PQRS

Episode 1

1
FADE IN: WIDE SHOT OF A EXT. LARGE, LUSH FIELD

We watch the short wild grass blow in the wind, set against a picturesque morning sky.
It’s not even eleven a.m. yet. CUT TO a pair of hairless legs, naked toes wriggling in
boyish glee. We hear the soft whisper of a breeze. The serenity is broken only by an even
more beautiful voice. His voice is innocent, child-like in its unbridled optimism and
unaffected faith that everything will turn out alright in the end. We cannot help but be
comforted and delighted by that reassuring voice.

ZED
The Nintendo Wii is coming out today.

We PAN UP from the boy’s legs, till we see his whole body. Zed is short for his fourteen
years of age, a 140cm boy who weighs a mere 40kg. He is lying on the ground, arms
propping himself up as he admires the clouds in the horizon. He carries himself with the
effortless ease of a child, unaware of the awkwardness that will soon set in with puberty.
This is reflected in his looks; his hair is uncombed, neither cut fashionably nor
conscientiously styled. Its jet black strands simply flop over his head and his fringe
partially conceals his forehead. He speaks wistfully, hopefully, as though he is suggesting
something, or intending to lead the conversation somewhere.

Slowly, the camera SHIFTS TO THE LEFT, and we finally meet the person he is talking to.
She is a feisty young woman, her luscious black hair tinted with the slightest highlights of
brown. She is acutely aware of her own lack of fashion sense, and wears the badge of
honour with a mix of pride and shame. Her body, positioned similarly to Zed, is decked in
a plain tank top; her short green skirt barely skims the top of her thighs. She is
constantly restless, and she often bursts out in random acts of craziness. She is a few
years older than him, but she is only about his size and unlikely to grow much bigger. She
speaks in an artificial drawl, as though she isn’t interested in what she is saying. The
wind blows again in the silence of that last comment.

ZED
Kay, Elle and I were thinking of going to Comics Con to pick one up. Do you want to come
along?

A gust of wind sweeps over the field.

VEE
Not interested.

The wind sighs again.

VEE
I just want to sit here with my ZEDDY BEAR!

Out of nowhere, she reaches her arms around Zed and grabs him in a tight embrace,
burying her face in the nape of his neck, rubbing back and forth. Zed falls back in shock,
his body stiffening uncomfortably. She has done this many times before, but Zed is still
not used to it. He is mature enough to understand what she is doing, but not old enough
to appreciate it.

ZED
Why do you always have to do that?

VEE
I love my Zed! He is the best Zeddy Bear in the whole wide world! I am going to give Zed
a kiss!

ZED
NO!

VEE
Naughty Zeddy Bear!

She batters her eyelashes flirtatiously before slowly raising her lips to his. He is clearly
terrified, and his lips are trembling as she abruptly lunges forward, roughly pressing her
lips onto his.

VEE
MUAH! I LOVE YOU ZED!

ZED
Come on, stop it... stop it... get off of me... why do you always want to kiss me...

VEE
Because I love my Zeddy Bear!

ZED
And stop calling me that! It sounds stupid when you say it.

VEE
But I like saying it. ZeddyBearZeddyBearZeddyBear! I think its cute.

ZED
Well I don’t, and I should decide what you get to call me.

VEE
Aww, Zeddy Bear is so adorable when he gets angwey. I like the way the tips of your ears
turn red after I kiss you. Like they are right now. Do you like it when I kiss you? Do you
want me to kiss you again? And again?

She leans forward; she is breathing onto his neck.

VEE
I’ll keep kissing your face. I’ll kiss you and kiss you till I reach your cute little ears. And
then I’ll use my tongue, and lick them, and suck them, till your whole face is red and
warm... like it’s becoming now. Do you like it when I tell you what I’m going to do to you?
Do you imagine it with me? My slick, moist tongue sliding down your smooth skin, licking
you in small, sweet circles up and down and up and down... Does it make you... horny?

