SPARE CHANGE

Written by

Jordan Szymanski

Based on the short story, "The Wallet" by Andrew McCuaig

FADE IN:

INT. COOK COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY - DAY

ELAINE (26) steps up to a glass window. SHAKIRA, the

attendant, slips a manilla folder through a metal slot.

Elaine opens the folder and takes out gold hoop earrings that
say another woman’s name in cursive. She starts slipping them
on.

SHAKIRA
I coulda pawned those.

ELAINE
I already tried. They’re fake.

Shakira shakes her head and slides a form through.

SHAKIRA
Sign and date.

Elaine smirks at the form. She motions to one of the guards,

RICKY.

ELAINE
Sorry, Rick. After a fervid 46
month love affair, our time must
come to an end.

Ricky rolls his eyes. Elaine laughs. She hands Shakira back
the form through the slot.

SHAKIRA
A free woman.

Elaine picks up the folder and empties its contents into her
hand.

A juicy lipgloss container. A purple BIC lighter. And 76

cents.

ELAINE
(sighing)
If that’s what you call it.

Elaine puts her hood up and walks through the heavy double
doors, pushing hard against them with her whole body.
 2.

EXT. PARKING LOT - CONTINOUS

STEVEN (27), Elaine’s best friend, pulls his hat down over
his ears. He’s handsome and ugly at the same time. He leans
against a four-door Saturn, smoking.

When he sees Elaine, he ashes the cigarette and accidentally

burns his thumb. He’s sucking on it when he approaches her.

STEVEN
El.

ELAINE

Stevie.

Elaine goes in for the hug. Steven protests.

STEVEN
You smell like shit.

She smacks his arm. He side-hugs her and then feigns opening
the door for her like a proper gentleman.

When she goes to sit, he slides in.

ELAINE
I don’t even have my license on me.

STEVEN
Neither do I.

She rolls her eyes and gets into the driver’s seat.

INT. CAR - LATER

Elaine takes a sharp left and it sort of jostles Steven, who

is rolling up on his lap.

ELAINE
Jesus Steven. I haven’t been a
felon for thirty minutes and you’re
gonna smoke while I’m driving?

STEVEN
(licking the blunt)
Weeds legal.

He lights it, inhales, and blows a cloud in Elaine’s face.

Elaine snatches the blunt and ashes it.

 3.

ELAINE
No you idiot. They passed the law
but it doesn’t go into effect until
January.

She slips the blunt into the pocket of her hoodie.

STEVEN
El, ease up.

ELAINE
No, man. Not this time. I can’t
fuck up again.

There’s an awkward beat.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
Have you seen her?

Steven sniffs and crosses his arms.

STEVEN
I went to your Ma’s birthday party
last month.
(beat)
She looks good. Happy.

Elaine grips the steering wheel harder.

Steven looks out the window, avoiding her. They roll to a

stop in front of a brown house. Elaine cuts the engine.

ELAINE
Steven, I hate to ask you this...

STEVEN
It’s done.

Elaine furrows her brow.

STEVEN (CONT'D)
You start on Monday.

Elaine bites her lip and pulls him into a hug. He shuffles
his chin out from her mess of curls.

STEVEN (CONT'D)
(whispering)
I know you want her back.

They sit like that for awhile.

 4.

EXT. INDIANA TOLL BOOTH - NIGHT

Elaine trails a defeated, small man named JACKSON. He’s

talking at the speed of light.

Cars whiz past them. They stop at the entrance to the indoor
offices. Elaine holds her hair down against the wind.

JACKSON
And you’ll be working our third
shift. I need you here by 10:45. No
exceptions. You can eat around 3.
You take the money. You give the
change. You open the gate. No
deviations. No problems.

Elaine nods.

JACKSON (CONT'D)
This job’s so easy my wife could do
it. Now, listen here because this
is important. Everyone pays their
fare. Absolutely no exceptions.

Elaine nods slightly.

JACKSON (CONT'D)
Cappice?

ELAINE
Yes?

Jackson hands her a reflective vest. She slips it on over her

black hoodie. She puts on her hat over her hood. She jog-
steps over to her booth.

INT. TOLL BOOTH - LATER

The sun peaks over a few grey clouds. Elaine sits with the
crossword on her lap. She’s tapping her pencil on 4 across.

ELAINE
(to herself)
10 letter-word for blessing

A truck roars into her lane. The music BLARES a rock song.
The windows are tinted. She pokes her head through the
opening.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
1.75
 5.

A BEARDED WHITE GUY tosses two dollars at her. One floats

down to the concrete. She stares at him. He rolls his window
up.

She opens the gate and he leaves. Sighing, she opens the door
to get the dollar. When she stands up, she bumps into a
scrawny, 40 something, TROY. He smells like cigars and Elaine
wrinkles her nose.

TROY
You must be Elaine.

Elaine has to wiggle out to the side to stand up straight.

She smoothes her reflective vest down.

