DINNER FOR ONE

Written by

eva berlin sylvestre

929261966
es261966@gordonstate.edu
INT. LIVING ROOM - EVENING

Hair in a messy bun, Lauren (23) is splayed across a

loveseat. Her work clothes - black polo, cargo khakis - are
untucked and wrinkled.

She’s makes a call and it’s answered from somewhere noisy.

A beat as it rings.

LAUREN
(laughing)
No shit you’re at the club! I can
barely hear you!

Beat, listening.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Of course I didn’t forget!

Beat.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Don’t “poor babe” me, c’mon - I’m a
grown-ass woman!

Beat.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Wait - he’s there!? You’re kidding!

Beat.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
You did not tell him that, oh my
god, Jacinda! What was his reaction
- was he grossed out or is he
feelin’ your girl?
Beat.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Eeeee! I picked the wrong night to
stay in! He is so fine, oh em gee,
Jacinda! (pause) Yeah, still not
gonna happen!

Lauren smiles, sits up, stomps her feet in giddiness as she

listens. She puts the phone on speaker. Loud music blares.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Can you get somewhere quieter?

Beat, in which it’s clear Jacinda walks outside the club.

 2.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
I am so freakin’ exhausted. Next
time, though - I promise, babes.

MARIO (O.S.)
(butting in)
Okay, “babes.”

LAUREN
Jacinda! I’m on speaker?! I hate
you! And hey, Marioooo. Jeez.
Hashtag embarrassing.

JACINDA (O.S.)
Don’t be. He wants to buy you
dinner. As in like ... right now.

MARIO (O.S.)
No doubt. Lemme DoorDash you
something. You like Mexican? Apart
from me, that is.

LAUREN
You’re from Ohio, you nerd. No
accent whatsoever. But yes: Shrimp
tacos are my favorite food.

MARIO (O.S.)
Consider it done.

JACINDA (O.S.)
How sweet was that? You can thank
me for speakerphone later.

LAUREN
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m gonna snuggle
up on the couch.
JACINDA (O.S.)
K-bye, loser.

LAUREN
Oh, wait - Jacinda! Check your
backseat before you head home!

MARIO (O.S.)
You always this paranoid?

LAUREN
I’m not paranoid - it happened
again last night. Anyway, y’all
have fun and be safe!
 3.

JACINDA (O.S.)
You too, toots. I’m prolly about to
head actually. Tonight’s DJ blows.

MARIO (O.S.)
Real talk. I’m gotta bounce soon,
too.

JACINDA (O.S.)
Cool. Okay, love you, Lauren!

LAUREN
Love you! Talk to you soon.

She’s hangs up and puts Law & Order: SVU on the TV, snuggles
up in a blanket still in those wrinkly workclothes.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - ONE HOUR LATER

A knock at the door. She jumps, heads to

INT. FOYER - CONTINUOUS

where she looks through the peephole at a guy (early 20s) who
holds up a sack of food.

DELIVERY GUY
DoorDash?

She opens the door with a smile, reaches out, but he pulls it
back, teasing.

AIDEN
Lemme guess: three shrimp tacos
aaaaand (arm-curls the bag) lots of
extra pico in a dinner for one?

LAUREN
(laughing)
Are you judging my food choices or
my food volume (looks at phone) ...
Aiden.

AIDEN
Neither. Sounds great, actually.

LAUREN
Hence, why I ordered it. Tacos are
my jam.
 4.

He hands it off, looks past her at the blanket/loveseat

setup, then back to her.

AIDEN
Crime shows and delivery for a solo-
sesh. Who’s jam isn’t it?

LAUREN
Right? Thank you, talkative
DoorDasher Aiden. You have a good
night, sir.

AIDEN
I will now, gorgeous.

She slowly begins shutting the door, and he smiles while

craning his head to look further in until it fully closes.

Lauren shudders at his response, heads back to the

INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

where she plunks back down on the couch and puts the food on
a coffee table.

She changes SVU to a true-crime doc. Ominous music:

TV ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
It seemed like the perfect life. A
wealthy husband, two beautiful
children, and her dream career as a
yoga instructor.

Lauren pushes half a soft-taco into her mouth.

LAUREN
(comically through food)
Aww, so cute. When does Sugar Daddy
have her killed?

TV ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
... until she discovered her
perfect hubby’s extramarital
activities.

