just an amusing little thing

[Alethia]

UNTITLED SHORT

OPEN:

A striking array of visuals: every color imaginable, slowly swirling around.

ECU - A BOUNCY BALL is what holds these colors, and not so coincidentally, is what is being spun around slowly.

An eye comes into frame.  It curiously widens, and moves out of frame.

INT. K-MART - DAY

A GUMBALL MACHINE.  

Different colored gumballs live inside the glass dome at the top of the machine, and are being rotated around.  Oddly enough, there is the multi-colored bouncy ball laying right on top of the gum.

EDDIE ECKERT (29 YEARS OLD) stares down at the gumball machine/camera.  He looks very eager.

Then, all previous rotating ceases to be, and the ball stands perfectly still.

CU - The ball just lays there, all these colors shimmering in the daylight.  It will take many a quarter to reach it...

Eddie still stands in front of the gumball machine.  He reaches into his pocket, and pulls out its inhabitants: a fifty dollar bill, and an old stick of gum.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK

A woman types away at her computer.  We hear a bell ding:

DING!

The woman looks up.

EDDIE
Hello, hi.  My name is Eddie Eckert, I am twenty-years old and I am an aspiring filmmaker.

The woman smiles obnoxiously.

EDDIE
Yeah, and um...hi.
(He points to his right).
That gumball machine, right over there, well I was just looking at it and I think it would be perfect for a part in my new movie and I was wondering if I could have it.

She stares at him.

GUMBALL MACHINE

Eddie sits next to it, with his chin resting on his fist.

A boy walks over to the gumball machine.  The little boy has a huge smile on his face.  Eddie watches in anticipation.  If that little boy gets the bouncy ball, he will be upset.  The ball hits the bottom.  The little boy opens the little metal door...

Eddies eyes widen...

...And the little boy pops a yellow gumball into his mouth and chews.  He chews and chews and chews.  He blows a bubble.  He chews.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK

CU - The Fifty, and the stick of gum, on the counter.

The woman stares at Eddie, blankly.

EDDIE
Do you have a change machine on these premises?

WOMAN
We do.

He holds up the fifty.

EDDIE
Could you possibly make this fifty any smaller?

CHANGE MACHINE

Eddie holds two twenties and a ten in his hand.

He looks at the money, and then looks up a touch.

On the change machine, it says that only ones and fives are accepted.  

Eddies face drops.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK

The woman types, and then looks up at Eddie.

EDDIE
They won't accept my denominations.

CHANGE MACHINE

Eddie holds eight fives and ten ones in his hand.  He takes a one dollar bill and inserts it into the machine.  It is pulled in, the machine makes a funny noise, and then all activity inside that particular machine stops.

Eddie stares at it.

CU - The slot where the quarters are supposed to land is empty.

Then, a hand comes into frame, and we move up to see a little white piece of paper being taped to the machine.

A man with a big mustache steps in front of Eddie, and whips out a big, fat, black magic marker, and writes something on the piece of paper:

TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER.

GUMBALL MACHINE

Eddie sits on the bench next to the gumball machine.  He looks very sad.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK

EDDIE
(Holding up the bills)
Could you spare some quarters?

The woman blankly stares at him, then grabs a register key and opens the drawer, and as soon it opens, it once again shuts.

WOMAN
I don't have any quarters.

Eddie pauses, then...

EDDIE
Do you have any nickels and dimes?

GUMBALL MACHINE

Eddie is holding the nickels and dimes in his hand.

He stares at the nickels and dimes he is holding, and looks up.

It says on the gumball machine that only quarters are accepted.

Eddies face drops.

CU - The nickels and dimes are perfectly stacked on top of each other.  They sit on top of the gumball machine, nice and quiet like.

A man walks up to the machine.  He looks at the stack of coins, then at Eddie.  The man pulls out a quarter and inserts it into the machine.  A few seconds later, a gumball pops out.  The man pops it into his mouth, and then chews, and chews, and chews.  He blows a bubble - and then he chews.

He looks at Eddie again, and then back at the stack of coins atop the machine.  He then flicks the coins, sending them flying all over the place.  The man then walks away, without saying a word.

Eddie just sits there, motionless.

CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK

Eddie walks up to the desk.

EDDIE
Hi, I'm sorry to bother you again, I know you're busy.  But I was just wondering if you coulld possibly go back to the little room where you keep the safe, presumably, and find me a few quarters because this is important.  I have some dollars.

The woman stares at him.

WOMAN
No.

She begins to type again.

EDDIE
No?

The woman stops typing, irritated.

WOMAN
I am not permitted to go back there.

She begins to type again...

EDDIE
Don't you have a boss?

WOMAN
I'm afraid he has stepped out.

EDDIE
When will he be back?

She looks at him -

WOMAN
(Sarcastically)
Nobody knows.

AISLE

Eddie walks down a certain aisle, extremely frustrated.

The camera passes select items as he walks.  And then Eddie stops, eyeing something.

HE GRABS IT.

GUMBALL MACHINE

Eddie stands in front of the gumball machine, staring, with his hands behind his back.

CU - The ball and its colors glimmer beautifully in the wonderul afternoon sunlight.

Eddie's face looks eager and nervous at the same time.  The camera moves down to his waist and pushes in, as he reveals what he had behind his back --  

-- IT IS A VERY LARGE SLEDGEHAMMER.

Eddie swings and completely obliterates the glassdome encasing the hundreds of gumballs and the one bouncy ball that had miraculously been dropped in by mistake.

Gumballs flow out and cover the floor.  He stands in the middle of this sea of gum, and bends down.  He picks up the bouncy ball, and holds it in front of his eyes.  He proceeds to place it in his pocket, and then he waves to the woman at the customer service desk.  He lays all of his money on the gumballs, and then walks out of this particular k-mart and into the daylight.  

We whip right as he leaves, to a young boy, with a quarter in between his thumb and forefinger.  He looks shocked then - begins to cry.

THE END

[budgie]

That selfish fucker!

Nice pace, nice tone, nice moral.

How do you smile 'obnoxiously'? You mean a big cheesy Have A Nice Day grin?

[Pubrick]

How do you smile 'obnoxiously'?

[Jon]

Ah-heh. Hah hah ha..

[budgie]

P. off. You badass mother fucker you.

[mindfuck]

Hahahah. I like it. Well done.

[RegularKarate]

Nice... I like it... good pace and all... I was listening to some really chill music (spoon, I think... I forget now) while I was reading it and that helped make the experience more enjoyable.