PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE:
Half-page splash.
INT, a small bookstore and café of the mom and pop variety. Attractive twenty-somethings lounge in overstuffed chairs, coffee mugs steaming on battered tables as they frown in concentration over sketches and games of chess. The light is dim, details blurred. Through the front windows, one can see a listless rain falling on a moderately busy city sidewalk, where still more young adults shuffle past swathed in scarves and hooded sweatshirts. The whole is grey, not cold but quiet, as though the world is sleeping.
In the midst of all this somnolence, a solitary shaft of light has managed to wriggle its’ way past the clouds and through the streaked glass to throw itself at the feet of a girl who stands, roughly center-stage-left, arranging a stack of books on a floor display. Her long red curls are caught in a messy ponytail high on her head. Her figure is slim and graceful in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She seems an island of simplicity in a sea of piercings and tattoos, and, though completely oblivious, is obviously providing inspiration to several of the artists gathered there. This is Charlie.
CAPTION 1:
It may as well be a spotlight, right?
CAPTION 2:
Ninety-three million miles from the Earth to the Sun.
CAPTION 3:
Eight minutes traveling at one hundred eighty-six thousand, two hundred eighty two miles per second, past wonders inconceivable to the human mind, the entire planet spread below it—
CAPTION 4:
---and this little sunbeam could think of nothing better to do with itself than fall like an exhausted lover at the feet of Charlotte Bishop.
PANEL TWO:
We come closer, mirroring a young man who moves shyly towards her from the opposite direction. A book is visible tucked under one arm.
PANEL THREE:
The man has finally gotten close enough to catch Charlie’s attention, and she smiles radiantly as she turns to face him.
MAN:
Hi… I, uh, just thought you should know that you look very pretty with the light in your hair like that. It’s kinda like it missed the sun, you know, and found the next brightest place to call home.
PANEL FOUR:
Charlie’s face edges from interest to sympathy.
PAGE TWO:
PANEL ONE:
Wordlessly, she extends a hand.
PANEL TWO:
He hands her the book.
PANEL THREE:
She takes a pen from behind an ear and jots her number inside the cover.
CHARLIE:
I really feel that I should tell you, right off the bat, that I’m not currently dating. You can call me if you like, but friendship is the best that I can offer you.
PANEL FOUR:
C/U on the man’s face. He seems startled by her abruptness, and teeters on the edge of offense. Then, suddenly….
PANEL FIVE:
….he grins delightedly, and bows gallantly over her hand as he accepts the proffered novel.
MAN:
I’ll take it.
PANEL SIX:
His feet barely touch the ground as he skips away.
CHARLIE:
That’s a great book, by the way.
MAN:
My new favorite!
CAPTION 1:
Poor little fool. Even the sun is in love with her---
CAPTION 2:
--- did you really think you stood a chance?
PAGE THREE:
PANEL ONE:
Charlie returns to sorting books, smiling bemusedly. She speaks without looking up.
CHARLIE:
So, what’d you think?
PANEL TWO:
For the first time, we see the girl seated cross-legged on the floor in the midst of Charlie’s stacks. She’s roughly twenty six, cute but unremarkable, with wide eyes and shaggy brown hair. At the moment, her face wears an expression somewhere between nausea and hilarity.
MARIANNE:
Should I vomit now, or when he’s proposing in three weeks?
PANEL THREE:
Charlie laughs and pulls her friend to her feet.
CHARLIE:
Oh, hush. I thought he was perfectly adorable.
PANEL FOUR:
Marianne slings a backpack across her shoulders as Charlie removes her apron.
MARIANNE:
I’m not arguing that. Puppies are adorable, too, but I wouldn’t want to date one.
PANEL FIVE:
They wind towards the door.
CHARLIE:
Well, if I picked men based on who you’d date, I’d be chasing after Winston Churchill and Cyrano de Bergerac, and they’re both dead, so where would that leave me?
MARIANNE:
With plenty of free time to pursue your many and varied talents, my lovely.
PANEL SIX:
As they exit, one of the “artists” seated next to the door hands her a piece of paper. She accepts it as Marianne looks on with interest.
PAGE FOUR:
PANEL ONE:
Outside, they stop to peruse the drawing.
PANEL TWO:
(Long panel)
The sketch: Charlie in full Aphrodite mode. Fat cherubs float about her head, pouring coffee from stylized urns to pool in inky art nouveau swirls. She shields her nakedness with a book clutched in either hand.
