Assignment 3, Script (it's big. No, it's huge. It's bigger than huge. It's... what's bigger than huge? Well... this)

Plot

Graham was 50 years old. He had brown hair with specks of grey, blue eyes and a beard that made him look very distinguished. He was a Palaeontologist who worked for the palaeontology department of the Natural History Museum.

Sonya was 35 years old. She had curly brown hair and hazel eyes. The first thing people noticed about her was her smile. She had a wide smile that brightened up the room. She was also a Palaeontologist, also working in the Natural History Museum, although with fewer years of practice than Graham.

Graham and Sonya met each other when he was teaching at the University of Manchester. She was an eager student who asked very intelligent questions and Graham couldn’t pass up the opportunity to teach her everything he knew. The fact that she was beautiful and confident, which is something he loves in a woman, also helped in his decision to become her mentor. They would meet after classes, always inside the University, and talk about the things he taught. She was like a sponge, absorbing everything he said.

As time went by, Graham and Sonya started having feelings for each other. Feelings they couldn’t understand, feelings they had never felt before, feelings that scared them. They knew they couldn’t do anything about their feelings, because she was his student.

One day Graham got an offer to work at the Natural History Museum and he accepted it. It was a great opportunity that he couldn’t refuse. Also, he was sure that it would help him get over Sonya. He still wanted to be her friend. He valued their friendship too much to let it go. But he believed that by staying apart and not seeing each other everyday, his feelings for her would soon go away.

Years went by. Sonya finished her studies and started working at the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. She and Graham talked to each other every now and then, but they were both too busy to spend time together. This made it easier for them to get over their feelings for each other and even have other relationships.

After a few months with no contact whatsoever, Sonya got a phone call from Graham, asking her to help him in a project. He told her that it was a big project that could last for months, or even years. If she said yes, he would have a position for her in the museum he worked for. She said yes.

As soon as they started working together and spending time together, all those feelings they thought had gone away came back full force. They couldn’t stop looking at each other and flirting with each other. But they still wouldn’t get together, because now, although she wasn’t his student anymore, she worked for him. Also, he was 15 years her senior, which is something that could never change and couldn’t be ignored.

Two years after Sonya and Graham started working together, they finished their project and went out with all the people that helped in their work to celebrate a work well done. After a few drinks, their inhibitions lowered and when Graham took Sonya home, he ended up coming in and staying the night.

Sonya and Graham had been together for one year. They had a secret affair, since inter-office romances were frowned upon in their work place.

They were happy and very much in love, but Graham started feeling that they were moving too fast. After six months of dating, Sonya had moved in with Graham. He started feeling suffocated. He loved Sonya very much, but he was afraid that his life would become too focused on her and that he would lose the person he was before. Before, his work was his life. Now he spent more time at home than at work and he was losing the passion he felt for his job.

So, one day, when he was offered a teaching job for two months at Berkeley, California, he jumped at the offer. The problem was that he didn’t tell Sonya about the offer and his acceptance. She only found out about it the day he left. It broke her heart to find out that he was leaving and that he had known about it for a while and hadn’t told her anything. His behaviour made her doubt his feelings for her. Maybe he wasn’t in love with her anymore. Maybe he had never been. Maybe this was his way of showing her that he wanted their relationship to end. So, while he was away, Sonya moved out of their house.

When Graham came back from his teaching job and found their house empty of her stuff, as if she had never been there, he panicked. He had missed her so much. He couldn’t wait to come back home, hold her in his arms again and apologise for his behaviour. But when he got home and saw it bare of her stuff, he realised that an apology would not be enough.

He went to the museum and found her there, working. He asked her to go get some coffee with him, to give him a chance to explain himself. She accepted.

Instead of taking her to a coffee shop, he took her home. There, he told her everything. He told her what he was feeling before leaving and how he felt while he was away. He listened to her while she explained to him how betrayed she felt when he left so suddenly and didn’t even try to contact her while he was away.

In the end, she forgave him.

Things weren’t perfect and it would take some time for her to trust him implicitly again, but he was going to make an effort to show her everyday how much he loved and appreciated her. For her, that was enough.

Synopsis

Graham has just come back from California, after spending two months teaching a class in Berkeley. When he gets home, he finds out that his girlfriend, Sonya, has moved out while he was away.

Graham goes after her. He finds her in their work place, the Natural History Museum, and asks her to go with him for some coffee so he can explain himself. Sonya reluctantly accepts.

Instead of taking her to a coffee shop, Graham takes Sonya home. It is obvious that Sonya is angry and hurt, and that it will probably be hard to make her understand his motives, but Graham tries to explain himself to her.

Script

CHARACTERS- Graham; Sonya; Colleague

SCENE 1- NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Sonya is talking with a colleague

Graham walks in

Graham- (Breathing heavily) Sonya! Oh, thank God you’re here!

Sonya- (Surprised) Graham? What are you doing here? I thought you were still in California!

Graham- (Still trying to regain his breath) I came back earlier. (Finally noticing their colleague) Uh… could we go somewhere to talk? Privately?

Sonya- I actually have work to…

Graham- (Pleading) This is important. Please! Let’s just have some coffee. I really need to talk to you.

Sonya- (Sighing) Ok. Just give me a minute. (Turning to her colleague). We’ll finish this as soon as I get done, ok?

Colleague- (Suspiciously) Sure.

Sound of the colleague’s footsteps, walking away

Graham- Let’s get out of here.

SCENE 2- INSIDE THE CAR

Car pulls up at the driveway

Sonya- (Annoyed) I thought you said you wanted to get some coffee.

Graham- (Opening his door) I thought this conversation was too private for a coffee shop.