LAUREN
Booya. Then he offs her for
insurance money so he and the new
boo can take the kids and leave the
countr-

Her phone chimes: a text. She mutes the TV, finishes chewing,
reads aloud:
 5.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
“How are the tacos?”

She reads aloud as she texts back:

LAUREN (CONT’D)
They’re great, thank you. Turning
in soon, have a good night.

Another chime. She reads aloud:

LAUREN (CONT’D)
“Sweet dreams?”

The lays her phone back down next to her.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
(to herself)
That’s not textbook skeezy at all.

She grabs/stuffs another taco. It’s juicy - she needs a

napkin. She hits pause, heads to the

INT. KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

and as she’s pulling at a wall-mounted paper-towel roll,

there’s a * S MAS H* from the living room.

She stiffens, waits for more noise.

MALE VOICE (O.S.)

(menacingly)
Laaauuuurrennnn?

She’s silent. His voice is muffled, indicating a mask.

MALE VOICE (O.S.) (CONT’D)

I know you’re in theeeeeere. Fun
fact: Thin windows are louder than
these nice, thick ones when they
break. Being above carpet is a
godsend, too - soft landing for
glass and footfall.

LAUREN
Aiden? It’s you, right? I know it’s
you, and so will DoorDash - they’ll
have a record of you coming to my
house. Please ... just leave ...

He’s oddly quiet.

 6.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
I’m calling the fuckin’ cops,
Aiden! I’m dialing right now!

MALE VOICE (O.S.)

Your phone’s on the couch.

LAUREN
GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, AIDEN!

Then, from outside the front door:

AIDEN (O.S.)
I’m sorry? Ma’am, are you okay?

Lauren hauls ass to the

INT. FOYER - CONTINUOUS

She flings the door open and runs smack into Aiden’s arms.

AIDEN
I forgot your extra pico-

LAUREN
Aiden, someone’s in my house!

She tries to push him back, but he doesn’t budge.

AIDEN
Like ... a burglar?

LAUREN
Yes! I thought it was you! We gotta
go!

He grabs her shoulders, won’t move.

AIDEN
Why would you think it was me?

LAUREN
I ... I don’t know - I’m sorry Can
we just go?

AIDEN
You betcha. Lemme just-

BAM! He hits her square in the face and it’s lights out.

FADE OUT.
 7.

FADE IN:

INT. CAR - A BIT LATER

Lauren comes to in the passenger seat.

LAUREN
(groggily)
Aiden?

AIDEN
Lauren?

She looks out the window.

LAUREN
Where we goin’?

Silence.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
The police station is on the other
side of tow-

AIDEN
(oddly calm)
I know where it is, Lauren, don’t
talk to me like I’m a fuckin’
idiot.

She faces him quickly, but it hurts. She grimaces, touches

her face, and feels the swell on her eye. Wince of pain.

LAUREN
Did ... did you hit me?

AIDEN
I did indeed, and it’s probably
time someone did, you stuck-up
bitch.

LAUREN
I think I’m concussed.

AIDEN
That’ll be the least of your
worries soon.

From the backseat:

MALE VOICE
Daaaaamn, dude! You cold tonight. I
like it. Learnin’ ...
 8.

Lauren turns to face the voice.

LAUREN
Mario?

His hand is wrapped in a bloody rag, waves it.

MARIO
Fun fact: Thick windows cut.

AIDEN
Hot tip from the pages of Duh
Magazine.

Aiden gets a smack to the back of the head.

MARIO
Shut up, pendejo.

Nate giggles - it’s a little maniacal.

LAUREN
Mario ... Aiden ... please let me
go. My parents have money, they can-

MARIO
“Aiden?” What a gay-ass name!

AIDEN
Right?

Aiden turns to Lauren.

AIDEN (CONT’D)
It’s actually Nate. Aiden’s in the
trunk.

MARIO
Schmuck. He gave up that phone so
easy!

NATE
DoorDashers are easiest.
Incidentally, so are women who use
them to order dinner for one under
an obviously female name. Fish in a
fuckin’ barrel.

LAUREN
What’re you gonna do to me?

NATE
I haven’t decided yet. Whatcha
think, my man?
 9.

Mario makes a thrusting, sexual gesture with added grunts.

NATE (CONT’D)
I might’ve thought so. Same spot?

MARIO
Same spot.

FADE OUT.

FADE IN:

EXT: EMPTY PARKING LOT - NIGHT

Lauren is sitting, back against a graffitied warehouse. Nate

stands watch at the corner, gives Mario a thumbs up.

