NovaBall

© James Denning

FADE IN:

EXT. - URBAN SIDEWALK - DAY 

WIDE ON:

DARIUS, a sloppy guy in his late teens or early twenties, is hanging out against a minimal to non-existent dark tan background, like a building, only abstract. Darius is slightly to the right of center, and he is slurping on a straw that is sticking out of a large styrofoam cup. 

SNYDER, another, similar, sloppy guy ambles on screen from the left with a small square of cardboard that has a baseball sized sphere in the middle of it. He presents it to Darius and stands on the left.

SNYDER

Dude, look, it’s a NovaBall.

DARIUS TAKES THE PACKAGE AND EXAMINES IT.

CLOSE ON:

THE PACKAGE, WITH IS FULL OF LURID CLAIMS ABOUT THE POWERS OF THE NOVABALL. 

WIDE ON:

DARIUS AND SNYDER AS DARIUS READS, UNINFLECTED.

DARIUS

More than a superball, it’s the super duper ball.

Darius hands the package back to Snyder, who opens it and drops the ball in his hand. It little lightning bolts fly out and sizzling, phosphorescent particles make electron-like circles around it.

DARIUS

Super.

SNYDER

Duper. Let me see.

Darius hands the ball to Snyder, who winces and hands it back to Darius. Darius starts to wind up to slam the ball into the ground.

CLOSE ON:

Darius' HAND AS HE winds up.

WIDE ON: 

Darius hurls the ball straight down. There are plasma bolts everywhere as the ball explodes off the ground and instantly zips straight up off the screen. Darius and Snyder are knocked flat, smouldering. They dust themselves off and look up, then get up, still looking up. Darius takes a sip from his cup then lowers his hand to his side.

SNYDER

Wow.

DARIUS

Yeah.

They keep looking up. A pigeon with a smoldering hole shot through it falls to the ground.

They keep looking up. A shattered rainbow falls at their feet.

DARIUS

Oops.

SNYDER

Yeah.

They keep looking up. Snyder pulls a calendar out of his pocket and hangs it on the background next to him. Darius takes a sip from his cup.

They keep looking up. Snyder pulls a date off the calendar, crumples it and eats it.

They keep looking up. A flying saucer zips down and lands next to them. AN ALIEN pops out, rubbing a black eye.

ALIEN

*high-pitched gibberish* Novaball.

DARIUS

Uh, no.

SNYDER

Um, sorry.

Alien pulls out a blaster and with a tremendous zap reduces Snyder to a pile of ashes with teeth and a pair of eyes. Alien flies off. Darius takes a sip from his cup. Snyder’s eyes look up at Darius. Darius takes the lid off his cup and pours some on Snyder. Snyder reconstitutes.

SNYDER

Thanks.

DARIUS

Sorry.

They look up. Snyder pulls another day off the calendar.

They are still looking up, but their heads start to track down and their eyes are widening ever so slightly. Darius takes a sip from his cup then lowers his hand to his side.

DARIUS

Um.

SNYDER

Duck?

DARIUS

I dunno.

Their heads track down as the ball returns with a tremendous slam and rebound that doesn’t quite leave them knocked over and smouldering, but does leave them windblown. Their heads whiplash up with the ball. Darius uses a finger to rearrange the straw to his cup, which was turned 180 by the force of the blast. Darius takes a sip from his cup then lowers his hand to his side.

A hole opens on the right and a GOPHER sticks his head out of the ground.

GOPHER

(in squeaks, angrily) #$%*&@!

Snyder shrugs at the gopher then looks up.

GOPHER

(in squeaks, angrier) #$%*&@#$%*&@!!!!

Darius offers the gopher his cup. gopher drinks from the straw and suddenly mellows out. He goes quietly back down his hole, which disappears.

Darius and Snyder LOOK up. While Darius takes a sip, Snyder, still looking up, counts three days off the calendar and rips them off. He stuffs the pages deep in his pants pocket.

Their heads start to track down.

SNYDER

Incoming.

DARIUS

Wicked.

They follow the ball down to the ground where it hits and rebounds up. Then it falls again, just off screen and they follow it left-right left as it goes through a whole lot of little bounces back and forth on each side of them.

CLOSE On:

their pupils follow the same bouncing arc as the ball does.

WIDEN AS:

Each bounce is a little lower than the first, until they are both staring off to their right. Their heads bobble a little bit as they follow the ball. iT bouNce-rolls on screen from the right and rolls smoothly off screen to the left.

SNYDER

That’s deadly.

DARIUS

(slurp)

DARIUS LOOKS AT HIS CUP.

DARIUS

I'm out.

EARL, a nerdier dude, walks on from the left.

EARL

Look what I found, man, it’s a NovaBall!

DARIUS

Super.

SNYDER

Duper.

EARL

Watch this.

Earl moves as if to throw the ball. Darius lifts his chin at Earl.

DARIUS

Hold that.

Darius gestures to Snyder. They EXIT, stage left.

Darius sticks his head back in the shot.

DARIUS

Go for it, dude.

Darius ducks out, Earl slams ball into ground.

KABLAM!

THERE IS A BLINDING FLASH OF LIGHT.

EARL IS INCINERATED, LIKE SNYDER WAS BY THE ALIEN. EARL BLINKS SEVERAL TIMES AND TRACK THE BALL AS IT BOUNCES STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN A COUPLE OF TIMES AND STARTS TO ROLL BUT STOPS, OBSTRUCTED BY THE PILE OF ASH THAT IS EARL. EARL BLINKS.

FADE OUT