ELAINE
Hi. Yeah, I am. Who’re you?

Troy sways, jutting his hip out, and sticks his hands in his
jean pockets.

TROY
I’m Troy. Your relief.

He emphasizes relief with his lips.

Elaine discretely rolls her eyes. She turns and goes back
into her booth. Collecting up her things, she turns into
Troy, who despite the cramped space, found it best to come
inside with her.

TROY (CONT'D)
Yep. I normally work before you,
but this morning I needed time to
train for my decathlon, so I came
in late.

He pushes his shoulders back and cracks his neck.

TROY (CONT'D)
Did 16 miles today.

Elaine feigns an enthusiastic nod and picks up her crossword.

She steps outside.

ELAINE
Well. Good to meet you. See you
some other time.

She walks away. Troy watches her, sliding his eyes over her
from her head to her toes.
 6.

EXT. CRAWFORD ELEMENTARY - DAY

Elaine stands up against a brick wall. Kids run around,

finding their parents, their friends, all heading home.

A cute six-year-old, BRITTANY, bounds down the steps. Her

backpack hits against her legs.

Elaine steps off the wall. Brittany sees her and her eyes
grow three sizes.

ELAINE
Come here, baby.

Brittany runs into Elaine’s outstretched arms. She wraps her

arms around her and swings her up. She buries her face in
Brittany’s hair.

JANET
What the fuck do you think you’re
doing?

Elaine sets Brittany down and wipes her eyes. JANET, Elaine’s
mother, gestures for Brittany to come to her. Brittany
reluctantly lets go of Elaine’s hand and goes to her
grandmother.

ELAINE
Please, Ma...I just want to see
her.

Janet spins on her heels and walks toward her car,

practically dragging Brittany, who’s still reaching for her
mom.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
Ma. Please. Ma, I want to make
things right-

Janet, fuming, spins around. She opens the car door.

JANET
Which thing.

She looks down at Brittany.

JANET (CONT'D)
(to Brittany)
Go head. Buckle up.

Brittany gets in and Janet slams the door. Brittany puts her
face to the window.
 7.

JANET (CONT'D)
Which fucking thing do you want to
make right, Elaine?

Elaine throws her hands up in the air.

JANET (CONT'D)
When you left that little girl
alone for three days? Or when you
decided that lifestyle was more
important than her life? Sent her
to school with that shit in her
backpack.

ELAINE
(whispering)
It wasn’t supposed to be in her
backpack-

Janet cuts her off. She gets close to her face. She’s shorter
than her daughter, but somehow it feels like she’s towering
over her.

JANET
It wasn’t supposed to be around
her!
(beat, quieter)
You shouldn’t be around her.

Janet breathes hard. She looks around. Some people are

staring. She turns and gets into her car. Before she pulls
off, she rolls down her window.

JANET (CONT'D)
You only think about yourself,
Elaine.

The car pulls off. Brittany props her head up, looking at her
mom in the rearview window.

Elaine can’t meet her eyes.

INT. TOLL BOOTH - MONTAGE

Elaine does the crossword.

JOSE, a male attendant, stands outside of her booth and blows

smoke inside, gazing at her.

13 across: Out of one’s mind.

Elaine scratches in “forgotten.”

 8.

INT. TOLL BOOTH - MONTAGE

Elaine cleans up food wrappers, coke bottles, cigarette

packs.

ELAINE
(to herself)
What am I. The fucking maid.

Troy runs over to her booth. Out of breath, he squeezes

inside. She tries to get out of his way first, but before she
knows it, he’s pressing his body up against her.

TROY
(down her neck)
Sorry. I forgot my wallet.

He grabs a leather, bulging wallet from off of the desk.

ELAINE
(not looking up)
Second time this week.

Troy pushes up against her again. Breathing on her.

TROY
I don’t mind the trip back.

He slips out and winks at her before jogging back to his car.

Elaine shudders.

INT. TOLL BOOTH - MONTAGE

The expressway is dark. A car pulls through the gate and

Elaine goes back to her crossword.

7 down: Road with no exit.

She puts her pencil down and takes a sip of her coffee. Jose
waves to her. She waves back so he’ll turn around.

She picks up her pencil again.

Dead end.

INT. TOLL BOOTH - MONTAGE

Elaine gets to work to see a cluttered desk. On the stool is

a half-finished cup of Coke.
 9.

She shakes her head, grabs the cup, and whips it into the
garbage can.

END OF MONTAGE.

INT. PAROLE OFFICE - DAY

Elaine shifts in her seat. A CHUBBY MAN sits in front of her,

her PO.

PO
Am I gonna be disappointed when I
test your piss?

ELAINE
No, sir.

PO
You have the papers signed by your
employer?

ELAINE
Yes, sir.

She shakily hands him a few dingy pieces of paper. He doesn’t

look at them before setting them onto mounds of similar ones.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
Sir, about my daughter. How can I
get her back?

PO
You’ve been out for...

