Jones St., Chapter 1: Pages 15-16
Page 15, 5 Panels- Hallway, Central Desert Complex, UNLV, December 7th 2010
Panel 1: Cut to an action shot of a now 19-year-old Melanie walking out of a classroom after Finals, along with a stream of other people. They’re seeing chatting with one another about what had just happened, exhibiting varying levels of confidence in terms of their success. You can see part of the classroom behind them in the background through the opened doorway.
MELANIE [excited]: Whoo, goodbye Fall semester!
Panel 2: We move to a shot of Ms. Haynes a second later, chatting with classmate Jayson who is walking to the right of the panel view. She’s wearing a long sleeved blue T-shirt with “I 8 some pi” in Mathematic equation and “…and it was delicious on it” below it. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a Wicked T-shirt with dark hair tinged with a touch of blue. Compared to his friend, he is much less confident about what happened.
MELANIE [Cont., nervous]: I hope I did well. I could use a solid B to keep the GPA lookin’ shiny. JAYSON [skeptical eyebrow, to Melanie]: You'll be fine, Mel! I'm the one in need of a good grade on that final. I need a B just to break 3.0 for the semester. MELANIE [Bubble 2]: Let's make things interesting. JAYSON [Bubble 2]: 'Kay...
Panel 3: Close-up on Jayson’s face a second later with a heightened degree of confidence in terms of the rest of his statement. You can see the crowd behind him start to disperse as they walk around them toward the elevators or stairs and outside.
JAYSON [Cont.]: If I get a better grade than you for the semester, you...have to audition for the David Mamet play I'm auditioning for come Spring.
Panel 4: Back to Melanie in the same type of layout on her face that we saw with Jayson in the previous panel. She twinges a bit in nervousness by the proposition, letting on a sheepish grin that denotes her desire to play along even against that. As was the case in Panel 3, you can see the other students behind her walk past, leaving more space in the background.
MELANIE [to Jayson]: O...kay, I can dig that! And if I get a better grade than you...you have to down the rest of my roommate's sauerkraut that's in the back of the mini fridge.
Panel 5: Back to Jayson in the same setting and layout as Panel 3. He looks on and laughs hysterically at the statement, already picturing the level of hilarity that will ensue if he won that bet. A wide smile comes over his face at the same moment as they reach the end of the hallway at that point.
JAYSON: Oh, wow! Even with the likely result of going full Linda Blair, the prospect of Ms. Introvert on-stage...too good to pass up! You're on!
Page 16, 6 Panels- Hallway/Front Entrance, Central Desert Complex, UNLV
Panel 1: Same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. The background changes slightly to signify the pair of them making a turn toward another part of the hallway as he speaks. The smile he had then has faded to a basic stoic slate as he turns the conversation to another topic.
JAYSON [Cont.]: So, what do you got planned for the Break?
Panel 2-3: A two-part set of panels that moves back on Ms. Haynes, making in Panel 2 the same turn that her friend did in Panel 1. She shrugs without much of an outward idea as to the answer. In Panel 3, her thought is interrupted by the sound of her text alarm coming from the bottom left of the panel view.
MELANIE [to Jayson, Panel 2]: Usual family stuff, probably. The annual Christmas ‘Cue at my auntie’s house, with her… PHONE [Off-Panel, Panel 3]: “Which one you figured track us?” “The ugly one, sir.” “Could you be more specific?” JAYSON [Off-Panel, to Melanie; Panel 3]: That's your text alarm, really? MELANIE [Panel 3]: Hey, you know better than to bash my girl Zoe!
Panel 4-6: A three-part set of panels that centers on the same front shot of the two of them. Jayson looks on with curiosity, watching as his friend has her eyes firmly pressed on her iPhone to answer the respective texts that happen to come her way at that point in time. Each text kind of blending into one another in a very text message like fashion. It’s not until Panel 6 that she begins to put her phone back in her pocket and quickens her pace past the confused friend.
JAYSON [curious, to Melanie; Panel 4]: What’s up? HENRY [in text bubble form, Panel 4]: “Hey…you got a minute?” MELANIE [in text bubble form, underneath Henry’s; Panel 4]: “I just finished my last Algebra final. So, I was kinda hoping to get some food and relax.” JAYSON [looking for an answer, Panel 5]: Hello… HENRY [in text bubble form, underneath Melanie’s Panel 4 text; Panel 5]: “Ah cool cool. Could you try to get to the FDH Building at 1 o’clock? There’s something I've been meaning to tell you for awhile.” MELANIE [in text bubble form, underneath Henry’s text; Panel 5]: “Alright…any hint about what you wanna tell me?” HENRY [in text bubble form, underneath Melanie’s text; Panel 5]: “Sorry, I can't. It's a surprise. It’s nothing bad—trust me on that!” JAYSON [a little louder, Panel 6]: Earth to Mel! MELANIE [in text bubble form, underneath Henry’s Panel 5 text; Panel 6]: “Alright, see you at 1.” MELANIE [to Jayson, Panel 6]: It’s Henry…wants to tell me something. JAYSON [Panel 6, Bubble 2]: That’s…ominous! He give any hint? MELANIE [Panel 6, Bubble 2]: No. Just that it's a surprise…