She extends a tongue tantalisingly close to the bristling skin on his neck, but he jerks
away in horror before she can.

ZED
Eww...NO! Stop it... stop it.... Get away from me!

He quickly gathers his small slingbag, grabs his pair of sneakers and flees into the
distance without putting them on. He turns back briefly to shout:

ZED
I HATE YOU!

before he is over the hills, and far away. The wind halts abruptly, and the grass stills. She
doesn’t seem to have heard what Zed said. Only her body stirs as she curls into a fetal
position. She takes out a handheld console (a Gameboy Advance) and begins to press the
buttons mechanically. We hear the clicking of the buttons as the scene FADES OUT.

Black screen. The four voices of Zed, Vee, Elle and Kay say the following letters in unison
as four huge white letters splash across the screen:
P
Q
R
S!

2
EXT. IXUS INDEPENDENT

It’s a school for the academically brilliant: the top ten percent of the country’s elite. It’s
the middle of the first term, and students are still getting into the daily routine of school
life. Zed has to push through throngs of rowdy students to get to a neglected corner of
the school, where his friends are already waiting for him.

ELLE
Where were you today Zed? You’ve already missed PW and Lit!

If Vee was foolish and wild, Elle is intelligent and proper. She is dressed in a pedestrian
white blouse and green skirt, and we see now that it is IXUS Independent’s school
uniform. She is a plain sort of pretty, but pretty nonetheless. Her hair is neatly tied back
in a ponytail, and she clutches a stack of books in front of her that conceal behind them a
lithe, healthy body.

ELLE
Oh my god, you haven’t even put on your shoes yet!

Zed has just seemed to realise this himself, and he attempts to put them on hastily,
dropping his file and slingbag in the process.

ELLE
Zed you’re such a baby!

She reaches down to help him pick his stuff up, clucking like a peeved off mother hen as
she does so. Kay gives a nervous laugh as he waves gawkily to Zed. He is obviously a
nerd. His pants are higher than average, his glasses look old fashioned and his hair is
neatly parted down the middle. He has a pleasant intellectual disposition about him, but
when he speaks you immediately realise he’s not very used to talking and being heard;
he says the silliest things with the utmost solemnity.

KAY
Hi Zed.

ZED
Hey Casey...

KAY
Why were you so late today? We didn’t know how to present our project without you.
After all, it was your idea to do a project on Second Life and none of us knew what we
were saying and everyone was laughing at us because we said that Second Life was cool
and-

ZED
Kay, Kay! I’m sorry I couldn’t make it today, okay? Vee was being annoying again...

Elle snorts in derision. They have picked the stuff off the floor and are now standing
around preparing to move off to class.

ELLE
When is she not annoying? I don’t understand why you have to hang around that
delusional delinquent all the time.

ZED
Elle, come on. She’s my friend too, alright? And she’s not that bad... she just gets weird
sometimes... otherwise she's be really funny and nice...

KAY
Well tell her she can only be weird when we don’t need you.

ZED
When don’t you need me?

ELLE
HA! Whatever, Zed.

ZED
(laughing) Come on, let’s just finish school so we can go get our Wii!

ZED, KAY, and ELLE

(in unison) WE WANT WII. WE WANT WII. WE WANT WII. WE WANT WII.

They continue chanting as they enter the main school building. The doors swing as they
pass through it and we CUT TO-

INT. CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP EDUCATION CLASS

It’s a typical classroom for genius kids. We immediately notice that Kay and Elle are not
with Zed; not only that, we realise that Zed doesn’t really have any friends here, since he
is sitting to the side but nobody is bothering to engage him. They all seem cooler than
him, larger, more athletic looking, and far more grown up juxtaposed next to this boyish,
petite individual. The all-boys class is fidgety; disinterested boredom is suppressing the
boundless energy of youth.