PANEL THREE:
The girls exchange wry glances.
CHARLIE:
Does this count as one of my talents?
PANEL FOUR:
Laughing, they disappear into the rain; Marianne under a plaid umbrella while Charlie dances, arms outstretched, channeling the muse.
CHARLIE:
It should, you know.
CAPTION:
It really should.
PAGE FIVE:
Organic, a full page spread. It should echo the text without mirroring it exactly.
CAPTION 1:
Regardless of how common the phrase might be, most people do not “fall” in love.
CAPTION 2:
Generally, they recline, moving slowly--
CAPTION 3:
--gingerly--
CAPTION 4:
--testing a new relationship to see if it will hold their weight before allowing themselves to relax into it.
CAPTION 5:
For most people, finding love is a lot like choosing a hammock.
CAPTION 6:
Charlie B. is not most people.
CAPTION 7:
She falls swift and hard, heedless of scraped knees and bruised elbows, and if she shatters on impact, well, by now she’s pretty good at picking up the pieces.
CAPTION 8:
One of these days, she’s sure, the ground will open to receive her, and that’s how she will know she’s home.
PAGE SIX:
Same.
CAPTION 1:
Charlie doesn’t believe in failed relationships, choosing instead to view every broken attachment as a learning experience, a chance to pad her romantic resume.
CAPTION 2:
In the past six months alone, she’s practiced heartbreak with a lawyer, an investment banker, two artists, a pediatrician, and an undertaker—
CAPTION 3:
--though, to be fair, morbid curiosity played a far greater role than attraction in more than one of those encounters.
CAPTION 4:
The casual observer might think her an incurable flirt, and, admittedly, there would be some merit to that assessment. Lucky for Charlie—
CAPTION 5:
---there are very few casual observers.
PAGE SEVEN:
PANEL ONE:
We join Charlie and Marianne as they enter their apartment. The following conversation is obviously in progress, and continues as they hang their coats and begin to prepare dinner. The astute viewer may notice the rolled up drawing, tucked neatly into Charlie’s bag.
MARIANNE:
The trouble is, you demand worship.
PANEL TWO:
CHARLIE:
I do not! I’m just… used to getting it, is all.
PANEL THREE and FOUR:
MARIANNE:
Because you’re only attracted to men who are weaker than you. It’s an integral part of your dating charter. You practically make them sign a contract- “the following entitles the bearer to nookie, a moderate degree of affection, and the right to use my name in conjunction with theirs for a period equal to, but not exceeding, their ability to hold my interest. Pretensions to anything greater shall render this agreement null and void.”
PANEL FIVE:
Charlie, unamused.
CHARLIE:
You’re not funny.
PANEL SIX:
Marianne, unrepentant.
MARIANNE:
No, but I’m right.
PAGE EIGHT:
Continuing.
PANEL ONE:
CHARLIE:
Not all of them were like that.
MARIANNE:
Name one who wasn’t!
PANEL TWO:
Charlie thinks.
PANEL THREE:
She opens her mouth—
PANEL FOUR:
--- and closes it.
PANEL FIVE:
Marianne laughs.
MARIANNE:
Point proven.
PANEL SIX:
Charlie refuses to concede.
CHARLIE:
Well, it doesn’t matter- I’m not dating right now, anyways.
PAGE NINE:
Continuing.
PANEL ONE:
MARIANNE:
I cry bullshit.
CHARLIE:
How so?
PANEL TWO:
MARIANNE:
You say you’re not dating anyone. You probably even mean it when you say it. But how long do you actually stay single?
PANEL THREE:
CHARLIE:
There are exceptions to every rule, Marianne.
MARIANNE:
Sure. But the statement “I’m not dating” implies a conscious decision to remain single regardless of how charming the next suitor may be. If it doesn’t, you may just as well say “I’m not dating until I find someone I like,” and since that’s pretty much how it works for everyone, it’s kind of a pointless declaration.
PANEL FOUR:
MARIANNE:
I mean, it would be more honest to tell them “I’m currently playing hard to get.” This whole vow of celibacy thing only makes them view you as a challenge.
PANEL FIVE:
CHARLIE:
Nobody said anything about celibacy.
PANEL SIX:
They share a conspiratorial grin.
