In total, I wrote three different drafts of the screenplay, acting on feedback from other members of the group, but the final copy reads as follows:
SIMON SAYS
EXT. THE PARK - DAY
SIMON is sat under a tree in the park. He is holding a small
notebook and pen. It is apparent that he is attempting to
write something he finds difficult.
Simon chews on the pen and frowns at the open page in his
notebook. He is not impressed with what he has written.
SIMON
(With gusto)
Hattie, you are the hat I never
want to take off.
He stares at the page for a moment, before furiously
scribbling through what he has read.
SIMON
(Muttering)
No, that's shit.
Simon flips through a couple of pages in his notebook. It is
clear he has been working on this for some time.
SIMON
(Reading)
Your eyes sparkle like the milky
way, I could stare into them all
night and day.
Simon pauses for a moment to consider this line.
SIMON
(Shaking head)
Definitely not.
He flips through a few more pages, stopping to read extracts
from his scribbled notes.
SIMON
With hair like a scented garden
of.. wild plants? ..You're perfect
because.. you always.. let me
finish the popcorn?
Simon shakes his head in frustration and flicks to a clean
page in his notebook.
SIMON
(Writing while speaking)
Hattie, you keep my soul as warm as
my head... If you weren't around
I'd wish I was dead...
He finishes writing this down, then looks contemplatively
across the park, chewing his pen.
SIMON
You like watching scary movies late
at night in the dark... Sometimes
when I look at you I think you'd
make a very pretty shark.
Simon reflects on this for a moment. He stares at the page
in his notebook. He then calmly closes the notebook, tucks
the pen into the spine, and holds it for a moment.
SIMON
Oh, screw this.
He throws the notebook violently across the park and drops
back into the grass in frustration. He slips his headphones
into his ears - music starts to play and he closes his eyes,
losing himself in his imagination.
FADE TO
EXT. THE PARK - DAY (DREAM SEQUENCE)
We open on a soft-focus, fuzzy, bright close-up of Hattie
smiling (this is Simon's POV). We swap to Hattie's POV,
revealing Simon smiling shyly back at her.
Suddenly Hattie turns and runs out of frame. Simon quickly
starts after her.
SIMON
(Internal and muffled)
Hattie! Wait..!
Simon follows her across the park. She keeps slipping away
from him, but continuously stops to let him catch up. She
skips behind a bush, and crouches down in the dirt.
Simon follows her behind the bush, and crouches down next to
her. He peers at her quizzically.
SIMON
What are we..?
HATTIE
Shhh!
Hattie slowly raises a finger to Simon's lips. She pauses,
giggles, and removing her hand, slowly leans forward as if
to kiss him.
FADE TO
EXT. THE PARK - DAY
We fade from the dream sequence onto a close-up shot of
Simon, who is still dreaming about kissing Hattie. His lips
move as if kissing her, until he opens his eyes and realises
what he is doing. He slowly takes out his headphones, stares
up at the sky thoughtfully, and then suddenly jumps up out
of shot.
EXT. THE PARK - DAY
Simon is holding a large, expensive-looking bunch of TULIPS.
He admires them for a moment, nods, and dials HATTIE on his
mobile phone.
HATTIE
(On phone)
Yeah hello?
SIMON
(Still smiling at his tulips)
Hi Hattie. Are we still on for
later?
Hattie's nose is red and she is sniffling.
HATTIE
Oh, hey Simon! Yeah, of course.
Four thirty, right? (She blows her
nose)
SIMON
(Looking pleased with himself)
That's right, yeah.. Hey, you don't
sound too great. Are you okay?
HATTIE
Oh, I've just got hayfever. It's
the time of year.. The tulips have
just bloomed, so I'm a snivelling
wreck. (Laughs)
Simon looks in horror at the tulips in his hand.
SIMON
That sounds like shit. Are you sure
you don't want to stay home?
HATTIE
(Brightly)
No, no, I'll be fine. I've got a
jumbo box of tissues. (She giggles)
I'll see you later Simon.
Hattie hangs up, leaving Simon staring at the tulips. After
a moment he walks to the nearest bin, dumps the tulips, and
leaves. As he walks away we see a price tag on the bunch of
flowers - it reads £14.99.
EXT. THE LAKE - DAY
Simon is walking through the park trying to come up with a
way to tell Hattie how he feels about her.
He stops and addresses an imaginary Hattie.
SIMON
(Gallantly)
Hattie, how would you like to be my
girlfriend?
He pauses to consider this, but shakes his head and
continues walking.
SIMON
Too formal.
Simon stops to address another imaginary Hattie.
SIMON
(Cheesily)
Hey Hattie, wanna come back to mine
and see what happens?
He shakes his head in mild horror and continues walking.
SIMON
Urgh, definitely not. Too creepy.
He kicks a stick into the lake, and stands there watching it
float away.
SIMON
(Quietly)
Hey, Hattie. Would you like to go
for a drink sometime, with me?
He nods to himself, satisfied, and walks away to meet
Hattie.
EXT. THE PARK - LATE AFTERNOON
Simon runs to catch up with the red-nosed Hattie. He is
panting slightly when he reaches her.
SIMON
(Red-faced but grinning)
Hattie! Hi. Hey.
He punches her awkwardly on the shoulder, but regrets it
immediately. She looks at him, bemused, rubbing her nose
with a tissue.
SIMON
So.. how are you?
HATTIE
Not bad, besides the hayfever.
She gives him a quick smile and then scans slowly across the
park. There is an awkward silence.
HATTIE
Uh.. So.. How's your goldfish?
SIMON
(Quickly)
Kevin.
HATTIE
Yeah, Kevin. How's Kevin?
Hattie's PHONE buzzes in her hand. We hear a text message
tone.
SIMON
Kevin's fine, yeah.
Hattie nods distractedly as she reads her message.
HATTIE
Ok, great. Listen, Simon, I'm gonna
have to go, I'm sorry. Laura just
got off work early.
SIMON
(Confused)
Laura?
HATTIE
Yeah, you know Laura, right? It's
silly really, but it's a year today
since we went on our first date.
(She giggles) I can hardly believe
she's been my girlfriend for that
long!
Hattie smiles up at Simon brightly and then peers past him,
looking for Laura.
SIMON
..Y-... Your girlfriend?
HATTIE
(Still on the lookout for
Laura)
She said she'd be along any minute.
Although, that doesn't mean much
from her, I mean one time I was sat
waiting for her for an hour and all
she had to say for herself was that
her cat had got stuck in the
bathroom, I was like, what kind of
excuse is that...
Hattie's voice fades out, and we see Simon's face drop as he
realises the girl of his dreams is out of his reach. Tears
well at his eyes, but Hattie doesn't notice.
HATTIE
(Sees Laura in the distance)
There she is! Well I've gotta go,
Simon, I'll see you some other time
okay.
Hattie walks away before she has even finished her sentence,
leaving Simon standing alone with tears in his eyes. He rubs
his eye with a sleeve, and as he does so, a pretty girl
walks past him down the path.
Simon's attention is captured by the girl. In beautiful
slow-motion, we see her flick her hair over her shoulder,
smile back at Simon, and continue walking.
Simon grins, and follows her down the path.
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