MR. KOH
Class, time to shut up and listen please. Class settles down.

MR. KOH
Thank you. For today’s lesson, the school wants me to teach you about sexYOUality.
That’s sexuality with YOU in it (murmurs of laughter) yes, yes, very funny, very funny.
Before we get into all the sordid details of intercourse which I am sure all of you are dying
to hear, we’re first going to discuss puberty, and the changes your body is going through
at this moment.

He whips out a cartoonish diagram of a wooden looking boy, naked, with his insides all
labelled neatly. He takes out a long ruler, and points to relevant areas as he lectures
them.

MR. KOH
First thing that happens when you undergo puberty is your body starts to change. You
start growing taller. Your muscles get bigger. Your voice begins to break and you find hair
in places you’ve never had hair before. Your penis gets larger, and you start behaving
oddly around girls. (raucous catcalling to this) yes, yes, very amusing, very amusing. I’m
flattered by your appreciation for my imaginative wit and....never mind, moving on. If
you’ll look here, you’ll see that- yes, what is it Jack?
JACK
When are all these things supposed to happen, Mr Koh?

MR. KOH
Well, Jack, I’d say that these exciting things are happening right now.

JACK
But sir, Zed over here doesn’t even have any pit hair yet! The class immediately roars in
laughter.

We see Zed silently mouth a vulgarity as his face flushes red and he sinks his head
beneath his arms.

MR. KOH
Is that true Zed? Do you really not have any hair in your arm pits?

ZED
I... I do have some pit hair!

MR. KOH
Right, right, of course. It would have been pretty odd for a fourteen year old if you didn’t
have any. Alright, settle down now class, settle down. We’re now going to talk about the
changes in girls. Like you, they start growing taller. They’re muscles also get bigger, but
only slightly. Rather, their breasts grow larger and their hips widen. They also get hair
around their genitals. Okay, now we’re going to look at what happens inside their bodies.
Yes, yes, very exciting. Okay, this is a diagram of a woman’s vagina and if you’ll look
here...

Mr. Koh drones on as our attention returns to Zed. Jack is sitting behind him and is
obviously still teasing him about his lack of pit hair.

JACK
Is it true Zed? Do you really not have any pit hair? Because that would be pretty odd for a
fourteen year old boy. You’re still a boy, you know that Zed? A little baby boy. God, you
are such a loser. A loser. No wait, you’re a geek Zed, a fucking geek. I bet you jerk off
while playing Star Wars or whatever it is you loser geeks do. I bet that diagram over
there is the closest you’ve ever gotten to being with a girl. God, look at your face, it’s all
red. Are you going to start crying now? Are you going to run home to mommy, little baby
Zeddy Bear? Is Zed-

ZED
SHUT UP!

MR. KOH
What’s that, Zed? (uncomfortable silence) Did you just ask me to shut up?

ZED
No, Mr. Koh... I was talking to Jack.

MR. KOH
And why were you talking to Jack while I was talking? Oh, you must be very well versed in
the female anatomy. (sniggers from the rest of the class) Fine then, come on up.

Zed hesistates.

MR. KOH
I said, Come. On. Up. It was not a request.

Mr. Koh passes Zed the ruler.

MR. KOH
Okay, I want you to point the g-spot out to me.

Zed is helpless, flustered, on the brink of tears. He randomly points to the ovaries. The
entire class knows he has got it wrong and jeers. His face is cast to the ground, and his
eyes wince as he holds back the tears, which humiliate him more than his wrong answer.

MR. KOH
Ah yes, that elusive mythical spot. Anyway, that was wrong, Zed. Now, if you still think
you can fool around with Jack during my lesson, go ahead. Let this be a warning to the
rest of you: when it comes down to it, girls are not going to appreciate your ignorance
and stupidity. If you want to be a idiot in front of the girls, go ahead and be clueless like
Mr. Oh here. Right, class dismissed. And Zed, I want a 500 word essay on why we
shouldn’t talk and disturb the rest of our class when I am talking. By tomorrow. Now go.
Out. Out.

