eyes. They lean in towards each other and close their eyes.
SANDRA
(opens eyes)
Wait.
JON
What?
In the distance is Molly next to a tree. She waves.
JON
Molly is so cute. We would be a
great family.
Jon leans forward to kiss Sandra. She puts her hand on his face.
SANDRA
No!
JON
Why?
Jon is wearing a barrel, gloves with no fingers, and a top hat that’s ripped open. The weather changes to dark and dreary. Doug appears wearing lots of bling around his neck. He puts his hand on Sandra’s shoulder. She moves away from Jon. Doug and Sandra kiss passionately. Molly rides on a coyote and passes Jon.
MOLLY
You’ll never finish on time.
You suck!
Doug laughs. He and Sandra enter a black hummer and drive away. Molly follows. Jon looks down and sees Herman.
HERMAN
Hey, Jon. I’m here for you.
JON
Thanks Herman.
HERMAN
When do you wanna go to the
grocery store?
JON
It’s more successful there.
HERMAN
Yes, Jon, it is.
Are you ready
to go?
Jon is silent and stares blankly.
HERMAN
Jon, are you ready to go?
(voice echo’s while it
lips in sync to the words)
Are you ready to go?
CUT TO:
INT. JON’S OFFICE – NIGHT
Jon sleeps in his chair. The computer monitor shows a scene from the dragon’s movie in an editing program. Herman is right next to Jon’s face.
HERMAN
(loud)
Jon.
Jon wakes up and opens his eyes to see Herman.
JON
(shocked)
Oh my God!
(sighs)
You scared me.
HERMAN
I’ve been in the kitchen alone
for so long. Do you know how hard
it is for me to get up those
stairs?
Jon looks at Herman.
HERMAN
Exactly, you wouldn’t know. You’re
human.
Herman walks down Jon’s stomach and climbs down his leg. Herman proceeds to walk towards the doorway. It stops and looks at Jon.
HERMAN
Come Jon. It is time we go take
over the grocery store.
INT. WASHROOM – NIGHT
Jon washes his face and combs his hair. He puts on a t-shirt. He looks at the bottle of pills. The label states “TAKE TWO PILLS TWICE A DAY.” He grabs the bottle and starts to twist the cap. He stops, and puts the bottle back down. He walks out of the washroom.
EXT. 24 HOUR GROCERY STORE – NIGHT