He looks down at the sheet.

PO (CONT'D)
8 weeks. And you were in for...

The parole officer glances down at the sheet and then looks
at Elaine.

PO (CONT'D)
Ms. Tanner, I’m in the business of
being honest with folks, so let me
be honest with you.

Elaine sits forward.

 10.

PO (CONT'D)
No judge is going to grant custody
to a mother who put her daughter in
the ER by packing her school lunch
with Oxy.

Elaine looks like she’s been slapped in the face.

ELAINE
I-- Sir. Please. I understand. I
do. I just...I was thinking...maybe
visitation...maybe I could see her.
Please. I just want to see her.

The PO officer scribbles something down on her form.

PO
Your mother is her legal guardian?
Maybe you can work something out
with her. For now. Stay clean. Stay
working. And stay off of my radar.

Elaine hangs her head, but picks herself up and shows herself
out.

INT. IHOP - DAY

Elaine stirs around a metal spoon in a nearly empty cup of

coffee.

Steven, who’s woofing down pancakes, looks up at her.

STEVEN
He didn’t say never.

ELAINE
He looked at me like I was a
monster.

Steven takes a gulp of his OJ.

STEVEN
Elaine, I love you. But you were.
At the end, before the accident, I
didn’t even recognize you.

Elaine sinks into the booth.

STEVEN (CONT'D)
But, you’ve been doing great. Troy
says you’re a natural. You’re
sober. Just keep your head up.
 11.

Elaine narrows her eyes.

ELAINE
Why didn’t you warn me about Troy?
He’s a fucking creep. And he’s
messy.

Steven shrugs.

STEVEN
I knew you could handle yourself.
Speaking of, we got held up last
night. That’s the fifth time this
month.

ELAINE
Shit.

STEVEN
Yeah, so. Jackson’s employing this
new signal to let each other know
if we’re being robbed.

Steven raises her palm and HOWLS.

STEVEN (CONT'D)
SUUEEE-EEEYYY.

Everybody in the dining room glares at them.

Elaine giggles.

ELAINE
Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.

Steven reaches for her hand.

STEVEN
C’mon, practice. SUUEE--

Elaine laughs and tries to pull her hand back. He’s

relentless and she gives in.

ELAINE AND STEVEN

SUEEEE-EEYYY

INT. TOLL BOOTH - NIGHT

Elaine taps her pencil against the desk. She’s starring out
into a particularly dark night. Her watch BEEPS. 3 am.

She waves to Jose, gesturing like she’s eating. But before

she can put her CLOSED sign on, an old car pulls up.
 12.

It’s a little yellow Chevette, rimmed in rust. Elaine sighs

and leans out of the window, hand outstretched.

The driver, a YOUNG WOMAN with dirty, brown hair stares

straight ahead. Elaine clears her throat. Nothing.

ELAINE
Good morning.

The woman’s hands lock on the wheel, she stares through

strands of hair that are matted to her forehead.

WOMAN
(softly)
I need money.

Elaine juts her head out further, unsure if she heard her
right.

ELAINE
You mean you don’t have the toll?

The woman snaps her neck around.

WOMAN
No. I mean I need money.

Elaine stares into the woman’s blurry eyes. She can almost
see her reflection. She hesitates, picks her head up and
looks around. Elaine sniffles.

ELAINE
Well, I--uh--

The woman turns so Elaine can see her whole face. There’s a
gash above her eyebrow and her right eye, the one that was
hidden by her hair, is swollen and turning purple.

Elaine looks at her longer. She has dried blood on her face
and her nose is crooked; a break that has never healed.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
Uh--you can just--

Elaine goes to lift the gate.

Jackson, coming in for his shift, turns the light on in the

office. It gets Elaine’s attention. When the light flashes
on, Elaine notices movement in the woman’s backseat.

She peers in and spots two CHILDREN: one about five and the
other barely two. The five-year-old has the two-year-old in
her lap. She’s stroking her hair. The five-year-old’s curls
fall into her eyes which are wide-open.
 13.

The two-year-old squirms and sticks her thumb into her mouth.
Elaine shivers, realizing how cold it is.

None of them are wearing coats.

ELAINE (CONT'D)
Ma’am...

Jose waves and Elaine glances up. Jose raises his palm and
HOWLS, the signal. Elaine shakes her head. She gives him a
thumbs up.

She turns her attention to her desk. She moves around the
papers, her crossword. A leather thing catches her eye:
Troy’s wallet.

She picks it up and opens it. She finds ninety-two dollars

inside. She pulls the bills out, glancing back at the mother
who again has her eyes locked on the road in front of her.

Elaine wads the money up into her fist and reaches out to the
woman. They lock hands. They grasp onto each other for a
moment.

Elaine lets go and the woman pulls her arm back inside.

The little yellow car sputters back onto the dark highway.
The five-year-old props herself up and peers out of the back
window.

Elaine makes eye contact with her, watching them go.

FADE TO BLACK.

THE END