Zed never takes his eyes off the floor. He shuffles over to his bag, snatches it off the
table, and stumbles out of class.

JACK
Zed? Did you hear that? He just called you an idiot. An idiot Zed.......

Jack’s mocking echoes down the corridor as Zed runs towards the canteen. We follow his
distraught flight from the classroom as he bursts through the doors and CUT TO

3
INT. IXUS INDEPENDENT’s CANTEEN
II's long green tables serve only one purpose: to display how many (or how few) friends
you have. The canteen is a mess of tables, randomly scattered about the place in a most
haphazard fashion. Students eat, work, sleep and play here.

On the right are clearly the jocks; the entire football team has taken up a table with their
paraphernalia. On the left, sit a varied bunch of freaks and geeks. In the corner are the
Humanities students. Eloquence and flamboyance exacerbate their arrogance. Dressed
smartly in freshly ironed uniforms (ironed by their two maids, of course), they hang
around the back tables amusing themselves with pseudo-intellectual talk of world politics
and philosophy (this condition has been found to stem from penis-length anxiety). Only
the Humanities Girls, all extremely attractive, know what they're talking about.

Behind them sit the Arts classes; these are the freaks. Unable to convince anyone of their
intelligence (and hence are exempted from the torturous Humanities programme), these
oddballs have been relegated to a class where they can only infect like-minded screw
ups. They exude a palpable “Do I look like I care because I don’t (not really)” attitude and
they are obviously having fun doodling, joking around, gossiping, playing Spin-the-Bottle
and singing the Powerpuff Girls theme song. While the Humanities view them as lower
class denizens, they are so unassuming and easygoing that they are an easy bunch to
like. Their simplistic delight is enviable.

Stuck in the darkest deepest doldrums of the canteen are two wildly opposite groups. At
one end of the table sit the Attached. These are those who have found their life partner,
and must therefore sit alone so as to distinguish themselves from the rest of the gene
pool (aka the ugly and unattractive). On the other side sit the geeks. They have not
found their life partners, seem unlikely to find any kind of partner any time soon, and
don’t exhibit any interest to do so (or exhibit too much interest). Instead, they are
married to either some exotic topic of research (market forces of virtual realities, bug
dung, hock lee bus riots) or Star Wars (mostly both).
Zed bursts through the door, and heads for this last group with seasoned familiarity. Elle
and Kay are already waiting for him. They always seem to be doing that. Elle is eating a
bowl of plain rice with plain chicken (no sauce, no vegetables, no other ingredients). She
dislikes wet rice and detests vegetables & fruits. Whenever we see them eating, Elle will
always be eating something equally plain and unappetising and faux Japanese. Kay is
eating a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich his Mum packed for him; it came stored in a
R2D2 lunch box with a cheesy slogan on it. Kay will always be eating food his Mum has
provided.

ELLE
Zed, what’s wrong?

ZED
I hate this school. Everyone here sucks. Mr. Koh sucks. Jack sucks-

ELLE
Oh shit, speak of the devil.

Zed spins his head around, and we see Jack push the two doors open. Behind him are his
two cronies, who are attempting to appear menacing. Only because of how big they are
compared to Zed, Elle and Kay do they succeed. They are, after all, fourteen years old-
and they still look it. Jack immediately spots Zed, and plods towards him.

JACK
Hi Zed! I see you’ve run to your loser friends today. Did you tell them you don’t have any
pit hair yet? That you’re still a baby boy? Because if you won’t, I will. In fact, I think I’m
going to tell the whole school right now. No wait, I’ve got a better plan. How about I show
them, eh?

Jack laughs cruelly as he tries to yank Zed’s shirt over his head. Zed tries in vain to pull
him away but Jack succeeds in pulling the shirt to his arm pits. We see that Zed doesn’t
have any pit hair before Jack suddenly lets go.

