Jones St., Chapter 6: Pages 9-10
Page 9, 6 Panels- Tate's, Jones St., Las Vegas NV
Panel 1: We move back to a shot of Melanie at the bar as this all goes on, taking a sip from her glass of scotch and looking up at the TV. There's a look of mild boredom in her eyes; her mind trailing off into a checklist of things to do. You can see part of the dining area behind her in the background.
MELANIE [thought bubble]: Should be here soon. Now, if there's no chemistry with this Tara guy (still can't get over that name) or if he turns...
Panel 2: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A second later, her train of thought is interrupted by a catcalling whistling coming from off-panel to her left. As she's about to put the glass back down on the coaster, you can see her glare over in the direction of the noise's originator.
Panel 3: Cut to a shot of the man behind that noise, raising a glass in Melanie's direction. He is a well-dressed businessman type who looks like a mix of Leonardo DiCaprio and Donald Trump Jr. As he smiles in what he believes to be a seductive manner, you can feel the waves of sleazy entitlement coming off of his very being.
Panel 4-5: Back to Melanie in the same setting and layout as Panel 2. You can see the degree of disgust on her face by the creepy gentleman, hidden amongst a patina of cordiality in case things go horribly. In Panel 5, she turns back toward the TV taking another, deeper drink of scotch. Behind her, you can see a shadowy version of Melanie flipping the double bird in the skeevy businessman's direction.
MELANIE [thought bubble, Panel 4]: ...he turns out to be that, then I'll fake a phone call (already got the alarm set for an hour...should be enough time). Then I tell him I've got work in the morning and need to sleep. MELANIE [Cont. thought bubble, Panel 5]: Technically, I don't have to be there till 11. But it still counts as morning, which still makes it true. If it's good, well... SHADOW MELANIE [to the Businessman, Panel 5]: FUCK YOU, YOU CREEPY, LIMP DICK WEINSTEIN WANNABE!! MELANIE [thought bubble 2, Panel 5]: Be a pretty nice change of pace for me. TARA [Off-Panel, to Melanie; Panel 5]: Huh--Hi...
Panel 6: We move to a close-up of Tara a few feet away from the bar; his hand quickly poked up, waving from side to side in a nervous fashion. You can see the tips of his fingers over the middle of the energy bar, which is at 45% and in a flux.
TARA [Cont.]: You're Melanie, right?...
Page 10, 5 Panels- Tate's, Jones St., Las Vegas NV
Panel 1-2: Action shot that starts out in Panel 1 with Melanie turning around to see Mr. Myers standing to the right off-panel; the stool she's seated on twirling underneath her. Her eyes overlook the young man at that point, flashing a half-grin. In Panel 2, a second later, the young woman exchanges verbal pleasantry.
MELANIE [thought bubble, Panel 1]: Okay...slightly cuter than I thought he'd be. The distance thing is a little weird, though. Maybe it's an Asperger's thing? MELANIE [to Tara with a nod, Panel 2]: Yeah...Hey, Tara. Is this a little too much for you?
Panel 3: Back to Tara in the same setting and layout as the last panel of the previous page. He nods at the previous question; his gaze looking over to the left of the panel view, though still addressing Melanie in his own way.
TARA [to Melanie]: Yeah, the...the Host said there's a table in a fairly quiet part of the restaurant. If that's okay with you.
Panel 4: Back to Melanie in the same setting/layout as Panel 2. As she speaks to Tara, you can see her glaring over to the guy who hit on her back in Page 8 via her periphery. In the background, as was the case in the top of the page, you can see the other end of the bar and some bottles on the wall.
MELANIE [ready to leave ASAP]: That...won't be a problem!
Panel 5: Cut to a shot of the two of them seated at that aforementioned table minutes later- Melanie seated on the right side of the panel view, and Tara on the left side of the panel view. Each of them happen to be reading over a menu, spotting out their choices then and there. As for the noise, it is considerably less boisterous compared to earlier in the page or for the last couple of pages.
TARA [thought bubble]: Promising...Too early to say for sure. But...definitely promising!