PANEL ONE:
Half-page splash.
INT, a small bookstore and café of the mom and pop variety. Attractive twenty-somethings lounge in overstuffed chairs, coffee mugs steaming on battered tables as they frown in concentration over sketches and games of chess. The light is dim, details blurred. Through the front windows, one can see a listless rain falling on a moderately busy city sidewalk, where still more young adults shuffle past swathed in scarves and hooded sweatshirts. The whole is grey, not cold but quiet, as though the world is sleeping.
In the midst of all this somnolence, a solitary shaft of light has managed to wriggle its’ way past the clouds and through the streaked glass to throw itself at the feet of a girl who stands, roughly center-stage-left, arranging a stack of books on a floor display. Her long red curls are caught in a messy ponytail high on her head. Her figure is slim and graceful in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She seems an island of simplicity in a sea of piercings and tattoos, and, though completely oblivious, is obviously providing inspiration to several of the artists gathered there. This is Charlie.
CAPTION 1:
It may as well be a spotlight, right?
CAPTION 2:
Ninety-three million miles from the Earth to the Sun.
CAPTION 3:
Eight minutes traveling at one hundred eighty-six thousand, two hundred eighty two miles per second, past wonders inconceivable to the human mind, the entire planet spread below it—
CAPTION 4:
---and this little sunbeam could think of nothing better to do with itself than fall like an exhausted lover at the feet of Charlotte Bishop.
PANEL TWO:
We come closer, mirroring a young man who moves shyly towards her from the opposite direction. A book is visible tucked under one arm.
PANEL THREE:
The man has finally gotten close enough to catch Charlie’s attention, and she smiles radiantly as she turns to face him.
MAN:
Hi… I, uh, just thought you should know that you look very pretty with the light in your hair like that. It’s kinda like it missed the sun, you know, and found the next brightest place to call home.
PANEL FOUR:
Charlie’s face edges from interest to sympathy.
PAGE TWO:
PANEL ONE:
Wordlessly, she extends a hand.
PANEL TWO:
He hands her the book.
PANEL THREE:
She takes a pen from behind an ear and jots her number inside the cover.
CHARLIE:
I really feel that I should tell you, right off the bat, that I’m not currently dating. You can call me if you like, but friendship is the best that I can offer you.
PANEL FOUR:
C/U on the man’s face. He seems startled by her abruptness, and teeters on the edge of offense. Then, suddenly….
PANEL FIVE:
….he grins delightedly, and bows gallantly over her hand as he accepts the proffered novel.
MAN:
I’ll take it.
PANEL SIX:
His feet barely touch the ground as he skips away.
CHARLIE:
That’s a great book, by the way.
MAN:
My new favorite!
CAPTION 1:
Poor little fool. Even the sun is in love with her---
CAPTION 2:
--- did you really think you stood a chance?
PAGE THREE:
PANEL ONE:
Charlie returns to sorting books, smiling bemusedly. She speaks without looking up.
CHARLIE:
So, what’d you think?
PANEL TWO:
For the first time, we see the girl seated cross-legged on the floor in the midst of Charlie’s stacks. She’s roughly twenty six, cute but unremarkable, with wide eyes and shaggy brown hair. At the moment, her face wears an expression somewhere between nausea and hilarity.
MARIANNE:
Should I vomit now, or when he’s proposing in three weeks?
PANEL THREE:
Charlie laughs and pulls her friend to her feet.
CHARLIE:
Oh, hush. I thought he was perfectly adorable.
PANEL FOUR:
Marianne slings a backpack across her shoulders as Charlie removes her apron.
MARIANNE:
I’m not arguing that. Puppies are adorable, too, but I wouldn’t want to date one.
PANEL FIVE:
They wind towards the door.
CHARLIE:
Well, if I picked men based on who you’d date, I’d be chasing after Winston Churchill and Cyrano de Bergerac, and they’re both dead, so where would that leave me?
MARIANNE:
With plenty of free time to pursue your many and varied talents, my lovely.
PANEL SIX:
As they exit, one of the “artists” seated next to the door hands her a piece of paper. She accepts it as Marianne looks on with interest.
PAGE FOUR:
PANEL ONE:
Outside, they stop to peruse the drawing.
PANEL TWO:
(Long panel)
The sketch: Charlie in full Aphrodite mode. Fat cherubs float about her head, pouring coffee from stylized urns to pool in inky art nouveau swirls. She shields her nakedness with a book clutched in either hand.