JACK
What the hell was that for, bitch?

Elle has splashed a cup of water at him. The front of his shirt is soaked through.

ELLE
Why don’t you go pick on someone who weighs more than 40kg Jack? Maybe someone
like Troy? Or are you just too much of a coward that you have to pick on Zed? You’re so
immature and infantile I don’t know how you live with yourself Jack, because if I had a
name that described what I do with myself all the time I'd know I couldn’t. Why don’t you
and your dogs go screw off to the shit hole where you came from and chase after your
own tails, because we are too important to let a louse like you irritate us for much longer.

JACK
Fine, fine, whatever you say bitch. I’m not going to fight a girl.

ELLE
Because you know you could never win.

JACK
Whatever makes you feel better, baby. Zed, the next time I see you you’re dead, you got
me? When your girlfriend here ain’t around to protect you. You can run but you can’t hide
Zed. I’ll be waiting.

Jack grabs Kay’s sandwich out of his hands. He and his two cronies saunter out of the
canteen.
ELLE
Well, at least his parents did one thing right. They named their abomination perfectly.

KAY
Elle, I don’t think you should have done that. Now Jack is going to wait for Zed when
you’re not around. I...I heard him! He said: “I’ll be waiting”, like he’ll be waiting for Zed. I
think Zed’s in big trouble now.

ELLE
Don’t be silly Kay, everyone knows the best way to stop a bully is to fight back. Bullies all
have an inferior complex they need to take out on those they perceive as weaker than
they are to make them feel better about themselves. Why do you think they don’t pick on
one of the footballers, like Troy or something? Troy would kick Jack’s sorry little ass any
day, that’s why.

ZED
(barely audible) I could too.

ELLE
What’s that, Zed?

ZED
(raising his trembling voice) I said, I could too! And you really didn’t need to do that Elle. I
could have handled that myself! Why did you have to go and say those things for? Now
Jack’s going to be even more pissed at me and he’s going to waiting for me and you only
made everything worse. And I weigh 42kg. And I’m not that much shorter than Jack. I
don’t know why you said those things, Elle.

ELLE
Oh. Right. I’m sorry Zed.

ZED
Now you just went and made everything worse... I don’t think I’ll be going with you two
to buy the Wii today. I think I’ll just go get a blue slip and go home now.

ELLE
Zed-

ZED
Bye.

KAY
(shouts after Zed) ZED IT’S OK I DON’T HAVE PIT HAIR EITHER...

ELLE
(as Zed leaves the canteen) You don’t?

KAY
Well, actually I only said that so Zed would feel better. You wanna see?

ELLE
Eww, gross. (silence) Anyway, I don’t understand why Zed was so pissed with me. I stood
up for him, didn’t I?
KAY
I told you you shouldn’t have done that.

ELLE
Maybe you were right for once.
KAY
Nah I don't think so. (silence) By the way, are you going to eat the rest of that rice bowl? I
hadn’t really eaten much of my sandwich yet...

ELLE
Oh! Yeah, it’s ok. Just take it... Do you still want to go buy the Wii today?

KAY
I don't think it would be right to buy it without Zed.

ELLE
You’re right. We should ask him about it tomorrow.

KAY
Yeah, before Jack kills him.

ELLE
KAY!

KAY
What?! It’s true. We need Zed to pay his share.

FADE OUT into BLACK

4
FADE IN FROM BLACK

INT. OH FAMILY HOME DINING ROOM

Typical family dining room: clean, cluttered, functional. They always sit in the same place
around the round table, which is kinda remarkable because the table is round.

Meet Daddy Oh. Medium-set, balding, wardrobe consists of random clothes passed to or
bought for him. Works in an electric drill company. Mommy Oh exists solely as Daddy's
Oh wife. She's always trying to be cheerful but is actually craving to pick a fight. Showing
obvious signs of imminent obesity. This is the Oh family.