Mario stands before her, starts to undo his belt buckle.

MARIO
I like a little foreplay. Why don’t
you go on and lick them lips for
me?

Lights flash from off-stage. Nate steps back.

NATE
Greg, we gotta bounce.

Both men head back to see who’s pulled up.

LAUREN
Yeah, “Greg.” Time to bounce.

They look back and Lauren is standing. She pulls an official

police force Glock that was tucked in a back compartment of
cargoes.

Both hands, steady as a surgeon’s, clutch and take aim.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
On the ground, dirtbags!

The men are statues.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
GET ON THE GODDAMN GROUND!

An approaching engine can be heard off-stage. Doors open and

slam, and two cops enter the scene -- one being Jacinda,
still in her undercover club clothing.
 10.

The other cop, EDDIE (fully uniformed) tackles Greg. Jacinda

yanks Nate to the ground by the back of his collar, flips him
over, gets a knee on his back.

More offstage cars, blue/red lights flashing. Eddie tosses

Jacinda an extra pair of cuffs. She gets to work.

JACINDA
(to Lauren)
You good?

LAUREN
Bastard knocked me out.

NATE
ACAB, bitch. You’re lucky I didn’t
find that gun.

JACINDA
It’s not your M.O. to kill before
you rape.

NATE
You were following us the whole
time?

JACINDA
The whole time. We used a smart-
lock on the 9 millimeter, anyway,
so you stood no chance of killing
Agent Grissom.

NATE
Agent Grissom, eh? Agent Lauren
Grissom.

LAUREN
Hey. Dickhead. That a threat?
Three male officers show up, mumble into their radios.

LAUREN (CONT’D)
Guys, there’s a man in the trunk of
their car, name’s Aiden.

One of the takes off quickly.

NATE
ACAB!

EDDIE
The heck is this “ACAB” business?
 11.

LAUREN
Get with the times, Eddie. It
stands for “All Cops Are Bastards.”
This guy’s Antifa.

EDDIE
A rapist and a murderer calling me
a bastard. Guy’s a real peach.

LAUREN
You’re awfully quiet, “Mario.”

A pause in which he says nothing ... just scowls.

JACINA
Repeat offender. They know better.

She leans into his ear.

JACINDA
But your recruit here -- bad
choice. He’s all over anarchy
forums practically broadcasting
what you two’ve been up to.
Gorgeous evidence, and lots of it.

Greg turns his face to Nate, deep rage. Nate looks away.

EDDIE
Allright, let’s go guys.

The two male cops lift Greg and Nate up, and before they
exit, Greg kicks the everlovin’ shit out of Nate. He screams.

They stop walking as Nate tries to thrash away from the cop.
NATE
That’s assault! Officers, you saw
that! He just assaulted me! I want
that in the report!

COP 1
It’s all being recorded, sir.

LAUREN
You really pressin’ charges,
“anarchist?”

Greg bursts into laughter and winks at Lauren. She sneers.

NATE
Fuck you, Agent Lauren Grissom!
 12.

LAUREN
You tried, didn’t you? Look who’s
actually fucked, though. By the
way: My name’s actually Sara
Francesca Grissom and I don’t take
kindly to threats.

JACINDA
Lauren’s the name of the first
woman your friend murdered.

GREG
That you know of.

LAUREN
Fun fact: That’s recorded, too.

Eddie bursts into laughter. They exit, leaving Jacinda and

Sara alone. The two smile at one another.

JACINDA
That was one of the best collabs
I’ve ever had, partner. We could
open up a firm of our own one day.

SARA
This is an excuse to dress like a
skank and get paid for it, isn’t
it?

Jacinda twirls.

JACINDA
You are hatin’ so hard. I look hot.

SARA
Yeah yeah yeah. I think you’re
hotter in uniform but it’s
whatever.

Jacinda looks around, finds the coast clear. She leans into
Sara and kisses her gently, but deeply.

JACINDA
I fuckin’ love you, even if your
mouth tastes like Tijuana.

SARA
Hey -- I do hungry work.

JACINDA
C’mon. Let’s get you home.
 13.

SARA
I think I’m gonna call an Uber.

Jacinda’s eyes go wide.

SARA (CONT’D)
I’m kidding. Get me the fuck outta
here.

One last kiss, then as they’re they exiting:

SARA (CONT’D)
Can I still call you Jacinda? I
kinda like that name.

JACINDA
Whatever you like, Sugartits.

FADE TO BLACK.