PANEL THREE:
The girls exchange wry glances.
CHARLIE:
Does this count as one of my talents?
PANEL FOUR:
Laughing, they disappear into the rain; Marianne under a plaid umbrella while Charlie dances, arms outstretched, channeling the muse.
CHARLIE:
It should, you know.
CAPTION:
It really should.
PAGE FIVE:
Organic, a full page spread. It should echo the text without mirroring it exactly.
CAPTION 1:
Regardless of how common the phrase might be, most people do not “fall” in love.
CAPTION 2:
Generally, they recline, moving slowly--
CAPTION 3:
--gingerly--
CAPTION 4:
--testing a new relationship to see if it will hold their weight before allowing themselves to relax into it.
CAPTION 5:
For most people, finding love is a lot like choosing a hammock.
CAPTION 6:
Charlie B. is not most people.
CAPTION 7:
She falls swift and hard, heedless of scraped knees and bruised elbows, and if she shatters on impact, well, by now she’s pretty good at picking up the pieces.
CAPTION 8:
One of these days, she’s sure, the ground will open to receive her, and that’s how she will know she’s home.
PAGE SIX:
Same.
CAPTION 1:
Charlie doesn’t believe in failed relationships, choosing instead to view every broken attachment as a learning experience, a chance to pad her romantic resume.
CAPTION 2:
In the past six months alone, she’s practiced heartbreak with a lawyer, an investment banker, two artists, a pediatrician, and an undertaker—
CAPTION 3:
--though, to be fair, morbid curiosity played a far greater role than attraction in more than one of those encounters.
CAPTION 4:
The casual observer might think her an incurable flirt, and, admittedly, there would be some merit to that assessment. Lucky for Charlie—
CAPTION 5:
---there are very few casual observers.
PAGE SEVEN:
PANEL ONE:
We join Charlie and Marianne as they enter their apartment. The following conversation is obviously in progress, and continues as they hang their coats and begin to prepare dinner. The astute viewer may notice the rolled up drawing, tucked neatly into Charlie’s bag.
MARIANNE:
The trouble is, you demand worship.
PANEL TWO:
CHARLIE:
I do not! I’m just… used to getting it, is all.
PANEL THREE and FOUR:
MARIANNE:
Because you’re only attracted to men who are weaker than you. It’s an integral part of your dating charter. You practically make them sign a contract- “the following entitles the bearer to nookie, a moderate degree of affection, and the right to use my name in conjunction with theirs for a period equal to, but not exceeding, their ability to hold my interest. Pretensions to anything greater shall render this agreement null and void.”
PANEL FIVE:
Charlie, unamused.
CHARLIE:
You’re not funny.
PANEL SIX:
Marianne, unrepentant.
MARIANNE:
No, but I’m right.
PAGE EIGHT:
Continuing.
PANEL ONE:
CHARLIE:
Not all of them were like that.
MARIANNE:
Name one who wasn’t!
PANEL TWO:
Charlie thinks.
PANEL THREE:
She opens her mouth—
PANEL FOUR:
--- and closes it.
PANEL FIVE:
Marianne laughs.
MARIANNE:
Point proven.
PANEL SIX:
Charlie refuses to concede.
CHARLIE:
Well, it doesn’t matter- I’m not dating right now, anyways.
PAGE NINE:
Continuing.
PANEL ONE:
MARIANNE:
I cry bullshit.
CHARLIE:
How so?
PANEL TWO:
MARIANNE:
You say you’re not dating anyone. You probably even mean it when you say it. But how long do you actually stay single?
PANEL THREE:
CHARLIE:
There are exceptions to every rule, Marianne.
MARIANNE:
Sure. But the statement “I’m not dating” implies a conscious decision to remain single regardless of how charming the next suitor may be. If it doesn’t, you may just as well say “I’m not dating until I find someone I like,” and since that’s pretty much how it works for everyone, it’s kind of a pointless declaration.
PANEL FOUR:
MARIANNE:
I mean, it would be more honest to tell them “I’m currently playing hard to get.” This whole vow of celibacy thing only makes them view you as a challenge.
PANEL FIVE:
CHARLIE:
Nobody said anything about celibacy.
PANEL SIX:
They share a conspiratorial grin.
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