They are all staring into their foods, eating glumly. The sounds of their cutlery clanging
dully against the plates only makes the lack of conversation all the more obvious. After 5
seconds of excruciating silence, Mommy Oh tries to break the ice.

MOMMY OH
So, Zed, how was school today?

Awkward silence.

DADDY OH
Zed, didn't you hear your mother? She asked how was school today?

ZED
Usual.

DADDY OH
And that would be?

ZED
Boring.
MOMMY OH
Oh, how can school be boring! I remember when I was your age, I had so much fun
learning about all these exciting things in biology class. We used to dissect frogs! Isn't
that fun?

ZED
No mum, it's cruel and barbaric. Which is exactly what school is.

MOMMY OH
Honey, what's wrong?

ZED
Nothing.

DADDY OH
Well then maybe someone should tell your face. (makes a sour face)

MOMMY OH
Harry... don't bother with him Zed, you can tell us what's on your mind.

ZED
Mum, I said nothing, okay?! Weren't you listening?

DADDY OH
We hear you, we just don't believe you.

ZED
Well then maybe it's time you actually took the effort to listen to me. I'm sick of telling
you things and you never listen and I always have to explain everything to you. I'm FULL.
(pushes himself away from the table and storms off to room)

We see Zed's fury as he swings his glare from side to side, charges up the stairs, and
slams his door shut behind him. He doesn't lock the room though, since there is a No-
Locked-Doors-In-This-House policy. He flings himself onto the bed and buries his face
beneath his Darth Vader pillow. He screams into the mask, struggling against the bed as
though breaking some invisible bonds. He whimpers, whines, moans, and even sobs. He
lies on the bed, still for the most part, only spontaneously bursting out into some terrible
convulsions. He tries to cry, but no tears are forth coming.

Then, two tentative raps on his door.

MOMMY OH
Zed, we're coming in, alright?

Zed immediately throws the Star Wars-decorated covers over himself and pretends to
sleep.

The door creaks open, and we hear them step into the room.

DADDY OH
(whispering) Oh, he's gone to sleep.

MOMMY OH
(whispering sympathetically) Poor boy, he must have had a rough day at school.

DADDY OH
I'll talk to him about it tomorrow.
We see everything from the waistdown. Mommy Oh goes over to close the windows, then
comes over to pull Zed's covers all the way up. She pauses to kiss him on the forehead,
where she says

MOMMY OH
You know we love you Zed.

She kisses him again, before Daddy Oh switches the lights off. We see their shadows
leave their room, and the door close. We watch Zed's face as he imagines what might
have happened had he confessed his problems to them. He misses the security and
comfort of utter surrender to his parents. He's lost some connection with them ever since
he left for high school, and he can't retrieve it no matter how hard he wishes.

He tosses and turns in bed, agitated and conflicted.

FADE OUT TO WHITE

FADE IN FROM WHITE

Ext. LARGE LUSH FIELD

It's the exact same scene we saw him and Vee in. They're lying down in the grass, like
they were this morning. The light is more luminous here, as though everything has a
healthy pink glow to it. There's soft music in the background, and they just look so happy.
We watch as Vee rolls over to Zed, and hugs him tenderly.

VEE
I love you, Zeddy Bear.

ZED
I love you too, Vee.

And then he raises his head, and kisses her on the lips, and it's the sweetest happiest
kiss, because its the kind of kiss that just says I love you and needs nothing else. Then
Zed has rolled over Vee, and he kisses her again, only this time it's aggressive and
hungry. And they're kissing and kissing and then she's biting his neck, and he's moaning
in time with her and then she slips her shirt off her shoulders slightly and he's just
breathing in the peach glow where her shoulder flows into her arm and then another face
comes up and who else might it be but Elle looking so beautiful with her large round
confident eyes that look deep into you and he's staring into them now and he's running
his hands down her body and he squeezes and teases every inch of her and then he
tantalisingly pops off the first few buttons of her plain, proper blouse and he's imagining
her completely in his hands and what they would feel like, what it would feel like and
then

QUICK PAN to the sky as Zed exhales deeply. Music swells. Our view crashes back down
on Zed sprawled on the floor.