Sonya- (Grumbling while coming out of the car) You think too much. That’s the problem.

Graham and Sonya walk towards the front door

SCENE 3- INSIDE THE HOUSE

Door opens. Sound of the keys being tossed to the table

Graham- Please, sit down.

Sonya- (Stubbornly) I’d rather stand.

Graham- Sonya… (Sighs) you’re making things hard.

Sonya- (Getting more and more irritated) Oh, and I guess you make things easy? Hey, if I’m making it hard for you, why don’t you just up and go somewhere for 2 more months? Or maybe years! That would certainly make things easier! That’s what you always do, isn’t it? Every time things get a little bit complicated you turn tail and run! You did that 10 years ago and you did that now! I’m so…

Graham- (Raising his voice) I didn’t run away from anything! I’m here, aren’t I? (Sonya scoffs and turns towards the kitchen) Where are you going? Who’s running away now?

Sonya- (Turning around and walking towards him) I’m not running away from anything! I’m not like you! You offered coffee, right? I’m gonna get coffee.

Graham- (Calming down. Reaching for her arm) Sonya…

Sonya- (Angrily) Don’t you dare touch me! I’m this close to slapping you!

Graham- (Moving his hand away, shocked) You wouldn’t do that! You hate violence!

Sonya- (Calming down a little. Walking once more towards the kitchen) You’re right, I do hate violence. But right now I’m too angry to think about that. So, for your sake and mine, you better stay away. Got it?

Graham- Ok.

Sonya- (Preparing the coffee) Now, since you didn’t bring me here for coffee, say whatever it is you want to say.

Graham- I missed you. (Sonya looks at him angrily) I did. I ain’t gonna lie about it. I missed you more than I thought I would. More than I ever wanted to.

Sonya- (Hurt) Then why didn’t you call?

Graham- I didn’t think you’d want me to.

Sonya- (Rolling her eyes. Sarcastically) Of course. A woman never wants her boyfriend to call while he’s away.

Graham- I thought you were angry with me. I thought calling you would only make it worse, so I…

Sonya- (Raising her voice) Not calling made it worse! Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought you didn’t want me anymore (Graham looks startled. He walks towards her) Don’t… come near me. (Graham stops. Sonya continues) I loved you for so many years, Graham. Probably from the moment I met you. I was so happy that we were finally together. That I finally had love in my life. How do you think I felt when you took it all away from me? Everything I believed in was taken away the day I found your bags near the door! You have no idea how betrayed I felt!

Graham- (Sadly) I’m sorry, honey. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I was just… confused. I was feeling suffocated. (Sonya’s eyes start filling with tears) Oh, honey, please don’t cry! I just… I wasn’t used to something like this. I had never had a relationship that meant so much to me. For years my work was my life. I never made time for relationships. Sure, I dated every now and then, but I never had a relationship that lasted more than a month. And then you came along. I fell in love with you. It was scary. And yes, I ran away 10 years ago. But I really believed that was the right thing to do. You were a student, for Christ’s sake! And I was your teacher! You have no idea how hard it was for me to leave you, but I felt it was the right thing to do. But now…

The coffee machine starts beeping; Sonya opens the cupboards and takes two mugs out

Graham- (Coming over to her and holding her hands) We don’t need coffee and you know it. We need to talk about this. (Sonya laughs sarcastically and tries to move away. Graham doesn’t let her) I know… I know I haven’t been very good at talking to you, but I want to talk now. I… I don’t want to lose you. Honey, I realised while I was away that no matter how hard I try to deny it, no matter how many times my head tells me that I’m not in love with you… that it’s not possible… to love you so much… my heart knows the truth. My heart knows that it’s impossible not to love you.(Sonya starts crying. Graham puts his arms around her tentatively. She lets him hold her) Honey, I… I’m gonna change. I’m gonna become the man you deserve me to be. I’m gonna prove to you how much I love you. I’m gonna do everything in my power to never, ever… (Graham pulls away and cradles Sonya’s face in his hands) make you cry like that again. (He wipes her tears away and kisses her forehead) Just… give me another chance. Please!

Sonya- What if you get “confused” again and leave?

Graham- I won’t. Or if I do, I’ll take you with me.

Sonya- (Smiling. Putting her arms around him) You know, if I didn’t love you so much, you’d be in the dog house.

Graham- (Burying his face in her neck) I know, honey. I know. (Hopefully) Does this mean you’ll move back in?

Sonya- No.

Graham- (He pulls away, startled) What? Why not? I thought you had forgiven me! I thought…

Sonya- I did forgive you, but that doesn’t mean everything’s perfect. I just… we both know we moved too fast. I think we should live in separate houses for a while. It’s for the best. (Graham tries to speak) Please, just… let me finish. (Sonya sighs) There’s nothing in the world I want more than to be with you. To go to bed with you. To wake up by your side. But if we want this relationship to work, we have to give each other some space. You said it yourself. We were suffocating each other. I’m not saying we’ll never live together again. Let’s just… backtrack a little. Ok?

Graham- (Sighs) Ok. We should have had this conversation a long time ago, shouldn’t we?

Sonya- (Putting her arms around him) Yeah, we should. But you thought it would be better to go away for two months.(Graham grunts embarrassed, Sonya laughs into his chest)

Sonya- Hon?

Graham- Hmm?

Sonya- You still owe me coffee.

Graham- (Laughing) Yeah, I do. And the one you made is cold by now. Plus, you make really bad coffee.

Sonya- (Hitting him in the chest) Do not!

Graham- Yes, you do!

Sonya- No, I don’t, you…

FADE OUT