EXT. CHINATOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL – EARLY MORNING
HEAD CHEF (40s) Asian male sits on a park bench in his work clothes – stained chef hat and apron. He listens to the sound of school children frolicking about in a school yard. Head Chef’s in a numbing daze.
EXT. CHINATOWN RESTAURANT
A crappy Chinese restaurant is suffocated by surrounding competing business complexes.
INT. CHINESE RESTAURANT KITCHEN
NAGGING WAITRESS (Late 20s) shouts and waves a plate full of food at Head Chef.
NAGGING WAITRESS
(Mandarin)
It’s too oily! It’s too oily! It’s always too oily!
She drops the dish full of oily food onto the counter – THUMP resonates.
NAGGING WAITRESS (CONT’D)
They’ll never leave a good tip with all this oil! Do it over!
Head Chef lethargically grabs ingredients from here and there. He fires up the wok – noodles, chicken, soy sauce. Waitress mutters indecencies under her breath while she hawk eyes his every movement.
EXT. BACK ALLEY WAY
It’s break time. Some play on their phones, others read the paper. A small group play a game called, “Who can toss the quarter closest to the brick building.”
Cigarette dangles off Head Chef’s mouth. He’s not even smoking it.
Quarter bounces off building and onto the cement. Sound resonates in Head Chef’s ear drum.
CO-WORKER
(Mandarin)
Got a quarter old timer?
Co-worker waves his hand in front of the Chef’s face. He doesn’t see him.
CO-WORKER (CONT’D)
Hey, old timer? You’re not dying are you?
Head Chef wakes up from his daze.
CO-WORKER (CONT’D)
Got a quarter?
He digs into his pockets and pulls out some spare change. He hands him a quarter.
Co-worker rejoins the game. Head Chef wipes his face with his stone fingers. His wrinkles are well defined.
Something catches his eyes. Amongst the spare change in this hand he notices – A WEDDING BAND.
He just stares at it empty, then returns it into his pants pocket.
INT. KITCHEN
Worker barges in and shouts an order. Head chef fires wok. He throws in ingredients. He slides food onto dish. He rings bell. Worker takes dish out. Another worker barges in and shouts an order, and another one and another one and another one and another one. Head Chef repeats this routine over and over and over and over and over again.
INT. BAR AREA
Workers eat. They talk amongst themselves and watch the television.
Head Chef watches his wedding band spin on the bar counter. Just before it stops spinning he slams his hand down on top of it. He spins it again and repeats the process.
INT. KITCHEN
Water sprouts out of the faucet. Head Chef cleans his area.
Nagging Waitress sticks a hand full of cash out to him. He doesn’t even notice her. She waves the money in front of him. He’s still in a daze, numb and blind to everything around him.
Annoyed she sets the money down on the counter. She pins a bowl on top of it and walks away.
Steam gushes from beneath the dishwasher. Workers clean up. Some do prep work for the next day.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
Head Chef opens the door on a floor worker weeping quietly by himself. Head Chef puts away vegetables. He doesn’t see him there.
INT. KITCHEN
Nagging waitress comes by and steals a couple dollars from Head Chef’s share which still rests underneath the bowl.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
Sniffles resonates in Head Chef’s eardrum. They make eye contact. It’s the first time we see the Head Chef make eye contact with anyone in the film. Tears crawl down the worker’s face.
INT. KITCHEN
Nagging waitress cautiously looks around. She takes some more of the Head Chef’s tip money.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
Head Chef takes a seat next to him.
The Worker’s very young.
YOUNG WORKER
(Mandarin)
Last time I saw her, I was thirteen
years old. I’m twenty six now.
His lips move, but nothing comes out.
YOUNG WORKER (CONT’D)
She died Sunday.
Head Chef clears his throat.
HEAD CHEF
Who?
YOUNG WORKER
(Beat)
My mother.
He tries his best to hold back the pain.
Head Chef uncomfortably searches for a place to rest his hand on him – to console him. His hand never finds his way to the young worker’s back.
YOUNG WORKER (CONT’D)
I couldn’t afford to fly home and see her one last time.
Head Chef nods.
YOUNG WORKER (CONT’D)
They buried her today.
Pain pours out of the young worker.
INT. KITCHEN
Nagging waitress takes some more of the Head Chef’s money which she originally gave him.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
They both sit there numb, empty.
YOUNG WORKER
It doesn’t get easier does it?
For the first time Head Chef makes eye contact with someone in the film. Tears fill his eyes.
HEAD CHEF
No.
Young Worker nods and looks away.
Head Chef gets an idea. He leaves.
INT. KITCHEN
Head Chef takes the remaining dollars left under the bowl.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
Head Chef returns with two bills and a box of matches. He hands a dollar to the young worker. He sparks a match.
He lights the dollar on fire and watches it as it burns in his hand.
Young worker looks at the Chef, then at the burning dollar, then back at the Chef.
At first, Young worker doesn’t get it. Nevertheless, he does the same. Young Worker follows the traveling flame.
CLOSE UP on the Chef. A tiny crevice of a smile forms. He breathes it in.
For a tiny moment, a false moment… Head Chef enjoys his victory. They both do. Young worker sucks in his tears.
YOUNG WORKER
Goodbye Mom.
He sighs. They stare at each other, nod and smile.
INT. KITCHEN
Nagging waitress searches for the remainder of the money. She looks under the bowl. She’s confused. She searches around and then looks under the bowl again.
INT. DEEP FREEZER
Head Chef and Young Worker burn more bills.
In pops the Nagging Waitress. She bellows out a painful whimper.
NAGGING WAITRESS
(Mandarin)
What are you doing? Have you gone mad?
She rips the burning bills out of their hands. She tries to put out the flame before it’s too late. She’s hysterical and nearly to tears. It’s as if she lost a loved one – her very own child even.
Head Chef and Young Worker watch her desperation and empathize. Young Worker rests her hand on her shoulder. She smacks it away with disgust.
NAGGING WAITRESS (CONT’D)
What’s wrong with you! You could have given it to me! You should have
given it to me!
Head Chef and Young Worker look at each other and let out a deep sigh.
The brief moment of victory is over.
EXT. CHINATOWN
Head Chef listens to the sound of school children frolicking about in a school yard. Head Chef’s in a numbing daze.
—-
About the Author:
Shannon Casey is an emerging screenwriter, novelist and poet. He studied literature and film at Hunter College and New York University. He has written pieces for several indie film production companies both domestic and foreign. He is an active member of the New York City literary and film communities. He is currently working on a supernatural thriller entitled God Talks to Mommy. For more on Shannon Casey please go to his website www.sites.google.com/site/