INT. ZED'S ROOM

He gives a furtive look around, before slowly picking himself up. He pauses to think about
the dream, before he's changing into the Ixus Independent uniform, wearing his shoes,
and going off to meet Vee at the field, like they always do. He looks slightly disgruntled
by the dream, as though it were an annoyance he wish he didn't have to go through.

CUT TO

EXT. LARGE LUSH FIELD

VEE
You came.

ZED
Don't I always?

VEE
That's what I like about you, Zed.

ZED
I like that about me too.

We take some time to appreciate the windswept field, softly illuminated skies, and the
hair wisps brushing against their faces.

VEE
Will you go out with me, Zed?

ZED
Hmm?

VEE
To buy the Wii, I mean.

ZED
Oh, I was thinking of buying it together with Elle and Kay.

VEE
I was thinking of buying it with you.

ZED
We coul-

VEE
Only you. I couldn't buy it with anyone else.

ZED
Oh.

He rolls over to the side away from her.

ZED
Okay then.... today, after school, at The Junction?

She comes up behind him, and hugs him tightly.

VEE
How about now?

ZED
Right now? What about school?

VEE
Forget it. It's going to be so exciting. Just the two of us. Alone. No school. No work. No
screwed up shit. Just the two of us, allowed to have all the fun we want.

Zed opens his mouth to reject her offer, but images of Jack looking angry and Elle looking
guilty loom in his mind, intercut with erotic and sensuous images of a prostrate Vee.
ZED
(barely audible) Let's go then.

VEE
OKAY!

She bounces off the grass, grabs him by the arm, and practically flees over the hill.

ZED
Hey, relax!

VEE
Let's get a Super Duper Banana Monkey Ball Blitz and a Crazy Smooth Warioware Moves
and a...

CUT TO

EXT. IXUS INDEPENDENT SCHOOLYARD

The clock has just chimed 8:00am. Elle and Kay look tired of waiting, and finally trudge
into the school building along with everyone else. They are the last.

FADE OUT TO BLACK

5
EXT. THE JUNCTION COURTYARD

Typical suburban mall: boring tiled floors, boring glass displays and boring commuters.
It's the perfect cross-section of society: the dropouts just occupying space and looking
menacing, the family-types busying to and fro obsessing over the latest vouchers and
coupons, and the actual shoppers- rich, presentable and snobby.

Zed and Vee are holding hands as they walk into the mall's large foyer (open-air), with
shops on both sides.

ZED
Where do you want to go first?

VEE
Let's go get some breakfast.

ZED
What do you want to eat?

VEE
What do you have in mind?

ZED
Well, I know there's a cool stall around here that sells some-

VEE
Hey! I've got an idea. How about waffles? Let's go get waffles!

ZED
Oh. Ok. Whatever you like.

VEE
Aww, thanks Zed. You're the sweetest.
He grins sheepishly in response, but she's not really paying attention. She's already
thinking about waffles, and pulling him along to the stall. It occurs to you that they're not
really going out- it's more like Zed's accompanying Vee.

VEE
(mumbling in impatience) Where is it... where is it... I know its around here somewhere...

ZED
Hey! I think they sell waffles there.

Zed is pointing to one of those quaint French cafes with a chalk drawing of waffles
outside. It looks tasty. The moment Vee turns over though, she immediately flinches, and
quickly grabs Zed's arm in desperation.

VEE
(in a falsely gay tone) I've changed my mind! Let's go eat at the food court instead!

ZED
But why? The cafe looks good!

VEE
But I want to eat at the food court now.

ZED
Well... whatever you...

VOICE FROM BEHIND

(interrupting) Eh eh eh... isn't that Miss Vee?

Zed whips his head around, and sees four girls advancing towards him. They are from
Vee's year, but look older and more sophisticated than her. They are dressed in the same
uniform as Vee, but unlike her they manage to look beautiful and rebellious at the same
time. As is usually the case in these kinds of scenarios, only one tormentor speaks most
of the lines.

Her name is Valyrie. We discover that the "voice from behind" belongs to her.

VALYRIE
And look what she's got here... her own little boy toy...

Vee immediately shakes Zed's hand off hers. Zed gives her a furtive glance in
disappointment, before Valyrie has his attention again. The three other girls have already
circled them, so there is little room for running.

VALYRIE
Well, at least now she's got another Gameboy. (the four girls snigger) Tell me Vee,
shouldn't you be in school instead of out here seducing children? How old is he? Ten? Are
you that desperate, Vee? Are you that much of a slut?

VEE
Fuck off, Val.

VALYRIE
Ooh, naughty naughty. Who knew that Evey had such a dirty mouth. But I suppose that's
what you have to resort to when you have such a limited vocabulary. Is it true, Vee, that
you failed all your tests this term? Again? Are you that useless and stupid, Vee, are you?

VEE
Well at least I didn't fuck the teacher to get my A.
One of the girls reaches out and gives Vee a tight slap. She gives a sharp cry as the force
sends her spinning to the ground. Zed looks on helplessly, paralysed. They ignore him
completely.

VALYRIE
You better watch what comes out of that mouth, girl.

VEE
Yeah, and you better watch what goes into yours. Who knows where they've been stickin-

One of the girls kick her in the stomach before she can finish. She exclaims in pain before
curling up in humiliation. We don't notice Zed any more.

VALYRIE
You're asking for it, you know. If I were a spastic failure with no friends and an ugly as shit
face, I wouldn't talk so big.

VEE
You should take your own advice.

Valyrie grabs Vee's bag in anger and pours everything over Vee.

VALYRIE
Pass me her lipstick.

One of the girls does so.

VALYRIE
(reading off the lipstick) Ah, "scarlet". How fitting.

The girls laugh cruelly as they smudge the lipstick onto Vee's face, clothes, and
possessions. They kick and slap her, pulling and jeering at her. Before they can do much
more, they are startled by the angry shout of the mall's security guard, and quickly
scamper off (not before giving Vee one last condescending pat on the face). Apparently
Zed had run off to alert security. Vee sits up, and painstakingly gathers her things back
into the bag. She is not crying.

ZED
Vee, are you alright?

No response.

SECURITY GUARD
Well, they're gone now.

ZED
Thanks for helping us. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't helped us.

SECURITY GUARD
You want some advice, boy? Be a man.

Zed is ostensibly stunned. The security guard shakes his head (bemoaning the state of
teenagers nowadays, no doubt) as he walks away back to his doughnut joint. Vee has
done cleaning up now, but the stains still mark her clothes.

ZED
Vee... Vee!
VEE
Haha, wasn't that funny, Zeddy Bear?

ZED
Vee?

VEE
Valyrie is a laugh, isn't she? It's always good, clean fun when you're with friends.

ZED
(hesitantly) Those... girls... were your friends?

VEE
Oh sure. I've know them ever since I was 10. We've been in the same class since junior
high.

ZED
Oh... ok...

VEE
Let's go watch a movie now, Zeddy Bear.

ZED
Yeah, sure, that'll be great! Are you sure you're alright...?

VEE
With you Zeddy Bear, how could I not be?

She turns and they look at each other.

VEE
It's going to be good, right Zeddy Bear?

ZED
I hope so.

VEE
Yes, it's all going to get better.

She kisses him briefly on the lips, before walking towards the theatre, hand in hand.

FADE OUT TO BLACK

End of Episode 1